Chapter 23: Mystery Amulet

　We left the cathedral and walked to the exit of the village.

The objective, to counter the demons, was now in hand.

If I did not leave early, I would miss the curfew in Ribrum, and there was no denying that I had to leave quickly.

But the four girls walking in front of me were silent, as if pondering something.

　Then, we stepped out of the village and headed home —– and that’s when Kurage finally raised her voice.

“…… what do you think it means?”

“There are many hypotheses.”

It was Reno, as usual, who responded to the leader’s words.

　However, she could not hide her confusion, and she continued with a raised eyebrow.

“What is different from what we heard from the priest is, after all, the topic of Quon-san.”

“I thought you asked if there was any way to defeat the demon?”

“Yes, I asked that, but …… were the knights defeated by demons? I didn’t talk about it that way.”

“Where did you hear about this?”

“Soldiers at the west gate of Librum. He told me about the knights who used to pass through.”

Reno nodded in satisfaction at my response.

Well, I guess it is inevitable that she would not talk to the guards unless she had something to do.

　But–

“……I wonder if that’s really all there is to it.”

“Azami?　What’s on your mind?”

“If that’s all there is to it, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone else has noticed. After all, fairies……?”

“No, that would be highly unlikely.”

I shake my head in denial of Azami’s words.

　She looked up at me with a slightly disgruntled expression on her face, but I had no intention of changing my opinion.

　I had considered the possibility before, but it was unlikely by any stretch of the imagination.

” Finding the invisible fairy is too difficult. In addition, it is essential to “Tame” them in order to bring them to that place. Do you think they would impose such conditions on a large number of players?”

“Mu…… You’re right.”

　The fact that I was able to “tame” Lumina was purely coincidental.

　If that is the condition to obtain the holy seal, it is too unfair.

　It would be safer to think that there are other conditions.

　But if so, what exactly are those conditions?

“……’trustworthy’.”

“Reno?”

“The reason the priest gave you the holy seal was because he judged that Quon-san was trustworthy in the extreme, wasn’t it?”

“That’s …… well, you’re right.”

　The priest did, indeed, say those words.

　If we are to take his word for it, surely that is the final reason.

　The bottom line is–.

“…… You mean because I got the priest’s trust?”

“Yes, it is a half-truth, but it is said that this game has something called “trustworthiness” to the locals. If it is high, the locals will be more polite to you.”

“Fumu. But I don’t remember doing anything that would raise that, no?”

　After all, I play this game to fight as much as I want with my sword.

　I don’t remember taking any action for any other purpose, and I don’t think I have any right to be trusted.

　Well, it certainly doesn’t mean that I’m ignoring the locals at all…… but that would be a bit of a weak reason to have a high trust rating.

　I looked at Reno, and she was staring at Lumina, who was sitting on top of me, above my head.

“I think it’s because you ”tamed” Lumina-chan, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“The priest was very impressed that the fairy liked you. Isn’t it such a big deal to be liked a fairy?”

“You mean, if the fairies like me, I’m trustworthy?”

“Yes, I don’t think that’s so far off the mark, based on what the priest said.”

I take Reno’s words and think silently.

The priest was certainly emphasizing that I was a person recognized by the fairies.

　I honestly don’t have much of a sense of how much that means. But I get the feeling that it certainly meant a lot to him.

　In addition to that–

“…… Is it partly due to the fact that I claimed that I wanted to avenge the knights?”

“I think it is possible. It seems that the priest was acquainted with those knights, and their insistence on avenging their enemies may have tugged at the priest’s heartstrings.”

“So you’re saying that the item could have been obtained if I could have convinced that priest to trust me?”

　At Kurage’s words, everyone’s eyes focused on the holy seal.

　An item that no one had ever been able to obtain before. Although not very powerful, this item would be very effective in the fight against the boss.

■Holy Seal of the Admina cult: equipment and accessories

　A holy seal blessed by the Admina cult.

　It is effective as a protective talisman for the soul.

　It weakens the interference of demons to the entire party. It is non-transferable.

　In short, if you have this, the whole party will be able to fight the demon.

　The priest said that this alone is not perfect, but we should be able to manage that by using the amulet.

　After all, with this, we are ready to fight the boss.

“But, being trusted by the priest, that’s a bit of a tricky condition to meet, isn’t it? I don’t know what they were thinking when they set that condition.”

“…… probably for the production workers.”

“Azami?　What do you mean?”

“I mean it as it is. Production workers are more likely to get credit from the locals, so production workers are more likely to get this holy seal.”

“I see……… to make it easier for production workers to move on to the next town.”

　Kurage nodded in agreement.

　I, too, was convinced when I heard Azami’s words and remembered what Eleanor and the others had said.

　Because production workers possess production-related skills, they inevitably have fewer combat-related skills.

　Therefore, the fight against the boss seemed inevitably tougher – but under these conditions, it would be impossible not to bring them along.

　I don’t know if this will continue in the future, but I do think it is an interesting avenue.

　…… I’m a little concerned that there seems to be an underlying agenda, but I can’t judge that at the present time. As long as it is the intention of the management in the first place, there is no point in worrying about it.

“Well, anyway, the conditions for fighting the boss have now been met,……, I think.”

“I agree. Though we’ll have to figure out how to get the holy seal over here, too.”

“Yes?　This thing would work on the whole party, right?”

　I responded to Kurage’s words with a question mark in my mind.

　Then they looked at me with surprised expressions.

“Eh?　Is that …… okay?　We weren’t much help, and we got most of it from Quon-san alone, you know?”

“But that doesn’t mean I’m going to be so heartless as to leave you alone and take on the boss on my own after we’ve been working together this long, you know”

　It is true that I am the one who obtained the holy seal, but after having guided me here, it would be bad for my sleep to ignore it and go on my way.

These people are good enough to be there, and they won’t get in the way of my fighting with the boss.

　Well, if you ask me if they can fight side by side with me, I can only say no.

“There are only myself and Lumina here, so we should be just right in number. You don’t have to be shy.”

“I see. …… Well, if you say so, Quon-san, …… yes, please take care of us.”

“yeah, same to you. Well then, let’s get back to Ribrum as fast as we can.”

　Even though there is some leeway, the gates will be closed if we are too slow.

　Well, I heard that they would open the gate if we negotiated, but it was not worth spending the money for that.

　Let’s go back as soon as possible. Besides–

“I’d like to train her, too.”

“—-!”

　Lumina, standing on my head, holds her hands up as if expressing her motivation with her whole body.

　She seems motivated, which is fine. Lumina’s ability is in the rear guard, and even if she doesn’t have much physical strength, it may have little effect on me, but now that she is under my command, I will train her thoroughly.

I am not able to teach her the Kugen Shinto style with her physique, but I am sure there are a number of things I can teach her.

　I smile involuntarily at the same feeling I had when I first started training Hisana- Asuka – and start walking toward Ribrum.

“Something on the horizon……”

“That’s good, isn’t it?　If it’s with you, I’m sure we can win against the boss!”

“Aah, Lumina, you’re so cute when you’re all worked up. ……”

The people walking behind me are a little less cohesive, but, well, there are not that many strong opponents in this area.

　Since the objective was to train Lumina, it would be more convenient if they did not touch her.

　Anyway, we had to see what Lumina could do before we could start.

From a glance at her status, she seemed to attack with light magic, but it was unclear how powerful that magic was.

　While also imagining, I was thinking about how to make her fight —- I was sensing a sign that she was approaching us.

“We’re here. Lumina, let’s fight first.”

“—-!”

　Three step wolves approached us.

　Pointing in that direction, Lumina nodded confidently and darted toward the wolves.

　The wolves are still looking in my direction. But Lumina, as if taking advantage of this, was activating her light magic.

　About five spheres of light appeared around Lumina’s small body.

　They rushed toward the wolves as soon as Lumina waved her small hands.

“Gah!?”

“Grua!”

　The wolves, who had been watching us, were unable to avoid Lumina’s attack and took damage.

　The amount of damage was not that great, but it was still enough to turn the wolves’ attention to Lumina.

The wolves growled and threatened Lumina, but the attack failed to reach her and instead she stalled.

　Well, of course. Lumina is flying, so attacks from the ground don’t hit her that often.

Lumina’s flying height is not that high, but it is still above my height. There was no way the wolves’ attacks would reach her.

“Quon-san, does she need any help?

“No need. Lumina, keep up the altitude and keep attacking. After a certain amount of damage is done, wipe them out with the big ones. As their strength decreases, they will realize they are at a disadvantage and flee, so don’t give them time to escape and wipe them out.”

“—-!”

　Nodding to my words, Lumina released her magic one after another to attack the wolves.

　The wolves jumped and tried to bite Lumina, but I could see their preliminary movements.

　Lumina easily evades the wolves’ attacks, or counter-attacks with a ball of light.

　Then, when all the wolves are down to about 30% HP, Lumina turns off the light balls around her and begins to concentrate on something.

The wolves are jumping frantically, as if trying to stop Lumina, but still the attack does not hit her.

　After a few seconds as it is – the next moment.

“—-!”

　Lumina swings both hands down at once, and at the same time, a huge explosion of light occurs.

　The explosion, accompanied by a flash of light, exploded in the center of the wolves, blasting them mercilessly.

　Slammed to the ground as it was, the HP of the wolves was completely shaved off and gone.

　It can be said to be an unqualified victory.

[Level of “Lumina,” the [tamed] monster, has increased.]

After the battle, Lumina came back to me and puffed her chest out as if to say, “How did I do?”

　Smiling at her, I lightly tapped Lumina on the head with my fingertip.

“Well done. It was done right.”

“—-♪”

Lumina, who has been cuddling my finger, lands on my head as if to say it’s in place again.

　Well, considering Lumina’s ability, I would say that her current fighting style is unquestionable.

　If it is against an enemy who has no anti-aircraft capability, it is almost a one-sided victory.

However, there is a problem–

“You’re not very efficient, are you?”

“She has already used about half of it. It’s slowly recovering.”

“—-?”

　As Kurage said, Lumina’s MP was less than half just from the current battle alone.

This is probably due to the fact that her level is still low and her magic is not powerful enough, but this is inefficient.

I guess the only way to defeat the enemy is to weaken it a little more, or stop it from moving, so that Lumina can defeat it more efficiently.

　Fortunately, since there is automatic recovery of MP, it will soon recover if left unattended.

I’ll keep an eye on things and let her fight it out.