Seeing the man sheathing his sword, I hastily sheathe mine as well.
“My mount”, he said. Looking at the creature, I see that indeed, one of its ears is tied with what looks like a ribbon. Is this creature also a subordinate like Mera?
…But wasn’t this supposed to be an advanced monster? This one.
Surely, compared to that monster we encountered in Galal Blue, which charged at us with a strange cry the moment our eyes met, this one lacked that intense, sharp aura…
The man, seeing me sheathing my sword, gently pets the monster’s head as if to assure me that everything is fine. The creature closes its eyes contentedly, leaning into the man’s touch. Seeing that, it becomes evident that there’s nothing wrong with this monster.
“I-I’m sorry.”
“Well, as long as nothing serious happened, it’s fine. But be careful when you draw your sword next time.”
“Y-yes…”
But still… Were there people like this in this town?
…Ah.
I see, is this person an adventurer?
…
…
The man says he’ll come with us to feed his mount when he hears we’re going up the Ladder. Stroman, who witnessed my unsheathing earlier, paled, but it’s true that I was the one who drew first. Perhaps that’s why I couldn’t bring myself to tell this adventurer not to come.
I’m Regres. Just call me Reg.”
“Reg… san?”
“Yeah, yeah. Feel free to call me.”
“Y-yes…”
As we stand beside our carriage, Regres, sitting atop his hefty hippo-like creature, speaks up. He calls the creature a Hippod. Its six-legged gait is something I’ve never seen on Earth, so it feels quite strange, but it seems comfortable to ride with minimal swaying.
Seemingly traumatized, Kimishima sits on the opposite side of Regres, avoiding getting too close to the Hippod. On the contrary, Sakuragi seems delighted, finding it cute.
“Miki-chan, want to try riding?”
“Really? Is it okay, Reg-san?”
“Of course, here.”
“U-um, Sakuragi…”
“Takato-kun, can you lend a hand?”
“Eh!”
Sakuragi, with Takato’s hesitant help, jumps onto the Hippod from the frame of the carriage. I don’t quite understand what’s cute about it, but it seems the ribbon tied to the Hippod’s ears tickled her fancy.
But even so, Regres seems to have blended in seamlessly in this short time.
I feel like I’m being carried along by the flow, but Regres doesn’t seem like a bad guy. He must have left a similar impression on the state soldiers we hunted with yesterday.
…Still.
I don’t intend to overestimate my own abilities, but I didn’t hold back at all when I aimed for the Hippod. I concentrated fully, delivering a precise strike. Yet, he smoothly intervened from the side, effortlessly stopping my blade…
In my timeline, including monsters, I’ve never seen anyone accomplish such a feat.
…Who is he?
No matter how I think about it, he seems to be someone above my Celestial rank… But I’m convinced he’s not here because he desires a celestial rank. Yet, neither Stroman nor Yazzak knows about Regres.
Could it be that he hasn’t registered as a divine citizen?
As we disembark from the carriage, it’s decided that three parties will take turns watching over the Sebek today, as there’s no road repair to be done. Sebeks, if left unattended, often fall prey to wild monsters, so someone needs to keep watch.
“If it’s okay with you, shall we leave Jenuin here?”
Regres chimes in with a smile. Hearing this, Stroman responds.
“Jenuin, that Hippod?”
“Yeah, since it’s considered an advanced monster, just leaving it here should keep other monsters away, right? Even if they come close, it’ll probably eat them, you know?”
“I see… Is that okay?”
“It’s fine~. Right, Jenu?”
Upon being addressed, Jenuin responds with what seems like a grunt.
And so, Regres casually follows us.
“…Regres-san, are you also going up the Ladder?”
“Hm? I suppose the Ladder’s fine. So it’s alright. I won’t go after prey.”
“Huh? That’s not… necessary.”
It’s hard to grasp. What exactly is he here for? Let’s just not discard caution, no matter what happens.
…
…
“Oh~, Miki-chan, you use light magic? That’s great, huh? Rare stuff.”
“Oh. Is it rare?”
“Yeah, not many people use light for attack. It’s rare. Among attack magic, light is the fastest, you know? If you master it, it could be dangerous, you know?”
“Hehe. I’ll master it!”
Regres and Sakuragi seem to hit it off strangely well. Regres also seems knowledgeable about magic, offering advice on how to fight as a mage. Especially since Sakuragi only knows basic light attack magic taught at the Sky Temple, she seems dissatisfied.
“Higher-level magic is all about imagination.”
“Imagination?”
“Yeah, yeah. Even with the same light attack, it’s important to put your strong magical image into it. Starting from creating an image of a strong attack, like a sword or an arrow, you know? It all starts from forming a strong image.”
“Hmm. A strong image… Can it be anything?”
“Yeah, that’s right. Even with fire magic, starting from basic Fireball, some people go on to create a fire spear, or even for some, they can create dragon-shaped fire. By materializing a strong image, you can enhance the power of magic.”
Listening to him, I become even more envious since I can’t use magic. It’s not like leveling up in a role-playing game I played as a child, where you learn new spells. It seems it’s about allowing the magic to take on a form that aligns with your feelings, thereby increasing its power.
“Hmm!”
“Hahaha. Miki-chan, you just came from another world, right? I think you can use images from your original world too. It’s easier to empower yourself with something you can easily imagine.”
“Umm…”
Sakuragi seems to be thinking hard about something. Seeing her muttering to herself, struggling to come up with a good image, she eventually turns to Nishina with a troubled expression.
“Takato-kun, what do you think of when you imagine light?”
However, when asked, Nishina responds somewhat grumpily.
“Shinkansen, maybe?”
“Huh? What’s that—? That’s totally different!”
Haha. Well, I think there was “Light” in the Shinkansen, but I wonder if they still run? Sakuragi seems to have thought she was being made fun of and pouts.
“Hmm… All right! I’ve decided!”
“Oh, did you come up with a good image?”
“Hehehe. It’s definitely going to be amazing.”
Eventually, with the monster in sight, Sakuragi furrows her brow while refining her image of magic. Nishina and Kimishima, as if they knew, yield to the monster.
“Microscope!!!”
“Huh?”
“Eh?”
Both Nishina and I react simultaneously to Sakuragi’s spirited but incomprehensible shout. But Sakuragi herself is dead serious.
Oooh?
As if concentrated magical power had accumulated above Sakuragi, light takes on the form of a gigantic microscope. And then…
“Beeeeeeeeeeeeam!”
…It’s like the focused light condensed through the microscope pierces through the monster like a cone. The light focuses nicely on the monster.
With a scream similar to a wail, the monster begins to burn black. It tries to dodge, but the light persistently chases and continues to burn the monster.
…Hmm. But still.
“I did it! How’s that, Reg-saan?”
“Wow. It’s more powerful than Shining Arrow, isn’t it?”
“Right, right?”
“By continuously building and expanding the image within yourself, the activation becomes faster and the power increases!”
“Wow! I’ll do my best!”
Well, anyway, as long as Sakuragi is happy. Although, forming a microscope instead of Shining Arrow cushions the strength of light magic, which was said to be the fastest, doesn’t feel like it’s preserving its strength…
“Imagination…”
Kimishima seems to be lost in thought next to me for some reason.
