TENKEN 438 (1534 words)

The Drug's Effects

薬の効果

It's been more than ten minutes since Eihwaz had gone ahead and scattered the drugs in the basement without permission. Fran and the others were checking the inside of the house. We wanted to see if there were any hidden passages leading to the basement.

We don't need hidden passages when we can use earth magic and teleport magic to get inside. However, Face's suggestion was that it would be better to find a regular route for later use.

However, even after Fran and I searched for hidden passages with our detection and sensing skills, but no suspicious places existed. If this is the case, it seems the passage wasn't from the Viscount's residence.

On the way back to the courtyard from the villa, we sensed the movement of magical power. I knew this magic. As we rushed out into the courtyard, we saw that Eihwaz had just dug another hole with his earth magic.

「Eihwaz!」

「Nn? What is it, young miss?」

When Fran runs up to him, Eihwaz asks her back, looking as if he doesn't understand why she is angry with him.

「Didn't i said to not do anything」

「Aah, I remember you saying something like that before we split up. Well, I wasn't interested, so I didn't feel like to remember it」

「Muh....」

Face had suggested that we split up and explore the area, and he had warned Eihwaz not to take any action. I had even confirmed that he wasn't lying in his response with the Principal of Falsehoods!　He hadn't lied when he said he wouldn't make a move without asking at that time. I'm sure about it but.....

No, it was certainly not a lie. However, he soon forgot about the promise he had made, and simply acted on his interest. We had underestimated Eihwaz's freewheeling nature too much.

「It doesn't matter. Let's go. Don't worry about the drugs. They should be wearing off by now」

「Ah!」

「Wha, Eihwaz-san!」

When Eihwaz used his wind magic to make his body float, he went straight down into the pit. He really is an old man who acts according to his own curiosity.

(Master! After him!

『Yeah, I know!』

For a moment, I thought about pushing it all to Eihwaz, but then I recalled that it might be dangerous if Gallus was in the underground base. I wondered how far Eihwaz would go to take Gallus' safety into account. After all, he threw poison into the pit without hesitation.

「Eihwaz, wait!」

「Ah, wait! M-me too――」

Oh, I forgot about Face. No, we might as well leave the less combat-ready Face behind. We don't know what kind of situation we'll be in.

We sliding down the almost vertical hole in one fell swoop, and killed the momentum with a leap in the air to land.

I don't know what's going on with Eihwaz's drugs, so I wear a wind barrier, but I don't feel like it's filled with poison. I guess Eihwaz was right, the effect had already worn off.

「....A building」

『Yeah, I'm pretty sure this is the underground base』

It was a solid structure, as if we were inside some kind of fort.

『You never know where they're going to come from. Don't let your guard down』

「Nn」

For the time being, we decided to follow Eihwaz.

There was little vitality in the vicinity, but the magic of the pseudo fanatic sword could still be felt faintly. They must have noticed Eihwaz and Fran's intrusion and are removing their presence.

We kept going for about fifteen meters before I caught up with Eihwaz. He had stopped at the end of the aisle, in what looked like a large hall.

「What are you doing?」

「Young miss, look at this」

「....Stairs?」

What Eihwaz was looking at was a staircase for climbing. However, the stairs had hit the ceiling and had no use for it. Had they filled the hole to isolate the underground facility here?

But it wasn't. When Eihwaz lightly channelled his magic, the stairs glowed for a moment.

「I knew it. It's a kind of magic tool」

It seems if you channel magic powers, a staircase will extend to the ground. I guess this is how they go in and out. No matter how hard we searched, we couldn't find the entrance or exit.

When they return from outside, they need to have the stairs appear from inside, the possibility of being attacked from outside is low. Well, it was forcefully invaded by Eihwaz

「We'll have to look into this later. Let's go to the other side」

「....Nn」

Fran nodded, although she was somewhat unhappy. She didn't like being led by Eihwaz, but she did recognize him somewhat when she saw how much insight he had into magic tools. For the time being, she didn't complain and started running ahead of Eihwaz.

But soon I notice the magic lurking ahead of us.

『Fran!　Over there, behind the door!　There's a magical power of the Pseudo-Rabid Sword!　Maybe there's two of it』

(Nn? Understood!)

Apparently, Fran can't sense it. I may be aware of it in part because I feel the disgust more strongly than the magic.

「Eihwaz」

「Hmm? Did you feel something?」

「Nn」

When Fran called out to him, Eihwaz stopped and began to pay attention to his surroundings. The accuracy of his judgment was good, as expected of a former rank A adventurer.

「Behind that door there」

「Hou?」

Fran pointed to a door in the middle of the passage. She doesn't seem to know that someone is hiding in there, not even Eihwaz. But he doesn't release his guards. He honestly acknowledged that Fran's sensing ability was better than his.

「Is it the enemy?」

「I don't know. But there's two of them」

「....It seems that even I can't sense it. Let's make the initiative」

「Nn!」

Then Fran kicked down the door and rushed inside. First, she slashes one of them with her Sword technique! Worst case scenario, we’ll use Eihwaz as a shield and finish him off with the telekinetic catapult after I get some distance. He's maybe an old magician, but he can at least buy us some time.

When Fran stepped into the room, the first thing she saw was a pile of black powder. A large amount of black powder is scattered on the floor and shelves.

It was probably an armory. However, the metal corroding potion thrown in by Eihwaz had corroded everything and it looked like nothing but a pile of black powder. There were only a few traces of leather armor, leather shields, and a leather belt that had been wrapped around the handle.

There are still two men inside. A pseudo fanatic sword was stuck in their necks. However, my plan to use the Eihwaz as a shield was never put into action. Because the enemy was already dead when we stepped inside.

「...Nn?」

『Looks like it's dead to me』

「Eei」

Just to be sure, we tried to cut the sword stuck in his back, but it still didn't move. Since the cannibalism was activated, there was no doubt that this was a pseudo fanatic sword.

Eihwaz, who came into the room later, approached the corpse with a euphoric look on his face.

「He's dead, isn't he?」

An appraisal showed that he had lost all of his magic as well as his life force. It seems that Eihwaz's drugs did more than I expected. I don't know if it was the magic depletion drugs or the counteracting effect of the pseudo fanatic sword, but it must have used up all the magic.

The sword's magic is weak because it can no longer absorb magic power from its host.

「I figured it would be easier to fight if their magic power was somewhat reduced......The enemy seems to be more stupid than I imagined. No, as long as their mind is being manipulated, it doesn’t have that much accurate judgment left. Or is the sword's ability automatically activated by some conditions? But――」

Eihwaz is mumbling something as he inspects the body. He seems to be considering various things. But now is not the time to relax.

For the time being, I decided to store the corpse in a hurry.

「Tsk. It can't be helped. But I'll be sure to check it later」

「....」

「Oi, are you listening? You definitely going to give me the body later right?」

「....」

「Oi, little girl」

Is Fran having trouble talking to Eihwaz? She ignored him completely. In response, Eihwaz is shouting at her. This guy doesn't listen to others, but gets angry when he's ignored. He's got a really good personality.

「Is it okay? I'm gonna dissect it, you know?」

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