Arifureta Zero: Volume 1 Read online

  Is she going through some weird withdrawal symptoms or something? Oscar thought to himself. A second later, she hugged him with all her might. His head felt like it was being squeezed in a vice.

  “Nice job, O-kun! I knew I could count on my partner! Those glasses really aren’t just for show after all! I’m sorry I thought you were a weirdo for wearing a black coat in the middle of the desert!”

  “Can you give it a rest about my glasses already!? Wait, hey, you were really thinking that!? And get off of me! Let me go!”

  “Come ooon~ Let me hug you a little longer!”

  “Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! God you’re so annoying!” Oscar finally managed to push Miledi away. Though it might not have been because he thought she was annoying, but for a different reason entirely. Oscar’s face was bright red as he adjusted his glasses.

  “Alriiight! Thanks to your quick thinking we know where he is. Let’s hurry back to town!” She pumped her fist into the air energetically, already over being pushed away by Oscar.

  “Roger,” Oscar said with a nod. He was still blushing.

  One day after Miledi and Oscar left the oasis.

  The man who’d sent the terrifying girl and her weary glasses-wearing companion away led a herd of four iraks into Chaldea.

  Iraks were large four-legged mammals that the desert folk used in place of horses. Normally, the beasts were lazy creatures. They were often too lazy to even find food, and had evolved to be able to survive a month without eating. As long as they drank water every few days, at least.

  They shambled along as fast as a human walking briskly. Rarely could their riders urge them into anything faster than that. But if they felt their lives in danger, they could gallop across the dunes for hours on end without tiring. They often spit at people who annoyed them, too.

  Still, iraks were valued by the desert people and sold for high prices.

  This man was an irak herder who made his living selling them.

  He’d sold quite a few at the nearby villages already, and was planning to sell the remainder of his stock in Chaldea. After that, all that remained was to deliver supplies to a few other villages.

  Chaldea’s main street was a cacophony of noise. Travelers and merchants haggled over prices, hawkers called out the names of their wares, and people shouted to be heard over the din.

  The man gently led the iraks down the street and turned at an intersection. Before him stood a large pillar, to which many iraks’ reins were tied.

  This was the main irak market.

  “Oh, it’s you. I was expecting you.” The owner of the iraks smiled and walked up to the man. He was well-built, but a slight paunch still bulged out from behind his white robe. His clothes were of fine quality, and had clearly been sewn by a master tailor. One could easily tell he was a prospering merchant.

  “I’ve brought three to sell. What’s your price?”

  “Curt as always, I see. I haven’t seen you in months, my friend. Surely you can spare some time to share a tale or two.”

  The man looked away, troubled. The merchant clearly meant no harm, though.

  “Well, I won’t force you. I certainly wouldn’t want to lose your business... Marvelous. As always, the iraks you’ve brought me are of exceptional quality.” The merchant tied the three iraks’ reins to the pillar and nodded in satisfaction. He asked the man to sit inside his shop while he performed a more thorough inspection of the goods. And so, he sat down and an apprentice brought him some tea.

  The apprentice had seen the man quite a few times by now too, and wasn’t nervous around the silent giant. The man smiled slightly and gave the boy his thanks.

  He didn’t know if the merchant had sent the boy to keep him company while he examined the iraks, or if it was the boy’s own curiosity that kept him there. Regardless, the boy was clearly intent on making conversation.

  “Mister, the master’s been complaining a lot recently.”

  “Huh?”

  “The Holy Church has started monopolizing the irak trade... Of course, that means master was able to sell his whole herd to them, but then he was out of stock. An irak trader is nothing without iraks, so he went around looking for more to buy, but the other big irak traders sold to the Holy Church as well, and all he could find were dregs no one else wanted.”

  “Why would the Holy Church want iraks?”

  “Beats me... Anyway, that’s why master’s so happy to see you. I don’t suppose you’d be willing to sell all four of them?”

  “I’d have a hard time getting home if I did.”

  In truth, he’d have no trouble at all, but it would start raising suspicion otherwise. The merchant was convinced he lived far away since he only came by once every few months, and it would be odd not to take an irak over such long distances.

  Besides, he’d kept that one irak a long time, so it was practically family to him. He knew he wouldn’t sell it even if he could.

  The boy knew he wouldn’t part with his last irak either. He smiled in understanding and said “I thought as much.”

  “Well, did you have any trouble getting here? Like a run-in with monsters or something?” The man looked up in surprise.

  It was clear from his gaze that he was wondering what had led the boy to that conclusion.

  “You just look tired, is all.”

  This boy is quite sharp. He’ll make a good merchant someday. The man thought back to his strange encounter yesterday.

  That boy and girl who’d possessed the same kind of abnormal powers he did. They’d claimed they’d come looking for him.

  Neither of them had seemed like bad people, really. Furthermore, they’d both seemed proud of their abilities.

  The boy had claimed he could create artifacts, even. The power to create... Truly, he’d been a little jealous. Especially of their relationship.

  Though the girl seemed to lead him by the nose quite often, the pair clearly trusted each other as equals. Neither was the other’s servant.

  “Umm, Mister?” He snapped back to the present. The boy was looking at him with worry.

  The man gave him a small smile.

  “Ah, sorry. It’s nothing.” In a sense, he had encountered monsters, and he told the boy as much.

  He took another sip of his tea and—

  “Miledi-chan’s here! I’ve finally found you!”

  “Bwah!?”

  He spotted Miledi hurtling down from above. The man spit out his tea. The boy, who she’d landed on, rolled across the ground, covering his eyes in pain.

  “Wh-Why? How did...”

  How did she find me? In fact, how is she even here? I sent her two days away just one day ago.

  Miledi looked down at the man and grinned.

  “I won’t let you escape that easily!” Miledi frightened him, but that grin of hers also irked him.

  The man hesitated for a moment. Meanwhile, the young boy whimpered.

  “Mister, why did this happen to me? Did I do something wrong?” He was still rubbing his eyes, which Miledi had hurt. The man was worried about him of course, but right now he needed to find a way out of this predicament.

  He couldn’t open a portal here. The risk that someone might see it was far too great. That left running. But he hadn’t been paid yet, and he didn’t want to leave his irak partner behind.

  “Hey, what’s going on in there?” The merchant had heard the noise and came to see what was happening. An idea came to mind and the man turned to the merchant.

  “Sir. Please put the money for my iraks on the pouch tied to my personal irak. I’ll come back for it later.”

  “What? But then how... Hey, wait!”

  The man dashed off without waiting for a reply.

  “Aaah, get back here!” Miledi ran off after him.

  “Master? Master! What’s going on? I still can’t see.” The young apprentice blinked a few times to clear his sight.

  “Sorry about my companion. She’s rather boisterous. Anyway, could I ask you a few questi
ons about the man who was in here?” A young man in a stiflingly hot black coat appeared in the doorway. For some reason, he was carrying a black umbrella.

  “What on earth is going on here?” The merchant scratched his balding head and turned to Oscar.

  “Sniffle...” A young girl was crying at the edge of an oasis. She was soaked from head to toe, and covered in mud. Her nose was red.

  Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of light in front of her.

  A second later, Oscar fell into the water with a huge splash.

  The water and wind magic embedded in his clothes cleaned and dried him off, and he walked out of the water looking none the worse for the wear.

  When he saw the state Miledi was in, he guessed more or less what must have happened.

  “O-kun, he threw me away like I was trash...”

  “Ah... I see.”

  Oscar gave a noncommittal reply and nodded.

  After Miledi had chased after the man, she’d run straight into a portal he’d set up in an alleyway. However, she’d managed to dodge over it with her gravity magic.

  Certain that he’d be willing to at least listen now that she’d rendered his traps ineffective, Miledi had let her guard down. Just as she’d started talking, the man had grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and threw her into his portal.

  She’d been so shocked that she’d lost her concentration and fell into the mud.

  “Ugh, damn that man! I can’t believe he’d throw a girl like that!”

  “In your case, I can see why he’d do it... Also, it’s Naiz, not ‘that man.’”

  “Huh? What do you mean?”

  “That’s his name. While you were wasting your time running after him, I talked to the merchant he was with. The guy’s name is Naiz. Turns out he’s an irak herder. He comes by every few months with a few well-bred iraks to sell.”

  Unfortunately, that was all he’d been able to find out. Even the merchant, who seemed somewhat close to Naiz, had known very little about him. He’d described Naiz as a taciturn, but sincere man.

  After Oscar was done talking to the merchant, he’d noticed that Naiz’s irak was missing.

  The merchant was wondering when Naiz had had time to come get it, but he assumed he’d just missed Naiz while talking to Oscar.

  On the other hand, Oscar had guessed what must have really happened.

  He’d thanked the merchant and decided to head back. When he’d stepped into an alleyway though, he’d fallen through one of Naiz’s portals.

  Still, they’d gotten some more information on him, at least.

  “You’re amazing, O-kun! No matter what happens, you still come away with something useful!”

  “Meanwhile, you just keep charging in like an idiot.”

  She went to hug him, but Oscar restrained her with his Metamorph Chains. He didn’t want to get smeared in mud too. He sighed and made another shower room for Miledi. Then, he threw her into the changing room and heard her mutter “I feel like I’m being thrown around a lot lately...” which he ignored.

  Two days later.

  Naiz finished up his business in the surrounding villages and started on the road home. He led his irak from the village on foot until he was out of sight. Only then did he teleport.

  He’d gone to that village to deliver stillstone, which only grew in the wastelands to the north, or within the Red Dragon’s Mountain. When he’d been on his way to Chaldea, he’d heard the villages had been suffering from a stillstone shortage, so he’d teleported north and gathered some for them.

  Though those two had somehow found him at the irak trader’s place, he was certain he’d be safe in the surrounding villages. His business there hadn’t been planned, and no one knew he’d gone there. Still, he looked around restlessly.

  He had a nagging feeling that that girl who came and went like a storm would somehow appear anyway, followed by that respectable young man.

  “I’m just being paranoid...” This time he’d teleported them a whole five days away. That was the furthest distance he could teleport anyone. There was no way they’d catch up to him in just two days.

  The irak tilted its head at Naiz, wondering what he was worrying about. Its droopy eyes were trained on him.

  “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it. Let’s go home, Suzanne.”

  “Gweeeh.” Suzanne was his irak’s name. It lost interest in Naiz after hearing his reply, and turned its half-dead eyes forward again.

  It seemed to be staring at something. Something far off in the distance.

  “Suzanne?”

  “Gweeeeeeh.” Naiz had been with Suzanne for years now. He could tell what her grunts meant.

  “What is it, girl? What do you see?” Naiz squinted at the horizon. All he could see was the sun, the sand, and—

  “Hm? What’s that...” Naiz felt a sense of foreboding. He spotted something far off in the sky.

  “Is that a black...dot? No, it seems to be a...” Naiz’s voice was trembling.

  The steadily growing black spot turned out to be two people.

  “Found youuuuuuuuu!”

  “Impossible.”

  Miledi’s voice rang loudly through the empty desert. He was stunned. This was quickly becoming his worst nightmare.

  As they got closer, Naiz could see that Miledi was holding Oscar by the collar. Oscar looked exhausted, and it was clear that if they’d been on the ground he would have been slumped on the floor.

  “We found you again, Nacchan!”

  “N-Nacchan?”

  Miledi landed lightly. The moment her feet touched the ground though, she doubled over and started panting. Her chosen method of travel had exhausted her quite a bit.

  Naiz was amazed at what seemed like her nickname for him. He looked over at Oscar, who she’d deposited at her side.

  He was lying face-up on the ground. It didn’t look like he’d be getting up anytime soon, either.

  “Is he... alright?”

  “Haaah... Haaah... He’s fine! He’s O-kun after all!”

  I’m not quite sure how that’s a proper reason. Still, Oscar raised his hand and waved it weakly to indicate he was fine, so Naiz left it at that.

  “I gotta say though, using ancient magic for two days straight really wears a girl out. Even with all of O-kun’s mana, I was barely able to make it. If monsters found us now, we’d be dead!”

  “That’s not really something to be excited about...” Naiz stared at her as if he was looking at some alien creature.

  “How’d you find me?”

  “That’s a secret!” She brought her finger to her lips and winked at Naiz. Though there was no wind blowing, her ponytail bobbed back and forth.

  For a few short seconds, Naiz lost it. He knew he could kill at that very moment.

  “How’d you find me?” Once he’d calmed down he repeated his question.

  “Fufufu. Well, I suppose I could tell you. But not for free. You’ve gotta listen to what I have to say fir—” Naiz opened a portal beneath them. His retribution was merciless.

  Oscar vanished into it.

  “Ah, O-kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun!?” Miledi dropped to all fours and stared into the portal.

  “Come to think of it, he can’t move... Oh no. I hope he doesn’t drown...”

  “Wait, O-kun’s in trouble!? Damn you, don’t think this is over yet! Even if I leave now, I’ll keep coming back as many times as it takes!”

  With those parting words, Miledi jumped into the portal of her own volition.

  The desert was quiet once more.

  Though for some reason, with the disappearance of just one girl, the silence now felt oppressive.

  A slight breeze ruffled Naiz’s hair.

  “Gweeeeeeh.”

  “You’re right, Suzanne. Let’s go home.” Naiz started on the road home.

  A few days later.

  Naiz was back home. Though whether his living space really qualified as a house was up for debate.

  Currently, he lived in
a cave. It fell straight down, and ended at a terraced base. There he’d carved out rooms from the rock. There was a spot for his bed, a table in the center, a storage room, a kitchen, and so on.

  What was truly strange about his dwelling though was that it was lit by magma.

  His cavern home was at the heart of the Red Dragon’s Mountain, which was the massive volcano that was the heart of the Crimson Desert. No people lived near the volcano, nor was it somewhere people should have been able to live in.

  The volcano had earned its name because its eruptions were like a red dragon’s breath, burning hot and always unpredictable.

  The nearby villagers believed a red dragon truly did sleep in the volcano’s depths.

  Not only did no one live at its base, but people didn’t even dare approach it usually.

  Despite that, Naiz had no problems living there. The magma’s extreme heat didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest. He stepped out on the terrace and looked at the river of magma below him.

  “Everything looks fine...” He turned on his heel and returned to his room, then sat down at his table and reached for the basket atop it. In it was food he’d bought with the money he earned selling his iraks. Bread, cheese, and fruit.

  He pulled a sheet of parchment from a nearby rack and started writing something as he munched on some bread.

  “The Holy Church has been buying up iraks...” He muttered quietly to himself. That was what the merchant’s apprentice had said. He was somewhat curious about what they were planning, but it didn’t really matter to him since he was basically retired from irak herding.

  Though he knew it would be a problem if their actions made iraks vanish from the desert.

  They were the preeminent beasts of burden in the area, and were used in many different aspects of life. The more rural villages depended on iraks for trade, and would die without them. Transporting as many goods as possible in one trip was of paramount importance because of how frequent monster attacks were.

  Oftentimes traders lost their iraks to monsters. Unless they were able to find a replacement instantly, they were forced to transport their wares by foot. If the Holy Church had taken all of those spares, then it was a reason to be concerned.