The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic

Roughly three days have passed since I set foot in the realm of demons.

It is natural that it takes time for us to move around while exploring, but we are frequently attacked by demons.

We choose a place to rest at night to avoid being attacked, but we were still attacked by demons in the dark several times.

Well, even then we were able to deal with them without any difficulty because one of us, Veena and I who have magic perception and Amako and Nagi who have precognition magic, were on guard. ...... That's how harsh the realm of demons can be called a harsh place.

The place is a harsh land.

And now we are being chased by a pack of demons.

Large, green-haired, monkey-like creatures.

I sigh once more at the sight of countless demons running across the land, jumping from tree to tree, chasing us.

Venom Monkey. I miss those demons..."

It reminds me of the time I fell into the forest with my seniors.

The one that is chasing us now is much more ferocious than the one that chased us then, though it is built like a gorilla.

While I was wondering what to do, Amako, who was running next to me, called out to me.

"Usato, what are you going to do?　Even if we defeat them, other demons will come in to sidestep us.

"I guess so. There are so many signs around here.

"Ugh, Usato-kun!　Oh, that thing is sending poisonous mucus at us!

Hannah, who is carrying the baby on her back, shouts as she points behind her.

"Mr. El!

I know!

At the sound of my voice, Elle, who was following behind me, activates her wind magic and drops the poisoned liquid that has been blown away.

It would be troublesome if the others were poisoned, let alone me.

Nono-san's water magic will probably be able to make it slide away, though...

"Well, it probably doesn't make sense. It looks like that monster can climb trees.

If you do it, you'll take them down for sure.

But that would be a hassle if we had to deal with other demons as well.

We're not here to destroy the environment, and if we can avoid fighting, we should do so.

"Okay. This is ...... Koger!　Send out your alter egos!

You're using me as bait?

Yes!

Let's use it as bait.

Since we have already talked about it, KOGA will create an alter ego immediately.

It looks like a black alter ego in the shape of KOGA.

Nair, binding spell.

Yes, please.

"Thank you."

...... Okay, we're ready to go.

I remove my gaze from his palm and touch the shoulder of the alter ego of Koga who appears alongside me, then I grab his arm.

"Hmm?　What did you just attach...?"

"Well then, I'm counting on you!"

He swings his arm in a wide arc and throws it at the demon chasing him from behind.

Mistaking him for someone who has failed to escape, the demons begin to swarm around Koga's alter ego.

"It's working well as a decoy. It's very complicated.

At the moment Koga mutters with a blue face while looking behind him --- a green flash and a shockwave explode at the place where the demons are swarming, and the pile of demons is blown away.

"Where's ......?"

"Yes."

Everyone except me, Nair, and Amako turn around looking stunned, but I'm glad we made it anyway.

"I attached a healing explosive to the decoy before throwing it at them. I'm sure they won't chase us now."

"Do you know how much you just did to ......?　You even attached a bomb to my alter ego in the shape of me and used it as a decoy. ......?"

"It's okay, it's healing magic."

"Don't think that healing magic will always exempt you from ......!"

It's tactically effective and, more importantly, it doesn't harm us.

Well, I'm not so sure about the humanitarian aspect of it.

"This is me and Koga's friendship tag team move. Healing altercation blasts."

"Hey, can I hit you?

Now that we've separated the hordes of demons, let's find someplace safe to check out where we are.

Usato, Koga, I see something up ahead.

"Hmm?"

Nagi's voice made me look ahead.

I saw man-made structures that were clearly different from the view of the demon's domain, where I had only seen trees.

"...... Mr. Nagi."

"It looks abandoned. It doesn't look like it's been inhabited for a long time."

It looks pretty old when you get up close and look at it.

It is a solid rock structure, but too small to be considered a ruin.

"Mr. Hanna. Should we investigate this place?"

"......Yes. Wouldn't it be better to camp here in time?"

It will be dark soon.

I nodded to Hannah's words and looked at Coga.

"Hey, you guys, go check around and see if there are any demons around.

"""Yes, sir, sub-captain!"""

"No, I'm the captain, okay?"

I'll let my men take care of the perimeter.

Hanna and Nair are already looking at the ruins.

I'd like to investigate ...... too, but I'd like to ....... first.

"Let's get the camp stuff out of the way..."

<>

The cloak is opened and the tent and sleeping bag used for encampment pop out from the inside.

That's it.

"Now if only there was a watering hole. ......"

"I can hear the river running nearby, so it's there."

If Amaco, who has a good ear, says so, it's definitely there.

Well then, while we're at it, let's check the location of the watering hole.

"Mr. Nagi, Koga. Amako and I will go check the watering hole.

"Oh."

"Yeah, you got it."

With the two of you, Hannah and Nea will be fine.

With Amako on my back and Bulrin on my back, I head in the direction of the sound of the river.

"If there's a river near that ruin, it must be ...... a place originally intended for someone to live, right?"

"I think so. I think so. I don't think it's a ruin because of its size."

Isn't it a bit harsh to live in the realm of demons?

At least as far as we are concerned, it would be difficult to even live properly in a place infested with ferocious demons.

"Is there an intelligent life form living in such an environment ......?"

I thought they were gone.

<<

But the fact that there was a building here certainly means that someone lived here.

To the untrained eye, those ruins don't look like they are hundreds of years old.

"It depends on what Nair and Hannah think. I think a lot depends on how old the building is."

"Yes, I think so. I'm sure Nair will find something, and I'll leave it to him.

I know Nair and Amaco know how good he is.

She may be a bit out of it, but she has never failed us at the critical moment.

"...... while we're talking. I see the river."

In my ears I hear the sound of the river and ...... also the sound of a falling waterfall echoing from nearby.

I walk through the trees to an open area and find a large area that seems to be the basin of the waterfall.

"Oh, we're in a pretty big place, aren't we?

"Yeah. The water is clean and not too deep, so we can take a dip.

We can get drinking water if we boil it, and it's pretty good that we can get water here.

Immediately, Bulrin, who was carrying Amaco, puts his mouth to the water and starts to drink.

"Bulrin, can you drink it?"

"Gah!"

"...... seems to be okay."

I nodded at the cheerful sound of the bullfinches, and Keira stepped out of her cloak and peeked into the water.

"It's beautiful water, isn't it? There seem to be a lot of fish in it.

"The rich nature here is also different from the demon king's territory, isn't it?"

I knew that on the way here.

But now that the power of the Demon King has been removed, the land of the Demon King's domain will eventually return to normal like the others.

Well, we don't know how many years it will be, but it's nature.

"Well, now that we've checked the watering hole, let's go back. If we stay too long, we might run into the demons who came to drink the water.

"Yes."

"That's true."

Keira nodded at my words and entered the cloak, and Amaco got on Bulrin's back.

When I returned, I asked Neah and Hannah how things were going ...... and then---,

"...... hmm?"

A tingling sensation makes me turn around.

I feel like something is watching me .......

It's not a demon.......

"Usato?"

<>

Something's watching us. Amako, stay alert.

"!　Yes."

My skin crawls, or I have a strange sensation of being observed, and I float multiple magic bullets in my palm.

I don't know if they are trying to attack us or not, but let's find out first.

"Healing Magic Rampant Bullets - Applied Version!"

The bomb envelops a --- in the manner of a healing bomb.

After confirming that there are multiple magic bullets packed inside the translucent magic bullet, I swing the volleyball-sized magic bullet as hard as I can.

"Healing diffusion bullet!

I meditate and throw the magic bullet at random.

After Keira's surprised voice, the magic bullet flies diagonally upward.

After a few seconds of flying in a heap, the magic bullet bursts in mid-air, and the healing magic bullets that came out of it bounce down to the ground.

The particles of healing magic that fell to the ground affect the living creatures on the spot, and I can feel the sensation.

"...... people?"

Among the several reactions, there is one that is clearly different.

It was a human-like figure, not like a demon, that seemed to be in a panic and was about to start running.

At that point, we can assume that it is a subhuman or something, but the humanoid suddenly changes its appearance.

"...... What is it?　A demon?　Or is it something else?

The figure of the "something" that was touched by the healing magic particles I threw at it expands greatly, and I see it run away from the spot with beast-like movements.

"It's fast beyond human speed. It rivals those tough guys!"

"Hey, Usato. You strong-faced humans ......."

He is lost in thought as he goes through Amako's tsukkomi.

"...... going after it?"

He unfolds his cloak and gathers strength in his legs.

I know where he is, and I know where he ran off to.

With my legs and Keira's magic, I'm sure I can catch up with them. .......

"...... No."

We shouldn't be chasing them.

We can't leave Amaco and Bulrin behind, and most of all, we can't go alone.

It's not a good idea to go off the beaten path in a place where we don't know the left and right sides of the road.

Usato, what did you find?

Something was watching us. It's out of our range, so there's no point in chasing it.

"......, I think there's going to be some trouble here, too."

Hey, why are you looking so far away from me?

I have a feeling that something troublesome is going to happen, but it's not my fault, okay?

"Shea?"

If she had noticed us, she would have contacted us immediately. ...... or is she in too much danger to allow that?

If so, it would explain why her magic is light magic and not something that changes her appearance.

...... only deepens the mystery.