Chapter 55: Do Tricksters Feel Fear?

Just as I raised a shout in front of the hoard of spiders, I heard a pitiable scream.

「Uwaa! H-Help!」

「Leader!」

「Big bro[1]!」

Adventurer A was already released, and B rushed forward in a panic.

Hmm. It appears that Clad’s been wound up with thread, rendered to a state that he’d probably be dragged into the cobwebs. Rather than being Poisoned, he’s been Paralyzed. He’s in quite a pinch.

『Shall we help? Urushi, to the Adventurers.』

「Onn」

「Nn. ――Fire・Arrow!」

Magic is cast to burns down the spider’s cobwebs, but…

「Achichichi! Hot!」

The flames streamed down the thread, coiling around Clad himself as well. His hair might get a bit singed, but he won’t die.

「AOOoooooon!」

With that Urushi unleashed jet black arrows, defeating the spiders surrounding the Adventurers. I don’t know if the spiders are intelligent enough to consciously feel fear, but after witnessing Urushi’s strength they edged back.

Well, the reactions of the Adventurers was more terrible, though.

「Uwaaa!」

「W-What the hell is this guy?!」

「Hii! This magic power is…!」

「A-an Onyx Wolf?」

「Idiot! This is way stronger!」

「I di’n hear anythin’ ’bout this!」

「Damn it…! Everyone calm down!」

They had just been struggling against Rank E Demonic Beasts, so it’s understandable that they’d fall into a panic when something of a higher rank appeared in front of them.

「No, wait! Amanda’s over there!」

「An’ on its back, ain’t that the lil’ lady?!」

「Ehh?」

They seem to have noticed somehow or another. With this, we won’t have to worry about Cruz jumping out and attacking. Alright, as for our arch-nemesis the Trickster Spider――

「Bleed out and die!」

*DoGASHK*

「This is the consequence of doing such a terrible thing to Fran!」

Amanda’s whip was breaking the Trickster Spider into pieces. Its Magic Stone was being shattered, too.

Well, of course it’d be an instant kill. Trickster Spiders are only Threat Level C due to how troublesome they are with the Trap Remodeling Skill, right? In terms of status, they’re closer to Threat Level D. Still, to be finished off so easily…

『Eh ―― Ms. Amanda…?』

「Eh?」

I sent Telepathy to Amanda unintentionally.

「Ah!」

Turning in place, Amanda’s has an expression of ‘I really did it now!’ plastered on her face.

I had told her about my ability to absorb Magic Stones only a short while ago. In fact, didn’t she promise to give us the Trickster Spider’s Magic Stone? Wasn’t it something like an unspoken agreement? No, maybe it was foolish to believe her carefree ‘I’ll hand it over~’?

In that case, I, who didn’t make her promise properly, am in the wrong…

「W-Well, now we can take out the rest of the spiders!」

She’s trying to gloss it over!

「Right, Fran!」

… It can’t be helped. We should give priority to exterminating the other spiders for now.

「Nn, let’s do it.」

「Grruuuu!」

『In that case, let’s make them feel the true meaning of despair!』

As a barrage of Fire Magic is immediately released, the frenzied dance of Magic began.

Amanda’s Wind Magic cut down the spiders on the ceiling together with their nests, Urushi’s Dark Magic skewered the spiders to the walls, and our Fire Magic burnt down the spiders over wide areas. Even Frion participated, binding the spiders in place by wrapping ivy coils around their bodies.

The best part, however, was when Amanda used Storm Magic on the ceiling, finishing off all the spiders all at once. Perhaps this is Amanda being serious? The magic didn’t affect the Adventurers at all… It was perfectly under control.

「As expected of Amanda.」

「Ohー? I was praised by Fran!」

Her bashful figure in response to being praised doesn’t seem strong at all, though.

Once we finished, what was left of the spiders was littered across the floor. Although they’re quite tattered, there should be usable materials here and there. Magic Stones should also be scattered about.

『Urushi, look for Magic Stones.』

「Auf」

At the very least I have to secure a Magic Stone from a Trick Spider, so I asked Urushi to reserve a couple of them for me. Urushi, who has a good nose, found them one after another.

Moreover, it’s stowing away them inside of the shadows. It’s an application of Shadow Lurk, most likely. How convenient.

「You two, um, er… That wolf…」

Cruz and the others approach cautiously. They made it out alive, but it seems that some of them are in pain. The Poison in their bodies must have started taking effect.

『Fran.』

「Nn. ――Antidote! Anti・Paralyze!」

「Ooh…! We’re saved!」

Frion sat down on the spot, probably out of relief. There was even a guy who started crying. Well, it’s good that no one ended up dying.

「So, this fellow… Is it possibly an Onyx Wolf?」

「Different. Darkness Wolf.」

「Ehh?」

「This is the first one I’ve seen!」

「Seriously…?」

So noisy. Well, it’s a rare Demonic Beast that even Amanda hadn’t seen before, but…

「Miss Fran?」

「Nn.」

「I’ve never seen such a strong Summon before… Rather, Isn’t it a bit strange that you’re only Rank D if you can summon this?」

Frion’s eyes shine while he watches Urushi, seemingly losing his inner battle against his curiosity. Perhaps he’s a researcher-type?

Anyways, doesn’t it stick out a bit too much? We’ll attract too much attention when we get back to town… And whether it could even stay in an inn is questionable.

Truth be told, I’ve tried to un-summon Urushi, but it doesn’t look like it’s possible. It seems that it’s the type of summon that simply remains summoned.

Also on that note, with normal Summoning, magic is consumed so long as the Summon is around. In this case, however, magic was only consumed during the Summoning process. I’m quite thankful for that.

『Urushi. Using Shadow Lurk, can you hide in Fran’s shadow?』

（Ohn）

After responding via Telepathy, Urushi sinks into Fran’s shadow. Ohh, it was instantaneous. Furthermore, there’s no sign of it at all. Because I have the Sorcery Skill I can just barely identify its presence, but it would be extremely difficult for lower-ranked Adventurers to notice.

『When it town, can you possibly remain inside her shadow?』

「Kuu……」

『No good?』

「Onn」

『It’s just that you’d stick out a bit too much in town. It’s possible that you’ll be attacked on sight, you know?』

「Ouu…」

Urushi’s ears lay flat with a *petan*, making what seems to be a sad expression. Muu… Even if you make a face like that, it’s not like you were forced into her shadow.

（Teacher, a plea from me as well.）

『No, but that’s…』

（No good?）

（Ohnon?）

How sly! Having four round eyes directed at me is no fair! To the people in the surroundings, this is only a strange scene of a man and beast staring at one another, though.

「Oon!」

『What? Did you detect something?』

「Aooooon」

Ohh? With its howl, Urushi began shrinking! Within seconds it became the size of a common large-sized dog.

『Is this perhaps the Shapeshift Skill? I had thought that it was a Skill that allowed its user to change its form to another Demonic Beast…』

「On, oon」

「Kyaーa! It became so small! It’s so cute! Ahh, I want one too!」

No no, it’s small if you compare its size from a minute ago, but it’s still plenty large… Well, if it’s like this, maybe it’s tolerable for town?

『Haa… It can’t be helped. Can you retain this form when we’re in town?』

「Onn!」

（Thank you Teacher. With this I can mofumofu[2] Urushi all the time.）

Fran, was that your reason for pleading with me…? Well, I want to mofumofu Urushi as well, you know!

A-Anyways, there’s no helping it. I’m the one who summoned it, so I have to take care of it properly. When the time comes, should we take it out on walks? On that note, I guess there’s no real need for a leash? Hm… It’s really turned into the feeling of having a pet dog, huh.

「Best regards mofumo– Urushi.」

「Oon?」

[1] Adventurer B shouts out ‘クラッドの兄貴’ or ‘Clad-aniki’. Because I’ve been fully changing the text to English and simply ignoring honorific titles (while sometimes mentioning them in Footnotes), putting in -aniki here would be out of place. Thus the translation.

[2] Since there was a chapter that had ‘mofumofu’ in the title, I’m not sure if this needs mentioning, but… ‘mofumofu’ (モフモフ) is literally ‘soft to the touch’, but in context it essentially means ‘cuddle’. It can also be used as a sound effect which is why, to my understanding, it’s used as an onomatopoeia regardless of context.

Still, because I’ve been fully translating the text to English, I’m willing to change it if that’s desired. Leave a comment.