The Strongest Wizard Becomes a Countryside Guardsman After Taking an Arrow to the Knee

Chapter 23 – Everyday Mulg

Translator: Ranzan

The return was complete peace. It took about half a day to get back to Mulg.

Nothing happened, just a smooth trip.

「It feels so good now that we’re home again. Just seeing the village puts me at ease.」

「You’re right.」

I answered Millet’s statement, and was a bit surprised at my own words.

I was at ease seeing it too.

I had been living on the road as an adventurer for a long time.

I recalled that towns were a place of safety and where you could get supplies.

But there was no place I went back to that made me feel at ease.

Honestly, I really don’t remember a place that I felt I had come home to for a long time.

Even though I had been there only a little bit of time, I had grown attached to Mulg.

――――――――――――

After returning home, I spend some days leisurely.

Just sitting there, next to the gate, zoning out.

「Femm, don’t go too far away.」

「Woof ruff!」

Femm happily ran out from the village. Its canine instincts must be showing.

Femm’s nothing more than a house dog…in a way.

「Al, Look at this.」

「This…you made another big one.」

Vi-Vi asked me to look at another magic circle she had drawn with a stick on the ground.

Though it was a thick stick, I thought that the areas that had to be drawn thin were still done pretty well.

「Very nicely done.」

「Heh heh.」

Vi-Vi looked at me proudly.

I looked around every part of the magic circle. It was quite a good one.

Attack magic, it looked like one that was used to create fire.

「Yeah…couldn’t you shorten this part though?」

「But if I do that, then it’s easier to figure out.」

「Figure out what?」

「The enemy can figure out what magic I’m using.」

I had never thought about that before.

「It’s not a trap in a dungeon, so you don’t need to worry about that right?」

「Don’t you?」

「Maybe you should take into consideration the judgement of someone like me who is skillful in magic.」

「You’re calling yourself a great magician, Al?」

Vi-Vi said as she snickered to herself.

But I didn’t budge.

「Yes, I am great. And since I’m so great, it’s obvious that you would have to deal with your enemy after you invoked the circle.」

「Hmph.」

「Instead of worrying whether or not they find out which magic you’re using, just draw it quickly, because the one that gets hit by magic first is the one in trouble.」

「Is that so?」

「When you get hit, you’ll realize it.」

「Were you ever hit by one, Al?」

Vi-Vi smiled at her own question.

While we were talking, the chief and Collette approached.

It was strange seeing her with him and not Millet.

「Femm?!」

「Ruff?」

Collette called and after a moment Femm drew near.

「Here’sth a treat.」

「Ruff ruff!」

It was a chicken bone. It was left over from yesterday’s soup.

「Can a dog eat a chicken bone?」

「Graff ruff 『Are they mocking me?』」

It said through spirit speech as it gobbled the bone down.

After thinking about it, I realized that Femm wasn’t a dog or a wolf. It was a magical beast…a magic wolf.

A bone wasn’t going to hurt it.

「You’re right…」

I patted Femm’s head as it ate. It backed away from me, a little angry.

If you touched a dog while it ate, it would usually pull away. I wondered why.

「Femm!」

「Ruff!」

I held back from touching Femm, but Collette never did. She grabbed on to Femm’s back while it was eating.

「Rurf?!」

Femm looked at me with eyes begging for me to do something.

I looked at Femm with eyes saying to just give it up.

While this was going on, the chief struck up a conversation with Vi-Vi.

「Ah, I have a request for you Vi-Vi…」

「Yes?」

It was odd for the chief to make a request to Vi-Vi and not me.

I picked up Collette and listened to their conversation.

「Well, it’s a difficult request…」

The chief wanted her to cast another enlargement circle like she did with the previous cow.

Of course, not the type she cast on Moofy.

The one that she created first, about half as strong as the on cast on Moofy.

「Um, chief…that’s just…」

「I see, well, sorry.」

I refused for Vi-Vi politely and the chief understandingly withdrew the request.

I know what the chief was thinking.

If you could grow giant cows, the village economy would boom.

However, Vi-Vi was still affected by the experience with Moofy.

It was harsh to ask for a magic circle again after all that she went through.

「Why did you refuse, Al?!」

Vi-Vi glared at me with slight displeasure.

「But…I thought.」

「If someone’s going to refuse, It’s going to be ME!」

「Okay…sorry.」

「Hmph!」

Vi-Vi nodded proudly, and turned to the chief.

「An easy order.」

「Are you sure?」

The chief suddenly looked ecstatic. However, I was still worried.

「You don’t have to if you don’t want to…」

I can use my own magic circle if necessary.

I had seen hers once. As I was a skilled wizard, I could copy it.

Copying was difficult and boring, but with some time nothing was impossible.

「Who do you think I am?! I’m the SUB-BOSS OF THE DEMON LORD! VI-VI!!」

「Wow, sthub-bossth!!」

Seeing Collette so excited made Vi-Vi feel proud.

「If you need help, just ask, okay?」

「No need! I’m a genius, remember?」

「Are you really going to be okay?」

After a short hesitation by Vi-Vi, she blushed a bit and said.

「But, you don’t need to help me with anything. If you’d like, you may learn by observing…if you wish?」

「Then I would love to.」

「Okay then.」

And Vi-Vi was happy to say so.

We walked to the stable, where Millet was waiting.

「Are you okay, Vi-Vi?」

「There’s nothing a sub-boss of the demon lord can’t do, lowly human!」

Vi-Vi channeled magic into her finger and began writing a magic circle.

「How’s that?!」

「Wonderful. You did even better than before.」

「Heh heh.」

Vi-Vi smiled at the compliment.

It seemed that Vi-Vi came to an understanding with what happened during the Moofy Incident.

Seeing Vi-Vi smile again while drawing the circle relaxed me quite a bit.