Chiyu Mahou no Machigatta Tsukaikata ~Senjou wo Kakeru Kaifuku Youin~

Last night was really tough . !

Challengers came one after the other .

The heat of the moment made me accept the challenge and beat them all, and as expected, I was officially judged as inhuman by the beast children .

No, to be more precise, I guess its more accurate to say that I made them realize that humans are such creatures .

Anyway, I became friends with the old beastmen .

Well, thats good . Its much better than being stared at, right?

Yeah, but, you know, theres something about this difference in treatment

Early in the morning, I was sitting at the table in Kagari-sans living room with my head in my hands, being comforted by Amako sitting next to me . Aside from me and Amako, there were also Arc-san, Nea, and Rinka sitting at the table .

Last night, I left too much to the momentum of the moment, even though it was my own fault .

Towards the end of the party, I felt like I was treating the tough guys from the rescue squad . I dont know, maybe I got drunk from the smell of alcohol .

Haha, because I noticed that you were arm-wrestling with a belligerent smile on your face .

Was I showing such a face?

Yes, you looked like you were having a great time .

Sure, the arm-wrestling itself was fun, but it wasnt as painful as the obviously donkey-eyed kids and the stares of the women .

Nea, youre the most wicked vampire whos ever shown herself off to a child!

What do you mean, most evil?

Nea, who was sitting in front of me, reacted to my complaint without concern .

I was joking about the evil, but I wondered why I was treated like a monster and she, a demon, was treated like a human .

Your face is not scary at the very least .

Im aware that Im scary, but not to the point of being evil .

Hmm, only you dont know that .

I couldnt say anything back to Nea, who said that to me in a very triumphant way .

Amako puts her hand on my shoulder .

Its okay, Usato . Even if you look scary, Usato is still Usato .

I thought she was comforting me, but she affirmed my evil face .

Yeah, is it a known fact that I already have a vicious face ?

I dont know what kind of face to make in anger from now on .

My shoulders slumped and I felt depressed . At that time, Rinka, who had been silent for a long time next to Amako, gushed out .

I dont know, I just feel stupid for being so weirdly scared .

Rinka?

Ive been thinking about it since last night, and I knew Amako was right . The people you believed in werent bad people .

Amako rolled her eyes at Rinkas words .

When we were as surprised as Amako, Rinka turned her gaze to me .

Its true that Usato is strong enough to beat all the adults in our village, and hes also faster than me, a wolf beast . Hes a monster, to be honest . But if you look at him properly, youll see that hes not a bad person . Yesterday, he was thinking about Amako and let me talk to her .

After saying that, Rinka gets up from her seat and walks up to me .

Confused by her behavior, she bowed her head vigorously .

Im sorry about yesterday! I didnt know what was going on and shot the arrow!

For my part, I didnt expect her to apologise because I had scared her more than she had scared me .

Confused by the sudden apology, I responded with a smile that was as reassuring as possible .

I cant help it if you were acting to help Amako . Besides, I scared you too, so were even .

Oh, really? Id feel a lot better if youd just say that .

Hmph!

Kyaa!?

Amako, who had a smile on her face, slammed her hand into the back of Rinkas head .

It was only a light tap, but Rinka jumped up with a cute scream at the sudden hand sword from behind .

Hey, what are you doing! You startled me .

I dont think you should do that after apologizing .

No, its fine! Because Usato says hell forgive me!

What?

Hee! I wont be frightened even if you give me such scary eyes!

Amakos face was expressionless as she faced the teary-eyed Rinka .

Even though she says shes not scared, Amakos gaze becomes even sharper as Rinka hides behind me while Im sitting down .

Theyre such good friends .

Its not often that I see Amako bare her emotions like this, which makes me smile .

Amako, the Hootbird I sent yesterday is back . He also had a letter from my son .

While I was watching their exchange, Kagari-san came into the living room .

Thats fast of them to answer .

After receiving the letter from Kagari-san, Amako opened it, which was neatly folded, and looked through it .

Kagari-san . Can I trust you with this?

My son is your mothers best friend . And hes not the kind of man whod be clever enough to cheat anyone .

Yeah, okay .

Amako, what did it say?

I ask Amako, who is upset by the letter .

It said that they would arrange for us to come in from the back .

Does that mean were in?

Yes . Thats what it says .

I could understand Amakos suspicion .

At any rate, it was strange to think that they would allow not only Amako but also me and Arc-san to enter the country . You can suspect a trap against me and Arc-san, who are human .

Its okay, Amako . My dad, hes the kind of guy whos always smiling and laughing .

Yes, but

Amako is stunned by Rinkas words .

Anxiety, I guess .

My healing magic is essential to saving Amakos mother . If I get caught before I can save her mother, that wont happen either .

What should we do, Arc-san?

I think we should go . Currently, the only way to enter the beastmens country is to hide our identities or enter without being seen, so this story is not a bad one for us .

Normally, it would be difficult to even enter this place just because you are human .

As much as I have to hide my identity, there is no better story than if they invite me in from that side .

Is it worth worrying about now? Either way, we have no choice but to enter the beastman country to help Amakos mother .

I guess so .

I nodded at Neas words .

If they betray us, we can think of another move . Its a shame that we wont be able to give them the letter, but as long as we can save Amakos mother, which was our original goal, its fine .

Amako, lets go to the beastmens country for now .

Yeah .

Amako looked uneasy, but nodded .

Kagari-san, how far is it to the Land of Beastmen?

Its not that far from here . On foot, its about an hour or two .

Thats pretty close, isnt it?

Then we can head there today .

After confirming with Arc-san and the others, I tell Kagari-san that well be leaving today .

Then, we will leave for the Beastmen Country after I send a letter with the date and time of arrival to the Beastmen Country by HootBird .

Thats fast . Well, I guess that cant be helped . Rinka

Hmm? What, Grandpa?

Take them to the Beastmen Country . And while youre at it, go show my late son some face .

Yeah, Ill show them around, but I dont want to see my father .

Rinka gives him a wry look .

He doesnt like her father? But its not that she doesnt like him, its that hes a pain in the ass .

I wonder what kind of person he is . Im sure he holds a high position in the beast tribe because he is in a position to invite us in .

Lets ask her name, just in case .

Kagari-san, may I ask the name of Rinkas father?

Oh, I didnt tell you that . My sons name is Hayate . Hes the assistant to the chief of his country .

Chiefs assistant?

The chief is the chief of the beastman tribe, right? Isnt it pretty amazing to be an assistant to someone like that?

I didnt know that Rinkas father is a higher-ranking person than I thought .

As we were making preparations at the exit of the village to leave the hidden village, we saw many beasts gathering there .

I wondered what was going on, but it seemed that the people in the village had already heard that we were leaving for the land of the beasts .

Arc-san was saying goodbye to the beastwomen he had talked to yesterday, Nea was saying goodbye to the children, and as for me

Go for it, Usato .

Im looking forward to the day when we can compare strength again!

You may look human, but inside youre even more impressive than we are!

I was about to be sent off with a smile by men who were a size larger than me .

The temperature in my vicinity was rising . ! Im glad that everyone is trying to send me off with a smile, but I cant help but feel my smile twitching .

Its not that Im not a good person, its just that Ive been treated more like an alien than a beast .

Usato .

Oh, Daitetsu-san .

In the midst of all this, Daitetsu-san called out to me .

I didnt expect you to leave so early, man .

Im sorry, .

No need to apologize . I know what youve come into our land for .

Did the chief tell the people of the village about us last night?

For a moment, Daitetsu-san glanced toward Amako, then placed his large hand on my shoulder .

Hang in there, Usato . Youre definitely going to save that kids mother, right?

Yes, of course . Thats why Im here .

I nodded, and Daitetsu-san smiled pleasantly at me .

It all started when I asked Amako to show me a future where inugami senpai and Kazuki would die . Then, after going through many hardships, we finally arrived at this point .

Well, Im sure youll be fine . If theres anything Im worried about, its what happens to people who fight with you! After all, you have more strength than an ogre! I dont even want to imagine being hit by the fists of a monster like that!

Ha ha . ha .

I was impressed that I got nothing to say .

Well, I cant say Ive ever punched an ogre before . But Id go easy on a normal human opponent, okay?

Its just that the ones Ive had to really move against, like the wicked dragon, Karon, and Leona-san, have been strange .

Usato-dono, were about to leave .

Ah, yes . Take care, everyone .

Oh . Take care, Usato .

After replying to Arc-san, who had his horse and Bluerin carry my luggage on his backs, I said goodbye to Daitetsu-san once again, then departed the hidden village and headed for the Land of Beasts .

I had no idea what kind of place the Beastmen Country would be, but now that I had come this far, I had no choice but to go there .

If we can save Amakos mother without any trouble, that would be fine .

We left the hidden village and headed for the land of the beasts .

Currently, Rinka is guiding us along a treeless path through the trees, but Im still worried about not having a path to walk on .

If we were to get separated, Im sure Id get lost as I dont know the area .

By not creating a path, was this an attempt to lead people astray as they entered the beasts territory? I may be overthinking this, but Im not used to this land, and Im sufficiently annoyed by it .

Lemme borrow your shoulder!

Yeah, no problem .

As I walked along, lost in thought, Nea, who had somehow transformed into her owl form, jumped onto my shoulder .

As for me, theres no reason to refuse her since its something I do all the time, but Id like her to walk by herself once in a while .

Usato .

Hmm? Whats the matter? Whats wrong with your voice?

As I was thinking this, Nea jumped on my shoulder and spoke to me in a hushed voice .

When I turned to Nea in question, she looked sideways at Amako and whispered in the same way as before, so that only I could hear .

Amako has a good ear .

Is there something she doesnt want Amako to hear? The fact that she cut it out before going to the land of the beastmen might mean it was that important .

Amako is chatting with Rinka at the front?

I casually slow down and step away from Amako, and speak to Nea in a hushed voice .

So, what is it?

I want to ask you something about the future .

The future?

Its about whats going to happen after we enter the Land of Beasts .

After weve entered the land of the beastmen, huh?

Well, if Nea had to talk about anything right now, it would be this topic .

I look over at Amako walking in front of me and open my mouth to Nea .

As you probably know, Amako is a very special person even in the Land of Beastmen .

Yeah .

Rose is the Princess of Time Chanting, or something like that .

She recites time, and is a user of precognitive magic . She has no physical attacks, but she is the most powerful magic I know .

How could I not consider such magic to be special?

I think its fishy . Because there are too many weird things about it . Amakos mother slipping into an unexplained coma, beasts relentlessly searching for Amako . And the letter that said it was a good idea to let the humans Usato and Arc into the beastman country today .

Nea was right, there were many oddities .

Why didnt Amakos mother wake up? There must be a reason why she collapsed .

Was she cursed in some way, like Eva, or did she fall ill? Worst of all, there was no denying the possibility that a third party had prevented her from waking up .

Maybe the girl knows what shes doing .

Im sure she does . But we cant afford not to go .

Theres still hope to save her, so we cant abandon her .

Its like the bait that calls out to Amako, who has left the Land of Beastmen

Huh, no . Youre taking this too far in a bad way .

What Im thinking is just my imagination .

And yet, its not good to get a bad impression .

If possible, I want this to end without incident . But if thats not possible, Im thinking of saving Amako and her mother at least .

Youre still not thinking straight, but thats fine for now . Theres a big difference between being prepared and not being prepared .

Nea was taken aback by my words, but she replied .

She must have known that I had chosen my words carefully .

The worst thing that could happen is that I might have to choose between Amako and her mother .

I dont want to imagine a situation where I would have to make that choice, and I dont intend to put myself in that situation .

Well, Ill abide by your decision in any situation, okay? I trust you enough to do so .

I was momentarily taken aback when Nea added that .

Trust, huh? I chewed on that word and looked at Amako, who was walking in front of me .

I trust the people Ive traveled with so far . Ive overcome hardships because Ive trusted them so far .

When I think about it, the obstacles that may be waiting for us now seem like nothing .