After a week of shaking in the wagon, there’s trouble.
As I read one of the magic books I’ve been too busy to read lately, I suddenly hear noise outside.
What happened?
I’m currently in the wagon with a male swordsman and a female mage, who look like a couple to me. They’re a bit younger than me, probably around sixteen years old.
The swordsman is Mars, and the mage is Lela. They introduced themselves when they sat down.
Incidentally, I introduced myself as Loyd. We’re probably not going to see each other again, and using a fake name here might come back to bite me later.
But it’s different now that there’s trouble. The fact that I carelessly used my real name restricts what I can do a lot.
I think it’ll be fine, but I should do what I can to not draw attention to myself.
And so, I keep reading my book, hoping this couple will handle it.
The girl also realizes something isn’t right, and looks outside, before letting out a high-pitched yell.
“What’s wrong Lela!?”
“M-M-M-M-Mars!? It’s a Dead End!!”
“W-what!?”
Mars leans out the window to look.
“Gegeh, seriously? A Dead End? It really isn’t our lucky day.”
“What do we do Mars? Are we all going to get killed?”
“You idiot! Don’t give up before you fight! I’ll protect you even if it means losing my life!”
“Mars… I love you!”
Dammit, all this youthful flirting, even forgetting that I’m here too… I broke up with my childhood friend just a week ago, you know?
That said, a Dead End is serious business. It means death.
They’re feared, because everyone knows this.
Dead End is what we call the officers of the demon king’s army.
I don’t know why an officer of the demon king’s army would be attacking a wagon like this, but needless to say I’m sensing danger too, so I also look out the window to check.
And I let out a little sigh.
“That’s just a giant worm. And here I was, thinking it was an executive of the demon king’s army.”
What I see outside is a giant worm that’s about twenty meters long.
This is a Sandworm, a mid rank demon. A dangerous monster that suddenly bursts out of the ground to attack people.
When it gets this big, it’s a high rank… Maybe highest rank monster in terms of its power.
It’s strong, but not Dead End level. That’s the term we use when we come across an executive of the demon king’s army.
“Ah!? What are you talking about!? You’ve never even seen a Sandworm!!”
Mars flares up at me.
I have though. About a thousand of them attacked me when I was collecting materials in the Bone-Dry Desert.
And I fought about fifty of them.
Are these two newbie adventurers?
They’re still young, but they’re too shaken about encountering a monster.
“Calm down. Hum, Mars? I’ve fought them before, so I might be able to give you some advice.”
“R-really!? I don’t care if it’s a complete stranger at this point! Give me some hints on how to defeat it!”
“Its weak point is the head, so you can easily take it down if you cut it. Once you know that, you’ll be fine.”
“How am I gonna get close to that huge thing’s head?”
“It’s all about getting fired up.”
“Dieeee!!”
So unreasonable. I’m giving you advice from the perspective of someone who’s actually fought Sandworms…
“This is really bad. I’m a mage, so I have to buy time somehow…!”
Lela grips her staff tightly, and tries to jump out of the wagon. But Mars rushes to hold her from behind, and stops her.
“Wait Lela! It’s a swordsman’s duty to buy time! You’re a mage, so you should stay here!”
“No Mars! If you fight that monster head on, you’re going to get killed! I can’t stand that!”
“You idiot, I’m not gonna die like that!And I promised your parents I would protect you even if it cost me my life!!”
Ah, listening to them is irritating me so much. It’s like the wound in my heart is being dug open.
Watching this little youthful play is so tough, that I decide to deal with the giant Sandworm myself.
I put out my staff through the window, take aim at the giant Sandworm, and chant an instant spell.
I have no talent for magic, so I’m not good at casting spells without chanting. It only works one out of ten times, so I typically cast spells with chanting.
Five seconds after I start chanting, the master rank Explosion spell is fired.
A giant magic circle appears above the giant Sandworm, and highly compressed magic bursts.
The noise shakes the whole land, as the explosion creates a several dozen meter long pillar of fire, and the giant Sandworm is obliterated.
And now that the enemy has been dealt with, I can go back to the book I was reading.
““No no no no!! Don’t start reading again like nothing happened!!””
