In terms of the timeline, this takes place at the beginning of the second part, during the time when the protagonist is on Demon Island.
During the previous stampede, at the first of the four lines of defense set up in the northern part of Ishka, Suzume was fighting.
“―― Pierce, Senka!”
With a sharp incantation spouting from Suzume’s mouth, a long flame resembling a spear appears in the air. The second ring’s fire magic glides through the air and stabs into the target without mistake.
The target was a Hellhound, a magical beast that emerged from the Titis Forest. The magical beast, whose name reminds one of a hunting dog, collapses to the ground, giving a grating scream. It frantically rubs its body against the ground, probably trying to extinguish the flames enveloping its entire body.
The Hellhound is a species considered dangerous even among veteran adventurers due to its ferocity of attacking anything and cunningness of hunting in packs. It also has excellent vitality, and it cannot be taken down with just a direct hit from the second circle magic.
If left as it is, the Hellhound might extinguish the fire and rise again. However, Suzume was not fighting alone.
“Alright, leave the rest to me!”
A young adventurer pulling a bow next to Suzume – although he’s much older than Suzume – plucks the bowstring.
The arrow released accurately pierces the fallen Hellhound, and after the magical beast convulses once, it stops moving.
The archer whistles and extends a light fist towards Suzume.
For a moment, Suzume was flustered not knowing what was being asked of her, but soon understood the other party’s intention and hesitantly made a fist and touched the other’s fist.
Seeing Suzume like this, the archer laughed amusingly.
“Haha, you’re quite a reserved kid. Are you an adventurer too?”
“Um, yes, well…”
“I haven’t seen you at the guild though. Given your magic and fancy equipment, are you a novice magician just graduated from the Sage’s Academy? Mages are precious. If you’re willing, you can join our party―”
As the archer continued to speak at length, the Canaria knight commanding the troops on the defensive wall shouted at him.
“There! If you have time to blabber, shoot as many arrows as possible!”
“Yes, yes, I understand, sir knight!”
The sound of the bowstring echoed at the end of his speech, and one of the monsters below fell.
Feeling the archer’s attention drift away from her, Suzume internally breathed a sigh of relief. Despite getting used to life in the human world, it was still nerve-racking to converse with strangers.
Sora had not yet returned from Demon Island, and Ciel and Miroslav were integrated into other squads. In this support team, the only member of the “Blood Spraying Sword” was Suzume, and this fact made her feel lonely.
Of course, she had no intention of complaining about it.
It was Suzume who forcibly joined this extermination request, which she was not supposed to participate in.
Suzume held her magic wand tightly in her hand, grunting as she renewed her determination. This wand, which was adorned with highly pure magic stones, was a masterpiece that Miroslav had prepared for her disciple, no less excellent than the one Miroslav herself used. However, since Miroslav did not brag about it, Suzume was still unaware of this fact.
While ruminating on her master’s teachings in her mind, Suzume began her next incantation.
“To cast magic, you cannot lack an incantation and magic power.”
“Magic power is broadly divided into mana and od. The former is the power of nature that fills the world, the latter is the power generated within an individual. Usually, magicians use mana to perform magic. The amount of od is limited, and its purity as magical power is also lower than mana. Simply put, using mana allows you to use more potent and abundant magic.”
“However, the story is different in the case of Suzume, who has a horn, a magical power generating organ. Frankly speaking, Suzume far surpasses me and Luna in terms of the amount of od. How to control this vast amount of od will be Suzume’s challenge from now on.”
“When you overcome this challenge, Suzume, you will surely surpass me and gain the power to approach the party leader.”
Whether Miroslav’s last words were a joke or serious, she did not know. However, she thought it would be nice if that happened, and she also thought that she should strive to make it happen.
Otherwise, she would forever remain a burden to Sora. That was something she absolutely did not want.
As if echoing that sentiment, Suzume’s magic power began to swell dramatically. Feeling its pressure, the archer next to her was sweating profusely from his forehead.
