Now immobilized, the monster flailed its head around, shrieking.
“I have no ill will toward you, but you’ve created trouble for many people. You’ve left their normal lives in chaos.”
I invoked Magi Raegas and plunged my mana-enveloped left arm into the monster’s head.
Unable to wail, the beast convulsed for some time before expiring.
“Hmm? This thing is…”
Inspecting the corpse revealed writing that looked like a formula.
The glyphs bore a noticeable resemblance to those on Rila’s collar.
Once I returned home, I checked the inside of the collar and found that the writing was indeed similar.
“Is something the matter?” Rila had followed me all the way to the living room when I marched inside without a word.
“The formula on the inside of the collar is meant to suppress mana, right?”
“I believe so,” Rila answered.
“…”
“Has something happened?”
I told Rila about the unidentified giant monster I encountered in the woods.
“Mm-hmm. So an unknown monster has appeared…and it sports a formula similar to the one on the collar.”
“The glyphs were all over its body, not just the one spot,” I explained.
“A turtle with four eyes and a body like a boulder… I cannot think of any monsters that fit that description.”
I expected untrained individuals to be unfamiliar with certain creatures, but there were few Rila and I didn’t know.
“Let’s just call it an Armored Turtle for now. It was as large as a house, but only that one woodcutter saw it.”
“Then this Armored Turtle, or whatever such name you wish to give it, does not typically seem to dwell in the forest.”
“Yeah,” I answered.
“Inspecting its body may reveal something. Would you take me to it?”
I agreed and took Rila back to the woods.
“I’m sure it was here…”
No matter where we looked, there was no sign of the Armored Turtle.
“Where did it go…?”
“The blood I smell on you is similar to that nearby. I am sure it should be here,” Rila said.
I didn’t expect to have so much trouble finding such a large monster.
“Finding it should be easy, given how large it was. And since we can’t…”
“You think someone carried it off?”
“Hmm. Very likely.”
Lugging the giant carcass around was no easy feat. Whoever took it probably used magic or a skill. Plus, the Armored Turtle was covered in writing similar to the collar’s, which even Rila couldn’t decipher.
If the glyphs were written in the same language, there was a chance the monster held some connection to Wawok, the one who created the collar. There were reports of mysterious monsters other than the Armored Turtle. Were this a quest, I’d simply dispatch adventurers to slay the monsters as needed. They’d be tough to handle with the unknown element of that indecipherable formula, though. Ultimately, I decided it was better to do this myself, because I wanted some of the creatures alive to observe them and find out where they came from. Perhaps they were the result of a mutation. It was just as likely they were someone’s pets. At the very least, I wanted to narrow down the possibilities.
“I will create a shadow,” Rila said.
“Oh, right. I forgot you could cast that magic.”
“Hmph. What a foolish thing to say. I was the one who taught the spell to you.”
“Right, you did.”
When Rila cast the spell, her mana spread from her.
“Scree!”
She created a shadow about the size of a small dog. Mine always looked vaguely male, but Rila’s was rounder and more feminine in shape. It clung to my leg and then latched on to my torso.
“Wh-what?! St-stop that! What do you think you are doing?!”
Rila grabbed the shadow by the back of its neck in a panic and tugged it away from me, tossing it off into the dark woods.
“I shall have it keep watch here. Should anything happen, I will inform you.”
“All right… It looked different from my shadows. Yours was curvier.”
“Th-that is because…it reflects the caster’s spirit, to a certain extent.”
If that was true, then it clung to me because…
“Dey and Roje won’t be home today…,” Rila whispered.
That explained it.
Eyes downcast, Rila added, “I also prepared supper. A-are you glad? You do so much for me that I wanted to thank you. I do make the occasional attempt…”
I was a little exasperated at her bashfulness. This was supposed to be the greatest demon lord. Still, I gave Rila a strained smile and caressed her head.
“I guess I’ll have to inspect your work.”
“Hmph. You act as though I am beholden to you.”
Rila stared at me, her face still red, until she quickly turned away. “I hope you do not come to regret those words.”
The next day, after the morning meeting, I headed to Iris’s office to report on last night.
“A monster even you didn’t recognize?”
“Yes. There may be more, and it’s possible they’re mutants, so it’s probably best to keep people from going near the woods until we can pinpoint the cause.”
“Yes, that’s a fair point.” Iris tapped on her desk with her index finger and hummed as she crossed her legs—her point of pride. She usually did this when mulling something over.
“Let’s report this to his lordship and ask if he can issue a decree to make the forest off-limits.”
“That should be a good preventive measure.”
It would bring hardship for any who relied on the woods for their meals, but that was better than being mauled or killed.
“Oh, also, this came in for you. It’s a letter from the capital.”
“Thank you.”
I examined the envelope, thinking it was from King Randolf, but saw “Mr. Roland ♡” written on the stationery. I recalled the enigmatically mischievous grin of a certain individual.
So it’s from her…
I tore the envelope open and extracted the letter inside.
It’s been too long, Mr. Roland.
I’d sent a letter about the collar to Serafin several days ago, and this was her reply.
The missive began with her complaining that I’d already reunited with Almelia, Elvie, and Lina, yet never bothered to pay her a visit. She went on to accuse me of disliking her. I assumed that was a joke, but it went on for so long that I had to skip that section.
Long story short, Serafin knew no more than I did about the collar.
She’d picked it up on the battlefield and later had it assessed by an appraiser before she passed it to me for safekeeping. No sooner had I finished reading Serafin’s letter and pocketed it than I heard a knock against the window.
It was odd, but I dismissed it. Then it happened again. Upon opening the window and looking outside, I saw Rila’s shadow preparing to throw a third pebble. “Pebble” was generous, though. This one was large and would’ve shattered the pane.
“Knave, something has made an appearance.”
Rila’s voice came from the shadow.
“Was that Rila?” Iris asked from behind me. She sounded confused.
“You can talk now?” I asked her.
“Who do you take me for?”
The shadow laughed loudly for some time.
Yesterday evening, after making such a fuss about telling me I’d regret my words, Rila wound up ruing things herself when she lost her voice by the middle of the night. Thankfully, she’d recovered quickly.
“Using the shadow’s vision, I witnessed a monster that resembled a lizard. And the creature was new to my eyes.”
“Got it. I’ll head to the woods.”
“It seems considerably skittish, possibly because of yesterday evening’s events. I have been unable to approach it.”
I just hoped it had the same master as the other one.
“I will let it continue to move freely, but if it notices our pursuit, that will be the end of it.”
“Who do you think you’re talking to?”
I left through the window. Iris, having gathered what was going on from the conversation, waved. “Be careful out there.”