Arifureta Zero: Volume 1 Read online

  “Uh, yeah. You’re welcome.” Oscar scratched his cheek awkwardly and walked away.

  “I’m not that far, so if you need anything just yell for me. Though I think we’ll be fine since I’ve got my Silver Slate.”

  “Mmm, got it. No peeking~”

  “Don’t worry, I won’t.”

  “You better not. Like absolutely, definitely better not. I’m serious, O-kun. Don’t you dare—”

  “Are you trying to hint at something!? Or what, do you really not trust me at all!?” Oscar could hear Miledi’s laughter through the walls. A second later, the sound of falling water replaced it. Miledi seemed to be in a good mood.

  “Seriously...” Oscar adjusted his glasses in exasperation.

  “Come to think of it, I’m pretty sweaty too. Plus, there’s sand all over my clothes...” He realized he was just as dirty as Miledi had been. He looked down at his Silver Slate. It appeared there still wasn’t anyone nearby.

  “Hmm... I guess I could wash up too...” He wasn’t planning on stripping down and taking a full shower, just taking his shirt off and wiping himself down. Plus, since he was a man, he didn’t need to make a separate changing room for himself.

  Oscar took his shirt off, soaked a towel, and started wiping himself. He scrubbed hard, making sure he got all the sand and sweat off.

  Just then, he noticed someone looking at him. Instantly wary, he turned to see what was staring at him.

  “Gulp...” Miledi was peeking over the shower room wall.

  “What are you doing?” Oscar asked, his eyebrows twitching.

  “You know, I realized this back when you were carrying me, but... O-kun, you’re surprisingly buff. You look like a thin scholar, but you’ve got a lot of muscles.”

  “I had the adventurers teach me how to fight, just in case. Also, those eyes of yours are scaring me. What happened to not peeking? Don’t you have any tact?”

  “I left it back in the Reisen Gorge.”

  “Then go get it back!”

  And she’s the one who said not to peek on HER! I never knew she was such a hopeless pervert. Just then, Oscar saw something out of the corner of his eye.

  “M-Miledi, let’s just drop this. Get away from the wall.”

  “Nihihihihi. Are you embarrassed, O-kun? That embarrassed to be seen naked by a girl? Well, are you?”

  “I won’t even complain about how annoying you’re being, so please just get away from that wall. I told you before, the shower room wasn’t built to last.”

  “Hm? It’s not?”

  “Yes, so— Aaah, wait! Don’t lean against it! If you do—”

  There was a sharp crack. Then, walls of the shower room suddenly began to crumble.

  “Huh?” Miledi’s weight was too much for them to bear, and they collapsed.

  “Whoa...”

  “Ah...” Miledi, who’d been leaning against them, fell forward. Her naked body flew toward Oscar. He got a good view of her slender back, her beautiful curves, and her smooth legs.

  “Gah, I can’t believe this—” Miledi stood up, realizing too late what kind of view that would give Oscar.

  “O-O-kun, don’t look!”

  “Way ahead of you!” Oscar pivoted on the balls of his feet and turned straight around.

  “Ugh, he totally saw. There’s no way he didn’t... I mean it’s my own fault, but... maybe I should hit him with Nether Burst anyway...” Oscar didn’t like the sound of that. There wouldn’t even be a speck of him left if she hit him with that. It had caved in an entire floor of the Greenway.

  “I-I didn’t see anything! Promise!”

  “Liar. You’re a big fat liar, O-kun! Your voice is shaking!”

  “Guh. Okay, so maybe I saw a little... Sorry.”

  “Ugh. It’s my fault, so you shouldn’t be the one to apologize... It feels wrong.”

  It was kind of novel, seeing Miledi genuinely embarrassed for once. Oscar found it quite cute.

  “Anyway, the changing room should be fine still. Go hide in there. I’ll repair the shower, if you want to finish up.”

  “Nah, it’s fine. I’ll just go change.” She was acting uncharacteristically meek. When she was like this, she seemed just like any other girl. Oscar found that he preferred her annoying version more, since he didn’t have to feel bad about hitting her when she was like that.

  Putting those thoughts aside, Oscar found his shirt and started getting dressed.

  The two of them spent some time sitting by the oasis under the shade of Oscar’s umbrella.

  “......”

  “......”

  They didn’t say anything. Miledi’s ears were still red.

  Oscar rifled through his pack for their food. He’d brought a lot of non-perishable goods along. They’d been stored in his containers that were popular among adventurers. His airtight seals meant food lasted even longer than usual inside them.

  The versions he’d made for himself were, of course, a lot more impressive than the toned down variants he’d made for other adventurers. If word of his improved inventions spread, he’d probably have been flooded with requests from every single country. Logistics for supplies was the hardest part about organizing an army.

  “We sweat out a lot earlier. Need to get some salt back in us.” He handed Miledi some food.

  “Y-Yeah, you’re right!” She took it excitedly. It seemed she was still trying to shake off her embarrassment.

  Oscar was at a loss for what to say too, so he focused on eating.

  Today’s lunch was beef. He used a lot of seasonings and spices on the sauce, so it made for a surprisingly delicious meal. That was the other reason Oscar’s food containers were in such high demand. The food he packed into them was good. On top of that, because of how well-sealed his cans were, he could keep perishables in perfect condition too.

  “Mmm, this is great! This is the same dish that was at Aisha-chan’s restaurant, right?”

  “Yep. Remember how there were always a bunch of adventurers there whenever we went? They like that place because it serves spicy food like this.”

  “I see. No wonder our lunches were so delicious. Wait, that means you bought all this from Aisha-chan’s restaurant, didn’t you? That’s how she found out you were leaving and started crying!”

  “Pretty much.” Oscar stuffed his face full of meat. He clearly didn’t want to talk about that. Unfortunately for him, he’d piqued Miledi’s curiosity, which at least meant she was back to normal.

  “Hey, O-kun. What did Aisha-chan say to you? Come on, tell me. And what’d you tell her? Come on! It’s no big deal, right?” She grinned at him and ribbed him gently with her elbows.

  Oscar adjusted his glasses.

  “Miledi. You’re being annoying again. Unbelievably annoying. I’m kind of relieved. Please stay like that forever, so I don’t feel guilty about blowing you halfway across the planet.”

  “H-Huh? That wasn’t the reaction I was expecting... What’s that even supposed to mean? Here I am making fun of you and you look almost... kind. I don’t even know what I’m supposed to say to that.”

  It was rare for Oscar to show Miledi any kindness, so she was taken aback.

  “Uh, umm... Oh yeah! About the city we’re going to!” She forcibly changed the topic.

  Oscar went back to his food and grunted a reply.

  “The city’s called Chaldea, right? It’s the biggest city in Polvora, I think. They’re part of the Sharod Federation, right?”

  Miledi nodded while chewing on some meat. The desert they were crossing was ruled by a group of countries that formed the Sharod Federation. The federation was a loose alliance between the many small independent fiefdoms that dotted the desert. The fiefdoms were more large tribes than properly organized regions, though. Each of the tribes had their own culture, customs, and laws. Even Sharod, the most powerful member of the federation and its namesake, didn’t have the power to influence the rule of another region.

  These small tribes had joined
together in order to show a united front against the larger powers among the human world.

  Polvora was on the southeastern tip of the desert, and the closest fief to Velka. Its largest city, Chaldea, was famous for its textiles.

  “We’re going to start by gathering information. And since we’re there anyway, we might as well spend some time checking out their clothes, too.”

  “We’re looking for the ‘Fairy of the Desert’ right?”

  “Yep. The Fairy of the Desert. I was actually on my way to Polvora originally. I just stopped by Velnika because it was on the way.”

  “Turned into a pretty big detour, huh?”

  “It turned into the best detour of my life.”

  “Mhm,” Oscar replied, and swallowed down his food.

  “You said you’ve been searching for more wielders of ancient magic ever since you joined the Liberators, right? You and your comrades have supposedly been scouring the globe looking for people?”

  “Most of our leads have ended up being dead ends, but yeah.” She’d told most of this to him back when they’d been in Velnika.

  There weren’t too many people like Oscar and Miledi, who could use ancient magic and possessed ungodly amounts of mana. It stood to reason that those few who existed would stand out, which meant rumors of them would spread. However, Oscar hadn’t heard any such rumors. He assumed they were like him, hiding their talents from the rest of the world. That was why Miledi and her comrades had leaped on even the most outlandish of rumors. They were all they had.

  Most had ended up being false leads, but every now and then they’d hit the jackpot. Oscar was the first person Miledi had found capable of using magic from the age of the gods, but they’d still picked up a number of insanely talented people.

  As their current method of chasing outlandish rumors had borne some fruit, they continued to rely on it. And the Fairy of the Desert was one such rumor.

  According to legend, there was a wandering fairy who patrolled the Crimson Desert and guided lost travelers home. It sounded pretty fake to Oscar. He tilted his head.

  “Why a fairy, of all things?”

  “Because they’re a pretty, dainty little girl, maybe?” Miledi tilted her head as well. She wasn’t sure either.

  They still didn’t have enough information, which was why they were planning on going to the largest city in the area and gathering more.

  “It would be nice... if they could use ancient magic too.”

  “Healing magic specifically, right?” Miledi replied gently.

  Miledi wanted to find someone who could help her in her fight against the gods. However, while Oscar did of course want to help her achieve her goal, he also wanted to find someone who could cure his brother and sister. For him, that still took precedence.

  Oscar pushed up his glasses, embarrassed at being seen through so easily.

  The hidden village where Oscar’s family had been sent, and where all the non-combatant members of Miledi’s group lived, was deep in the Reisen Gorge. Back when she’d worked as an executioner, Miledi had chanced upon a cave deep in the gorge. There were a few other places Miledi had considered putting their base, but this was the easiest to defend and the least likely to be discovered.

  Oscar had entrusted the orphans and a few members of the Liberators with some of his artifacts, so the village was at least better defended now.

  Once they found a way to heal Dylan and Katy, Oscar was planning on going back to see them. Whenever that was, he’d be sure to bolster the village’s defenses with the most heinous physical traps he could come up with.

  Anyone who dared to hurt his family deserved only the most painful of deaths.

  “Hey, O-kun? You’re smile’s starting to creep me out. You look kinda evil.”

  “Oh, whoops.”

  Miledi had finished eating and now she stared at Oscar, shivering in fear.

  Oscar hurriedly finished his own meal.

  “Well, that’s a long enough break. If night falls before we get into the city, it’ll be harder to find an inn.”

  “At least this time the journey will be nice and cool.”

  Miledi and Oscar walked into the harsh desert, their floating ice cube and umbrella providing perfect air conditioning.

  Sand stretched on as far as the eye could see. The wind shaped the dunes, causing them to undulate like waves. It really felt like they were traversing a sea of sand.

  “Hm? Miledi, we’ve got something coming from the right. Five of them.”

  “I don’t see anything. They must be underground.” Miledi scanned the area to her right.

  Oscar started counting down. As he reached one, five crimson scorpions shot out of the ground.

  Miledi struck at almost the same time.

  “Heavensfall!”

  The scorpions were slammed back into the sand. Gravity magic pinned them in place. The scorpions screeched in pain. However, they were in the desert. Below the scorpions was just sand. Instead of being crushed against the ground, the scorpions sunk deeper inside it.

  “Hmm, deserts and I really don’t get along.” Miledi cast a combination of earth and wind magic to summon a blade of sand, which cut through the scorpions. The five of them screeched again as they died.

  “You’ve been using gravity magic an awful lot lately. Any reason for that?”

  “Practice. It’s pretty hard to use, and it takes up a lot of mana. I want to get better at controlling it, and hopefully reduce the amount of mana it drains, so I’ve gotta keep practicing.” She puffed her chest out proudly.

  Though she appeared skilled at first glance, Miledi still couldn’t fuse other elemental magic with her gravity magic. Furthermore, there were spells even she couldn’t control still.

  Her Nether Burst was one such spell. Once activated, it would drain all of her mana unless some external factor forced the spell to be cut off partway.

  She wasn’t happy that her most powerful spell was one she couldn’t fully control. Worse, if she wasn’t careful she was liable to kill herself with it.

  “I see. It certainly does seem difficult to use. So even you’re not able to use it perfectly...”

  “Hey, O-kun. I’ve been the only one fighting for a while now... Do you really plan on making a girl do all the work?” Miledi glared at Oscar.

  Like most places, the Crimson Desert was rife with monsters. In fact, it was one of the more dangerous regions on the continent.

  The scorpions Miledi had just defeated were known as the assassins of the desert. Travelers feared them because of their deadly poison and ability to move through the ground undetected.

  Since leaving the oasis, they’d been attacked rather frequently. However, Oscar was always able to detect them ahead of time and Miledi crushed them in seconds, so there was no sense of urgency.

  Still, as strong as she was, Miledi was still a girl. She was tired of being the only one fighting, wanting her partner to pull his weight.

  Oscar just stared at her blankly in response. It was almost if he didn’t get the reason for her complaints.

  “Okay, now I’m mad. I’m mad, O-kun! I’m a girl too, you know!? I know this is child’s play, but you could still say something like ‘Oh, leave it to me’ or ‘I’d feel bad making you do all the hard work’ or something!”

  “You just said yourself that this is child’s play. You’re better suited to fighting than I am. Besides, just thinking about you acting like a normal city girl is... Haha.”

  “Hey, why’d you laugh? O-kun, you better explain yourself.” Miledi glared at Oscar, a dark look in her eyes. But just then, Oscar’s Silver Slate reacted again. There was a giant monster headed their way. It was fast, too.

  “Miledi, behind us. It’s fast. I’ll count down for you.”

  “......”

  “10, 9, 8 ,7 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, go!”

  A giant earthworm, known to the people here as a Sandworm, burst out from under the ground, directly under their feet.

  Oscar
and Miledi jumped back in different directions, just barely avoiding the creature’s circular maw. Its razor-sharp teeth ground the sand it had been chewing. It almost looked like it was grinding its teeth in frustration at failing to catch its prey.

  “Hm? Huh?” Oscar looked over in confusion.

  Normally, Miledi would have crushed the worm to the ground with her gravity magic.

  Is she charging up a really powerful spell or something? Oscar flicked his left hand. Thin chains flew out of his sleeve.

  His Metamorph Chains. Before he’d had to physically fling them, or snake them along the ground to his target by using the spirit stone contained within them. Now, however, he’d enhanced them with Miledi’s gravity magic and they floated freely in the air.

  He could control all five at once since they’d become easier to handle. Furthermore, the pouch at his waist had a huge carrying capacity, so he’d lengthened each one to one hundred meters.

  His chains wound their way around the Sandworm. They were powerful enough to bind it in place.

  He sent a second chain burrowing through the ground, then remotely transmuted the ground underneath the Sandworm into stone.

  “Miledi, how much longer is this going to take!?” Oscar shouted to his partner. However, there was no reply. Don’t tell me she got injured!? But when he looked over he saw that she’d dodged just fine. Her actions baffled him.

  “Miledi? What are you doing?” She was lying in midair, her hands behind her head. High up enough that the Sandworm couldn’t reach her.

  Miledi grinned at him.

  “I thought I should give you a chance to train your skills too. That monster is a gift from me to you. Oh, what’s that? No need for thanks! We’re partners, after all.”

  Guess she’s holding a grudge. She’d lifted herself high enough that she was in no danger.

  A vein pulsed in Oscar’s forehead. He tightened the chains around the Sandworm, and it screamed in pain.

  “Miledi. Doing in this in the middle of a fight is not funny. What you’re trying to say doesn’t even make sense. Listen up, in the first place—” He himself cut off as he looked at his Silver Slate. A number of huge enemies were headed their way. Oscar guessed they were this Sandworm’s friends.