The Spearmaster and the Black Cat

Even as the heavy Nemus lumbered the stairs up, she didn't leave any footprints in her wake. <Tree of the Evil King> is definitely tough.

"I, am, Nemus!"

"――Yoo, did you make this stairway, Shuuya?" Moga asks while climbing the stairs.

"Yep. The planks made out of evil domain lumber can even carry Nemus's weight."

"I'm Nemus."

"Hmm, looks like fairly sturdy trees are growing in Hellrhone." Moga answered conversationally while relying on his own agility.

With his small penguin legs, he takes two or three steps at once. That footworks seems to come from him being a swordsman. There's some "excellence" to be found in how he faintly releases the mana he's amassing in his toes. His <Magic Combat Style> skill is very high. No wonder that they were able to kill the Black Sweetwater Snake with just the two of them.

Previously he had introduced himself as Sword King and Moga swordsman. He looks like a penguin, but as I thought, he is anything but an ordinary penguin.

In reality, he might have obtained a combat occupation in that direction.

Nemus's way of walking is as sluggish as usual. While shaking the rock clumps that are her shoulders for dear life…she drags herself upwards along the stairs with Moga's back in front of her.

Reaching the end of the stairway, the two step onto the training ground that's stretching out close to a small hill.

"――So, you two don't look like you've come here to train together with me."

"You're right. Our treasure was stolen. Something like just the magic book being gone despite the troll cries having stopped is weird. That's why we wanted to consult you about it, Shuuya."

The instant Moga explains this, Muu's body trembles with a start behind me.

"The book held by the brat hiding in the back! That's what I'm talking about!"

He noticed the book in Muu's possession, huh? Well, it's not like she can completely hide it.

"…I'm Nemus."

"Muu is no brat or man, but a girl."

"I don't give a flying damn ! Muu! You stole it, didn't you!?"

Moga extends a small hand towards Muu who's hidden behind my legs. His king-penguin-like eyes are rather cute, but the shining fangs peeking out of his mouth look quite sharp.

"Does it really matter all that much?"

"Humph! Shuuya, she's a child, but protecting a thief is…"

"…gh." Muu steps out in front as if saying 『That's wrong!』

"…!"

She holds up the book, which could be a sorcery book, a magic book or whatsoever as far as I know, above her head. And the instant she throws it into the air from that position, the strings shaping the book's front cover squirm. The strings were tied together into bowknots, slipknots, snake knots, and many other types of knots, and as they automatically untied, a part of the front cover fell apart.

It's not like the book itself crumbles away, but a part of the designs on the front cover get damaged.

Moreover, Muu takes off her own dress, becoming stark naked.

"Wh――"

"W-What's going on――"

"I'm, Neee, mus!"

Everyone stares at Muu's body in surprise. Her small body is covered with operation scars as if it's been sewed together all over… Her chest seems to be small cupped, but adorable.

No, what's more important is the root of the missing arm and leg. Small, pyramidal protrusions jut out from the raw wounds at her shoulder and buttock…and magic crests have been carved on the surfaces of the triangles.

Furthermore, strings extend towards the sky from the tips of the pyramids. Those strings head for the magic book. The strings from the book itself react to the strings approaching from below, and head for them, resulting in both strings entangling with each other in mid-air. With a force as if the N- and S-poles of magnets are drawn to each other. They repeatedly join together, creating various knots.

The magic book and Muu are now connected to each other through the strings. Those long strings sway in the wind.

I don't really feel any magic from them, but…hmm, it's another kind of…ah yeah, it feels like the quality of something like mana that has been refined over a long period of time.

"…Muu, I guess you also have a proper reason for this…?"

"…nh."

Muu doesn't answer. Her eyes are single-mindedly fixated on the magic book, and one of her cheeks is twitching lightly. Her expression hints at her being focused at controlling the magic which manipulates the strings.

"For your body connecting with the same strings as the strings of the magic book…that means the vampire treasure was originally yours, Muu?"

"…I, am, Nemus!"

Nemus brings her head close to Muu. She intently stares at the girl's expression with her sparkling, crystalline eyes. Then she shows off the shoulder with her "Kaede" mark as always.

However, since Nemus is a mysterious giant, I can't tell what she wants.

Having seen Nemus flaunt her shoulder, Muu's eyes take on a sharp glint as she shifts them towards Nemus's big head. And then she manipulates the strings connecting the root of her non-existent arm with the magic book, and draws the book to herself.

As soon as she grabs the book with her right hand, her expression becomes tense. As if saying, 『This is mine!』, she firmly clasps the book and immediately hides it behind her back. Then she jerks her eyes away from Nemus's head which is quite close to hers.

Hopping on the toes of her remaining leg like a rabbit, she comes around to hide behind me in order to get away from Nemus.

"…As you can see, I think it'd be better for Muu to hold onto this book, Moga, Nemus."

"Don't worry, don't worry! It's plain obvious with this! But, for her to be linked with the strings of the magic book sure is a surprise! Is that possibly the reason why you were caught by the vampires?" Moga comments with a smile, and then asks Muu.

Muu gets lightly startled, and brings her face close as if to hide it behind my thigh. Everyone once in a while, she inclines her head and breathes out like a beast.

I can sense something similar to anger, hatred, or aversion from the attitude she takes towards Moga. No, rather than Moga being the target here, it might be her memories of having been captured…

But, going by the fact of her hiding, she might be feeling bad about having silently taken the book out of Moga's home, where it served as decoration, so far as it goes.

"Haha, I guess I'm being hated. Still, she can't talk even after being connected to a magic book, huh?"

"Looks like it."

"I'm Nemus…" Nemus mutters while looking disappointed.

Her crystalline eyes are still pinned on Muu.

"Muu, I don't know whether it's a magic book or a grimoire, but how are you connected to it…?" I ask something similar to what Moga has asked while looking at her, but…

"…"

Muu doesn't answer. Instead she manipulates a string that has extended from my rear. She hooks the dress she's dropped on the ground with the string, and pulls it over. Then she completely covers herself with the clothing.

"You're good at manipulating the strings, eh? So you missing a leg and arm wasn't the only special thing about you."

"…" Muu nods lightly.

But then she also shakes her head. At that moment, the strings extending from her wounds contract, disappearing under her clothes. I can't see it because of her dress, but I can clearly imagine how her strings are reeled back into the pyramidal protrusions.

"…So you can't operate the strings for too long, huh?"

"――gh." Muu nods powerfully so as to acknowledge my observation.

Then she stares at Baldok. It looks like she wants to study spearmanship.

"You're a weirdo, Muu. Even though you use the stringed magic book, you apparently aim to become a spear wielder."

"I'm Nemus."

String Spear User Muu, eh?

Moga and Nemus look baffled at Muu.

Muu's cheeks flush red. Seemingly feeling embarrassed over having all attention on herself, she hides behind me once more.

Haha.

While putting on a smile, I explain, "It seems like Muu took a liking to Kisara's and my training session――", and move swiftly along the wall in the meantime, deliberately getting away from Muu.

I grab the bad, which Riedel had placed down on the ground, and pick an apple out from within. And then I <Throw> the apple to Moga.

Moga catches it, "――Oohh, this is one of the apples that silver-haired, flabbily-moving Chief Gatekeeper brought back, isn't it?"

"Yep. They're quite sweet. Nemus, want one as well?"

"…I'm Nemus."

Nemus extends a hand, showing that she's going to eat one as well. Hence I place an apple on her big palm.

Nemus carries the apple to her mouth, which looks like a crack in bark, while making sure to not crush it, and eats it up. A mana fluid and apple juice spills out between her torso's wood and steel.

"…Nemus basically eats everything."

"It seems so, yeah."

After nimbly peeling the apple's skin with his fangs, Moga eats his apple as well. While eating my own apple, I shift my eyes to Muu, but she shakes her head. Apparently she doesn't want any apples right now.

Thereupon, Moga gulps down the rest of his apple, including the core, and says, "…Let me get back on topic. I'll return the Magic Sword Shallow which you gave into my custody, Shuuya."

He then tries to retrieve the sword from his tube-shaped item box.

"No, in that case I'll give it to you, Moga. Kind of like a trade off for the magic book Muu has."

"Ooohh, you okay with that!?"

I got enough swords myself. There's the holy sword where I haven't mastered <Saraten's Secret Art> yet. According to Kisara, it's a sword capable of cutting through destiny. In reality, Holy Sword Saraten might have created a new line of destiny for me.

Besides, I already have a favorite magic sword.

"――Ah, it's not that I feel lavish. However, I already possess a Legendary magic sword called Beet. Recently it hasn't see much use because of Murasame, but in one way or another I got used to the nice feeling of using a one-handed half-sword the most――"

I manipulate my item box while explaining. Then I took out Magic Sword Beet for the first time in a while. I grab its hilt, and look at the violet letters on the reddish blade. A black-colored mist is also visible on the surface of the dim, dark red wave pattern.

"…I've already seen the steel hilt with the light blade, but…"

"I am Nemus!"

Slouching down, Nemus brings her face close to Beet. The sword is reflected in her crystalline eyes. Maybe Kaede-san wants to handle a magic sword as well.

"I used Beet in the Evil Dragon King battle. Suloza, an excellent item appraiser in Pelneet, said about it, 『It's a gem offered to the Darkness God and made by Zedel'Guo Sail of the Eight Geniuses of the Spirit World. Its effect is a small increase in the physical abilities and an increase in mana of its wielder. It has the possibility to bring about a blessing by the Dark God』."

"Awesoooome. I was certain that it's a treasure going by its appearance, but for it to be a creation of a member of the Eight Geniuses of the Spirit World. I suppose Lanwen, who made the Spirit World's 68 swords, is yet another member of the Eight Geniuses." Moga rattles down with surprise written on his face as he widely opens his cute yellow beak with its black bordering.

"Do you know any details about the Eight Geniuses?"

"No, I think they're some type of Spirit World blacksmiths. I don't know much more than their names. It's just that I know a bit about the magic swords which carry the names of demon-king-class demons according to the legends passed down in Zamalia. If you work as an adventurer, you'll hear about those kinds of weapons, whether you like it or not. Besides, I've been often watching the martial tournament held in the Grand Vice Arena. The <Magic Combat Style> of the martial artists and swordsmen participating there is magnificent. And it was a place teeming with folks carrying magic swords and wearing items I've never seen before."

"I am Nemus!"

Nemus answers with a rumbling tone so as to show her approval.

Martial tournament, huh?

"Is it a tournament of martial arts and battle?"

"Indeed. I booked special seats for the individual matches surrounding the Divine King Rankings at the Martial Arts Federation's martial tournaments, and enjoyed watching them together with Nemus. It was really fun to observe the heated battles with nelgin sweets for snacking."

Are nelgin sweets something like popcorn?

Come to think of it, Viine mentioned that she'd like me to exhibit my strength by participating in a tournament, didn't she? But, in the end, I never entered the Vice Arena.

Well, maybe I'll catch up on that someday.

"…Say, it seems like you only brought your partner, the divine beast, to this village, but…when we met for the first time, during the Black Sweetwater Snake subjugation, some other people were with you. What happened to them?" Moga asks me as he stares at Beet together with Nemus.

"You mean Rebecca and the others? They're living in Pelneet."

"The adventurer party back then was temporary?"

"No, the adventurer party isn't temporary. They're my friends and dear family. When I go back to Pelneet one day, I might dive into the labyrinth together with them again, especially seeing how we still have some magic treasure maps. I also want magic stones, you know? Having said that, my bloodkin are continuing their collection of magic stones."

"…Family, eh? Even though they're bloodkin, I'm jealous that you have a relationship with them, allowing you to call them family. It sure sounds like you met some great friends, Shuuya. We also recruited party members at bars and participated in parties, but well…" Moga looks sadly at Nemus.

"I, am, Nemus…"

"Right, Nemus."

Moga nods several times looking somewhat disappointed at Nemus. He might be reading Nemus's emotions from her blinking her eyes several times.

As I observe Moga & Nemus who're wallowing in such a sad atmosphere, Muu steps in front of me. Her eyes are fixed on Beet.

"…"

Does she want to touch Beet?

She lifts her arm as if to stretch her back. At the same time, the magic book floats up while connected to the strings that are extending out of her empty sleeve. Muu apparently makes the book float. The book might be floating on its own as well though.

Either way, the book approaches Beet. Beet and the book blink in the same color. Letters with Zedel'Guo Sail and small patterns surface on the underside of the book's string-made front cover. Following that, Zedel'Guo Sail also appears in small letters on the Beet's hilt.

"They're showing characters I can't read."

"I am Nemus!"

I suppose Moga can't read the words of the Spirit World. I don't know about Nemus.

"I can read them. The book showing the same name as Beet means that Zedel'Guo Sail also made the magic book?"

And they seem to be equipped with a function to resonate when encountering items of the same maker. It's probably a countermeasure against forgery. It's a function that would likely please Collector and hers very much.

"The same maker as your Magic Sword Beet means the book is also an item of one of the Eight Geniuses?"

"I am Nemus!"

"…zh."

Support the translator by reading Spearmaster on his blog infinitenoveltranslations instead of aggregators.

While Moga and Nemus are surprised, Muu shakes her head as if saying that she doesn't know.

Once the blinking stops, the magic book drops to the ground. The strings extending from Muu also fall to the ground after having lost their power. The letters on Beet's hilt are gone too.

"For the time being, I'll put away Beet."

As I store away Beet in my item box, Muu hops forward to pick up the magic book. After grabbing the book with her remaining hand, she returns to me.

"But, how are you going to use a spear, Muu?"

"I think I'll give her an artificial arm and leg."

"I see. So you intended to train her from the very start, eh? You're a kind guy. That's also why friends and family, huh…?"

"I am Nemus…"

Moga and Nemus look at each other, nodding. I can sense the same bonds from them as mine with Rollo.

"I'm not kind. I just do what I want to do."

"Hahaha! As always, you're a funny guy. You head out to rescue children without care for your own life for the sake of a woman you love. And then, you not only rescue the abducted children, but also some unknown weaklings. Moreover, you give land and house to those you rescued on top of trying to give them a reason to live on…such a broadminded guy…isn't kind? Don't make me laugh. Didn't you just recently accept the request from some ghosts? You're the very definition of Hero Segal whose legends are passed down in the Moga family!"

"I'm Nemus!"

"――nh."

As Muu listens to Moga's speech, she hops around between Moga and me, and then powerfully nods several times to demonstrate her acknowledgment of his words.

"I'm not like that…"

When I mutter that, Moga clads his entire body in <Magic Combat Style>. Nimbly jumping, he gets on Nemus's shoulder. As he pitter-patters around with his penguin feet, he points one hand at me.

While adopting a kabuki pose, "――The hell you're saying! Shuuya, don't be shy! Then again, you looking embarrassed has its charm as well. You're a cool guy! I approve of you! As Moga, I say you're the best man among the men of other races!"

Is he imagining Nemus's shoulder to be some kind of stage? I can't make any retorts though. <a href='#easy-footnote-bottom-1-25832' title='The last sentence is a reference to a Manzai duo. Manzai is also performed during kabuki, which is classical Japanese theater. You can google all of the terms.'>1</a>