Life in Another World as a Maid Mage
Volume 1 - Daily Life of A Maid Mage
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13 – Search for lost kids services available. (3)
TL Note: Changed "requests" to "quests" since it makes more sense for the guild to be issuing quests than requests.
We strayed off the path and through the bushes, in the direction Shiori had indicated. The forest was thin enough to receive some evening sunlight, so it was fairly bright, but the towering trees and overgrown vegetation made the footing poor and the pathway harder to traverse. However, it was a familiar environment and not at all unusual for an A- or B-rank adventurers. While pulling Shiori's hand, I adjusted my running speed to match her stride. Shiori seemed to be trying to keep track of the child in need of rescue by deploying her search magic as she moved. Although the range was narrower than before, that concentration to maintain the magic while running was something worthy of praise.
"The reaction is moving! It seems something's chasing them! The position has shifted from the previous direction!" Shiori shouted.
Elias and Martin, who were following behind, showed some impatience, but the two of them had no experience in the battlefield and were slowly falling behind. I decided to leave the two of them behind. They seemed to have a knack for self-defense, but that was about it; even if I took them with me, they wouldn’t be of any use in a real fight.
"Shiori, I'll carry you!" I called out.
"Eh… ok!"
Shiori seemed confused for a moment, but immediately understood and nodded. The speed of comprehension and judgment was that of a mid-level adventurer. Perhaps she had decided it was best to leave all the impromptu measures to me.
I put my hands on Shiori's back and swept my other arm under the back of her knees, then started running again. While running, I activated my muscle-strengthening magic. No matter how small and light Shiori was, the spell was still necessary in order to run while holding her.
"The knights are moving towards a different direction than where we’re headed!" Clemens informed me.
"Who needs rescuing?" I answered.
"Over there!" Shiori pointed in the direction of 11 o'clock, which was slightly off course from the first direction. I kept on running, correcting my course towards that direction. In my peripheral vision, I saw the knights who had been running ahead of me.
"Hey, the kid is over there! They’re on the move!" Clemens shouted to the knights, and when they noticed him, they turned towards the direction that Shiori pointed.
And then, a scream was heard. A high-pitched scream that could have been a woman’s without the context of the circumstances, but likely belonged to the missing boy needing rescue. The sound had come from the direction Shiori had pointed to, meaning there was no mistake in her detection ability. The source of the voice sounded much closer to us than the knights. I needed to speed up and hurry in that direction. Then I heard the sound of metal scraping beside me; Clemens was pulling his twin swords out of their scabbards.
"I'll go first." Clemens lowered his posture even further and accelerated, overtaking me.
"Do you want me to get off?" Shiori said, perhaps concerned about the lack of speed.
"We're almost there. Considering the time and effort it’ll take to put you down safely, it's faster as is."
I sensed multiple reactions ahead. With a slashing sound, something shook through the trees and they creaked loudly in response. It seemed that Clemens was already engaged in battle. His silver hair reflected the evening light and flashed with his movements between the trees as he fought against a large mass of something dark and writhing….
"A giant spider!"
It was a swarm of large spiders with a poisonous, striped black and yellow pattern, each one as big as the palm of your hand. They filled the ground, wriggling. Beyond that, a boy sat at the base of a large tree, his feet caught in a white, thread-like object, while another well-built boy held a dagger with his back to the former, protecting the trapped youngster. Then, several large spiders jumped over his head through the gaps between the branches and leaves.
"…Hiding in the leaves!"
With a spell cast in an unfamiliar language, dead leaves danced around the boys as if to protect them. The strong wind, mixed with the dead leaves, flicked off the large spiders that were about to jump on them, violently slamming the creatures into the trees and letting them drop to the ground.
"Don't do it. You’re trying to both attack and defend with the wind barrier?" I asked her.
Shiori jumped out of my arms. Now lighter, I held my magic sword at the ready, lining up next to Clemens. The sound of slashing rang around us, along with the voices of multiple men. It seemed that the knights have caught up.
"There are so many of them. Was it breeding?" I wondered.
"It looks like it.”
The forest near the territorial capital was supposed to be regularly surveyed by the knights, who would exterminate any dangerous monsters, but this might have been an oversight. Insect-type monsters reproduced quickly, and even if you killed a few of them they can still easily swarm again. The boys must have been unlucky enough to step into the mob's territory.
A part of the swarm in front of us seemed to have changed their target to the knights squad, but the rest of the spiders began to close in on us and the two boys.
I would have liked to use fire magic to get rid of them in one fell swoop, but I knew it wasn’t meant to be in a forest like this. Even though the forest was damp in the darker areas, it would still definitely ignite if I used fire magic to burn out such a large horde of spiders. However, it was obvious that if we were to rush in poorly, we would become entangled in the sticky threads and they would be a nuisance to fight through.
If it was a single spider, even a novice adventurer could defeat it with relative ease, but the difficulty level increases when it’s a large swarm that filled the surroundings. The troublesome part of insect-type monsters lay in their swarming attacks. If you didn’t have a wide range of offensive techniques on hand, it would be difficult to annihilate them. Moreover, they had powerful paralyzing poison. If they bit you and poisoned you, you would be deprived of movement, and there was nothing you could do about it. Surprisingly, many adventurers lost their lives because they were careless with low-grade monsters.
Anyway, we needed to protect the boys first. The distance between them and us was about ten meters. It wasn’t a big distance, but the swarm of large spiders made it difficult to get to them.
I imbued my sword with fire magic. Fire magic was effective against both giant spiders and spider webs. I slashed at the giant spider in front of me, taking care not to ignite the surrounding area. With a large swing, I engulfed several of them and cut them down. Clemens, on the other hand, dexterously maneuvered his twin swords, one in each hand, to slaughter the giant spiders on either side of him, weaving his way through the swarm. Shiori followed behind me while keeping a perfect distance out of the way. The occasional wind blowing against my neck seemed to be because she was casting wind magic. With a strong gust she was blowing away the incoming spider silk threads that the swarm was shooting.
When I reached the boys, I sheltered them behind my back and confronted the giant spider.
"Get as far down to the side of the tree as you can. It may be frightening, but stay still and don't move. All right?" I told the boys without taking my gaze off the big spider, and I heard a small voice say, "I understand". Then there were shuffling sounds; it was good that he was an obedient child. Especially among the nobility, even in situations like these, there were some protection targets that were difficult to deal with; they wouldn’t carry out instructions and instead would order others around or kneel and beg without listening
Shiori took up a position in front of them to protect them as they retreated. Just like I thought when subduing the manticore, her movements as a rearguard were perfect. As a rearguard, you would need to protect yourself without being a burden to your comrades, and depending on the situation, you would be able to accurately assist the vanguard. If given instructions, she understood and acted immediately. Despite her low magic power, she made full use of her magic and skill to support her companions in battle and while camping, reaching B rank in just three years.
Perhaps to be extra careful, Rurie quickly jumped behind the boys, as if to protect their backs. Apropos for a slime, Rurie preyed on and dissolved any large spiders that scuttled around from behind. It may have been out of consideration for the children that Rurie was in the back and didn’t show them the view of its dining method.
I glanced to my side. The knights were struggling and although the number of spiders seemed to be slowly dwindling, I could still see that the soldiers were struggling with the sheer number of enemies. Some of them were lying on the ground, hit by paralyzing poisons and caught by threads.
"Now, how do we thin their numbers?" I murmured.
The reason why there had been no victims until now despite the spiders breeding so much was probably because they had only just hatched. Though they were giants spiders, all of them were small compared to fully grown ones. But that was also why they were so eager to eat their first meal in the outside world.
"Let's just burn it all down with fire magic and then throw a bunch of water magic to douse the flames,” I suggested.
"Stop joking. I don't want to get caught up in a fire with giant spiders." Clemens rushed in with a noisy mutter.
"I have an idea. I don't know if it will work or not, but you could stall for a bit." Shiori's voice came from behind me.
"What are you going to do?"
"Suffocate them. If it's just bigger than normal spiders and its body structure is still the same, maybe it’s possible."
I exchanged a sideways glance with Clemens.
"What do you think?" I asked him.
I had never thought about it, but certainly just because it's huge… it wouldn’t necessarily be different from a normal spider otherwise.
In any case, fire magic was strictly prohibited as this place was easily ignited. At best, you had to physically crush them with a magic sword coated with fire power to prevent sparks from flying away. You could also use wind magic to cut through them, but it was certainly lacking compared to fire magic.
I made up my mind.
"All right. Give it a try,” I answered Shiori.
"Yes!" Shiori pulled some white lump from her shoulder bag.
"…Soap?"
"Yes. I just bought some more in the city, but it was just the right timing."
I thought I had understood the scope of her eccentricity from the quest the other day, but now I had no idea what she intended to do.
Meanwhile, the spider silk came flying in. A swarm of large spiders were all attacking at the same time. While wielding my magic sword, I shouted, "Anything is fine, I'll leave it to you!"
"Okay!"
Clemens and I felt the power of magic filling the air behind us as we swung our swords in tandem. The scent of soap then softly tickled our nostrils. And…
"… Soapy Stream!" Shiori called out.
A stream of water that appeared with the spell immersed the swarm of giant spiders, accompanied by the scent of soap suds and popping bubbles. The gentle flow was not enough to wash away the swarm, but it did wreak havoc on the spiders.
The giant spiders that had been scuttling about incessantly came to a halt. One by one, they fell to the ground with their bellies showing, and after a slight convulsion, they completely stopped moving.
"Wha…." I couldn’t understand what had just happened. I gave up. Clemens seemed to be similarly dumbstruck. His eyes were wide open and his mouth was frozen half open. He poked one of the large spiders stuck in front of him with the tip of his sword. It was definitely dead.
"… This is…."
Looking around, the knights were also stiff with their swords at the ready. However, they noticed that the rest of the swarm was rushing in from the other side and they all adjusted their stances.
"Soapy Stream!"
However, without even time to swing their swords, the strange stream of bubbling water filled the ground again. One after another, the giant spiders collapsed, convulsing and dying. A few of them that survived were defeated by the knights who had come back to their senses.
"… Clean up, complete." With a stunned voice, a knight who seemed to be the captain announced the end of the battle. The other knights also looked in bewilderment at each other, and then looked at the giant spiders at their feet that had become corpses.
"… Good, it worked." Shiori's voice brought me back to myself and I turned around. She had a look of accomplishment, and it was indeed a magnificent achievement. However, it was a terrifyingly powerful magic. It took just two shots to clean up such a large swarm. What was that? When I was about to open my mouth to ask for an explanation, I heard a moan behind me.
"Fran! Hang in there!" The blond boy called out frantically, but the red-haired boy, still tangled in the threads and writhing, just frowned and groaned in pain. His fingertips were stiff.
"Has he been paralyzed by the poison?"
"Medic!"
A knight who noticed this called for a medic.
"Step aside." When I called out to him, the blond boy looked at the adults with pleading eyes. Meekly, he moved away from the boy called Fran and clasped his hands together. He was still a child who was barely older than ten, but he had the pride of a nobleman. I could see that he was making a desperate effort to maintain his composure. Shiori gently knelt down next to him.
"… It's okay. We can detoxify him. Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine. But…” he stammered. The boy, who was about to say something, looked up at Shiori, and went silent for a moment before saying, "… Are you okay? You're so pale."
I looked up at the boy's words. It was hard to tell in the shade, but she was certainly looking anemic. After administering first aid to Fran with an antidote, I left him with the knight medic who had rushed in and walked over to Shiori. A pale face, shallow breathing. It was another symptom of running out of magic. It wasn’t that she used much magic, but her magical power had hit rock bottom already earlier.
Even though she made full use of her magic to produce ingenious and creative, reliable results, her low magical power was a fatal weakness. It was such a waste. If she had magical power that was on par with average people, she could be active on the front lines as a mage much as I was. On the contrary, even as an archmage…. Thinking that far, such a thing was surely something that she herself had been painfully aware of, yet she had forced herself to shut down any further thoughts about it. It was no good if I was worried about it here.
"It's just running out of magic. No problem." Although she stood up, her legs weren't wobbly and she was firmly standing on the ground. Her body language also didn't show any gaps in her posture.
However.
"With the 'Dawn' incident, Shiori learned to push herself to her limit and hide it. She rarely shows it on her face. The only way to detect a problem is to judge it by her complexion.” Clemens' words snatched at my brain. As long as it was showing in her complexion, it must really be quite painful. She just doesn't show it.
"Sir Adventurer. We've already taken care of the wounded. We’ve taken the boy to the medic's corps tent, but what about you? If it's all clear, we'd prefer to hear everything before we return to the city."
The knight who had picked up Fran, who was weak and unable to stand, came over to us. He said that our explanation was necessary for the report to his superiors.
When I looked around, I locked eyes with Clemens who was standing behind the knight. His gaze went to Shiori for a moment. From the way he looked at her, I could tell that he also seemed to be thinking the same thing I was.
"… If you don't mind, I'd like you to take a break at the tent. Let's converse there."
"I understand. Thank you for your cooperation."
It was already nightfall. It seemed that the on-site inspection would start early tomorrow morning and thus, the knights began to withdraw. One of the knights tried to pick up the blonde boy, but he seemed to be adamant in not allowing it. He straightened up and walked next to the knight holding Fran. The blonde-haired man was the young master of this whole matter. Even though he was a child, he behaved like a nobleman with a respectable manner, and his concern for his servant struck a chord with those who saw him. He was a good lord. He didn't abandon his servant. On the contrary, he had stood as if he was protecting the servant from the monsters, and his appearance at that time had been commendable.
I looked back at Shiori as I followed the knights. She had a hollow look in her eyes as she stared at the boys. I immediately realized that she was remembering "that day". Wasn’t this situation easy to superimpose on the events of "that day"?
Even a child had defended his injured companion and put himself in harm's way. She had been abandoned so easily by those she had considered her friends.
"Shiori. We're coming with you." I picked her up as she stared at the boys, motionless.
"Wow, what?!" The color returned to Shiori's eyes as she raised her voice in surprise. It was the same Shiori as always. I felt relieved in my heart.
"I can walk!" she protested.
"I can't let a woman walk around with such a terrible complexion. Stay put."
"But—"
"… Shiori. We're not going to leave you behind."
Shiori stopped and swallowed her words.
It was still a wound, after all. Perhaps the experience of "that day" had instilled in her the fear that she would be discarded if she slowed down the team in the slightest. So, to compensate, she pushes herself and hides it.
"Don't overdo it, and rely on us when you need it. That's a comrade."
That day, the ones who left her behind weren't friends. That was all there was to it.
A single word like this wouldn’t heal the wounds attached to her sensitive heart. Shiori remained silent, but still relaxed and entrusted herself to me. Although she was dissatisfied, it seemed that she would be carried quietly like this.
"You're coming with us too, Rurie." After making sure that Rurie, who was looting through dead spiders, came to us, I walked after the knights.
The sky seen through the gaps between the trees was already losing its tints of red. Several bright beacons flickered across the edge of the forest. The knights waiting outside the forest had probably lit magic lights.
Soon, the night will fall completely.
Author’s Note: Rurie, "Pest control services available!"
Author’s Note: The story of lost children will continue for a bit longer.
1 Comments
Thanks for the chapter
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