In the forest.
We stood facing earth-colored Land Dragons, which were crashing toward us, sweeping aside and crushing trees.
Huge front legs.
A massive head.
In contrast, their lower bodies looked small compared to their upper halves.
The Land Dragon I had seen in the First Generation's memory room was gray, but these ones here were earth-colored and seemed a step smaller.
I sent the adventurers who had guided us back, and we were now fighting multiple Land Dragons—four of them.
I held Saber in my right hand while checking the surrounding situation.
"Aria and Miranda seem to be handling things over there. May, Eva, and Clara are fine too. Novem and Monica... didn't look worried from the start, so they're probably okay."
We had split into four parties, each dealing with a Land Dragon. Four of them meant they could have coordinated to defeat many adventurers and knights.
Their movements showed signs of coordination, and they certainly felt troublesome.
Behind me, Shannon was—
"You could have just stayed at Porter's! Why did you drag me along too!"
—wailing loudly.
I hadn't wanted to bring her, but Miranda insisted. She seemed to think that if Shannon gained some experience, something might change.
Shannon possessed Mystic Eyes, but she wasn't the type for direct combat. She tried to come off as an intellectual type who pulled strings from the shadows.
That intellectual facade had completely peeled away, and now she was treated more like the party's mascot.
(Mascots... Between Monica and Shannon, I guess Shannon is the mascot?)
As I was thinking that, the Land Dragon before me looked upward, seemingly about to roar. It might be trying to coordinate with its companions.
In the dense, dark forest, the only open ground was where the Land Dragon had rampaged.
Once you entered the forest, it was easy to find. I just hadn't been told there were four of them.
"Let me shut you up before my ears start bleeding. Lightning!"
I aimed my left arm at the Land Dragon, and purple lightning crackled forth, striking the creature's head dead-on. The power had increased since before—the Land Dragon lurched violently and took a step back.
Shannon called from behind.
"Keep blasting it! That's how you win!"
Obviously, that's how you'd win. But the way I currently was—
"Lyle, don't forget to issue commands to the others while you fight."
"See? May and the others look like they're struggling. Clara's just standing around waiting for orders."
"Keep your eyes on the whole field. If you can't give fine-tuned commands, broad ones are fine. Get a read on the situation around you, then relay it through your Skills."
"You'll need to train yourself as a commander from now on, too. Well, this is a good opponent for it. Do your best, Lyle."
I wouldn't exactly call a Land Dragon a good opponent, but with our current strength, we could handle even four of them.
We had the firepower for it, but fighting the enemy in front of me while simultaneously issuing commands to allies was difficult. On top of that, my companions were fighting in separate locations.
I pressed my left hand to my ear in a deliberate gesture and checked on the status of my allies fighting elsewhere.
Having confirmed the situation, I issued my orders.
"Clara, small fry are closing in from all around. Hand May's support over to Eva, and don't let those small fry get close."
"Yes!"
Clara drew the pistol from the holster at her waist and took aim toward the direction the Monsters were approaching from. The pistol she'd received from Vera was smaller than mine but easy to handle.
"Miranda, don't push it over there—restrain them first, then strike. Once you've got room to breathe, head over to provide support."
"Hmm, I think it'll be over before that, though."
Checking the situation through Miranda's vision, I could see a Land Dragon immobilized by Miranda's new Skills.
It looked like a Land Dragon whose movements had been sealed by a massive web of threads, desperately struggling to shake off the sticky strands clinging to its body.
Meanwhile, Aria was slashing away at the Land Dragon, chipping away at its thick hide.
"...I see. Then this is the last one. Monica... Novem... you two fight properly."
Realizing Miranda's side was also under control, I turned my attention to check on Novem and the others. In the meantime, the Land Dragon before me was keeping its distance, wary of me.
I drove the Saber into the ground, drew the pistol from the holster at my lower back, and fired the black handgun at the Land Dragon. The bullet missed the Land Dragon's massive body and struck a tree behind it.
Behind me, Shannon was covering her mouth.
"...Pfft!"
She was stifling her laughter.
Then, from the others linked up with us—
"Lyle, did you even practice? Stop trying to look cool and get your act together!"
I could hear Aria's irritated voice, so I switched my focus and gave instructions to Novem and the others.
"Monica, coordinate properly."
"It's a bit late to be telling me that now... Besides, I have complaints about this formation. What do you mean I'm stuck with the vixen? This Monica can't unleash her full power unless I'm next to the Chicken!"
As for Novem—
"Monica, could you hold them down for me? I'll be using magic."
Her tone was utterly carefree.
From the Third Generation, I was told there was a problem with my personnel placement.
"Lyle, you need to be more careful with your formation. Novem's position has too much combat power. You should have left only Monica there and had Novem provide support elsewhere or back you up instead."
The Fourth Generation agreed as well, but—
"It splitting the party into four was a bit much, wasn't it? Three groups would've been fine, or even two — each hunting down targets on their own."
While the critiques kept rolling in, I finished giving my orders and, still holding the pistol in my right hand, grabbed the Saber with my left and pulled it from the ground.
"If it won't hit from a distance, then just get closer!"
I kicked off the ground and closed the distance to the Land Dragon, then at point-blank range, I leveled the pistol at it and pulled the trigger.
The bullet struck the Land Dragon's tough hide, and with a decent amount of force, it punched through. However, for a creature as massive as the Land Dragon, the wound was barely significant.
It swung its massive foreleg to swat me away, so I leaped into the air, hurled the Saber, and embedded it straight into the creature's left eye.
I landed and circled to the Land Dragon's left side to stay out of its remaining line of sight, then raised the pistol and aimed for the right eye.
One shot. Two.
The stray bullets struck the Land Dragon's brutal lower jaw but failed to penetrate.
(If I used the Second Generation's Skill at the same time, it would probably hit, but...)
I was firing without using any Skills for practice purposes, and as a result, nothing connected.
The Fifth Generation observed the damage while commenting.
*"No wonder it won't catch on. The power is too underwhelming. Even for a dragon variant, if it's this ineffective, nobody's going to pay top coin to get their hands on one. And sure, it's simpler than a bow, but think about how much training you'd need to use it properly... Guns are a no-go after all."*
The Seventh Generation pushed back against that opinion.
*"You're not utilizing it as a Mana Tool! If you could harness it as one, the output would be much greater!"*
The problem was that its Skills interfered with the Jewel's Skills, making it fundamentally incompatible as a Mana Tool. As a plain pistol it worked fine, but if I wanted to use it with a Mana Tool's Skills, I had to disable the Jewel's Skills first.
The Fourth Generation chimed in as well.
*"Isn't it a non-starter from the get-go? I can see it being convenient to have around, but this... I wouldn't rush to stock up on them."*
Finally, I closed in and crushed the Land Dragon's eyes, then leaped backward and holstered the pistol.
I raised both hands.
"Thunderclap!"
Lightning crashed down from the sky. Shannon was trembling violently, hiding behind a tree.
The lightning struck home, and a charred stench rose from the Land Dragon as it slowly toppled over.
The Third Generation assessed my combat performance.
"A powerful magic strike after blinding it... not bad, but against a tough opponent, Laiel really doesn't have many offensive options, does she?"
If I used the Jewel and brought out the greatsword, the fight would be over right away. But having that as my only option was a problem.
The greatsword, the bow, and the halberd all consumed enormous amounts of mana.
The current reality was that if I ran into a strong enemy while low on mana, I'd have no choice but to flee. Of course, with companions around, that scenario was unlikely.
The Fifth Generation offered a simple solution.
"Weapons, that's what it comes down to. For Laiel, Mana Tools are a poor match. Thinking about it, all you need are a few sturdy weapons without Skills. Some can even cut through iron in their base state. The time has come to get your hands on weapons like that."
When the Fifth Generation said that, the Fourth Generation also nodded in agreement. Apparently, they had been concerned about the mass consumption of mass-produced items for some time now.
"I do go through Sabers like they're disposable. Looking ahead, I should probably get some proper quality blades and think about cost performance."
It was probably time to acquire such weapons, both in terms of capability and finances.
I turned around and called out to Shannon.
"Shannon, the fight should be wrapping up elsewhere soon. Hold your position here until then."
I had considered going to help, but the battles at other locations were nearing their end as well.
Shannon came over to where I stood.
"...Big sister defeating a Dragon. I never could have imagined that back in the day. How did she end up like that?"
I looked at Shannon, who was feeling down, and—
"It's all your fault."
So saying, they waited for everyone to gather. And just then—
They turned their gaze toward the surroundings, specifically the areas that seemed suspicious. Shannon glanced at me, then looked in the same direction and narrowed her eyes.
There was no reaction from any Skills. No—there was too little of a reaction.
The Fifth Generation spoke, looking slightly tense.
*"Can't our Skills detect them? No, do they have a Skill that prevents detection? Layel, stay on guard."*
As Shannon and I watched in that direction, the other party seemed to grow cautious and put distance between them.
Shannon tilted her head.
"They were sticking out like a sore thumb all around us. Did they really think they were hiding?"
She tilted her head and followed the fleeing group with her eyes.
—Miranda was looking at the Skill[Wire Net]she had strung between the trees.
Even if they were called a sub-species of Dragon, a Land Dragon's power was nothing to scoff at. That Land Dragon had been ensnared by sticky threads, and Aria sat atop its head, out of breath.
Blood streamed from its neck, forming a pool on the ground below.
Miranda kept watch over the surroundings.
"That was quite the wild display. You were like a hero out of some story, Aria."
Aria wiped the spatter from her hand with a look of distaste at Miranda's beaming smile.
"Thanks for that. More importantly, has there been any contact from Layel..."
Just then, both of them apparently heard Layel's voice, and they let out sighs.
Miranda checked the surroundings.
"Doesn't sound like anyone needed our help after all."
Aria climbed down from the head and stood on the ground, then turned back to look at the Land Dragon's body still tangled in threads.
"Well, we didn't need any help over here, but it sounds like nobody else did either. And speaking of which, Miranda's Skills are pretty brutal, aren't they?"
Miranda, never one to let her smile fade, returned Aria's remark with a grin.
"Thanks. Aria's Skills are pretty bold and cool too, you know."
They traded barbs as they checked their equipment, then made their way back to Lyle's side.
With the information obtained through Lyle's Skills already confirmed in their minds, the two pressed into the forest without hesitation——
——A small girl kicked away the massive front leg of a Land Dragon with her own tiny, slender foot.
May twisted her body mid-air, then kicked the charging Land Dragon's head upward.
Despite the absurd difference in their sizes, it looked as though the Land Dragon was the one being toyed with.
"Ugh, it'd be so much easier if I could use my Kirin form, but Lyle won't let me."
May landed on the ground, extended her right arm to the side, and summoned a Kirin horn from the palm of her hand.
She swung the horn at the charging Land Dragon, and one of its enormous arms went flying.
Eva watched this unfold while drawing her bow.
"Hey, could you hurry it up?! I'm dealing with other Monsters over here too, you know!"
She had been shooting arrows through frog-like Monsters that got too close.
Clara was also handling Monsters of her own, testing out the gun she had just received.
May glanced over at the scene.
"I'm keeping them here so they don't wander off to your side. Besides, we've got the most people over here, so just deal with it."
Once she confirmed that Lyle's group had finished their fight as well, May flicked her right hand and severed the Land Dragon's head.
The Land Dragon crumpled without splattering her with blood, and as she climbed onto its back, something twitched and turned toward her.
Lyle's Skills hadn't detected it, but May's five senses were telling her something was there.
When she turned her gaze, the other party had stopped moving and was slowly retreating.
May looked at Eva.
"Hey, can you shoot an arrow over there for me?"
However, Eva was busy dealing with other Monsters, or perhaps it was impossible.
"I can't! Instead of that, lend a hand over here!"
May was curious, but the presence was moving away, so she figured it could wait for now and dashed over to where Eva and Clara were.
Then, Clara spoke.
"Wait. ...Lyle-san said to be wary of our surroundings. We should try to stay close together and not get separated. There seems to be something out there that can't be detected with Skills."
While opening the cylinder of her gun and swapping out bullets, Clara spoke.
Her movements were somewhat unfamiliar, and she fumbled a bit.
Eva scanned the surroundings, listened intently, then drew an arrow from her quiver and took aim.
"Seriously? Even Lyle can't detect it? Guess you really can't rely on Skills too much."
Then, Eva released an arrow toward the sound she heard.
Even though there was nothing there, when the arrow was swatted aside, all three of them instantly raised their guard.
May stepped forward, positioning herself to protect the other two.
"It's not a Monster, is it? Maybe it's a human?"
As the three stood back-to-back on alert, the presence retreated away...
Meanwhile, Monika was looking down at the crushed Land Dragon, her giant hammer resting on the ground.
It had been frozen in place by Novem's magic, and then Monika had circled around and brought the giant hammer crashing down on it.
The lower half was in terrible shape, but since even this would fetch a high price, Monika felt relieved about the household finances.
"Well, that easily clears our target amount. Still, I can't accept being grouped together with that vixen. I'm someone who shines brightest when devoting myself to Chicken! My ideal position as a supporting character is diagonally behind Chicken!"
Watching the noisy Monika, Novem gave a wry smile.
But when she heard Lyle's voice, she tilted her head to listen.
Seeing that, Monika looked envious.
"Damn it… He kissed me on the ship, but the moment things went back to normal, he pulled away saying he didn't need me anymore. Haa, when is the next fever time going to be?"
A Connection line was already established between Lyle and Monika, so she no longer needed a kiss to use her skill—Connection.
Disappointed by that, Monika envied the other members.
"If that's how it's going to be, I'll gradually increase her calorie intake a little each day and make her suffer over her weight."
Grinning wickedly at her nasty idea, Monika suddenly widened her crimson eyes and readied her giant hammer.
She released her left hand from the grip of the handle, drew a small knife from her sleeve, and hurled it at the spot that had caught her attention.
Monika's eyes had locked onto something that even Lyle hadn't been able to perceive.
Novem readied her staff and aimed toward where Monika had thrown the knife—.
"Earth Hand!"
A restraining arm of earth erupted from the ground and surged toward the invisible enemy. Monika's knife hung suspended in midair, as though it had stabbed into something. It floated in the air, with red blood streaming down.
Then, slowly, both the knife and the red blood faded away.
The Earth Hand had been conjured through magic, but it was suddenly torn to shreds in midair.
Seeing this, Novem scanned her surroundings.
"…There you are."
"Vixen, fall back!"
Monika called out, but Novem didn't retreat.
Novem changed the shape of her staff into a large scythe and caught the invisible enemy's attack. Surprised by this, the opponent withdrew immediately.
Monika moved to give chase, but Lyle ordered her not to pursue, so she stopped in her tracks.
Novem watched the retreating enemy's back as it vanished into the forest—.
"Damn it! There was too much information, and keeping the search active ended up backfiring."
Once the others had gathered, I used Connection to cut off the link and switched to the Sixth Generation's Skill—Real Spec—to observe the surrounding situation.
It was difficult to make out, but there were definitely multiple red responses in the area.
For anyone unaccustomed to it, Real Spec's information load was too much to process. It caused headaches and put a strain on the user, which was why I hadn't employed it.
I couldn't activate it mid-battle and risk hindering the fight, so I had no choice but to wait until the others arrived.
Miranda looked at me and asked what we would do from here.
"Are you going to be okay? I don't think we'll lose, but it took us a good chunk of time just to reach this forest. We can't exactly afford to spend more time chasing them around."
I considered what purpose the enemy might have had in attacking us.
(Could this be Ceres's doing? Did she or someone in her circle send assassins after us? But this is Cartafus. If she wanted to get rid of me, Baim would have been the more efficient choice.)
My thoughts wouldn't come together, so I surveyed the area.
"The Monsters in this forest have started getting restless. Once we finish collecting materials, let's head back to the Guild. We can't afford to waste any more time on something that doesn't look like it'll pay."
It stung, but we simply didn't have the luxury of giving chase.
Besides, all the enemy was doing was probing us.
Within the Jewel, the Third Generation agreed with my assessment.
"There's no time, so we can't afford to push further. But if they come at us again, we'll have to deal with it. nighttime might be tricky."
I immediately decided to set a night watch.
—In a location away from the forest, Lark was pulling the knife embedded in his arm.
"That woman... my Skills were completely useless against her. Seriously, I should've picked a different group to attack. Should've killed the man first."
The astute adventurers known as Novem and the others observed keenly.
Originally, the goal was to gauge the enemy's strength, but Lark couldn't help himself and reached out. However, he was detected during his approach and repelled.
A female companion of the group came forward and apologized to Lark.
"I am truly sorry. We had no idea that someone with a detection Skill would be nearby..."
"No, thanks to that, I want her even more. I don't need that man, but the rest are top-tier. There was one woman in particular who didn't seem fazed, though. If she's strong enough, I wouldn't mind keeping her by my side."
All of them were clad in expensive robes, and those robes had Skills engraved upon them.
They were Mana Tools imbued with detection Skills and the ability to render the wearer invisible.
"Lark, please let me treat your wounds."
Lark showed his injured arm to a woman skilled in healing magic, while glaring at the woman who had created the Mana Tools.
"Hey—those Mana Tools you made actually worked, didn't they?"
The woman nodded repeatedly, terrified of Lark's anger.
"I—I'm sorry. B-but... since you were able to get close, the effect must have worked. Th—they're my original Mana Tools, so they shouldn't be known to the general public—I'm sure of it."
Lark shifted his gaze from the trembling woman toward the forest, then looked at his arm. The wound had closed, leaving no trace.
"...I was hoping I could charm even one or two of them with my Skills, but no such luck. Should've gone after the daughter of the Trace family instead. Damn! I just wasted my time."
Lark cursed under his breath. He had been observing Lyre's group up close to gauge their strength. The moment he realized he couldn't win in a head-on confrontation, he decided to charm one or two of them and pull them away.
A Skill that charmed the opposite sex—[Charm].
Possessing this Skill, Lark held a considerable advantage over women.
However, even this Charm had its limits.
It could attract a woman's attention to a degree, but if he truly wanted to make her his own, he needed to use a second-stage Skill—[Temptation].
However, Temptation also had a drawback — once used, it couldn't be activated again for a while.
"…She's not the type to fall for the same trick twice. I should withdraw here. If I could have snatched some Land Dragon materials, I might have earned an audience with Ludmilla, but no matter."
The women around him had been listening to Lark's words with dreamy expressions.
The Skill woven into his robe had lost its effect, and when Lark cast it off, several of them scrambled to grab it.
Lark, with a massive black greatsword slung across his back, muttered—
"Well, a chance will come eventually. I just need to be patient until then… until I become king of this country. Once I have Ludmilla, the rest is mine."
Lark began walking toward the horse he had tethered, and the women started following him —.
——Inside the Jewel.
Four people gathered around the round table, thinking about the attackers who had appeared and their objectives.
The Third Generation, Fourth Generation, Fifth Generation, and Seventh Generation were making predictions about their opponents.
'From my perspective, based on the information Lyle obtained, it's likely that young adventurer, isn't it?'
The others nodded at the Third Generation's opinion. The Fourth Generation removed his glasses and began wiping the lenses.
'That's probably right. They possess some kind of Skill that charms people. Though I get the impression it only works on the opposite sex.'
The Fifth Generation, even knowing this, didn't seem interested in the young adventurer herself.
'Did they act on Ceres's orders, or did those around Ceres act on their own? If it's a lone operator, that would make things simpler.'
The Seventh Generation spoke with irritation.
'If we had time, we'd crush them without hesitation. After all, there was that troublesome adventurer Cartafus too. I believe we should eliminate this threat early, don't you?'
More than troublesome, the Skill was simply too dangerous. And the person wielding it was, by any measure, a dangerous individual.
Those who wanted Cartafus's cooperation were thinking of ways to remove this thorn in their side.
'The problem is we don't have evidence this time. Even if Lyle dealt with them, it would become an issue. We need to obtain some kind of proof, but —'
As soon as the Third Generation said that much, the sound of a door opening echoed from within the Jewel — from the Round Table room.
Every pair of eyes turned to scan the surroundings. Everyone was already present here. The idea that someone's Memory Room door could open was unthinkable.
Then, four gazes shifted toward Lyle's Memory Room.
A single woman stepped out from within.
It was not Ceres. The woman was older than Ceres, appearing to be in her twenties. The first to react was the Fifth Generation, who rose from his chair, laid eyes on her, and went wide-eyed.
"...Mireia. Why are you here?"
Seeing the Fifth Generation break into a sweat, the remaining three stood and heightened their vigilance. Meanwhile, the woman — with long, wavy hair of pale purple and golden eyes — let her gaze drift across each of them.
Dressed in white, she lifted the hem of her skirt and offered a graceful bow.
Mireia Walt — or rather, Mireia Circly — was not the owner of the Jewel belonging to House Walt.
Her presence here made no sense.
Mireia spoke.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Third Generation Slay, Fourth Generation Marks, and Seventh Generation Broad. And, it has been quite some time, Father."
She bore a resemblance to Miranda.
Yet her aura was more mature and composed than Miranda's. Moreover, those golden eyes were the same kind of Magic Eyes that Shannon possessed.
"My name is Mireia... Mireia Walt. I am the guide who was summoned because the room's owner, Lyle, refuses to come inside. It seems I was chosen as the most suitable candidate among the members of House Walt."
Every Successive Head inside the Jewel was, without exception, an existence born of memory. They possessed will, but their souls were not sealed within.
The same held true for Mireia, who now stood before the four of them. The real Mireia was dead, and what remained was nothing more than a memory.
But that was precisely what made this strange. Mireia had never once touched the Jewel — not once, not even back when it had been a blue stone.
The Seventh Generation spoke up.
"A guide, you say? Coming out of a Memory Room? That's simply not..."
Leaving the bewildered Successive Heads behind, Mireia spoke with a smile.
"Lyle needs to know everything. That is the Jewel's will. We can't keep leaving things unattended forever."
When Mireia declared that this was the Jewel's will, the Successive Heads grew even more confused.
The Third Generation murmured.
"The Jewel's will, you say? What on earth—"
Mireia (*^_^*) "It came out~"
Fifth Generation (; °Д°) "O-Oh?"
Fourth Generation (; -@∀@) "W-Wait, the bride!? My bride isn't going to come out, right!? Right!?"
??? |д°) *peeks* "It came~"
......Yes.
And with that, Chapter 10 comes to a close.
Chapter 10 was a bit half-baked, wasn't it? I was writing while kind of aimless, and before I knew it, things had gotten weird.
I actually wanted to answer questions from the comments section in an activity report too, but that's difficult right now, so I'll prioritize updates instead.
As for my reflections on Chapter 10, maybe it was the odd lull in feedback before Lyle-kun showed up? I can't help but worry about whether I met expectations.
Starting next time, Chapter 11... If I can't think of a chapter title, I might just go ahead without one.
Well then, let's meet again in Chapter 11! ~*wave*~