Volume 3 Chapter 16 (1/2)

Volume 3 Chapter 16: Battle Aesthetics

Translator: “Pink Tea” Editor: ”Ryunakama”

I took the metal box for the fruit and parted with Moka and along with Sidonius while moving along one of the branches of the God Tree went to harvest the fruit.

「Axel-dono. How is the sword that I gave you?」

「Yeah, it’s good.」

Right now we are treading on a very thick branch.

Though it has enough width for two people to walk side by side since one could feel its large size with the soles of the feet, the level of stability still differed from the ground.

Using a sword or spear at such a place would put one at risk of not making an attack on time due to a posture. Or creating a needless wobble.

Having that in mind I asked Sidonius beforehand 『I’d like to use a short sword if you have one』, and so he gave me one.

…It’s nice to have proper equipment ready.

Thinking so I look at the short sword in my hand.

The blade is barely one-third the length of what I usually use, but it is more suitable for an environment like this.

「It’s a good weapon.」

I can tell that it’s first-class craftsmanship by how it feels in my hand. When I gave such an evaluation, Sidonius replied with a pleased smile.

「Yes. Knights’ equipment is of superior quality. Especially this one, it’s a masterpiece by a blacksmith that I greatly value, so it’s of the finest quality.」

「Eh, are you sure? Letting me borrow something like this.」

「I don’t mind. If that is required then it should be put to use. Surely that is how it should be with equipment. ……However, looking at how you act with this sword, you seem to know how to fight with short swords as well.」

Sidonius said looking at my hands.

「Well, just a bit. I mainly used them as a throwing weapon as a dragon knight, so I can’t do anything like 《Short Sword Fencing》.」

「Is that so? ……Well, if you will have a need to throw it this time then don’t hesitate to do so, I also cleared the area of people.」

「Haha, well, we’ll see when such a time comes.」

And in a few minutes while we had such a conversation we reached the branch from which the fruit were hanging.

Silver fruit on the branch were emitting a faint sweet smell.

「I should pick those, right?」

「Yes. The challenge is to get back with them in the box.」

「I see. ……So monsters aren’t going to attack before we pluck them. 」

Penetration beetles live by sucking tree sap, because of that they had a certain sense of territoriality. As such it wasn’t rare for them to assault people that walked into their perceived territory, but now they showed no such behavior at all.

「That’s so. They attack only when someone tries to walk away with those fruits.」

「That’s rather limited behavior, or even strange.」

The God Tree is quite special.

Making a nest in this tree probably changed their behavior.

Though Moka and others were saying that this is still under investigation.

「Well, if that’s the case, then we can harvest the fruit without worry.」

I took the metal box off my back and put it near my feet.

Carefully wrapping my fingers around fragrant fruits I then plucked them off the tree.

A thin twig on which fruit was hanging easily snapped, leaving only a silver fruit in my hand.

No defects. Perfect quality.

Checking for that, I then put them inside the box, burrowing them into the specially prepared cushion.

「Picking is easy.」

「Right? We had no problems with this until they appeared……」

With those words Sidonius approached me and drew a sword, then took a stance, guarding me against attacks from behind.

Looking around, bugs were already making their way here with a loud buzz.

「……This is where the crucial part starts.」

Getting to one knee I carefully lock the iron box and put it back over my shoulder.

And get up holding the short sword with an underhand grip.

With that, the attention of the bugs obviously shifted.

I could feel something close to hostility directed at me, or to be more precise at the metal box on my back. Furthermoreー

「Above, below, and also in the direction where we came from, they are all over the place.」

They had a whole colony in this area. So it wasn’t strange no matter where they’d come from.

A small consolation was that since the tree is withered we had good visibility with only a few leaves in the way.

「Proceed as we planned, I will guard your back at a bit of a distance. Leave attacks from behind to me. Axel-dono can focus on what lies in front.」

「Roger. Then, let’s go.」

With those words as a signal, we get on our way back.

We ran, though a bit slowly, to make sure not to damage the luggage.

Since we took our time getting here, I learned the surroundings well enough to get back fast enough even at a slow pace that wouldn’t give any shock to the fruit. Howeverー

「……This is the worst, we have to deal with dozens of them.」

「Yes, they are coming……!」

A sound like a metal clank resounded behind my back. Thenー

「Ughー」

Followed by a grunt due to enduring an impact.

It took me only a glance to understand what happened.

Sidonius repelled a penetration beetle with his sword.

I also confirmed a beetle of about 30 centimeters in size being blown away from us.

「Are you alright?」

「Yes… Because they have such power it will be over if they hit the box…」

That charge had enough power to rock the sword that the muscular Sidonius held in both hands.

And they are also small, so they are hard to hit.

Being able to intercept one speaks volumes about Sidonius’ ability.

And as I kept walking, thinking, that they indeed might be worthy of warinessー

「Another one coming!」

「Seems so.」

Bugs were approaching from behind, above, and left.

Three sides, almost simultaneously.

Suppose I leave my back to Sidonius, I still have to deal with two sides at once.

「Well, let’s try this.」

The fruit on my back are the first thing that should be taken into consideration.

If they crack from the impact of the attack it’s all over even if I manage to strike down my opponents.

So when I first heard about those monsters I already decided on my course of action.

First I pointed the short sword at the beetles approaching from above and. Thenー

「…Since I have an important load this time, I won’t bother with making sure to kill them.」

The moment my sword made contact with a horn of a bug that was coming from above I turned my wrist a bit to the side.

Then, forcing the bug in another direction I took a turn to the left.

「That’s where you go.」

「……!?」

Not impeding its momentum in the slightest I directed it towards the bug that was coming from the left.

Maybe it was surprised by the sudden change of course, but the beetle tried to stop, howeverー