Quest Complete

I scouted every warthog’s location. The one targeting Hinabe was almost arriving. Mine had a long way to go until it came over here.

If we can’t stop them with our hands, then we could use another form… magic. With no time to waste, I suggested an idea to the recovering Hinabe, “Hinabe, use a sleeping spell on the warthogs.”

In every world with magic and spells, there are always some sleeping spells. And this place was no different.

Hinabe gently nodded her head and extended her arms towards the warthog approaching her. She gently shut her eyes and began concentrating on her magic. As she concentrated, her hands suddenly glowed a bright blue. She was condensing her mana into her palms so carefully that it formed physical traces of wavy lines. They flowed gracefully towards her palms.

I froze in place, starstruck by this beautiful presentation. Everything about that flowed so nicely, and the bright colors felt gentle and warm.

The warthog picked up its pace and accelerated. It lowered its head in its attacking stance. It was only a couple of feet away from Hinabe. She had to hurry.

She continued charging up the spell until the warthog was closer. As soon as the beast came inches away from her, the traces of her mana physically dispersed. Then, she aimed both her palms towards the beast’s head and softly chanted the name of the spell.

“Cloudy Slumber!”

The warthog suddenly stopped moving. It froze for multiple seconds. Did it work? The tension spiked up. I waited in anticipation for the beast’s reaction.

Afterwards, Hinabe lowered her palms. As she lowered them, the beast shut its eyes. Then it lost its balance. The ground rumbled powerfully as it leaned over his left side and stumbled onto the ground.

She really did it! “Good job, Hin-”

Before I had a chance to praise Hinabe, my warthog came charging at me. It was going to be here in less than 5 seconds. Crap, I was still on the ground. I had no time to react to the threat in front of me. This might be it for me.

However, the moment I tried to open my mouth to speak, the warthogs came to a stop. He came a nose hair away from me. After a few seconds, the warthogs lost consciousness and fell to the ground. I didn’t do that.

I glanced over at Hinabe, who extended her hand out in my direction. She softly let out a smile as she had already cast another sleeping spell.

“Thank you so much, Hinabe!” I burst out with relief in my voice, while picking myself off the ground.

The crowd continued to watch silently, refusing to help. I wonder if Hinabe didn’t help, would they watch me die?

Two out of the warthogs were defeated. Only the one targeting Amada was left.

I looked over to my left to Amada. Amada still lay on the ground. That throw must have really drained her.

I hastily turned to Hinabe momentarily. “Hey, Hinabe, do you have enough mana for another spell-”

Before I could finish asking Hinabe, I heard a thump from her. Suddenly, she fell to the ground again.

“Hinabe!” I shouted in shock. “Are you okay-”

Hinabe lay across the ground with her hat falling off her head. Her eyes were sealed shut as drool leaked from her mouth again.

There’s no way she went back to sleep! At a time like this! I thought after hearing the crowd’s insults, she was trying to be a new person. She really is an idiot. But… she did take care of the two warthogs.

“Don’t worry, Hinabe.” I reassured her, with a wave of determination forming in me. “You can take a break. I’ll handle the rest.”

I hope she heard me. She looked as if she were in a deep slumber, so probably not. Anyways, what’s more important is taking care of the last warthog. That being said, I don’t know what I could do to help.

My body feels fine. After being thrown like that, I’m surprised I could still move around.

The warthog was almost reaching Amada. If I ran to her right now, I could beat the beast. I glanced over to the right, where I was launched. I dropped the dull sword when the beast attacked.

I didn’t think I had time to reach the sword and help Amada before the warthog reached her. I ran out of smart ideas. I had only one option…

…

Amada slightly tilted her head down from the ground. She gazed at the warthog, unable to move.

“B-Bad piggy.” She panted, straining her neck. “You’re being… a very bad piggy.”

With seconds left before the beast arrived, I managed to arrive at Amada. I stood in front of her, blocking her from the warthog.

“Please don’t hurt him, Mr. Sato-,” Amada pleaded with me. “-I mean Takumi.”

I lashed out. “Oh, shut it! Do you want help or not?”

“I don’t need any help. We’re just playing with each other. I think he wants to play tag.”

I glanced at her with a heavy sigh as I shook my head in disbelief. “Yeah, you’re actually an idiot. A delusional one at that.”

I focused my attention back on the beast. It came full force at us, planning to ram us. I had no weapon to defend ourselves with. My only option was to be a meat shield and take the hit. I regretted coming to save this idiot, Amada. Crap… it might be over.

It finally arrived. It lowered its head, ready to hit me with all of its might. As he approached me, my body instinctively reacted. I threw a hard punch to its forehead. My fist sank into its head due to its speed. The force from the punch repelled the warthog back, launching it into the air.

Amada and I watched in awe as the warthog was sent back into the forest. Our jaws dropped to the ground. The air grew quiet.

We stayed put until we saw flocks of birds escaping the forest. Branches snapped as they tried to break its fall. As the warthog landed on the ground, it carved a huge hole.

As everyone felt the massive rumbling of the impact, similar to a mini earthquake, it confirmed one thing… total victory.

…

The crowd stopped standing in silence and shouted at me with more cheers and celebration. Their eyes sparkled with excitement after watching my display of skill.

“Amazing! You’re awesome, Mr. Satori!”

“You really are Mr. Satori!”

“Was that whole speech to distract the enemy? You almost fooled us!”

Unbelievable! Is everyone here an idiot! My entire speech had meant nothing anymore. I was proving to everyone that I am not Mr. Satori. I ran like a baby and had to rely on Hinabe to save me. Based on what I heard about this guy, Satori wouldn’t do any of that.

But… then again, that punch I threw was something else.

Amada shockingly asked me, “Why did you do that?! It just wanted to play.” She furrowed her eyebrows in anger, glaring at me with her hazel eyes.

I snapped back, annoyed by her question. “Oh, shut up. Maybe I should’ve just let you get manhandled again.”

She quickly calmed down and curiously asked another question. “By the way, Takumi, how did you do that?!”

“I-I don’t know.” I clarified, still in disbelief. “I didn’t throw that punch. My body did that on its own.”

I examined my body, inspecting the hand I used to punch. I have no clue how I did that. This was weird.

First, it was me recovering faster than usual. Amada is still unable to move, but I have recovered and feel great. Now, I could throw punches like I did earlier.

Before I could connect the pieces, I was distracted by the crowd approaching me. They ran towards me with glee, wanting to congratulate me on my victory. They ran over Hinabe, thankfully avoiding her, and approached me with more offers and invitations for drinks.

Now that we had completed the mission, there was no point in staying in this field any longer. Amada and Hinabe did not look like they were moving anytime soon. Part of me wanted to leave them here and head home. However, the guilt crawled up my neck.

So, to sleep well tonight, I maneuvered through the crowd and picked up Amada over my shoulder. “You’re a lot heavier than I thought.” I clarified to Amada.

Amada’s face blushed red in embarrassment. “Shut up, I’m not that heavy!”

Then I headed to Hinabe, lifting her. I made a face of disgust. “Ugh, disgusting!” As I threw her over my other shoulder, her drool poured down my back.

Crap, having both of these girls over my shoulder could give someone the wrong idea. They might think I’m carrying dead bodies. Or they might think I’m kidnapping them.

Oh, whatever. The sun was minutes from setting, and I had a long first day here. I just want some sleep.

The crowd caught wind of my tiredness, so they calmed down. So, they followed me as I carried both of my new companions down the road until we arrived back in the capital.

…