NBAA Vol. 7 Chapter 6 Part 9
“I’ve had eight appearances, six wins, one loss, and one draw. Dain and I competed together once.”
“Dain too? I didn’t expect that… I guess he was short of money again.”
“Can you stop thinking like I’m always short of money!?”
“Oh, you’re back already.”
Dain’s voice came from behind, and Reito and the others turned around.
There, Dain was breathing hard, holding a basket filled with a large amount of foodstuffs. He had just returned from buying food for Gonzo and himself.
“Hey, look… I bought it as promised!!”
“Oh, thank you.”
“Totally… if this was the case, I should have brought a storage stone.”
“If you had invited me too, I would help you bring it back with storage magic.”
“Ah…say it sooner, damn it…”
Dain collapsed on the spot.
Shizune glared at him and returned to the topic.
“Gonzo, aren’t you going to participate in the main battle of the tournament? With your ability, it wouldn’t be difficult to participate, right?”
“No, I won’t be participating. The matches I’ve been in up until now have only been to test my skills.”
“Why? If it’s to test your skills, don’t you think you’d like to participate in the Battle Festival and test your strength?”
“It seems like I’m not used to fighting while being watched by other people. I have stage fright, so I can’t give it my all.”
“You have stage fright with your figure…”
Dain muttered a few words.
“Yes…I am not sure what to do about it.”
Gonzo scratched his head a little embarrassed, and Shizune’s eyebrows lowered regretfully when she heard his reply.
For her part, she lost the opportunity to gain a powerful ally other than Reito. However, the main purpose of this trip was to hone their abilities.
Shizune changed her mind and changed the subject.
“Come to think of it, we haven’t been attacked by any monsters before we got here, so I haven’t had a chance to check out your abilities yet. Can you tell me what you can do at this point?”
“I would like to join you, that I would.”
“Nuo!?”
“Then me too.”
“Wow! What a surprise!”
Hanzo appeared from the shopping basket, and Kotomin appeared from the well nearby.
Gonzo, who was holding the basket, and Dain, who was near the well, shouted in surprise, but the two landed on the ground as if nothing had happened.
“It is terrible that we are the only ones left out, that it is.”
“Let us join too.”
“Eh, yeah… were you hiding in the well the whole time?”
“Where the hell did you come from?! For some reason, I thought it was strangely heavy!!”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to! I was just hiding because I was concerned about Dain-dono’s sneaking around and acting suspiciously, that I was!”
“Isn’t that rude!?”
“Okay, well… calm down. Seriously, these kids are…”
“You’re starting to look like a mother, Reito.”
While calming down Hanzo and Dain, as they were about to start a fight, Reito turned to Shizune.
Shizune cleared her throat and decided to ask about each individual’s abilities again.
“I know what Reito and Hanzo are capable of, but can you tell me what the others can do? I know that mermaid over there can use recovery magic…”
“Mine is spirit magic… and I can’t do anything without water. With water, I’m invincible.”
“That’s a big one. What about that guy over there?”
“I’m a dark mage. I can’t lose to anyone when it comes to shadow magic!!”
“Eh, shadow magic… huh?”
“What does that mean!?”
“Dain is helpful. He once defeated a battle golem by himself that was even more powerful than an ogre.”
Shizune’s eyes rolled at Dain’s explanation, but Reito immediately said his ability was surprisingly useful. In fact, Reito’s words were not a lie, and Dain had single-handedly defeated a battle golem.
“Really? I’m sorry if I offended you.”
“N-No… you don’t have to apologize.”
“Then it’s my turn. I have a club, but I basically fight with my bare hands. Leave the heavy lifting to me.”
“So you’re a martial artist? In that case, you’ll be in the vanguard, and Dain and Kotomin are magicians, so you’ll be in the rear support.”
Based on that logic, Reito timidly raised his hand, thinking he would also be in the rear guard.
“Um, I’m also a support magician…”
“You’re a swordsman. I won’t accept any objections (*in a firm voice*).”
“Right…”
Reito lowered his head at the fact that he wasn’t recognized as a magician, but the others nodded silently as if they had no objections to Shizune’s words.
“Well, it’s not really a big deal. It’s true that I’ve only been using swords lately… but I’ve also learned a lot of magic.”
Dain agreed with Reito.
“Now that I think about it, Reito used a lot of magic when he first started. But… lately, I can only imagine him using swords.”
“It’s rare to find a swordsman who can also use magic. Same goes for people like me who use magic sword…”
“Reito is a magic swordsman who can sing and dance.”
“What’s with the idol introduction? …I’ve never sung and danced before though?”
“We’re getting sidetracked here… so how about a little hand-to-hand combat to see what each other is capable of?”
“That’s good. Then I’ll start…”
“No, if you make noise in a place like this, you’ll cause trouble for the people at the inn.”
“That’s true, too. Then I’ll test my ability in actual combat.”
“Mmm…”
Gonzo reacted to the words ‘hand-to-hand combat’, but fighting in the garden would likely cause trouble for the people at the inn, so in the end, it was decided that each of them would test their abilities in actual combat.
Everyone except Shizune and Hanzo were familiar with each other’s abilities since they had been working together, but because of this, they had one concern in common.
Kotomin, who was in charge of recovery, was not participating this time, so Reito could only use his recovery magic or medicine to heal in the event of an injury.
“If you get injured, don’t hold back and tell me. I’ll heal you right away… but be careful because the range of recovery you can receive with support magic is limited.”
“I-I understand. Reito, are you sure you’ve prepared a magic power recovery potion this time? It’ll be a problem if your magic power runs out in an emergency.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve created a large amount of magic recovery potion with the help of Suramin and Hitomin for this day.”
“Purupuru.”
“The help of these children? What does that mean? By any chance, these slime-kuns were also taking care of the magic herb?”
Shizune asked Reito curiously.
“You’re close, I guess… Well, that part is a trade secret.”
When cultivating “medicinal herbs” and “magic herbs” that were the raw materials for recovery potions, the water used was not ordinary water but water that had been absorbed by the slime and then spit out. This water contained more nutrients, and the plants grew faster than usual.
Reito, who discovered this method, used Suramin and Hitomin as daily watering cans. Incidentally, he was the only one who knew about this fact and did not tell anyone else.
Reito stroked Ullr’s head and talked to him to change the subject.
“I’ll bring you lots of souvenirs, so you can look forward to them too, Ullr. I can’t wait to see what the monsters in the Great Labyrinth like.”
“Woof!!”
“I’ll go back to my room. You guys should also keep your training in moderation. Give your body enough rest before taking on the Great Labyrinth tomorrow.”
“I’m also going back to my room. I need to make various preparations for tomorrow.”
“Then, me too…”
After Shizune’s words, Reito and the others returned to their rooms at the inn.
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