Chapter 175: Darkness. (2) (2/2)
“Who did I just hit?”
I was still dumbfounded.
*****
A tree stump fell off in the dense forest. Sitting on it, Ellie was rubbing her palm against the bump on her forehead.
Roll, roll- roll, roll-
“…It hurts.”
‘It hurts. My head feels like it’s about to break. But not just because of the pain.’
Strangely, her heart hurt too.
“I should’ve told you. Not to get too close to him.”
The voice came from behind the tree. Ellie looked over to see Primienne.
“Anyhow, this is good. If it went on like this, you would have been dragged away by Elesol. Take this.”
Primienne threw a parcel to Ellie. Looking inside, Ellie found an ID card and new clothing. She modified her appearance to match the one on the ID. Keeping her form, she changed her hair color, nose, and the size of her eyes.
“What did you say to Professor Deculein?”
“…It’s a secret.”
“Okay. I can just ask Elesol later anyway.”
Ellie raised her eyes to stare at Primienne. Primienne took a closer look at her.
“You, are you crying?”
“…What? No. What are you talking about? Haha!”
Ellie quickly shook her head, laughing.
“I don’t think I could cry….”
Primienne nodded. Her eyes were moist, but there was no need to be so shocked. She was someone who had never cried once in her life. She didn’t even know how to pretend to cry.
“Then, go ahead and meet with Elesol. I have something to do here.”
“…”
Ellie looked at Primienne with dissatisfaction. She felt jealous and annoyed for some reason.
“The Professor has known for a long time now. A very long time…”
“I know.”
“…?”
Ellie came out safely, and neither of them were injured, so Primienne roughly knew. At that time, when he was eating with Betan, why did Deculein say such strange things?
“Darn mushroom soup.”
Primienne shook her head. Ellie, tilting her head, breathed out a low sigh.
“Whew… I might have used this leather for too long.”
She lifted the mirror and looked at herself. She was a man again, this time.
“It looks like my old leather… ugh. Change it.”
“…That’s because your old one was your real face. Don’t spout some nonsense.”
Primienne pushed Ellie’s shoulder. Her next stride was farther away. Ellie, now a dot on the horizon, waved.
—Yes… I’ll get going first…
“…Unbelievable.”
The more she saw her ability, the more amazing it was. It was an all-around ability that could teleport, be used for disguise, and was optimized for killing. The concept of space that Ellie used freely was quite fatal, so killing was possible just by changing the position of a person’s eye and nose. This was especially so for regular people who lacked mana resistance.
If she wanted to, she could eradicate 98% of the continent by herself…
“Hmm.”
Primienne looked up at the sky. The moon covered by clouds was now peeking through.
“…That’s amazing.”
She murmured without expression. Deculein, called a devil by the clan, was the one the Demon Blood was most scared of in the Empire. He who cold-heartedly and mercilessly hunted the Demon Blood. But, he was also the only wizard who defended the Demon Blood in Bercht.
Furthermore, when they were in danger of being discovered, he concealed the truth even though he knew that they were Demon Blood.
“I don’t know.”
Primienne didn’t know Deculein. What he was thinking, and what misunderstanding there
was. Was it a noble’s appearance, or was it just some sort of whim?
“…Absolutely.”
Then, Primienne turned around and took out a piece of a letter. It had been barely delivered from the faraway military camp, a message sent by Rohalak’s guide Carixel. It was written in a code that only the high-ranking officials of the clan could read.
[Rohalak isn’t a difficult place as you think. Professor Deculein is keeping his promise to me. There will be no gas chambers installed in Rohalak, and we are preparing for the winter with Hadekain’s troops. There are many friends to play around with. Of course, we keep a line and formality, but I think we can become close like this.
I’m crying a little while writing, but I’m not lying. I am happy here.
The Professor is like a torchlight. He brightens the darkness of the coming future…
There’s no more space, so I’ll leave it here.
P.S. Burn this letter as soon as you read it. You should never tell anyone what’s inside. The same goes for the clan. You know there are many people from the Altar spying on us, right?]
“…Hmm.”
Reading the reality of Rohalak, which was completely different from expectations, Primienne’s heartfelt fuller.
*****
…Special metals and ammunition were needed to hunt the tiger. The metal was Black Iron Sand, and the materials needed for the ammunition were Pulverized Unicorn Horn and Blois Queen Bee’s Stinger. Since the materials were hard to obtain, mass-production wasn’t possible even if the recipe was publicized. Even if the materials were already prepared, if the mixture wasn’t accurate to the gram, there was a high probability of failure.
This was also the case in the game. Therefore, I intended to properly utilize my mana and Understanding in union with Aesthetic Sense.
Firstly, melt the Black Iron Sand using Ultra High Temperature. Use Psychokinesis in place of the mold pipes that I couldn’t find to shape a bullet that fits into the revolver-
“…Is that not enough to make that little thing?”
A dainty voice came up. I raised my head calmly, feeling a sense of déjà vu as a new uninvited guest waited in the window.
“…”
I clenched my jaw when I saw her face.
“Professor, uhm, that revolver….”
The child named Lia surprisingly resembled Yoo Ara. I moved closer to her with the wood steel.
“Oh wait, just wait. Hear me first-“
Schwaaaaaa—!
“Gyaaaa!”
Several of the wood steel paused in front of the child’s face. It surrounded her without leaving any openings.
“Uhh…?”
The child shivered.
“Waaaaah!”
“Have you gone crazy? Do you want to die?”
“…No, no. I’m just…”
Lia hesitated and pointed at something on her back: a rifle tied to her by a long string.
—— [Tiger Rifle] ——
◆Information
: A rifle from the archipelago specially made for hunting tigers.
: It exerts a particularly destructive power on tigers.
◆Category
: Treasure ⊃ Special Third Stone
◆Special Effect
: The bullets fired with this gun gradually destroy the tiger’s skin and muscle tissue.
A tiger rifle. It was a hard to find treasure, even for an adventurer.
“Tiger hunting will be easier if you use this. So, together with us… ah, not Carlos. With Ganesha and us…”
“…”
“…What do you think?”
I glared at her, taking the rifle using Psychokinesis.
“This is a dangerous item for a child like you to handle.”
“…What? Child…?”
“I’m good at using such weapons.”
I opened the cartridge and checked the insides, calculating the size of the ammunition needed.
“No, I came here to ask you to fight with us. We also want to help you hunt the tiger, ack-“
The kid accidentally bit her tongue as-
Bam—!
I closed the window on her.
“Tiger rifle…”
I fiddled with the brilliant barrel of the tiger rifle and used [Midas’ Hand Level 4]. The moment I confirmed that a special effect was added, I nodded.
“…This should be enough.”
If the ammunition was made properly, my chance of winning was certain even if I was up against a Great Tiger.
Clang clang— clang clang—
Excuse me, hey— that’s a treasure that we barely got—
Clang clang— clang clang—
Give it back if you’re not going to hunt with us! I’m going to report you to the police—
The child continued to tap the glass window with an expression like she had been tricked, but I ignored her and closed the curtains. It was a face that was too much to look at for too long.