About a few days after entering the demon king’s territory, Amako had a vision.

　The foresight that was seen was almost exclusively about me, even though not much time had passed since the previous foresight.

　I don’t know why she saw the foresight that was highlighted about me, but it kind of reminded me of the time after we left Lukvis. That time she saw the foresight of me being stabbed in the stomach.

　In fact, it was a prediction that Nea was going to commit suicide.

　Anyway, Amako told us about her foresight, but she seemed somewhat awkward. Maybe she had some problems that she couldn’t tell us about.

　Amako herself tries to act normally, but I am concerned.

 

“———Everyone, monsters are attacking!”

“Gruu!!”

 

　The day after Amako saw the foresight.

　We were on a journey to find the Demon King, and for the sixth time, we were being attacked by monsters.

　The flying dragons and glow wolves that tormented so many knights in the last war.

　And then there is the skinny red wolf ——— Hang Wolf, followed by Glow Wolf.

 

“Good grief, is the demon king’s territory so full of monsters?!”

“Anyway! Let’s get rid of them all!!”

 

　Kazuki manipulates magic bullets with his gauntlet-wrapped palms and directs them toward the monsters.

　The magic bullets, which have suppressed the power of extinguishing, characteristic of light magic, rush toward the monsters and make them retreat while maintaining the hardness of an iron ball.

 

“Me too!”

 

　Senpai, with her sword clad in purple electricity, moves at high speed, striking at monsters as she passes them by.

　The next moment, after landing behind the monsters, who were unable to react and were looking in the wrong direction, Senpai, acting coolly, swung her sword with a clatter ————, Powerful electric shocks gush out from the cut points, burning and scorching the monsters.

 

“Eh, what’s that? That’s cool.”

 

　As I watched senpai’s movements from behind, I muttered such thoughts.

　Senpai and Kazuki were in the vanguard, and Leona and I were in the rearguard, fighting the attacking monsters, but with those two in the vanguard, it seemed that my and Leona’s help was not needed.

 

“No matter how many times I see it, I still think Suzune and Kazuki have tremendous power.”

 

　Leona-san, who had deployed her ice sword around, said so as they fought.

 

“Even though it’s only been a short time since they’ve gotten the weapons of the heroes, they’ve almost mastered using them.”

“Indeed, although their weapon is very different from my gauntlet, they are already treating it as if it were their own limb. …Oh?”

 

　I’m worried about senpai’s physical strength…

　I heard that it consumes a lot of energy to keep moving that much in a row, so I predicted where she was going to move and threw healing magic bullets.

　Perhaps senpai also noticed the healing magic bullet that was quickly approaching, and with multiple attacks, she cut through the magic bullet and bathed her whole body in the magic of the healing magic.

 

“Usato-kun! Thank you!”

“It’s dangerous, so please don’t look away!”

 

　I notice that Leona-san and Nea on my shoulder are looking at me somewhat withdrawn as I pay attention to senpai who is waving at me in the middle of the monsters.

 

“I-I think it’s pretty amazing that you can even see what Suzune is doing right now, you know?”

“He says he’s just used to it, but I don’t think it’s strange to just get used to that…”

 

　No, I still can’t follow her completely with my eyes.

 

“Grua”

“Hmm? Burrin, Ferrum, are you properly protecting Amako?”

“Why do I have to babysit?”

“Ferrum, don’t treat me like a child.”

 

　I return a wry smile to Brulin, who nods behind me, and to Amako and Ferrum, who glare at me.

　We have Brulin and Amako doing the searching and telling us of powerful monsters approaching.

　Ferrum protects Amako, who is searching for enemies, together with Brulin.

　It would give her more means to fight by assimilating with me, but right now I prefer to have more manpower, so I have Ferrum protecting Amako.

 

“———-, Gru!”

“Usato, Leona-san, monsters are coming from the right!”

 

　Immediately, it seems that different monsters from the group in front are coming.

　With a thud, thud sound, the bushes shake and something approaches.

 

“…Ah”

 

　Amako looked at me and made such a sound, as if she had confirmed the figure by foresight.

　As I was wondering about her reaction, the approaching monster appeared.

　Through the bushes, a three-meter-tall humanoid monster emerged. Its muscular body and the club it held in its hand——,

 

“Ogre huh…”

“”Ah, it’s Usato.””

“You guys, remember it later, okay?”

 

　While swearing to get revenge on Nea and Ferrum, who called the ogre “me” in unison, I look at the ogre.

　As far as I can confirm, it seems that there are three, not just one.

 

“Leona-san, I’ll go.”

“I don’t mind, but are you okay?”

“Don’t worry. I have a few things I want to try.”

 

　When I replied without averting my gaze from the ogre, Ferrum was next to speak.

 

“Usato, should I assimilate as well?”

“… No, you stay here. Monsters may come again.”

“I get it”

 

　Bring out the gauntlet on my right arm and head towards the ogre.

　As I stopped in front of the three ogres, weaving magic power from my gauntlet by granting elasticity, one ogre, more than a head taller than the others, roared and stood in front of me.

 

“A one-on-one match, huh?”

“Gyi…”

“Ah, this one is just simply underestimating me. You look weak.”

 

　It dents normally.

　Well, if it underestimates me, that’s fine.

　I put the magic power that gave elasticity to my right palm and take a stance.

 

“Now, bring it on!”

“Gaah!!”

 

　A club swung down with force.

　In response, I swung my right hand and hit the club.

　At that moment, with a clang, the club is flicked and deflected to the ground.

 

“Ha?”

“If I had to name it, “Healing Repel”… I guess.”

 

　Defense technique by giving elasticity.

　It is a technique that prevents attacks with minimal force by repelling them with the elasticity-imparted magic power that is cloaked in the hand.

　This allowed the attack to be repelled with less force than if it had been repelled with brute force.

　I beckon to the ogre, who is dumbfounded and looks at the club on the ground and at me, as if to provoke it.

 

“Come on, come on!”

“Gaaaaaaaaa!!”

 

　It was so mad at the provocation that it raised its club with force and slammed it down continuously.

　Nea let out a pitiful scream “Hyaaaaa!?” at the stormy barrage of attacks, but I calmly flick the club away with my right hand.

 

“Ga, ha, ha…! Gaa!”

“Nun!!”

 

　Gasping for breath, painstaking fist fight.

　On the other hand, I once received the fist with my right palm and bounced it back.

　I caught sight of the ogre that had fallen to the ground due to the impact of the blow, and attacked it.

 

“Magic Spin”

 

　Elasticity-imparted magic is transferred from the right arm to the toe of the right foot.

　By stepping on the elastic-equipped magic power to the fullest extent of its power and utilizing its recoil, it accelerates at once and dives into the bosom of the ogre.

 

“Gih!?”

“Slow!”

 

　Returning the magic power to my right fist again as it is, I slam a vertical fist into the ogre’s torso as if to push it out.

 

“—— Elastic Healing Fist”

“Gyie!?”

 

　The ogre is blown backwards as far as it can and falls over, engulfing two of its companions.

　The ogre held its abdomen with a startled look, but then looked at me with frightened eyes, perhaps realizing that there was no pain.

　Elastic Healing Fist is a healing punch that focuses on blowing away.

　It is less powerful because of its elasticity and my arm strength to blow it away, but it is good at making the opponent bend over, and depending on the situation, it can punch the opponent and force them out of the battle.

 

“…This also seems to work in actual combat.”

“Ga-hi-hii!?”

“Hn?”

 

　The ogre that I had just been fighting screams in horror when it sees me take up my stance again.

　In a moment of stunned dismay, the fear-driven ogre went straight back into the forest, accompanied by two of its companions.

 

“I still had some things I wanted to try, but for now, it was a successful repulse. Nea.”

“You’re probably the only human who frightened the ogre with almost nothing but hand-to-hand combat… You’re really a monster…”

 

　It was an opponent I had beaten once in Mialak, and it wasn’t that hard to fight.

　Moreover, the other party was underestimating me.

　Nea, who glared at me with a quizzical look, spread her wings wide as if she remembered the technique I unleashed earlier.

 

“Leaving that aside! First of all, please explain the technique you just used!? Why you don’t explain to me who is fighting with you?! What’s that!!”

“Outburst of system strengthening– It’s a new technique after system blasting, giving it elasticity. Nea, my technique has evolved one step further.”

“You’re crazy!”

 

　Do you really have to say that much?

　In the meantime, Senpai and Kazuki seem to have succeeded in fighting off the monsters in front of them.

　After confirming that, I returned to Leona and the others, soothing the sulking Nea, and was greeted by Leona-san, who looked impressed, and Amako and Ferrum, who were blatantly drawn back.

 

“I never thought you could use elasticity in such a way. It is a technique that only you, who are skilled in fighting and reflexes, can use.”

“The outburst of the system strengthening consumes a lot of magic power, so this technique compensates for that. The outburst is more powerful because it can generate a shockwave, but I feel that this one is easier to use.”

 

　Should it be called system blasting for attack and giving elasticity for defense?

 

“Leona, don’t give him so much praise. He’s going to get carried away and make up some more weird techniques.”

“Finally, he doesn’t take the ogre seriously. He had sunk it with one blow before.”

“Isn’t it okay for you to be an ogre already?”

“Grua”

 

　Oi, kora, you little animals.

　How dare you say that even though Leona-san is complimenting me.

 

●

 

　After fighting off the monsters, we continue on our roadless way once again.

　The demon king’s territory is a place where there are many deep forests with trees, just like in the beastman’s country, and there are no well-developed roads.

　So, with Ferrum, who knew the land well, in the lead, we would move forward cautiously while Amako and Brulin watched for monsters.

 

“I don’t like to say this, but the demon king’s territory is kind of an eerie place.”

“Right. Not exactly a place you want to come alone.”

 

　Kazuki, who was walking nearby, responded to my mutterings.

　The forest is dark and dreary, with only a few rays of sunlight shining through due to the trees that are covering the land overhead.

　The trees do not look lush and even look dead in places.

 

“Is Kazuki not good at horror stuff?”

“As much as anyone else. Well, it’s not impossible to see it, but it’s not something I’d willingly watch. What about Usato?”

“Absolutely impossible. The thing I hate the most is ghosts.”

 

　I can’t handle ghosts seriously.

　I was originally a ghost denier faction, but now that I know ghosts exist because of the Samariar incident, I am even more scared of them.

　That’s how bad I am with ghosts, and I can only hope I never see them again.

 

“Haha, that’s a little surprising. I thought Usato would punch ghosts away.”

“No, if it had a physical body, he’d punch it out, you know? That’s what he did at Samariar.”

 

　When Nea, in her owl form, said so, Kazuki’s eyes widened in surprise, “For real?”.

　Technically, it was a soul trapped under a curse, but I guess that one falls into the category of ghosts, too.

　Fuuh, with a smile on my face, I raise my fist.

 

“If it has a body, you can win. After all, you can hit it.”

“You’re probably the only person who punches a ghost…”

 

　As Nea is amazed, the howling voice of monsters is heard from somewhere in the forest.

　In response to the voice, Brulin turns in a certain direction, but quickly turns around to face forward, perhaps deciding that there is no immediate danger.

 

“Amako”

“It’s okay. They won’t come this way.”

 

　In the meantime, I also confirm with Amako, but it appears to be okay.

　If we let our guard down even a little, we could be surrounded. There really are a lot of monsters in the demon king’s territory, so it’s a problem.

 

“…But I hardly see any demon tribe. Even though we’ve already entered the demon king’s territory.”

“Indeed. It would be okay to see at least one, but we’ve only encountered the monsters.”

 

　Kazuki nodded at my words.

　Maybe it’s because Ferrum is avoiding encounters with the demon tribe, but I really don’t see any demon tribe.

 

“Well, from their point of view, we’re like wanted people, so it’s best if we don’t run into each other. I don’t want to cause a commotion.”

“Actually, I wonder how the common demon people would react if they saw humans.”

“—— Maybe they won’t be so nice.”

 

　As I was having this conversation with Kazuki, Ferrum, who was walking in front of us, unexpectedly replied.

 

“The demons who are not soldiers in the Demon King’s army have never seen humans in the first place. Humans rarely set foot in this place, and even if they did, they would have to be devoured by monsters.”

“… I guess it’s similar to the land of the beastmen that they haven’t seen many humans.”

 

　When I entered the hidden village over there, I was looked at with strange eyes.

　But since we are clearly hostile to each other, the demon tribe might look at us with hostility.

 

“Originally, the demon tribe was born in a poor land. In truth, the forests are not this lush and the monsters are not that active.”

“So you’re saying it’s different now than before?”

 

　In response to Kazuki’s question, Ferrum nodded her head as she looked forward.

 

“Though I had almost nothing to do with it, I heard that life has improved thanks to the Demon King. That’s why more and more people are moving to the area around the city where the Demon King is located.”

“I see, that’s why we can’t even see the demon tribe…”

“Because this is the extremity. There are a lot of monsters, most of the demon tribe have moved somewhere else.”

 

　Ferrum’s words sounded as if she were talking about someone else’s problem.

　Perhaps it was only natural, considering her past, but to me, she seemed a little sad.

　… I might offend her, but let me step in a little.

　I moved away from Kazuki and approached Ferrum, who was leading the way.

 

“How does Ferrum feel about your hometown?”

“…I’ve already forgotten, but it was a hopeless place. Everyone was scared of the kid, me.”

“Your parents too?”

“Yeah. I don’t even remember their face now, and I don’t care at all.”

 

　This is the face of concern…

　From the look on her thoughtful face, I can see that she must have something on her mind.

　I thought she willingly agreed, but I guess I wasn’t considerate enough either.

 

“You know, Ferrum——”

 

　Just as I was about to speak to Ferrum, the monster’s roar sounded again.

　The voice was closer than before, yet filled with hostility, as if it was attacking something.

　With it, a high-pitched people scream can be heard.

 

“A child’s scream…?”

 

　It’s not alone either.

　Hearing the voices of several young children, I reflexively turn toward Ferrum with my hood pulled over my eyes.

 

“Ferrum, assimilate!”

“Y-Yeah!”

“Senpai!!”

“I know! Let’s go!!”

 

　Like me, senpai also wore a hood and a hero’s sword appeared to be hidden in her robe.

 

“Kazuki! Leona-san! Senpai and I will go first!!”

“Oh, got it!! Be careful!!”

 

　Me and senpai, who are fast, go first.

　After telling Kazuki and the others, I rushed out and headed towards where the screams could be heard.

　While I was running through the trees, Nea on my shoulder spoke to me quizzically.

 

“Usato, it might be a trap like it was with me.”

『The other party must be demons too.』

“Even so, I can’t just abandon kids!”

“I also will think about difficult things later!!”

 

　There’s also the possibility that it’s a trap, but if it were true, young children would be devoured by monsters.

　If so, there was no way I could overlook it.

　Praying for the safety of the owner of the voice that was probably at the end of the forest, senpai and I continued to move forward.