Side Story 3: Visiting a Remote Island 09

We bumped into an old woman named Ouna in the middle of the haunt, and together, we advanced deeper into the forest.

There was some conversation along the way, but she really didn’t have any information pertaining to the mysterious situation. Well, she had only come here to train, so I guess she wasn’t looking at it from that perspective.

However, we did get confirmation that Ouna had been fighting an earth dragon earlier.

「Indeed, it was an earth dragon, albeit one much smaller than usual. It had likely yet to reach adulthood. The carcass is stored in my item bag. If you wish, I can take out and show you.」

「Nn. Show me later.」

「Very well.」

A smaller dragon might have less resistance to evil energy contamination, like how poison works with body mass. Or perhaps its immature mind lacked the ability to resist the mental corruption of evil energy.

Either way, it’s probably only a matter of time before the other earth dragons and monsters start rampaging too. We need to resolve this quickly.

「Mrgh, a magical beast.」

「That is a Giant Moose. The appearance resembles a deer, but it is far more violent. Of particular note are the antlers, which are extremely durable. Some even call it a killer of warriors. This may be more troublesome than a juvenile earth dragon.」

This magical beast was nearly ten meters tall, with giant antlers shaped like enormous axes. Apparently, the antlers were worth a lot due to their use as high-grade building materials.

I saw a few requests for them at the Elrigo guild. If I remember correctly, even a single antler sold for over 500,000 gold.

Though Fran was interested in that part at all.

「Is it tasty?」

「Hmm? Taste? I could not say, as I have never tried to eat one. Well, it looks like a deer, so it should be fairly good?」

「Hoh…」

My appraisal only says it’s edible, nothing about the taste. But since it contains a decent amount of mana, it can’t be that bad.

Meanwhile, Ouna stepped forward to hold back the eager Fran.

「Leave this one to me. Since we will be partying together, it’s best if you see my combat style beforehand.」

「Hmm. Okay.」

Fran nodded obediently. She was interested in the meat, but probably even more interested in Ouna’s abilities. In addition, I was curious about the katana at her waist. Even while sheathed, it had so much presence that I could tell it was an exceptional blade.

This was no ordinary magic sword.

「Well then, I suppose it’s time to get a little serious.」

While muttering to herself, Ouna placed a hand on the sword’s hilt. That slight action released enough pressure to make Fran and Urushi’s hair stand on end.

This made the Giant Moose notice us, even though we carefully concealed our presence while approaching. It radiated the bloodlust of a Threat Level C monster.

However, the old woman in front of it remained completely composed, calmly staring at the Giant Moose with an expression of complete ease.

Perhaps it was irritated by that attitude, as the Giant Moose charged forward while swinging its antlers wildly. The distance between them closed in an instant, and those massive antlers slammed down on…

「Sever them, Senbonwan.」

「…!」

「Arf!」

The upper and lower halves of the Giant Moose split apart, collapsing to the ground and splashing blood everywhere.

It took a single slash. The power of her iai draw sliced through the Giant Moose’s antlers, head, and torso, cleaving the enormous beast in two.

「Wow.」

「Woof!」

『She released an insane amount of mana at the moment of the attack. That’s seriously scary.』

「Nn.」

The technique she used to kill the Giant Moose probably contained as much power as our Heavenly Judgment. Only a handful of swordsmen could unleash something like at a moment’s notice.

「Ouna! That was great!」

「Hahaha, I always welcome the innocent praise of a child!」

「Your technique was amazing, but your katana was amazing too.」

「Hoh? You saw through that too? This is the cursed blade Senbonwan. My partner.」

「So your partner is called Senbonwan! Just like how Master is mine!」

A cursed blade, huh? Now that she mentioned it, the mana of her slash was a bit different from normal. It had a sinister feel to it, or perhaps ferocious would be a better term. The mana itself seemed aggressive somehow.

「If you want the meat, take as much as you like.」

「Really?」

「Indeed. I have no particular need of it.」

「Thanks.」

Fran’s favorability toward Ouna was rising by the second. In her eyes, Ouna had become a cool and strong old lady who gave her meat.

「Oh? Is that a Gold Tortoise?」

Right as we finished storing the Giant Moose away, we sensed another monster approaching, likely drawn by the scent of blood.

「A shiny golden turtle! Is it tasty?」

『Nope, you can’t eat that one. Apparently, its entire body is made out of hard metal.』

That made it sound like some kind of golem, but it somehow still counted as a living creature.

「It will not fill our stomachs, but it does provide excellent material for making weapons. Any blacksmith would want to get their hands on it.」

「Do you want it, Ouna?」

「If possible.」

「Then it’s my turn next! I’ll beat that turtle and give it to you.」

And so, it became our turn to show our strength. Well, it was weaker than the Giant Moose, so we just killed it instantly.

Fran used a combo very typical of her, a blast of thunder magic followed by Heavenly Judgment.

「That was fast. Impressive, to think one could slice through a Gold Tortoise so cleanly… I suppose I should have expected as much from a divine sword.」

「Heheh, Master is a super amazing sword!」

「As frustrating as it may be, I must agree. What a truly incredible sword.」

「Nn!」

Upon hearing Ouna’s praise for me, Fran nodded repeatedly with an expression of delight. At this point, I think she’s already succeeded in maxing out Fran’s favorability points.

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