Chapter 5
Expelled Girl
#1
Translator : PolterGlast
"It's
embarrassing for me to say this, but I've been expelled from my own
party."
Fenley began to tell
me why she ended up here.
The hand that was
clutching the robe I gave her was trembling, and it was easy to imagine that it
wasn't a good memory.
"Fenley too? I
was actually just expelled yesterday."
That's why I try to
make it as easy as possible for her to talk to me.
The effect is
instantaneous.
"Fueeee~!? Who
could be such a big fool as to expel Rikuto-sama!? I mean, you defeated
Belluja, who is said to be the most fearsome of all the high-ranking officers
of the Demon Lord's Army, without even touching him at that! This is the first
time I've ever seen such a powerful person! When I saw such a figure, I was
completely infatuated with-...... Kyaa! Oh no, my mouth, what am I
saying!?"
She's somewhat getting
worked up, but I'll just leave her alone.
Was that guy called
the most fearsome? He was indeed a scary guy, though.
"Fuu~ haa~....
I'm sorry, I keep talking by myself."
Fenley took a deep
breath to calm herself down.
"The party I used
to be in was an A-rank party."
It's not easy to get
to A rank. I don't mean to say this, but how could you get into such a party?
"Having risen to
A rank, we decided to test our strength by going to this [Cave of Death]."
Oh, I am kinda
familiar with such a story.
"At first,
everything was fine. But then Belluja found us, and when he saw me, he attacked
me. So rather than help me escape, everyone insisted on leaving me behind and
forcefully expelled me."
Fenley said so with
faint tears at the corners of her eyes. I think she was treated so badly that
it's hard for her to recall.
"I was licked all
over my body by that snake and- ...... strung up and- ...... hic~ ...... u~
...... u~eee-!"
"All right, I get
it now. I'm sorry you had to be reminded of that."
I gently stroked
Fenri's head and wiped her tears while I was at it.
"Rikuto-sama is
the only one who is so kind to me......"
"It's okay, this
is normal."
Fenley's cry went on
for a while.
"Speaking of
which, you didn't mention why you were in that A-rank party."
Fenley opened her
mouth again after her tears dried up. Her eyes were red and swollen from
rubbing them.
"I have a certain
curse on me."
"A curse?"
"Yes. It is a
very powerful curse. I have a unique skill that allows me to use any debuffing
skill, ≪Debility≫."
"That's amazing!
There is no one else who can do such a thing."
I honestly praised
her, with no exaggeration or anything.
"No, it's not
amazing at all. This ability can only be used on me. In other words, I can only
apply those debuffs to myself."
I see. So, as a result
of applying the ability to herself, all of her stats are at their lowest.
If I can solve it for
her, I will do it.
Even then, I still had
to ask her.
"One of the
skills I possess is ≪Nullification≫. It is a kind of a one-time-use skill that repels all
kinds of magic in exchange for reducing all of my stats to G-rank. But once it
is used, it cannot be canceled."
If it's just to weaken
the power of an attack, even I can do it too, but I can't repel it. It is a
very powerful ability. But in exchange, she has to pay such a price......
The reason why Fenley,
who was in such a condition, persisted in the A-ranked party. I could kind of
guess it. There are people who would do terrible things. Perhaps Fenley was...
"I was useless in
battle, but I had the role of repelling magic. I was treated like a tool, like
a piece of luggage."
I knew it.
Although she is
smiling as he speaks, she must have been through a lot of dangerous situations.
"Our party was
called [The Mage Slayers]. We hunted monsters that were good at magic attacks.
Our tactics were simple. When we encounter a monster, the first step is to throw
me forward. The monster would attack me, but I would repel the attack. The
subjugation is completed!"
Fenley smiles.
It sounds simple, but
it's hard to imagine that it would always work.
"When a smart
monster realized that magic doesn't work, it usually resorted to attacking me
directly. I run for my life and run around trying to survive. I've cried ......
so many times, and ...... there's ...... there were times when I lost my
consciousness."
There is no more smile
on her face.
"Who are those guys!?
I'll beat them up myself!"
Anger welled up in me.
I couldn't allow them
to do such a dangerous thing to a girl.
"It's okay. Thank
you for getting angry for me. But I had no way to make money and it was the
only way I could do, so I had no other choice. Besides, It was what I wanted to
do ......"
The girl's voice and
body tremble.
She must have been
suffering for a long time, alone.
"Fenley. Will you
go with me?"
I said so and wrapped
my hand around hers, so thin and soft that it looked as if it was about to
break.
"Eh ......? But
I'm really useless. I'm a useless girl whose only merit is to repel magic, and
I'm incompetent enough to be used as a decoy at best."
"Don't say that. Fenley
is not useless, neither a tool, nor a baggage, nor a hopeless girl. Of course,
you're also not incompetent."
I grab her shoulders
and stare into her beautiful eyes.
And then,
"And you're not
cursed."
"Eh?"
"I'll take care
of it."
"What do you
mean? ...... It is impossible. Even Rikuto-sama can't break this curse. I even
borrowed money to ask a person who could remove a spirit or break a curse, but
it did not work."
I honestly have no
confidence or basis that I can do it either. But it is worth a try. It should
be possible if my ability exceeds Fenley's ≪Nullification≫. Either that or .......
"Do you have a
curse mark somewhere?"
It's not a simple
ability, and with a curse this powerful, it should be somewhere on her body.
"Umm, maybe this
one."
Fenley lifted up her
clothes to reveal her stomach.
There is a bruise-like
curse mark on her navel.
"Well, excuse me
for a moment."
I touched the spot
with my hand.
"Hyan~!"
Fenley let out a
strange voice.
No, stop. Don't think
about anything strange.
If negative thoughts
enter my mind now, I might fail.
"This might hurt
a little."
"Yes. I'll endure
it. But please be gentle."
I shook my head and
let the distractions slip away.
Then I take a deep
breath. Alright.
[≪Reversal≫]
I chanted and
activated my ability.
"Nn~!"
As soon as Fenley let
out a voice, the spell mark went away cleanly.
──────────
Name: Fenley
Stamina: B
Physical Attack: B
Physical Defense: B
Magic Attack: B
Magic Resistance: B
Magic Power: B
Agility: B
──────────
What the heck, you're
better than me.
"It's a success, Fenley.
It's all right now-- uwa~!?"
"Thank you! Thank
you, Rikuto-sama! I can see the world looking so bright!"
Fenley hugged me and
thanked me over and over again. She's bursting with joy, which is kind of
making me happy, too.
I have overturned the
restriction of not being able to deactivate it by ≪Reversal≫. Maybe my ability was stronger, or maybe it worked because I have zero
magic power and thus my ability is not based on magic.
Whatever the case, I'm
glad I was able to help Fenley.
For the first time, I
am glad I have zero magic power.
