Paradigm Parasite

Chapter 121: "Stray"

Author note: Another point of view. Time goes back to around the beginning of Chapter 5.

I, Heidi, was wondering whether or not to buy a weapon as I looked at the various weapons of various sizes lined up in the store.

As one would expect of the royal capital, there was a wide selection.

I picked up a long sword that knights often use.

Holding it lightly, I check its feel, but then let out a small breath and put it back.

No. I can't use it. I can't use it now.

I can wield it, but if I put too much force into it, the weight of the sword will carry me away.

I am lighter than I used to be, but my arm strength has decreased considerably.

It's been a long time since then, and I've gotten used to this body, but my mind still hasn't caught up.

Is that why? I still haven't been able to shorten the distance between me and him.

It's more like...I haven't done what I need to do for him.

Or should I say...I haven't done what I should do for him.

Why am I so indecisive?

I missed the opportunity because I couldn't digest it, and here I am.

In the end, I'm looking for strength with the excuse that I don't want to be a liability.

It is also a deception.

I don't know myself well.

What do I want to do?

Or rather, what do I want to be with him?

A friend? Fellowship? Brother and sister?

I don't know, I don't know.

But what I do know is that he and I are growing together at an amazing rate.

I've seen him grow at a tremendous rate many times on the way here.

He beat a Scrofa to death with his bare hands, killed a Lupus by swinging it around with his bare hands, and broke the spear of an attacking thief with his bare hands....

...Huh?

Could it be that he is growing in arm strength?

No, no. It's just my imagination. It has to be.

Anyway! I need to be at least as good as him.

With that in mind, I've been going from one arms dealer to another...

"It's not going well..."

I leave the store and stagger down the street.

Strength...what is strength?

As I groaned and groaned, I felt a shock.

I seem to have bumped into someone.

Not good. I had been neglecting my surroundings.

"I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

I apologized and reached out my hand to the person I had bumped into - a little girl who was falling on her bottom.

"No, I'm the one who's sorry."

The girl then took my hand and stood up.

She had a beautiful face. Even the way she stood up made me feel her elegance.

She was wearing a red dress with a lot of fluttering ornaments.

I wondered if she was a young lady from a respectable family.

As I was thinking this, the girl suddenly pulled a face and ran away.

I turned around and followed her back with my gaze and suddenly someone passed by my side.

The someone seems to be chasing after the girl's back as she moves away.

....It looks like she's being chased....

I can't leave her like that.

If I help her, the first thing that will happen is a battle.

Depending on how things unfold, I might end up making unnecessary enemies.

--If you're going to do something, you have to keep that in mind before you do it.

Suddenly, what he told me comes to my mind.

I close my eyes and think.

Is helping her something I should do ...... or if not, is it something unnecessary?

Breathe in and breathe out.

But I still can't leave her alone.

At the very least, I should at least check on her and if she seemed okay, I would leave her alone.

I told myself that and turned my feet toward the girl running away.

The more I went there, the less populated it became.

I had a bad feeling.

The surrounding buildings were made of scrap wood and straw, and the inhabitants were looking at me from the shadows as if they were trying to figure out what I was looking for.

I tried my best to ignore them and hurried onward.

After a short distance, I saw a girl.

She was holding a shortbow, pulling the string, which was glowing blue-white for some reason, and shooting an arrow, which was glowing as well.

Her aim is at the men facing her. There were four of them.

The arrows flew straight and the men dodged as if they were accustomed to doing so.

The arrow pierces a nearby tree and freezes the spot where it pierced.

Amazing. A bow with a magical effect.

Even a single blow to the body is powerful enough to disable a person from fighting.

But...

It is indeed a great weapon, but the girl who is handling it does not seem to be able to draw out the full power of the weapon.

"Damn it! This...why can't I hit it!"

Because she is taking her time to look and aim, she is completely missed.

The aim itself seems to be accurate, so perhaps she has only ever shot at stationary targets.

And she is clearly aiming at the limbs.

She doesn't seem to be trying to kill them.

In contrast, the group of four is dressed in light-looking leather armor, holding daggers and smirking with a nasty smile on their faces.

It is obvious that they show their leeway. The reason they don't attack in one breath is because they want to torture her.

If she goes on like this, she will definitely lose.

That bow...it must generate arrows with magic power. When you pull the string, an arrow appears.

It may be useful, but it seems to ...... be very consuming.

Every time the girl shoots an arrow, her expression becomes more and more tired.

She must be nearing her limit.

The hand holding the bow was trembling slightly, and sweat was running down her forehead.

My mind was made up. I would save her.

I jumped out of my hiding place the moment the girl shot her next arrow.

I drew my stiletto, a dagger with a thick needle-like blade, and crept up behind the man nearest to me.

Aiming at the part of the man's neck that was not protected by leather armor, I stabbed him there.

The man looks back with a startled expression, but the light disappears from his eyes and he collapses.

The sword is coated with a monster-derived poison, so if he is stabbed, he loses consciousness instantly.

"What the hell? You bitch!"

"Tsk. You're the kid's bodyguard! When did they get it ready?"

There was no need to listen to his useless talk until the end.

I threw away the stiletto I had just used, and in a single breath, I closed the gap between us and struck the jaw of the man who was talking with the bottom of my palm.

The man's mouth closes and the tip of his tongue shreds, flying in the air with the blood.

Before pulling away, I pull out a second stiletto with my free hand and thrust it into his leg, twisting it.

At the same time, I grab the man by the chest and pull him close to me to use him as a shield against the man who is slashing at me.

The man hesitates for a moment as he steps on the ground, as if to say, "I'm not going to let you do this."

I kick a pebble at his feet.

The man, who was concentrating on me, was slow to react to the pebble that came flying from his blind spot.

As soon as the pebble hit him, I let go of the man I was using as a shield, and before he crumbles to the ground, I use him as a springboard and leap.

A flash of a kick.

My kick accurately strikes the man in the side of his head, knocking him unconscious.

As soon as I land, I try to throw the dagger I took from the man's waist, which I used as a shield, to the rest of them - are they gone?

For a moment, my thoughts are tainted with blankness, but understanding spreads immediately.

The space where the man had been was shimmering like a shimmering flame.

Is this some kind of tool to hide his appearance!?

...Aimed at....

Immediately, I turned my gaze toward the girl.

Oh shit.

I ran toward the girl, hugged her and turned my back to the man.

The girl was in my arms, as if she couldn't keep up with the suddenness of the situation. "What?" and remained frozen in my arms.

Intense pain.

Was I cut? No, was it wind magic?

I bled profusely, but not as much as it looked thanks to the leather armor and mail I was wearing.

I turned around and held out my hand.

The magic was [Fireball I]

The man who had just shot the magic didn't evade it and took a direct hit.

The man who was hit in the face is rolling around trying to put out the fire.

I kicked him several times in the face as he rolled around on the ground, knocking him unconscious.

I look around and confirm that I have succeeded in incapacitating everyone.

"Phew."

I was caught off guard.

I didn't expect him to just disappear and not move.

That was a good move. I'll keep that in mind for the future.

All right.

Reflection over.

"Um, ...... for your help..."

When I turned around, a girl spoke to me in a fearful manner.

I looked back with a smile, trying to reassure her.

"No, don't worry about it. Are you okay too? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine! I'm more worried that you're hurt because of me..."

"Injured? Oh, it's nothing serious, don't worry about it."

In fact, it hurts so much that I'm about to cry, but I'll endure it.

"Let me heal you! I know a thing or two about healing magic."

"Thank you. Then let's move to another place. It's a little dangerous here."

In the meantime, a safe place is....

Is the inn we're staying at okay?

He said he would be back at night, so we should be fine at this time... right?

I retrieved the stiletto I had used, and after a quick search of the men's daggers and belongings, I left the place with the girl.

I lead her to the inn and set her luggage down on the desk provided, then remove my leather armor and mail and undress my upper body to expose my wounds.

"Sorry, can you take care of it for me?"

"Yes, you can count on me!"

The girl holds her hand out behind my back and activates her magic.

A pale light shines on my back and the pain slowly subsides.

As I close my eyes in comfort, I hear footsteps coming from the hallway.

I pull my dagger close to my hand just in case.

I let go of the dagger after I hear the footsteps pass by.

--But the door opens unexpectedly.

"Whoa!"

The footsteps were decoys!

I quickly grab the dagger and turn around to see him standing there.

I exhale.

"You. Don't scare me..."

I was chilled to the bone.

I put the dagger in my hand on the floor.

He looks at me and the girl curiously and says something.

"I don't know who you are, but don't you see this? Get out of here!"

--The girl yells at him before he can open his mouth.

He looks at the girl and me in turn and shrugs his shoulders.

"My bad. I'm having dinner at the bar next door, so give me a holler when you're done."

With that, he turned on his heel and walked out of the room.

"What is it? That man! How dare he come into a room with a woman in it without permission!"

The girl shouts in anger.

"No, this is his room too, so if anything it's us who are to blame."

"...Uh-huh? Is that so?"

Oh, by the way, I haven't introduced myself yet.

"I'm Heidi, and I'm an adventurer. He's my partner."

I introduce myself by showing the plate around my neck.

"Oh, I beg your pardon. My name is Adolfo Zoe Samantha Sebatiar."

The girl, Adolfo, bows her head deeply.

"I would like to thank you again for saving my life."

"I don't need your thanks. I did it on my own. I'm not interested in being thanked, I just want to know what's going on. Maybe I can help you."

"But..."

Adolfo closed her mouth and let her gaze wander.

"The people from earlier saw my face, so it's not someone else's problem."

I say and show her a smile.

After a moment's hesitation, she says.

"I understand, ....... I will tell you."

Then she began to tell me what had happened.