Kamisama Shop de Cheat no Kaori

Chapter 141. Three Companion And The Despair Of Death

Four days had passed.

It was a miracle to be alive.

I wanted to leave the nest as soon as possible, but, unfortunately, the only route forced me back toward it.

Without the power of the spirits, I would’ve been captured long ago.

But I kept crawling forward, determined to survive and deliver the token, despite my thirst and hunger.

There were still some dried meat and fruit left, but I was out of water.

I had thought I was rationing it, but I underestimated the desert sun.

I had brought about 5 liters, planning for a day trip or an overnight stay, but the fierce dryness of the desert had me reaching for it more often.

In hindsight, I should’ve bought a larger item bag.

Finally, some hope began to appear.

I found a route heading toward the town, skirting around the nest.

The path had fewer obstacles, but it was open, allowing me to spot goblins early on.

It wasn’t time to relax yet, but the change in the situation brought a slight relief.

While sneaking forward, I spotted a small group of goblins ahead, moving diagonally.

Judging by their frantic behavior, I thought they were after a Stone Coyote again, but when I peeked out from behind a rock, I couldn’t believe my eyes—

a woman was being chased.

Why was a woman alone in such a desolate place? That didn’t matter now—I had to help.

I summoned the last of my strength.

I decided to use Fictitious Magic. In this barren land, few spirits were suited for offensive magic.

“Burn, O flames, scorching flames! Let your fiery destruction obliterate my enemies before me!”

At the cost of nearly all my remaining mental strength, I conjured a massive fireball.

The woman and goblins froze at the sight of it.

“Get down!”

At my shout, the woman in travel gear threw herself onto the ground.

“Go!”

The scorching fireball shot toward the goblins.

It was too late for them to run, and the beasts were all reduced to ash.

“Are you alright?”

I hurried over, finding a slender, beautiful human woman.

“Oh, thank you so much.”

“Why are you out here alone…? No, never mind that. We have to hurry and get away…”

I tried to stand but staggered from dizziness.

“Oh! Are you alright?!”

“Y-Yeah… but I’ve used too much magic. I can’t use any more.”

“Are you one of the members of the expedition that left a few days ago?”

“Yeah.”

“Thank goodness. Another elf was worried about you. Here, have some water.”

She took out a leather canteen and carefully poured water into my mouth.

“Ah… thank you.”

“It’s me who should be thanking you. Don’t drink too quickly. Slowly.”

“Yeah.”

Thanks to that brief rest, my mind cleared.

“This place is dangerous. We have to get moving.”

“Yes… but…”

She looked around.

When I followed her gaze, I saw goblin patrols everywhere. This goblin hazard was truly abnormal.

“Take this to town.”

“Huh? What is this?”

“It’s the wish of the heroes who protected me.

I’ll be a decoy, so get back to town while you can.”

“No! At least come with me!”

“I can’t. We’ll just get surrounded if we stay together.

And honestly, I can’t use magic anymore… I’d only slow you down.”

“I can’t do anything either. Let’s try together.”

“No. I need you to deliver this.

Besides… could you really bring yourself to take your own life if it came to it?”

“…Huh?”

She froze at the word “suicide.”

I was relieved she didn’t ask, “What about you?”

I thought I was ready, but if she had asked me that, I might have wavered.

“You must survive and reach town!”

“Ah!”

I ran off without waiting for her answer.

The goblins, drawn by the earlier explosion, began to notice me.

“Over here! This way!”

I shouted to attract more attention.

“O spirit of the wild winds, O fierce spirit of the desert winds,

dance and make your presence known!”

The spirits of the desert wind are much wilder than forest spirits.

They’re hard to control, but perfect for this kind of reckless task.

The air swelled, became a wave, and scattered around with a loud bang.

I wasn’t asking for anything but noise.

Though it didn’t drain me as much as Fictitious Magic, my head still spun from the exertion.

I slapped my cheeks, forcing myself to stay alert.

“Come on, you green idiots! Your prey is over here!”

And then, I ran again.

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How long had I been running, hiding, and running again?

Lack of sleep, exhaustion from overuse of magic, the fear of being chased—all of it was taking its toll on my body.

The short sword hanging from my waist felt incredibly heavy.

If they caught me…

This knife, which usually only cut dried fruit and meat, would I… really be able to thrust it into my throat…?

Elves don’t abandon even those of their kind who’ve been possessed.

They take long years to heal both body and soul, never discriminating against them.

What was I thinking?

How could I even consider letting those beasts defile me?!

Was I careless, or had my concentration just slipped?

A beast’s roar echoed, and when I turned around, a green menace, drooling with malice, was rushing toward me.

No.

I couldn’t bear to survive after something like that!

I drew my short sword and placed the tip against my throat.

All I had to do was fall forward…

The shriek grew closer.

I was shaking, sweating uncontrollably.

If I didn’t hurry, they’d catch me!

Terror of the approaching goblins, terror of death—I let out a scream.

I didn’t even understand what kind of sound I made.

With a thud, the goblin that had been right on me veered off in the wrong direction.

I could only see up to its chest in my field of vision as it collapsed to the ground.

Its head was gone.

“Huh?”

I stared in disbelief at the corpse.

A series of dull sounds followed.

When I turned my head, I saw goblins falling one by one, some without heads, some with gaping holes in their chests.

“Are you alright?!”

“Huh? Huh?”

Was I dreaming?

A young man with black hair, covered in sand, appeared before me.

His clothes were an unusual sandy color, probably battle gear.

I had never seen anything like it on this continent.

…No, that wasn’t the issue here.

“Wh-Who are you?”

“We can talk later! Can you run?!”

“Uh… yeah… ow!”

I tried to stand, but my legs gave out beneath me.

They were trembling too much to support my weight.

“Ah…”

“Damn it…”

“Eep!”

The black-haired human cursed under his breath, then picked me up and hoisted me onto his back.

“Sorry, but hold on tight. I’ve got my hands full here!”

“O-Okay.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck and clung to his back, using the last of my strength.

He seemed to be quite skilled in Wave Magic.

He ran straight ahead, but over fifty goblins stood in our way.

We were too close to the nest now, and reinforcements kept coming.

The visibility here was too good.

We could spot enemies easily, but they could see us just as well.

A group was even rushing up from behind.

I couldn’t begin to imagine how large this goblin hazard was.

But the black-haired young man ran straight into the thickest part of the goblin group.

It was like he had a death wish.

When we got close enough to make out the goblins’ furious expressions, he held up some kind of board in front of him.

“Out of the way! Machine Gun Light Sword!”

With his shout, a barrage of light bullets appeared.

No, they weren’t appearing—they were being fired at incredible speed!

Hundreds of glowing projectiles…

No, these were light swords!

This was Fictitious Magic’s most basic, yet ultimate, attack—Light Sword Magic.

A mage? No, it was the strange board he was holding—it had to be a magic tool.

But that kind of usage would destroy a magic crystal in an instant.

Normally, Light Swords manifested as blades of light.

Yet he was firing small, stone-sized light bullets.

Nothing made sense.

But…

Despite being in the middle of an enemy army, for some reason, I felt strangely safe clinging to his sweat-soaked back as he wielded the magic tool…

And before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.