「Hah, today was a waste of time again in the end……」

Rei muttered to himself as he lay on his bed in the Blue Sea Coral inn.

The Lemrace, the monster with the bounty. Being unable to find the Lemrace again and with the added troubles of the adventurers using Rei as a decoy followed by their ship sinking, Rei was greatly mentally fatigued.

After bringing some magic ships over to rescue them, he had then returned to port with Shen, the Icebird, given a silver coin to Hendeka as payment and then returned to his inn.

「If the situation doesn’t change, this makeshift solution will just go on forever, I have to change something fundamental……」

He knew that, but didn’t know how to change the fundamental situation as he gave another sigh.

In the past few days, the Lemrace hadn’t done much damage. To be exact, no ships leaving the port had suffered any damage, but some ships entering the port had been sunk.

Fortunately, he hadn’t been asked to distract the Lemrace the next day, so if he wanted to try anything, he could do it tomorrow. However, Rei was worried because he didn’t know what he could do.

「Is there a magic item I could use to find an invisible enemy……」

Giving a sigh, Rei looking through the list of items that were stored in the Misty Ring as he looked for anything he could use.

「There’s nothing I could use in this……case?」

Rei gave another sigh as he looked the list.

But then……he suddenly noticed a certain magic item.

To be exact, he remembered the person who had given him the item.

He was a Lich who had been living from the same time as Zepairu, who had fused with Rei, and could use magic even more powerful than what Rei could use right now. To be exact, Rei had more magic power, but the Lich was much further ahead in how magic could be utilised.

Unlike Rei who could only use fire magic, the Lich was a real monster who could use spatial magic, space-time magic and dark magic.

「……I really didn’t want to rely on him too much, but……」

Even so, Rei didn’t have much of a choice left as he took the item out of the Misty Ring.

It was a crystal orb the size of his fist, it was one of a pair of orbs that made up the magic item called 『Twin Orbs』, which allowed two people to communicate with each other using them.

As soon as he poured magic power into the orb it started to shine. The next moment the image of a skull with a crown was projected on the orb.

『Oh, this crystal……Rei? It’s been a while.』

At the Lich’s somewhat amused greeting, Rei replied with a slight smile as well.

「Yes, it’s been a while, Grimm.」

『Since you’ve contacted me, have you run into any trouble? Of course, even if it isn’t anything big, you’re welcome to talk about it.』

Grimm’s face, since he had become a Lich, was made of just bones, so Rei couldn’t really read his expression. Moreover, even if his face had flesh and skin, Rei didn’t think he would be able to match Grimm, who had lived for an eternity, in acting.

「Actually, I’m in Emoshion right now. Do you know about that city?」

『Well. It’s called the gateway to the Mireana Kingdom. Even if all I do is research, I still know at least that.』

「In Emoshion right now, there’s a monster called a Lemrace sitting off the coast. The city administration has put a bounty on the monster.」

『Yes? So you’ve gone there for the bounty?』

Grimm gave a laugh as his jaw bones shook.

Maybe it was because Grimm was a Lich, but Rei felt a chill go down his spine as he shook his head, even though they were talking through crystal orbs.

「I’d like to collect the bounty if I could, but my main focus is the magic stone. As Grimm knows, it’s for Set.」

『Hmm, I’m relieved to hear you’re still raising Set, who was created using the Magic Beast Art. If the money had been your only aim, I would have to ask about your qualifications as Zepairu-dono’s successor.』

「……I see.」

The quick thought passed through Rei’s that Grimm’s thoughts regarding his qualification could potentially lead to his death.

Rei knew how much Grimm really respected the already dead Zepairu, the chances of that happening weren’t zero.

『So, a Lemrace, did you say? Unfortunately, I haven’t heard of such a monster before, can I ask you for the details?』

Rei shook his head silently at Grimm’s question.

「That’s what I want to know, which is why I used this pair of orbs.」

『Hm? Could you tell me more?』

「First of all, I don’t know the specifics about its magic and species capabilities, but it can manipulate sea water and use it as spears or tentacles to attack.」

『As a monster in the sea, to use water magic……no, just magic for now. It’s not that usual for a sea monster to use water magic.』

「Considering the amount of water around it, there’s no way it wouldn’t use it. Above all, the biggest point is that I have no idea where it is.」

『You don’t know where it is?』

Grimm asked back at Rei’s reply. Even for a Lich who had lived for thousands of years, that was still an unexpected response.

However, Rei just replied with a sigh as his question.

「I mean that literally. Since it has been attacking things, there’s no doubt that the monster we’ve called the Lemrace exists. However, I can’t see it anywhere. It’s enough to make me believe that it’s been using water magic from somewhere far away.」

『It’s a monster off the coast of Emoshion? So it’s underwater?』

「That’s what I think. At the very least, I couldn’t find it anywhere in the sea that was visible to me. The seawater in the surroundings is very clear, so I can see up to a certain depth……since I can’t see it, there is a high probability the Lemrace is near the seabed and attacking from there……」

『If you know that, you should be able to think of a way to deal with it.』

「I can’t. I’m only good at fire magic and I have few effective ways to deal with an enemy in the sea. Even if I throw a spear at it, it wouldn’t reach the bottom of the sea aside from the shallow regions. And even if it did get that far, it would have almost lost all its power.」

Rei gave a sigh to indicate there was nothing he could do.

Grimm looked at Rei with a somewhat amused expression but eventually spoke up when he saw Rei staring at him.

『What’s wrong? Your eyes have a scary look in them.』

「Do you find this amusing?」

『Well, I’ll leave that to you to decide. But since that is the situation, how can I help you?』

Cheeks twitching, Rei asked Grimm.

「What exactly can you do?」

『Well, I could destroy all living beings off the coast of Emoshion and turn them into undead……』

「Please don’t do that.」

Rei responded almost on reflex.

「If you did that, it would destroy Emoshion.」

『That’s true. Well, since I’m a Lich, dark magic is what I’m best at……in that case, I think spatial magic should be fine?』

Grimm was quick to respond to Rei’s refusal. From the beginning, he had no intention of flooding the waters of the coast of Emoshion with undead.

When Rei realised he was being teased, he gave another sigh.

「You should have said that from the beginning. ……So, what can you do with spatial magic?」

『Well……simply put, I can find the Lemrace and then forcibly transfer it to a different location using spatial magic.』

「……What?」

Rei involuntarily responded at those unexpected words.

How could he hurt an underwater enemy with fire magic, or even better, how could he find the Lemrace? It would be strange if Rei wasn’t surprised after Grimm easily gave a solution to deal with the problems he had been struggling with.

「Is that possible?」

『Hmm. If you’re asking if it’s possible or not, it is. However, there are various preconditions.』

「Preconditions?」

『That’s right. For example, the size of the object. For large objects, an enormous amount of magic power would be required to forcibly transfer it using spatial magic. In addition, there is the issue of how far it can be transferred. We can’t move it too far away from Emoshion. In addition, since you need to kill it, we can’t transfer it in the middle of the night when monsters are more violent, so it will have to be done during the day. In that situation, naturally, my abilities as a Lich will be weakened……no, since I’m an undead, I will be weakened even further than ordinary monsters, so I probably will not be able to assist you after completing the transfer. As I had said earlier, I am best at dark magic, spatial magic is only something I can use to a certain level.』

Rei, who had been listening to the prerequisites that came out of Grimm’s mouth one after another, frowned as he asked a question.

「In that case, wouldn’t be faster for you to just kill it?」

『Stupid idiot!』

An angry voice echoed out from the orb. Even though there was no magic used, Rei felt a huge amount of pressure from the Lich who had lived for thousands of years.

『Don’t you already find it pitiful that someone who inherited Zepairu-dono’s power and will has to ask for my help to this degree? No, you don’t just want me to set the stage for battle, but to leave it all to me……can you really say that Set will surpass Fenrir, that Zepairu-dono created using the Magic Beast Art?』

「That……you’re right. It’s not like I should leave everything to you since you’re helping me out.」

Taken aback for a moment at Grimm’s scolding, Rei nodded.

「I understand. Then I’ll leave it to you to transfer the Lemrace……no, can you find the Lemrace in the first place?」

『It won’t be too difficult for me, so don’t worry about it.』

「……I had been struggling with that for so long. All my troubles with it until now……」

『It’s because I’ve been studying magic for so many years. At any rate, you can leave that to me, but there are other problems to solve.』

「Other problems?」

『Yes. You don’t expect me to just show up there do you?』

「Well, that’s true.」

If a Lich were to appear in the sky off the coast of Emoshion, it would definitely cause a huge fuss. Enough to cause people to forget about the Lemrace.

Even Rei could predict that, so he nodded at Grimm’s words.

『In this situation, when I transfer the Lemrace using spatial magic 『someone』 has to be there in place of me. And, the only one who knows about me is you.』

「……I see.」

Rei nodded as he thought of the commotion that would happen sooner or later if the Lemrace suddenly disappeared without warning.

『And, you also have to have someone at the location where I’m sending the Lemrace. You know this right?』

「Yes. It’s fine to transfer it with spatial magic, but it’s just left there, it will probably just go on a rampage there or move towards the sea.」

『Hmm. Because of that, you will need someone who will be able to hold down the Lemrace until you get there.』

Grimm said that, but Rei could hardly think of anyone he could work with in Emoshion.

Of course, if he put a request out to the many adventurers in the city, they would all follow Rei’s suggestion. However, in that case, they would all demand a share, which would make it difficult for Rei to claim the magic stone and materials for his own.

(I hope they will be satisfied with just the bounty……as the number of people increases, the split will naturally decrease. Scammers will also show up as well. It would probably be better to have a few elites considering the location.)

Hendeka, the tamer he had hired for a trial today, passed through Rei’s mind. However, the thought left soon after.

It was true that he was familiar with Hendeka’s character and Set was also friendly with the Icebird that he had tamed. However, considering that he was only a D rank adventurer, Rei didn’t think he could hold off the Lemrace until Rei arrived at the location.

(At the very least, I’d like to have a few more skilled adventurers……)

Rei thought to himself.

Suddenly, Rei heard rapid footsteps coming down the corridor outside his room.

Eventually, the footsteps reached Rei’s room……

「Hey, Rei! We’re here as promised! You haven’t killed the bounty monster yet!」

「Wai-, Egret. At least knock!」

Without any more words, the door to his room was opened as two people appeared.

It was a warrior like man with a poleaxe on his back and a woman with a whip hanging at her waist.

They were Egret and Miroir, the two B rank adventurers Rei had encounted on his way to Emoshion.

[Previous Chapter] [Table of Contents] [Next Chapter]