Chapter 4-23 : Salamander’s Cave Ⅴ

 

「So, Nord-san, your experiment is done, right?」(Kate)

「Yeah. There’s nothing left I wanna do in this cave.」(Nord)

「Then let’s get out of here as soon as we regain our strength. We can’t stay in this cave for too long.」(Kate)

「Kate’s right. That lizard might come after us.」(Iris)

Kate was restlessly looking in the direction where she came from but Nord sat down on the ground, rummaged through his backpack, and grabbed some candy.

「Salamanders rarely come out of their nests. Even luring them out is pretty hard. Here. Eat some candy to calm yourself.」(Nord)

Nord passed two pieces of candy to Iris and Kate.

The two then unwrapped the candy and ate it.

「So, are we safe here?」(Iris)

「I hope so.」(Nord)

Saying that, Nord grinned and put a piece of candy into his mouth.

「Huh? I thought you were trying to calm us down.」(Iris)

「They indeed rarely come out of their territory, but how far do you think the range of their territory is?」(Nord)

「So you say… We’re still within its territory…?」(Iris)

「Possibly.」(Nord)

「Ugh… Now I’m worried again…」(Iris)

Seeing Iris frown, Nord smiled and shrugged his shoulders to reassure her.

「Don’t worry. I doubt that lizard would take the trouble to chase after small prey like usー」(Nord)

SHAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

Just after Nord said that, suddenly, a roar echoed throughout the cave as if putting lie to Nord’s words.

「「……..」」(Iris & Kate)

Iris and Kate then glared at Nord with cold eyes.

「No, no. It has nothing to do with what I said, right?」(Nord)

「Well, yeah… BUT! I’m pretty sure there was someone who sent an uppercut to that lizard’s chin. I won’t say who it was though.」(Iris)

「Ahh~ You’re right. I won’t say who it was, but that person was crazy. That lizard must be mad because of that.」(Kate)

「Yeah. If that lizard comes after us, it will be that person’s fault. I won’t say who it was though.」(Iris)

「Oi, oi. If I didn’t punch it, it would have rammed into us or released its fire breath the moment it came out of the lava.」(Nord)

Nord immediately made excuses, but Iris and Kate’s gazes didn’t change.

「Well… That would have been really bad.」(Iris)

「You indeed gave us the chance to run away…」(Kate)

Nord’s action was nuts.

Only insane people like him could punch a Salamander, who had extremely hot skin, with a bare hand.

「In the end, that lizard released the fire breath but I managed to block it thanks to the artifact Store Owner-san lent me.」(Kate)

「Ah, I only glimpsed it while I was running. What kind of artifact was that?」(Nord)

「According to Store Owner-san, it’s called Ice Wall. It’s like a magic crystal containing an ice spell that will create an ice wall when it breaks.」(Kate)

「Hee… To make an ice wall that can block a Salamander’s fire breath requires a lot of magical power. I expect nothing less from Sarasa-kun.」(Nord)

The majority of alchemists can turn magic crystals into artifacts that contain spells, but they can only store the spells that they have learned.

Of course, the power of the spell stored in a magic crystal was affected by the amount of magical power you injected, but other than that, it was also affected by the quality and the size of the magic crystal itself as well as your skills as an alchemist.

The “skills” that were mentioned were not only the skills of transmuting things as an alchemist but also the skills of using magic.

In other words, alchemists who can store powerful spells in magic stones were on par with magicians in terms of magic skills.

「Do you have another one?」(Nord)

「No. Store Owner-san only lent me that one. It’s an expensive artifact after all. If possible, I didn’t want to use it, to be honest.」(Kate)

「I see. So, we can’t block the fire breath again, huh?」(Nord)

「Yeah. Moreover, I can hear a faint sound of rumbling earth coming from the direction of the Salamander.」(Kate)

「Is that so? But I don’t hear that kind of sound.」(Nord)

Saying that, Nord put his hands at the back of his ears, trying to hear the sound, but he couldn’t.

However, Kate certainly heard the heavy sound of a large creature walking in the passageway, getting close to them little by little.

「Kate’s ears are better than ordinary people’s. You can trust her hearing.」(Iris)

「Is that so? That’s impressive. So, how’s the situation?」(Nord)

「It seems that the Salamander has breached through the ice wall and is currently walking toward us.」(Kate)

「So it’s really coming, huh? Nord-san, it’s your fault.」(Iris)

「Oh, come on! But, hmm… This may be a good chance toー No, never mind.」(Nord)

As he said that, Nord smirked suspiciously for a second.

「Oi, you’re not thinking of capturing that lizard, are you?」(Iris)

「N, No? Of course, not. I’m confident in my muscle strength but my punch didn’t hurt it at all. Moreover, my Heatproof Coat is not as good as yours. I don’t think it can even stand its fire breath for ten seconds. There’s no way we can beat it.」(Nord)

「Phew… I’m glad you’re thinking reasonably for once.」(Iris)

「Hey, what kind of person do you think I am?」(Nord)

「A madman who tried to make a Salamander spawn without thinking about the consequences of his action.」(Iris)

「A lunatic who dares to punch a Salamander with a bare hand.」(Kate)

「Well…」(Nord)

Nord scratched his cheek with his index finger while smiling awkwardly.

「So now you realize how nuts you are, huh? But no matter how crazy you are, you’re still a man of knowledge. You came here to do the experiment that might make a Salamander spawn, so you must have thought of a plan or two on what to do in this kind of situation, right?」(Iris)

When Iris asked that, Nord awkwardly looked away for some reason.

「Umm… My plan was… Run away as quickly as possible.」(Nord)

「H, Huuhh!? Oh, what a great plan! Good job, Nord-san!」(Iris)

「No way… We’re doomed… I never thought a researcher could be this idiotic…」(Kate)

「He may have more knowledge than us but it looks like we’re better than him in terms of the ability to use our brains.」(Iris)

「Alright, we can continue mocking him later. First, we need to get out of here.」(Kare)

「Yeah, you’re right.」(Iris)

「Uhh, I want you guys to stop mocking me, but… Oh well…」(Nord)

 

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