Chiyu Mahou no Machigatta Tsukaikata ~Senjou wo Kakeru Kaifuku Youin~

After exiting the room full of books, we decided to search through the other rooms again .

Although it couldnt be called a thorough search, we were visiting each room with Amakos foresight . By doing so, we could quickly check if anyone was in the room . Ark-san and the villagers were also on my mind, so we couldnt waste time by checking through each room in detail .

When we reached the third floor, we found ourselves in a spacious room . Amako paused and her body slightly shook .

Did she find it!?

Or so I thought But the Necromancer was nowhere to be found .

Usato, the room we were in

Hm?

No, its nothing .

Was there something about that spacious room just now?

I checked the room again, just in case . Nothing looked out of place, except for the fact that it was a really large room .

Amako looked slightly worried, so I started to carefully think about our situation .

It was possible that the Necromancer had already run away . I dont know how they noticed us They mightve started to make their escape from the room with light as soon as we infiltrated .

But it was still too soon to assume that they had already escaped

This is

We were on the first floor .

Did this door lead to the basement? I looked at Amako for an answer .

Its dark, I cant see anything . Theres no source of light anywhere in the room .

Is it storage for food or something? Well, well know once we open it .

I twisted the doorknob and pulled to open the door .

The moment the it opened . . a cloud of dust and a bizarre smell came from the other side . This smell was The first thing that came to mind was it was similar to an animal or a beast like Bluerin . However, there was also something that moldy mixed in as well .

Cough What is this Did they keep animals here or something? Amako, you alright?

Im fine, it does smell a bit though

Amako held her nose using her sleeve and her gaze fell on the other side of the door .

It was indeed pitch black . I couldnt tell how big the room was either .

For the time being, I guess I should take a step inside and take a look .

The door wasnt fully open due to the dust earlier . I opened it all the way and took a peek inside .

I couldnt see anything even when I squinted my eyes .

However

It feels like theres something big here .

I wasnt too sure how to express it . I just felt a presence here of some sort . I couldnt see anything but I was sure of it .

Oh, right . Isnt Amako here? Arent her eyes better than mine in the dark?

Amako, look ahead . Ah, I mean normally . Not with your foresight .

Amako nodded and looked at the darkness in front of me .

I only felt something vague, but how about Amako?

Im guessing theres some sort of large antique here . That would explain this moldy smell .

As I was immersing myself in my thoughts, Amakos body visibly shook and she began to fall

Heyyy!?

I grabbed her by the collar in panic . Amako plopped onto the ground, with her strength exhausted .

Just what are you doing? Its not like you at all .

As I was about to voice my thoughts, she suddenly hugged my arm .

Is hugging people the popular thing to do today? While I thought so sarcastically, I noticed Amako was quivering .

Amako, whats No, what did you see?

It mustve been very startling . Amako leaned her head against my arm in silence .

It was enough to frighten her this much . I should confirm it myself, right? It might be something that could harm the villagers after all .

If I went back into the room with books, I could take the light and use it to navigate past this door . Just as I got up, Amako applied more strength onto my arm and prevented me from moving .

It seemed like she saw what I intended to do with her magic Her eyes were desperately telling me to stop .

Usato Dont Go .

I mean, Ill have to investigate it either way

Our eyes Met .

With who?

Or maybe with what .

Thats not a living thing . Its something much more dreadful . I thought I had seen many things in my life already . . but this is my first time seeing something so repulsive . Thats why, you shouldnt Go .

I got it .

Seeing Amako urge me with her eyes, I reluctantly agreed .

I could probably quickly check the basement but theres no way I could leave her alone right now .

I gently closed the door and faced Amako .

Its fine now Lets search somewhere else .

This was a failure on my part .

Even if I didnt know, I made her look at something gut-wrenching . Amakos personality was like an adults but she was still only a 14 year old girl . Certain things will scare her, appropriate for her age .

I felt disgust at my own carelessness and stood up . Amako finally calmed down as well . She looked apologetic once she separated from me and said,

Sorry, for saying something so selfish .

I dont mind . Im not such a narrow-minded human that would get angry over something like this .

. . Even though you get mad over small things all the time .

Thats because youre always saying something cheeky .

Amako pouted in dissatisfaction and I awkwardly smiled .

Afterwards, we continued our search for the Necromancer .

There are almost no more rooms left to search . After we finish searching through most of them, lets meet up with Ark-san .

Just where is the Necromancer?

No, did the Necromancer even live here in the first place? But Im at least positive that someone is living here .

I dont think the villagers are lying to us about a Necromancer controlling the zombies

Seriously, there are just too many things I dont understand .

As I felt defeated and continued walking, I noticed it .

Huh?

Whats wrong?

Did the noises from outside disappear?

Before I knew it, Ark-san and the villagers couldnt be heard anymore . Even if I couldnt hear their voices, there should be some kind of noise as they were battling and acting as a diversion . It was strange .

Did they already handle all the zombies or I didnt want to think of this possibility . . but perhaps they were the ones who were defeated .

It looked like Amakos thoughts aligned with mine as her expression became rigid .

Change of plans . Well meet up with Ark-san right now!

Yeah!

We started jogging towards the front entrance .

Searching for the Necromancer was important but the safety of the villagers takes priority!

We arrived and I placed my hand on the doorknob to open the door

But through the slight opening, a hand that looked like a withered branch came through and tried to grab me . I could see an entire horde of zombies on the other side trying to make their way in

Tsk

An ambush!?

I grabbed Amako by the collar and lifted her up, as her response would be too slow . At the same time I did so, I kicked a zombie that had come through the door in the abdomen . Although I wasnt able to use a lot of strength, the zombie flew back from my kick and knocked several zombies down . Using this chance, I took Amako under my arm and ran .

Groans from zombies echoed throughout the mansion as I ran .

I dont know where they were hiding but

Amako, its going to shake a bit!

Hah!?

We should get out of here first .

I held Amako under my armpit, dodging zombies attacking from left and right, and made my way up the stairs .

Fortunately, there werent many zombies lurking upstairs . I kept going and arrived on the third floor .

Without pausing, I headed for the spacious room . Upon seeing the door leading to the room, I immediately kicked and smashed it open . It was an extremely expensive-looking door, but I have no choice under these circumstances .

The room was no different than before and there was no sign of zombies either .

Weve been driven in a corner Usato .

This was the third floor; there was no place to run .

I could hear zombies slowly making their way up . Even if we turned around, we would just be trapped .

Hah

What should we do? Should I try using my magic to find a spot with not that many zombies and breakthrough?

Thats not necessary . Instead, theres a simpler way .

Just from how these zombies have been positioned, I felt like the person controlling these zombies was purposefully leading me to the third floor and giving me an escape route .

But theres no way I would feel timid from a height like this .

Who do you think taught me? Shortly after I learned to use magic, I was thrown off a cliff by a savage brute .

Kukuku, dont think you can corner me just because were on the third floor

Wait a minute .

When I abruptly opened the large window, Amakos voice shivered .

Pfft, youre really a girl after all . Being scared of heights, how cute . If it was Inukami-senpai, she would have already fainted . However, we couldnt avoid this . . give it up .

Obviously, I couldnt hold her under my armpit and land like this . I placed one hand on Amakos back and the other one under her knees . I lifted her up, and moved a few steps back from the window .

Dont worry . I will absolutely not let go of you .

Even if you phrase it cool like that, I still dont want to .

Lets go! Amako!! Careful not to bite your tongue!

Listen to me

I vigorously ran towards the open window and jumped off the third floor .

Amako screamed soundlessly .

There were no zombies below us and I was able to land safely . My legs felt a little numb, due to the fact that I was carrying an extra person .

I think we were about 15 meters in height?

Fuuh Escape Success .

I started applying healing magic on the spot to Amako who was still in my arms . I also made sure to keep an eye on my surroundings for any potential threat .

But there were no zombies anywhere outside the mansion .

The zombies seem to all be inside the mansion right now . We should search for the others . Can you stand?

S-scary S-scaryyy

. How pitiful .

She mustve been really scared of those zombies . Yeah, no helping it .

I let down Amako, who was still in shock, and the two of us walked on the path leading to the village .

But as we did, I noticed a persons figure on the ground .

They looked strangely familiar .

Once I got closer, I was able to confirm it was someone we knew .

Ark-san!

There was a bit of blood flowing down from his neck . There was no sign of movement from him .

Is he asleep or dead?

Are you okay!?

I used healing magic on him . But even after fully recovering his wounds, he didnt wake up .

Hes muttering and groaning . . is he having a nightmare? I healed him already but I remember there were two small holes on his neck . It looked like something had drilled or pierced through his skin .

Its possible that Ark-san was like this because of that .

Just what happened to him? And where are the villagers?

Its possible that the villagers had run away . And then Ark-san took on everything alone

Although I made an unpleasant face due to Amakos words, I couldnt deny them .

Ran away, huh .

The most likely scenario was Ark-san telling the other villagers to run away while he fought by himself . The zombies dont pose much of a threat alone . In that case, a powerful enemy must have appeared and was outside of our expectations .

However, this is

. . !

When my thoughts reached there, I heard a rustle from a bush . A zombie!? Or so I thought, but what appeared was The villagers that I thought had already ran away .

When Amako saw the villagers, she quickly hid behind me and put on her hood . In order to have a better grasp of the current situation, I called out to the village head .

Are you alright!?

Y-yeah Leaving that aside, Ark-dono is

Ive cured his injuries but Im still not sure why hes like this . What happened here?

Once I said that, the villagers expressions turned grim .

Summing up what the village head told me, the villagers were attacked from behind by another monster while fighting the zombies . That monster was exceedingly strong . . their weapons apparently couldnt even damage it .

Ark-san wanted to prioritize the safety of the villagers . He told everyone to run away and fought against the monster alone

Is that really the truth?

Ark-san was a person entrusted with the duty of guarding over the castles entrance in Lyngle .

He was someone who took pride in being able to protect others . If someone like him fought seriously, he should have been able to protect these villagers . But just taking a look at my surroundings, there were no signs of battle at all . Its unnatural . . especially if you take into consideration that Ark-san was capable of using his flaming sword .

There was also that wound on his neck . If he was bitten by that strong monster, then it would have been from behind . I find it hard to believe he would allow a monster to easily sneak up on him like that .

You can leave the rest up to us . Please go ahead and return back to the village first . I will carry Ark-san .

U-Usato-dono you are

We still havent found the Necromancer yet . Also, the monster that attacked Ark-san might still be around somewhere . Its possible that the monster might head towards the village Thats why you should all head back first .

The villagers panicked .

Are they afraid of the monster attacking their village? Or did they not expect me to do this? I dont know .

Right now, I should find a place in the forest where no one knows and hide Ark-san . I can entrust Amako to look after him . If the Necromancer isnt here, Ill have to go through with my original plan of destroying the limbs of every zombie so they cant do anything to the villagers

Im very reluctant to do so, but sometimes Im just left with no choice .

Well then, you should all hurry back to the village so your families know youre safe .

Hm?

There was no response .

Thinking that it was strange, I turned around .

However, my arms and legs were suddenly restrained by something .

My body couldnt move?

It was more accurate to say that . . I couldnt move anything below my neck .

When I looked down, there were bright violet patterns all over my body . I could see the patterns flowing to my arms and legs It looked like they were binding me .

Whats this?

Just when did these appear?

Usato! Whats wrong!?

Noticing something abnormal was happening, Amako drew closer to me .

But for some reason, the nearby villagers started to attack her . Amako used her foresight to dodge the villagers hands but she still looked astonished .

These people arent conscious!

What? They are being controlled!?

I thought the Necromancer could only control the dead .

But werent the villagers still alive?

Fufufu

!!

It was a laugh that didnt come from any of the villagers .

The voice came from the mansion The open window on the third floor . It was as if they were there since the beginning They sat by the window and looked down at us in ridicule .

At this moment, the clouds covering the moon had disappeared and the moonlight illuminated the entire mansion . In addition, I was able to vividly see the appearance of the figure sitting by the window .

They had hair that was long enough to reach their shoulders .

However, it wasnt the brown hair I was used to seeing on her It was repainted to jet black . Her eye color had completely changed to a bright, bewitching red .

Neah San?

Yees, Usato-san .

She was wearing the same clothes and acted no different than before . . Seeing her like that, I couldnt hide my confusion .

*

Why are you

Cant you tell just by looking?

Neah-san, who was still sitting, replied .

She appeared from the mansion and thats where the Necromancer is supposed to be . Although I didnt want to admit it, she is the culprit behind this . . or at least one of the people involved .

Did you do this to Ark-san?

Fufufu, thats right . But it seems like youre calmer than I expected . I thought you would be more flustered

I actually want to panic more But my body is being restricted and I cant move .

This situation is bad . If these villagers arent conscious, it means the girl in front of me might be controlling them .

The villagers eyes looked dreadfully hollow

I looked at Amako who was beside me and muttered,

Amako, run away .

But Usato

Dont make me repeat myself! Hurry up and get away from here!! Ark-san and I cant move! Look at this situation, youre the only one who can do something right now!

. . I got it!!

It seems like she understood . Her hesitation disappeared and started running towards the village .

The villagers didnt move .

I turned my attention to Neah-san, who was pleasantly smiling .

I questioned her,

Are you sure you dont want to chase after her?

Hm, itll be fine to catch her later . Im also interested in the offspring of beastkin but their senses are a little too sharp .

I see, Neah-san No, Neah didnt know about Amakos magic .

Im glad I decided to keep it a secret . If Neah had more interest in Amako, it would have been more dangerous .

So, just what did you do to me?

All I did was immobilize your body . It would be difficult to restrain you with just the zombies and villagers, you see .

She sounded proud and something appeared from her hand There was a pattern glowing on her palm, similar to the one binding me .

This is a binding technique . It takes a very, very long time to build up this much binding strength . But the more time you invest, the stronger it will be . It was really difficult! I almost reached my limit before giving up because of how annoying it was It took 6 hours! Well, Im sure you cant understand what Im saying .

Neah blew on her hand to erase her technique and jumped off from the window . Black wings sprouted from her back and she gently descended down .

At this point, I was well aware that she wasnt normal .

Nevertheless, this binding technique Im guessing its some kind of Magic Art . Before arriving here, she hugged me . That was probably when she planted it on me .

I thought it was strange that she hugged me there but

I see, this is a Magic Art . Just like I heard, it seems like its quite hard to learn .

. Why do you know about that?

. .

Well there was a Magic Arts book in one of the rooms . There was light coming from that room too, so I figured it must be important

Youre kidding, I forgot to turn it off?

Eh?

Its nothing . I guess I dont need to explain then . Thats right, Im a monster that uses Magic Arts .

Shes stubborn and evasive, isnt she?

But

To think that you were a monster, huh .

I thought she was just a normal village girl . I couldnt hide the fact that I was shocked that shes a monster .

No, even seeing her up close like this right now She looked just like a normal human being .

Neah enjoyed how confused I looked and gave a lovely smile . She pointed at herself and said,

There are monsters that look just like humans, you know? Although there arent many of them .

Then, you are the Necromancer?

Youre half right . After all, theres no way a normal necromancer could control living humans, right?

She has a point .

But the book that Rose gave me to read didnt mention anything about a monster that could control living people .

Im half a necromancer, and half a different type of monster .

Hahaha, whats with that? Dont tell me youre actually a vampire that bites people on the neck .

. Sorry .

Seeing Neahs face stiffen, I ended up apologizing .

I really didnt think she was actually a vampire . Its a rare monster, thats probably why the book didnt have any information on it .

A half necromancer and half vampire . I see, if the vampires in this world were similar to the fictional ones in mine, then Neah can probably control the people after biting them . She could give them superhuman strength as well through blood or maybe shes using some kind of alteration magic

For the time being, its clear that she has the power to control other people .

Fufufu You really are a strange human . Despite being restricted like this, it doesnt look like youre afraid of me at all

You dont need to compliment me so much, Im not that great of a human .

As for anything concerning fear, I have a lot of resistance against that . I lived under the same roof of with a much more terrifying existence .

But it seemed like there was something strange in my words as Neah let out a pfft and started laughing .

Youre not that great of a human? Thats not the case at all . I mean, you can defeat my servants with just your physical ability alone . Thats already beyond extraordinary . In addition, you resisted my Charm . Youre really just too much .

Charm?

Attraction or captivation . Its one of my powers as a vampire . Most humans would be all over me and act deredere, but Just what kind of mental resistance do you have? Im fairly certain theres no way a human could normally endure it .

Youre saying its all because of your power that caused my heart to beat faster when you hugged me?

Actually, didnt you only hug me so you could plant this binding technique on me?

I wont forgive you .

Hey, why do you look angry all of a sudden . . ? Shouldnt you have been mad earlier when you found out you were betrayed?

Of course I would be, you played with my nave and simple feelings .

At any rate, Neah had set up this play . She manipulated the zombies and acted from the very start .

What do you intend to do with me?

Ill have you talk with me .

Talk? With you?

Eh? She didnt want to suck my blood or treat me as a source of food? She just wanted to talk with me?

. . No, theres no way she would go through the trouble of setting this all up if she only wanted to talk with me . She must have a different goal in mind .

Neah drew closer with her hands behind her, until she was at arms length . She smiled and then looked directly at me .

I told you, right? I desire knowledge . Not the kind of knowledge you find on paper . . I want peoples memories and the life they experienced on their travels . But not anyones memories will do . I want to know more about you . I want to know what kind of life youve lived so far, what kind of trials youve overcome, and all the details as to how youve come to obtain such abnormal power . .

Theres no guarantee Ill tell you anything .

You will talk . If I give you the command to talk, you will have to obey .

Her lips parted from her smile and revealed her fangs .

If I get bitten like Ark-san, will I be controlled? In that case, were all these villagers bitten?

Wait, since when have you begun to do this?

Hmm, I guess roughly 200 years ago? That seems to be around the time I started acting as a village girl

Then, Tetra-san

Tetra? Ah, Im actually more like a foster parent to that child . All the villagers are being controlled by me so all their memories and feelings are something I made up on my own whim . Thats why when I said I had no parents, that was a lie . Tetra-san being my foster parent is also a complete lie, of course . I imprinted a memory to that child so she thinks Im her real daughter .

I was dumbfounded at Neah bluntly speaking such careless words .

200 years . . it would explain the set of armors in the mansion . During this time, no one realized what was going on No, they did realize it but their memory was wiped . It was also possible they were made into servants . She has repeated this process countless times That was the truth behind the rumor that Ark-san had told me .

This was already beyond the level of madness .

But I knew that my words wouldnt get through to her . I decided to stall for some time instead .

I got it . Ill talk with you .

Huh? I can just effortlessly control you, its not a big deal . But I guess thats fine too .

If its just talking, I didnt mind .

But not right now .

Would it be too much to ask for you to wait until our journey is over?

Hm?

We have an important mission entrusted to us . I told you about it yesterday . . it concerns the future of this entire continent . Thats why, wait until then . If you would like, you can make some sort of contract for me to sign with your Magic Arts . Ill come and meet you again .

Of course, Ill come back with the intention of trampling you under my foot .

Ill get the feared Great Demon King Rose and the scary bunch to pay a visit to you .

But it seemed she interpreted my words differently, as her reaction was much different than what I expected .

Neah held her cheeks together and went Kya! in excitement . She was also blushing for some reason .

Its the first time anyone has made such a bold confession to me .

Its not a confession!!

Confessing while being restrained like this, am I supposed to be some kind of perverted masochist!?

Neah chuckled in response and proceeded to talk,

But I wont allow it . I cant wait that long . I want to know whats inside your head as soon as possible .

Theres a crisis approaching this continent .

Im a monster, anything related to the Demon King doesnt affect me .

No matter what?

No matter what~

This girl .

Ill beat you up, little girl .

Eh?

Hm, nothing at all .

I smiled and pretended I didnt say anything unusual . Fortunately, she only thought she misheard what I said .

In any case, it doesnt look like she has an intention of releasing me .

. . If you choose to tell me everything I want to know, you might be released sooner . Ah, of course Ill know if youre lying right away . All I have to do is suck some of your blood .

Ill obediently abide How much do you want to know before releasing me?

Yeah, until I lose interest, I guess?

If I was a normal person, I would gladly accept this proposal . But I was a human summoned from another world .

I must absolutely not talk about that . She treats the unknown like some sort of treasure . If I talked about another world to her, I might end up as her captive for life .

I must avoid that at all costs

What are my other options?

Whats the matter? Youll be released faster if you tell me everything yourself .

Seems like you cant answer .

My coat was grabbed and I was pulled forward .

Neahs curious gaze locked onto mine . She wasnt using her Charm but I couldnt look away from her .

Fufu, once I get the information you want to hide out of you, Ill return back your sanity . Then well have a nice chat over some tea .

A few seconds . A few minutes . I didnt know how long, but it felt like a lot of time passed as we kept staring at each other .

All of a sudden, Neah gave an enchanting smile and grabbed my shoulders with her hands .

It was similar to those stories Ive read before, when a vampire is about to suck blood from a human

Theres no way Im going along with this!!

I mustered all my strength and stored power in my right arm .

I felt a surge of pain, running through my arm like lightning .

But I immediately used healing magic to heal it and continued to struggle . I continued this cycle of instantaneous destruction and restoration I could see that the patterns around my arm were gradually growing dull . I felt like I would breakthrough soon . .

I can do it!

Its not like I could freely move yet but . . I moved my arm to protect my neck .

Her fangs sank into my hand . Other than the fact that I was bleeding, I was fine . It seemed like she could only control humans she bit on the neck .

Eufhh!? Whufhhy!?

I wont let you bite me that easily! Im not tasty either!!

Kuh

Neah withdrew her mouth from my hand and took a few steps back .

I didnt think I could just use my brute strength to break through Magic Arts . But it looks like I can do it if I try . I started to do the same to my other limbs, until they could finally move .

As expected, my trained and tempered body wont betray me . . !!

You just used your strength? No way!?

Neah looked at me in amazement as blood dripped from her mouth . Using this chance, I ran towards Ark-san who was lying on the ground .

I should make my escape for now, I cant wait here to be rescued . I still felt the restriction from the bind but it shouldnt pose too much of a problem for just running away .

Theres no way Ill let you get away!! Capture him!!

While I was running to Ark-san, Neah commanded the villagers . The villagers clung onto my body from every direction but I kept advancing Since my body didnt move as I liked right now, fighting back wasnt an option .

This is something Im used to I would carry several injured soldiers all the time, since Im part of the Rescue Squad . This is nothing .

But it might be difficult if any more weight is added

While I complained inwardly, Ark-san got up .

Ark-san!! Youve finally woken up!! Help me out a bit

. .

Ah, are you perhaps being controlled?

As a reply, I got tackled .

This is bad, this is baddd!! If Ark-san is in Neahs hands, theres no way I could run away from here . No, even without that, I dont think theres much I can do in this situation .

Gugyah!!

Geh

Even worse, the zombies from the mansion had started to assemble .

It looks like this is really the end, theres no way I can handle that many zombies .

It felt like all hope was lost and just when I was about to give up

GURUOOOOOOOH!!

A ferocious growl from a beast resounded throughout the surroundings .

Neah didnt understand what was going on but I knew what this growl signaled .

It looks like youve finally brought help

Ark-san and I couldnt do anything right now, so there was only one other guy who had enough strength to do something right now . Amako understood that and called for him .

I could hear him rapidly approaching .

In that case, there was only one thing for me to do .

Bluerin!! Do it right here, including me!!

Guruaaaaaaaaaah!!

The beast that appeared with a powerful growl had blue fur . . it was the Blue Grizzly, Bluerin . Riding on top of his back was Amako .

Bluerin seemed to have heard my voice and continued running towards me without losing any speed He then rammed right into the villagers .

Due to Bluerins strong ramming attack, the villagers, Ark-san, and I were all blown away But before I landed on the ground, Bluerin had already moved and cushioned my fall .

Amako helped me up and I thanked the two of them,

As expected of my partner . You too, Amako Thank you .

Guah .

Naturally was what Bluerin seemed to convey while looking content .

Leaving that aside, we should hurry and get away from here .

But . .

Ark-san Just as I was about to say that, I stopped .

We couldnt save Ark-san right now . Perhaps Amako knew that and tried her best to not mention it .

We couldnt save you right now but Well save you no matter what .

I got onto Bluerins back and proclaimed to Neah who was overcome with surprise,

Ill come retrieve my comrade tomorrow night Ill leave Ark-san in your hands until then, Neah .

Neah glared at me after I spoke and Bluerin ran in the opposite direction of the mansion .

A Necromancer that is causing a village to decline

Thats just what it looks like on the outside . Its just a faade created by a monster who wants to satisfy its lust for knowledge .

A mix of a necromancer and vampire, its a formidable opponent One that we have no choice but to fight .