Volume 2 Chapter 18 (1/2)

Chapter 18 The Hero Vents

（Hot how she looked because of how long it’s been, but another part of reen back when I first met her）

Not all people with red eyes had the Scarlet Eyes skill, but the opposite was true Scarlet Eyes was an innate ability, everyone that had it was born with it In other words, it was ireen eyes

I very clearly re ht roup of enemies that numbered far more than just 10 or 20 Yumis’ little sister had left an especially deep impression because of her elf-like appearance, and thus, I felt like I could really get behind the idea that, back then, her eyes had been green I would’ve been able to confirm my suspicions if I had been able to appraise her the first time I met her, as I would’ve been able to double check ht Eyed Bookblade of Transparency】until I was about halfway throughthere was no data for me to check in the first place

（It doesn’t look like she’s planning on kciking up a fuss, at least not right away）

My first instinct was to i that there was no real need forthe fact that I had just discovered one of Yumis’ secrets I arrived at the conclusion that I had finally found a side of Yuh logical deduction

（The only problem is that I’m not really sure what I’ like, “don’t worry, I’m not anyone suspicious,” but I doubt you’d actually believe ive it substance Specifically, I created a sort of pseudo-body so I could speak It ithout saying thatin bed back at the inn, I hadn't teleportedThe forical energy, so it was a good bit weaker than even the average person

My appearance hadn't actually changed Not even she would see me any differently than she had before even with her Scarlet Eyes

The reason I had called out to her was because I was confident that she wouldn't feel as creeped out if I spoke to her instead of just silently standing around before finally leaving I needed to buy enough tiate the room so I could determine both what its purpose and the reason for which she was here

「You… don’t seehost Does that mean you’re a spirit?」

「Huh? Uh, wait, hold up, calirl off, as she stood up from her chair and ied much, but she radiated an aura that seemed to indicate she was interested in me

「I’ve lived in the forest for al a real spirit」

I could see stars in her eyes; the look on her face was like that of an eleht at sos I want to ask you! Where do spirits noruys live in the forests just outside town? What do you eat?」

「Uhhh, I think youI’ on? I don’t re like this Is my memory really just that bad?）

Shuria was, at least in irl whose expression wouldn’t really change regardless of how she was addressed Her answers had always been short, and, for the most part, consisted only of yeses and nos We spoke on multiple occasions, but she’d never been the one to initiate any of our interactions I’d always thought that she ht as well have just been a doll

That hy I was so surprised by her as she was now That said, she did still bear a bit of a reseh Namely, her voice was quiet, her tone was flat, and her emotions couldn’t really be discerned from her expression She was a bit weirder now than she was then The gap between her distinct lack of e to express led to a sense of dissonance

I couldn’t deny the possibility that I was ju to conclusions, as it could very well just be that she happened to really like spirits

「Oh, uh down before you keep talki—」

「Hyah!」

The overexcited young lady accidentally grabbed my arer than one in with, and my lack of concentration had caused it to become even weaker, so the result didn’t come to me as a surprise

「PI… pa… pyu…」

「Hey uh, you okay?」

I asked the girl a question

Iperfectly fine I didn’t feel any real pain, and fixing the ar I could easily do at atoo well Her soul alh her mouth

I fixed my arm and waved it in front of her to deardless

「Po…」

「Well, that didn’t work」

I sighed before resigning ed to mend her mind

☆

It took her a few ain her sanity

She took a seat once she did This time, she’d chosen to sit at the table in the roo to the sill I had done the same; the two of us more or less found ourselves across fro I’ much better now My name is Shuria Is your arm okay?」

「Yeah, I’m fine As I’m sure you can see, y」

「Wow… Spirits sure are a」

「I told you, I’m n-, ah screw it Neveret Shuria to talk if I just left things as is and had her think of me as a sort of spirit To that end, I decided to try i to one of the priests I knew back before I was transported to another world

「So u some sort of errand?」

「I believe your name was…」

「Shuria, please call ht… Shuria, I happened to have so I wanted ask of you Have you eyes allowed you to discern that the ic cast upon this room is one that acts upon you?」

I’d focused quite a bit of ic circle within this roo off into space

The result of that appraisal was an interesting one

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

【Six Coloured Magic Circle of Tiic circle allows its target to grant their proficiencies and aptitudes in fire, water, wind, earth, light, and darknesswithin the et’s soul et’s soul as that of a blood relative’s The transfer will begin to occur once this spell progresses past the 50 point

Target: Shuria

Secondary Target: Yuress》 96 (7 additional days required for 100 completion)

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

The ic circle’s effect was a pretty nasty one It took both one’s skill levels and affinities, so it wasn’t actually possible for the person who’s stats had been taken to ever regain their lost power

In other words, it basically ain

I once again used appraisal, and this tiical affinities given that she had elven blood, but her all six of her eleic-related skills listed on her page clearly should’ve been higher leveled given her the rest of her stats

The spell’s ability to steal one’s skills and affinitieson the soul, which in turnthat needed time, and lots of it Shuria clearly hadn’t left her rooic circle is helping ical talents I was really surprised to learn that so like this could actually exist!」

（Well yeah, no shi+t It’s so and not so that a nor Scarlet Eyes ical powers slowly drain from her body

I was able to see it as well because of the passive ability ave me, and honestly, all I had to say was that it really wasn’tI wanted to watch happen

「So why exactly did you want to give her your ht a disease that couldn’t be treated without an expensive elixir I couldn’t afford it, so I struck a deal with Yuical powers in exchange for the cure」

（Her younger sister? They had another sister?）

「Ohhh Wait, ould you have to pay? Yumis and Shuruht her the cure?」

「Shurumii and I are only Yumis’ half sisters We’d lived our entire lives apart froo ask her for money just because ere all related」

「Did you consider it a fair trade?」

「Yup I’ic, but, Yuh ic had never been anything et by in the first place」

Shuria paused for a bit before continuing

「Another reason I don’t ical abilities is because Yuical talents in order to fulfill her dreauess thatsister?」

「Mh person She works super hard and is capable of carrying out the fuedal lord’s duties even though she’s only just a few years older than ht smile appeared on Shuria’s face as she attempted to describe just how e in expression that she’d displayed ever since initiating conversation

I sht The overly cold calculations I had going throughshe said went in one ear and out the other

（She stole the er sister inhereted from her ancestors in order to e, she cured another one of their sisters and handed their faet by…?）

That explained why Yuher than those of the average hu the source of Yu to helpas how the curse Shuria was currently afflicted as near completion Moreover, her actions hadn’t really been particularly notable, as she had seee

Or at least that was how things seemed before you really started to think about theh htest bit deeper

How exactly did Yuic circle, and how did she activate it? Why was the Shuria I had in front ofh?

It was possible that Iimpression of Shuria, but I didn’t believe that to be the case So just felt too off for that to be true Shuria, in her current for herself, but she’d clearly de emotions The Shuria I remembered had almost seemed dead on the inside Her emotions hadn’t run nearly as deep

I couldn’t help but feel bothered by the strange sense of discontinuity that continued to assault er on it

「『How have you been doing lately, Shuria?』」

「Wait, is that…?」

I suddenly heard a voice right as I found myself stuck at a sort of critical junction

（Hmmm… It looks like one）

I looked over at the sill in order to find the sound’s source, a letter situated atop a desk Its state seeht as Shuria broke its seal

The water blue sheet stamped with the Erumia family seal was a device that would play the voice preloaded onto it whenever one ran anything across its surface

「Oops It looks like one of the flowers fell」

One of the purple and yellow petaled flowers disconnected from its ste the voice file it contained

「『The village is looking wonderful again this year Your Sunset Flowers have blooreat Shuru care of them after she recovered, so they’ve turned out really well』」

（So）

「Is that yourfrom the letter was one that I couldn’t help but feel to be strangely familiar

「Yup! And this islately? Are you sick? Have you been sleeping without anything covering your sto a lot better You always say you’re doing fine, but I still can’t help but worry You’re really bad at talking to people, so I can never be too sure you’re actually fitting in I’ve been spending a bit of arden I heard we’ll be able to see each other again soon! I can’t wait!』」

「…Shuruh I’m older than her」

「Ahaha, she sounds like a pretty interesting person to have around」

I couldn’t help but think about ht expression of embarrassment show up on Shuria’s face Unlike ether She would always ader sister did to her

Several strong eed within me, but, in spite of that, I couldn’t help but feel that soher pitched than the first, but it still gave off that sense of incongruity

（…That’s it! The voices seem… forced They lack emotion）

They weren’tthem off a script, but they failed to carry the intonations natural speech tended to contain