Chapter 24: Fish and Fis.h.i.+ng Rod

I’m chasing after the men who ran away.

I kept my distance but always kept them in my sights.

I don’t know where Marato is…so I’ll have them guide me.

「Haa….haa….」

On the way Risha started panting. Her steps became unsteady and she slowed down.

「Time to switch.」

I said and put Risha into eternal slave kai while letting Mira out.

I continued this cycle of switching between Risha and Mira resting over and over.

(Thank you Master.)

「I’m sorry for causing you trouble.」

—Magic has been charged by 3,000—

—Magic has been charged by 5,000—

「Don’t worry about it.」

I continued to chase the men as my magic was charged.

Finally it seemed as though we’d reached our destination.

We’d arrived at a place that looked like a town and Marukovich’s subordinates rushed inside.

The town itself was nothing special. It’s only defining feature was a mansion in the center large enough to be seen from outside the town.

Or how should I put this…

「…It’s golden?」

「It’s golden isn’t it Master?」

(….in bad taste.)

It was a giant golden building that was quite unpopular with both Risha and Mira.

Is that where Marato is?

I thought to myself and approached the town. Then, from inside armed soldiers emerged.

「Let’s go」

「Ok!」(Ok!)

I strongly grasped eternal slave kai and faced my enemies head on.

They attacked me without any useless chatter.

They held long spears in ranks to make a line of spears.

Maintaining their positions they—dashed all at once.

「Fu!」

I cut down the first line of spearheads with my flaming blade. Then on the return strike I cut down one of the enemy soldiers before the next line of spears approached.

My blade was temporarily halted. A hail of arrows flew from within the town towards the place where I had stopped.

I put more magic in my sword and raised the heating power to meet the arrows. They were burnt and knocked to the ground.

I roughly counted the number of enemies. If I only included the ones who came with spears…they’d number no less than 300. If I included the ones firing arrows, the number would swell even further.

「There’s quite a lot of them.」

(What should we do Master?)

「We just have to do it. Mira don’t stray from my side. I may have to switch in the middle of the fight.」

「Yes!」

Mira nodded and I took her with me into the fight.

I had felt the power of the arrows. It was going to be a little difficult to handle, but it wasn’t impossible.

I would need to generously put magic into my sword and raise the flame.

Taking Mira along with me I began looking for somewhere to break through.

I dealt with the arrows and spears flying towards me and cut down my enemies mercilessly.

Cutting, dodging, and moving forward.

I moved steadily forward to break through the center line.

「Wh-what is this guy?」

「I’ve never seen a weapon like that」

「Hiiiii!」

After some time, the enemies’ spirits began to drop and when I came to attack their line they would break and run.

And so after cutting a path through, I entered the town.

Once I’d entered the town the pressure on me dropped.

「M-master. I’m sorry.」

It looks like Mira ran out of energy, so it was time to switch places with Risha and move forward.

We pushed forward towards the glittering golden building.

「Nuuuuuuuuuuun!」

Suddenly I felt

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pressure attacking from my flank.

I blocked something that flew and cut through the air with my water blade.

「Gu!」

It had unbelievable power. I was able to take the blow without injury, but the shock blew me away bodily.

「Master!」

Risha rushed over to me.

I landed and looked at where the attack had come from.

There I saw a huge man on a horse.

His size couldn’t be mentioned in the same sentence as a normal man.

He was as large…or even larger than the two legged horse he was riding on, and in his right hand he had a sword—-a huge sword that looked like a Chinese broadsword.

He began to approach me with a fiendish smile plastered across his face.

「Who are you?」

I asked calmly.

「You don’t know who I am? Where do you think you got yourself into?」

「It can’t be…」

「That’s right…I’m Marato-sama.」

「So you’re….Marato?」

「It’s Marato-sama to you brat!」

Suddenly a horizontal slash came flying towards me.

The screeching sound of the wind hurt my ears as the wind and blade flew at me.

「——-fuun!」

I put more magic in and exchanged blows with my water blade.

Boom! an explosion of sound surrounded us.

「Nuuuuu!」

「………fuu」

I took a step back and breathed out.

On the other side Marato’s horse stumbled back a few steps and collapsed.

Marato jumped off before he fell and stood on his own.

His complexion had changed.

「What are you?」

I could see a look of strong caution in his eyes.

In the meantime, the soldiers caught up and surrounded us.

However, the soldiers were far more surprised than Marato himself.

「Marato-sama is being overwhelmed…?」

「Nuuuuuun!」

The Chinese broadsword whistled as the soldier who had said those words was cut in half vertically.

「WHO DID YOU SAY IS BEING OVERWHELMED?」

Marato intimidated his soldiers.

「You, what’s your name?」

「Akito」

「I’ve heard what you said. It seems like you want the towns of Bisk and Magatan?」

「Well…I don’t particularly want them though…」

「What?」

「I just don’t like you. I don’t like anything about you or your stupid tyranny.

「Tyranny? Oioi that’s a bit off.」

Marato laughed scornfully.

「This boss here is protecting these people with my strength. I’m just requesting remuneration for that protection.」

「That remuneration is absurd.」

「I think that even that’s not enough though? After all, this boss here is protecting them personally. It wouldn’t even be wrong to say I could charge even more.」

「And so Magatan has gone almost completely bankrupt.」

「Whatever. It’s their fault for not being strong enough and wanting the food that I get. They’re at fault.」

「…..You garbage.」

I clenched eternal slave kai in my hand and threw myself at him.

I inserted my magic and stabbed at him, slowly pus.h.i.+ng Marato.

Marato was being oppressed by my power and began to try and attack me mentally.

「Those people are the real garbage.」

「What?」

「Those guys are lazy parasites. They don’t do anything except covet the food that you get for yourself. You should understand that by the fact that you’re here alone right!?」

「……….」

「I don’t know what you were thinking when you came here, but those kinds of people are fine being with whoever as long as you stuff food in their maws!」

「Th——」

「That’s not true desu!」

*Flash* light appeared and Mira came flying out of eternal slave kai.

Marato was completely shocked by the sight of a woman flying out of my sword.

As he was startled, Mira continued talking.

「What Master is doing is completely different from you! Absolutely Completely~ Different!!」

「Yes, that’s completely right!」

Risha agreed.

「Master is not just handing them food! Certainly he gave them enough food to survive, but he also thought about what they could do in the future. Master doesn’t just give them fish, afterwards he hands them fis.h.i.+ng rods as well desu!」 (TN: Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he won’t go hungry again.)

「That’s right! That’s right! We left a lot of fis.h.i.+ng rods!」

Risha and Mira were both taking turns defending me.

「Ha? What a waste of effort. Those guys are—-」

「Marato-sama!」

One of the soldiers b.u.t.ted into the conversation.

He rushed in front of Marato, but Marato kicked him away in rage.

After kicking him Marato asked,

「What!?」

「E-enemy attack!」

「Enemy attack?」

「Yes! There are two armed groups approaching from the East and South! They are engaged in battle outside!」

「Who are they!?」

「Th-they’re the people from Bisk and Magatan!」

「WHAAAT!?」

Marato’s face went blood-red in rage and a huge vein beat grossly on his forehead.

He stared at me like a demon.

「b.a.s.t.a.r.d….」

「Let me tell you one thing.」

Compared to Marato, I was calm.

「I only showed them how to make weapons and came here while they were still unfinished.」

At least the magic circles were…

「They completed them, grabbed them, and rose up. Are they still parasites?」

「Impossible! This is impossible! There’s no way those trashes have that kind of guts!」

「But they’re here.」

「—-!」

Marato raised his sword above his head and swung it down with all his rage.

I immediately dodged to the side. The broadsword was buried in the ground.

I sucked Risha into eternal slave kai and faced Marato.

「You can see them there Marato.」

「DON’T F*** WITH ME!!!」

He once again lifted his blade over his head and slammed it down with even more force than before.

「Fu!」

I filled the flame blade with more magic power than I had before and swung. The intensely burning blade met the broadsword…and cut it in half like b.u.t.ter.

「Wha—-?」

I rushed towards the surprised Marato once more.

「This is the end.」

「UOOOOOOO!!」

As Marato let out a final scream, I cut him in two.

He fell into two pieces, and crumbled to the ground.

When his subordinates saw this, they scattered in every direction like baby spiders.

The townspeople of Bisk and Magatan rushed in and routed the soldiers for good.