Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Sword Oratoria, Vol. 5

by Fujino Omori, Kiyotaka Haimura

  The throng of abominable flowers that had been pressing in on Lefiya and Bell from all sides was launched away in one fell swoop.

  So…so fast!!

  Lefiya found herself rooted to the spot as she watched the figure dance like a hurricane. Even Lefiya’s Level-3 vision wasn’t enough to keep up with her. The flowers, too, were at a loss, squealing in agony as the figure slipped deftly through the swarm of countless flying tentacles and landed another direct hit. They crashed into the crystal pillars still scattered about the area, their large bodies taking beating after beating against the hard rock.

  It was so fast. So intense. Both Lefiya and Bell found themselves at a loss for words.

  “This…this is…”

  As did the two Evils associates.

  Watching the battle play out from their spot a short distance away, they could only bite their tongues in astonishment at the unprecedented one-sided battle taking place before them.

  “…These things.”

  Again and again the masked adventurer slammed the flowers with everything she had, but no matter how many times they flew backward, they’d just give angered roars and pick themselves up, charging at her for another round.

  Even through the minimal contact her sword made with their skin, she could tell it was tough—infuriatingly so. And no matter how much power she put behind her attacks, she couldn’t seem to make a mark in that thick layer of skin. A look of admiration crossed her face.

  Lefiya was quick to notice. “S-simply hitting those things won’t do anything! You have to cut them!” she shouted, offering the only advice she could give. And then, fascinated by the adventurer’s sheer speed and intensity, reminiscent of the Sword Princess, as well as the elven ears beneath her rescuer’s hood, she tossed out one more suggestion. “Magic works, too!”

  The effects were immediate.

  The adventurer pulled out a small tachi, using it to cut through the flowers’ tentacles, then narrowed her clear blue eyes—beginning her chant.

  “—Distant sky above the forest. Limitless stars set into an eternal night.”

  She was Concurrent Casting.

  Lefiya’s eyes widened as wide as they would go.

  The high-level magic power quickly drew the attention of all ten violas. They came at her all at once in a storm of roars and tentacles. But she parried every one of them, cutting them down, flinging them back, continuing her mad dash, never once letting her sonorous voice falter as it continued its song.

  “Listen to my feeble voice and grant the protection of starlight. Bestow the light of mercy upon those who have abandoned you.”

  Attack, move, evade, chant. Together with her defensive maneuvers, which made for five different actions, each of them carried out with the utmost of celerity. Which was the most impressive part of all—that despite the chant, her astounding speed never slowed in the slightest.

  The shock Lefiya felt was immeasurable.

  The first person she could think of who even came close to this level of skill as a magic swordswoman was Filvis. But even Filvis’s spells were short, not more than a single phrase, and quite unlike the long chant this girl was performing now. Even despite the lack of a magic circle, Lefiya could tell she was planning something big—a high-powered blast that would take everything out.

  There was a difference when it came to Concurrent Casters and magic swordsmen.

  Mostly in the form of the level of magic they could produce, something that mostly came down to the presence of a magic circle.

  Concurrent Casters lived in the advanced or mid-guard, and their magic was their sole weapon. Magic swordsmen, on the other hand, were fighters specialized in magic to the point where they could take on a number of mages’ abilities and command the front lines single-handedly. Mages like Lefiya and Riveria both belonged to the former group—back-line mages who’d learned the art of Concurrent Casting, making them mobile fortresses.

  All of this meant that, strictly speaking, the adventurer in front of her now was not a magic swordswoman.

  In fact, she was another entity entirely, different from those like Lefiya who lived on the back lines—an elven warrior.

  Then…then that would make her even stronger than Miss Filvis. Th-than Lady Riveria even…!!

  The precision of the masked adventurer’s Concurrent Casting was far more exact, far speedier, and far less risky than that of a pure back-line mage such as Riveria.

  And yet, no. It was simply that this elf was more used to this sort of chanting.

  There was no telling how many times she’d practiced.

  While on the front line with no one to protect her, her song the only path to victory, she flourished her sword as she sang her omnipotent melody.

  “Come, wind of winds, wandering traveler of the ages.”

  While so much of this elf reminded Lefiya of Aiz, there was still one outstanding difference between them.

  The difference of sheer magic firepower, the ability to annihilate all enemies in a single instant, rather than simply taking them on one by one in hand-to-hand combat.

  The scale of the magic she was casting now, the length of the chant she rattled off like nothing, was entirely unsuited for use in the advanced guard and could easily rival the magic of any upper-class mage.

  It was almost as though someone had taken Lefiya and Aiz and merged them together to make a mobile fortress specialized in pure speed.

  “Across the skies, through the fields, faster than any, farther than all.”

  Lefiya found herself at a complete and total loss for words. Truly, even a first-tier adventurer would find themselves taken aback by the Concurrent Casting taking place here. The elven warrior was single-handedly gathering the entire swarm of enemies together in front of her as if it was nothing.

  In fact, even Bell was beyond impressed, not a single hitch in her song as her dance of storms continued.

  “Light of stardust, tear my enemies asunder!”

  And like that, the spell was complete.

  With those final words, the masked adventurer jumped backward, putting distance between the flowers and herself.

  Pointing her wooden sword at the giant swarm, she began summoning hundreds of thousands of massive light particles, all of them surrounding her, all of them heeding her call.

  “Luminous Wind!!”

  The stardust erupted in a brilliant green storm.

  It was an image not unlike one of Lefiya’s own spells, Fusillade Fallarica—a mass collection of particles all launched at once, incinerating everything along their wide path.

  The teeming throng of man-eating flowers still coming at the girl was quick to get swallowed up by the burst of light.

  “Guuuwaaaah?!”

  One explosion. Then another. Then ten, twenty, thirty, too many to count.

  It was a direct hit. The searing volley carved into their bodies and detonated with a brilliant flash and an explosion of petals and tentacles. Not even their vibrantly colored magic stones survived the blast, shattering instantly and turning the monsters’ flesh to ash.

  The horrific ground-shaking eruption, the mountain of piled-up corpses, the gallons of smoke rising from the ashes—Lefiya and Bell had to hold on to each other for support as their faces twitched in horror.

  “…Perhaps that was a bit too much,” the girl responsible for the carnage murmured almost ironically as she scanned the surrounding trees.

  Her sky-blue eyes narrowed in on where the two hidden Evils associates were frantically attempting to make their escape.

  It would seem they were all out of tricks. The battle, then, had come to an end.

  Cape still fluttering, the girl sheathed her small wooden sword and tachi.

  Then, her long boots whistling through the grass, she made her way straight toward Lefiya and Bell.

  “Ah! Th-thank you so much for saving us…I, uh…You are…?”

  “Later. You both need medical assistance first.” The girl responded to her kin’
s openmouthed stupor after only a quick glance at both of their conditions. While Bell obviously needed help, Lefiya, too, sported a number of nasty-looking cuts and bruises.

  The adventurer immediately went to work healing them both.

  She sat Bell down first. The boy didn’t fight it, letting himself drop to the grass, though keeping his mouth strangely quiet, almost as though unsure whether or not he should say the girl’s name out loud with Lefiya present.

  “I, erm…”

  “You shouldn’t move, Mister Cranell,” the girl advised, getting down on one knee before raising her right hand toward the boy’s face.

  “Distant song above the forest. Nostalgic melody of life.”

  It was a different chant this time.

  “Impart your healing upon those who seek your grace.”

  Identical looks of disbelief crossed Lefiya’s and Bell’s faces.

  “Noah Heal.”

  A healing spell, just as they’d expected.

  Soft, mottled light, almost like the sun through the trees, washed over Bell’s body, closing up the deep wound on his head, as well as the cuts littering his face.

  The warm light radiating from her palm healed his every scratch, his every bruise, his every acid burn, one after another.

  “You…you can use healing magic, too…?” Bell asked, still in awe.

  “Yes. Though its use is limited, as it cannot rival potions in its potency,” she explained.

  It was true—the Mind she was consuming now, as well as its effect, was considerably less than the attack magic she’d cast earlier, and nowhere near that of a healer’s.

  Lefiya, herself, couldn’t help but feel a bit insecure, both as an adventurer and as a fellow magic-wielding elf. This jack-of-all-trades put her and her single-minded attack magic to shame. Even still, once the girl was finished with Bell, Lefiya didn’t hesitate to allow the same to be done to her.

  Soon, both adventurers were free from injury, and their melted, charred skin was as good as new.

  Once he’d been given a bit of magic potion to complete the treatment, Bell got to his feet with a wobble, still slightly light-headed.

  Lefiya, too, followed suit, fully prepared to ask the adventurer all the questions she’d wanted to earlier. However—

  “—Well then, Mister Cranell…While I don’t know exactly what happened here, I can’t say that I’m not disappointed.” The elf shot him a look of reproach.

  “Oh…” Bell mumbled, wincing at the stern glare directed at him from under the other girl’s hood.

  “If memory serves me correctly, I delivered you safely back to camp not more than a few hours ago, yes? When you were running around lost in the forest.”

  “I…I’m sorry…!!”

  “I had hoped you would have learned how dangerous the forest is at night,” she continued, lecturing him now on the perils of wandering around the forest alone. Bell, in turn, let his head hang with a shrug, looking very much like a young boy being scolded by an older neighborhood kid.

  A single glance was all it took to understand their relationship.

  “W-wait! Please!”

  But then.

  Lefiya quickly interjected.

  “It’s my fault. Everything…everything is my fault! I was the one who…who dragged him into this mess!”

  “…”

  “He’s done nothing wrong, so…so please, my sister. Don’t misunderstand,” she continued, looking straight past Bell in his surprise to meet the gaze of her kin. And then, despite considerable hesitation, despite her struggle to say it: “…He. He saved me,” she finished, the words ringing clear and true.

  It went without saying that she was at fault for involving him in her investigation of the two Evils associates, and if it hadn’t been for Bell, she wasn’t even sure she’d have escaped from that trap monster with her life.

  As much as she didn’t want to admit it, he’d saved her…and she was thankful for his protection.

  Holding back her urge to grit her teeth, she admitted her own fault—and appealed on his behalf.

  It was quiet for a moment as the masked adventurer simply listened in silence.

  Then a small “Heh” sounded beneath the other adventurer’s hood, and Lefiya could imagine her smile.

  “You don’t know how happy it makes me to meet another elf like you,” she responded, voice filled with delight. The ability to lay down one’s pride and admit one’s own faults was something decidedly un-elven, after all.

  Lefiya felt her cheeks grow warm at the sincere praise.

  After a moment, the other girl turned toward Bell, lightly nodding.

  “I apologize, then, Mister Cranell, for it appears I spoke too soon.”

  “N-no, it’s, uh…I-I mean, it’s still partly my fault…” Bell brought a hand to the back of his head sheepishly at the adventurer’s apology.

  Lefiya, on the other hand, while relieved that the misunderstanding had been cleared up…couldn’t help but notice that the other girl’s voice, the way she held herself…it all looked very familiar. In fact, she could have sworn she’d seen someone with that same exact disposition and build at a certain bar back in Orario—a thought that wouldn’t seem to let her go, almost like a small bone that had gotten itself lodged in her throat and refused to go down.

  Just as it was really starting to drive her crazy, she heard a sudden swish of branches from behind her—and a certain golden-haired, golden-eyed swordswoman dropped down from the trees above.

  “Lefiya!”

  “Miss Aiz?!” Lefiya whirled around in surprise at the other girl’s entrance.

  Aiz’s gaze softened with relief at seeing both Lefiya and Bell unharmed, her eyes flicking immediately toward the masked adventurer.

  “Sword Princess…” the girl murmured, hiding her face within her deep hood.

  Kicking up and off the grass, she dropped back a few paces as Lefiya and Bell both gave a start.

  “I assume you’ll be fine now. I’ve other things to attend to, so I’ll take my leave here. If you’ll excuse me,” she finished, before disappearing in the opposite direction from which Aiz was approaching.

  Lefiya, Bell, and Aiz all watched in silence as she vanished into the forest.

  “Are you two…all right? Something…happened, didn’t it?” Aiz finally asked, concern tinting her voice as she surveyed the two in front of her.

  “Indeed,” Lefiya started, fully prepared to explain the eye-opening experience, when suddenly—

  “Riveria! Over here!”

  “Little Argonaut’s here, too!”

  —two Amazonian voices called out as Tione and Tiona dropped onto the ground nearby, the same as Aiz had done moments earlier. The three elites now gathered, Lefiya began to relay everything that had happened, as well as her conjectures—though only after they were out of Bell’s earshot, of course.

  By the time Riveria showed up, she’d already finished her story, Aiz, Tiona, and Tione all sporting curious expressions as they mulled over the situation in their minds.

  “…Thanks for filling us in. Riveria and the rest of us will stay here and investigate a bit. Aiz, you take these two back to camp for now.”

  “But…but Miss Tione, I—?!” Lefiya started, feeling very much as though she, having witnessed everything directly, should be part of the investigation.

  Tione, however, stopped her short. “You’re to do as you’re told, Lefiya. Besides, you’re the only one capable of explaining the situation to everyone back at camp. Right, Riveria?”

  “Quite right. Depending on how things play out, Finn may need to rally the rest of the party. The faster we can fill him in, the better,” Riveria concurred, making her way toward the group with long silver staff in hand.

  “Oh…” Lefiya let her voice fall, knowing she’d been soundly beaten.

  Tiona beamed at the elf, her own Urga primed and ready in her arms. “You guys look beat! Get some rest, yeah? No need to push yourselves!” And then, “L
ittle Argonaut especially.”

  Surprised, Lefiya turned around to see Bell standing a short distance away. While his wounds had been fully healed, he looked, indeed, just as tired as Tiona had suggested. The final blow, so to speak, that neither healing magic nor potions could mend, was the fatigue left over from battle—a fatigue now peeking through the strong front he was attempting to maintain.

  To up and leave him now, after being the one to get him into this mess, would simply be cruel—not from a perspective of reasonableness but simply from her as an elf.

  A feeling of awkwardness creeping up under her collar, she obediently nodded. “…All right.”

  “Take care of them, Aiz,” Riveria said as she handed Aiz her portable magic-stone lantern.

  “Of course.”

  Then, Tiona and the others throwing them a wave, they said their short good-byes and began the trek back to camp.

  “…You’re sure you’re all right?” Aiz asked once the three had made it a short way into the dark woods, worry coloring her voice.

  “Ah-ha-ha…I-I’m fine! Really. Already got healed and everything, yeah?” Bell forced a laugh, his energy nothing but a facade as he let his gaze wander down by his feet.

  “But your shoes, they’re…awful…” Aiz shone the lantern in the direction of said boots, so ragged at this point that they scarcely resembled foot attire.

  In fact, both Lefiya’s and Bell’s battle clothes were littered with rips and holes where the acid had melted them away, but their shoes were, by far, the worst victims, having been submerged so long in the acid. Until the masked adventurer’s ministrations, the skin beneath them, too, had been equally as torn up, but now they simply looked as though a great many moths had eaten away at them.

  “I have a set of greaves back at camp…” Bell murmured.

  Lefiya shot him a sidelong glance before asserting herself none too subtly. “I’ll give you a new pair of boots once we get back. If I’m unable to find any, I’ll buy you some from Rivira.”

  “R-really? I-I mean…are you sure?”

  “Of course I am,” she replied equally as bluntly as he whirled around to look at her. “Don’t…don’t misunderstand me. I simply…feel as though I need to make up for involving you in this entire affair. That’s it!” She hissed the last part through gritted teeth.