Chapter 288: Don't Take Him

Chapter 288 - Don't Take Him

"Haa, ha, ha, ha... kuh... not yet!"

"Alright, come on!"

The game of tag on deck continued.

Even though he replenished his energy with Calorie Friend, Slayer had been chasing me with all his might from the beginning until now without pacing himself.

As a result, he was already exhausted and sweating like a waterfall.

"Damn, hah, hah..."

Speed and the power to wield iron-forged weapons. His physical abilities are much higher than those of ordinary people.

But that alone wasn't enough to catch me.

I see, when I tried it this way, I felt that I could see myself.

『Indeed. A step for predicting the future. In addition, avoid the opponent's movements with the minimum necessary movements. Pacing. Tis better to have high basic performance such as physical ability, magic, and technique. However, this alone is not enough to reach higher levels. Tis not about a reckless charge.』

Tre'ainar nodded at my realization.

『And the important thing is not to think with your head and then act in that manner, but to instill it into your body so that you can move naturally in battle without thinking.』

It's not just about training muscles, speed, and magic.

It's about using your head and then, eventually, making sure that your body can move like that naturally without using your head.

"Get caught in the iron net!"

Looks like he still has some magic left in him. The radar gives me a rough idea of how much magic power he has left.

And unlike swords and spears, this was a technique that spread over a wide area.

"Inferno Network Darkness!"

He spread the iron net over a wide area and tried to restrain me.

I see, it's convenient if you want to catch monsters alive or something.

But if you can use this technique, you should use it from the beginning... no..... if you look closely, the net is pretty lax with holes of varying sizes.

In addition, because of the huge range of the ironmaking, the magic power was also drastically reduced.

Also......

"Oh..."

"The strength of the net is not good at all, is it? Well, I'm not good at this, but I don't know what else to do, so I'm going to give it a try, right?"

I didn't evade the net, I dared to take it, and I was able to tear it apart easily.

It was so brittle that I couldn't believe it was iron.

Even though he had come to this point and used something like this, Slayer didn't have any other moves to play, and now he was completely ...

"Hey, you're tired, aren't you? Let's stop now, okay?"

"Haa, haa... what...... you're not even out of breath... you monster..."

"Kuhahahaha, I'm a monster? You're saying that."

Slayer glared at my suggestion with resentment... I'm a monster? For someone brilliant like me, who has nothing to do with being a genius or a monster, those words were new to me, so it was kind of refreshing.

Words like genius and monster suit him better...

"Here, as a reward for your fighting spirit, I'll give you another Calorie Friend."

"Giving me charity again!? And it tastes good, but it's dry and makes me thirsty..."

"Oh, you think it tastes good? I'm sure the makers will be happy about that."

"Wh, what... I just thought this item was pretty convenient, and it's not that I gave in to you or acknowledged you at all, so don't get me wrong!"

Slayer had a sour look on his face. But, while complaining, he reluctantly accepted the Calorie Friend from me.

The person himself said this, but I wonder if he somehow opened his heart to me a little. Just as I was thinking that...

"Aaaaaaaaaaaahh!!!! What are you doing? What is that? What are you giving him!"

"...... ah..."

Suddenly, a voice echoed across the deck. It was Espie, who should have been entertained in the mess hall.

"Big brother! I thought you were never coming back... what are you doing with that boy!!"

Apparently, she was worried that didn't come back and came looking for me.

One thing led to another, and we played tag quite a bit.

And when Espie found me, she came running with a bright red face, forced her way between Slayer and me, and growled.

"I said he's my brother! What are you doing!"

"...... nothing much"

"You too Big brother, what are you doing!? What did you give him?"

"Ah, no, just a little item..."

"What are you doing, leaving me by myself!?"

Espie bares her emotions and stomps on the floor.

She seemed pretty mad at both Slayer and me.

"You're a noisy kid..."

"Unyu!?"

"I was just playing tag with this guy."

"T, ta, tag!? Why!? Big brother why are you playing with this boy!?"

"And... I just got some treats."

"Eh!? W, why!? What's going on? What's that? I don't know anything about that! Big brother!"

While Slayer answered calmly with a sigh, Espie's anger peaked.

"Big brother, don't play with him! Play with me!"

"Oh, no, I wasn't really playing..."

"And what are those treats!? I want some, I want some, I want some, I want some!!!"

"Ah~, just calm down already."

She jumped on my chest and yelled over and over.

"Good grief... not that I care to know who you are, but... it must be a pain to have a nagging, slow-moving nuisance in the way."

"What was that!? Was that about me!?"

"Huh~"

"M, mm, mmmmmmmmmuuh! I'll beat you up!!"

In an attempt to quiet down the snarling Espie, I patted her head while holding her, but it still didn't seem to calm her down.

Hm~m, I thought head pats worked to put small kids back in a good mood, but I guess it wasn't that easy...

"Geez, you two should get along a little better... come on, shake hands..."

""No way!""

"...... you guys..."

"I don't want to be friends with such a nasty boy!"

"I'm not looking to get along with anyone."

You two become lovers in the future and are about to get married!

Ah~ it's already bad, but this is harder than playing tag with Slayer.

But......

"...... Hey..."

"?"

Espie, who had been raging, suddenly became despondent and weak-eyed, and while grabbing me by the collar, she turned to Slayer...

"My Big brother... don't take him..."

How should I put it, beyond jealousy, it was as if she was feeling somewhat anxious.

Oh I see... Espie was already fine, unlike before... is what I thought, but it's only been a few days since we met.

It's no wonder that she felt so anxious.

Then, Slayer let out a sigh at her appeal.

"I won't... I'm not going take him, and I don't want him in the first place..."

"...... really?"

"...... Yes. I won't take him..."

Slayer replied with a slight frown.

Espie was still not in a good mood, but somehow those words managed to calm her down a little.

"Huh... I'm feeling down... how stupid. I'm going to bed."

"Hmm? Hey, what about your dinner?"

"I don't need it. I got two of these..."

Saying this, Slayer turned to go back inside the ship. But he stopped for a moment, looking forward...

"Hey..."

"Hmm?"

"What did you want?"

This was the third time he'd asked me that. He said something about people being stupid if they ask twice, but it seemed to bother him a lot.

"Didn't I tell you? I just wanted to know what kind of guy you were. On top of that, it would have been nice if you could get to know me a little bit about me along the way, that's all I wanted."

"...... I don't understand... what you mean by getting to know me ... even if we get to know each other, I have no intention of joining or befriending you. I'm not even interested. I hate...... that kind of thing."

Saying that, Slayer returned to the ship with a dissatisfied expression.

He's a pretty stubborn guy...

"Mmm, Big brother... leave that boy alone..."

"Espie, you can get along with him, right?"

"I can't! Absolutely can't! That boy isn't just bad-tempered! He's a really gloomy boy! No way!"

Espie pouted and told me to leave that guy alone.

In the end, it seemed that their impression of each other remained negative.

But still, do you hate gloomy boys?

But, Espie...

――I understand... I have... failed my mission... no more...... a child no one needs anymore... if I killed a lot in the war... the painful experiments could have been reduced... I wouldn't be beaten anymore... but...... I failed...... they said that the fate of the country was with me......

You were pretty gloomy when we first met in the forest, weren't you? That was only a few days ago, you know?

Well you haven't realized that your emotions have changed so much, right?

Besides...... that kid... the store manager...... no, even Slayer is in the future...

――I admit it. You are a man who knows me, even though you don't know me. That's why I want to know. Which spice would you choose? What would you buy? I want to know. I want to know. I want to know more about you.

He's gotten quite curious about other people.

That's right, he's like this now, but someday...