Vol 1 Chapter 7 (2/2)
“Mogzo, you bastard! Are you trying to kill sword But that was all he did with it, because as expected, he ran “daot killed by ain! Screw this!”
“Mogzo was trying to save your ass! You should be thanking hier, so he atteed him with ease
“He didn’t save sith a yell “[HATRED’S CUT]! My Dread Knight skill! I can’t hit them at all!”
“Quit wasting your techniques’ uses!” Haruhiro chose one pit rat and focused on chasing after it It ran and disappeared behind a tree “Argh!” He grunted in frustration
“Malik elyph with the tip of her staff as she spoke the incantation
It was the [MAGIC MISSILE] spell A ball of light about the size of a fist burst from the end of her staff… And hit Ranta squarely in the back of his head
“GAH!”
“Huh?” shi+horu opened her eyes It seemed like she had fired off the spell with her eyes closed and had guessed the wrong target “S-sorry! I—”
“bitch! I’ll kill you! Or rather, I’llthe back of his head, he started chasing after shi+horu
Without hesitation, Manato stuck his staff out at Ranta’s feet Ranta’s foot caught and he tripped with an grunt
“What’re you doing!?” Manato said, berating Ranta and striking out at a pit rat at the same time
As far as Haruhiro could tell, Manato was handling the short staff with a good ah to actually land any blows
“Just a little!” Yu her kukri around wildly Maybe that hy she couldn’t get close enough to a pit rat to actually hit it “Yume’s Guild Master told her that because they’re just animals, we just need to hit the in there!”
Mogzo swung his bastard sword and it hit the trunk of a tree The force of the blow caused leaves and insects to rain down directly onto his head Mogzo, now covered in bugs and leaves, howled
“At this rate…” Haruhiro gathered up his resolve and crouched low, one knee on the ground
Without running, without , he waited for a pit rat to approach him There Directly in front of him A pit rat It was headed towards him Haruhiro thrust out his left arer than the size of a cat but he was exceedingly scared of it It was fast This was bad But he waited, staying absolutely still
Crippling pain suddenly shot through his leg,him cry out
Another pit rat had approached froht calf He was just about to try to stab it when the pit rat in front of him clamped it’s teeth onto his left arm “Ahh!”
“Haruhiro! Don’this staff down in a swift motion
There was low thud sound and Haruhiro i and left ar speeds And even while Haruhiro was gawking at the other rats, the pit rat that Manato had struck had disappeared
“Are you okay, Haruhiro?” Manato was on one knee by Haruhiro’s side, exa his wounds
“Yeah I’ and the sleeve of his shi+rt revealed a series of small holes in his flesh; teethfrom them The injuries were hardly serious, but they still hurt
“Let ht hand on Haruhiro’s forehead with his ers forrace of Lord Luminous… [CURE]”
A warht shot out froan to close Three seconds for his right leg, another three seconds for his left arm, and it was done
“Wow” Haruhiro touched the areas were the pit rats had bitten him Blood was still present, but they neither hurt nor itched And there was no trace of any sort of wound “Thanks, Manato And you were the one who chased them off too…”
“Only because you used yourself as bait,” Manato replied
“I was just intending to use ured I could handle it alone…”
“Everything turned out okay It doesn’t matter who did what”
“Everything’s NOT okay!” Ranta was sitting on the ground, knees drawn up and sta both feet on the floor like a spoiled only child “How is everything okay? We suddenly go attacked by soet a single cent out of it And look! I’m injured too! Heal me now!”
“Ah, sorry,” Manato said, hurrying to Ranta’s side
“Why does he need to apologize to Ranta?” Haruhiroaround
Mogzo was sitting too, perhaps tired out fro around his bastard sword soher best to hide herself behind a large tree,her spell Yu around here and there Haruhiro rin
He returned her sood ti at each other Or maybe it was He didn’t know
“…Ranta’s right that we didn’t earn a single cent, even if we did drive theh to be wandering around in this forest”
“Alright! Good to go again!” Having been healed, Ranta ju his arm around “Okay! Everyone follow me!”
Mogzo blinked “G-go? W-where?”
“Idiot! We all said that we’d search forif you just want to stop at whatever those pit things were or whatever! We’re not going to back off just because of that!”
“He’s right,” Manato nodded, seeht “It’s exactly like Ranta said It’s risky, sure, but pit rats are carnivores, right?”
“They ht be omnivores,” Yume replied “But when they’re in packs like that, they’ve been known to attack humans”
“Well, it’s true that they did attack us,” Haruhiro said
“So they eat al” Manato’s eyes narrowed and he stroked his chin “If there are aniame must be around too”
“Of course there are,” Ranta scoffed “You figured that out just now? I’ve known it since a while back If there are aniame must be around too”
Haruhito glanced sidelong at Ranta “You’re just repeating what Manato said”
“Shut up, Sleepy-Eyes! Go take a nap, little boy, if you’re so sleepy!”
“I told you before! This is the way I’ve looked since I was born! It doesn’t mean I’m sleepy!”
“Haruhiro,” Manato cut in with a grin “Most of the tinore what Ranta says”
“Hey!” Ranta thrust a finger at Manato “Don’t sayMr Nice Guy this entire time, you black-bellied traitor!?”
“Who knows?” Manato replied with a sigh, declining to take the bait “In the ainst it, why don’t we explore a little more here?”
No one was against it, so taking care to keep an eye out for more pit rats, they ventured further into the forest There, they ale deer Yume attempted to shoot it but missed, and it ran off
They also caught sight of birds on several occasions and were attacked again by pit rats, but were able to fend them off And that was about it
It wasn’t funny to even joke about hanging around after dark, so Haruhiro and the others left the forest with heavy strides
“What are we gonna do?” Ranta groaned For once, he was hardly his energetic self
“We don’t do anything,” Haruhiro sighed in reply Inwardly however, he was starting to feel a sense of desperation It felt like soo back To Altana”
“This is like so out of the tale of ‘The Weariso Boy’,” Yume whispered
Haruhiro again playing the part of the straightthere were four ‘working boys’ here and couldn’t suppress yet another sigh
“B-but,” shi+horu began to say, hanging her head as if she was void of all energy “Never”
Sory…”
“When we get back,” Manato said, looking at everyone in turn “Let’s stop by the et dinner Afterwards, I know a cheap place where we can stay for the night Near Nishi+ed soldiers can show their Crimson Moon contracts to stay for free, but trainees have to pay It’s cheap though One rooirls costs twenty capas total”
Ranta scoffed “We didn’t earn a single capa today We should just camp outdoors”
“No, that’s better saved as a last resort,” Manato said bluntly “They’re shared facilities, but the lodging also provides bathrooe difference… especially for the ladies”
shi+horu renewed her grip on her staff and nodded silently several times
“That’s true,” Yureed
“Bathtubs and toilets aren’t life and death,” Ranta muttered
However, Haruhiro got the feeling that Ranta would be the one co the loudest if they had decided to make do without such conveniences
“I agree with Manato,” Haruhiro said, raising his hand shi+horu, Yuzo also raised their hands as well
Ranta clicked his tongue at all of them, tut-tut, but didn’t protest any further And with that, without bagging any ga as reserve force soldier trainees came to a quiet end