Vol 1 Chapter 31 – Assault

The operation plans I’d swiped from the Witch Cult hideout had quite a bit of information written in them.

The number and locations of Witch Cult hideouts placed in the northern wastes.

And even their objective in these northern wastes—everything was written without omission.

“Still, it’s an incomprehensible objective… Create a large number of monster corpses, then use the magical power leaking from them to create a powerful monster, huh?”

“The Witch Cult created a dragon too, didn’t they?”

“That’s right. Between the dragon in the great forest and the monster they’re trying to create in the northern wastes, it seems the Witch Cult is trying to create powerful monsters. What are they planning to do with them?”

“We can’t say anything since we can’t see the full picture of the organization called the Witch Cult. But do they want military power? Or do they want to destroy the world… I can’t believe it’s such a simple organization.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, there’s no point in us thinking about it here. We’re combat personnel, after all. For now, we should focus on crushing the enemy’s plans. We shouldn’t give military power to an organization we don’t understand.”

“Don’t lump me in with ‘we,’ okay?”

I could use my brain too.

In fact, that was my main thing. I was a magic researcher, in my own mind.

“If you’re going to say that, I won’t let you in my bed tonight.”

“N-not that!?”

The moment Tail collapsed and clung to me at my casually thrown words—

Both Tail and I sensed magical power directed at us at almost the same time.

“What?”

I spread a barrier around both Tail and myself at the same time Tail leaped into the air.

Tail deflected the lightning magic fired at our room with her bare hands and sent a sharp glare into the sky visible through the hole the magic had made in the building’s ceiling.

“…Guess I wasn’t needed.”

I muttered quietly while watching the scene in front of me—Tail and the Witch Cultist floating in the air who’d fired magic at us glaring at each other.

At that moment—

The floor I was standing on gave way, and I fell straight down from the current floor.

“…?”

Then multiple spells were fired at me as I fell.

“Noah!”

“…Huh?”

Right now, a mage was above. Hadn’t they ignored Tail and targeted me?

“I won’t let you go down!”

“…Hmm. This is a first.”

Having blocked all the fired spells with just the barrier I’d already put up, I landed my feet on the lower floor and tilted my head at the attack directed at me personally from the Witch Cult—a first in the several times I’d fought them.

Did I have something the Witch Cult was after?

Vol 1 Chapter 32 – Decision

Being targeted here was a bit unexpected.

Through some mysterious stroke of fate, I’d had many conflicts with the Witch Cult, but that didn’t mean the Witch Cult itself had ever targeted me.

“Did I get marked as a troublemaker or something?”

While reaching that shitty conclusion, I kicked off the ground and shot up into the air.

“You picked a fight with me. I’ll make you pay for that.”

I inserted myself between Tail and the Witch Cultist who’d been glaring at each other and declared war.

“N-no!? You can stay back, Noah. If you leave it to me, I can easily defeat someone like that.”

“I’m doing this. There’s something I want to confirm.”

The moment I pushed past Tail and came forward, the Witch Cultist directed magic at me.

Having successfully deflected it with my own barrier, I readied my staff and pointed it at the Witch Cultist.

“Magic Cannon.”

Then I fired the magic cannon, aiming at the weak spots in the barrier the Witch Cultist had put up—anywhere but vital points. Judging she couldn’t fully block it with her barrier, the Witch Cultist took evasive action, unwilling to take damage.

But that was a trap.

“…”

“O-oh.”

Having planted binding magic at the position where my opponent would dodge, I succeeded in capturing the Witch Cultist alive just as planned. Restrained by tree branches extending from empty air, the Witch Cultist could no longer escape.

“I won’t let you get away.”

As the Witch Cultist began struggling to escape from the tree branches, I closed the distance with transfer magic, appearing right in front of her, grabbed her by the scruff of the neck, and removed her mask, exposing her face.

“…”

The features revealed by removing the mask—

Her expression was utterly blank, and I felt not a single trace of emotion.

“…Hmm, I don’t get it.”

The reason I was being targeted by the Witch Cult.

“Is it this?”

I held my hand over the captured Witch Cultist, transformed my hand into a dragon’s, and went to bite her.

“…!?”

“I see. Goodbye.”

Then I twisted and crushed the Witch Cultist’s body, chewing her up.

“Alright. I’m heading home soon.”

Abandoning the now-corpse of the Witch Cultist there, I told Tail.

“What!?”

“Isn’t this enough for my job? I bought time on the front lines and found the enemy to pursue. That’s more than enough work to get access to the forbidden library, right?”

“W-well… that’s true. Yeah. You’re definitely right. I can’t bear to make you fight on the front lines any longer. You can go home. Leave the rest to me. I’ll handle talking to Her Majesty the Queen. I’ll work something out.”

“Thanks. Well then, I’m heading back. See you.”

“Yeah, see you.”

My job was more than done.

Having judged that, I left the northern wastes behind.