Helping Someone

After Rebecca got fired up and we defeated ten Horn Rabbits, we decided it was about time to gather Luca Fruit and head back, so we proceeded deeper into the forest.

Luca trees sometimes grew in the shallower parts of the forest, but there were many more deeper inside, so heading there was faster.

“Looks like Horn Rabbits are no problem for us.”

“Yeah. Horn Rabbits are on the weaker side among monsters, right?”

“Well… it’s true they’re not particularly strong. But their wind magic charge attack is pretty fast, and since they’re small, some people struggle to land hits on them. Adolf used to say Big Boars were actually weaker.”

People like Adolf, who had decent strength but lacked technique and agility, preferred targets that were bigger and easier to hit.

“So there are people like that.”

“Yeah. …Oh, isn’t that it? Luca Fruit.”

“You’re right!”

Luca Fruit was a beautiful blue fruit about the size of a fist. Since it grew high up on the tree, you either had to climb the tree to get it or use magic—but until now, climbing was my only option.

But from now on, I could easily harvest it with magic. The best way would probably be to cut the branch without damaging the fruit using Wind Cutter and catch it with Water Ball.

—Oh, that worked even better than I expected.

“Amazing! Magic really is convenient. I wish I could use it too.”

“Rebecca, didn’t you say you have very little magical power?”

“Yeah. My attribute is earth, but I can only create a tiny grain of sand on my fingertip.”

“If that’s the case… even with training, it might be difficult.”

Magical power could increase slightly through training, but there was a limit. In the end, it mostly depended on your natural amount of magical power.

“I’ve already accepted that, so it’s fine. I’ll just do my best with my bow.”

“Yeah, if you’re going to spend time on something, practicing the bow makes more sense than magic.”

“Mm… huh?”

Rebecca suddenly fell silent while staring into the distance, and I looked around, thinking maybe a monster had appeared.

But no matter how carefully I looked, nothing entered my sight, so I tilted my head and turned my gaze back to Rebecca.

“What’s wrong—”

“Shh! Be quiet!”

Cutting off my voice, Rebecca pressed a hand to her ear and frowned as she tried to listen to distant sounds.

Can she hear something…?

“…help… someone… help!”

I clearly heard the final word myself. I raised my head in surprise, and Rebecca, who had apparently heard it too, looked toward the direction of the voice.

“It’s that way.”

“Yeah. They might be getting attacked by a strong monster. Let’s move carefully.”

“Got it.”

With bow and sword ready, we moved through the forest as quietly as possible… and a few minutes later, the scene that jumped into view was a single woman being attacked by a group of Horn Rabbits.

After confirming that no other monsters were around, Rebecca and I decided to step in and help.

“I’ll take them down with my bow from here, so Luca, please rescue the woman.”

“Got it. I’ll take down as many as I can with my sword too.”

Bursting out from the bushes where I had been hiding with my sword raised, I swung it widely to scatter the Horn Rabbits surrounding the woman. Just as planned, the Horn Rabbits leapt away, leaving only the injured woman on the ground.

“Are you alright!?”

“…Y-yes, did you come to help me?”

“Yes. It’s alright now, so please don’t worry.”

While the woman and I spoke, I heard the sound of arrows being released three times—and immediately afterward, the sound of Horn Rabbits hitting the ground three times as well.

As expected of Rebecca. But there had been eight Horn Rabbits in total—five still remained.

“Two are heading your way!”

“Got it! …Ha!”

Although the woman had many injuries, most were just scratches and didn’t seem life-threatening, so I told her to stay where she was for now and joined the fight against the Horn Rabbits.

Perhaps because their prey had been stolen, the Horn Rabbits seemed enraged. Their movements were faster and more violent than the ones we had fought earlier.

Three of the five leapt at me simultaneously, so I blasted two away with Water Ball and cut down the last one with my sword.

The remaining two hesitated after seeing their companions fall one after another, and Rebecca’s arrows pierced them as their movements slowed.

“Phew, that should be all of them.”

“Yeah, I don’t see any others. There were a lot of them, but I’m glad we defeated them without getting hurt.”

After praising each other for our efforts and confirming once more that there were no other monsters nearby, I turned back to the woman…

…and saw her casting Heal on herself. She was even using water magic to wash away the mud on her clothes.

“…You could use magic?”

“Yes, um, I’m truly sorry. I could use attack magic too, but it was my first time using it in real combat, and there were just too many monsters, so I panicked… Thank you so much for saving me.”

So that was the reason. When people panicked, magic often failed to activate properly. Many books said the most important thing was to stay calm and form a clear mental image.