My Classmate Became My Familiar - Chapter 2.6
"Please support me on Ko-fi! Thank you!"
“So, what are the rules?”
“There’s no point in making complicated rules. The one who hunts more monsters and magical beasts before Ashiya-kun arrives at his destination should be the winner, don’t you think?”
“That’s true, but that’s a bit too simple. The regulations…”
“It’s simple enough, you know. In a way, Ashiya-kun is like an hourglass.”
“… Got it.”
With Fujiwara’s approval, Ryoka continued, “Oh, right. As long as we walk at a steady pace, Ashiya-kun can help Fujiwara in any way he wants. In any case, a summoner and their familiar are a pair. In return, I will be allowed to hunt off the path. It’ll be disadvantageous to be next to a demon all the time. Is that okay?”
“I don’t mind. How are we going to handle thought entities?”
“No need to fight them. It’d be useless because we can’t prove we defeated one. So, while hunting, you should collect evidence that you have defeated the monsters, such as… a corpse, or if that’s too much trouble, you can use harvested parts.”
Eventually, the conversation came to an end, and the two of them began to do some preparatory exercises to get into the spirit.
While Fujiwara stretched carefully, Ryouka circulated her magic power through her body while equipping herself with a magic device that looked like a brass knuckle.
Then, a red geometric pattern appeared on Ryouka’s entire body. It seemed to be a physical type of magic formation.
“Are you imprinting the formation directly onto your body?”
I asked, and Ryouka smiled.
“That’s right. I’m the type of magic warrior who specializes in close-range combat. I’ll kill any enemy that stands in my way head-on with my well-trained fists and magic that improves my physical abilities. Isn’t that cool?”
Then, she continued exercising by shadowboxing.
Her fists were so fast that I could see afterimages. She was frighteningly powerful.
“Let’s get started.”
With a word from Fujiwara, we started walking towards our destination.
I compared the map displayed on my device with the city streets that had been invaded by nature.
“Maybe those buildings in the distance are our destination.”
“We’re really far away, aren’t we…?”
As if Fujiwara had noticed something, she turned her eyes to the side of the road where weeds had grown thickly.
There was a black dog-like creature walking on two hind legs, baring its teeth and threatening us.
It was a kobold.
It seemed that a monster had immediately appeared.
“I got it!”
As soon as she saw it, Ryouka ran and approached her prey like the wind.
She was hard to follow with my eyes, so fast that it approached the limit of human speed.
But Fujiwara was even faster.
She literally passed Ryouka with unbelievable speed and kicked the kobold.
The magic power on her toes traced a blue trail that turned the upper half of Kobold’s body into a plume of blood.
That was just a kick, yet its power far surpassed the offensive magic of ordinary magicians.
Ryouka, having lost her target, almost fell down on her knees.
But somehow, she managed to stay on her feet and stared at Fujiwara dumbfounded.
“What’s that?”
Apparently, this was the first time she had seen the current, non-summoner Fujiwara fight in person.
Fujiwara, with her eyes dyed vermilion, looked back at Ryouka with a smile of pride.
“This is what I call an unchangeable and absolute difference. So, Ryouka Sanjo, do you still want to do it? If you admit defeat right here and now and get down on your knees, I might be able to forgive you.”
“As if I’d do that!”
Ryouka shouted but quickly took a deep breath to calm herself down, smiling awkwardly.
“Haha, don’t act as if you’ve won. Without the power of that demon, you’re nothing. Such a shame.”
“What a sore loser. Well, if you want to continue, let’s move on.”
Ryoka ignored the victorious Fujiwara and looked back at me.
“Ashiya-kun. I’m sorry, but can you go on ahead? I’m pissed off, but I don’t think I can win in a head-to-head competition with this monster right now. I’m going to hunt the monsters down somewhere else as soon as possible.”
Before I could reply, Ryouka effortlessly ran up the outer wall of a nearby building.
I guess she was planning to look for prey from a height. Even so, she has incredible mobility.
Fujiwara was out of her league, but Ryouka was also skilled.
“Hah! She ran away with her tail between her legs. It’s been a while since I’ve felt this good.”
Fujiwara said with a refreshing smile.
“Follow me! Let’s hunt down more monsters and show her the difference between us”
“Oh. You’ll be like the Grim Reaper to the monsters.”
“Hmm? Yeah, that’s right. I mean, they feed on people.”
That’s true.
For some reason, low intelligence monsters, called hexenbiests, relentlessly attack humans. Hence, when ordinary people, who don’t have any means to defend themselves, are attacked, they are usually helplessly killed.
It’s not often that hexenbiests appear outside the forbidden zone, but still, more than a few people are killed every year. So, let’s take care of more of them at this time.
If we can reduce the number of victims, even if only by a little, it’ll be great.
“If only that irritating woman would learn to behave herself and become more mature!”
Fujiwara said as she beat a kobold to death that had appeared in her direction.
As proof of defeat, a part of its ear was snapped off and collected.
“Well, the two of you have been going at it since freshman year.”
Fujiwara and Ryoka’s relationship was well known throughout the school. There were probably no students who didn’t know about it.
“It’s a one-sided grudge. I know I’m better than her, so I don’t push. I mean, she’s just wrestling with herself, screaming and yelling.”
I was too afraid to agree with her, so I just nodded vaguely.
And to be honest, I didn’t trust Fujiwara too much when it came to this argument. This was because I, of all people, had been involved in a one-sided dispute with Fujiwara when I was a freshman.
It wouldn’t be surprising if Ryouka got some flak from Fujiwara, just like I had during the summoning test. Well, the opposite is also true.
“You look like you want to say something.”
I wondered if my thoughts were showing on my face.
“Oh, no. I was just remembering why Fujiwara was so persistent with me when I was a freshman. You were like a mother telling me to work harder, right?”
Fujiwara raised an eyebrow in slight disgust.
She put her hand over her mouth as if searching for words and looked at me with difficulty.
Eventually, she sighed exaggeratedly.
“… It’s frustrating to watch people who have talent but don’t want to take advantage of it, isn’t it?”
“Oh, come on, you’re talking like the president again. Can’t you see the truth?”
When I replied with a hint of sarcasm, Fujiwara gave me a momentary inexplicable look.
It was as if she was trying to hold something back… Well, it was really for just a moment, so maybe I’m just looking at it wrong.
“At the very least, I need you to do well right now because your performance, or lack thereof, will affect my evaluation. Rather, I think Ashiya-kun is too unmotivated in general.”
“I’m not like you. I don’t have any goals in mind. My ideal goal is to work a moderate amount, earn a moderate salary, and live comfortably without taking on heavy responsibilities.”
“You know, now that you’re my partner, you have to change this gutless mindset of yours.”
Fujiwara stated as she obliterated the upper body of an insect-shaped monster that appeared in the distance with a magic bullet.
“I hope I can deal with it positively. But you know what they say, a person’s character never changes.”
“Don’t give me that pathetic excuse…”
At the same time Fujiwara plucked materials from the defeated monsters, something fell from the sky.
“Hello! I’m here for the report!”
The one who landed in front of me with a thud was Ryoka, who was holding monster parts in both arms.
“I’ve hunted down about five of them. Here’s the proof.”
She threw the heads, tails and unidentifiable jewel-like objects onto the ground.
I was surprised and checked the materials with Fujiwara, and there were indeed five of them.
“Five monsters in such a short time? That’s awesome.”
“What crap…”
Perhaps because her ego was tickled by my reaction, Ryoka proudly put her hands on her hips.
“Well, I’m good at hunting. My skills are not just for show. Now then, Fujiwara, how many of them did you kill? Hmm?”
“… Three of them.”
Fujiwara replied, looking like she was about to bite her lip off, and Ryoka deliberately put her hand over her mouth.
“Oh no, this is unexpected! I can’t believe that Chikage Fujiwara, who has the power of a demon and an overwhelming advantage over me, can’t hunt as many monsters as I can! I wonder how something so outrageous could happen! Guess the power of a demon is no big deal if the user is useless. Ahahaha…”
Fujiwara’s face turned serious just as Ryoka started laughing.
Looking at her expression made me want to run away in fear.
“Ashiya-kun. Let’s move on. It’s time to get serious about the hunt.”
“Oya? What, you’ve been holding back? I’m sorry about that! Just because I’m at a bit of a disadvantage, you’ve done me such a great service! Thanks to you, it looks like I’m one step ahead! I’m so thankful for your help!”
Fujiwara walked forward, ignoring Ryoka’s mocking.
“Mmm, ha-ha-ha! I feel so refreshed! Well, Ashiya-kun, I’ll be back!”
Ryoka patted me on the shoulder and once again effortlessly ran up the outer wall of a nearby building.
In the blink of an eye, her figure disappeared.
I hurriedly chased after Fujiwara.
“Oi, this is bad! She’s really good at hunting.”
“I know. You’re right. I was a little lazy.”
Her voice had a hint of impatience in it while she glanced at me before looking away, hesitating.
“Hey, Ashiya-kun. Can you use the clairvoyant function of those glasses right now?”
“Huh?”
When I asked her about her intentions, Fujiwara moved her mouth in a squirming motion.
“Well, I was wondering if you could see through buildings and look for monsters nearby…”
Oh, I get it.
I nodded and concentrated my magic power in my right eye to activate the clairvoyant function.
The amount of magic in the tank was sufficient to make the substance in view completely transparent.
As I walked, I looked around and spotted a man-eating rabbit behind a decaying wall.
“There are two rabbits in the back there.”
As soon as I pointed it out, Fujiwara punched through the wall and knocked down the two man-eating rabbits behind it.
Two broken tails were then thrown at me.
“Hold that. What else?”
“Yeah, there’s a snake-shaped demon behind the trees over there…”
Fujiwara manipulated her magic power into a blade shape and shot it at the tree.
The tree, which seemed to have a diameter of 50 centimetres, was snapped in two, and the snake-shaped demon died.
“What’s next? Where do I go next?”
“Wait, wait, wait! I’m looking… Oh, there’s a bunch of kobolds over there! And there are a lot! About four of them!”
“Got it.”
Fujiwara, with her limbs covered in magic, lunged in the direction I instructed.
Soon after, I heard the cries of the kobolds, but they soon stopped.
Covered in blood, Fujiwara returned with the kobolds’ tails.
“We’re lucky. Now we can kill more at ease.”
“Yeah, I guess so. Let’s see.”
As I was looking around for the monsters, Fujiwara poked me on the shoulder.
“It seems that those glasses are nice and handy, but you’re not looking at my naked body, are you?”
“I’m not looking.”
I didn’t have time to reply, but the truth was that Fujiwara’s naked body was right in front of my eyes. But I didn’t have any guilty feelings, so I’m safe. I’m not in the mood either.
Fujiwara pushes the kobold tails into my hand.
“I hope you’re not lying…”
I was about to have my hands full, so I shoved the terminal and grimoire into my backpack.
“By the way, Ashiya-kun, you seem to be very close to Konoe-san, who made those glasses. You have known each other since… childhood, right?”
She asked me as we proceeded to hunt sporadically appearing monsters.
“Well, yeah. We’ve known each other since before we started elementary school. You see, our masters were good friends.”
“I see. So, by that time, you already…”
Fujiwara muttered, but I couldn’t hear her well.
Her expressions were strangely serious for an unimportant small talk.
It was as if she was trying to ascertain something important.
“Fujiwara, what about you? Do you have a childhood friend or something?”
“Me? I, well… I don’t have a childhood friend, but I did have a fiancé.”
Seriously?
“It’s amazing. That’s the Fujiwara family for you. Their level is different in every way. What kind of guy was it?”
Fujiwara opened her mouth to say something, but it immediately went rigid.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“… No. My fiancé was a boy of the same age. He was… a gifted sorcerer, hardworking, brilliant, kind, and… yes, the complete opposite of Ashiya-kun.”
“That’s great. Sounds like a hell of a good person, but why are you talking in the past tense?”
Fujiwara glanced at me and replied shortly,
“We’re not like that anymore.”
Oops.
“Well… I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Hmm.”
Fujiwara looked up at the sky with a sigh. When I looked up, I saw that Ryoka had just landed right in front of us, lifting a cloud of dust.
I hurriedly turned off the translucent function of my glasses, but Ryouka’s naked body, which I could see only for a moment, was surprisingly toned, and I was almost lost in its wild animal-like beauty.
That was dangerous.
Ryouka, who had her arms full of the monster’s remains, smiled smugly.
“Report!”
Then she released the monster’s material she was holding. The furs and heads rolled haphazardly on the ground.
I counted and found out that she had killed about six more of them.
“What do you think, Ashiya-kun? I do pretty well, don’t I?”
Then Fujiwara answered, “Then it’s our turn.”
Fujiwara released a piece of monster flesh in front of Ryouka, who didn’t doubt her lead position in the slightest.
I tossed the material I was holding as well, and Ryoka froze.
“We got ten. It’s a complete turnaround.”
Fujiwara was proud of her victory, even though she hid the fact that we used the clairvoyant function of my glasses. I felt a little guilty, but it’s not a foul since the use of magic items was not forbidden.
“Ugh, you’re kidding…”
“Can’t you believe what you’ve seen with your own eyes? That’s no good. Why don’t you go to an ophthalmologist or neurosurgeon immediately?”
Ryouka ground her teeth grimly.
“Well, the win is still up for grabs…! I’ll soon overtake you…!”
Then she ran up the abandoned building again.
What a hardworking girl.
“Hmm… Let’s continue.”
Fujiwara urged me to go on.