This Novel is not my Novel

Even if they set that place as their destination and started moving toward it, there was no guarantee they would ever arrive.

Their current location was proof enough.

Hadn't they diligently advanced toward the border of the Demon Realm, only to end up even farther away?

For that reason, Reisir concluded that blindly following whichever paths remained passable would also be a poor decision.

If they ventured any deeper into the mountain, they might encounter a Boss Monster.

Reisir had no desire to take the risk of fighting a Boss Monster while protecting his sleeping companion.

"Should we return to the starting point instead...?"

Once again, Yor offered no answer to Reisir's question.

She knew that they would find themselves in the same situation regardless of where they went.

Not only the number of monsters swarming them.

Perhaps even the timing of the professors' arrival would be determined entirely by the original author's typing.

"Let's go back. The professors will enter the Demon Realm through the mountain entrance anyway, won't they? It would be better to stay physically close to it. The path we originally used has been blocked by thornbushes, but Dyuf's ability lets him control plants, so he should be able to move them out of the way."

After careful consideration, Reisir reached that decision, and Yor nodded with a "Meow."

Since she raised no objection, Reisir decided to act immediately.

First, he temporarily placed his spear in his Inventory so that he could pick Karvaldr up, then draped the sleeping man's arms around his neck.

I was worried I'd have to ask Yor to tie Karv's arms together and secure him....

As this inner monologue made clear.

Reisir had no intention whatsoever of separating Karvaldr from his body until they were rescued.

Even if monsters appeared and forced them into combat.

No, especially then.

He felt that he would only be able to rest somewhat easier if Karvaldr remained in his arms.

It would be disastrous if another monster appeared and attacked the defenseless Karvaldr while Reisir was preoccupied with combat.

In any case, Reisir was able to avoid voicing the request he had just considered.

Karvaldr sleepily wrapped his arms around Reisir's neck and clung to him on his own.

If Karvaldr himself ever learned of it, he would undoubtedly be left with mixed feelings, unsure whether to consider it fortunate.

For the moment, however, Reisir was pleased.

Supporting the backs of Karvaldr's thighs with his left arm, he rose and retrieved his spear from his Inventory.

Then he gave it a quick flourish with his right hand.

He was checking whether he could fight in his current position.

With one arm effectively occupied, he obviously couldn't display his full strength, but it wasn't as though he couldn't fight at all.

"Yor, you need to feed your master a lot more. He's taller than I am. How can he be this light?"

"Meow meow, meyaaow, myaaow, mya mya myat, nya nya nya nyang, meow myaaow, kyaaaow—!"

Yor protested with an aggrieved expression.

Her master already regarded fullness as uncomfortable because he became sluggish and lost concentration whenever his stomach was full.

To make matters worse, Karvaldr's body simply wasn't inclined to gain weight.

The best anyone could do was make sure he ate three proper meals a day while giving him snacks whenever possible, and she was already doing exactly that.

It simply wasn't helping because training kept him far too active.

"...Honestly, I didn't understand a single word of that. But I'm sorry. You must have been trying in your own way to protect your master's health. You must have been terribly worried when it didn't work."

"Myaaaow!"

"Yes, yes. I understand. Once we get out of here, let's work together to put some weight on Karvaldr."

"Meow!"

Yor raised a thumb, gladly accepting Reisir's proposal, and their conversation abruptly ended there.

If the sounds made by monsters were drowned out by their voices, they might react too late.

As though they had made a silent agreement, Reisir and Yor both closed their mouths and retraced their steps while carefully surveying their surroundings.

Shrrrrk, shhk shhk, shrrrk, shhk.

Crnch, rustle rustle, crackle.

They had barely resumed moving.

Yet they heard a sound so loud that they couldn't possibly have missed it even if they had still been talking.

There were definitely more than one or two of them.

Why now, of all times...?

Reisir swallowed a groan and tightened his grip on his spear.

Then he condensed as much Lightning Attribute Ether as possible around its tip.

He had no idea how many more battles they would have to fight before being rescued, so he wanted to conserve as much Ether as possible and fight efficiently.

But if there are this many enemies, it's better to reduce their numbers before engaging them in earnest.

That was especially true now that he had to fight while protecting an incapacitated friend.

Besides, the monsters known as Seed Blooms did not die even if they were cut apart with a spearhead. The only way to kill them was to scorch them with the power of lightning.

Thus, the instant a group of what appeared to be fifteen monsters emerged.

Reisir fired the golden Ether gathered at his spearpoint into the sky.

The concentrated mass of energy vanished into the lone cloud, then split into five branches and descended to the ground.

Rumble! Boom, kaboom! Krrrboom, kra-kaboom!

All five bolts struck their intended targets, leaving them blackened and motionless.

But when Reisir fired Ether skyward once more and called down another bolt of lightning.

None of the monsters remained still and allowed it to strike them.

The ten remaining monsters frantically scattered by moving their stems and leaves, and they were astonishingly fast.

Reisir realized that his first lightning strike had succeeded perfectly only because the monsters had been unprepared for it.

He also realized that calling down another bolt immediately would accomplish nothing.

Still, starting the fight after taking out five of them is a considerable advantage.

That wasn't the only fortunate development.

It was also beneficial that the monsters had scattered instead of remaining clustered together.

It merely spared him the absolute worst-case scenario, but Reisir decided to be grateful even for that.

They can attack from a distance. If I remain passive and focus exclusively on defense, I'll only exhaust myself and collapse. I have to counterattack aggressively and reduce their numbers one at a time.

With that reasoning, Reisir tightened his arm around Karvaldr's legs, which he had been supporting lightly.

Then he charged toward the nearest monster.

Slaash, shwaaash—shwaaak──!

As if aware that it had been targeted, the monster wildly swung five stems to prevent Reisir from approaching.

It was essentially wielding five whips at once.

That made it extremely threatening, but it also reduced its precision.

Two or three stems would sometimes follow identical paths, and occasionally one even struck another.

If all the remaining monsters swung their stems simultaneously, they might end up hopelessly entangled.

Perhaps the monsters were aware of this problem.

Instead of swinging their stems, the others fired seeds.

"Myaaow!"

Yor fired Ether arrows in an attempt to draw their attention, but unfortunately achieved nothing.

Every enemy attack was directed at Reisir.

No, more precisely, at the person in his arms.

Between evading five attacking stems and dealing with the volleys of 【Seed Bombs】 fired by multiple monsters.

Reisir had no room to think.

He tried to dodge as many 【Seed Bombs】 as possible because every one he knocked away with his spear caused more damage to accumulate in his body, but it was far from easy.

Please, let Karv remain unharmed....

At that moment, something seized Reisir's ankle.

He nearly fell, but barely managed to regain his balance.

He swiftly swung his spear, managing to deflect the seed he had originally intended to dodge.

Boom!

The explosive force transmitted through the spear finally tore the skin of his palm and drew blood.

The impact traveled through his wrist and forearm, leaving even his shoulder numb.

But instead of releasing his spear, Reisir gripped it even more tightly and swung, trying to cut away whatever had caught his ankle.

With attacks constantly flying toward him, he didn't even have time to examine what it was.

At first, he assumed it was one of the stems belonging to the monster he had targeted. Or perhaps a plant grown through 【Germination】.

But when the same thing happened several times, he realized his assumption had been wrong.

They were the other monsters' roots.

They burrowed through the ground, burst back out, and seized his ankle.

The moment Reisir realized this, a chill ran through him.

If I'd gone to the place I was thinking of, laid Karv down behind me, and fought....

He had made the right decision by enduring the inconvenience and fighting with Karvaldr in his arms.

Relieved by that thought, Reisir severed yet another monster root that had seized his ankle.

He continued advancing and drove his spear into the center of the grotesque red flower.

Then he released lightning.

Crackle──!!

After confirming that the monster was dead, he tried to pull out his spear, but his hand slipped.

It was because of the blood seeping from his torn palm.

Reisir briefly released the spear and retreated, dodging the incoming 【Seed Bombs】. After roughly wiping his palm against his clothes, he gripped the spear again and pulled it free.

He had no time to stop the bleeding, so he immediately charged toward his next target.

He had just killed another monster, but the interference remained intense.

"Myaaow──!!"

As if demanding that they stop ignoring her, Yor let out a mighty roar.

She had not used 【Feline Spirit (=【Dragon Fear】)】, so the monsters did not stiffen.

Instead, a spike three or four times as thick as Reisir's spear dropped from above.

The spike, formed from Ether, pierced a monster's body and buried itself deep in the ground. Rather than disappearing, it remained there.

The monster wasn't dead, but it had been pinned in place.

Reisir was not foolish enough to let such an opportunity pass.

Without delay, he fired Lightning Attribute Ether high into the sky.

The next instant, a bolt of lightning struck the monster struggling against the spike. Its blackened, shriveled body went completely still.

Only then did the sky-blue spike disappear.

And the monsters could no longer ignore Yor's presence.

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