The Villains I Taught Became Heroes

42 – Ruins Investigation – 4

***

I’ve put so much effort into finding her, and now he’s trying to take her away. I tightened my grip on Lena, who I embraced.

And whenever she meets a stranger, she gets all tense.

To get closer to her, start with a letter.

I pulled the completely rigid Lena closer and, after embracing her, directed a playful snort toward Bella.

“Geez. Quite audacious. Can’t we teach her together?”

“No.”

Until she becomes a senior mage, no one should lay a hand on her.

Bella is the custodian of the Red Tower’s Crimson Observatory. Naturally, she handles magic better than me.

It implies that she teaches better than I do.

If I receive her assistance, guiding Lena to become a senior mage might be faster.

But does that help in earning my master qualifications? I can only answer that I don’t know.

Well, there’s no need to unnecessarily choose a dangerous path.

“Well then, what about after becoming a senior mage? Can you teach her beyond that?”

“Well, let’s ask Lena’s intentions at that time and decide accordingly.”

“Ugh… M-Master…”

At that moment, Lena’s melting voice, nestled in my arms, reached my ears.

Lowering my head, I saw Lena’s face flushed as if it were about to burst.

“Anyway, she’s quite shy, so let’s start by getting her used to teaching.”

“Ugh, it sounds bothersome.”

“How about focusing on teaching the ones under you now? You already have two, don’t you?”

As far as I know, Bella’s disciples are also exceptionally talented.

Having two of them is enviable, something I didn’t realize before.

“Anyway, understood. Let’s meet again later.”

Waving her hand casually, Bella left.

Only after watching that did I release the hand that was holding Lena.

“Ughhh…!”

She plopped down on the floor.

Had the tension dissipated?

Perhaps she couldn’t withstand Bella’s powerful magical aura.

“Are you okay?”

“Y-Yes…”

This is serious.

You’re completely out of it.

I embraced Lena lightly.

“Yikes?!”

“There’s no need to stay like this here.”

“Uh. Ah. Well, I, I’m okay. Ugh…”

“Huh? Are you okay? Do you want to get off?”

Is she feeling a bit better?

I looked at Lena, whom I was still holding in a princess carry.

In an instant, a light returned to her face, which had been drooping.

“…Now that I think about it… Ah, it might not be okay…”

Well, just stay calm.

I headed towards the gate of Greenhill, still holding Lena.

Perhaps because it was a passage for people without much luggage, the inspection was not too strict.

“Sick?”

“Just a bit tired, that’s all.”

“Is that so? Since there’s a clinic inside, you can go if you want. Next!”

As I didn’t have anything that would cause trouble during the inspection, it was quickly over.

“Having a hard time? If it’s unbearable, how about going to the clinic?”

“I’m, I’m fine now!”

As Lena tried to move towards the clinic, she hastily shouted.

Alright then. I let Lena down.

“Unless there’s a specific issue, let’s head straight to the ruins.”

“Yes, yes.”

With Lena now composed, we set out for the ruins marked on the map.

Finding the ruins deep in the underground waterways of Greenhill was not an easy task.

“Oh, a mouse.”

“Probably because it’s in the underground waterways.”

At least Lena wasn’t afraid of mice or bugs.

In games, there are characters with phobias of mice or bugs, you know.

Living in the forest seemed to make Lena unafraid of such things.

“Are you scared of ghosts?”

“Uh, hehe. Gh-gh-ghosts? Where are ghosts in this world?”

“Among monsters, there are monsters that resemble ghosts.”

“Hehe. Th-that’s interesting.”

Nevertheless, there was no expression of fear on her face.

Is it true that those who live in the mountains are the most frightening?

While discussing various stories, they came across an unusually shaped door in the middle of moving through an underground passage.

Looking at the map, it seemed to be the right place.

Then, an idea struck: the key…

-Clang! Clang!

Trying the necklace on a small slot, the door opened.

A deep darkness was visible. Lena, gazing into the abyss-like darkness without a hint of light, raised her hand.

“Light.”

As the beginner-level magic that created light took effect, the darkness began to dissipate.

“It’s generally better to form a party of at least four when exploring ruins.”

“W-well, we are only two.”

“I have various qualifications.”

As long as I have techniques acquired through bugs, it doesn’t concern me. However, it’s unlikely that I’ll encounter someone with a variety of skills like this again, so it’s necessary to educate step by step in such situations.

“When exploring ruins, the essential profession to bring is a rogue. The lock-picking skill and trap detection and disarming skills that rogues possess come in handy. Look there. Does the floor look a bit strange? That’s a trap.”

“Oh. Uh, I see…”

“Now, what do you do when you can’t bring an experienced rogue into the party?”

Things in the world don’t always go according to plan.

You should be prepared for such situations to avoid saying, “You’re my disciple” anywhere you go.

“Do you, uh, use something like Magic Arrow?”

“Correct. First, trigger the trap. Go ahead, give it a try.”

Lena created a Magic Arrow and attacked the trap.

From the triggered trap, numerous blades quickly shot up.

If she had gone there without thinking, she would have ended up skewered.

– Ssshhrrr…

The blade that had just sliced through the air returned into the wall once more.

Watching it, Lena closed her eyes briefly, lost in thought, before reaching out her hand.

“Create Water.”

A powerful current of water began to form, flooding the trap.

Following that was yet another spell.

“Freeze.”

– Shhrrrshhshhh!!

The trap froze entirely.

Since the slot from which the blade was supposed to emerge was now frozen solid, it seemed the trap wouldn’t trigger.

Without stopping there, Lena, just to be sure, cast a Magic Arrow to check if the trap would activate.

“It’s good, it worked!”

“Well done.”

I patted Lena’s head.

She seemed to like it as she giggled and wriggled her body happily.

“Shall we continue then?”

Lena was proving to be better at exploring ruins than I had expected. She adeptly neutralized traps using basic magic, skillfully summoned field spells to navigate using the wind, and when it came to battles, there was no comparison.

Her Shadowless Spear and combinations of multiple spells were powerful weapons that easily thwarted even simple Magic Arrows.

I couldn’t help but anticipate how formidable she would become as a high-level mage.

“We’re almost at the end. You all did better than expected, so it looks like we’ll be able to conquer the ruins soon.”

“Ah, ahahaha.”

– Ah, ahahaha.

Lena and Field were giggling, feeling pleased with themselves.

Smiling back at them, I opened the door to the final chamber.

At the end of the ruins lay a vast hall. In the center rested a long, slender staff. And it seemed as though a golem, standing guard over it, was slowly beginning to rise.

“That’s the Ruin Guardian.”

“Uh, how… How do we…?”

“We have to catch it, that’s what.”

“Yes, yes!”

As the Golem moved, Lena prepared her Magic Arrows as usual.

And she fired them. Over a hundred Magic Arrows swiftly flew, attacking the body of the Ruin Guardian.

“Oh, no?!”

The Magic Arrows vanished as if they were lies.

Bewildered, Lena looked at me, and I chuckled while reaching for the hilt of my sword.

From Noble mtl dot com

“Some of the Ruin Guardians have skills that nullify magic. Some even nullify physical attacks.”

“I see…”

– Should I try it myself?

“Yeah!!”

Ah, should I use Elemental Power here?

A green aura began to envelop Sylphid’s body.

As it grew stronger, Sylphid extended her hand, and a powerful wind started encircling the Ruin Guardian.

The wind began to erode the Ruin Guardian’s body.

Though the Guardian tried to break free from the powerful vortex, Sylphid’s wind tenaciously eroded various parts of the Golem, soon beginning to turn its legs into dust.

“Whoa, wow…!”

Just as Lena exclaimed in amazement, the leg that couldn’t withstand the pressure finally shattered.

Unable to move anymore, the struggling Golem made Sylphid cease the wind.

– How… How was that?

“Amaz… amazing!!”

– Hehehe…

Watching the two holding hands and giggling, I applauded.

That Sylphid, she possesses more potent Elemental power than I thought.

To capture a Ruin Guardian in that manner, it’s the first time I’ve seen it done.

How powerful Elemental Power must she possess to achieve that?

If she’s at this level, she might ascend to a Greater Elemental, don’t you think?

“Is it… Is it over?”

“For now. We just have to destroy the immobilized Ruin Guardian’s core, but that’s a straightforward task.”

I tossed a dagger to Lena.

Taking it, Lena hesitated for a moment, then plunged the dagger deep into the glowing core of the golem, emitting a red light.

With just that, the golem’s body crumbled, signaling the end of our exploration of the ruins.

“You conquered the ruins all by yourself, from start to finish. Impressive.”

“T-Thanks to your teachings and the assistance of the Field, Master!”

“Indeed. Now that the ruins are cleared, how about we collect our rewards and leave?”

The reward should be that staff over there.

After examining it closely, I extended it towards Lena.

“C-Can I really take this?”

“Of course.”

As a mage, you should have at least one staff.

“It seems so precious, though…”

Whether it’s precious or not, it’s definitely valuable. Anyway, it’s a staff obtained from the ruins.

I gently ruffled Lena’s hair.

“It won’t be long before you become an advanced mage. You should have proper equipment.”

“Can I… really become one?”

I nodded reassuringly at her worried question.

Within a year, she would undoubtedly achieve that.