Chapter 23: Husband, Wife, and Adventurer
ㅤ”What’s the status of the townspeople’s evacuation!?”
ㅤ
ㅤThe townspeople of Neville were escaping to a distant location using the underground passage the chimera had opened.
ㅤ
ㅤ”It will be completed soon! Lord Duke, please hurry!”
ㅤ”I’ll be the last!”
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ㅤEven though the town has been revived to this point……
ㅤIt was my mistake to carelessly bring in the magic stones.
ㅤSeveral magic stones were discovered in the underground passage created by the chimera. Magic stones are being mined all over the world now. They’ll undoubtedly bring in money. They probably thought it would help fund the town’s reconstruction. I didn’t realize that the vassals and townspeople were collecting them with good intentions.
ㅤUntouched magic stones attract monsters…… Nowadays, only the privileged class who need to learn for their education and adventurers know this. The general public only recognizes them as expensive items. I didn’t realize that.
ㅤI should have decided on a policy early on and made it widely known.
ㅤ
ㅤ’It’s negligence! Being infatuated with love…… what am I doing!’
ㅤ
ㅤI can’t face my deceased older brother. My mind was always filled with thoughts of the two Tempests. If it weren’t for that, I might have noticed their actions.
ㅤ
ㅤ”Lord Duke!”
ㅤ”Military Captain!? How did you get here!?”
ㅤ
ㅤHe should have been on vacation and back at the mansion.
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ㅤ”Did you come through the underground passage!?”
ㅤ
ㅤThat’s the only way in and out right now. But the exit should be quite far. There’s no way he could have come this far in such a short time. Could the gate have been breached!?
ㅤ
ㅤ”I flew here.”
ㅤ”Flew!!?”
ㅤ
ㅤI have no idea what he means.
ㅤ
ㅤ”More importantly, please escape quickly! I’ll take command!”
ㅤ”……No, this is my responsibility! If I hadn’t been drowning in love……”
ㅤ”There’s no point in thinking about what-ifs. Tempest-sama is waiting for you!”
ㅤ”……Tempest is here!?”
ㅤ
ㅤWhich Tempest? Just hearing the name makes my heart race. Even in this situation.
ㅤ
ㅤ”What is that!?”
ㅤ
ㅤA soldier cried out.
ㅤWith a loud boom, an explosion was seen in the sky. A mass of black smoke was falling.
ㅤ
ㅤ”……Tempest!?”
ㅤ
ㅤIt’s Tempest. It’s not a hallucination this time. That beautiful, glossy black hair is my wife, Tempest. It’s beautiful and captivating even when swaying in the wind. No, more importantly……
ㅤ
ㅤ”My wife…… my wife is floating in the sky……?”
ㅤ”She is floating, isn’t she……”
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ㅤThe soldiers around me are also dumbfounded.
ㅤ
ㅤ’She could use magic other than Heal……’
ㅤ
ㅤCome to think of it, she also mastered Brainwashing Magic. If she can use such difficult magic, she might be able to use Flight Magic as well.
ㅤ
ㅤ”Dangerous!”
ㅤ
ㅤBird-type monsters appear one after another in the sky. The town is in trouble, but before that, Tempest! My frail wife wouldn’t stand a chance against something like that……! What is she doing!?
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ㅤ”Run! Run away!!!”
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ㅤKnowing my kind Tempest, she might be trying her best to stop the monsters’ advance to protect the town!
ㅤ
ㅤ”Huh?”
ㅤ
ㅤI thought my wife pointed her finger forward, and then a flash of light ran across the sky. After that, boom, boom, boom, boom, explosions echoed throughout the town many times. And just like before, charred objects fall, succumbing to gravity……
ㅤ
ㅤ”Huh? Huh!? W-who made that attack?”
ㅤ
ㅤWas it the magician we stationed on the wall?
ㅤ
ㅤ”It was Madam……”
ㅤ
ㅤSo it seemed that way to this soldier as well.
ㅤ
ㅤ’She looks just like the adventurer Tempest……’
ㅤ
ㅤHer hair color is completely different though. The brilliance and power of her magic reminds me of her.
ㅤ
ㅤ”N-next is coming!!”
ㅤ
ㅤThe soldier seems to be engrossed in my wife’s magic as well.
ㅤ
ㅤ”Ah! She clicked her tongue!?”
ㅤ”My wife would never do such a thing! She’s the daughter of the strict-mannered Witwish Marquis House!!!”
ㅤ”My apologies!”
ㅤ
ㅤThe soldier next to me was watching the situation intently with binoculars and giving me a play-by-play…… I wonder if I could ask to borrow them.
ㅤThis time, several dazzling orbs of light appeared around my wife. They scattered all at once and started chasing the monsters in the sky. No matter how much they ran, the orbs chased them, finally turning into arrows of light and piercing the monsters.
ㅤ
ㅤ”Amazing! That’s amazing, Madam!”
ㅤ”W-well, of course! She’s my wife!”
ㅤ”Yes! My apologies!”
ㅤ
ㅤ’I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know!’
ㅤ
ㅤI don’t know that kind of wife!!! What’s going on!?
ㅤMy wife was casting some kind of magic on the falling bird-type monsters, literally stripping them bare. She plucked all their feathers. She was trying to land on the ground with her arms full of them.
ㅤ
ㅤ”The feathers of those monsters are popular with nobles. They’re traded at quite a high price.”
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ㅤThe soldier next to me,
ㅤ
ㅤ”My brother works at a material purchasing shop, so I know a lot about it!”
ㅤ
ㅤtold me with a smile.
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ㅤ”Madam, is she planning to make a winter coat with those? It’s amazing that the Duchess herself can gather the materials. Her dedication is on a different level!”
ㅤ”Haha…… It would be easy to just buy it for her. But no one but my wife could do that.”
ㅤ
ㅤDefinitely no one.
◇◇◇
ㅤ
ㅤMy horseback riding practice paid off. I managed to keep running behind the Military Captain. And as if to protect me, the other soldiers surrounded us.
ㅤ
ㅤ’I’m going to be sore tomorrow~!’
ㅤ
ㅤMonsters were swarming the protective wall surrounding the town of Neville.
ㅤ
ㅤ’Why is that place being targeted so heavily!?’
ㅤ
ㅤWas the hypothesis that they were attracted to the magic stones wrong? I thought for sure there were still magic stones left in the mountainous area where the chimera had slept for 300 years. I heard that place was a magic stone mining site a long time ago. It should still be much further away.
ㅤ
ㅤ”What’s the situation at the entrance!?”
ㅤ”The gate is closed! They should be able to enter and exit through the chimera’s large hole.”
ㅤ”Perhaps the townspeople are also evacuating through there!”
ㅤ
ㅤIt seems they already had measures in place for a situation like this. To think that the large hole the chimera came through would be used as a tunnel.
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ㅤ”It’s a bit far.”
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ㅤThe tunnel’s exit is indeed in the mountainous area.
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ㅤIt’s hard to formulate an effective strategy without knowing the situation inside. For now, I know they’re holding a siege, but how many people are still left inside?
ㅤ
ㅤ”Where’s Lord Duke?”
ㅤ”He should be taking command.”
ㅤ”……He’s not the type to leave his people behind and escape first.”
ㅤ”That’s right.”
ㅤ
ㅤIt seems Danna-sama is quite trusted by his soldiers.
ㅤ
ㅤ”I’ll go check the situation inside! Take care of the horse!”
ㅤ”Madam! Please take me with you!”
ㅤ”It’s going to get rough!”
ㅤ”I don’t mind! I’m the Military Captain, after all.”
ㅤ
ㅤSince he said so, I grabbed the Military Captain’s belt without hesitation and jumped into the air.
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ㅤThe wind makes my eyes sting. I really need to make glasses or goggles soon.
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ㅤ”I’ll keep watch from the sky!”
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ㅤI saw something coming from afar. It’s probably a bird-type monster. It’ll be troublesome if they gain control of the airspace.
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ㅤ”Understood! Please be careful!”
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ㅤHe didn’t say things like it’s dangerous, so don’t do it, or please stay back anymore. I’m happy that he believes in my strength.
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ㅤ”I’m throwing you!”
ㅤ”Go ahead!”
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ㅤI dropped the Military Captain near the soldiers on top of the protective wall. As he said he would, he did a cool somersault and landed perfectly. After confirming that, I flew even higher.
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ㅤ”Cawww!”
ㅤ
ㅤThe monster bird that found me seems happy. It has a long neck and looks like a vulture. It probably thought food had arrived.
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ㅤ”You guys are on the yakitori course!”
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ㅤFirst, I’ll cut off the bird-type monster’s sharp-clawed feet by firing wind blades. Milia said those parts fetch a high price. And before the monster can scream,
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ㅤ”Bang!”
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ㅤIt’s roasted. The fireball hit and it’s engulfed in flames. I like my food well-done, so I’d say it’s cooked to perfection.
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ㅤMore and more of the same bird-type monsters are flying towards me.
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ㅤ”Welcome!”
ㅤ
ㅤThis time, I use a laser beam like a sword, swinging my finger in a straight line, and cleanly slicing off the material below the ankles. Then, it’s a barrage of explosion magic. They fall to the ground with a thud.
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ㅤGood, good. I’ll have to pick them up later. I’m off to a good start.
ㅤ
ㅤ’Wait, again~!?’
ㅤ
ㅤThis time, a different kind of fluffy bird-type monster came from all directions. At first glance, they look cute except for their size, but the moment they opened their mouths, they fired air bullets, so I quickly countered them with bigger air bullets of my own.
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ㅤ”Tsk”
ㅤ
ㅤNo, no, no! Clicking my tongue is bad manners.
ㅤ
ㅤ’Wait, but the feathers of those bird-type monsters…… aren’t they the expensive kind!?’
ㅤ
ㅤThey’re incredibly light and warm, the material for high-end coats! Even my rigid mother wanted one. That means I can’t make yakitori out of them.
ㅤ
ㅤ’Well then, let me show you a new magic trick!’
ㅤ
ㅤClap! As I clapped my hands, several orbs of light appeared around me.
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ㅤ”Off you go!”
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ㅤWith that shout, they all run towards the monsters floating in the sky. The monsters realize the danger and try to escape, but the orbs chase them relentlessly, turning into arrows of light and piercing them.
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ㅤ”Oh! It worked!”
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ㅤThis is a magic I devised for my own protection. It’s designed to automatically attack the opponent before they can ambush me. It’s like a homing projectile. I haven’t put it into practical use yet because I haven’t been able to properly adjust the recognition between humans and monsters, but since there are only monsters in the sky, there’s no problem.
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ㅤ”Oops! Before they fall~!”
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ㅤI used wind magic to trap the falling monsters and then used wind magic again to quickly harvest their feathers.
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ㅤ”Wow~ so fluffy!”
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ㅤGood, good. This will bring in a good income.
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ㅤ’Maybe I should send some to my parents’ house and have them made into a coat…… I made it myself!’
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ㅤI’m living my life the way I want to and having fun.
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ㅤNow, the time is approaching for my confrontation with Danna-sama. I wonder what kind of reaction awaits me.
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ㅤ”As long as I have money, I’m not afraid of anything!”
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ㅤAnd I’ll make my heroic deeds a souvenir for our reunion!
