Chapter 19
Whoosh—
The moment I turned my body completely toward Ruan, he swung his sword again.
This time the blade was thrust threateningly right in front of the nape of my neck.
“…Wh—why, why.”
If he had come even a little closer, that sword would’ve cleanly sliced my head off.
Just imagining my head rolling on the dirt sent chills down my spine and made every hair stand up.
W-what if this is because I forced that tiny apron on him…?
“My body… ugh, it won’t obey. Joe, get out of the way!”
Ruan’s movements as he shouted sounded strange.
His joints bent and twisted like he was dancing; he repeatedly flailed through the air, struggling to control the sword that kept aiming for me.
Why on earth is he like that?!
I was so shocked I could only stare at Ruan standing there in a daze.
Whoosh—
“Ugh, Ruan, what’s going on!”
When Ruan’s blade swung toward me again, I finally moved my feet—frozen until then—and dodged the blade.
“Damn it, my body won’t listen!”
Ruan snarled, his eyes twisted.
Something was definitely controlling him.
What is it? Is the sword controlling Ruan?
“Ruan! Drop the sword from your hand!”
Kyaaa—
At my shout, Ruan thrashed as if trying to let the sword go. Then he jammed it hard into a tree.
Only then did the sword fall from his hand and stick fast in the tree.
Okay, okay. Holy crap! What is this, a cursed sword or something!
I let out a breath and hurried toward Ruan.
“Good job, Ruan! Ha—h, you almost killed me—”
My relief lasted only a moment. The sword that had been stuck in the tree floated up of its own accord and returned to Ruan’s hand.
“What the—why again?!”
A frenzied assault aimed at me resumed.
Ugh, I should’ve picked it up myself if that’s what it wants!
“Joe, use magic!”
I nodded at Ruan’s shout, dodged the flying blades, and fired a burst of flame at his sword.
“Fireball!”
It hit.
The sword clattered out of Ruan’s hand.
But it soon returned to his grasp.
No matter how often it was dropped, the insane sword would reattach to him.
Does this crazy sword have some kind of homing instinct? This is driving me nuts!
I fired another flame, but this time I missed: the fire just grazed Ruan’s upper arm.
Ugh, this won’t do. He’s going to catch fire!
Then something glinted briefly as the flame touched it—just a flash—and then it was gone.
‘…What was that?’
It was so instantaneous I couldn’t be sure. I thought I saw some strange thread-like thing…
Sssrrr—
But that damned sword gave me no time to think.
“This won’t do. Joe, run right now!”
Ruan shouted, planting the sword in the ground.
He was sweating all over from thrashing around trying not to cut me. His body even bore cuts from wildly swinging the blade.
…If this were a typical heroine situation, she’d never run off alone now.
“Yes!”
But I’m not the typical heroine!
I answered bluntly and bolted—ran like hell.
I have to stay alive first so I can save Ruan!
It looks like the sword is only attacking me!
“Ugh, my foot slipped—what is—aaah!”
While fleeing with eyebrows flying, my foot slipped and I tumbled into a suddenly appearing mysterious pit.
Roll—
Ugh, ugh. I’m getting sick.
How far am I falling?!
I rolled down a deep, narrow shaft and after tumbling for a long while, I finally landed in a wide space and stopped.
“Ouch…”
Luckily I landed on a soft carpet, so I was alive.
My butt hurt a bit though… poor little butt.
“…I thought I was really going to die this time.”
I felt like a human hoop; dizzy from spinning.
I grabbed my whirling head and staggered to my feet.
“Now, where on earth is this…?”
—Intruder!
—A human, a human!
—How did a human get here?
—Humans are dangerous!
Along with rustling noises, small voices started to speak up.
…What is that? Could it be monsters?
I pricked up my ears and looked around.
—Might be followers of Arachonesia!
—Then let’s team up and drive it out!
—Yeah, good idea!
When the whispering stopped, something appeared from behind a huge display cabinet.
“…Ant, ant?”
I rubbed my eyes and looked at the ant army before me.
They were definitely ants… but—
I almost fainted from shock.
Why? These ants weren’t the ants I knew.
First, they were huge—about baby-Ruby size, maybe a bit smaller.
Their bodies were pure white, and rune-like magic symbols were drawn across their backs.
—Human! Why are you here?!
—This is our home! Get out!
—Scram or we’ll eat you!
When I looked at them with a stunned expression, the ants all protested at once and told me to leave.
“Uh, guys?”
—Eek, a human spoke—gross!
…What nasty ants. I’m a bit hurt.
“No, I washed… I’m clean.”
—You came to wreck our home, right? You filthy, stinky human!
Haha, their refusal to listen is the same everywhere…
I answered with an exaggeratedly hurt face.
“No, why would I smash your house? It’s such a lovely house. Your place is really fancy—wow, impressive.”
If anyone overheard, they might think I’d come to a housewarming party for a friend. When you visit someone’s home, it’s polite to start by complimenting it.
…Honestly, numbers overwhelm me; they’ve got me outnumbered badly.
Even by eye, there must be dozens of them.
—Huh, huh! The human’s got taste.
—For such a lowly human, you have an eye for this!
When I praised them with a thumbs-up, one ant answered with a prim expression.
At that moment a quest window flashed in front of my eyes.
[<SYSTEM> Quest started! “Return the House to the Antragon!”]
This place used to be the home of the monster “Antragon.”
Please help the poor Antragon, who is in danger of losing their house, and reclaim it.
Reward: Gain the loyalty of the Antragon tribe, ‘Masters of Construction.’
Failure: You will lose your ‘home’ and be left homeless on the streets.
What, what did you say? Lose what?
You lousy sys—tem!
Being cast out onto the streets is basically a death sentence to me!
Stunned, I collapsed onto the floor.
—Human, who said you could sit there!
—Yeah, get up, it’ll make the floor dirty!
…Ugh, they’re so prickly.
Okay, calm down. I have to clear this quest no matter what.
From the quest text it looked like they had some reason for their situation.
I decided I’d first win the trust of these little monsters who hated humans.
“S-sorry. I was rude. My name is Joe Blanche. If it’s okay, could I look around your house?”
—Why is a human looking around our home?
—Yeah, get out!
“Because, um. You’re the Antragon tribe, right? I heard you’re famous among monsters as master builders. It would be a great honor to see such a house with my own eyes.”
Saying they were famous was a lie, but the rest was sincere.
The entrance had been a bit—or a lot—awkward, but the Antragon house’s interior was furnished in an antique style that made it feel like a noble mansion.
The place I’d fallen into seemed to be the central hall of the Antragon mansion.
The floor was smooth like marble, and on it lay a luxurious carpet decorated with the Antragon’s back-pattern. Antique ornaments were placed here and there, and a statue of a beautiful woman—almost deified—presumably the queen of the Antragon clan, stood with presence in the hall’s center.
What? An ant house better than mine…
—That human knows his stuff.
—But how does that human understand us?
—Hmm, maybe we can show him around. He looks really weak anyway.
—No way, we can’t let a filthy human in here! The queen isn’t even here…
Hey, I can hear all of you, you know? I’ll be starting muscle training again tomorrow.
