I used strange movements to get their attention. Slowly, the king troll moves away from the entrance of the cave.
And then――.
With a thud, Iori-san rushed into the cave, carrying a bottle in her arms.
For a moment, the king troll looked up and said, “Oh ?’’ and then he looked back, but I made a noise and saved them.
All I had to do was wait for Iori to come back with the “Black Cave Flower” after she…. collected it.
“Oh ?”
Iori-san rushed out of the cave earlier than I had expected.
“It’s pitch dark and I can’t see anything. I can’t do anything”
“What about your inner eye !”
I yelled at her, but it was too late.
For the time being, while maneuvering around the king trolls, we gathered behind the large tree where we had originally been.
“You are amazing, Mel-dono. You did not even budge an inch against a monster of that caliber.”
It tickles me to see your sparkling eyes, but if you were going to have a big mouth, I was hoping you would have done your job properly.
And well, that’s how it is.
We decided to rethink our strategy–.
“Come on, it’s time for round two.”
I jumped in front of the king troll again. Pardon me for the repetition.
Sword in his right hand, and a bottle under his left arm.
After much discussion, the strategy we have decided on is this.
Iori-san will protect Sylphy, and I will dive into the cave by myself to collect “Black Cave Flower” while dodging the attacks of the monsters.
It’s really quite simple.
I didn’t tell Iori-san this, but I can read the surrounding information and somehow manage to see in the dark.
But what about while fighting ?
Despite my apprehension, I charged into the cave with an optimistic “I’ll manage somehow”.
It was pitch black. I couldn’t see anything. Otherwise, the “Black Cave Flower” will not bloom, and it will not be left untouched.
“Guooooo !”
While leading the angry king troll, I infiltrated the interior of the cave.
I cautiously proceed deeper into the cave, though the textual information alone is not enough to guide me.
Eventually, I reached a cold place. The deepest part of the cave. I saw a “black flower” blooming on the side of a pond-like area filled with spring water.
“Guaaaahhh !”
“Ugh! Oh, that was close….”
The king troll has a keen sense of smell and hearing and is able to pinpoint my whereabouts.
I, on the other hand, cannot directly anticipate the king troll’s movements because I cannot see my opponent.
I dodged the huge arm that was still swinging at me, just in time.
Because I’ve read and stolen the abilities of the hero Earth Drago, I’m getting by on the status difference.
It is not good to take too much time. The flowers might be crushed.
I spun around the king troll at high speed and toyed with him.
“That’s it, that’s it, that’s it !”
While opening the lid of the bottle, I quickly jumped on the “Black Cave Flower”, picked it up, pushed it in and put the lid on.
“Sorry to have disturbed you”
I ran swiftly through the cave toward the exit.
I was so deft that I was impressed with my own dexterity.
All right. I had a lot of trouble, but I got the materials I was looking for. It was pretty easy, I thought.
I had let my guard down.
I had left Sylphy in Iori-san’s hands.
Because it was dark, which I was not used to.
I didn’t have enough time to spare because of the parallel work of dealing with demons and collecting materials.
These were all excuses.
Anyway, I had let my guard down. That’s why――.
“Ughh !”
“Ahh !?”
When I ran out of the cave, I saw two people being attacked by someone.
A thin man with a dagger in his opposite hand threw something at Iori-san. It exploded in front of her eyes and turned into a mist that blocked Iori-san’s eyes.
Iori-san quickly pushed Sylphy out of the way, so the mist only fell on Iori-san alone.
The mist itself was a deadly poison.
“This, nooooo !”
I immediately lunged at the guy and delivered a powerful kick to the side of his head. The man was sent flying away. I ignored him and gave Iori the “Elixir of Fairies” that I had in my pocket.
“Gulp, gulp… ohh.. ughh, ughh… hah ! ? Where the hell am I ……?”
Thank God. I made it in time. Iori-san’s eyes were fluttering, as if her vision was still not clear. But she was in good condition. She will recover soon.
We only had about two mouthfuls of the “Elixir of Fairies” left, but I knew we couldn’t replace it with human life.
I took a sigh of relief and pulled Sylphy up.
“What– are– you– ? Don’t be so rough with me.”
The birdcage that rolled along with me complained, so I removed the black cloth.
Oh, I’m such an idiot.
Why did I let my guard down even at this point ?
Crack
A noise like glass breaking.
“Ahhhhhh ! ?”
Immediately after, a man’s exclamation echoed. It was the voice of the man I had kicked away, the man who had attacked Iori-san and Sylphy.
“Urghh… Ahhhhh !”
The man ripped off his clothes and began to scratch all over himself.
“Roarrrrrrrrrr !”
He started mumbling something.
“ [Arrow of Light God] ”
He shot a ray of light at us from his outstretched right hand.