Forgotten Emotions

This woman is Fujino Noel—a tall, red-haired woman with long hair, unusually so for a woman.

She serves as a bodyguard for a merchant caravan, wielding a slender sword reminiscent of a rapier. Though somewhat loud, she appears to be quite powerful.

Along the journey, they encounter fierce wild animals, bandits, and occasionally creatures known as monsters—beings strongly affected by the influence of magic stones.

It's common practice for trading groups to hire escorts to protect their goods from such enemies.

"Apparently, Noel used to look after them before."

"I'm not good with kids, but those brats just wouldn't stop bothering me, saying, 'Let's play, let's play!' Everyone else would just grin knowingly, and it was really tough."

Probably because she's helpful and straightforward—she's the kind of person kids would naturally like.

"It's not so bad, really. I think it's better than being scared of me."

"What?! Are you saying I'm like a red demon or something?!"

"You didn't say anything like that at all!"

Was it jealousy? I quickly fled from Noel, who suddenly snapped at me for no reason.

After a little while, once the path was deemed safe, we all ate dinner together.

After finishing dinner, amidst scattered conversations, we returned to the tent to begin examining the magic stones.

A high-purity gemstone of light and fire, purchased with money earned during the trade delegation's journey.

It's relatively common among magical stones, being high in purity yet easy to obtain.

He also possesses various other magic stones.

Both are easy to use. To activate the light gem, hold it and focus your mind on it, and it will glow.

I have the sensation of something flowing within my body.

The fire crystal gradually heats up, and when it touches fuel, a fire ignites.

The strength of the physical phenomena triggered varies from person to person—some can't use it at all, while others can only activate specific types of crystals.

I can use light crystals fairly well, but with fire crystals, I can only feel warmth at low purity levels; I can't summon flames.

At high purity, I can eventually ignite fire, though it takes time.

Today, I'm using a light crystal.

Low-purity ones are commonly used for lighting in daily life.

They're called magic stone lamps.

Apparently, it can be obtained from the relatively shallow surface of a magic stone mine. Thanks to this, it's the cheapest among all magic stones.

It has a pale blue appearance, but over years of use, it gradually dulls.

Once it dulls, it becomes unusable.

Incidentally, light is a form of electricity. One could say electricity is a form of light...

If magic stones that emit light operate on the same principle as electric bulbs, then electricity must be flowing inside the magic stone.

How does electricity flow just by concentrating?

How is the energy being sustained?

Hmm...

As someone who, despite being inexperienced, once engaged in research activities at university, my curiosity about the unknown refuses to subside.

There must be something replacing voltage—whether it's a fundamental ability of this world, or something unique about this stone, the mystery only deepens.

It's difficult to investigate further without proper tools or additional knowledge. But tomorrow, I'll enter a large city.

Since it's a bustling trade hub, I might be able to obtain valuable information there.

It had grown late, and that night, I went to bed.

The next day, I was walking along a path where tall grass and shrubs obstructed my view. It seemed that passing through here would lead to open land.

But suddenly—

A sound of grass being torn apart reached my ears, and instinctively I looked toward it—a giant creature, perhaps a wild boar?

I'd never seen anything so enormous before.

I hadn't realized just how dangerous it was.

"Monstrosity!"

Someone shouted.

But before the cry had even faded, the monstrosity sent a cargo platform flying.

The platform split in two, crushed like a tin can, and flew three meters away.

That was a platform weighing over a ton!

This is a demon beast! It's clearly different from any other living creature.

The demon beast's body is abnormally swollen in parts—its legs and a section of its head—while magical stones protrude from the rest of its form.

"Stop gawking! Get back quickly and push the platform away from here!"

Taking heart from Noel's words, I ran.

The demon beast roars—its voice so loud it makes the air visibly tremble.

Everyone grimaces, their faces pale, as they push the platform forward.

The demon beast lowered its body slightly and charged forward with a thunderous boom.

Before anyone realized, it had already completed its formation. A few guards stood together, using shields to block the attack.

Yet the demon beast continued pushing forward, forcing the guards back.

Though the guards slowly retreated, the beast's momentum was finally halted.

Taking advantage of the momentary slowdown, the waiting guards suddenly launched a coordinated assault.

Several soldiers charged with full force.

The monster howled loudly, wounded.

It leapt back sharply, retreated, then charged forward again.

"What?! It's not falling down even after that?!"

I was slashing it hard enough to bring down anything normal!

I couldn't help but shout in surprise.

At a safe distance, my superior Yuri answered my question.

"Monsters are different from other creatures. Whether it's because of the magical stones growing on their bodies or not, they possess abnormal physical abilities. If you encounter one, you can only either flee or attack it together with multiple people. Since we're a large group, we can afford strong escorts. If there's no escort or anyone able to fight, you'll be killed instantly. Got it! Run away if you meet one."

The escorts moved in perfect coordination, continuing their assault on the monster.

Yet gradually, fatigue began to set in.

The guards, restraining their movements, were steadily being pushed back.

Ah! Several were blown away.

At that moment, Noel gracefully dodged the monster's charge.

As she dodged, she flashed a quick strike into the creature's eye.

Confused, the beast crashed into a tree.

Seizing the moment, she looped a rope around the monster's leg, immobilizing it.

Noel rushed forward at incredible speed, driving her blade straight through the creature's skull and delivering the final blow.

Incredible...

The guards were all panting heavily, some even appearing injured.

I stood frozen in fear, staring at the monster I'd never seen before.

Combat scenes are really tough to handle.