AKM Act 11-7.2

Act 11-7: Scent Magic
TL : Cnine
ED/PF :
R1[1-2], R2[3-4]

Part 3

「Ugh, somehow, just hearing about Kyouka-san’s impression of him, I kind of had a feeling it would be like that… Well, you really should stay away from him! He’s seriously a wild one, your body’s bound to get wrecked! Come on, let’s go, Kyouka-san!」

　Chiyuki took Kyouka’s hand, pulled her away from Kuroki, and led her away.

「Eh? What does that mean? Ah, see you again later, Kuroki-san!」

　Kyouka waved her hand reluctantly as Chiyuki pulled her along.

「Ah! Wait for me!」

　Mitsuami followed in a hurry from behind.
　Thus, Kuroki was left behind on his own.

「Well then, I'll excuse myself too.」
「Eh, why though? I don't mind even if you stay a while longer.」

　Kuroki followed after Mitsuami.
　Thus, only Sabina was left behind in her own room.

「Heh, the hero’s hidden comrade, huh? Looks like he’d be easy to manipulate, but what should I do? I’d like to capture him... But not inside this mansion...」

　Sabina muttered so as she looked at the entrance door with a bewitching smile on her face.

◆

　Kuroki left Sabina’s mansion.
　The sun had already set.
　Sabina’s mansion was located on the outskirts, and by evening, few people walked the nearby streets.
　Kuroki was heading to his inn.
　Saria didn’t produce much food or other essential goods and relied heavily on imports from outside.
　An inn for such traveling merchants was located near Saria’s main gate, and Kuroki was staying there as well.
　The distance was quite far, and as he walked to the inn, he thought about what had just happened.

「Sigh... What was that all about...? Ugh, it's hard to walk...」

　Kuroki heaved a sigh.
　The memories of Kyouka’s outfit etched in his memory, and things had gotten quite problematic below the belt, so he had no choice but to walk bow-legged.
　It was a good thing Chiyuki barged in—thanks to her, things didn't go wrong.
　Properly speaking, Kyouka was an attractive woman, but since she was also Reiji’s younger sister, Kuroki had mixed feelings about her affection toward him.
　Not to mention that he already had Kuna, so he kept reminding himself not to make any mistakes.

「Getting too close isn’t a good idea either, so maybe I should just go back now...」

　Kuroki muttered so as he looked up at the sky, where the stars were beginning to twinkle.
　In his original world, even if there were as many women as stars, they were always out of reach.
　And Kyouka was part of the original world who got summoned to this world along with her friends and brother, just like him.
　There was no way he wouldn’t be happy to receive affection from such an adorable woman. And on top of that, she was quite out of his league.
　It was something he could never have imagined back in his original world.
　That was why he hesitated to reject her feelings outright.

「Uhm?」

　And then, just when he was about to walk.
　Kuroki noticed what seemed to be a flock of birds flying in the evening sky.
　That flock headed straight toward Kuroki.
　Since there was no one around, it was as if they were waiting for Kuroki to be alone.

（It's not a bird! It's a bat!）

　Kuroki raised his vigilance.
　A bat descended right in front of Kuroki.
　The bat’s body was large, about the size of a human.
　The giant bat's eyes glowed as it looked at Kuroki.

（Paralyze magic! Is it coming to ambush me!?）

　Kuroki had paralyze resistance.
　The giant bats weren’t alone; they descended, surrounding Kuroki.
　Then, the bats opened their mouths and unleashed some kind of magic.
　They used binding magic on Kuroki.
　This time, it seemed to be binding magic.
　Paralyze only affects living beings, but binding works on inanimate objects too, making it a more advanced form.
　Neither of these spells were ones that giant bats could use.

（Now they used binding magic! Is that all you’ve got!?）

　Kuroki forcibly shattered the magical shackles.
　The shockwave sent the giant bats flying backwards.
　The giant bats, thrown back, slammed into the walls and ground and lay motionless.

「Eh? They became ashes?」

　Kuroki was surprised as he looked at the motionless giant bats.
　The motionless giant bats turned into ashes one after another.
　Kuroki approached the giant bats that had turned to ash.
　There, Kuroki sensed a miasma emanating from the ashes—the remains of the giant bats.

（Is that scent magic in the miasma? Does that mean they're not giant bats, but giant vampire bats? Either way, they’re being controlled by someone...）

Part 4

　Kuroki judged so.
　The vampire bat was using scent magic to dispel the miasma emitted by it.
　That was the reason why he failed to recognize that the vampire bats were undead at first sight.
　Vampire bats are often employed by vampires and necromancers.
　The attacking vampire bat was likely being controlled by someone and had been conditioned to turn to ash on its own if incapacitated.

（It wasn’t trying to kill me, it was trying to capture me. What could that mean?）

　Yes, the vampire bat had no intention of killing Kuroki—it was trying to capture him.
　As if this ambush was planned by someone.

（Who wants to capture me? Maybe it's better for me to stay in Saria for a while longer...）

　Kuroki originally wanted to leave Saria in order to put some distance between himself and Kyouka.
　However, he decided to delay his departure after this incident.
　Stars were beginning to twinkle in the sky, and night was about to come.

◆

「This can’t be! Wiped out!? Ugh, what am I supposed to say to the goddess? I went and lost all the vampire bats she so graciously gave me…」

　Chijirege growled on the outskirts of Saria.
　The vampire bats were a gift from the goddess he so deeply revered.
　He used those vampire bats to ambush Kuroki.
　His plan was to capture Kuroki, brainwash him, and obtain the books from the Forbidden Archive.
　Or so it was supposed to be.
　However, the plan failed because his target turned out to be stronger than expected.

「What should I do now? If push comes to shove, maybe I've no choice but to be frank...」

　Chijirege was thinking about the matter of the goddess.
　Since this goddess could see through lies, he was afraid of enraging her.
　Being honest increased the chances of being forgiven.
　It was thanks to that goddess who took in someone as powerless as him that allowed him to survive until now.

「Ah, Goddess. Please, guide me...」

　Chijirege looked up at the stars in the night sky and prayed.