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“Ahh!!”

Rolling around.

Riche tumbles on the ground.

After rolling so much, her clothes were already a mess, and her pretty face was now covered in dust and scratches.

“Ouch, that must hurt.”

Rolling like that isn’t typically painless.

The ground isn’t flat, nor is it soft.

It’s steep and a terrible terrain littered with rocks, this rocky mountain.

Rolling around here would easily injure such delicate skin.

So, while Riche was rolling, what was I doing?

I was sitting on a mat, watching and munching on popcorn.

Additionally, Yui and Luna were sitting next to me.

It had already been several minutes since the hunting began.

Usually, a fight doesn’t last this long unless both sides are evenly matched.

Looking at the situation, the Salamander had the advantage.

Despite that, the reason it was taking so long was that Riche, while lacking finesse, was dodging quite well.

After rolling like that, one would think she’d give up, but perhaps her plea for help wasn’t in vain; her persistence was certainly commendable.

“Seems like Riche’s attacks are hardly effective.”

“That’s a hard counter.”

It wasn’t that Riche couldn’t defeat a C-Rank Monster.

It was simply a bad matchup. Multiple conditions combined had put Riche at a disadvantage.

The Salamander, much like the King Slime I caught, is measured based on a three-person party.

So right now, Riche was handling the equivalent of three people on her own.

Moreover, being a fire-breathing monster, the Salamander has a natural resistance to fire.

But conversely, Riche is human.

Humans, naturally, have no resistance to fire.

On top of that, Riche’s attacks were ineffective against fire magic.

But the Salamander also has sharp claws and teeth, and its tough hide can withstand most physical attacks.

In short, Riche was facing a perfect superior version of herself.

She was trying to defend as best as she could, utilizing magical power like a barrier, but the longer the fight lasted, the more her magical power depleted, and her stamina waned.

In other words, even though she was holding on quite well, if things continued like this, Riche’s defeat was assured.

And if she were in mortal danger, I wouldn’t save her and would just walk away.

If the limit of her pleas for help was to die because she couldn’t even beat this, then ditching revenge and just dying would be better.

“By the way, Luke. I’m curious about something.”

“Go ahead.”

“Wasn’t the level supposed to go up by defeating monsters?”

“That’s right.”

“Then why choose a Salamander, which is difficult for Riche, instead of the easier King Slime?”

As Luna pointed out, the quickest way to get stronger is to level up.

Until now, I’ve been choosing monsters based solely on experience points, and I really did grow strong enough to crush most events in a short time.

But…

“Do you think Riche and I are the same?”

Well, I don’t have magical power and though I have new techniques, they barely matter.

Even without techniques, I can compensate with skills.

So for me, leveling up quickly is the key, but what about Riche?

She doesn’t have a status window or skills like I do. Enlightenment and techniques are solely her responsibility.

What’s the use of leveling up by catching a King Slime?

When the Demons show up later, will she use a level 100 Fireball?

She’ll have to use a level 1 Solar Flare instead.

That’s why I intentionally left the King Slime alone and went for the Salamander.

Only by being pushed to the brink of death will she gain enlightenment and new techniques.

“Couldn’t I just tell Riche the techniques she used in the novel?”

“I know what techniques they are, but how do I explain them?”

How could I, with no magic, show Riche how to manipulate magical power or which techniques to use!

Would I expect to explain the structure of a smartphone if I handed one to Luna?

“That does make sense…”

“Oh! She rolled again.”

While Luna and I were talking, Riche got hit by a fireball and was flung backward.

After rolling several times, she came to a stop right in front of the rock we were sitting on.

“Haah… Haah…”

“How about we grab lunch first?”

“……?”

Lying stretched out, I casually suggested we eat, and Riche turned her head, startled by my sudden voice.

It seemed she didn’t realize when she came close to us.

“…No, I’m fine.”

“You’ve practically used up all your magic anyway.”

“I can still stand, so it’s alright.”

Is her newfound technique perhaps some stubborn pride?

-Gruuummble.

However, Riche’s body, unaware of her master’s feelings, audibly protested her hunger.

“……”

Somehow feeling embarrassed, her face flushed bright red, all the way to her ears.

The problem was, as we dithered like this, there was one thing we overlooked—the hunting wasn’t over yet.

“……!”

Suddenly, a large fireball shot toward the place we were sitting.

It was the Salamander that had been battle Riche just moments before.

Having taken enough hits already, Riche quickly detected it and jumped.

“What are you doing?! Are you not dodging?!”

I just took it head-on.

When it came to magic, I could usually negate it, so there was no way a little Salamander could hurt me.

And that’s why I had previously gone to catch the King Slime.

It was too easy.

“Whoa.”

Having been hit by the fire, I got up from my spot.

If Riche didn’t want to eat, I could eat alone.

But if sparks fly and knock over my pot, that’d be something I couldn’t tolerate, so I wanted to prevent that in advance.

I stood up and walked towards the Salamander.

Naturally, upon seeing me approach, the Salamander went wild. As I walked, it kept firing at me, and when I got close, it bared its teeth like a ferocious chihuahua.

“Hey! Stop squirming!”

I dealt a solid smack to the Salamander’s flaming body, and the fire extinguished, making it droop.

I grabbed it by the scruff of its neck, dragged it over, and tied its neck with a wire rope I had saved from hunting the Rhino Horn, connecting it to a nearby rock.

Returning back…

“Somehow, I feel drained.”

“What’s with you?”

*

Lunch was pork cutlet, one of a man’s soul foods.

Suddenly having pork cutlet seems to have no reason behind it.

It’s simply what I wanted to eat.

Even someone who doesn’t know anything about cooking like me knows a bit about how to make pork cutlet.

Honestly, minus the hassle of making it at home, cooking pork cutlet itself is quite simple, and the ingredients are easy to find even in the medieval era.

Especially since it’s a bread-based time, breadcrumbs are plentiful.

I couldn’t replicate the sauce perfectly, so I mixed tomato, sugar, and vinegar to make something somewhat edible.

When it comes to food, no matter how fantastical it is, it can’t compare to Earth.

Particularly because pork cutlet is a dish that even the picky youths adore, it’s the ideal food for someone like Yui.

“Yum~!”

As Yui tasted it for the first time, she expressed pure happiness, placing her palms on her chubby cheeks.

Indeed, nothing settles a child’s cravings quite like pork cutlet.

Luna seemed to eat quietly, but her swaying tail and flicking ears revealed her thoughts.

As for Riche, she was earnestly chewing while looking rather solemn, reminiscent of an overworked laborer.

I wasn’t curious about what she was thinking, so I continued eating my meal.

“What do you think, Luke?”

“What about?”

“The reason I can’t win.”

It’s because you’re utterly weak.

Strong fighters don’t have such worries.

In the novels, Riche seemed strong, but now that she’s outside the Academy, she appears incredibly weak.

“Why are you asking me?”

“Isn’t it more objective to ask someone watching than to judge yourself?”

Isn’t that just pushing the question onto me?

No, I’m more surprised that she doesn’t understand what the issue is?

Was she always this dim-witted?

“Have you ever thought that you magic-users are lacking in imagination?”

“…Imagination?”

Magic is a supernatural power that bends the laws of nature.

One can create fire using magical power even without oxygen, make ice on a barren plain without a drop of water, and move earth without a shovel.

With such power, is it all just about unleashing it as is or building walls?

Is it because they have power that their imagination becomes impoverished?

It feels like humanity with magic has degraded.

“Didn’t you see Lucia using magic the other day?”

“I saw it, but how do you know?”

“I read it in a novel.”

I hadn’t witnessed Lucia casting magic directly; I was inside the Behemoth at the time.

But I had read the descriptions of Lucia using magic in the novel, so I knew.

“Weren’t you impressed by it at all?”

“…I thought it was amazing.”

“That’s why you guys are trash.”

Seriously, someone demonstrates their superior magic right before you, and all you think is that it’s amazing?

Do you know what the first thing people in a hotel kitchen do?

They wash the dishes.

Why? To learn by observation.

But what did Riche do? She saw it and didn’t figure anything out; she just thought it was amazing, as if she was only left washing dishes.

“First, let’s get you to create blue flames.”

“Blue flames? Isn’t that something only someone with a lot of magical power, like the Dean, can do?”

“Luna. Example.”

If anyone could understand what I just said without me saying anything, it would be Luna.

It’s a bother to explain more, and nothing is clearer than seeing it directly.

So I decided to show her an example. Of course, since I had no magical power, it would have to be Luna.

Luna raised one hand.

And then a cool breeze began to blow around her.

That trivial breeze, which couldn’t be called an attack, gathered according to her will above her hand.

Soon, the air took on a spherical shape and began to rotate on its own without any magical power injected.

This is what we call condensation.

Luna then flattened the condensed sphere of air.

When it turned into a blade-like shape and she swung it lightly, a nearby rock was sliced as easily as tofu.

An application of condensation in attack form.

“Oh. I see this is working.”

“Weren’t you supposed to try it out…?”

“I never said I knew how.”

I told her to try but didn’t say I knew how.

I mean, I lack magical power, so I could only imagine it.

Perhaps it would work, I’d thought.

“Anyway, isn’t what I’ve shown you enough?”

“…I guess.”

Well, if Lucia can manage to create dozens of those around her and do sword techniques, then…

To sum it up, saying one lacks magical power is just an excuse.

Afterward, Riche shoved the remaining food into her mouth and sprang up.

Immediately, she charged toward the Salamander.

The Salamander, just waking up from being knocked out, recognized Riche as an enemy.

Both leaped into combat as before, but this time the circumstances were different.

Riche generated a massive flame in her hand, but unlike before, she didn’t just launch it recklessly.

The fire began to dwindle, and soon only a small white sphere, hardly considered an attack, remained in her hand.

That meant one thing: she had become significantly stronger compared to when she wielded the red flames.

The color of the flames changes according to their temperature, but since it’s still in the middle stage, I wasn’t expecting blue yet.

Riche gently tossed the fire sphere.

Like blowing a dandelion, it was soft and slow.

One might wonder who would get hit by such a feeble thing, but right now, that was sufficient. She could reinforce her weaknesses later since the Salamander was tied up.

-Grrr!!!

The Salamander attempted to shoot flames to negate it, but all the flames it shot were devoured by the fire sphere Riche had sent.

The tiny flame, inhaling the fire shot from the Salamander and those clinging to its body, grew to the size of a soccer ball.

That slow-moving fire sphere touched the Salamander’s body but did not stop; it melted through its skin, bone, and flesh.

And in the end, it exploded magnificently, bringing a fiery finale.

Watching that scene, Riche muttered,

“I did it…”

And then she collapsed, leaving just that one line.

 

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