Chapter 4
"Would you like to take a request together?"
"…Huh?"
The girl called Felicia opened her eyes wide.
"With me…?"
"Yes."
"But…"
Felicia looked at the receptionist uncertainly.
The receptionist seemed a little surprised, too.
"Are you sure, Allen-san?"
"I was just looking for another request."
"That's not what I meant…"
The receptionist trailed off.
Felicia lowered her head.
"I'm a mage, but… I don't have much firepower."
"I heard you say that."
"Even so?"
"I haven't even seen what kind of magic you use yet."
"…………"
Felicia looked at me.
"I only became an adventurer today, too."
"Today?"
"Yes. I'm F-rank."
"I'm F-rank, too, but…"
Her expression softened slightly.
"I'm Felicia Roth. I'm sixteen."
"Allen Valdis. I'm fifteen."
"Valdis?"
Felicia tilted her head.
Then the receptionist said,
"Allen-san is the eldest son of the Valdis marquess family."
"What?!"
Felicia took a step back.
"A-a marquess's family?!"
"I'm an F-rank adventurer now."
"No, but…"
"I left home."
"You left home?"
"My younger brother received the Sword Saint Skill."
"The Sword Saint?!"
Felicia's eyes widened even further.
"The succession passed to my younger brother, so I had to leave home."
"Something like that happened…"
"Well, a lot happened."
I had no intention of saying any more.
There was no need to tell someone I'd only met yesterday all about my family's affairs.
"More importantly, could you tell me about your magic, Felicia-san?"
"O-oh, yes."
Felicia adjusted her grip on her staff.
"The only spell I can use is Magic Bullet."
"Magic Bullet?"
"It's a spell that turns mana into a small projectile and fires it."
"That sounds strong."
"Each shot is weak."
Felicia gave a wry smile.
"A fireball can sometimes take down a small monster in one hit. But it's hard to do that with Magic Bullet."
"I see."
"The party I joined before said that if I couldn't stop an enemy with one shot, it put too much of a burden on the front line."
I could understand that.
When an enemy was charging at us, one shot from behind wouldn't stop it.
From the frontline's perspective, they'd probably want a mage with more firepower.
"And that's why the other parties…?"
"Yes. They said that if they were going to have an offensive mage, they'd choose someone with more firepower…"
Felicia's shoulders drooped a little.
"How many shots can you fire?"
"Huh?"
"Magic Bullet."
"Oh… um…"
Felicia thought about it.
"If I'm not firing nonstop, I can manage about a hundred."
"A hundred?"
I couldn't help repeating the question.
"You don't run out of mana after a hundred shots?"
"I get pretty tired, but I can manage that many."
"Can you hit what you're aiming at?"
"If it's not moving…"
"What if it is?"
"It depends on how fast it is, but… I can hit it if it's not too fast."
"That sounds pretty impressive to me."
"Huh?"
This time, Felicia was the one who looked surprised.
"I-it's not impressive. The power of each shot is really low."
"But you can fire close to a hundred shots, and you can aim them, right?"
"Yes, but…"
"Then I think there must be a way to use it."
"…………"
Felicia stared at me.
"What is it?"
"Nothing… it's just that no one's ever put it that way before."
Just then—
"I have a request that should be just right."
The receptionist brought out a request form.
"It seems Horned Rabbits are damaging the fields on the farmland northwest of town."
"Horned Rabbits."
I knew of them.
They were a little larger than ordinary rabbits, with a single sharp horn on their foreheads.
They were classified as weak monsters, but a direct hit from their charge could injure you.
"The request is to exterminate three of them. I think it's just right for two F-ranks."
"Is it far away?"
"About thirty minutes on foot from town. If you leave now, you'll have plenty of time to return before sunset."
I'd gathered medicinal herbs in the morning.
And now I could hunt Horned Rabbits in the afternoon.
If it was nearby, it shouldn't be a problem.
"We'll take it."
I answered, then looked at Felicia.
"What do you think?"
"…I'll take it!"
Felicia nodded, too.
◇
"You only became an adventurer today, right?"
We left town and walked side by side.
"Yes."
"And this is already your second request?"
"I finished gathering herbs this morning by noon."
"That's impressive…"
"I have to earn money to live."
"Even though you're from a marquess's family?"
"That doesn't matter now."
"…………"
Felicia looked at me.
"Allen-san, you're a little different from what I imagined someone from a marquess's family would be like."
"What kind of person did you imagine?"
"Someone more… stuck-up."
"You probably shouldn't say that to someone from a marquess's family."
"Oh!"
Felicia panicked.
I couldn't help laughing.
"I'm joking."
"Honestly…"
I felt like it was a little easier to talk to her than before.
Before long, the farmland came into view.
"There it is."
It was a large field.
Rows of crops stretched across it.
In one section, the leaves had been bitten off and the soil was churned up.
"Where are the Horned Rabbits?"
"Let's look for them."
The two of us walked around the edge of the field.
After a little while—
Rustle.
"There they are."
Felicia said in a low voice.
At the edge of the field,
three monsters appeared from behind the crops.
They were about the size of dogs.
They had brown fur.
A single horn protruded from each forehead.
"There are three, just as the request said."
"Yes."
I drew my sword.
Felicia raised her staff, too.
"I'll take the front."
"Understood."
"Please support me from behind."
"Yes!"
One of the Horned Rabbits turned to face us.
It kicked hard off the ground with its hind legs.
"It's coming!"
It closed the distance in an instant.
Fast.
But—
"I can handle this!"
It was nothing compared to Gareth.
With my body boosted by Agility Enhancement, I could handle it easily.
Its horn came straight at me.
I waited until the last possible moment.
Then sidestepped.
"Hah!"
I swung my sword as it passed.
"Squeak!"
The blade struck its torso.
The Horned Rabbit tumbled to the ground.
【You defeated a Horned Rabbit】
【You acquired 5P】
The display appeared.
But now wasn't the time to check it.
"Allen-san!"
The second one was coming toward me.
Just as I raised my sword—
"Magic Bullet!"
A small ball of light flew from the tip of Felicia's staff.
Smack!
It struck the Horned Rabbit in the side.
"Squeak!"
Its body shook.
But it didn't stop.
"Just as I thought…!"
Felicia's expression clouded.
I see.
It really couldn't be stopped with one shot.
But—
"Another one!"
"Huh?"
"In the same spot!"
"Y-yes!"
Felicia pointed her staff.
"Magic Bullet!"
Her second shot.
Smack!
It hit almost exactly the same spot.
The Horned Rabbit staggered.
"One more!"
"Magic Bullet!"
The third shot.
It struck the same side again.
"Squeee—!"
The Horned Rabbit fell to the ground.
"…………"
Felicia's eyes went wide.
"It fell…"
"All three hit almost exactly the same spot."
"Huh?"
"And it was moving, too."
"But it took three shots…"
"You took it down in three shots, didn't you?"
"…………"
At that moment, the third one kicked off the ground.
It was heading for—
"Felicia-san!"
"Huh?"
The Horned Rabbit charged at Felicia.
I kicked off the ground and moved between them.
Its sharp horn came toward me.
"Hngh!"
I slammed the flat of my blade against its horn, knocking it aside.
The Horned Rabbit lost its balance.
"Now!"
"Yes!"
Felicia pointed her staff.
"Magic Bullet!"
One shot.
Smack!
"Magic Bullet!"
Two shots.
In the same spot.
"One more!"
"Magic Bullet!"
The third shot.
"Squeak…!"
The Horned Rabbit fell to the ground.
"…………"
Everything fell quiet.
I looked around.
No monsters were moving anymore.
"It's over."
"…Yes."
Felicia stared at the fallen Horned Rabbits.
"I…"
She looked at her staff.
"I actually took them down."
"You did."
"Everyone's always told me my shots were too weak."
"…………"
"They said that if they were going to have an offensive mage, they'd choose someone with more firepower."
I looked at the second Horned Rabbit.
"But you have a different kind of strength, Felicia-san."
"A different kind of strength?"
"If each shot is weak, you can just hit the same spot over and over."
"…………"
"And you can do that."
All three shots had hit almost exactly the same spot.
"Most people can't do that?"
"Against a moving monster?"
"Yes."
"…I don't think it's easy."
"Then isn't that your strength, Felicia-san?"
"My… strength."
"It's just that you use your magic differently from spells with powerful single shots."
Against a large monster, she could also aim for its eyes, joints, or wounds.
If she could keep hitting the same spot accurately, there were all sorts of ways to use that.
"At least for me, having someone support me accurately from behind would be a big help."
"…………"
Felicia said nothing for a while.
Then—
"…Hehe."
She gave a small laugh.
"What's wrong?"
"That's the first time anyone's ever said that to me."
"Really?"
"Yes."
Her face looked a little brighter than before.
"Allen-san."
"Yes?"
"Thank you for inviting me."
"You helped me, too."
"I did?"
"If I'd been alone, I'd have had to defeat all three myself."
"That's true, but…"
"It's easier with two people."
"…………"
Felicia smiled again.
"You're an unusual person."
"Am I?"
"I mean that as a compliment."
"Then thank you."
We looked at each other.
"All right."
I looked at the fallen Horned Rabbits.
"Let's collect proof of the kills before we head back."
"Their horns, right?"
"Yes."
The proof of a Horned Rabbit's defeat was the horn growing from its forehead.
The two of us collected all three horns.
We couldn't leave the bodies there, either.
After asking the owner of the field where we could leave them, we carried the bodies to an out-of-the-way spot, covered them with dirt, and disposed of them.
"That should do it."
"Yes."
Felicia adjusted her grip on her staff.
This was the first request I'd taken with someone else.
We'd only just met.
But it wasn't as bad as I'd expected.
"Shall we head back?"
"Yes!"
We started back toward town side by side.