10 - Episode 6: The Ability of the Three Idiots - Marianne's Case
The inspiration for the shadow beasts is, needless to say, Nero Chaos. Personally, my main characters are Arc or Berserk Arc, but I also like this one for having ground attacks and long reach.
When looking at Marianne Romanet as she is, she is a beautiful girl so stunning that anyone, regardless of age or gender, cannot help but look back.
Fine, porcelain-like skin. Long, shimmering silver hair. Green eyes like jewels. While her physique is still that of a girl her age, she possessed a somewhat precocious sex appeal. Her attire, consisting of a one-piece dress and a stole, was by no means the outfit of an adventurer.
Judging by her bearing, the phrase "sheltered young lady" fits her perfectly. She would have looked more natural wearing a wide-brimmed hat in a flower field or on a beach. She is certainly not a girl who should be in a cave inhabited by goblins.
Whether it is Geoglyph or Later, based on looks alone, she is my type. Silver-haired beautiful girls are great! If I knew nothing, I probably would have been excited.
However, they know.
This beautiful girl, who looks like she belongs in a 2D world, is...
"But he's a man."
"How rude. The construction was completed before I was born."
At the entrance to the deepest part of the cave, Marianne, holding a folding fan in one hand, checked the two with a deadpan look as if she found it offensive.
"No, but still, when you think about the inside being an old man..."
"Yeah, well. The appearance is great, but..."
"That goes both ways. You two have been making good use of acting like children until now, haven't you? Like some famous detective."
"Ugh..."
It was true that they had taken advantage of their position as children, doing things like "Oh, how strange~". This was because adults do not take children's opinions seriously. Until they accumulated achievements and gained trust, they had often pretended that things were mere coincidences.
Thinking that the situation was unfavorable, Geoglyph and Later turned their gaze toward the situation occurring in the center of the deepest hall.
"Even so, this feels like a sabbath..."
"Hmm, the chanting was like a Night Parade of One Hundred Demons too..."
Goblins were forming a circle around a troll, but the problem was the outer perimeter. An army of beasts surrounded them. An army of beasts made of shadow. Dogs, cats, birds, bears, deer, boars, horses, rats, monkeys, and so on, a mixed army so lively that one would want to ask what zoo this was, surrounded the goblins.
No, they were "eating" them.
And it was not just eating to satisfy hunger. Pecking at ears, tearing off arms, gnawing on legs. Geoglyph and Later were completely put off by the way they were cornered as if being toyed with. In contrast to the goblins wearing expressions of terror, the mixed army was letting out laughter more hideous than that of the goblins.
To put it mildly, it was unclear which side was the villain.
"Hmph. I summoned golems at first because I lacked hands, but then I thought that other magical beasts would work just fine. Then I was able to make various contracts, and now I have contracts with 72 magical beasts."
"Are you Solomon?"
Geoglyph wondered if they were actually demons on the inside and just took the form of beasts, but there was no way to verify. Moreover, Later, one of the people in charge of the straight-man role, could no longer resist his own preferences and shifted his gaze to the shadow cat waiting at Marianne's feet.
"But it's so nice, fluffy... Hey, can I touch it too?"
"Go ahead?"
Once the owner gave permission, the cat approached Later with a gesture that said "I guess I have no choice" and curled up. The fur-lover, his face brightening, reached out and began to pet it. Contrary to his personality, his touch was gentle.
"Oh, it's fluffy even though it's a shadow... I love cats... Hey, can I also make a summoning contract?"
"It is possible if you possess magical power and can make the summoned magical beast submit. In Lei's case, although you only use it internally, your amount of magical power itself is abundant, so I believe most magical beasts would obey you."
"Seriously? Then a wolf! I want a big one! I want it to say 'Shut up, brat'!"
"Ah, true, those big mountain dogs, you just want to, like, dive into them with your whole body..."
"I wonder if I should learn Gio's Stock? I would like to try. I have combat power, but personally, I am not that much."
"Sure. I think I want to learn Lei's body reinforcement. I can push through with firepower, but when the enemy closes in to close range, I get scared of self-destructing, so my options become limited."
"Oh, go for it. We don't have cheat abilities, so we have to train where we can."
These Three Idiots had actually already dipped one foot into a level of strength that was insane by the standards of this world, but perhaps because they lacked obvious cheat abilities, they were devoted to self-improvement.
"---Oh, are you already finished with your meal? Then, please go home."
As the Three Idiots were discussing their future plans in that manner, the shadow beasts lined up in front of Marianne one after another and prostrated themselves. Their etiquette toward their ruler was already that of vassals to their lord. When Marianne gave permission to return, the beasts disappeared as if sinking into their own shadows.
"Well then, shall we also return?"
Seeing them off, Geoglyph also suggested returning---and then Later suddenly realized.
"---By the way, what were we doing about the proof of the troll's subjugation?"
"---Ah."
In the center of the hall, naturally, there was no troll, nor even the remains of the goblins, only a spread of bloodstains.
To be continued tomorrow.