BLACK CAT CHAPTER 73: DEBUT FIGHT

　It seems that the only way for me, a catkin, to safely approach the slums is to disguise myself as a large race.

　I heard that catkins, who are discriminated against by the public, are rarely in a position to buy prostitutes, and therefore, catkins in the slums are considered to be those who have gone off the rails in life.

“For the time being, try to be as tall as Shure.” (Serge)

“Is that all right with you, just height?” (Nyango)

“Hmm? What do you mean?” (Serge)

“If you are taller, of course, your shoulder width and arm length will change, won’t they?” (Nyango)

“That’s true, but it will be fine if you put on a bigger coat.” (Serge)

“But if you can adjust it, that would be better, wouldn’t it?” (Nyango)

“Well, I think it’s better if you can adjust it. I’m sure it will stand out if you are tall but have short arms or an abnormally thin body.” (Serge)

“I’ll try to be a little creative.” (Nyango)

　If I’m going to disguise myself anyway, I thought I’d put it on a level that I could use for other than infiltrating the slums.

　For a normal catkin to achieve the disguise I have in mind, I would need stilts, prosthetic arms, and a football body protector to increase the width of my shoulders.

　But since I can use void magic, I thought I could make all those things with magic.

　In other words, it was an exoskeleton operation using air magic. [T/N: Potential invisible mecha!]

　When I was a high school nerd in my previous life, I saw an anime in which a girl fights wearing an exoskeleton.

　It was like wearing a manipulator from the shoulder to the end, and the legs up to the thighs, and the knees below the knees were driven.

　For now, this time, the upper body seems to be fine without moving, so the first challenge is to make the legs walk.

　The size of the body was made to be large enough to use Kevin’s old clothes.

　I’m going to make it so that I can walk around with my shoes on.

　The useful thing about void magic is that it can connect my senses to the objects I create.

　Sound-collecting microphones and detection bits can capture vibrations and have a sense of touch.

　Similarly, the stilts we made this time, which could almost be called prosthetic legs, with a sense of touch.

　With this, I can grasp the sensation of putting on shoes, or the weight being applied to the foot.

　However, just because I have a sense of touch does not mean that I can walk from the start.

　The sensation of putting on shoes is very uncomfortable because I haven’t felt it since my previous life, and I have to decide which direction to move my prosthetic leg after I feel how my weight is being applied, so there is a delay and awkwardness.

　I have made a handrail with void magic, so I don’t fall down, but I feel like I am retraining my gait.

“Nyango, you look like a newborn fawn…” (Shure)

“I know. I know I’m pulling myself up and down.” (Nyango)

“Fufu, Nyango is cute even if his legs are long…” (Shure)

“I’m going to look better… meow!” (Nyango)

“Fufu, clumsy Nyango is cute…” (Shure)

　There’s a reason I’m so enthusiastic about practicing my disguise.

　If I can get used to this size prosthetic leg and move it as I wish, I may be able to move a larger mecha-sized body.

　Even now, if I use [Death Choker], I can defeat even orcs, but wouldn’t it be fun to have hand-to-hand combat wearing an exoskeleton?

　I, who have a small body, overwhelm the orcs with fistfights… Yeah, I have no choice but to make it happen.

　After all, the first day was spent holding on to the handrail as I walked with a wobbly gait.

　While I was practicing with my prosthetic leg, Laius and the others went out to the guild and took on a subjugation request.

　Tomorrow, we will start defeating orcs in Cabane.

　We will leave tomorrow morning as soon as the city gates open, and once we reach Cabane in half a day or so, we will check the situation, patrol the area at night and take down the orcs if they attack, and if they do not show themselves, we will search for them the next morning and hunt them down.

　While we are out there subjugating monsters, we have no choice but to put the matter of my brother on the back burner.

　Although I was concerned about him, I thought it was not urgent enough to do something about him right now, so I concentrated on the subjugation for the time being.

　The carriage ride to the subjugation destination is also a training ground for me to walk on my prosthetic leg.

　Picking up the unevenness of the road and standing in the carriage, which shook without warning, was difficult, and I was able to accumulate a lot of experience in this area.

　We arrived at the client’s ranch before noon, informed them that we had received the request, and asked about the situation.

　This time, no damage had been done yet, but they had confirmed the sighting of orcs.

　The orc sighting was in the northeast of the ranch property, and the number of orcs was said to be only one.

　After listening to the story, we immediately went to the place where the orc had been sighted.

　The edge of the ranchland leads directly into the forest, and the orc was in a grove of trees.

　As we approached the sighting spot, Shure’s normally a little dazed expression turned sharp.

　Before approaching the forest, we checked the direction of the wind.

　Orcs have a keen sense of smell, so if we approach upwind, they will notice us.

“Nyango, can you scout them from above?” (Laius)

“Yes, leave it to me.” (Nyango)

　Laius asked me to use the steps to look for the orcs from a high place.

“Nyango, if you can see your opponent, they can also see you, so be careful…” (Laius)

“I understand.” (Nyango)

　Shure advised me and began to search for traces of orcs.

　Shure was in the lead, followed by Gad, Laius, and Serge.

　Gad has a smaller shield in his hand than he did when he took down the Bronze Wolf, and he has a machete-like dagger hanging from his waist.

　Against the orcs, a shield of this size would have been enough, and they would have had enough time to fight back.

　Shure carefully searched the ground for footprints, broken underbrush, and tree trunks.

　The reason for checking tree trunks is because orcs have a habit of rubbing their bodies against them to assert their territory.

　Shure, who had been examining the ground, silently points in my direction.

　I strained my eyes from a height of about five meters above the ground, above Gad’s head, to focus on the direction Shure pointed.

　As expected, we were walking through a forest thick with underbrush, so it was impossible for Shure to be silent, but compared to the other members of the group, the noise she made was far less than that of the others.

　I can’t tell from my position, but it seems that the Shure can distinguish between new and old marks.

　At first glance, it looks just like an ordinary forest, but she moves forward without even showing signs of hesitation.

“There it is… only one for now.” (Nyango)

　About 200 meters ahead of where Shure was going, I could sense an orc, so I went down next to Gad and let him know the number and direction.

“This time, leave it to me and Nyango…” (Shure)

“Fine. But we’ll have Serge back you up..” (Laius)

“That’s fine… Nyango, come with me from above. If you can set the fight, do it first.” (Shure)

“I understand.” (Nyango)

　Shure and I will approach the orcs, splitting up top and bottom, with Serge backing us up from behind.

　In case we are detected or fail to kill the orcs and they run away, Serge will shoot to stop them.

　This time, I, who could see them first, would let Shure know the direction.

　We approach the orcs from tree trunk to tree trunk, hiding our bodies.

　The orc looks around from time to time and walks toward us with its nose twitching.

　Its slightly dark body looked about two times larger than the one I had killed in the village of Atsuka.

　Shure also informed us with a hand gesture that she had visual confirmation of a dark-skinned orc.

　All that remained was the timing of our attack.

　We were still about 100 meters away from a Black Orc.

　In the meeting earlier, it was decided that Shure would close the distance at once and draw them to a distance where she could attack before it could attack.

　I closed the distance carefully so as not to be noticed by the Black Orc and waited for a signal from Shure.

　With 50 meters to go, Shure gave a small wave.

“[Death Choker Type RR]” (Nyango)

　At the same time as I activate my void magic, Shure runs toward the Black Orc furiously.

“Buugyaaa…” (Black Orc)

　The blades of the Death Choker pierced the neck of the Black Orc, which was startled and turned away from the running Shure.

　The Black Orc, startled by the pain, reflexively moved its body in the opposite direction, and another blade pierced deeply into its throat.

　When Shure ran up to it, I released [Death Choker], and the Black Orc showed a posture of blocking while blood spurted from its neck.

　Shure swings her dagger while slithering through the log-like right arm that the Black Orc is swinging down.

　The Black Orc missed Shure and staggered forward, its wide-open eyes rapidly losing the fire of life.

　The Black Orc fell forward and began to twitch and convulse.

　Quickly rushing over to make a set of void-attribute blood-draining tools before hoisting the Black Orc up with a pulley, Gad dug a hole in the ground with earth-attribute magic.

　I tied the end of the rope to a tree trunk to secure it, gathered fallen leaves, and built a fire with a fire magic circle.

“Hey, hey, Nyango. Isn’t your skill too good? Are you really a rookie?” (Serge)

“Fufun, Nyango is super talented. It’s not surprising…” (Shure)

“Hey, why are you bragging about him Silent? Even if you weren’t there, Nyango could have done it all by himself, right?” (Serge)

“Naturally, Nyango is super, super talented…” (Shure)

“Yeah, that’s enough. Alright, alright.” (Laius)

　The reborn Chariot, the debut match with Shure, and I was able to bring down the Black Orc with lightning speed.