After a very sincere and honest discussion about what happened last night, Reina let me off the hook.
But it is true that once, for just a second, I pictured her naked from the presence I felt while she took a bath.
That kind of conduct is very bad when a guy and a girl are living together, especially in such a closed-off space.
Especially since I can overwhelm other people with my power, and push Reina back without intending to do so at all.
It’s only natural for her to think I’m scary.
“That’s why I think I should be living in my own tent.”
“You don’t have to go that far. I trust you, and if anything like that were to happen, it would have happened already.”
Reina flatly shoots down my proposal.
I’m glad I have her trust, but she should look after herself more.
It reminds me of how strangely lightly dressed she is when she goes to take a bath. Is she just not very shy?
She was embarrassed and her face turned red when I saw her naked, but…
“Ill desires be gone!”
“Wai!? What are you thinking, punching your face like that all of a sudden!?”
“…Sorry I scared you. It’s all right, I’m not hurt or anything.”
A punch from me at full power can send a super giant boar flying, but my body is invincible to begin with, so I don’t get hurt.
But I do feel an incredible impact on my brain that sends those evil thoughts flying.
“Good grief, doing something like that all of a sudden is obviously going to scare me. And that separate tent idea is rejected. We don’t have another tent to begin with.”
“…Yes.”
The ones she gave Xellos and Merlin yesterday were her last ones.
They didn’t want to sleep in the same tent, so they took two, but I think we could solve this for the time being if I stayed in the same one as Xellos.
But Reina says no, and says she wants me to stay here.
“It sounds a little pathetic, but…”
Reina’s face turns a little red before she speaks.
“I’m not confident that I can survive on this island without you. I put up a barrier at night, but it probably wouldn’t do a lot against the strong beasts of this island, and I would never be able to sleep well thinking about it.”
“Ah…”
“Monsters won’t get close if you’re here, so…”
I finally understand what she means.
I’m basically anti-mosquito incense.
It’s true, other than when we first got here, monsters don’t come near me.
It’s like the fact that a tremendous monster has appeared on this island and his smell or something has spread throughout all the monsters living here.
Because of this, even when I go out to hunt, they notice me right away and run.
But of course, there aren’t any monsters faster than me, so by the time I see them, they’re already toast.
Anyway, if me being here means she can sleep well, I’ll gladly be her anti-mosquito incense.
“You’ve done a lot for me, so if that’s how it is, it’s fine by me.”
“…I’m glad to hear that.”
And I’m glad to see Reina looking happy and relieved.
I was thinking she might be mad at me for what happened last night.
“Anyway, let’s keep on doing our best together, Reina.”
“Yes, let’s, Arata.”
It’s past noon by the time this is over, and I go walk in the forest to patrol around the tent. It’s like I’m emphasizing that this is my turf, and monsters shouldn’t get close.
“Ah, that’s right. I wonder how Xellos and Merlin are doing.”
I suddenly remember the new people that arrived on this island yesterday, and walk towards the river.
There I see two tents that are not as big as the military tent Reina and I share, but are still more than enough for a single person to live.
I also see Merlin creating a giant dragon by scooping a lot of water from the river all at once, and Xellos ready for battle in a bloodcurdling pose.
“Wai!?”
I rush out of the forest, wondering just exactly what is going on, and see Elga and Luna are there too.
“Ou, Arata.”
“Ah, mister! We came to visit.”
“Ah, yes… You’re full of energy as always, Luna. By the way…”
I look at Merlin and Xellos, who are glaring at the other two and ready to fight at any moment. Their expressions look haggard, like they’re saying ‘give me a break already’.
“What’s going on here?”
Let’s just examine the situation with a cool head. I ask Elga, and he scratches his head while muttering that he doesn’t even know how to explain. Then he starts talking.
“We were just goin’ to your place like always, and then we sensed a smell we haven’t felt before. Then Luna took off runnin’, and here we are.”
I see…”
I look at Luna, and it’s clear she has no idea what’s going on.
And so, I look at the other two, thinking that this situation will be resolved once I explain to them what’s going on.
Both look very tense, and clearly scared.
“Hm… What do I do?”
Apparently they both noticed me, but neither is letting their guard down.
They did yesterday, but this might be an instinctual thing.
“Xellos! Merlin! It’s all right, these two aren’t dangerous or anything!”
“…!?”
“That’s definitely a lie! How can something discharge that monstrous magic energy and not be dangerous!?”
I raise my hands a little far away and yell, to emphasize that I’m not going to hurt them, but they’re not listening.
Then I notice that their eyes are on Luna, not me.
“Hey, it looks like they’re wary of you, Luna. Did you do something?”
“Eh? Luna didn’t do anything.”
“I see… Did you hear that!? She says she didn’t do anything!”
“But it feels like she’s about to do something dangerous!”
Says Xellos. Good grief, they’re not letting their guard down at all.
Xellos looks like he has a rough temper, not helped by that mood in the air, but I figured Merlin was the type to listen.
But she still has that water dragon she made with water from the river, and doesn’t show any signs of letting her guard down.
“Hn, now what?”
At least I figured out that they’re not letting their guard down because of Luna, so the situation would probably resolve itself if she left.
But I’m also hesitant to chase Luna away, if she did nothing wrong.
“Ah…”
“Oh?”
“Hn?”
That was Luna, Elga, and then me.
We all noticed a powerful being approaching from the sky.
The thing spreading its big wings and looking down at us is a monster that’s like a giant chicken.
I’ve never seen this one before, but with its wings spread, it easily goes over ten meters.
“What’s that?”
“A shantak bird! Yay!”
Luna answers my question with a happy tone. If she’s that happy, its meat must be tasty.
Xellos and Merlin notice that we’re all looking up, and their eyes almost pop out of their sockets when they see the giant bird.
“W-what is thaaaaat!?”
“Wai, wai, wait!? Is this a joke!? How are monsters worse than a hellfire dragon appearing one after the other!?”
Maybe it sensed the fear in their voices, but the shantak bird is flying straight towards them.
I guess it knows who here is ‘prey’.
“Ku… Don’t underestimate the fifth seat of the seven great mages, Holy Water Merlin!”
“Uoooooo! I’m Extinguishing Fire Xellos Grinder, the sixth seat of the seven great mages! I’ll burn you to a crisp, monster!”
…Is it written in their laws that the seven great mages have to introduce themselves like that?
I get the feeling that Reina did something like that too the first time we came across a monster.
Both fire magic at the same time, and a water dragon and a powerful flame tempest assault the shantak.
But it magnificently twists its body to evade them, and continues to fly towards them.
“What!?”
“What are those movements!?”
As they’re both taken aback and the shantak draws near, I finally come to my senses.
“I shouldn’t just be watching!”
My sense of danger is pretty dull, probably because my body can’t be hurt by most attacks, but regular humans can’t take an attack like that and be fine.
But before I start rushing that way, a shadow runs by me.
“Meaaaaaaat!”
“Gugyaaaaaaaa!?”
Luna gets close to it in a second, jumps at the shantak, and I don’t know what she’s doing to it, but it’s screaming in pain.
The dull sounds I hear here and there tell me she’s hitting it, but the shantak also screams when I don’t hear that, so what’s going on?
Anyway, the difference in their mass means Luna is completely gone from my sight, and all I see is the monster struggling.
And then, after some time, the shantak falls limply on the ground, and breathes its last breath.
“It’s Luna’s meat!”
Says Luna with a big smile on her face, looking for praise.
Xellos and Merlin are looking at her with blank looks on their faces, but at least it’s not fear.
“Yes. I guess it worked out in the end.”
“Did it?”
Elga doesn’t sound convinced, but I just tell myself that this is how the world works and that’s that.
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