Chapter 8
Secret Technique,
Pillbug
Translator : PolterGlast
I turned around, and
there was a black-haired young man.
(...His eyes!)
But I only saw him for
a moment. My eye color had completely changed now, and they were bright red. It
was like advertising that I was a demon. I immediately lowered my eyes, turned
my back to the young man, and crouched down. My heart was pounding loudly, and
my body was trembling. Had he seen me? I didn't know. I desperately tried to
suppress my breathing, which was becoming erratic with tension, and clasped my
hands in front of my chest.
"...Hey?"
The man behind me
spoke in a low voice. During all this commotion, the squirrel-type monster (but
it was a unicorn) had scurried away in surprise. Demons were targets for
extermination. If I had been seen, it would be very bad. I slowly swallowed my
ragged breath. And then I turned around.
We stared at each
other in silence. My eye color should have been the same as the original El's,
bright blue.
It was the illusion
skill. If I could change my hair length by about two centimeters, then I should
be able to change my eye color too. It was too late to regret not practicing
properly. My level had also gone up by one since then.
While the man and I
stared at each other, only the rustling wind passed by. A leaf fluttered down
and gently swayed on the water's surface with a splash. Ripples spread out,
one, two. During that time, I held my breath the whole time. I switched from
the detection skill to the cleaning skill so I could escape immediately. If I raised
my voice here, maybe the slimes would come to help me. Maybe.
The man still had deep
wrinkles firmly etched between his eyebrows, and he was looking down at me with
eyes that were a mixture of black and purple. "Are you alone? Where are
your parents?" It was a proper question in a conversation. He didn't reach
for the two swords at his waist. "Good," I breathed out. Illusion
skill Lv. 2, you're quite something. It seemed my eyes were bright blue now.
The air I was finally
able to inhale tasted delicious. "Haaah," I repeated, taking deep
breaths as if sighing. "Um, well," I thought, taking my time by
gesturing as if to pat the dirt where I had been sitting. Oops, I hadn't
finalized my story yet.
I had aimed for the
city, but how would I get into it? And what would I do once I got in? I had
been so focused on going that I hadn't thought about anything else. It wasn't
my skills that were useless, it was me. My brain couldn't keep up with my
abilities. Sorry, El.
"Uh, I, uh, got
separated..."
"Separated?"
His voice was dubious.
I gulped.
If I lied and said I
was a child from the city, I would be in trouble if he asked where I lived, and
it was a strange place to be abandoned. If I honestly said the name of the
village I lived in, they would immediately suspect me if they knew a demon had
been born a few days ago and the body hadn't been confirmed. I had no choice
but to aim for the safest option.
As I answered
hesitantly, my gaze wavering, he said, "You got separated from your
parents and somehow made it to the water's edge alone?" "Y-yes!
That's it!" I decided to go along with that.
【Acquired Title: Clumsy Liar】
Hey, stop it.
There was no point in
threatening the announcement. "Phew," I inhaled and thought.
"So, um..." No, maybe this situation was a chance. I was young now,
but that could also be a weapon. I didn't know who this person was, but maybe
he would take me to the city as a mysterious lost child. If I could somehow get
inside by making up a name for my parents, I would be set.
"Um, I...!"
"I've been
dispatched from the knighthood, but... hmm? Did you say something?"
"Never
mind."
I quickly zipped my
lips shut. If I got caught, it was an instant extermination course. There was
no way I would let that happen. I decided to shift my focus to escaping with
all my might.
The man sighed in
exasperation and bent his knees. He had to do that because the difference in
height between me and him was too great. It wasn't that he was incredibly tall,
just that I was too young. Roughly speaking, if he was in his late teens, and I
was eight, there was about a ten-year difference. Compared to my memories of my
previous life, he seemed like a very grown-up young man, but this was a fantasy
world of swords and magic. It couldn't be helped.
He continued in a frank
tone.
"Recently, slimes
have been disappearing from the forest. I came to investigate that... It's
likely that a powerful monster has appeared. You shouldn't think of this as
your usual forest right now."
Could that powerful
monster perhaps be me? I couldn't exactly say that I had been enjoying playing
queen by piling up slimes.
"Ah, I, is that
so... Um, thank you for the warning..."
The young man raised
one well-shaped eyebrow, wondering what to make of my awkward smile.
"That's why it's dangerous
here. And that monster you were reaching for earlier, they might be cute when
they're young, but there's a possibility that adults are around. Listen, kid,
you need to be more careful or you'll die easily."
I got scolded for now.
His tone was rough, but maybe he was kind.
"Sorry," I
said, lowering my head, feeling ashamed of my ignorance, while remembering the
back of the monster that had suddenly disappeared. Unicorns were monsters that
had to be exterminated. You rarely saw them, but if you attacked them, the
retaliation would be terrifying, and they would chase you endlessly.
"But, um... it
ran away though."
"Is that
okay?" I asked, pointing to the place where it had disappeared.
"Huh?" he raised one eyebrow again, waved his hand dismissively, and
said, "Who knows? Who cares?".
"If it runs away,
let it go. There's no problem as long as we don't attack it."
"Haa..."
He was surprisingly
frank for someone who said he was from the knighthood. Was that normal? Or was
it just this person? I didn't know.
I looked at the young
man again. He didn't seem to care much about his appearance; his hair was
messy. But because his features were naturally handsome, it almost seemed like
he was doing it on purpose. He was a good-looking person.
The young man had
boots that looked easy to move in, laced up to his knees, and his cloak
fluttered. He said he had come to investigate the disappearance of the slimes,
so his current attire was probably different from his usual. He was wearing
inconspicuous light armor and carrying a large backpack, probably containing
food. He also had two swords at his waist, and for some reason, my eyes were
drawn to them. They weren't particularly magnificent, but maybe it was because
they suited him so well.
This person might be
in this forest for a while longer. That's because I had already released the
original slimes, so no matter how much he searched, he wouldn't find the cause.
I was very sorry. This older brother was just on a wild goose chase.
However, this man...
he looked strangely familiar, I thought, racking my brain, but I couldn't
figure it out at all, so I decided to chalk it up to my imagination. I was born
and raised in the village as El, but I had never met such a handsome man
before. The village had a small population, and I knew everyone's faces and
names. If I had to say, my childhood friend who I grew up with had promising
looks, but he was a bit older than me, so it was still in the future.
"But what should
I do..."
Our eyes met, and
although I was treated like a child, I was definitely a child, so I had no
complaints. What on earth was he worried about? "Um, Sir Knight?" I
asked, and the young man made a very displeased face. I wondered what had
offended him, and then he averted his gaze with a small voice, saying,
"It's not that."
"Even though I'm
in the knighthood, I'm just the lowest of the low, a mere soldier. That's why
I'm the one sent to a place like this."
"Haa..."
Oh dear, my apologies
were increasing. Hello, I'm the culprit.
However, I had a vague
idea of the reason the young man was thinking. He had found one kid. She
claimed to have been separated from her parents. It would be bad to leave her
alone, but difficult to take her along. While he was groaning about what to do,
I clapped my hands together in a "nin nin" gesture. This was my
chance. If I missed this moment, escape would be difficult.
If he wasn't a Sir
Knight, then he was a soldier. No, even that felt awkward. "Big
brother"... "Hmm?" "The slimes, maybe they've already gone
back to normal. Maybe you should go back sooner." I felt a pang of
conscience, so I told him. "What are you talking about?" He blinked
his black-purple eyes and looked at me suspiciously, so I grinned. And then I
jumped out with all my might.
"Secret
Technique! Pill Bug!!"
Roll, roll, roll. With
a violent somersault as if leaping out, I disappeared. "Eh? Oh?
Haaah!?" I heard the young man's bewildered voice behind me. Of course, I
hadn't really disappeared. I had just activated my illusion skill for a moment
to camouflage my surroundings.
The skill's effect had
already worn off, but I switched from the cleaning skill to the detection skill
and sensed for the young man's presence. With the vague clue of "maybe
he's over there," I ran through the forest. The older brother could
probably catch me if he got serious, but I didn't think he would go that far.
Just as I imagined.
It was a one-shot
deal, but I was relieved that I managed to use the skill and escape from the
knight, or rather, the soldier big brother. I wanted to avoid contact with
anyone with military power as much as possible.
However, I regretted
using the skill without thinking too much, and a few days later, I was
trembling. It was a big one.
"Wasshaaaaaay!!"
I raised the fishing rod with a shout. Water splashed up along with a magnificent fish. "I caught it, how's that!!!" I had acquired a new skill, fishing skill.
-----
Thank you for my Patrons !!
[Platinum]
MaxKne
Swagaraga
[Gold]
B random
DavidA
Nepheos
[Silver]
Creris
Fred A.
Frédéric Bertrand-Hudon
Anton Lim
Ctdela
Curious Panda
Read Advanced Chapters only on my Patreon
-----
