Chapter 15
"Silver Scales" was strong. To put it mildly, they were "unbeatable" in the forest.
Even the wild dogs I'd been so terrified of in the dark forest at night—monsters that looked like crossbreeds of brown-furred wolves and dogs—were no match for them. Apparently, this monster was called a "Charcoal Wolf." With its keen sense of smell, it detected approaching humans and first surrounded them from a distance as a pack. By the time the humans noticed, it was too late. The pack would close in with overwhelming numbers and eat them alive.
But Raikira-san's sense of smell was equal to a Charcoal Wolf's (though he insisted, "Huh? I'm way better than that!" while Dantes-san considered it "equal"), so by the time a Charcoal Wolf detected a human, Raikira-san had detected it too. Before they could form a pack, he would approach and take them down.
Raikira-san's fighting style was highly distinctive. The moment he recognized an enemy, he would run off without a sound, then kick at their legs as soon as he closed in, aiming to take away their mobility. If he slowed them even a little, that was all he needed. He could toy with them until they were thoroughly disoriented, then finish them with a dagger—or kick them to death.
(...Could he have the 【Leg Strengthening★】 Skill? Or maybe 【Kick Technique★★】?)
Knowing a fair bit about Talent Jewels, I considered all the possibilities that occurred to me.
I watched his movements with painstaking attention. During breaks, I secretly tried to imitate him, but I couldn't copy his movements. Perhaps he had absorbed a Talent Jewel entirely different from anything I could imagine.
Hmm. Skills have so much depth...
That silent step over fallen leaves was another example. I thought it might be some kind of Skill, but since I couldn't imitate it, perhaps it was a technique he had mastered on his own.
I felt a little uneasy about copying Skills without permission, but I told myself it was something I needed in order to survive in this world. It wasn't as though I could copy them perfectly, and it would be better for "Silver Scales" if I, their burden, became even a little more "useful."
"As you can see, Raikira has a foul mouth, but he's overwhelmingly strong against animal-type monsters, y'know."
"Um... Mimino-san, how did you fight before Raikira-san joined the party?"
"I used my magic to sense enemies. But that could leave me short on magical power when it really mattered, and it also shortened how long we could stay active each day. So I'm glad we have Raikira."
"I see... Magic, huh."
I wondered whether there was magic that could pinpoint the location of enemies.
Magic existed in this world, but Hinga the Elder had said that most magic that consumed "magical power" fell into the eight types linked to the "Magic Trait" and the two types linked to the "Mystery Trait."
The reason it was "most" was that exceptions existed, such as the "Unique Trait." Mimino-san's 【Convenient】 was one such exception, and I had managed to create small amounts of water with it. How convenient.
"If I learned how to use magic too, would I be of some use?"
"It's all right, Reiji-kun. You don't have to fight."
"But I feel bad just sitting around eating for free."
"—That's right. Those who don't work shouldn't eat, and all that. Make the kid do some work or something, already."
Raikira-san said this as he returned after taking down a Charcoal Wolf. Mimino-san openly frowned.
"There's no need to make a child do anything."
"You keep calling him a kid, but in this forest, there's no distinction between children and adults. A brat who can't do anything just gets eaten by wolves and dies."
"Hmm..."
"Raikira-san is right. I want to do something, if only to protect myself."
"If Reiji-kun is that determined, I could teach you some of the magic I know, I suppose. But if you don't have any magical talent, we'll try something else, okay?"
"Yes! That's fine by me. Thank you, Mimino-san. And you too, Raikira-san..."
"Tch."
Raikira-san clicked his tongue, turned his back on us, and began skinning the Charcoal Wolf he had killed. Dantes-san had said, "The meat is too foul to eat," but apparently the hide could be sold.
Raikira-san... This is definitely it. He's a tsundere. Once I thought of him as a tsundere, I could strangely smile fondly and think, "Aw, can't be helped. Has his tsun side kicked in again?" But a lean, muscular beastman tsundere? No, thank you.
"Then I'll explain my magic."
"Ah..."
"Hm?"
"Um... Is asking about someone's Skills perhaps considered bad manners?"
"It is bad manners to ask when you've just met, but it's fine among comrades, y'know. Do you have any Skills, Reiji-kun?"
"...I, um..."
What should I do? If I told them about 【World Ruler】, I would inevitably have to talk about being reincarnated too. Would they believe me if I told them? And if word got out that I had used a ten-star Talent Jewel, it would inevitably reveal that I had been in the mine, and even that I had used it without permission and taken it out with me...
"Ah, it's fine, it's fine! I'll buy you a Talent Jewel sometime, okay? So don't worry if you don't have a Skill!"
As I hesitated, it seemed I had been written off as "a child without any Skills." That assessment was almost correct, but I couldn't bear to let even more "poor thing" points pile up in Mimino-san's mind.
"My Skills are..."
Mimino-san used a branch to write words in the dirt. Listed there in a row were all the Skills she possessed.
【Mana Enhancement 1・Magic Aptitude Enhancement 1・Mana Control 1・Flower Magic 2・Earth Magic 2・Convenient 1】
Oh... A magic-focused adventurer. As expected, I suppose.
【Flower Magic】 and 【Earth Magic】 were Skills linked to the "Magic Trait."
I could use a little 【Fire Magic】, but learning it through a Talent Jewel was overwhelmingly more efficient.
(Even so, I didn't have the money to buy a two-star Talent Jewel, and having Mimino-san teach me was the best option for me right now.)
Hinga the Elder had said that buying a two-star Talent Jewel cost about ten large silver coins.
In Japanese currency, that would be about 100,000 yen.
If one really let you buy magic, it might seem cheap enough, but without the proper aptitude, it was practically useless—and it would consume two precious slots to boot.
"First, like this—"
When Mimino-san raised her hand, a flower suddenly blossomed on a tree branch.
"【Flower Magic】 can work on trees as well as flowers, so this way, it can affect all sorts of things in nature."
"I see..."
I carefully memorized how the magic was activated.
Then I raised my hand in the same way,
"Like this!"
I borrowed the power of 【World Ruler】 and activated the magic—and...
"Eeeeeeh?!"
Three large flowers burst into bloom on the branch in rapid succession.
"A-amazing, amazing, Reiji-kun! You've got talent—"
I couldn't hear Mimino-san finish her sentence, because I collapsed on the spot.