Chapter 30 : Companion (3)
The blue shield that Ariel had deployed was large enough to completely cover the group.
Its color was so vivid that it looked like it wouldn’t break easily, even under significant impact.
‘What is this…’
Mitchell stood there with a dumbfounded expression.
Although he was a priest, Mitchell had substantial knowledge of magic, and he understood just how advanced the shield Ariel had cast truly was.
There were probably only a handful of mages in the entire empire capable of casting a shield of this caliber.
And even if someone could deploy such a shield, maintaining it while sleeping?
Mitchell couldn’t even begin to imagine how much mana would be required to pull that off.
On the other hand, Jenny, who didn’t know much about magic, seemed less surprised than Mitchell.
“Wow, so we can just sleep like this?”
She was simply happy.
“Not having to stand guard means we can finally sleep soundly!”
“Jenny… don’t you think this is a bit strange…?” Mitchell asked quietly.
“The fact that Ariel can deploy a shield like this means her magic skills rival that of a grand mage.”
“Really? She doesn’t look it.”
“You shouldn’t judge by appearances. From what I can see, Ariel possesses tremendous magical power.”
“Should I ask her directly?”
Jenny approached Ariel, who was petting Ghost inside the shield.
“Ariel, can you use other magic besides this shield?”
Jenny asked, and Ariel nodded.
“Magic Missile.”
“Wow, really? Ariel, that’s amazing! Anything else?”
“That’s all.”
“I see~”
Mitchell’s expression grew more complicated as he overheard their conversation.
…She can only use Magic Missile and Shield?
That would mean she only knows beginner-level spells.
‘But this shield is far from beginner-level…’
Jenny nudged Mitchell in the side.
“Mitchell, did you hear that? No need to overthink it. Ariel’s an elf, not a human. Elves naturally have a strong affinity for mana.
So even if her magic skills aren’t that high, she can still cast a shield like this.”
“Now that you mention it… that might be true.”
Mitchell realized he hadn’t interacted with many elves before.
Elves were known for their strong mana affinity, with a high proportion of mages among them.
Given that, maybe this level of shielding wasn’t that impressive for an elf.
‘I’ve been thinking too much in human terms…’
Following Jenny’s advice, Mitchell decided not to overcomplicate things.
He accepted that an elf with strong mana affinity might be able to create such a shield.
However, that wasn’t the truth.
The idea that elves had a high affinity for mana and a higher proportion of mages was a misconception.
Because they lived in the forest and loved nature, humans had projected their own ideas onto them, but in reality, elves weren’t all that different from humans.
There were elves who were bad at magic, and some had no talent for mana at all.
If an elf knowledgeable in magic had seen the shield Ariel created, they would have been just as shocked as Mitchell.
Thanks to Ariel’s shield, the group was able to sleep safely and comfortably.
But the one who had cast the shield, Ariel, ended up having a nightmare.
In her dream, two giant rubber balloons were pressing down on her face.
Ariel struggled to breathe and flailed her body, eventually waking up.
When she woke up, something was indeed pressing against her face.
It was Jenny’s chest.
Jenny had been hugging Ariel’s face tightly against her chest while they slept.
“Oh, Ariel, you’re awake.”
Jenny smiled brightly and patted Ariel on the head.
“Did you sleep well?”
Ariel hadn’t slept well at all, but she simply nodded and sat up.
It was already morning.
Ghost was awake, while Lu and Mitchell were still passed out drunk.
“Ariel, can you lower the shield?”
Jenny pointed outside the shield.
“I’d like to take care of that guy over there. He’s been staring at us since earlier, and it’s making me uncomfortable.”
Outside the shield stood a monster that Ariel recognized—a troll.
“It looks like it’s been waiting to eat us, but it won’t go as it plans.”
With a confident smile, Jenny drew her sword.
“I told you, didn’t I? Your big sister is super strong. You don’t have to worry about a thing. I’ve taken down trolls many times before. You’ll be safe.”
At Jenny’s words, Ariel lowered the shield.
As the blue barrier disappeared, the troll let out a fierce roar.
“Graaaarrrr!!”
“What the—?!”
The troll’s roar startled Lu and Mitchell awake, and Ghost stood up, ready for action.
Swish!
Jenny charged toward the troll, while the troll swung its club at her.
Moments later…
“Huff… huff…”
Jenny panted heavily as she wiped the blood from her face.
Just as she had told Ariel, Jenny had skillfully defeated the troll.
“Since trolls have strong regenerative abilities, you have to aim for the neck,” Jenny said as she sheathed her sword.
“But that’s not easy. First, you need to attack the legs to slow the troll’s movement, then attack the arms so it can’t fight back. After that, you go for the neck.”
It was the most ideal method of troll hunting known among adventurers.
“That way, you can efficiently take down a troll. Of course, knowing the method doesn’t mean just anyone can do it. It takes someone at my level to pull it off. What do you think, Ariel? Isn’t your big sister amazing?”
If it had been a child from a village, they might have gazed at Jenny with admiration and nodded excitedly.
But Ariel wasn’t that child.
She simply stared at the troll’s corpse.
The troll’s limbs were mangled, and its head had been severed.
Its body was too damaged to fetch a decent price.
Monster corpses lost value the more they were damaged.
From Ariel’s perspective, it was a waste.
There was no point in putting the troll’s body into her inventory.
“Are you hurt, Jenny?”
Mitchell, now fully alert, approached Jenny.
“My wrist’s a bit injured.”
Jenny had fractured one of her wrists while blocking the troll’s club.
Mitchell quickly cast a healing spell and said,
“Still, to defeat a troll with just that injury… you truly are remarkable.”
Jenny shrugged nonchalantly in response to Mitchell’s compliment.
“Well, I’m strong.”
In truth, Jenny didn’t care much about Mitchell’s praise.
What she wanted was a reaction from Ariel.
She hoped Ariel would look at her with admiration, even if it wasn’t as enthusiastic as shouting, “Big sister, you’re amazing!”
But Ariel didn’t even glance at Jenny. Instead, she furrowed her brow and kept staring at the troll’s corpse.
‘Maybe it was too gruesome…?’
Jenny had swung her sword a bit more aggressively than usual, fully aware that Ariel was watching.
As a result, the troll’s body was completely mangled, and Jenny wondered if it looked too grotesque in Ariel’s eyes.
“…Let’s move on. The smell of troll blood might attract more monsters.”
In truth, Jenny wasn’t too worried about more monsters showing up.
Now that the sun was up, she felt confident that she could handle any monster that came their way.
Jenny’s concern was for Ariel.
She wanted to get Ariel away from the gruesome troll corpse as soon as possible.
“Let’s do that,” Mitchell agreed.
“There’s no need to fight more monsters unnecessarily.”
With that, the group quickly moved away from the area.
“So, Ariel, why are you going to the Dwarf Mountains?”
Jenny asked as they walked through the forest.
Ariel simply replied, “I want to meet the dwarves.”
“You want to meet the dwarves? But elves and dwarves don’t get along.”
Jenny was right.
Elves loved nature, while dwarves were known for destroying it.
Naturally, conflict had arisen between the two races.
In the past, they had even fought a fierce war.
However, the appearance of the demon race had forced the elves and dwarves to sign a truce, which lasted to this day.
To be precise, neither race had the strength to fight each other, as both had suffered heavy losses while driving out the demons.
Of course, while they weren’t at war, the two races still harbored dislike for each other. If they met on the road, they would at least exchange scowls.
“Aren’t you worried you might get hurt if you go there?”
Jenny was concerned for Ariel.
As an experienced adventurer, Jenny had been to the Dwarf Mountains several times, and she knew how foul-tempered dwarves could be.
“Those short guys are so touchy. And so many of them are drunks. Sure, their craftsmanship is excellent—their weapons are flawless. But you don’t really need any of that, do you, Ariel? So why do you want to meet a dwarf?”
Ariel thought for a moment and then answered,
“No reason.”
That was the truth. There wasn’t any specific explanation.
“I just like dwarves.”
Jenny was left speechless, and Mitchell chimed in.
“In that case, Ariel, how about you check out the abandoned temple I’m investigating? It’s an ancient temple built by dwarves. Nowadays, dwarves are too proud to build for humans, but in the past, they did it occasionally.”
“Really?”
Jenny looked at Ariel.
“What do you think, Ariel? Want to come see the temple Mitchell is investigating?”
Ariel nodded without hesitation.