Gluttony Demon King with the Swampman ~A Man with No Magic Power Who Dreamed of Magic, Wielding Knowledge from His Past Life Through Steady Research and Hard Work to Become the Most Vicious Final Boss~ - Chapter 53-54

Chapter 53: The Country-Bumpkin Hero Has All Kinds of Weak Defenses

The Flower Hero, Cira. No family name.

She had been discovered as a hero about a year ago and had been training in the royal capital until just recently.

Yet behind her back, people whispered that she was “the hero with the lowest expectations.”

Cira came from a tiny farming village.

She had never held a sword or a staff. Fighting monsters was unthinkable; all she had ever known was tilling fields.

That was probably why.

Even when she became a hero and was suddenly granted tremendous magical talent by the whim of the gods, not many people placed big hopes on her.

There had been cases before when multiple heroes appeared at once.

But in most of those cases, support for the heroes ended up being uneven.

If the hero you backed achieved great things, that glory became yours.

Many nobles thought that way, so aid naturally flowed toward the “promising” heroes.

As a result, in past instances with multiple heroes, the ones who received thin support often died.
Cira, the Flower Hero, was supposed to follow that same tragic fate.

After finishing one year of basic training, she was finally allowed outside.

She became an adventurer to hunt monsters and gain real combat experience; that was how her training journey was meant to begin.

And right at the start, she ran straight into the Demon King of Thorns, an opponent she should never have met in a place like this.

Countless thorns reached out from the darkness of the forest.
Unable to even glimpse the true form hidden within, Cira and her party were overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

Was it coincidence, or inevitability?

Either way, Cira simply lacked experience.

If it had been now or six months from now…

Carrying that regret, she was supposed to die.

Yet that day, Cira woke up in a clean bed.

“Oh! The hero’s awake!”

“…Huh?”

A beautiful woman was peering down at her.

A woman with long, gorgeous hair that blended black and rose.

“It’s okay, it’s okay! Just wait a sec! Does it hurt anywhere!?”

“N-No, I’m… fine…”

“Good! Then stay right there! Harooo! The hero woke up—!”

The red-haired beauty dashed out of the room in a flurry.

Cira could only sit there dumbfounded.

*

From her traveling companions, I heard the rough outline.

The red-haired girl really was named Cira, and just as Noiche guessed, she was a hero.

After treatment, Cira was resting in the guild infirmary.

Even a full day later she still hadn’t woken, so guild staff plus Noiche, Zaria, and Egiy were taking turns checking on her.

The one who explained everything to me as their representative was a female adventurer named Mizaela.

She gave off a reliable big-sister vibe—tanned skin, muscular build.

“…About encountering a Demon King?”

“We don’t know the reason. Honestly, we’re all confused. We never expected to run into one in such a tiny hunting forest.”

Even now, a day later, Mizaela clutched her head in bewilderment.

“According to the observatory, there shouldn’t have been any Demon King presence around here. Cira’s still in training; we planned to let her gain experience in safe hunting grounds for another year. And yet…”

“…How old was that information?”

“About half a month, I think.”

Just half a month.

In that short time, a Demon King who should have been far away made a massive move and came all the way here.

…Definitely a nasty coincidence.
Demon Kings aren’t opponents you’re supposed to bump into so easily.

That’s when the report came.

“Master Haro!”

“Yeah?”

“Lady Zaria just informed us: Hero Cira has woken up!”

Finally.

I glance sideways; Mizaela nods. Let’s bring her along.

We hurry to the guild.

We’re let past the reception counter and open the door to the infirmary—

“Ah, Haro. Bad timing.”

Zaria’s warning comes too late; I get a perfect view inside.

A girl is half-naked.

With Zaria’s help, she has pulled off her shirt, arms raised behind her head, and right now Zaria is wiping the swell of her chest and the inevitably sweaty skin underneath with a damp towel.

That’s the exact moment I walk in on.

“Huh? W-Wait, uh, eee…?”

The red-haired girl spins her eyes in confusion. Zaria sighs, “Too late, huh.”

Even so, Zaria doesn’t stop; right in front of me, Cira’s pretty breasts squish and squash under the wet towel.

A beat later, Cira’s face turns bright red.

I hurriedly try to look away—

“Hey, why is the doctor turning away? If it’s medical, it’s fine, right?”

Mizaela grabs my face, exasperated, and forces me to look forward.

…Is this really okay?

Well, if the person herself and this lady say it’s fine, then sure.

The person in question finally snaps out of it, lowers her raised arms with a slap, and covers her chest.

No further scolding comes. I guess I’m forgiven?

“Ah, uh, aaaa—um! Y-You’re the doctor… the one who saved me… Master Haro…?”

Yeah, that’s me.

We hadn’t introduced ourselves yet.

Things got messy, but for now I nod to Cira’s question.

—

Chapter 54: I Don’t Teach Magic

Hero Cira already knew my name.

She must have heard it from Zaria.

When I nodded to her question, Cira leapt out of bed in a panic and rushed straight at me.

“M-Master Haro…! Th-thank you, thank you so much…!”

“Whoa!”

I got crushed.

She backed me right up against the door I’d just closed behind me, pressing that cute face and half-naked body hard against me.

A hero’s magic power is innate.

No matter that she’s a girl or small-framed, the sheer volume of it strengthens her body to rival veteran knights.

…Well, “small-framed” or not, she’s actually taller than me.
Anyway, she’s half-crushing me without the slightest awareness, and instead of noticing, she’s practically in tears.

“I-I… if Master Haro hadn’t been there… I-I would’ve died…!”

Yeah, yeah, I get it.

I look pleadingly at Mizaela for help. She just sighs and clutches her head. Apparently this emotional instability is normal for her.

Even so, could you please get her off me?

“M-Master Haro!”

“…What?”

“I heard you’re not only a healer but an A-rank adventurer…!”

Zaria told her that too, huh.

Well, there was plenty of time while we were on the way.

“S-So… Master Haro, please—!”

She takes a deep breath and shouts.

“Please become my master!”

…Huh?

I look around. Zaria is staring like “What is this girl saying?” and Mizaela is clutching her head even harder. Both are stunned by Cira’s outburst.

Still half-buried in her soft chest, I ask her back.

“M-Master?”

“Yes! Please become my magic teacher!”

“W-Why me…?”

“I heard you pulled the thorn spear out of my body and neutralized it like it was nothing! That’s the only reason! I want to beat that thing next time!”

…So she’s not saying it thoughtlessly.

She saw someone effortlessly nullify a fragment of a Demon King’s power and immediately begged that person for countermeasures.
I actually like that desperate, pragmatic thinking. I’m the same type, after all.

But what should I do?

I look at Mizaela.

“…Is that okay? Aren’t you guys her teachers?”

“No. Cira’s official teacher is a court mage back in the capital. But the old man’s too old to travel with her.”

“I see.”

“We’re just substitutes, and though we’re proud of our skill… we don’t have anywhere near the real combat experience of an A-rank adventurer.”

If we’re talking pure combat experience, I’m dead last by a mile.

But this time what matters is understanding Demon Kings. I do have ties to the Sword Demon King, so in a way I’m pretty seasoned.

“…Zaria, is it okay?”

“Huh? Why ask me?”

“Well… you didn’t seem to want me going out much.”

“Ah,” Zaria nods.

“If we’re doing anything, it’ll be inside town, right? I’m worried, sure, but Noiche and I are glued to you anyway, and… Haro, you’re already super interested in hero magic, aren’t you?”

…She saw right through me.

Of course. They know everything about me.

They know there’s no way I could hold back when such a fascinating sample is right in front of me.

“See, Cira? Haro says he’ll figure out how to make you stronger.”

“R-Really…!?”

“Yeah, so hurry up, get off him, and put some clothes on.”

At Zaria’s slightly grumpy prompt, Cira finally snaps out of it, squeaks “Hyah!” and scurries back to the bed.

…What even is this girl?

She’s like a hamster in human form.

Oh well. Let’s do it.

“Sorry, but you’re really okay with this, A-rank?”

“Yeah. I just want to study her, that’s all. And besides…”

“Besides?”

“I’m not going to teach you magic.”

When I say that, Cira’s face shoots up in shock.

“E-Eh, you won’t teach me magic?”

“Nope. I won’t.”

“B-But that’s…”

I can’t teach it anyway.

I’m not a mage and I don’t even have my own magic power. I’ve never once moved magic by my own senses.

There’s no way someone like me could teach a hero proper magic the normal way.

“Anyway, when it comes to foundational magic training, you spent a whole year getting drilled in the capital, right?”

“Y-Yes, but…”

“Then the ordinary approach won’t make you grow anymore. To make you explode in strength from here, it’s more efficient to develop some completely untapped area instead of polishing your already refined magic skill.”

“U-Untapped area?”

Exactly.

There are two ways to make a master swordsman stronger.

One is to hone their swordsmanship.

The other is to upgrade the sword itself.

“Cira, starting today I’m going to research your magic thoroughly and build the weapon that best suits it.”

“Th-The best weapon… how?”

“Yeah. That plant-control magic you were granted… I happen to have the perfect material to make use of it.”

What I had in mind was the grotesque thorn spear that nearly killed Cira just the other day—

Using a Demon King’s body to forge a hero’s weapon.

Isn’t that an insanely interesting research topic?

“Cira, your wound should be fully healed. If you’re awake, can you move right now?”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

“Eat something light, then we start the experiments immediately.”

“Understood!”

First comes categorization.

I’ll observe her magic output under countless different conditions, gather samples, and investigate exactly how her magic manipulates plants, what characteristics it has, under what conditions it shines—the works.

Otherwise even usable stuff stays unusable.

“Wow, straight to testing the moment you wake up, huh… Live strong, Cira.”

Zaria, veteran of this exact hell, looked at her junior test subject—who was about to fire the same spell hundreds, if not thousands, of times—with genuine pity in her eyes.