Chapter 18.

Chapter 18. The Witch Noel's Ability

Despite the twists and turns, we made new friends and decided to take on a more difficult quest than before.

A large forest, located a little far from the town, is called the Forest of the Four Seasons. The quest is to defeat a certain monster that has grown abnormally and appears there.

We arrived at the entrance of the forest. Even though it is called an entrance, it is just a dense group of trees. It looks quiet and amazing. It seems quite dangerous.

In this world, magical power is born in nature, and places where a large amount of magic power are called mana spots. This forest is a mana spot, and insects and other natural creatures are transformed into monsters when exposed to dense magical power.

Moreover, due to the influence of unusual magical powers, the climate differs depending on the location in the forest. Some places are warm, some are full of heat, and others even have snowy landscapes. Hence the name "Forest of the Four Seasons."

Since you can experience various seasons in this one forest, dangerous monsters are regularly exterminated to make the forest a tourist attraction for the town. It is a forest where you can enjoy cherry blossom viewing at any time. This world is peaceful even though there are monsters.

Each climate area has its name, and this time we came to a place with a spring climate called Spring Budding. Various flowers bloom in this area, and the nectar of the flowers contains a high concentration of alcohol. People collect it to make nectar wine, so if you take it on the subjugation quest, you can earn a decent amount of money.

"It's a very beautiful place," I said, looking at the forest full of various flowers. I was a little excited because many familiar flowers were in bloom. Cherry blossoms with a bright pink color that makes you feel cheerful just by looking at them. 

There are a lot of cherry trees growing here. Maybe it's because I'm from Japan too, but I like cherry blossoms. In April, the street in front of the school was lined with cherry blossom trees, and I remember it raining pink.

"Akira, it's good to fall in love with the flowers but be careful. This is a relatively safe place in the Forest of the Four Seasons, but it is still home to formidable monsters."

 "I know, I'll be careful. So, the monster we are going to defeat this time is here, right?"

As he asked, Lucia pulled out a quest request from his pocket.

"Our goal is to defeat the Drunken Swallowtails that come out here. This time, it's easy because there's only one of them."

 "What is that monster?" 

"Drunken Swallowtails are butterflies that live by sucking the nectar of the flowers here. They are always drunk, so the difficulty of defeating them is not that high. But depending on the individual, they can be aggressive, and it seems that veteran adventurers are caught off guard sometimes to meet their match."

No, I wanted to know about the monster called the Drunken Swallowtail, but that's not what I was wondering about. It's more the adjective that says it's bigger than I thought. Noelle seemed to have sensed my feelings.

"Drunken Swallowtails are only a little larger than the palm of your hand, but it's not uncommon for them to absorb unusual magical power and become huge. Still, they're about the size of a human head. The fact that it's bigger than you think and has an adjective on it means it's bigger than that."

It's kind of complicated.

"So, how do you find that Drunken Swallowtail?"

"If you wait in front of the flowers normally, they will come to you if you smell like alcohol. Because they are drunk on the nectar of the flowers, they will easily come to where they smell alcohol. It's the same with alcoholics."

I don't think that works with alcoholics.

After waiting for a while, the nearby vegetation rustled. The three of us gathered in one place, hid ourselves, and watched the source of the sound. The sound of swaying vegetation grew louder and louder. It seemed to be getting closer.

"It's strange. It's loud for a Drunken Swallowtail."

 "It could be another monster."

Are you serious? Just because you're on a quest to defeat a Drunken Swallowtail doesn't guarantee you won't encounter another monster along the way. 

Unlike the peaceful plains, where only slimes appear, many dangerous monsters lurk in the Forest of the Four Seasons. There was a good chance we would accidentally stumble upon a vicious monster and fall into danger.

Everyone gasped from nervousness. Lucia held her cane, and Noelle pointed her palm in the direction of the sound. I wasn't capable of fighting, so I just hid behind them. It's pathetic, but I can't help it.

Eventually, a large shadow appeared from behind the swaying vegetation.

"What the ****?"

When I saw the exposed form, I involuntarily screamed. There were giant butterflies.

"Wait, it's a Drunken Swallowtail."

Noelle told me not to do anything, but I had goosebumps on my arm. After all, this butterfly was about three meters in size!

It's bigger than I thought it would be! I was told that a normal giant swallowtail is about the size of a head, so I thought that even if it was big, it would be about the size of a human at most...!

"I see. This is certainly bigger than I thought."

Noelle nodded at Lucia's muttering.

"Yes, it's a few times bigger than I thought." 

"No... don't you care about that!?"

Lucia and the others looked calm in front of this huge butterfly, but I was born and raised in peaceful Japan, so I was different. I used to think that butterflies were cute, but when they are this big, they're creepy. 

At first glance, the feathers are beautiful, but just looking at them with a mottled pattern makes me anxious. Moreover, every time it flapped its wings, it sprinkled starch. 

It also had a sense of touch and, above all, a thin tube like a straw that extended from its mouth. The tip was tightly wound, but occasionally it stretched out. Just looking at it made me feel sick. Insects are creepy when they are big.

The giant swallowtail that came across us didn't care about us and headed towards the flowers. A thin tube like a straw growing from its mouth was stretched toward the center of the petals, and it began to suck nectar with a slurping sound.

"Hurry up and do something about it. I don't want to be near that."

 "Are you alright? Boys are really sensitive."

Noelle sighed at the sight of me. I didn't expect women to call me delicate.

"But it's hard to defeat a monster of this size. Even if you let me use my brain-smashing strike, it will be pinned down." 

"I'm in trouble if you hurt it badly and it gets away. Leave it to me."

The promising newcomer, the witch Noelle, confidently moved forward.

"I'll show you the witch's creation magic!"

Noelle pointed her palm at the swallowtail, which was bigger than I expected. Even though I didn't know much about magical powers, I could see that her palm was gathering some kind of terrifying power.

"Usually, when we say magic, we mean elemental magic," Lucia whispered. She was explaining it to me. 

"Elemental magic is the process of converting magical power into naturally occurring energy, such as fire, water, lightning, and earth, but the magic used by the Ancient Blood is different. They have developed magic that converts magic into the substances that exist in this world. Its name is Creation Magic. Humanity has long forbidden us to analyze and elucidate this magic controlled by the Ancient Bloods."

Lucia gave Noelle a somewhat complicated look.

"It was the witch who broke that taboo. The witch studied the magic of the Ancient Blood... Rumor has it that she is finally able to control creation magic. And that was true."

I don't know what it is, but Noelle seems to be a great magic user. This can be expected from someone who came from a village of witches. 

Please get rid of the Drunken Swallowtail that I can't stand to look at with that creation magic as soon as possible.

"Chain Rock!"

Finally, Noelle screamed, and the magic that had gathered in her palm was released. Suddenly, several magic circles floated in the air, and chains extended from them.

"Whew!?"

Chains extended from all directions, not only back and forth but also up, down, left, and right 360 degrees. They corralled, entangled, and restrained the Drunken Swallowtail at an overwhelming speed. 

It was only after that that the screams of the Drunken Swallowtail were heard.

"Wow!"

"This is my chain creation magic, Chain Rock! The official name is Anti-Ancient Blood Restraint Technique Chain Binding Method! Besides Ancient Blood, it's an all-purpose magic with excellent restraint ability!"

The Drunken Swallowtail, restrained by the chains, could not move at all. With this magic, I think I can reliably restrain any powerful monster if it's just one of them. After that, you can do anything to them.

"Hey, Lucia! She is more powerful than I thought!"

He said happily, and Lucia began to growl.

"No, let me tell you, my magic, the Anti-Ancient Blood Sealing Magic, the Lorenda Mystic, is also amazing!"

Lucia suddenly said, competing.

"Well, if you're an evil being, it's pretty effective!"

 "But it doesn't seem to be as versatile as Noelle."

 "Heh, I'm a lot more useful than any other goddess apprentice, Akira."

Noelle was Noel, and she was stirring up Lucia all the time. These guys were lascivious and got along with each other, but they didn't get along well as goddesses and witches. Annoying guys.

"Oooh... this is indeed brilliant restraint... However! Isn't it a decisive blow just to detain them? I'm going to make you look good!"

As Lucia rolled up her sleeves and held her cane, Noelle said nonchalantly,

 "Oh, it's okay, I've got a trick up my sleeve."

Noelle's right hand slowly closed. No, it's not so much that it's closing... It's as if she was going to crush it. With the movement of Noelle's hand, the chains that restrained the Drunken Swallowtail tightened with a creak.

"Well, no way... Wait a minute!"

 "Crash!"

Noelle screamed, and finally, her right hand completely closed. At the same time, the chain, which had tightened to the limit, easily crushed the whole body of the Drunken Swallowtail. 

A squeaky sound rang out, and it fell apart while sprinkling bodily fluids. When I saw that, I...

"Ugh..."

I collapsed with my mouth pressed. She crushed the already big and disgusting insect with chains. I looked at the end of the dismembered Drunken Swallowtail again and quickly looked away. It was too disgusting.

Noelle and Lucia ran up to me.

"Hey, what's wrong?" 

"Akira, did you suddenly feel uncomfortable?"

 "I'm going to show you splatter like that all of a sudden."

 "Boys are delicate, you know. I'll rub your back."

These guys... Why are you so careful? Is it just that the environment in which I was born and raised is different? Even when I see the giant swallowtail that has been crushed, they can afford to worry about me feeling bad, and these guys stimulate my maiden heart a little. 

Men have it, the maiden-like part. But don't be fooled. After all, these guys are lascivious.

"Hehe... It's kind of thrilling to pat a boy's back. I wonder if it's okay to touch it like this."

You are not worried; you just want to touch. You satisfy your lascivious desires! 

But I indeed felt sick, so I let them do it for a while.