I'd received a request to take down, and I'd arrived at the point where the Mad Golem, the Forest Spider, and the Man-Eater were likely to be.

　After a week of receiving requests to take down the suburbs of Yuguhanotes, I had a map of the area roughly in my head.

　This was a perfect point, with a swampy area near where the Mad Golem springs, a moderate amount of trees suitable for forest spiders to build their nests, and a sunny spot where man-eaters could easily grow wild.

　The requested demons are classified as strong enemies in the Iron Grade, but they are not hard to defeat once you get the hang of it.


　Gasp--.


　As soon as I arrived, the grass behind me was shaking.


　A demon!　And what a Noelia or ...... confusing one. ......


　The one who shook the grass was Noelia, who was keeping an eye on me.

　I got a little bit of mischief and ran out of the forest at the point of invasion, and I was spreading her around as it was.

　It seems that this Noelia has found me and caught up with me, using a messenger or something.


　Phew, I guess I failed to sow the chase: .......

　It looks like we're going to be defeating demons under her feverish gaze today as well.


　With a discouraged feeling, I first headed for the swamp where the mad golem was likely to spring up.


　When I arrived at the swamp, I was immediately greeted by the Mad Golems.

　The thick mud of magnesium (mana) deposited in the swamp was a demon that took the form of a human being, but they were slow moving and not difficult to deal with as long as you could get around them without being surrounded by a group.


　I drew my cheap sword and started to move, aiming at the one that was out of the crowd of mad golems that were coming towards us.

　I was an appendage of Alfine, who had become a sword saint, but my self-esteem had been restored until I felt I could handle a sword better than an average swordsman.


　I ran up to the Mad Golem, which was out of the group, and slashed it off with a single flash of my neck and torso's attachments.

　Unless the head was detached, the Mad Golem would revive the body forever.

　The only way to prevent that is to separate the head from the body.


　I didn't stop moving, and as I ran around, I swooped down on the Mad Golem that had been separated from the group and isolated, reducing its numbers.

　Then the body and head of the last one separated, and the Mad Golem's defeat was completed without a problem.


　Eighteen, nineteen, twenty just, or ...... the request was for five bodies, so it might be a bit too much to take down.

　If I reported the number of defeats seriously, would Rebecca be suspicious again?


　The number was a bit high for a solo, iron-grade new adventurer hunting a Mad Golem.

　I had only collected five mud doll heads, which were proof of defeat and a purchase.


　I wanted to raise my adventurer's grade as quickly as possible, but there would be no point in starting out again on the frontier if Rebecca got suspicious and exposed.　


'Noelia, if you're watching, it would be helpful if you kept this quiet.


　I turned to Noelia, who was watching me fight behind me, and asked her to keep quiet, as if she were talking to herself.

　Of course, there was no reply.

　But since my gaze is on his back, I'll assume he agrees.


　I stuffed the mud doll's head into my backpack (bag) and returned to the forest, this time to take out the Forest Spiders.


　Once back in the forest, I scoured the densely packed trees and found a nest of forest spiders.

　These spider demons use strong, sticky threads to form large webs in the trees and prey on birds, large animals, and humans with their powerful jaws.

　It was a dangerous demon, even for a skilled adventurer, if its movements were blocked by touching the web-forming threads.


　Nevertheless, the webs would lose their effectiveness if you cut down the tree where they were nesting.

　Once the webs that inhibit their movement are gone, they're just free big spiders.


　To prevent vibrations in the threads that form the web, you break up the trunk of the tree with a continuous iai slash.

　Then he pushed the tree a little and it began to fall all at once.


　Suddenly thrown to the ground, the Forest Spider was pierced in the head by my sword before it realized what had happened and was dead.

　I ripped the forest spider's leg, the proof of its defeat, from the still jittery Forest Spider and tucked it into my backpack (bag).


　Suddenly I realized that I couldn't feel Noelia's gaze that was always directed at my back anymore.

　When I looked at the direction of my gaze earlier, the rustling grass was shaking.


　Noelia's pure white skinned feet seemed to glimpse out of the grass, and then they disappeared as if they were being dragged by something.


'Oh, hey!　Noelia!　What's going on?


　But there was no answer.


　The place she was being dragged to must have led to a sunny spot.

　No way, man-eater!


　I had a bad feeling and immediately ran off in the direction of where I thought Noelia had been dragged.


　When I emerged through the forest and into a sunny open area, I found Noelia entangled in a man-eater's vine and trapped.

　He seemed to be resisting as hard as he could, but he didn't have a wand to activate his vital magic, and I saw that his mouth was also sealed shut by the man-eater's crutch.


''Noelia!　I'll help you right away.

"?　Hmmm!


　Noelia looks at me and looks like she wants to say something.

　As I follow his gaze, the ground rises and a new man-eater appears behind me.


　It leaps out of the air with great vigor and forces me to tangle with it, but I cleave it off with my sword.

　I sliced the flower in half with my returning sword.

　But more new hands came out of the ground all at once.


''Hmmm!


　Meanwhile, Noelia, who was being held captive, was beginning to have her clothes melted by the dissolving fluid produced by the Man-Eater's vines, which dissolved anything that would interfere with her predation, making the critical situation even more acute.


'Noelia, I'll be there in a minute!　Just bear with me for a moment.


　Deciding that I didn't have a moment to spare, I gave up fighting the newcomers and ran in a straight line toward the Man-Eaters who were holding Noelia captive.

　Then the new Man-Eaters started shooting seeds at my back all at once.


　I endured the pain of the seeds hitting my back, and as I approached the man-eater restraining Noelia at once, I slashed her vine and released her from her restraints.


''Puh-uh, puh-uh. Ah, thank you ...... thank you ....... Uh, uh, um.

I don't have time to waste, so just give me a hug. It's time to get out of their territory.


　I thought Noelia was going to be rebuffed or run away, but she obeyed my instructions quietly, and when I gave her a princess hug, she put her hands around my neck and hugged me.


''Yes, yes ...... but I can burn it with my magic,''

Oh, yeah. Can you help me with that?

Yes, sir. We'll get rid of it.


　Noelia hugs me and begins to chant her magic to the man-eater who sends the seeds flying.


''Pierce my enemy with a flaming spear, fire lance.


　When she finished chanting in a voice as inexpressive as the first time I met her, the oversized spear of fire that had been shot out had pierced and burned through the man-eaters.


''Wow ...... magic is useful after all, isn't it?''


　Looking at the place burnt by the magic Noelia had activated, I was again feeling the amazing power of magic.