Black Cat Chapter 112: Reason for Stalling

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　After reporting to her relatives about the defeat of Zozon, Shure joined me, and I finally felt a bit of a weight lifted off my shoulders.

　I knew that it would be a burden for me to escort them alone.

　The kidnappers’ attack, which had been a concern, apparently did not take place because of the risks involved.

　To be honest, if something had happened, I would have had a hard time getting out of my abduction by Elisa and Lyrica.

　I told Shure that the reason I was groggy was because I was dealing with the horse fiasco and kidnappers during the day yesterday.

　The real reason was that I had been trapped between soft mochis and couldn’t sleep, but I couldn’t let Shure or Borzi find out about that.

“Mr. Nyango is such a gentleman, and I slept soundly last night.” (Elisa)

“Yes, I also rested in the bed next to the young lady… There’s nothing that the master would be concerned about.” (Lyrica)

　Elisa and Lilica were reporting to Bortzi as if nothing had happened, even though they had been toying me all night.

　Shure came back, so I only had to be the replacement hot water bottle for one night, but after that night, I was a little scared of the way the two of them looked at me, trying to grab my fur.

　I mean, if they want to fluff catkins so badly, why don’t they just treat catkins better?

　Despite various accidents, the business meeting in Kilmaya went off without a hitch, and we were on our way back to Ibouro.

　With Shure watching the front left and right, and me using my detection particles to watch the back left and right, the road seemed to be going without problems, but at the foot of Mount Bule, the travelers were stranded.

　At Lugashima, a town on the Escalante side of the road that passes through the foot of Mount Bule, soldiers were restricting traffic.

　The reason for this restriction was the frequent damage caused by killer bees.

　It seems that killer bees, which have had to build new nests at this time of year when it is already midwinter, are in a hurry to stockpile food.

　When we were attacked, quite a few bandits were killed, and after that, there have been many cases of entire carriages being attacked and horses being eaten and killed.

　For this reason, it is said that in order to get to Nacote, on the other side of the highway, it was mandatory to be accompanied by someone who could use fire attribute magic equivalent to B rank.

　The best way to exterminate killer bees is to incinerate them with fire magic.

　Killer Bees have sharp and strong jaws and poisonous needles, but the wings that carry their bodies away are weak against fire.

　If they fall to the ground, their attack power is greatly reduced, if not halved, and it is said that burning them with fire cancels out the smell of their bodily fluids, which enrages their companions.

　In fact, they say that if you use fire magic on a large scale, the Killer Bees will sense the danger and leave.

　However, it seems that the magic used to attack us, which was activated by a poor-quality magic gun, is not enough to get rid of the Killer Bees.

　It seems that we need more power to burn down several killer bees at once over a wider area.

　Those who want to go on from Lugashima need to get a certificate from the Escalante family knights that they can actually use fire magic on a large scale.

　Those who escort the carriages do not necessarily have to have fire attributes.

　In fact, Shure is a very skilled adventurer, but she has wind attribute, so even if she applied for the certificate, it would not be granted.

　In Lugashima, the request fee for adventurers who can use fire-attribute magic on a large scale has skyrocketed, and it is said to be more than three times the usual amount.

　Still, human resources are limited, which is why wagons that cannot find an escort are stranded.

　The knights’ pass is issued after confirming that magic can actually be used, regardless of the guild’s rank.

　The first time I heard about the situation at the inn where I managed to get a room, Borzi held his head in his hands, but Shure was rather looking proud.

“Nyango is here, so there’s no need to worry…” (Shure)

“No, Nyango has the void attribute, right? If he can’t use fire attribute magic…” (Borzi)

“Nyango is super talented, so there’s no problem…” (Shure)

　I left the escort of Borzi and the others, who twisted their heads in confusion, to Shure, and I went to the knight’s office where the certificate would be issued.

　At the office, there were about 10 people waiting for us who had arrived in Lugashima and found out about the situation, and came to apply for the certificate so that they could leave tomorrow.

　In the meantime, they were checking guild cards for identification, but more than rank, they were looking to see if they could actually use magic.

　This is because a high rank does not necessarily mean that they are good at offensive magic.

　Even if their guild’s rank is B, there are those who fight mainly with Body Enhancement Magic and are not good at offensive magic.

　Since Body Enhancement Magic is of little use against Killer Bees, it seems that if you cannot use attack magic at a practical level, they will not give you a certificate.

　While waiting my turn to observe the practical skills, I saw that the person who had deployed a curtain of flame that looked to be about five meters in length and width had received a certificate.

　There was a person who shot a highly powerful flame projectile, but he did not receive a certificate because of the small scale of their attack.

　Apparently, what is being sought is the range rather than the power of the attack.

　When my turn came and I presented my guild card, the soldier at the reception desk gave me a dubious look.

“Void attribute…? Wait, we’re checking for fire attribute magic.” (Soldier)

“Yes, you will see that I can use fire magic, so please test me anyway.” (Nyango)

　The soldier tilted his head at the attribute column on my guild card, but I told him to take a look anyway and let him test me.

“Well, try to use magic that creates as big a flame as possible.” (Soldier)

“I understand.” (Nyango)

　Since it seemed to focus on appearance, I scaled up the fire pillar I had used when I fought Bode even further and activated three of them, each about five meters in diameter.

“Oooh… that’s amazing. That’s good, you passed. You’re the best one today.” (Soldier)

　The soldier who saw the fire pillars shouted in surprise and immediately gave me a pass.

“Well, it’s very powerful, but how can you use fire magic when you have void attribute?” (Soldier)

“Well, it’s my secret as an adventurer…” (Nyango)

“Well, I don’t mean to pry, and you can go on ahead, but please be careful. From what I’ve been told, it’s one of the more ferocious Killer Bees out there. If necessary, you must protect yourself, even if it means offering up your horse as a sacrifice.” (Soldier)

“Understood, we will proceed with caution.” (Nyango)

　The town of Lugashima is crowded with stranded travelers, and finding a place to stay can be a challenge.

　The group from Diaco’s furniture workshop had only one room for four people, so the men spent the night in a horse-drawn carriage.

　Since it was a furniture workshop carriage, however, the seats were more comfortable than beds in a cheap hotel, and they were better off than other travelers who were stranded at the inn.

　I spent the night curled up on a cushion made of void attribute while guarding the carriage.

　The next morning, on the road north from Lugashima, there was a line of wagons waiting to depart.

　The wagons that proceeded ahead were required to be accompanied by an escort who could use fire magic and to form an impromptu caravan of five vehicles.

　They said that if more than one person used magic, it would be even larger and easier to drive them away than if one person used magic to drive them away.

　We exchanged greetings with the adventurers escorting the other caravans, and it seemed that they all assumed that Shure was the one who can use fire magic.

　Although it is called an impromptu caravan, we only drove the carriages closer.

　If we encounter killer bees, we plan to intercept them with fire magic, occupying a big range as possible.

　Since the caravan is organized with each party identifying themselves to the other before departure, there is little need to worry about bandits.

　Every carriage escort had their eyes on the road in the direction of Mount Bule.

　About two hours after setting out, we stopped to rest at the halfway point.

　According to the soldiers stationed there, they had not yet received word of any Killer Bees today.

　From this point onward, we would be in Viscount Lagart’s territory, passing through the area where we had been attacked.

　In fact, it is said that 80% of the damage caused by Killer Bees occurs after entering Viscount Lagart’s territory.

“Be very careful. It rained yesterday, so we haven’t received any information about the damage. Proceed with the assumption that there will be an attack today.” (Soldier)

　Killer Bees are said to have a habit of not hunting on rainy days.

　Maybe they don’t like to get their wings wet.

　The other carriages who formed the impromptu caravan had their faces scrunched up when they heard the soldier’s story.

　A dogkin adventurer in his thirties who was guarding another carriage spoke to the calm furniture workshop group.

“Hey, you guys don’t know how scary killer bees are, don’t you?” (Dogkin)

“No, I know. We met once on the way from Ibouro to Kilmaya.” (Keane)

“Is that so? What happened?” (Dogkin)

　Keen, the butler, boasted about it, so even the other guards gathered.

“Huh? You were saved by covering the entire carriage with void magic?” (Adventurer)

“Isn’t the void attribute that empty attribute?” (Adventurer)

　I was not sure if they would believe me after hearing Keane’s story, but the other adventurers who were escorting us gathered near me as well.

“Hey, can you protect all five carriages at once?” (Adventurer)

“Impossible. Enclosing our carriage is all I can do.” (Nyango)

“Can we get under your wagon?” (Adventurer)

“Yes, that would probably work…” (Nyango)

　The improvised caravan includes two covered wagons.

　A wooden cabin would allow us to cower inside and make it through, but a covered wagon would still make them prey to Killer Bees.

　If there was an attack, we decided to break through without stopping to try to shake them off, and to evacuate to the cabin of another carriage if there were a lot of them.

　Even in the Furniture Workshop Diaco’s carriage, when we left Lugashima, the craftsmen boarded the cabin instead of the covered wagon.

　Two caravans left before us.

　With a little more than two hours to go, would we make it there in one piece?

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