Chapter 48
Lyuu, Rir, and Relaxation
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I opened the throne room's door and entered the area that made up its exterior . There, I found Lyuu poking her head out the cave's entrance . She was slowly looking from left to right and back again, as if she were surveying her surroundings .
"The heck are you doing all the way out here, Lyuu?"
"Oh, heya Master . I was just hangin' 'round 'cause I think you said something 'bout goin' out with Rir today . "
"Yeah, I've pretty much left him to his own devices lately, so I thought it was probably time for me to check up on him . "
Though, that's more of an excuse than anything . To be honest, I just want to get out of the house . I've been doing nothing but practicing earth magic lately, and I'm starting to get sick of it . I need to go beat up some monsters to relieve my stre—Er, I mean "field test a few new spells . "
"That's kinda why I've been standin' here . I thought I mighta been lucky enough to see him if I stuck around, but it doesn't look like he's here yet . "
I double checked the map after listening to her and confirmed that there was a marker indicating a friendly unit sitting right outside the cave .
"He's been here . "
"Huh!?"
"Yeah, he's just hiding . "
"What!? Why!?"
Lyuu's face contorted in astonishment .
"Because he thinks you're creepy . Duh . "
"W-Wow Master, you totally just gave it to me straight! You didn't even try sugarcoatin' it at all!"
"I mean, think about it . How'd you feel about having someone basically constantly follow you around?"
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"Ugh…" Lyuu groaned .
"I know you think of him like someone you need to worship, but he doesn't like it when you treat him like that . I'm pretty sure I'd start running away from you too, if you did the same to me . It's just… weird . "
"I-I getcha, but I can't help it . He's a fenrir, you know, a freakin' fenrir! You know how awesome they are!?"
Lyuu began telling me the legends passed down by her people . According to folklore, there once existed a fenrir that fought off an entire army of humans and destroyed the town they were based in . That same beast challenged tens of thousands of monsters . It continued fighting them non-stop over the course of several years before finally emerging victorious . And, many years later, it brought vitality to the field in which it breathed its last breath . Flowers blossomed from its final resting grounds and soon grew into a forest whose lands remained ever fertile . The warwolf tribe had descended from that very same fenrir's line . And for that reason, Lyuu's tribe believed it was only natural for them to worship the species as a whole; she didn't think of her actions as even the slightest bit creepy or weird . In fact, her eyes almost seemed to burn with passion as she spoke .
To be honest, a good chunk of that sounds like bullshit, but I guess it technically is possible . Fenrirs are legendary creatures, and apparently even Lefi found it quite difficult to defeat one, so it's safe to assume they're strong as hell . But wait, fenrirs are wolves . Why would their children be beastkin?
I paused for a moment, only to remember that there existed a spell or something that allowed non-humans to take on a human-like form . Case in point: Lefi .
Wait, does that mean it's possible for Lefi and I to have a ki—
My eyes widened as I realized where my thoughts had taken me .
God damn it brain! What the hell are you thinking!?
"Wow Master, your face started gettin' all red and stuff real quick . Did hearin' about the legends really move ya that much?"
"Shut up . That's not it . I was thinking about something else . Don't ask . "
I rejected the notion several times over out of sheer panic before redirecting my thoughts towards something else . Hearing about her tribe's legends allowed me to understand the reason Lyuu revered Rir the way she did . To her, he was like a celebrity . She'd heard a lot about him, so seeing him in real life had caused the fangirl within her to freak the hell out . Admittedly, I could see exactly where she was coming from . I likely would've had a similar reaction upon meeting any of my favourite voice actors .
"Do you want to join us?"
"Can I really!?"
"Only if you promise to listen to instructions . You'll probably die if you get lost . "
"Erk… T-That sounds kinda scary, but sure!" I-I promise I'll listen real good, so please lemme join ya!"
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"Uhyyaaaaaaaaaahhh!?"
"God damn it, Lyuu . Could you shut up already?"
I frowned as Lyuu, who was sitting right behind me, screamed loud enough to make my eardrums burst .
"I-I can't Master! W-we're going way too fast!"
She desperately clung onto Rir's back for dear life . We weren't going too fast, but she was still sure to go flying off the moment she let go .
"Rir's been taking it easy and going pretty slowly . He can actually go much faster if he wants," I shrugged . "Stop, Rir . This spot's good . "
The giant wolf used his whole body to decelerate and came to a complete halt in a matter of moments .
"Nraarghghgh!?"
Lyuu screamed coherently as she flew right off his back and smashed her face into the ground below . The stop had been way too sudden for her . She couldn't help but get thrown off .
"Stop making weird noises and calm down already . "
"Y-You're making it sound like I was doin' it 'cuz I wanted to!"
She retorted as she slowly got back up . She seemed surprisingly energetic for someone whose face was caked in a layer of mud .
"Ugh… I should've known, but Rir's real fast . "
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"Well, yeah . "
"And why are you doin' the criticizing, Master!? You're the one that's acting all weird here! How the hell do you expect a gal like me to hang on when we're goin' that fast!?"
"I mean, we weren't even going that fast…"
"You're only sayin' that 'cause you're a weirdo! There ain't no normal person capable of staying all calm and composed at that kinda speed!"
Wow . Talk about rude . It's not my fault I like thrill rides . And it's also definitely not my fault that they've been growing on me as of late .
"Oh by the way, you might want to get back here, and quick . You're pretty much right next to a monster . "
"Huh!? Wait, seriously!? Holy crap!"
Lyuu fearfully turned her head around, only to immediately start dashing back towards us the moment she saw the thing that'd been standing a bit of a ways behind her .
"Gelgwa! Gya gya!"
It was a creature whose meat worked quite well in dishes that typically made use of chicken: a rockbird . It noticed us and started squawking vigilantly . Its death metal vocalist-like cries were filled with wariness .
"Ugh, that's loud as hell . Shut up and turn into food already goddammit . "
I briefly focused my magical energies before rapidly bringing my hands together to cast a spell . I didn't even bother getting off Rir's back .
There was a low rumble as the magic activated . The earth right underneath the rockbird's head shook and swelled, derforming into a pair of iron-like plates with spikes protruding from their insides . The two rose, lining themselves up with the bird's head before closing in on each other, punching countless holes into the poor animal's face . Blood sprayed all over as the now headless rockbird lifelessly collapsed .
The spell I'd just cast was one I dubbed "Iron Maiden . " It was a bit slow; keener, faster enemies could dodge it with ease . But it made up for its lack of speed with an incredible amount of power . I had no doubt that it could deal major damage to anything too sluggish to react to it .
"W-wow…" Lyuu's eyes opened wide . "Ain't that a shocker . You really did just kill a rockbird in one hit . "
She had a smile on her face, but it seemed kinda cramped; her mouth was twitching in disbelief .
"Yeah, they're weak . Anyway, let's go . We need to find ourselves some more prey . "
I urged Lyuu to get back on Rir while putting the rockbird's corpse in my item box .
"Huh!? W-We’re gonna keep goin'!?"
"Duh . We literally just got started . "
"I-I uhm… really ‘preciate you lettin’ me ride Rir and stuff, but… could ya please go just a little bit slower?"
"No need to be so reserved . I know you love high speed thrills . "
"Grr!"
"See? Even Rir's telling you to just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride . Now get on . "
"W-why does it kinda feel like you guys are up to no good!?"
I grinned as I pulled Lyuu, who was trembling in fear, up onto Rir's back .
"Alright Rir, go!"
"Aaaaaaaaaaaarghhh!!"
And so, Lyuu's screams continued echoing throughout the Wicked Forest for quite some time .
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