Dual Cultivation

TL Note: Emotional Resistance can also be read as Mental Resistance.

Edit: 2015/07/30 Fixed some naming errors.

Edit: 2015/08/01 Fixed a minor mistranslated line.

Volume 2 Chapter 25

The next day.

The time to catch the grell frogs and tame the rimel birds has finally come. And because of that, me and the four members of the duke’s family, along with Sebasu-san, Jill-san, Zeff-san, Camil-san, and Hyuzu-san, are all walking towards the mine.

Elia and the others are all wearing armor just like the time when Elia went to the mine to train. As for me, I’m wearing a jumpsuit. Because of that, it kind of feels out of place, since I’m the only one wearing something different.

We’re not using the carriage today as another part of Elia’s training, but, unexpectedly, Elia might actually have more endurance than I thought. Although we’re taking a break right now, she hasn’t said a word of complaint until now.

“Fuu… Ryouma-san, are you ok?” [Elia]

“I’m alright.” [Ryouma]

“Ryouma-san has plenty of stamina, huh?” [Elia]

Elia began to feel down. Honestly, it’s not like I mind the fact that you’re tired, you know? After all, we’re walking up a mountain, and because there’s no pavement, it’s quite difficult to walk. The fact that you’re not complaining is already more than good enough.

Apparently Camil-san thought the same thing, because he went to encourage her.

“It’s alright, Ojousama. Compared to other children, Ojousama can already walk very well.” [Camil]

“That’s right, Ojousama. Don’t compare yourself to Ryouma. After all, this guy’s a little bit abnormal. Normally, it wouldn’t be weird to have been completely exhausted since way back. Seriously, Ryouma, you should at least try to sweat or something.” [Jill]

“Even if you tell me to sweat…” [Ryouma]

It’s a physiological phenomenon, so…

“Young master, a normal kid would usually perspire without being told, you know?” [Ｚｅｆｆ]

“You’re matching the Ojousama’s pace, so it’s not that fast. So I can kind of understand when you’ve also been trained like us, but… What kind of training did you do?” [Camil]

“If I were to put it simply, I trained to my limits. When I collapsed, I’d rest. It’s not weird to get wounds either, as I was beat up continuously to drive the techniques into me. And I was only given two choices, either to suffer, or to keep on training. Anyway, I kept this up every day, and in the end this is how I ended up.” [Ryouma]

“Is your master a demon or something!?” [Ｊｉｌｌ]

“Yeah, that might be it.” [Ryouma]

My dad was really quite scary when I was a kid… so much so, that when he was around I couldn’t breathe because of the pressure.

While I was thinking that, Rheinbach-sama mentioned that it’s time to depart.

“It’s almost time for break to end. We need to start walking again before Elia completely cools down.” [Rheinbach]

“It’s just a little bit more, so do your best, Elia.” [Rheinhart]

We began walking again. And after 30 minutes of walking, the road led us to a forest and we pushed our way through. After another 30 minutes, a foul odor wafted to our noses. So this is the smell of the swamp.

As I thought that, we went even further, and eventually a reddish brown swamp came to view. It was around the boundary of the forest and the mine. And although we’re inside a forest, the number of trees are few, and it feels like the swamp was made from the debris of the cave after it had collapse because of the rain or something. As we got closer, the foul smell became stronger. To this, Elia covered her nose with her hand, and tried to endure.

“So this is the rumored swamp. It would appear that the smell is coming from the fallen leaves and the rotting corpses of the creatures that live in the swamp.” [Ryouma]

“What a horrible smell…” [Elia]

“The smell here is certainly bad, however, you also need to learn how to get used to this kind of environment. Since the towns outside of the Jamil’s territory have it worse.” [Madam]

Come to think of it, Rheinbach-sama did take care of the Jamil Household’s territory’s environment, so it’s quite better than others… wait, does that mean that all the other territory aside from here are… let’s pray that’s not the case.

“Fumu, looks like there still aren’t any grell frogs and rimel birds around here. Well, there’re several swamps, so let’s go around and look for others.” [Rheinbach]

At Rheinbach-sama’s words, we began to move again. And after 10 minutes of walking, we found a swamp, 3 times bigger than the last. Over there were 30 adventurers and slave magic users, and over 200 blue birds.

“They’re here! Those are rimel birds!” [Rheinbach]

“That’s…” [Ryouma]

“They’re beautiful…” [Elia]

Its appearance is close to a long-tailed cock without a cockscomb. And its body is blue, while its tail and head are adorned with beautiful green feathers. I have to agree, it’s definitely the popular type. Along with the reddish brown swamp, it’s mysteriously pretty.

It’s really beautiful, but because of that, I think the adventurers around here will get in the way.

“Let’s go there!” [Adventurer1]

“Hurry, catch it!” [Adventurer2]

“Ah!?” [Adventurer3]

“Hurry! Before it gets eaten!” [Adventurer4]

The adventurers entered the swamp, and they struggled with the rimel birds for the grell frogs.

While the rough men were being bathed in mud, I saw the sight of obscured frogs with the same reddish color as the swamp, be caught by men with a net barehanded… and it felt extremely sweltering to watch.

At a time like that, two young men prepared some musical instruments by the side of the swamp.

“You two watch carefully, those guys are about to try taming a rimel bird.” [Rheinhart]

One of the two men began to play a flute. His instrument looked like a recorder. But, unfortunately, he isn’t that good.

As soon as the music ended, the rimel birds all simultaneously sang. The noise the birds made were as if they were laughing and mocking the humans.

According to the information I received from Caulkins-san, when the rimel birds do not acknowledge your performance, they’ll release a warning sound. And that warning sound is extremely unpleasant.

So it’s like this, huh? Certainly, it’s not something pleasant to hear… But I guess this is something that happens often, since the adventurers who are trying to catch the grell frogs aren’t minding it.

“I think you two already understand, but yes, this is a failure. Like this, he won’t be able to tame one. You can try again as many times as you want, but if you try too many times, they’ll end up attacking you, so it’s better to just do it once. And at most, twice.” [Rheinhart]

While Rheinhart-san was explaining, the other man began to play the flute. This one’s worse than the other one… This time, before he even finished playing, the rimel birds already started laughing.

I guess he got mad when he heard that, because he took out a short sword that looks to be for self-defense.

As the man entered the swamp, he moved towards a rimel bird.

“Not good… don’t let your guard down.” [Rheinbach]

“Ha!” [The four guards.]

At Rheinbach-sama’s words, the four guards stepped forward. Even Sebasu-san and Rheinhart-san was vigilant. And the madam went near me and Elia.

“Gua! Hi, Hii!!” [Man]

I wonder if it’s because it felt danger to the man who drew close to it that it fired off the wind magic ‘Wind Cutter’. In any case, that attack only lightly grazed the shoulder of the man, but the other rimel birds also looked at the man. At that point, the man’s anger from a while ago vanished, and was instead changed to fear and panic. The man quickly began to run with all his strength. And the people around him also began to run.

Behind the man, several rimel birds fired off ‘Wind Cutter’ at his back. Their accuracy apparently wasn’t that good, and they missed. But the man became desperate as he ran.

“Don’t be like that guy. The rimel birds are gentle, but they’re not weak. If you do something like that, you’ll be hated, and they’ll attack you.” [Madam]

Said the madam as she warned me and Elia

… That guy is coming over here… that’s not good!

When the man got to the edge of the swamp, he relaxed for a bit, causing him to stop moving for a moment. There, a rimel bird fired off its ‘Wind Cutter’. That attack grazed the man’s leg, causing him to become unable to run. When we saw that, Camil and I both casted our magic at the same time.

“ ‘Earth Wall’ !! “ [Camil & Ryouma]

A wall made out of earth was erected between the man and the rimel bird. But in order to chase after the man, the rimel birds fired off several dozens of ‘Wind Cutter’. The surface of the wall was scraped off, but it was able to stop the attack.

At that, they stopped firing off the ‘Wind Cutter’, but in the next moment, they all began to chirp.

“Kuke! Kuke!! Kuke!!! Kuke!!!!”

“Kyaaa!” [Elia]

“Gu!?” [Rheinhart]

“This is!?” [Ryouma]

“Everyone, be careful!!” [Rheinhart]

Everyone suddenly began to hurt. And once Elia began to shake, the Madam and Sebasu-san hurriedly went to support her.

What’s going on!?

Looking at my surrounding, I saw that the adventurers were also in pain even though they shouldn’t be able to hear this sound well. Some of them even began to crouch and scream as if they’d lost their minds.

I can also feel some magic power accompanying the voice, so I guess the cause must be this cry.

When I searched for the location of the magic power and the sound, I immediately managed to find the culprit. Looks like it’s somewhat similar to my wind magic, ‘Big Voice’, in that it also manipulates the air to make the sound louder in the surroundings.

Then in that case, all I need to do is stop the oscillation of the air.

“ ‘Silent’ !” [Ryouma]

Aiming at the source, I fired off my magic. At that moment, the sound stopped, and Rheinhart-san and the others stopped hurting.

Effective… but painful.

The other side was causing the oscillations to increase with magic, while I did the opposite with my own magic. We’re both doing opposite things, so the victor will be decided by the one who has more control. If I lose focus, the sound will come out again.

Our control is equal…? No, it’s gradual, but I’m being pushed! Then in that case, I have no choice but to push through with my magic power! I chant the same magic again, but this time with more magic power.

“ ‘Silent’ !” [Ryouma]

It tried to resist for a bit more, but the rimel bird quickly left after it realized it was at a disadvantage. The other rimel birds also left.

Is it over?

“Camil! Heal that man! Jill, Zeff, Hyuzu! Bring the fainted adventurers to the edge of the swamp! Sebasu, how is Elia?” [Rheinhart]

Rheinhart-san gave orders, then he asked Sebasu-san about Elia’s status. But before Sebasu-san could talk, Elia replied.

“I’m… fine.” [Elia]

“Elia, are you ok? You don’t feel hurt anywhere?” [Rheinhart]

“Yes… I was just scared all of the sudden… but that’s all. I’ve already calmed down.” [Elia]

“I see. Then, that’s good… Ryouma-kun, thank you. That was you a while ago, right?” [Rheinhart]

“The rimel bird was the cause, right? I certainly stopped it, but what was going on?” [Ryouma]

“Huh?” [Madam and Elia]

Elia’s and Madam’s voice leaked out.

“Ryouma-san, didn’t you feel anything?” [Elia]

“Nothing in particular… I did think that it was noisy, though. But that aside, I was quite shocked when all of the sudden everyone around started to faint and hurt. I felt strong magic power coming from that one rimel bird, so I figured that was the culprit, but I honestly have no idea what just happened.” [Ryouma]

“Noisy? That’s all?” [Madam]

“Yes.” [Ryouma]

Hearing my response, the madam cocked her head in puzzlement. At that, Rheinbach-sama and Sebasu-san explained it to me.

“The rimel bird that Ryouma-kun stopped wasn’t just a rimel bird. That was a higher type known as, Nightmare Rimel Bird. These type of rimel birds can use dark magic on top of their wind magic. And their most prominent special feature is that their crying voice is accompanied by a mental attack as a byproduct of the dark element.” [Rheinbach]

“When one hears a nightmare rimel bird’s cry, one will be afflicted with fear, confusion, and insanity. Moreover, there are also people who will see an illusion and end up fainting, just like those guys.” [Sebasu]

As Sebasu-san said that, he pointed at the people Jill-san and the others were carrying.

Half of them were seated, while there were those who were unconscious, and then those who were crouching while shivering in fear.

“Seeing them like this, this is quite cruel…” [Ryouma]

“That just goes to show how strong a mental attack it is. Physical strength and mental strength are different, so it’s possible even for veteran adventurers to lose consciousness. And in their case, they’re beginners, so it’s a given that they’d end up like that.” [Sebasu]

“No matter how much you train, what’s painful is still painful. Well, you’ll be able to resist though.” [Rheinbach]

Come to think of it, I possess the ‘Mental Resist’ skill at level 9. So I guess it must be that.

“I have the ‘Mental Resist’ skill so it might be because of that.” [Ryouma]

As I said that, the puzzled madam suddenly went, “That’s it!” and was suddenly in full understanding.

So it’s really the effect of my skill. Apparently, my skill level’s so high, I didn’t feel anything.

Still, I have to be careful… mental attacks can’t be seen by the eyes after all. And while I didn’t suffer any of the effects, it’s not like I have any countermeasure for it.

And while it’s good that there wasn’t effect on me, it’s also not good that it was to the extent where I didn’t feel it all, and ended up not even knowing that I was under attack.

After a while, Jill-san and the others came back. Looks like they’re finished helping those people.

“What’s their status?” [Rheinhart]

“The only one injured is the one who started all this. Moreover, he’s already received treatment, so there won’t be any problem, and he’ll be able to come back to the town.” [Jill]

“Still, what should we do? All of the rimel birds ran away because of all the commotion.” [Zeff]

“Look for their nest?” [Ryouma]

“That’s difficult, young master. After all, the rimel birds ride on wind magic when they fly in the air. So the speed and altitude they fly at is at a different level compared to other magical beasts. Like this, the area’s too wide, and it won’t be easy to find them.” [Zeff]

“That’s why people who want to tame them wait here. I don’t know if they’ll come again today, so… are we going to wait?” [Rheinhart]

“We’ll wait. We came all the way out here after all. So I’d at least like to try taming them once.” [Elia]

At Elia’s words, we decided to wait here for a bit more. While we waited, the adventurers at the edge of the swamp slowly recovered, and even the people who had lost their consciousness had woken up.

I don’t know if it’s because they don’t feel like hunting anymore, or because the duke’s household and its guards are here, but before we knew it, we ended up all alone.

We created some stone chairs at a place that’s slightly distant from the swamp, sat there, and chatted.

During that, I found out that while the nightmare rimel bird’s mental attack is strong, the reason it’s really strong is because in order to stop it you’d have to attack with magic, or use a weapon. But then if you did that, the other rimel birds will attack you, at which point it’ll turn into a desperate situation. In order to avoid that, the only way is to resist, or try to run.

My magic wasn’t an attack, and it only stopped the sound, so it’s ok. It’s really good that I was able to hear from the duke’s family and Caulkins-san not to hurt the rimel birds.

Also, the rimel bird’s higher type is apparently a really rare magical beast. And in fact, it was last seen 10 years ago. It seems like my luck’s quite good, since it was thanks to my mental resistance that I was able to see the bird clearly and was able to properly use my magic.

That rimel bird’s body was slightly darker than the others. But although I say dark, it’s more like a strong color… like deep blue and green. It feels kind of high class.

And then, while we were passing the time while chatting, all of the sudden the atmosphere became dreary.

“I’ll have to leave Ryouma-san soon, huh?” [Elia]

Elia and the others came here to see the rimel bird, and try taming it. That’s why it could be said that they had already mostly completed their purpose for coming to this town. All that’s left is to go home. And Elia’s concerned about that.

… What should I say? I mean, it’s true that I’ll also be lonely, but…

If I said, “Right…,” then that’s ust too unfeeling. But then if I went, “Don’t go!” then she’ll just be like, “It’s disgusting to be told that by a 40 year old uncle!!” I mean it might be alright from how I look on the outside, but mentally speaking it’s really not. How about, “We’ll meet again.”? Yeah, this’ll do. I’d really like to say something more effective, but unfortunately…

As I thought that, the madam said this.

“Elia, It’s not like you won’t meet again. Right, Ryouma-kun?” [Madam]

While I was thinking, the madam said it before I was able to.

“Of course.” [Ryouma]

“If you send letters to each other, then you’ll be able to find out how each other’s doing.” [Rheinbach]

“Right! We can still meet again! Ryouma-san, please write to me, and I’ll also write to you!” [Elia]

“Then, let’s do that.” [Ryouma]

“Idiot! If you’re a man, then you should at least hug her!” [Hyuzu]

As Hyuzu-san said that, he hit my back with full strength. Because of that, I almost fell off my chair.

“Uwaah! What are you doing? Or rather, what are you thinking!? Aren’t you the bodyguard!? Normally you’d be stopping me! Not encouraging!” [Ryouma]

“Huh? I’m obviously doing this because it’s interesting!” [Hyuzu]

As he said that, he gave me a thumbs up along with a smile.

“Guo!? Y-You…” [Ryouma]

Somehow I felt a little irritated, so I hit him a bit. After that, I turned around, and my eyes met with Elia. Elia’s face was slightly red… You know it’s a bit troubling if you give me that kind of reaction… I thought the Madam would save us, but when I took a look at her, she was just watching over us. Or rather, she looks like she’s enjoying this…

“Hey… what… are you… gufu… “ [Hyuzu]

Asked, Hyuzu-san as he held his stomach while crouching because of the pain.

“Ah… I’m just hiding my embarrassment.” [Ryouma]

This is crossing the line, even if I do say so myself… and although it was a spur of the moment, isn’t this a bit cruel?

“Don’t hit me just because you’re shy! … Ow, ow, ow… why does it hurt so much when you hit me while I was wearing armor. It hurts…” [Hyuzu]

“It’s that kind of skill is why.” [Ryouma]

It’s a technique that allows the force to pass through inside for the special case where one needs to fight with an opponent who is wearing an armor. Naturally, it’d hurt.

… No good, my tension’s also gotten weird… Calm down, me!

In the meanwhile, the atmosphere became delicate.

“……” [Ryouma]

“……” [Elia]

“……” [Ryouma]

“……” [Elia]

“Pirorororororo!!” [Something]

“What!?’ [Ryouma]

“Fue!?” [Elia]

That delicate atmosphere was cut apart with a whistling sound.

When we looked over where the sound was coming from, we saw a group of rimel birds headed here.