Strange Grief Wants to Retire ~ The Weakest Hunter Dreams of a Hero ~

49 慈悲 Benevolence

Thick murderous intent washed over me, and Tino slid out from behind.
Her body moved left and right using intricate footwork to plunge herself in front of the old man.

A Magi’s specialisation was long range magic attacks.
Even if they were advanced enough to use chantless magic like Lucia, they stood no chance of victory against a thief from that close of a distance.

Tino brandished her dagger without hesitating.
Perhaps not expecting the girl I was supposedly protecting to come out and attack, the old man was unable to react.
The honed edge of the dagger gleamed in the darkness.
Her clear eyes had pushed aside any emotion – she was completley ready to kill.
Oi oi, this is bad.

“Tee-! Those are completely ordinary people, take it easy on them!”

“…Eh!?”

“It’s the duty of the strong to care for the weak.
Don’t forget to pay respect to the elderly!”

“!?”

Tino swung down her dagger, but the old man used the tip of his staff to divert it away.
Because of my interruption she must have lost force halfway through.
But even so, that must be one spritely senior citizen to be able to turn away Tino’s blade like that.
The old man who escaped with his life made an expression like his eyes were caught on a demon, and backed away.

Tino shouted in a voice of confusion not knowing what to do.

“Master!? Those are not, ordinary people!”

I know, I know.
In the end, Tino was Liz’s disciple.
To my childhood friends, even when the opponents were ordinary people like this, if they opposed us they became enemies to be killed.
Even if the law permitted, I wouldn’t tolerate it.
My morals still hadn’t degraded to that point yet.

“I know! But don’t kill them! If it’s you, you should be able to do it.”

“I can’t do it!? They’re Magi!?”

“Aah.
But they’re only people that research sand rabbits you know!”

“Infinite Variety… how far, do you plan, on mocking us!!”

Why must they direct their murderous rage towards me, when I was the one protecting them from Tino?

I just wanted to work this out peacefully.
It would make more trouble if they lodged a complaint with the authorities later.
If there wasn’t a good enough reason, self defence against civilians wasn’t recognised for hunters.
One of Footprints motto’s was not to lay a hand on ordinary people.

There has to be some sort of minor misunderstanding! We could work things out if we just talked it over with each other!

I looked towards all the Rabbi-pros (short for sand rabbit professionals).
They all had the eyes of prey looking at a beast.
Reaching an understanding was impossible.

“They aren’t my opponents! Please be gentle-“

As I was speaking, the area suddenly became bright.

A man standing behind the leader was raising his staff.
A burning blue flame was floating at it’s tip.
It wasn’t me that was in his line of sight.
It was Tino, in disorder between my instructions and her teachers.

Are you serious…

The attack magic of a Magi was powerful.
Due to chanting there was a delay before invocation, but once cast it would exceed a melee attack of similar skill.

To make things worse I couldn’t hear any chanting.
Chantless magic was an advanced skill.
Why did people that just researched rabbits know such a technique?

Tino’s eyes caught onto the sphere of flame.
At that moment, the pale ball was fired.

Could she evade it? She may be able to.
She may not.
I couldn’t make such a judgement.

I kicked out at the ground.
I didn’t hesitate.
I knew enough about the power of a Safe Ring from my time as a hunter until now.

I leapt forward and shoved my body in the line of the magic’s fire.
I activated the Safe Ring.
A fierce blast as if the world was ending swept out in front of me.
The grass in the vicinity was vaporised in an instant, and the impact depressed the ground.

’

“Master!?”

Tino screamed.
I put out my hand to stop her from leaping forward.

“Don’t worry.
It’s no problem.
I don’t have a scratch.”

But, that was dangerous.
That flame sphere just now hadn’t just been for self protection.
Even for a hunter that had absorbed Mana Material, it held the power to kill or severely wound them.
It couldn’t be endured without a Relic.

I pacified Tino who had a pale face, and turned towards the rabbi-pros.
At my gaze, the man that had cast the magic took a step back and dropped his staff.
Offensive power of only that degree.
I was confident.

The 『Dog’s Chain』 hanging from my waist was clattering and shaking as if an enemy had appeared.
I brushed around where the flame sphere had hit me, and raised my voice.

“That was clearly an attack just now.
Against me it had no effect but―― I’m not sure how I hurt your feelings, but you had better leave things there.
If you go any further than this, then I’m also going to start having some ideas.”

“-…”

Safe Rings were rare.
Even if people knew they existed, not many had seen the moment one was activated.
I should be able to bluff.

I observed cautiously.
At the rabbi-pros reaction, I was inwardly astounded.

They weren’t shocked.
They had strong vigilance, and a little fear.
This was my first time seeing a reaction like this.
Showing fear was bad.
It was hard to predict what a person engulfed in fear would do.
If they all started firing magic together, I would turn into charcoal just like that.

I continued negotiations.

“…E-Even though things are this way, I’m a hunter.
I have a reasonable amount of power.
It would be simple to turn you all into charcoal.
It wouldn’t even take a second.
However, I’m a philanthropist.
I was starting to get a little irritated because you attacked my junior, but I hold respect for everyone that studies sand rabbits.
That would be boring for me… something like that, I truly couldn’t do it.
No, I’m not trying to make fun of you.
It’s only natural to pay respect to people that can do the things you can’t.”

“Master, such amazing provocation skill.
Only from you.”

At my desperate persuasion, Tino murmured some praise.
I wasn’t provoking them though.
I cleared my throat, and tried to tie things to a close.

“…That is, what I mean to say… is that if you leave now I’m willing to overlook this.
You guys don’t want to be arrested either right?”

“Master!?”

“-…What was that!?”

The leader’s eyes were peeled back.
His two pupils were gleaming in the dark.
Similar to a sand rabbit, but far more repulsive.

It was fine.
There was no reason to fight.
I was tired of this situation I didn’t understand.
Please just leave.

“I’ll forgive and forget that last attack.
We’ll just call it even since I accidentally laughed at you.
It was just unfortunate for both of us that we met each other this time.”

“Call it… even? What are you, planning?”

I’m not planning anything, even means even.
I could understand if I was being attacked by a phantom, but I didn’t understand why humans would attack me.
I didn’t remember ever giving someone a reason to hold a grudge.

The old Magi was silent.
I had compromised as much as I could.
If this still wasn’t good enough, then I had no choice but to resign myself to battle.

Tino stayed quiet even though she had a dissatisfied look.
She was the one who was attacked this time.
I’ll take you out for ice-cream later.

“If we go back, we would have to leave this place.”

Saying so the old Magi came to a decision.

“Kill Infinite Variety! Make him regret he ever mocked us.
It’s impossible to be unharmed after receiving our mastery over magic! It must be a trick!”

“-….Yes!”

’

His throat went hoarse giving an absurd order.
Apparently my prayers went unanswered.

His subordinates behind him answered all at once.
As for the old Magi himself, he kicked at the ground and retreated while facing this way.
He intended to escape by himself.

If you were going to run away anyway, it was fine if you all just escaped together… Wasn’t it terrible telling them to kill? From their expressions it wasn’t a joke.
I also didn’t plan on taking my pacifism that far.

I didn’t remember ever mocking them… but they didn’t seem to plan on letting us go.

The subordinates all raised their staffs up.
Their faces were stiff, and there was a person that was shaking.
But, none ran away.
They had resolved themselves for death.
What kind of group were these rabbi-pros? …Their discipline seemed on par with the regular orders of the Empire knights.

I rush forward silently, and grabbed Tino’s arm trying to protect me.
Tino’s eyes went wide, and she looked up at me.
If it was Tino she could probably defeat a few of them.
But there were a lot of them, it was unlikely.

I breathed a deep sigh ―― and prepared myself for the worst.

I looked like this and I was level 8.
I wasn’t an opponent against phantoms, but against regular people I could do anything.
I had overcome the level certification exams.
What I said about turning them into charcoal before was a lie, but when I said I had my own ideas that wasn’t a bluff.

My Relics were mostly exhausted of mana.
But I had one trump card remaining.

I was glad I didn’t use it in the White Wolves Den.
I had planned on keeping it aside until Lucia returned, but at this point it was impossible to persuade them using words alone.

Hanging from my neck, I took out the pendant type Relic from beneath my clothing.
A gold pentagram, set with an inlaid crystal.
Jet black like the night sky swirled within the clear center.

『Realise Outer』.
(Kanji: Longing for a Far Away Land)

The Relic’s origin, was a tool created by an engineer that had a deep yearning towards magic.
At the huge cost of about one hundred times the amount of mana originally necessary, it could store one magic art.
That ridiculous ability could be released at any time.

Most of my abilities came from the wealth accumulated by Strange Grief.
However, this was the most extreme of them all.

What was contained inside could crush an entire area flat except for the ones touching the caster.
Advanced level gravity magic.
The person that charged the magic while always complaining, was the Magi with the strongest offensive power in Strange Grief, Lucia Roche.

a

My――younger sister.

a

Because storing magic was it’s peculiar trait, it was a Relic that had an exceedingly slow rate of mana loss.
It was a trump card for when Lucia had to be away from me for a long time for whatever reason.

I was told to only use it in a crisis where my life was at risk.
If it was discovered I was using it against some ordinary people, there was no doubt Lucia would scold me.
She might not speak to me for several days.

But if I didn’t use it here, even if this could be worked out somehow… I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.

I gripped Tino’s arm and pulled her towards me.

I looked over the Magi with confidence.
Just like the original creator of this Relic would have wanted, I would use the power as if it was my own.

The Magi began forming magic with their staffs.
Fire.
Ice.
Lightning.
Wind.
Arts that were simple yet highly lethal.
And they were all chantless – it was incredible that all of the rabbi-pros seemed to be top class Magi.
But, I wasn’t worried.

“Have you guys――ever seen the greatest attack magic in the world?”

At my words the Magi were startled and their eyes widened.
But they didn’t stop their attacks, and fired them off silently.
Sound stopped.
My thoughts became distant seeing the various colours of light approaching, and I released the magic within the Relic.

a

§

a

’

However, the ground shook only once.
With just that, everything was over.

The Relic didn’t have a visible effect.
No intense lights and completely soundless, it just released the stored magic.

The rabbi-pros that had been aiming at us before were lying flat on their backs.
The number of people – was five.
They showed no external injuries, but with a closer look you would realise there was a tremendous force from above, pressing them into the ground.

The entire area became like a vacant lot.
Plants and anything else was flattened down as if being crushed.
The only one standing with me was Tino, who had been excluded from the effect since she had been in contact.

The approaching attack magic had been snuffed out like the flame of a candle, vanishing without a trace.
Magic was a phenomena that used mana as energy.
If two Magi were to cast magic in the same place, the weaker art would be smothered.

Which meant that the 『trump card』 I received from Lucia greatly exceeded the magic of all the rabbi-pros.
Well, it seemed like a surprisingly dangerous group, but the difference between hunters and ordinary people was way too much.

Pressure (kanji: Gravity Magic) was an art that manipulated weight like the name suggested.

I wasn’t certain of the full details, but it was an obscure magic.
And among the many different arts it had an especially high degree of difficulty.
Although useful, in pure destructive power it was a step below other magic, the level of interference was higher, and it’s mana consumption was large.
Only a handful of Magi had mastered it according to Lucia.

Regardless, I stored the Relic with gravity magic instead of something destructive.
That was because the art was suited for human 『suppression』.
Gravity magic indiscriminately interfered with everything, dampening released attack magic and able to stop a vast amount of opponents while killing as least as possible.
It was a power unsuited for phantoms, but that was fine since I didn’t enter shrines alone.

This time the Magi were twitching as they laid out flat, without even the room to raise their voices.
But they still weren’t dead.

『Realise Outer』 could only release stored magic cast by the original Magi.
I couldn’t adjust the power, but it seems like it was cast in line with my request for it not to kill anyone.

I was worried since she had recently been going through a bit of a rebellious phase, but as expected of Lucia.
Your big bro is really happy.

Perhaps because he was further away then the others, the leader of the rabbi-pros had only fallen to his knees.
He was looking up at me dumbfounded.
His staff had dropped from his hands and was sunken into the ground, but he still seemed able to move.

“-This is… a magic… art!? Pressure!?”

If I acted modestly I would be slandered with some unwarranted false accusations.
I immediately spoke while caught up in the moment.

“Looks like you didn’t die… it was worth choosing a magic of low power.”

“This is absurd… Impossible! For I who was called a sage, to pass through my barrier so easily ―― you little, …so you, were a Magi!?”

Was his anger being suppressed by shock? His eyes were opened to their limits, and he was staring at me as if looking at a monster.

A sage? Was this senior, actually a famous and upright person? Was he a forerunner of the sand rabbit world?

…Well either way, the ones at fault were the quick tempered rabbi-pros that attacked us when we didn’t do anything.

I regretted getting carried away a little, but after coming so far I couldn’t just step back and pretend everything was fine.

“A Magi? I’m just – an ordinary hunter.”

Pretty hard boiled right?

Tino who had been silent for a while now looked up with teary eyes.
Since I had held onto her shoulder, Tino hadn’t received any effect from the gravity magic.

She was probably sad looking at the master of her clan act immature.
Don’t look at me with those eyes… I was wrong.
I just wanted to look cool.

“Impossible… For I, for Noto Cochlear who absorbed Mana Material and obtained power ― with chantless magic ― damn it!!”

“Eh? Was he going to stand? Did I go too easy on him…?”

Yeah.
I guess Lucia held back too much?

The renown rabbi-pro gave out a groan, and slowly got to his knees.
But from his expression, it was obvious he was overdoing it.
His eyes were wide, and he was gritting his teeth while drool fell from his lips.

’

The atmosphere was strained.
Terrific spirit.
The ability of the Relic was to cast magic without a chant.
But the power should be the same as when Lucia uses one.

Even though she made adjustments, to be able to stand up in Lucia’s 『Over Gravity Frame』 wasn’t ordinary.
It wasn’t lethal, but there should still be damage done.

I had used my final trump card.
Gravity magic didn’t last that long, and I was already out of ways to attack.

But in stead of feeling flustered, I felt pity.
I spoke while looking down on the old man benevolently.

“You should stop already.”

“What… did you say?”

I had no idea why he was that angry with me.
But no matter how much they opposed me, I had no will to harm them.
My group was always causing trouble for regular people.

“I have no intention to quarrel with you here.
I’m a hunter.
People like you are not my opponents – not sand rabbit researchers that dive into burrows loving rabbits.”

“-…………”

For some reason the old man bared his teeth, and looked up at me with blazing eyes in extraordinary fury.
But it didn’t look like he could get up and walk.
The limit.
That body was already at it’s limit.
If he forced himself too hard he would do irreparable damage.
In the first place, with Tino here he had no chance of success.

At that moment, some words crossed my mind.

Stop.
Don’t say it.
I warned myself, but I made a slip of the tongue.
And whats more, I had a full smile.

“……We were attacked, but I’ll forgive you for today.
Now, I won’t hurt you anymore so… go back to your burrow.”

Ah-, I said it.
I knew it would fan the flames, but it was a bad habit.
It was probably stress built up after being falsely accused and struck by magic.

“-…Kill.
I will, kill you! To insult! Our! Akasha! You will regret your mistake!”

As I thought, the old man was furious.
The emotion in his eyes was hatred.
A truly villainous face.
The world was a strange place for such an old man to be researching sand rabbits.

The precise moment the magic cut out, the old man regained his stance.
But the after effects on his body remained.

“…Prepare… yourself! I, Noto, will make you regret, ever releasing me!”

While making a passing threat in a shaky voice, the renown rabbi-pro (perhaps their chief) introduced himself disoriented, and turned his back to me.
If he’s said this much there probably wasn’t a danger to my life anymore.
I felt relieved.

And, realising I had forgotten something, I released the 『Dogs Chain』.

It had been constantly making noise for some time now, and as if thinking the same thing as me it raced across the ground, and wrapped itself around old Noto’s feet.
Tripped up, Noto-san tumbled grandly to the ground.
I pointed to his companions as he twitched there.

“Wait up.
Take care of your collapsed friends properly.
If you leave them here the sand rabbit researchers will turn into sand rabbits themselves.”

“I don’t think they will, Master.”

In a small voice, Tino muttered a few words.

a

Translator Notes

Rabbi-pros – in Japanese it says ‘Rabbiken’ for the Japanese nickname Rabbit Researcher (Kenkyouka).
I tried several english versions Rabbi-chers(researchers), Rabbi-techs (technician), Rabbi-ists (scientist).
I liked Rabbi-techs the best but it doesn’t really make sense to be a rabbit mechanic.

Katakana strikes again.
Lucia’s last name is ロジェ.
I probably sounds like Rodge I think? Google translate puts it out as Roger.
But I thought that was ロジャー.
I figured it could stand as Roje or Roche… not really I guess.
Oh well.