Chapter 9
1.
After that, Dojin and I grabbed a simple lunch before going our separate ways. I insisted on splitting the bill, but he flat-out refused, telling me to remember the difference in our incomes (not that he actually put it like that).
Dojin was Hero-ranked, so of course he made a ridiculous amount of money. Still, I was B-rank myself. I felt a little insulted, like he was looking down on me, but then I also felt cared for, and my mood went bouncing all over the place.
Ever since I became this body, my emotions seemed to swing wildly. When I was a man, I think I was more indifferent to everything. As a woman, even little things made me happy or sad.
Sometimes I liked that, and sometimes I didn't. Either way, this colorful life was more stimulating than the dull one I'd had before.
If you asked whether I preferred one or the other, both had their own pros and cons… but I couldn't help giving extra points to the life I was enjoying now.
"Ms. Lapis Lazuli."
"Yes?"
As I passed through the Gate, I was grinning at Dojin's contact info in my smartphone's contacts(1), when a Gate staff member called out to me. I thought they'd just hand me a call device like usual, but…
Wait, this person isn't staff?
At a glance, a beautiful woman with a black leather eyepatch and snow-white hair greeted me, dressed in office wear.
"I'm Opal, an A-rank examiner. Would you be all right with me assessing you for an A-rank promotion while you deal with the monsters?"
"Do I have to go with you?"
"No. You can just take this little one with you."
Opal said that, then gave a light whistle. The moment I heard it, an owl flew in from somewhere and landed gently on her arm.
Oh, it reminds me of the owls who deliver mail for wizards.
"This little one will follow you on its own."
"So I just do what I usually do?"
"Yes. Just do what you normally do, Ms. Lapis Lazuli."
I nodded to show I understood, formed a bubble, gained altitude, and flew off at high speed.
Just like last time, the monsters were moving in groups like a colony. It was a sight I never got tired of.
This was an A-rank promotion assessment, right? Then I should put on the best show I can, shouldn't I? Dojin was Hero-ranked, so I should at least be able to proudly call myself A-rank.
That way, I wouldn't feel as inferior to Dojin, and I wouldn't have to hear some awful thing like 'gold-digger' wherever I went.
"Blade Vortex."
It was a technique that left nothing recoverable behind, but it could wipe out in one strike a group of monsters large enough to cover a whole athletic field.
There was no way this technique would be underestimated! …I said confidently, but honestly, I was a little worried. A-ranks were monstrous people with enough power to destroy several cities.
If I had a little more magic to back me up, I could probably use several techniques like that. It was only a matter of time, right?
Still, I'd like to rank up as soon as possible. Reaching A-rank would give me something to talk about with Dojin, too.
Last time, I'd used too much power and left a huge scar in the ground, as if something enormous had scraped it away. This time, I controlled the power, so the ground was unharmed and the monsters' corpses were in relatively good shape. Though they still probably weren't worth recovering.
I finished off a few monsters that were still writhing by making spears and throwing them, then slowly descended from the sky.
I puffed my chest out. Was I really the same person who'd been cowering before monsters at the beginning? Lapis really is a legend…
While I was indulging in a little self-congratulation for fun, the owl flapped down toward me.
"Hukurooo!"
What a bizarre cry.
Do owls in this world sound like that?
2.
Bang!
Lapis had an instinctive feeling that something was flying toward her, so she formed a bubble. Iris came flying from dozens of meters away and kicked it.
"Ah, have you gotten better? Or was I just too predictable?"
"Iris…"
"Aren't you going to call me 'Senior'~?"
Iris chuckled mischievously. Lapis wondered why the alarm hadn't gone off this time like it had before.
"Master~ told me to make sure I capture you. Otherwise, all of us will get punished~ So I hope you won't resist and just let me catch you."
"Cut the bullshit."
"I'm serious, you know? If you resist, I'll break all your arms and legs."
"Do you think that'll scare me?"
"No. It wasn't a threat in the first place."
Iris immediately kicked off the ground and swung a fist at Lapis's face. Her ability amplified every action, making her fast, strong, and tough.
She broke through the three layers of water shields and grinned.
"That's true."
Lapis seemed completely unfazed by the water shields breaking. Did that mean she'd expected it?
"I doubt it."
"Don't go crying, 'Senior, I'm sorry~' after I hit you again, okay?"
Iris looked relaxed despite standing right in front of Lapis. Lapis was just as composed. Iris thought Lapis seemed to have given up, yet she still wouldn't stop talking. She really was 'all mouth.'
"I've come this close, and you're still standing there. Can I take that as surrender?"
"You think I'm surrendering to you?"
They were close enough to touch if they reached out. Iris and Lapis were having a conversation. Iris couldn't quite understand it. Where was Lapis getting that confidence? None of Lapis's attacks or defenses had done her any good.
Besides, Lapis used a fighting style that favored long-range attacks. Iris could only fight at close range, but her offensive power should far surpass Lapis's defensive power, shouldn't it?
"Hah!"
Iris threw a playful straight punch. She hadn't even drawn her arm back properly, but amplified by her ability, that punch could shatter boulders and make buildings shake as if there'd been an earthquake.
Kwaaang! The impact felt as if she'd hit a building. At the same time, Iris looked puzzled while Lapis wore a confident expression, and their eyes met.
The water shield Lapis had created. Its increased durability had been enough to withstand Iris's punch.
"You bitch!"
"Lance."
A dozen or so huge cavalry lances appeared behind Lapis and shot forward. They were traveling three times faster than anything Iris had faced before. Even the sensation of them tearing through the air was intense.
The whistling sound made her feel that she'd be torn apart the moment they touched her.
Iris spun her body and kicked away every incoming lance, making sure not to hit the tips. She realized all too clearly that the piercing force of the tips was enough to penetrate even her body.
Thoom! Thoom! Even though she was batting away lances made of water, it felt like she was hitting steel. Iris felt her hands and feet go numb. The recoil was strong enough that if she blocked one wrong, her wrists or ankles would swell up.
"Growth…? No, you awakened?"
"Do you call this awakening? It's my first time, so I don't really know."
This time, a blob of water came flying at her. It wasn't as fast as the lances, but it carried an even more menacing force. The sound of it tearing through the air made those water blobs feel like bullets.
Kwakwakwa! Iris jumped to the side to dodge, and the barrage of water blobs pursued her, mercilessly wrecking the spot where she'd been standing. The moment they struck, their explosive force—on par with a small grenade—smashed the ground to pieces.
Fortunately, there was no additional damage from flying debris. Clods of dirt and rock fragments meant nothing against Iris's magic barrier.
Like a flying squirrel, Iris dodged the attack and rushed at Lapis again. Her attack and defense were far stronger than before. She'd been the one Iris toyed with like a toy until now!
"You've turned into quite the lunatic, haven't you?"
"And you're one to talk?"
She didn't seem to care at all about the destruction. Then again, Opal was the one who'd lured Lapis out to such a deserted place, so she had no room to complain.
Iris pulled her elbow all the way back and threw a proper punch at Lapis. Under normal circumstances, it would have been enough to bring down even a building in one strike, but…
Squish!
"W-what!?"
The jelly-soft water blob killed her momentum. Once it hit the shield, even a blow with that terrifying force became utterly futile.
Iris pulled her hand out of the jellylike water. Its sticky feel was like having some kind of sauce smeared on her hand. It was unpleasantly sticky.
"This petty trick!"
Iris released her magic to blow away all the moisture and tried to attack with a kick. But Lapis hadn't been sitting around doing nothing. The lance she'd fired was about to reach Iris before her kick could.
Iris quickly gave up on her attack and knocked the lance back toward Lapis. Lapis turned the lance flying at her into water, making it disperse in a spray.
"You've learned an interesting trick. What was your name again? Lapis Lazuli?"
"Yes. Her name is Lapis Lazuli. She's a rookie who's been registered for a little over a month."
With the sound of footsteps on dirt, Opal—the white-haired beauty Lapis had seen earlier—appeared. Her outfit had changed from office wear to one that suited the Collector's tastes: an outfit that left her breasts and crotch completely exposed, apparently serving no purpose but to arouse the opposite sex.
"…You attack civilians too?"
"Villains don't think about who they attack, kid!"
Iris kicked a pebble at her feet. It was a simple action, but the pebble flew toward Opal like a bullet fired from a gun.
The shield blocked the pebble, and Iris charged at her. If she'd blocked herself with a shield, then no attack would come from the front!
But when she saw water blasts shooting out of the shield, she had no choice but to jump to the side at once.
"You even kidnap civilians and brainwash them?"
"I am not a civilian, Ms. Lapis Lazuli."
As Opal spoke, a huge snake with thick scales appeared beneath Lapis's feet. Its teeth came in two or three rows, making it clear it had evolved to chew through anything it ate.
It was a Great Sandworm, one of the familiars Opal kept. If Lapis failed to defend herself when it ambushed her, she'd be reduced to a pile of meat.
But even the Sandworm's sharp teeth couldn't pierce Lapis's bubble. From inside it, Lapis fired a high-pressure water jet in a straight line, slicing the Sandworm clean in half.
Thud! The giant Sandworm's corpse hit the ground, spilling blood. And Lapis was still floating above it in her bubble. The Sandworm's blood clung to the surface of the bubble and trickled down in sticky trails.
"Ah. So I was tricked about that whole A-rank promotion assessment thing, too."
"As expected of a magical girl worthy of Master's interest."
"Could you keep the conversation going?"
Lapis sighed. The bubble's defenses weren't enough to stand up to Iris, so she slowly descended and dispelled it.
And at that moment, lightning struck her from the sky.
"Guhhh!"
"Water, huh… Perfect matchup for me."
A beautiful blonde woman appeared, swaying languidly. When the lightning stopped, Lapis glared at her. Even without seeing the attack itself, she could tell from the traces of magic alone that the woman was responsible.
"How many people did that bastard send after me just to catch me?"
On top of that, the Master had sent Iris, their strongest fighter. It was encouraging that Lapis had become capable of going toe-to-toe with an A-rank like Iris, but the witches appearing one after another, each with a special ability of her own, were getting on her nerves.
Wham!
"Urk!"
This time, a magic bullet suddenly flew in and struck her temple. If she hadn't been channeling her magic, the attack would have shattered her head and scattered blood and brains everywhere.
It was fortunate her head hadn't been broken, but the hit had landed on her temple of all places. Her vision swam, she was terribly dizzy, and she could barely keep her balance.
Now a sniper, too?! Lapis gritted her teeth. There were at least four enemies. Iris was an equal match for her, and of the other three, at least two seemed to have figured out her weaknesses in advance.
"Wait, did you just call Master a bastard?"
Iris charged at Lapis first. Lapis's attacks had gotten too strong to put the others on the front line. If they failed to draw her attacks in another direction, one or two of them would die in an instant.
"Then he's a real bastard."
"You bitch!"
As Iris charged, lightning crackled past her ear and reached Lapis first.
Lapis created a bubble and knocked the lightning aside. Even though her affinity gave her the advantage, since the attack was made of magic, it couldn't overturn the fundamental difference in power.
Thunk. The sniper's shot from far away was blocked by the bubble, too. Her bubble had two layers now. One had insulating properties, and the other was elastic. They were bubbles designed to counter the sniper and the lightning.
"You! Even if you cry and apologize to Master, I won't forgive you!"
"I doubt that'll happen."
Iris was the only one who could break the bubble, but Lapis didn't even let her get close. Water droplets formed between Iris and Lapis, then exploded, spraying water in every direction.
"Urk!"
Even splashing her with water caused damage. Iris had no choice but to get out of range of the spray.
"Shouldn't I be the one getting annoyed? Today was such a great day for me…"
At Lapis's gesture, the water around them began to rise, sloshing up around their feet. Normally, she wouldn't have cared about the water level, but she couldn't help being wary when her opponent could control water.