Return of the Former Hero

Chapter 177 Former Hero - Got Sidelined

Translator: Raizu

Dark colored hardened skin and long limbs.

A long tail with a glistening sharp tip.

The appearance of the giant lizard was similar to how Tarma described it to me.

There’s no doubt that this was the monster that’s chasing the unicorn.

The monster’s eyes, whose sharp gaze pierced through the dense forest, scanned through the shore of the lake, and finally stopped upon us.

Right then, the monster let out a deafening roar as it jumped a great distance.

[Uwaa?!]

The momentum of its jump was enough to propel it from its original position across the lake to ours.

Whilst jumping, its left hand reached out.

Swiping as it jumped.

Obviously… It was directed at Tarma.

That’s bad.

The blow delivered by that giant body would certainly be fatal to Tarma.

So I started running to protect Tarma.

At the same time, I could see a streak of light running in.

The streak of light… It originated from a short dagger.

A kunai sped through the lake, intercepting the monster in the middle of its flight.

Who threw that?

Etna-san is out of question, so it’s either Shia or Chiyu.

In any case, there’s no way that would deal any substantial damage to such a large monster.

In fact, as I stood between Tarma and the impending trouble, I could see the kunai lodged itself into the monster’s back as it unfailingly continued its flight forward

I readied my sword to intercept the monster, but at the same time, a large explosion engulfed the creature’s back.

[Oooh?!]

That surprised me!

[Guugaaa.]

The explosion was strong enough to alter the monster’s jump trajectory, so that it ended up landing a few feets away from my and Tarma’s side.

『Hiee』

Tarma, who was high from the scent of three virgins until a while ago, turned pale at the appearance of the monster and the sudden situation.

He coweringly moved behind me for protection.

[Gu…gururu,,,!

The monster staggered up.

Perhaps wary of the sudden explosion, it didn’t dare to jump in again, now becoming more vigilant of its surroundings.

However, the rage in its eyes was obvious to me.

It felt uncomfortable seeing the monster up close.

I’m not exactly fond of reptile-like creatures like this.

Its huge size only added to the discomfort.

[You there, get down.]

Eh?

It was weird to be called from behind all of a sudden like that.

That call came from Shia.

How come she suddenly sounded so bold and heroic?

Ehh? Didn’t she just speak to me with a cutesy and shy voice earlier?

[Oy, monster. Aren’t you a really big ugly creature? I’ll deal with you.]

Shia stepped forward post-haste, stopping right in front of the monster.

As she passed by me, I noticed that the corner of her lips crooked into a grin.

So scary.

Eh, what?

Just what happened to this girl?

So scary.

[Hey, you there. Just leave it to Shia-sama.]

[Eh? I mean, but…]

Chiyu urged me to stand back from behind.

Shia’s changes in attitude were so abrupt, I didn’t know what to do about it.

I mean, is it really okay for me to stand back?

Disregarding the still clueless me, Shia picked up something that looked like a sword handle from a compartment fastened around her right thigh.

The item looked very much like a sword handle, but lacked an actual blade.

But right after I thought so, a blade of light extended out from the handle. Now Shia is wielding what essentially was a beam sword.

The moment I saw that, a chill ran through my spine.

And the chill spread out to my entire body.

The scene happening right in front me… the details might be different, but that beam sword was strikingly similar in principle to my Divine sword of destruction 『Ragnarok Blade』.

Since I know the underlying principle, I’m familiar with what it’s capable of.

Moreover, the magic blade was formed almost instantly without any chanting.

[Tarma! Get down.]

『Eh? You sure?』

[Just do it!]

I hurriedly got down along with Tarma.

[Eeh… so you realize just from looking?]

Shia muttered when she caught me retreating in a hurry right after seeing the sword.

[Giii!]

However, shortly afterward, the monster rushed to attack while Shia was seemingly looking elsewhere.

It was a swiping claw attack.

[Ha! This trash doesn’t know its place!]

It was supposed to be a surprise attack, but Shia still managed to parry with her sword anyway.

…no, parry wasn’t really the correct word.

To be more precise, she disintegrated the swiping arm cleanly with her sword.

Wow…

What an awesome power.

[Gi… Giaaaaaa!!]

Despite being the one who took the initiative to attack, it was the monster who ended up letting out an indescribable roar.

Logically speaking, the monster should’ve retreated immediately.

Since it’s a monster, there’s a possibility that it could regrow its lost limb after a while.

No, its ability to regenerate must’ve dulled its sense of crisis.

The monster growled in anger, opening its fanged jaw wide in the attempt to bite at Shia who had just cut off its left arm.

Despite being lizard-like, it actually has fangs?

Nn? Do lizards normally have fangs?

I felt silly for letting myself ponder over such a topic.

After all, Shia’s beam sword is way too powerful.

[Rushing to your death, eh… good!]

In the meantime, Shia retaliated by swinging her sword at the oncoming monster head.

And the result was the same as before.

The monster barely had any time to react as its head instantly disintegrated.

Zushin… With a loud noise, the remainder of the monster’s body collapsed to the ground.

The ground was soon soaked with the monster’s blood.

[Uwaa! That was close!]

Shia, who was the closest to the monster, had the monster blood all over her clothes.

What’s with her acting unfazed despite all the blood?

『E, eh? It died? For real?』

[Yeah, well… it is, isn’t it?]

Still hiding behind me, Tarma was obviously confused over how fast the monster was dispatched.

Well, me either actually.

[Fuu… it is done.]

[Shia-sama, well done.]

Shia came back to us whilst speaking in her previous cutesy shy tone.

Chiyu bowed and responded to her politely.

The blade of light had already disappeared from the sword handle on Shia’s hand.

Just what the hell is going on here.

[Well… let me ask you once more. Do you happen to know or see someone by the name of Haruto Amagi around here?]

[Eh? Ohー…no, I mean… w, who again?]

It was quite upsetting that Shia could talk comfortably like that as if nothing had happened.

Speaking of which, why are these girls looking for me?

What should I do?

I don’t want to be involved with them, but since they’ve seen me here, they will eventually find out that it was me the whole time if they continue looking for me.

Damn.

I’ve been out of my mind ever since these two appeared.

[Shia-sama, maybe he has already returned to the town.]

[Uーn… I wonder.]

Despite my ambiguous reply, the two started conversing on their own.

『Are you sure? Aren’t you Amagi Haruto they’re looking for?』

Tarma, you shut up. Stop it.

But since people other than me couldn’t understand Tarma, the two girls didn’t give a damn.

…good, the trouble has been postponed.

Yosh, this is good.

Aria…no, there are still Sharon and Laurier in Verde.

Those 2 should be able to handle whatever goal these two are after. Maybe.

Just when I decided to stay away from the problem, probably thinking that silence was a sign that it’s okay to come out, Etna-san got out of the tent.

[Haruto-kun. Is it alright now? Are you hurt?]

Ah.

I’m happy that Etna-san is worried about me, but the fact that she said my name out loud made my spine freeze.

[Haruto?]

And of course, both Shia and Chiyu’s gazes were immediately directed at me.

Ahhhhー……