[Original Novel] The Wicked Wizard Episode 25

Episode 25: Declaration to Definitely Kill

As the stars slept and a new golden light began to brighten the sky—

"Breakfast! I'll go get breakfast!"

Daldema, the ogre who had transformed into human form, sat up abruptly and shouted with vigor.

"Are you a rooster?"

The wizard Leiol, who was the second to wake, stated calmly,

"You're too loud first thing in the morning!"

The swordsman Alun sat up and shouted back,

"Breakfast! What are we eating!? Don't accidentally eat us!"

The imp Rei jumped up, as if to say he couldn't bear the thought of being mistaken for ingredients while he slept.
The tent became noisy all at once.

"Sorry, were you all still sleeping?"

Daldema apologized to everyone while scratching his head.

"If we weren't sitting up, we'd be sleeping, wouldn't we!"

Alun, with bedhead, snapped back. Even though his opponent was an ogre, Alun's "straight-man spirit" remained unshaken.

"Daldema. We humans who travel carry food that can be stored and transported, though not in large quantities. What we lack is fresh ingredients, and enough for you, Daldema the ogre, who joined us along the way."

Leiol explained quite politely while combing his long hair with a silver comb he had received from Rei.

"I eat a lot."

Daldema said, laughing heartily. He certainly didn't look like a light eater.

"In that case, we need a lot. Even if we gave you our surplus, it wouldn't be enough to satisfy you. Alright, Daldema. I'll join you in procuring breakfast."

Leiol stood up.

"Oh. I'm coming too. I want to know what kind of stuff an ogre eats."

Alun strapped the great sword from his bedside to his waist. He had been shouting back just a moment ago, but his face was glowing. It seemed like he was excited, as if he were on an adventure.

I'm going too!

Ray the goblin raised his hand energetically. Rather than following Leior, who was like his master, he was part of the 'excited adventure group' just like Alun.

The tents of Kate the wizard and Lumi the former spirit seemed to still be in a deep sleep, but the four of them—Daldema, Leior, Alun, and Ray—ventured into the still-dark forest.

They were like the wind.

Daldema is so fast.

Ray's eyes went wide. If he let his guard down for even a second, Daldema and Leior would disappear from sight. Daldema, leading the way, remained in human form, yet he leaped over tree roots and large rocks with ease. On Daldema's back was a large basket woven from tree vines and sturdy grass, created in a very short time through the collaboration of Daldema's physical strength and Leior's magic. Daldema's movements were incredibly agile; one moment he would dash up a tree to pick fruit, and the next he would jump down, crouch, and pluck wild vegetables or mushrooms. Then, he would splash into a flowing river and catch fish or freshwater crabs in the blink of an eye. All the spoils were placed into the makeshift basket.

Hahaha, Daldema! You're in such a rush to gather so much, are you a glutton?

Leior's laughter echoed through the misty morning forest. Leior, while admittedly falling behind Daldema, was also moving quickly and gathering as many ingredients as he could.

Just keeping up with you is good training, I'll say.

Alun said, catching his breath as he chased after Daldema and Leior. And,

Really. Alun, I'm going to get ripped in no time too.

Ray was also desperately trying to keep up. You don't get ripped overnight, though. Or so Ray claims. Alun and Ray were in no position to gather ingredients. They were barely managing to keep up. How long had they been running around?

Leave it behind.

A low voice, sounding as if it were resonating from the depths of the earth, could be heard from nowhere in particular.

Leave all the food behind.

There was no figure to be seen. Yet, the eerie voice remained clearly in their ears—.

Looks like a monster has arrived.

Alun muttered and drew his greatsword. The air around them had changed. The forest had stopped in time, the presence of living creatures had vanished, and the air was heavy and murky—.

“Alun, be careful! There is some kind of monster nearby.”

Ray knew clearly that the voice from earlier hadn't been human. It must have been a warning of an attack from a monster. However, there was a part of him that honestly found it strange.

Why hadn't Leior and Dardema noticed it sooner...? They had more power than he did, so it seemed like they would have immediately sensed a monster lurking nearby—.

Leior and Dardema, at whom he was looking, had stopped in their tracks. He still couldn't sense any sign or movement from them that suggested they were about to fight.
Alun held his greatsword at the ready.

“This place isn't your property! There is no reason for us to leave our food behind!”

Alun was shouting. It seemed Alun couldn't determine where the opponent was either, so he shouted in every direction.
It fell deathly silent. A sensation that made his ears ache shot through him. Was it a monster's technique? He was gripped by the illusion that the silence was piercing his ears.
After the silence, the voice spoke again.

“Leave it behind... Or else...”

“Or else what!”

It was Leior who raised his voice.

“The lives of all of you—”

The lives of all of them—it was a terrifying warning.

A declaration that they would definitely be killed...! What a scary monster...!

Ray shivered in fear. Even though Leior, Dardema, and Alun were there, and they likely wouldn't lose in a fight, Ray was frightened because he didn't know the true identity of the opponent yet.

“Are you trying to say you will take our lives?”

Leior crouched down slightly. Then, he nimbly picked something up.

Squeak.

Huh?

Ray doubted his own eyes and ears.
Something was being held up by Leior's hand. As it was lifted by Leior, it was frantically flailing its tiny limbs.

“An animal...!?”

Alun's voice cracked with surprise.
It was a small animal. The “monster” that had been caught by Leior.

"It's a 'Moriuso'."

Leior announced the name of the small animal.

"Whaaat! A Moriuso!? Is that the legendary creature that's said to trick people!? I've never seen one before!"

Alun rushed over and stared intently at the Moriuso, which was flailing its limbs in mid-air. It was an animal that looked much like an otter, with a long torso relative to its body size. The major differences in appearance from an otter were that it was much smaller and covered in deep green fur. Legends are told in various regions of it stealing people's food by threatening them in human speech without ever revealing its form. It has the special ability to speak human language and distort one's perception, making it seem as if the surrounding air has completely changed, but it is harmless. Leior gently placed the Moriuso on the ground.

Kyuuu.

"Were you hungry? If you had just asked, I would have shared some with you."

Daldema laughed happily and dumped all the food he had caught from his basket onto the dirt. Leior also laid out what he had caught on the ground.

"Moriuso are big eaters. They have large families, too. You should take plenty."

The Moriuso looked back and forth between Leior and Daldema. Its small body was trembling slightly.

"That's great! Moriuso!"

Perhaps triggered by Rei's cheerful voice, the Moriuso immediately regained its natural liveliness and boldly gathered up Daldema and Leior's food. It claimed more than half of the total amount for itself.

"That's fine. Take it. We got a bit carried away and caught too many gifts from the mountains and rivers anyway."

Before Leior could even finish speaking, the Moriuso dug a large hole with surprising strength, shoveled all the food it had been given into the hole, and then disappeared into it in the blink of an eye. The morning light returned as if nothing had happened. The forest resumed its time.

"Hmm. What a monster that was! Oh, how terrifying!"

With his great sword, which had completely lost its chance to be used, resting on his shoulder, Alun flashed a white-toothed grin and joked.

"Well, let's head back now."

Thinking that Kate and Lumi might be awake and worried, they decided to head back the way they came.

The Moriuso probably never imagined that its opponents were an ogre and a wizard.

Rei looked up at Daldema's sturdy back and chuckled to herself.

"Since you left it behind, I'll spare your life--"

From somewhere behind me, I heard the voice again. However, it no longer sounded frightening at all.

"Let them say what they want. Even a Mori-uso has its pride."

Leior murmured softly without even turning around. I was told later that according to Leior's magical investigation, that Mori-uso was the breadwinner of a large family—a father.
A father's dignity must be protected.
Even if it was just a cute squeak.

"Wow, we can make a feast!"

When we returned to the tent, Lumi greeted us with a smile.
"This is good."

"Delicious!"
We exchanged smiles.
The steaming pot was filled with freshly gathered ingredients. It was the morning's event, a special story to tell. A strange tale of an eerie voice and a cute cry.

"In such a short time, you two encountered something so outrageous!"

Kate widened her large eyes even further, looking a bit envious as she said she wished she could have seen it too. Surprisingly—though I might get scolded for saying this—both Kate and Lumi were very good at cooking.

◆Work published on Shousetsuka ni Narou◆