The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic

Two days have passed since my return to the city.

I was more mentally exhausted than I had expected, and slept until noon the day after my return. Since I had told my unit in advance that I was going to take a day off, I might have had a day of "nothing" for the first time since I came to this city.

After two days of rest and recovery, I decided to train early in the morning to acclimatize my body.

"Ah!"

A slash grazes my forelock.

The attack, which my eyes can barely catch, is so sharp and sophisticated that it's a challenge just to avoid it.

"Your consciousness is still being pulled back to the time when you still have the basket hand!"

"Yes ......!!!"

I don't know how many times I've had to train early in the morning with Mr. Nero.

Today, for some reason, neither Nagi nor Amira were invited, so it was just the two of us, him and me.

--- correcting my fighting style since I lost my cage hand.

That's what I had asked Nero to do for me in this training.

"I'm sure that this new technique has a certain amount of defensive power. But not as good as the old baskets."

The healing coating on his left arm is ripped off by the wind magic released.

I avoid the cleave with a backflip and land on the ground, and with my arm covered with magic power again, I take a ready stance to meet the blade of wind that Nero had released.

"Healing flow!"

"...... hmm."

He is slightly surprised at my success in passing on the wind's magic power by applying a magical spinning motion.

This is the first time I'm showing you ......!　If this can pass Nero's slash, I'm willing to be a little aggressive!

He steps hard with his elasticity-giving magic and strikes at me, accelerating with the recoil.

"Healing Afterimage Fist!

"Interesting move as usual! But..."

Nero tries to aim accurately at me without paying attention to the magical afterimages, but he doesn't even look at me and blows away the healing bombs that I put inside the afterimages with the wind.

"I'm used to your bad habits."

What?

I told you, I can't get through.

Ugh!

The protruding hilt of the wooden sword pierced my abdomen. ......!

I'm not sure if they'll see through my half-baked technique!　But!

"Hm?"

The green magic attached to the handle of Nero's wooden sword.

It adjusts the elasticity of the sword, and the clinging magic blocks the movement of his hand!

"Healing adsorption fist!　Ha ha ha!　You shouldn't touch me so carelessly!

"Sometimes I wonder if you're on the human side."

He covers both hands with magic and strikes Mr. Nero.

You don't have to hit him directly!

Just make him defend himself, and I'll attach my magic to him and slow him down!

I'm going to change that smug look on your face!

"That's good spirit! I'm sure I'll be able to teach you too.

He swings his fists, strikes with kicks, and attacks with all five parts of his body.

The dynamic movement is different from the defensive fighting of Kagote before---a fighting style similar to that of my master, Rose.

"That's right. Attack more greedily."

Yes!

With each fist, the wind covers Nero's body.

If this was a mock battle in which I had not used my wind armor and had taken it easy on him, now he had decided that I was an opponent he should fight with magic.

"I'm going to hit him with some force, can't you?"

Yes!

The wind blows away the healing magic that I had attached to him to impede his movement, and Nero is free.

He pointed the tip of his wooden sword at me, and as if to draw back, he attacked me with extraordinary speed, gathering the air around him as if to engulf it.

I was so fast that the air around me was swirling around me.

"Well done."

The outcome of the mock battle remained the same, with the result that I was beaten to a pulp.

The opponent was a monster just like Rose.

Although I was disappointed with the result, I felt really grateful to him for going along with my training.

"At first, I was pulled by the habits I had when I had a cage hand, but you seem to have gotten used to it.

"Yes, I managed to ......"

I had an idea to train my dulled body again, but I was still very tired from the mock battle with Mr. Nero.

But it was quite a productive time.

"You are flexible in your thinking. You will soon learn new ways to fight. I see you've already ...... developed a few strange tricks."

I'm aware of that.

Well, it's no wonder they call me eccentric.

It's actually an insidious technique that attaches magic to the opponent and makes it hard for him to move.

"But it's just like you. It's even more annoying than a good attack."

Is that a compliment?

"Of course I'm complimenting you."

He must really mean it as a compliment, even though he has a straight face.

In fact, I knew that it would work well enough in a real battle when I made Nero think that it was a troublesome technique.

"Losing the cage hand is a good opportunity. From now on, don't limit yourself to using only your fists, but search for various ways to fight, and you will become stronger.

"Various ways of fighting?"

I'm not really good with weapons. .......

So, like throwing or kicking?

"Take a look at Rose's fighting style from the last fight. He uses not only his own body, but also the things around him such as stones and wood as weapons.

"...... I see."

It means that they are not only self-contained through physical combat, but also utilize the terrain around them.

Throwing rocks at them is stronger than throwing magic bullets. ...... I wouldn't do it because it's too dangerous to throw it at people.

"Thank you very much. I think I'm getting the hang of it."

"I'm glad I could be of service, even if my advice was a bit rubbish."

I can't believe I'm so clumsy: .......

"I'm not good at teaching people anything, apparently. The fact that Amira is the only one I've ever had as a student is proof of that."

"No, I think Nero is the type of person who needs to have a certain level of ability to teach others."

He seems to be a sensible man.

The level of competence that he/she is looking for in a partner is unconsciously high, so that the person being instructed may not be able to understand and may drop out.

"At least I have benefited from your advice."

"I see. ......"

"I already have a master, so I can't become your apprentice."

"Hmmm, I think Amira would be distraught if I did."

He smiled at my joke and relaxed his shoulders.

Then, after about ten seconds of thoughtful silence, he opens his mouth to me again.

"Usato, I heard that you recovered the body of Rose's unit ......."

"...... yes."

I nodded to Nero's words.

I wasn't sure whether or not to bring up the subject, but the fact that Mr. Nero brought it up must mean that he was ready for it.

"Are you going to see him now?"

"......Yes, I think so. I'll let you know.

I decided to take him to the place where the body was found without exchanging too many words, considering his feelings.

I was so happy to see him.

The coffins were placed in a building near his mansion, which resembled a church at first glance, where six coffins containing Rose's men were placed.

When we open the door and step into the deserted building, we see the coffins illuminated by the morning sun shining through the window.

"......"

"......"

Nero did not speak a word on the way here.

The same was true after we entered the building, where he remained silent, looking down at the coffin.

"He's not here, but Mr. Ahl says he has no grudge against the demon tribe."

"...... the warrior who defended Rose?"

"Yes."

We have already heard that Mr. Ahl defended Rose when she tried to attack him, and that she was ...... with her wounds.

"You look like you're hoping he'll hate you."

"...... I guess so. I've done that much."

He relaxes his shoulders lightly after saying that much, and speaks again.

Rose has gotten over it in the first place, and Mr. Ahl holds no grudge.

......I know it's not my place to say this, but .......

"The rest is about whether or not Nero can forgive himself."

"......"

"......I honestly don't care either way. Because either way, you'll still be living your life."

Yeah, right. That's right.

I look at him nodding and decide it's okay.

I sigh lightly and cower my shoulders.

"I can't say anything more. I'm not qualified to speak highly of you.

"You're too harsh."

And don't say anything out of line or you'll get the leader of the group to say something he shouldn't!　I don't want him to get mad at me.

He's a tough guy.

That's the kind of man he is.

He is strict with people, but I think he is strictest with himself.

He smiles a little at my words and turns to face forward.

"Can you leave me alone for a minute?"

"Sure. I'm going to go to ...... to see the Demon Lord for a while.

"Yeah."

At this hour, the Demon Lord is probably already awake.

I leave Nero in the building.

"Just like the Commander, he's a clumsy guy. ......"

Although they are different in type, Rose and I are similar in our clumsiness.

With this in mind, I proceed to the demon king's mansion next to the building, and find a big-built demon tribe standing at the entrance.

"Oh, he knows we're coming here, doesn't he? ......"

Sighing at the sight of the Demon King, I approach him and call out to him.

"Are you sure you want to be out so early in the morning?"

The Demon Lord uncrosses his arms and cower his shoulders while leaning his back against the wall of the building.

"What, I'm just going for a walk..."

"It's interesting to see the Demon King walking around, isn't it?"

"A healed wizard running around town like a dog would be interesting, too."

""......""

Silence, as if to gauge each other's timing.

They glare at each other for a moment, and then the Demon Lord speaks up.

"Nero is a difficult man. Nero is a difficult man. He will not easily break the commandments he has set for himself.

"I think it's fine the way it is, though."

"Well, that's just the way I am."

Why am I swearing now?

I'm usually confused by the abruptness of it.

"Well, I'd say Mr. Nero is more respected than you.

I don't like the idea of being respected by you.

They sigh, glancing at each other lightly.

What do you mean by creepy, creepy?

"I heard that Shea Garmio was sucking something out of the corpse, so I did some research myself.

I switch my thoughts to the Demon King, who suddenly starts talking to me.

Shea was sucking something out of the six people. ...... I don't know what it was, but I wonder if the Demon Lord found out something.

Did you find out anything?

"She's been drained of her magic."

"!　Magic, sir?　You mean that magic that you're using to remove the magic?"

It's not that convenient.

Shaking his head, the demon king denies it.

"Magic and the soul are closely related. Even if it is magic, there is a certain amount of work and cost involved when magic itself (・・・・) is extracted from a living person. At least, that's the kind of magic I know."

The first thing that came to my mind was Kanoko-san, who was deprived of her magic power by a magical tool called "Twa" in Hinomoto, the land of beastmen.

She had fallen into an unawakened sleep because she had been deprived of her magical power.

Then, the magic that Shea was using is ......

"It should be seen as taking magic from the dead. I have a few ideas myself."

If that is the case, then the six were extracted from the magic they possessed.

"I don't know what they took the magic for or why, but as far as I'm concerned, they're not going to use it for anything."

"If they just use your magic, you're not much of a threat. ......"

Their magic is only strong when those six work together.

Just using them is not that much ......, but I'm only worried about the fact that they took only Mr. Ahl with them.

I don't see the point in talking about this forever."

"...... yeah."

"You have a few days before you return to the Lingle Kingdom, what do you plan to do?"

Isn't that a strange thing to ask?

Is it an assumption that you are going to do something?

I am disappointed at the Demon King's unreasonable recognition, and tell him about what I decided with Mr. Uluru and others two days ago.

"I haven't had much opportunity to interact with the people of the town for some reason, so I thought I would help the town until my return.

"....... Are you insane?"

I don't know why they questioned my sanity.

How can you say you want to help the city and get this much ......?