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“How’s it going? Does it still hurt?”
“Uh, um… sorry, I can’t hear you…”
“Can’t hear… If it’s not a physical injury, then it must be a curse. Alright, be able to hear~”
“Oh… Th-thank you, Arje-neesan!”

Oswald-kun bowed his head toward me, though he was still staggering.
The lost blood won’t return immediately. That’s because Healing Magic for physical injuries works by “sealing the wound, temporarily boosting the body’s ability to produce blood, and regenerating the lost tissue.”
It’d probably take a minute or two for his blood count to rise, but until then, he’d keep staggering a bit like he is now.
The severed bull ears were also in the process of gradually regrowing. At this rate, it’d probably take about five minutes for a full recovery?
It takes several minutes to heal serious injuries, major illnesses, or powerful curses. Even with high-level healing magic.
By the way, the energy needed to generate blood and regenerate missing body parts is being supplied by my own magical power.

I lightly touch his body to check for any other abnormalities.
My hand gets covered in blood, but it’s just old blood that’s already flowed out; there’s no new bleeding. Yeah, he’s healed perfectly.

…Now, what should I do about her?

The one who was fighting—or rather, one-sidedly tormenting—Oswald-kun.
She looks like a young girl… maybe around 16. She looks just a little bit older than I do right now.
The moment I stepped in, she stopped her attack and backed away. Quite a distance, actually. She’s probably wary of me.
It would’ve been easier if she’d just gone home, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen.
Besides, if I just left the forest like this, Oswald would end up being butchered and turned into barbecue—and honestly, that thought made my heart ache a little.

Even from a distance, I could smell the incredibly strong scent of blood coming from her body. It wasn’t just Oswald’s spilled blood. It was a mix of many other kinds of blood.
Somehow, as I kept sniffing, I realized what that old, stale blood smell was.

…It’s the smell of someone who’s killed a lot.

The person in front of me is probably that kind of person. The scent of the blood of many living creatures must be caked onto her, impossible to wash away.
She’s not a poacher. She’s probably a bodyguard or something hired by a poacher.
I can still sense the scent of several other people coming from deep within the forest, so I’m certain of it. I suppose she’s come here to eliminate the Guardian of the Forest first.
The girl looked at me, roughly running her fingers through her short black hair. Her amber eyes locked onto me. She stared intently, sizing me up.

“…You’re fast.”
“Fast, you say?”
“You’re fast, but that’s not allowed. Just showing up out of nowhere like that… You were a bit, just a little bit, faster than I could follow.”
“Uh…”
“There’s no way anyone in this world is faster than me, right!? Waver!”

I’d hoped to settle this through conversation, but it seems she’s the type who isn’t good at talking to people.
She swayed slightly, trembling for just an instant. Or maybe “blurred” is the right word.
The next moment, she appeared right beside me.

…She really is fast.

She certainly lives up to her own claim, and I’m being honest.
It’s not just that she’s fast. She’s “creating an illusion and moving through it.”
By the time her figure blurred, she had already left that spot. The blurring is probably caused by some kind of magic that leaves only her image behind. Something like a hologram.
What she’s doing is actually pretty simple. After creating the illusion, she steps back. Then she runs through the gaps between the trees and comes toward me.
Everything she did before worked on the same principle. She just executed those movements at a speed so fast that Oswald-kun couldn’t react.
Move silently and at high speed while the opponent is distracted by the afterimage. That’s the tactic.

“Flow!”

The opponent’s attack was a knifehand.
There was clearly “something” clinging to the knifehand. The flow of air was noticeably different in that spot.
Probably wind-based magic. She’s manipulating the wind to create something like an invisible blade.

…Minmaxxing your AGI build?

That explains why she carries nothing. She doesn’t even hold a weapon.
She reduces her luggage and unnecessary weight to the absolute minimum, prioritizing moving at top speed above all else—that’s the gist of it.
Her smooth, unblemished body seems perfectly suited for moving fast. Not that I’m in a position to say much about others, though.
Her outfit is incredibly light, too. It’s made of a material that looks like black cloth—so casual it could pass for everyday wear.
If she’s carrying anything at all, it’s probably just the black bracelets fitted around both her wrists. They’re simple in shape, but adorned with a strange, emblem-like design.
And then, a knifehand with the literal sharpness of a sword closed in on my neck.

“……!?”
“That hurts, you know.”

…Though it’s a bit too weak, isn’t it?

My response was simple. I merely blocked the knifehand aimed at my neck.
If I just hold her arm there, speed doesn’t matter. As long as I’m holding it, the opponent can’t create any distance.

“W-what… the…!?”
“I don’t think your magic could—”
“I’LL F̲U̲C̲K̲I̲N̲G KILL YOU!!”
“You really don’t listen, do you?”

I tried to explain clearly that I didn’t think her magic could break through my Magic Resistance. But she ignored me.
The reason I’m not taking any damage is that my Magic Resistance is high enough that her wind magic didn’t hurt me. That’s all there is to it.
The attack she unleashed turned into nothing more than a little girl’s slap.
Completely unaware of that—or rather, since she won’t listen, she “can’t” know—she relentlessly swings her other hand at the wrist of the arm I’m holding.

“FLOW !!”

An attack so fast it seemed to leave even the air behind.
Naturally, it was imbued with an invisible force that could be called a wind blade. Most likely, it was a strike laced with a curse as well.

“Well, too bad for you.”
“Huh? What the f—!? W-what is this!?”

I caught it with my other hand. Now I’ve got her completely.
Since my Curse Resistance is maxed out, her attacks are meaningless. My resistance is so high that even low-level magic or curses vanish the moment they touch my body.
She struggles to break free. Her resistance includes not just swinging her arms, but kicks and headbutts as well—but I easily parry them all.

“W-what… what’s happening…!?”
“I’m simply faster than you.”
“Faster… than me!?”
“It’s a fact.”

She is indeed fast. Probably even faster than Behaki-san.

…But I’m the faster one, though.

Physical ability: “Agility.” The stat I decided to max out.
This doesn’t just refer to simple running speed. It encompasses all abilities related to “speed,” such as dexterity, reflexes, and dynamic vision.
In other words, the higher it is, the faster you can perform any action or reaction—including responding to your opponent.

Of course, I don’t actually see the whole world in slow motion all the time—but if I concentrate, it feels that way.
If my surroundings always appeared in slow motion, I could have stopped Fernot’s self-harm, but living in a world that’s constantly in slow motion would be pretty tough.

I could see every single one of my opponent’s actions. Everything, even before I stepped between Oswald-kun and her.
Even if she struggles while I’m holding her, it’s too late—I can handle it easily.
I’m stronger than her, so even if she tries to use brute force, I can subdue her right away.
It’s a hassle, so I wish she’d stop struggling. The fight’s already over. Concentrating is tiring. I want to stop this and go to sleep.

“Blood Arms. ‘Rope.’”
“Eek…!?”
“Please tie her up.”

When I checked to see if Oswald-kun was injured earlier, I’d smeared some of his blood on my palm. Now I transformed it into exactly what the words describe.
A bundle of threads woven from blood slowly bound her.
Of course, she resisted, but I suppressed every struggle and wrapped her entire body tightly. Just like I did with Oswald, I wrapped her up meticulously.
I continue manipulating the rope, flinging it onto a high branch of a nearby tree.
All that’s left is to pull her up, and the human hanging display is complete.

“D-damn it! Let me down! Let me down!!”
“Okay, got you. Um… Flat Chop-san.”
“Who the hell are you calling Flat Chop!?”
“…Washboard?”
“You b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲!!”

Hmm, since she’s got such a foul mouth, maybe I’ll call her “Insult-Flat-Chop” or something? Not that it matters anyway.
Actually, she looks like she’d get mad no matter what I say, so whatever. Heh, this is fun.

“F̲u̲c̲k̲’s are you smirking at?! Get me down right now!!”

…The scent of humans is fading away.

They must have been watching us from a distance somehow. I guess she really isn’t more than just a bodyguard or a cleaner.

“Arje-neesan, are you okay!?”
“Yeah, I’m totally fine. More importantly, it looks like there are still poachers over there.”
“……! I’ll go handle ‘em!!”

With a tone that was just a touch too serious, Oswald-kun ran off. He seems to be coordinating with the forest birds, and there are traps set up as well. I guess I can leave the rest to him.

“Don’t ignore me! I said put me down!!”

Well then, Badmouth Smallchest… or was it Smallchest Badmouth? What should I do about her?
For now, I’ll just look away for a little longer and pretend she doesn’t exist.