The group finished their simple breakfast and set off to hunt Krumo’s Shadow.
Da-eun was left alone at Artisha’s mansion.
Even the owner of the house had left, so there was absolutely nothing Da-eun could do.
Artisha told her not to worry, but as a guest, Da-eun couldn’t just go rummaging through the house without the owner present.
“Haa…”
Da-eun, sitting on the bed and staring blankly out the window, let out a sigh.
It was the kind of deep sigh that would have made her mother yell, “Don’t sigh so deeply, or the ground will sink!” while giving her a smack on the back.
“Weak… because I’m weak…”
Da-eun reflected on what Kana had said.
She knew she was like the person who always got assigned the role of “the weakest among the Four Heavenly Kings.”
She understood that it was herself.
And even if she had gone with them, she knew she wouldn’t have been much help.
No, it would’ve been lucky if she wasn’t a hindrance.
Her kind-hearted companions would have likely been too preoccupied worrying about her to fight properly.
An absolute burden.
Like a waterlogged log in the middle of a fight.
“But… I just didn’t want to sit back and watch.”
If the group, especially Kana, ca back injured after hunting Krumo’s Shadow, she wouldn’t have been able to forgive herself.
That’s why Da-eun stubbornly insisted on going along, even though she knew she would be of little help.
“Thinking back, I feel a bit sorry now…”
She wondered how much trouble she had caused Kana with her stubbornness.
Da-eun smiled bitterly as she thought about the little girl who had pretended not to care but had secretly been watching her reactions.
— “Too weak khikhikhi”
— “??? : You don’t belong in our party.”
— “Kicked out of the party for being weak, I awakened cheat abilities and now I’m getting revenge on those who abandoned .”
— “Nah, that’s too tough…”
— “But Joanie-nim, there wasn’t anything you could do because you’re too weak ㅠㅠ Don’t feel bad ㅠㅠ”
— “Isn’t she strong, though? She’s at least the channel owner, right?”
“Yeah, but no.”“She’s strong enough. If things get tough, she can just say, ‘Kanaemon, help~’ and that’s it~”“Ah, that’s it hihihi”
Da-eun’s viewers were busy laughing at her misfortune.
At a glance, it looked like they were comforting her, but if you looked closely, they were actually making fun of her.
It was the kind of chat called ‘baiting’ or ‘subtle mockery.’
Phew.
Da-eun sighed briefly and switched the broadcast screen.
She switched to her usual outro screen used for ending streams.
“…I’ll wrap up today’s stream here. If I feel like it, I’ll be back on later.”
— “Huh?”
— “What?”
— “WTF; You’re leaving already?!”
— “How long has it been since you started streaming, and you’re already quitting?!”
— “Don’t go, don’t go, don’t go, don’t go, don’t go, don’t go…”
— “Mom, it’s cold, mom, it’s cold, mom, it’s cold…”
— “Go ahead~ end the stream~ I’ll just hold my breath until you co back~”
— “She says that, but?”
“Okay then, bye.”
The viewers’ complaints pierced the sky, but Da-eun paid no attention and ended the stream.
Whether later today or tomorrow, it’ll be chaos when she turns it on again.
Da-eun could already picture the chat burning with fury from her angry viewers.
“Future , good luck!”
But that would be her future self’s problem.
Even though her future self would curse at her with words like ‘idiot… irresponsible…’, right now, Da-eun only felt refreshed.
“What should I do now…?”
She turned off the stream, and thought about logging out and doing so housework.
After a brief mont of contemplation, her hand brushed against sothing long, hard, and cold.
It was the longsword she used.
Da-eun stared blankly at the sword.
“Weak… because I’m weak.”
Kana’s voice replayed vividly in her mind, as if a recorder had been turned on.
“How can weak people live with all this frustration?”
She thought she had improved a lot.
Da-eun muttered with a sullen voice, recalling how even Celine had tried to stop her.
“Maybe I should practice my swordsmanship.”
Just wait. I’m going to train hard and knock down that proud nose of Kana’s soday.
It was a resolve with almost zero chance of becoming a reality, but at least it was motivating her.
Holding her sword, Da-eun left the mansion. Her determination could be compared to that of a general making a vow before heading to war.
Word must have spread overnight, as the Demonic Race beings no longer viewed her with as much caution as yesterday.
Yesterday’s gazes were 20% curiosity and 80% caution, but today it seed to have reversed to 80% curiosity and 20% caution.
Da-eun approached one of them and asked if there was an empty space where she could train.
“Ah, over there? Okay, Thanks for your help!”
Thanks to a kind mber of the Demonic Race, Da-eun easily found the vacant lot.
It was exactly as described—a vacant lot, nothing more.
“Well, I did ask for an empty space.”
It was Da-eun herself who politely declined when the mber of the Demonic Race offered to show her a proper training ground instead.
“I don’t really like practicing while being watched by strangers.”
Da-eun still rembered the stares she received when she first set foot in a gym—the stares of those seasoned gym-goers sizing her up.
Of course, the atmosphere was a little different… but she definitely wanted to avoid those “That’s not how you do it” kinds of glances.
Swinging a sword in empty air was sothing she was used to, after all.
“So it was like this, right?”
Da-eun assud her stance, recalling the small hands that had once corrected her posture.
The grip of the sword, which had felt awkward before, now felt more familiar.
To think a day would co when she’d train on her own…
It was the kind of situation that would make her viewers gasp, her friends gape in shock, and Kana feel a twinge of jealousy… or maybe not.
Da-eun chuckled softly at her own silly thoughts.
Swish!
The sword cut through the air with a sharp sound.
To an observer, it might have looked like an impressive and powerful slash, but Da-eun, the one performing it, rely furrowed her brow slightly.
“…I still don’t get it.”
How on earth do you control mana?
When she used a skill, mana did gather on her sword, but that wasn’t what Da-eun wanted.
What she wanted was to be able to handle mana without relying on a skill.
That was the level Da-eun aid for, but she was still far from grasping it.
One ti, she asked Kana how to control mana better.
“Mana?”
“Yeah. I want to use mana like you, Kana.”
“You’re already using mana… Oh, right.”
Kana nodded as if she understood sothing.
“If you want to teach you, I can.”
“-Teach ?”
“Start by practicing your swordsmanship.”
If you keep moving your body, you’ll naturally learn how to handle it.
That’s what Kana told her.
“If you still can’t get it, I’ll teach you directly.”
“Uh, okay… Thanks.”
It was definitely a kind offer, but why did it feel a little unsettling?
Even though she had promised to get help from Kana, Da-eun was still anxious.
She also wanted to show Kana that she could master it without help.
“I wonder if Yuki knows…”
For so reason, Da-eun felt like Yuki might know the answer.
Mumbling to herself, she tried various ways to handle mana.
Of course, her attempts failed this ti as well.
“Haa…”
Da-eun, who had been swinging her sword non-stop, felt a dull ache in her shoulders and arms and decided to sheath her sword.
How much ti had passed?
Maybe it was just a few minutes, or maybe it had been hours.
Even though her body was exhausted, Da-eun couldn’t help but smile, feeling proud of herself for getting so imrsed in training.
With this much effort, maybe she was at least one step—no, half a step—closer.
Growl—
“Ah.”
As if to scold her for wishful thinking, her stomach growled at just the right mont.
Although there was no one else around, she awkwardly scratched her cheek and glanced around.
“My stomach’s already empty… Guess I should head back and eat… …Wait, I don’t really have to.”
Da-eun realized there was no point in going back since there wasn’t anyone waiting to eat with her anyway.
The ingredients back at the mansion were all tainted with Magi…
Maybe it would be better to eat here.
“No, wait. They might’ve already finished off Krumo’s Shadow since it’s just a monster with a grand-sounding na.”
Mhm, Kana is strong, so it’s really possible.
Alright. Let’s head back to the mansion.
Darting back and forth.
Pacing around.
After wandering aimlessly around the vacant lot, Da-eun finally decided on her destination.
As Da-eun was about to head back to the mansion, she suddenly noticed that the sky had darkened.
“…Huh?”
Is it going to rain?
“Rain would be a pain…”
Muttering to herself, she looked up at the sky.
Her eyes slowly widened.
Whoooosh—
A fierce wind whipped through Da-eun’s hair.
But she couldn’t care less about her ssy hair.
A gigantic shadow lood over the sky.
The sll of burnt ashes wafted through the wind.
“What… is that…?”
Before Da-eun could voice her question—
BOOOM!
Crimson flas rained down onto the ground.
***
***
“Hm?”
“This is definitely the place….”
Artisha, who was leading the way, tilted her head.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes… Look… There are traces left here….”
“Hm.”
I scanned the massive claw marks and the scattered remains of monsters.
It certainly seed like the right place.
But the spot that looked like its nest had no sign of Krumo’s Shadow—or even the shadow of Krumo’s Shadow.
The shadow of a shadow… That’s a weird thing to say.
“We’ll probably find sothing if we keep searching.”
If it’s got dragon-like traits, it might co back to its nest once it senses an intruder.
So, we’ve been searching around the area, waiting for it to show up for hours.
“…It’s not coming.”
“It’s really not coming….”
“Yeah, it’s not coming.”
The thing still hadn’t shown even a hint of itself.
“Maybe it’s already moved to a new nest?”
“If that’s the case, it’s actually a relief…”
Artisha murmured, sounding uneasy.
“Hmm…”
Normally, I would’ve told her not to say such ominous things, but I felt the sa sense of foreboding.
But there was no point in saying it out loud.
Saying sothing like that would only lower our morale, after all.
“But it really is close to the village.”
It was almost surprising that there hadn’t been any clashes so far.
If I focus, I think I can even see the village.
As I looked towards the village out of curiosity, sothing caught my eye.
“…Artisha.”
“Yes…?”
“Is Krumo’s Shadow a monster with black scales, that looks a bit like a wyvern?”
“Yes… Why…?”
“Yeah.”
So this was the source of the ominous feeling both Artisha and I sensed.
I nodded slowly and said in a low voice,
“We’re screwed.”
Looks like we weren’t the only ones who thought of attacking first before getting attacked.
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