"The Demon Lord has been resurrected!!!"
Finally! I knew it!
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but Sharlan, you were actually right!" Said Quinci, astonished that Sharlan's words, which caused her many a trouble before, had actually come to pass.
"Guess you were right, Sharlan." Said one of the guild randos.
"Well, are you gonna save us?" Asked another.
"Let's see you actually carry out what you promised." Said a third.
Something along those lines, said a fourth, fifth, sixth, until the whole guild was pressuring Sharlan into taking up the quest.
"Silence" the Guild master reminded the people "I cannot allow low ranks to take up high level quests. It is not covered by any insurance plans that we offer here, so it would be a loss for both parties involved."
A great disappointment to all the people present. The guild master kept talking.
"We are in desperate need of adventurers who can take on this quest. Defeating the Demon Lord will significantly decrease monster attacks. They will lose their confidence. Moreover, the Demon Lord himself, may wage war against Theta if given enough time to prepare. So please, anyone who's capable, do accept this quest."
The guild was silent, as no one thought themselves capable of taking on such a threat. Sharlan yelled.
"I'll do it! Just wait. I'll reach Oganesson Rank and I'll take on the quest, and defeat the Demon Lord! Just give me a week!"
"I appreciate your enthusiasm, but you do realize that you're still in Lithium Rank? A quest like this can only be accepted by Lanthanides and above.” the guild master looked around for volunteers.
Silence.
“Anyone? Hmm. The king has also issued a bounty on the Demon Lord's head. So, expect a nice reward."
Suddenly, the guild erupted with cheers and people started rushing to sign up. Words like "I hope it's another tax exemption" could be heard.
Huh. I guess it's more common than I imagined. Plus, I guess it's a royal reward, so that means it's the same thing as comparing a noble to a peasant. And since we still have nobility, that means that having a tax exemption is not an unheard of concept. Huh. I wonder if the nobles pay taxes.
The party that is the focus of this narrative, all gathered together to decide on their plan of action.
"Ok, so first. Do I need to register Lesli in the guild?"
"Yes, you should do that now."
"Ok." Sharlan did that. It turned out that the slave had a whopping 98 mana. (This is really high for this world.)
"Huh, I guess this changes a couple of things. Lesli and Jolene, you guys are gonna be the mages. I guess I'll be a healer tank. That's a strange designation. Quinci, what abilities do you have?"
"Well, my mana is pretty low, plus I can't really fight since I'm so small, but I can offer my own pretty helpful ability. I can make a fairy dust trail. Monsters who touch fairy dust, start to dissolve in it so they avoid it at all costs. I think that it would even be effective against the Demon Lord."
"Oh wow, that sounds really strong. How much of it are you able to make? Maybe we can use it as a weapon?"
"No, I can't make that much of it. But I can make enough to lead monsters into places where they need to be."
"Ok, that's still useful enough. In that case. Specifically for monster herds, we can have you make a labyrinth and split the monsters up. Then we can take care of them in smaller groups. How's that sound?"
"Yeah. No problem." Quinci.
"Sounds good to me." Jolene.
"Do I even have an opinion?" Slave.. uh I mean the newly named character Lesli .
"Hey, listen. You're a part of the team now! Don't look at yourself as a slave, but rather, as a rising star in the world of adventurers. So your opinion matters just as much as anyone else's." Sharlan said with a smile. A really creepy one at that.
"Ok then, well, what about you Sharlan? Don't you have a lot of mana? Why don't you also be a mage? Plus, it makes more sense for a healer to not be on the front lines." Lesli.
"Umm…Ok, that is true, but I'm sort of immune to attacks. Well, as far as I've tested. I'm at least able to rotate along solid surfaces with ease. So that means that I can never be hit in this manner. Transitively, I most likely won't be hurt if I fight in the front." Sharlan.
"Ok. Then I also agree with your plan." Slave.
"Bark" Dog.
"Oh yeah, what are we going to do with the puppy?" Sharlan.
"Oh yeah, this puppy apparently has some powers as well." Jolene.
"Wait, for real?" Sharlan.
"Bark" Sharlan.
Yes. That is correct. Not a typo or mistake in the dialog. Sharlan attempted to converse directly to the dog while holding its paw. His words came out as a bark. The dog understood Sharlan. Sharlan understood the dog.
"Wow. That's crazy. It's like I became fluent in dog. This will be useful if we come into contact with bearers of other tongues."
Hmm. This is different from the ordinary animal companion speaks human trope. But it's only reversed. I guess it's not that innovative. Come on Fairyland. Throw something crazy my way.
"I'm gonna keep him in my pouch. I'm gonna be in the back anyway, so he should be safe." Said Jolene while opening up the little bag and gently placing the puppy inside.
"Okay, let's head out on this lame ass goblin slaying quest. Oh wait, it's in the direction opposite the guild. Let's go through the capital so that we don't have to encircle the whole city."
The group started on their way to the place where there was a supposed goblin camp. On foot of course since the members of this group are all significantly less wealthy and "more adventurous" than that of Lloyd's. At least according to Sharlan's head canon.
Ok, let’s attempt small talk. This trip would be very awkward if none of us said anything the whole time. Let’s see, what do regular, simple minded, people of low brain utilization typically employ as the topic of conversation. Differences in atmospheric patterns, performance of the role of an aficionado spectator of professional athletic junctures, an inquiry of favorable visitation districts? Hmm. I think I’ll talk about the weather.
“Sooo, umm, it’s nice weather we are having? Isn’t it?”
“Oh, yes, it seems fine right now. But I think I heard that there will be a storm tomorrow. Maybe we should wait until that passes before we leave the city? I wouldn’t want to be caught up in it while we have no shelter.”
"Ehh, I think we'll finish this quest in one day."
"Well, yeah, I guess it's not that far."
"Ok"
Bruh. Think! How can I expand on this conversation. Don’t just answer ‘ok’! Stupid Brain. Why can you think of a hundred quintillion ways to say something and expand fictional scenarios to a chess depth of 69, but when a situation arises to utilize the highly functioning neuron clump. Well, damn. Now it's too late. This is just awkward silence. Ok, well, there's a crowded street up ahead, I guess I'll think of something to talk about later. We need to at least make it out of the capital first. It probably would've been better to go around the city than to pass through it like this. Oh well, too late to go back now.
This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
The gang started walking through the street. People were bumping into them and there was very little room because the streets were packed with the ongoing celebration still in progress since Sharlan healed the queen. Sharlan himself was not celebrated nearly as much as he thought himself worthy to be celebrated, considering he was the one responsible for the queen's recovery.
"Hey Quinci! That's not fair~y. Come down and suffer like the rest of us!"
"I think that the sufferer and the aggressor should be able to switch places occasionally."
"Hey! I'm not the aggressor, it's simply the absence of facilities and tools that this world can offer to accommodate such a brilliant mind."
"Yeah yeah, whatever. Watch your pockets."
"Huh oh yeah. Ok." Sharlan reached into his pocket to make sure he still had his wallet. It was there. However, he also felt soft velvet. Huh it seems I forgot to give back the cat ears to the "beast" girl slave. Huh? Where is she?
"Quinci! We've got a problem! Where's Lesli?"
"Hold on, I'll fly around and look."
Quinci flew upward and started looking around. Soon, she noticed Lesli running through people, doing her best to avoid them.
"She's running away!"
"What?! Why!"
Ok, what can I do to make it through this crowd of people and catch my slave. Think! The rock won't do anything useful, unless I can somehow apply its property of always appearing in my hand in reverse. But I have no idea how it works. Int Factor isn't even a real thing, but it tells me that she'll probably run away somewhere, hide, eventually get really hungry and tired. I'll find her, heal her, and then I will gain her trust. Okay. But I can't use that to get out. I can use the Doors of Death, but I'd rather not hurt all the people in my way or walk over them. I mean, I could probably use the rock to heal them all, but what if I reach the use limit. Yeah, definitely not a good idea. Let's see, if I rotate around an axis: that usually being mine, or someone else's heel, or toe, then I wonder if I can rotate myself in a way that the axis is a small ball. If this would be possible, then I could probably launch myself out! Ok, let's try that! Now, what can I use that is relatively circular. Hmm. Oh the rock! Ok I got this!
"Jolene, wait here."
"Huh? Where are you going?"
Sharlan made the rock appear. He then attempted to activate the DOORS OF DEATH! and his body rotated around the rock. He made sure to let go right before the rotation completed so that his weight would be returned to him. He flew up high into the sky. The rock fell to the ground.
Oh God! I'm gonna die! Rock come back!
The rock appeared in his hand once more. He then rotated to near vertical and repeated the process. This time he was launched horizontally. His body flew at an incredible speed.
Ahh! Rock come ba…
Sharlan collided with a building. But when he opened his eyes, he was on the ground.
What? What just happened? I thought I was gonna collide. Wait a second.
He placed his foot on the wall and imagined that the heel was the axis of rotation. The moment of inertia of his body disappeared entirely and he was able to walk up the wall.
Oh my God. This is crazy! I guess that when I collided with the building, I must have just lost all my weight and my momentum. Then my body must've rotated down to the ground on its own. Well, anyway, now that I am able to walk up walls, I might as well go look for Lesli.
Sharlan stood on top of the building.
He caught a glimpse of Lesli running into an alley.
He rushed over and cornered the her in a dead end alley. She had placed her hand on the wall and bent over, panting whilst trying to catch her breath.
“H-how’d you catch up so fast?”
“Haven’t you heard? I’m the one destined to defeat the Demon King. Of course this would be a piece of cake for me. You can’t run away from me. Wait, that came out wrong, o-or well it’s true, but I didn’t mean it like that, or wait, I guess I kinda did mean it like that.”
“Let me go!”
As Sharlan approached Lesli, she kept backing away further into the corner of the alley. He immediately noticed the cuts and scratches she gathered from her attempted escape.
“No, I don't want to live this kind of life! I'm not supposed to be a slave!”
Sharlan started to seriously ponder this statement, but remained silent. Suddenly, he moved closer and Lesli flinched while guarding her face with her hands. But she only felt his hand on her head.
“H-huh?” Lesli froze up in shock.
“I thought of the perfect punishment for you.” Sharlan simply replied.
At this point Lesli was deeply uncomfortable and slightly disturbed by the awkward atmosphere between them. Yet this was somewhat reassuring seeing that someone as powerful as Sharlan was still just a person. A really awkward one.
“W-what is it?”
“I’m gonna hit you with a rock.”
The next moment Lesli experienced excruciating pain, but it was gone in an instant. She looked at her hand. Her bruises were gone too.
“Y-you healed me..” She said with awe. Then her eyes widened.
“B-but wait, weren’t you discussing the possibility of a use limit?! W-why’d you use it on me? I didn’t have any serious injury at all!”
Sharlan, figured out what he believed to be the coolest thing to say in this situation. He started walking out of the alleyway, seemingly ignoring Lesli’s question, until he finally spoke when he reached the edge.
“Because you’re worth it.” And he turned the corner.
For a moment or two, Lesli just stood there, stunned by his sudden words.
Soon after, she snapped out of her dazzled state and hurried to follow Sharlan. However, she noticed that her face felt a little warmer than usual, and brought her hand to her cheek. (Cuz she’s blushing and stuff)
“Worth it, huh?” She whispered, smiling for the first time since her enslavement.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After a while, Sharlan and Lesli finally met back up with Quinci and Jolene.
“Sharlan, what was that?!” Quinci questioned.
“What?” Sharlan is not certain of what she’s talking about.
“You were basically flying! How’d you do that? How are you even still alive?”
“Well, it’s quite simple really. I figured out that I can remove my moment of inerti—” Sharlan was abruptly cut off by the sound of a stomach rumbling.
Everyone looked over at Lesli.
“Wow, that was really loud, how’d you do that?” asked Sharlan.
“Ah! I must have just been really hungry. After all I haven’t eaten in 2 days and I tried running away, and maybe it was also because of your healing magic taking some of my energy!” Lesli rambled on, trying to hide her embarrassment behind a barrage of words.
“Hey hold on a moment! Did you just say Sharlan used his healing on you?” Quinci asked with wide eyes.
Lesli provided a curt nod.
Quinci looked at Sharlan in disbelief. “D-don’t you remember the stuff we discussed? I thought that we agreed not to use it.”
Sharlan attempted to brush away the topic with a wave of his hand. “I have my priorities.”
Quinci flew in front of Sharlan. “Promise me that you won’t use that rock again.” She said with a stern voice.
“What? No, I get that you want to horde your limited moves until the final boss fight and ultimately end up not using them, but if we don’t use the rock at all, then it has no value.”
“But Lesli wasn’t in any grave danger was she? S-she was just a slave who tried to run away.”
“She isn’t just a slave,” Sharlan corrected her. “ Plus, like I said, I have my own priorities.”
“You won’t back down will you?” Quinci said with a defeated voice.
Noticing this, Sharlan made his move in reassuring Quinci.
“Don’t worry, I know how greedy you are; making me pay you and whatnot. But you want to benefit yourself so much that I’m sure that if you were ever heavily wounded you’d avoid my healing in favor of saving it for a later time. But how ironic would that be? You might literally die one day by trying to save yourself.”
Most people might only think short-term, but Quinci keeps her thoughts far too long-term to the point where she overthinks things and ends up hurting herself. No wonder she seems so strict sometimes. She needs to learn how to live in the moment.
“Back on topic, let’s go enjoy some food. Oooh, there’s a fancy restaurant.”
“Really?!” Lesli looked in the direction Sharlan pointed, and then faced Sharlen. “I haven’t been in one for months!”
Then she grimaced. “Although last time I went in that one, I was a noble and now I’m a slave…”
Yikes, I may have just made the mood worse.
Just as Sharlan began to think of ways to change the subject, Lesli continued.
“Buuuut, i-if it’s with you… you all! I think it would be fun!” She quickly redirected her glance at the others in the second part of her exclamation.
…At the restaurant…
*Oishi noises intensify*
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They finally made it to the small settlement with the rumored goblins. As they entered the village, they saw many small tracks on the ground and vandalisation of the wheat fields.
“Clearly, the goblins have been here. Look at that mess. They’re probably feeding their young and increasing their numbers so that they can perform a large scale invasion at some point.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right about that. That’s why we took on this quest to exterminate them.”
“Q, can you fly up into the sky and locate any more goblin tracks?”
“What did you just call me?”
“Q? What, you don’t like it?”
“Well in that case, I’ll call you Sh, so that every time I talk to you, you stay silent.”
“Ahh…ok, yeah, you beat me there.”
Quinci flew up into the sky. She returned shortly afterwards and started leading them to where she found more tracks.
“Here, this looks like the last of the tracks.”
“Hmm, where do you think the goblins could be hiding?”
“Bark.” the dog barked.
“Ooh. We have a dog! These guys always know where to find things.”
The dog sat still and looked at Sharlan with sad eyes. Sharlan took him out of the pouch and placed him on the ground next to the tracks.
“Come here boy. Get the scent.”
The dog approached the tracks and tried to sniff. But it seemed super congested and wheezed. Then it threw up cuz of the fancy restaurant food.
“Who fed it whale?”
“So what do we do now? We are pretty deep in the forest already. I don’t want to stay out until the night, because it will be pretty dark and we don’t have any torches or lanterns.”
“Eh? What is that?”
Everyone looked in the direction that Jolene pointed. There was an enormous red cloud in the sky. Sharlan down onto the wet sensation that he experienced on his hand. There was a stain of blood.
Huh? Was I fantasizing too hard?
“OH NOOO! I think I messed up the day!” screamed Jolene.
Everyone started sprinting back towards the village. Sharlan yelled “What’s going on? Why’s everyone running? Also, is it raining blood?”
“What do you mean “what’s going on?”?! Isn’t it obvious?!” yelled Q.
Sharlan simply followed.
What’s going on, I have a really bad feeling.
“I see a cave!” yelled Lesli.
“Everyone in!” Q.
They all flooded into the cave and kept running deep inside to where it was super dark. Quinci striked her wings and caused a little bit of fairy dust to light up and made a small light.
“Can someone tell me what’s going on?”
“Listen, Sharlan. We have to get as deep into this cave as possible, I can use some earth magic. Hey, you two, I need your help with mana.”
“On it!” said Jolene while pulling out her wand. “Here help me put mana into it, Lesli.”
“Oh... ok.”
Suddenly a large hole opened up in the ground and rocks began to fall.
“I think I see an opening deeper down! Come on everyone!”
The gang all followed Quinci into the hole that led to a large cavern inside the cave. It was pitch black and Quinci’s little light could barely light up even her tiny face. They kept following her deeper and deeper into the cave. It was getting much colder as the sun’s light didn't reach inside.
They finally came to a stop.
“Okay. Everyone stay close. I’m going to create a small barrier using mana.”
“I guess the forecast must have been wrong! I’m sorry!” said Jolene.
“I still don’t understand! Please explain already!”
“It’s the Heavenly Despair! How do you not know? Even infants seem to know more than you at times.” Who else could be berating Sharlan. 🙄
“I still don’t understand. What is the Heavenly Despair?”
“You can’t be ser—”
The whole cavern suddenly shook vigorously. Stalactites began falling and the walls suddenly seemed awfully unstable.
“Get close!” Quinci created a shield but it was so dark that it was impossible to see.
The air feels warm? It was freezing just a moment ago?
Then, through natural causes, it nuked.