Chapter 73

“I’M NAKED AFTER ALL!” Kanata shouted, having been reincarnated in Lambda stark naked. But immediately afterwards, he regained his composure. Though he hadn’t wanted it, he was a man who had received standard training in an army. He hadn’t forgotten the danger of making noise over trivial things when in an unknown situation.

Although, if he was really a capable man, he would have kept his composure from the beginning.

Leaving that aside, Kanata looking at his surroundings to examine the situation.

Judging from the height of the sun in the sky, it was a little before noon. He was surrounded by a grass-covered plain with a thicket of shrubs, and there didn’t seem to be any dangerous creatures, humans included, nearby.

“They’re called ‘humans’* in this world, right? It really is like a comic, for there to be sentient races other than humans,” said Kanata, examining his own body once more.

TLN*: A different Japanese word, which typically means “mankind”, is used to refer to humans in Lambda. This is a translation headache so I’m translating case-by-case based on context.

Though he couldn’t see the fine details as he had no mirror, it seemed to him that there had been no change from how he had been in Origin right before his death, other than the fact that the fatal wound in his solar plexus had disappeared. Everything was the exact same, from his trained, lean body to his moles.

And as he had shouted just a moment earlier, he was standing there completely naked, but… as he looked at his surroundings, something caught his eye.

A dead skeleton that had fallen to pieces and its luggage, lying on the ground.

“Could it be that this was what that god meant when he said that he’ll ‘adjust things so that they work out?’” Kanata wondered.

It seemed unclean and he wasn’t pleased with it, but he didn’t like the idea of going to kill Vandalieu equipped with a grass skirt and club made from the nearby plants, so he had no other choice.

He searched the luggage to find numerous pieces of clothes, though they looked old, and a single rusty knife. He also found some silver and bronze coins. The owner of these belongings was probably killed by a lion or something.

“Ah, it feels absolutely terrible on the skin,” Kanata complained to himself. “It’s not cotton, is it… It doesn’t have any weird fungi growing on it, does it? Now then, Vandalieu is –”

【This message has been set to play automatically after you have been reincarnated in Lambda.】

“Uwah?! What is this?!” Kanata, surprised to suddenly hear Rodcorte’s voice speaking, leapt away from the spot he had been standing on and raised his knife, but the god was nowhere to be seen.

A moment later, he frowned as he realized that he had heard the voice inside his own head.

“Is this supposed to be a game’s tutorial or something?”

【Now then, first of all, take some clothes and the money that will allow you to get by for the time being from the nearby corpse’s belongings –】

“I mean, I’ve already got those.”

It seemed that Rodcorte’s voice was something that had been recorded beforehand, so it wouldn’t answer Kanata’s questions or change its words based on his actions.

【Next, check your own Status. To do this, simply think about seeing your Status.】

“Status, huh?” Kanata wasn’t pleased with the fact that he was being treated like a character in a game, but as instructed, he opened his own Status.

• Name: Kaidou Kanata
• Race: Human
• Age: 29 years old
• Title: None
• Job: None
• Level: 0
• Job history: None
• Attributes:
  • Vitality: 650
  • Mana: 42,000
  • Strength: 95
  • Agility: 157
  • Stamina: 204
  • Intelligence: 270
• Passive skills:
  • Disease and Poison Resistance: Level 10
  • Death-Attribute Resistance: Level 5
  • Fire-Attribute Resistance: Level 4
  • Augmented Stamina: Level 5
  • Augmented Mana: Level 5
  • Mental Corruption: Level 5
• Active skills:
  • Fire-Attribute Magic: Level 8
  • Wind-Attribute Magic: Level 4
  • Mana Control: Level 5
  • Archery: Level 5
  • Short Sword Technique: Level 5
  • Javelin Technique: Level 5
  • Unarmed Fighting Technique: Level 5
  • Coordination: Level 5
  • Survival: Level 3
  • Silent Steps: Level 4
  • Horseback Riding: Level 6
  • Lifesaving: Level 4
  • Arbitrary Active Skills: Level 5
• Unique skills:
  • Gungnir: Level 10
  • Target Radar: Owner of over 100,000,000 Death-Attribute Mana
  • The God of Reincarnation’s Fortune

“… Hohoh, so this is me, huh.”

It was the first time Kanata had had his abilities, skills and experience quantified in numbers since he had received report cards in school. The first time since he had died on Earth, as things had been given letter grades in Origin.

As for his impressions on his Status… He didn’t like how his Job and Job history displayed “None,” as if he was a NEET, but he did like that his Title was blank as well.

As for his Attribute Values, he didn’t think much about them. Unlike Mana, things like physical strength and agility weren’t quantified in numbers in Origin.

Like on Earth, one’s abilities were quantified by things like how many seconds it took them to run a hundred meters, how many push-ups they could do and how heavy the barbells they could lift were.

His Mana was the same number as it had been when he had it measured in Origin, so he assumed everything else was the same.

As for his skills, the Disease and Poison Resistance and Death-Attribute Resistance were the protective measures that he had requested. However, he had nothing but questions regarding the active skills that were displayed after them.

“I understand the magic-related skills, but… Why the hell do I have Archery and Horseback Riding?” Kanata wondered. “I’ve never used a bow or ridden a horse. Short Sword Technique and Unarmed Fighting Technique is probably the training I received using a knife and military-style unarmed fighting techniques, though. And what on earth is Arbitrary Active Skills?”

【Your skills and experience with things that do not exist in Lambda, like the use of guns and driving automobiles, have been replaced with things like the Archery and Horseback Riding skills. Arbitrary Active Skills is the remainder of those. You can assign them to the skills you think you need at a time of your own choosing.】

“I suppose I might have more opportunities to use them than completely useless skills, but…” Kanata found it disagreeable that his extensive training and real combat experience in using guns and operating cars, helicopters and boats had been replaced without his permission. “I suppose I’ll get on with killing Vandalieu and being reborn in a suitable, Earth-like world,” he decided.

All of the things he was dissatisfied with were transient things that would only last until he was finished with his work.

If he used Gungnir and the Target Radar, the items listed under his unique skills, it probably wouldn’t take that long. Though he didn’t have much faith in it, he even had the God of Reincarnation’s Fortune.

“Err, how do I use the Target Radar… Ah, I just have to think about it.”

The distance and current distance of Vandalieu’s location were displayed in Kanata’s head. According to this, he wasn’t that far away. If he had a helicopter, no, even a car, he could get there in a single day –

“Ah, I don’t even have a car, let alone a helicopter. It’d be pretty rough to travel that far on foot. Should I steal a horse or something? Hey, God, I did say that I didn’t want to encounter him unexpectedly, but you didn’t have to fling me into this place so far away from him, you know?”

Realizing that he had limited methods of transport, a crease appeared between Kanata’s eyebrows. It was possible to fly with wind-attribute magic, but he didn’t have enough Mana for that.

And if Kanata were to encounter an enemy while using magic to fly, his methods of attacking would be limited. It would be a different story if he had a gun.

【Unlike your skills, your Attribute Values are not particularly high compared to those holding combat-related occupations in Lambda. It would be best if you first go to a city, register at an Adventurers’ Guild, acquire a Job, prepare your equipment and learn about martial skills.】

In response to the voice he heard in his mind, Kanata shook his head, thinking about how complicated this all was.

“Like I said, I have no intention of doing these things that have been taken straight out of a stupid game,” he said.

But the one thing he did agree on was that he should prepare his equipment. He wouldn’t be able to complete this job in the next few days, and with that being the case, he would need food.

【If you go straight east from the place you have been reincarnated, you will come out onto the highway. You should find the means to accomplish these objectives there.】

“Well, I suppose I’ll obey those instructions,” Kanata decided. He didn’t intend to hunt while looking for edible grass, so he began walking east as he was told.

Before long, he heard a scream.

When he dashed towards the scream to find out what was happening, he saw armed men who appeared to be outlaws at a glance, attacking a carriage.

“Hannah, HANNAAAH!”

“Father, run!”

“Alright! If you don’t want the daughter of your employer to die, throw your weapons aside, all of you!”

It seemed that the bandits had taken the daughter of the traveling merchant hostage. Now, they were instructing the adventurers who had been hired as guards to disarm.

“… Uwah, what a cliché,” Kanata murmured to himself.

Was Kanata supposed to learn the direction of the nearest city and gain transport, food and money here? At least, Kanata himself interpreted it this way, so he quickly began reciting an incantation.

“The daughter and the items that the humans are wearing. Great Incineration!”

TLN*: When Kanata uses Gungnir, I’ll italicize his designated targets from now on so that there’s hopefully less confusion.

Flames burst forth from the pentagram that had appeared in front of Kanata’s hands, engulfing all of the bandits as well as the girl who had been taken hostage.

“H-HANNAAAAH!”

The bandits screamed as they were burned alive, as did the girl.

“H-huh? It’s not… hot?”

Though the flames surrounded the girl, they didn’t inflict any damage on her. There wasn’t a single mark on her clothes or even the equipment the bandits had been wearing.

Only the bandits’ bodies had been burned.

“It seems that my Gift, Gungnir, is just as easy to use as it was in Origin.”

The cheat-like ability that Kanata had received from Rodcorte, Gungnir. It was an ability that allowed penetration of selected targets. It allowed him and people and objects in contact with him to penetrate physical objects and energies.

To use it, Kanata had to designate targets for penetration.

When using this ability before dying in Origin, he had made the bullets he fired penetrate the building to hit the terrorists and made bullets and knives pass through him, making himself invulnerable to their attacks.

Now, he had designated the girl and the equipment on her and the bandits’ bodies as targets for the ability, scorching only the bandits’ bodies into burnt, black matter.

The greater the range of targets for Gungnir, the more Mana it consumed. Thanks to his Mana pool of over 40,000, this wasn’t a problem as long as Kanata didn’t use it excessively.

But the problem was that it also had a weakness. His attacks could penetrate any physical or magical defenses, and he could use the ability to avoid any attacks towards him. But by looking at him, one could easily tell what weapons they should use to attack him.

Obviously, if he had designated bullets as Gungnir’s target, then he wouldn’t be able to use a gun, and if he had designated knives as the target, then he wouldn’t be able to hold a knife.

If he designated light as the target and became transparent, he would be blind as his eyes couldn’t receive light. If he designated heat as the target, he would rapidly lose body heat.

And if he designated human bodies as the target, he wouldn’t be able to touch others. That was why the moment he had rescued the president’s daughter who had been held captive, it was certain that a bare-handed attack would definitely hit him.

In fact, I was attacked by Metamorph’s hand… her body.                                 

Kanata’s weakness had been completely taken advantage of. He decided not to get in range for close-quarters combat with skilled opponents from now on.

“Oh, it’s just like a miracle… Hannah, Hannah!”

“Father!”

“Thank you so much for saving my daughter!”

Kanata, who had been painfully immersed in the memories from his previous life, came to his senses as the merchant called out to him in delight at his daughter’s safety.

“Hey, I have a question. Which way do I have to go to find a city?” Kanata asked, realizing that they were speaking Japanese.

“A city?” the merchant repeated, blinking in confusion at Kanata’s attitude and the fact that he hadn’t even introduced himself. “The closest one is Tia City, down the highway in this direction…”

“This way? I just have to go down this highway? The road doesn’t branch at all?” Kanata asked.

“There is a small branched road that leads to a village, but you can reach the city by following the larger one…” said the merchant. “Did you happen to lose your way?”

“No, I’m not lost anymore,” said Kanata. “I’ve acquired transport, equipment and enough food and money for now, after all.”

“What do you mean –”

“I’ll start with this. Man.”

The merchant felt a dull impact.

“Kah… Gofuh?”

Before he could understand anything that was happening, his beloved daughter opened her eyes wide as blood spurted from her mouth.

“Ha… HANNAAAAH?!”

A rusty knife had been thrust deep into the chest of the merchant’s daughter who was supposed to be safe in his arms.

“Oh, it pierced deeper than I thought,” Kanata remarked. “Is this what these skill things are?”

“Hannah-san?!”

“What do you think you’re doing?! Why would you do such a thing?!”

Kanata casually watched the girl who had started spasming with her eyes were still wide open in disbelief and her father who was giving a heartbroken scream. Astonished, the adventurers raised their weapons towards him.

“Why, you ask… Hmm, because her name is Hannah,” Kanata replied. “It’s the same name as the president’s daughter that Mari disguised herself as, so it’s an unpleasant name to me, and since this is something that the god set up for me, I’m distracting myself. In other words, I’m just venting my anger, I suppose. Haha, how pitiful~♪”

“W-what are you saying?” asked an adventurer in response to Kanata’s words that made absolutely no sense to him, looking afraid.

On the other hand, the other adventurer seemed to have decided that Kanata was an enemy to be disposed of.

“Die, you lunatic!”

Kanata evaded the spear thrusted at him by the adventurer with the absolute minimum movement required, closed the distance between them and easily reached into the adventurer’s pocket.

“What, if this is all you have, won’t my bare hands be enough? But just in case, weapons, armor.”

“Wha –?! GAHAH!”

Unfortunately for the adventurers, the level of Kanata’s Unarmed Fighting Technique from his training in the army was equivalent to a C-rank adventurer’s. The two of them, who were a D and E-class adventurer, couldn’t overcome this difference in ability.

Kanata was even being cowardly enough to use Gungnir, slipping through the resistance that the adventurers were trying to put up with their weapons and armor, attacking them one-sidedly with punches and kicks that made contact directly with their bodies.

Before long, the two adventurers were lying on the ground with the whites of their eyes showing.

“Even if that girl’s name was Beth or Hanako or something instead of Hannah, I would have disposed of her after raping her anyway. So if you’re blaming yourself and thinking that she died because you named her Hannah, you don’t have to worry about it,” Kanata told the merchant.

The merchant’s daughter had already died due to the knife puncturing her lung, and he was still holding onto her in a daze. Of course, the merchant wasn’t thinking anything of the sort.

“Th-this… Do you think you can get away with this?! Eventually, the day will come where you will be judged!” the merchant shouted.

“Come on, you’re just a character in this game-like world; don’t get so serious on me,” said Kanata. “I’m telling you, it’s fine. The god Rodcorte will probably have her reborn as somebody somewhere else. I’m intending to do the same before this judgment or whatever comes to me, anyway.”

Giving a light laugh at the grief and anger of the father who had lost his daughter, Kanata burned the merchant’s body and turned him to ash without damaging his clothes, just like had done to the bandits.

“It’s my first time riding a horse, but with the Horseback Riding skill, it’ll probably be fine,” Kanata said as he threw the belongings and equipment of the merchant, adventurers and bandits into the carriage, got inside and rode towards the city. He equipped the merchant’s knife with lightning-bolt-shaped patterns carved into its handle, which seemed to have been his lucky charm, at his waist.

Rodcorte’s careless selection of who to reincarnate was the greatest failure he had ever committed.

While reincarnating those who had died in the explosion on the ferry, he had indeed excluded the evil terrorists. However, as for the crew and passengers, he had simply asked whether they would accept his reincarnation or not, and had made no effort to select them.

Their personalities, dispositions, mental strength and sense of morals. Rodcorte hadn’t examined any of these.

The criteria of whether they were evil or not at the moment of their death on Earth was far too simple a criterion; it couldn’t even be called an examination.

Despite that, despite taking some things into consideration, he was forcing the mental burden of being reincarnated in foreign worlds upon them, multiple times.

As a result, there were some who had made brilliant achievements in Origin such as Amemiya Hiroto, but there were also those like Kanata.

Rodcorte hadn’t expected Kanata to perform such acts of violence, either, but… Kanata had already been reborn in Lambda. Rodcorte was no longer able to control his actions, nor could he rely on unstable Divine Messages to convey his will.

“This isn’t why I had you reborn in that place, but… No, this is but a trivial problem,” Rodcorte told himself.

With Kaidou Kanata’s abilities, unlike Vandalieu, he wouldn’t cause more than a thousand deaths with the acts of violence he committed along the way. Despite being underdeveloped, even Lambda wouldn’t be significantly influenced by these.

“But is he really not planning to acquire a Job, increase his level or learn about martial skills?” Rodcorte wondered. “Even if Lambda is inferior in culture and civilization, the people’s individual skills in combat are greater than those of people of Earth or Origin…”

Froto had never been blessed with luck, but considered himself to be outstanding. That was why he had believed that with just a little luck, everything in his next plan would go well, he would receive the reward he desired and be added to the ranks of mages employed in the Hartner Duchy.

But what the hell is this guy?!

As Froto walked towards the Seventh Cultivation Village with the three adventurers, Kasim and his friends, he glanced at Vandalieu.

There was currently a common familial conflict occurring in the Hartner family of dukes. The head of the family was still alive, but he was bedridden with illness, causing him difficulties with his official work. He had two sons who possessed the right to succeed him.

The eldest son Lucas’s mother was the duke’s concubine. He was an extraordinary man with bravery and tactical genius who was currently serving as the leader of the Knights’ Order, and he had tremendous support from the Hartner Duchy’s army.

The second son Belton’s mother was the duke’s legal wife. He was talented in dealing with domestic affairs, had the support of many civil officials and had connections with the central government. He was expected to make further developments in the Hartner Duchy if he were elected.

Normally, it would be ideal if Belton succeeded the family of dukes as he was the son of the duke’s legal wife, while Lucas made use of his tactical genius in directing the army, whose presence had increased due to the Hartner Duchy becoming the frontline in the war against the Amid Empire.

However, the way of thinking that each brother possessed did not match the other’s.

Belton, the second son, believed that defenses against the Amid Empire ought to be strengthened while efforts were put into domestic affairs, prioritizing defending the duchy against the Empire’s weapons. That was why he had sent the troublesome refugees in the cities, who were the primary cause of the deteriorating public order, to remote regions under the pretense of cultivation, while in fact this was little more than a project set up to leave the refugees to fend for themselves. This had caused a sharp drop in the refugee numbers inside cities.

He had sent the inhabitants of the cultivation villages that had failed to the slave-run mines to squeeze out the rest of the dwindling supply of metal while enacting policies to maintain forts and strengthen garrisons.

Lucas, the eldest son, advocated that efforts should be placed in retaking the Sauron Duchy in the name of justice, piercing the Amid Empire’s shields and gaining glory for the Hartner Duchy. For this reason, he believed that the refugees, the primary cause of the deteriorating public order, should be conscripted and used as disposable, low-grade troops while sinking funds into the army’s budget to increase the number of regular soldiers, leaving the maintenance of public order to the guards and adventurers.

The two plans were polar opposites of each other, and because each brother believed that their own plans were for the good of the Hartner Duchy, they were having a dispute. This had caused a division within their supporters and those who stood to benefit from the execution of either plan into separate factions.

Froto’s viewpoints were far-biased towards Lucas’s side. He had suffered defeat in a power struggle within the Mages’ Guild, one day, one of the members of Lucas’s Knights’ Order had called out to him while he sat pitifully by a window, having been forgotten by everyone. The knight had told him that they were looking for someone to infiltrate the cultivation villages, pretending to be a priest of Alda.

Despite being a plan to simply leave the refugees to fend for themselves, Belton’s cultivation project was going unexpectedly well. Only one of the seven cultivation villages had been abandoned, and though there were differences in prosperity between the other six villages, it seemed that they would last for at least five more years.

If a cultivation project that had been designed to failed ended up succeeding, those of Belton’s faction would praise his ability in managing domestic affairs even more, advocating that he, who possessed the blood of the duke’s legal wife, would manage the duchy far better than his boorish older brother.

This alone wouldn’t end the familial dispute, but for Lucas’s faction, it was best for Belton to have as few achievements and as many failures as possible.

This was where Froto had come in. He had begun masquerading as a priest of Alda years ago and traveled to a different village from one of Lucas’s spies who was disguised as a traveling merchant, leaking information to Lucas’s faction.

Gaining the trust of the villagers had been simple. Priests didn’t have Guild Cards like adventurers, and there were plenty of wandering priests, so even the church in the city wasn’t aware of his actions.

Unlike proper priests and high priests, clergymen of his position didn’t have qualifications or anything of the sort, so they didn’t serve in churches and there were no records of them.

To take an extreme example, anyone could become a priest as long as he dressed like one and possessed the scriptures or memorized enough of them to preach them. If he could even use magic other than of the light and life attributes and was cultured and knowledgeable, it would be even more perfect.

The Clergyman skill exists in Lambda, but it is a skill that represents the ability to conduct rituals such as those of purification and the ability to preach. If one could feign these abilities, it was surprisingly simple to masquerade as a priest.

It probably wouldn’t work in cities where multiple proper clergymen worked, but what the people of villagers wanted from traveling priests were medicine, knowledge, education in reading and writing, preaching and ways to pass the time, such as stories of heroes and saints.

And thanks to the information that Froto and the others had gathered, plans to empty the cultivation villages had finally been executed. Though the number of candidates to be conscripted as low-grade troops would decrease somewhat, reducing Belton’s achievements even by a little was more than enough of a benefit to do so.

But… this guy interfered with everything!

All of the plans had been crude, far from meticulous. Froto and the others weren’t experts in conspiracies and subversive activities to begin with. If such experts were used, it would be noticed quickly by those of Belton’s faction, which was why people like Froto were being used in the first place.

But even so, those plans should have been more than enough to inflict devastating damage to these small villages.

Vandalieu saved the lives of Kasim’s party and Ivan. That didn’t really matter. It had been decided that the Seventh Cultivation Village, which was close to the highway, would be destroyed sometime in the future anyway.

But misfortune befell the spy disguised as a traveling merchant, who distributed poison to the Fifth Cultivation Village to wipe the villagers out. He failed to poison the hunter named Kyne. The spy had been told a date where there was no hunting planned, but Kyne had changed his plans or perhaps the spy had simply gotten the date wrong… Either way, Kyne came to the Seventh Cultivation Village where Froto was, seeking help.

Even so, Froto had no way of helping him cure the villagers, nor would he even have made it in time. If Froto arrived at the village the next day when all the villagers were dead and declared that it was an epidemic, the mass-poisoning incident would have been hushed up without incident.

But Vandalieu flew to the village with Kyne on his back, saying that he could cure them.

Kyne had been doubtful, but Vandalieu had already healed Ivan. Because of this, everyone in the Seventh Cultivation Village assured him that Vandalieu would be able to save the villagers, leaving Froto unable deny his ability or stop him from going.

It was a fool’s errand; even if he did manage to save anyone, it would be a few villagers at most. No, it was reasonable to assume that he would run out of Mana and fall out of the sky before even reaching the village.

That was what Froto thought as he insincerely expressed worry for Kyne and Vandalieu, headed out to see what had become of the Fifth Cultivation Village… and to his surprise, found that all of the villagers were alive. They looked somewhat exhausted, but that was the extent of the damage.

Though this was an unbelievable nightmare, he somehow managed to look happy and exclaim that this was a miracle as he chased after Vandalieu, who had headed for another village. Froto heard of Vandalieu’s deeds, wondering if he really was having a nightmare.

He cured diseases without reciting any incantations, healed burns and wounds and created medicine from his fingertips (actually, his claws).

He flew down from the sky to defeat the Orcs sent by Froto’s companion, a tamer, in a single attack, saving the life of a boy who was supposed to die. When nobody was looking, he had even created a well that could be used as soon as a pulley and bucket was installed.

Even villages that had been supposed to be wiped out by bandit attacks were still going strong. There was no doubt that Vandalieu had something to do with this.

And in the Second Cultivation Village, Vandalieu purified the poisoned fertilizer distributed by Froto’s superiors and even taught the villagers how to use Goblins as emergency rations.

There was no other way to describe this as anything other than divine work.

Who on earth is this Dhampir? Could he be a spy from Belton’s side? No, if that were the case, he would be Belton’s trump card. Someone capable of doing these things wouldn’t be an improvised spy like me. There is no way that such a trump card would be deployed to a place like this, so… is he really someone who was simply passing through?

Froto timidly looked towards Vandalieu, only to accidentally make eye contact with him.

This guy?! Does he actually suspect me after all?!

“… Is there something wrong?” asked Vandalieu.

Froto felt himself breaking out into a cold sweat as he saw his own terrified face reflected Vandalieu’s eyes, which were looking at him as if they had seen through everything.

“N-no, it is nothing,” Froto replied, barely managing to prevent his voice from breaking.

“I see,” Vandalieu said as he directed his gaze elsewhere.

Th-this guy is too dangerous! Froto thought. I must report him to Karcan-dono.

Karcan was a man of the Knights’ Order, the one giving instructions Froto and the others, the one who had taken command of this operation.

Unlike the spy disguised as a traveling merchant, who had left the village behind without even staying to confirm the results of his work, the tamer was probably already heading back to make his report, but that wasn’t enough. Once Froto returned to the Seventh Cultivation Village, he would have to leave within the same day and head to the city to make his own report.

Despite Froto being so wary of Vandalieu, Vandalieu didn’t suspect Froto at all.

Danger Sense: Death couldn’t detect people’s intentions other than those intending to kill him or cause him injury, and Vandalieu himself wasn’t sharp enough to see what people were truly thinking just by looking at them.

Even when Froto had thought their eyes met, Vandalieu had simply been staring vaguely at the sky and happened to look at Froto by coincidence.

Expressionlessness is often mistaken for anger, but Vandalieu’s expressionless was completely empty, like the face of a doll. Because of this, everyone who looked at him interpreted his expression differently.

If looked at with friendly eyes like those of the villagers, then he appeared friendly. If he was stared at with eyes of suspicion like Froto’s, then he appeared as if he was suspecting the viewer.

What Vandalieu was currently thinking was something that everyone has thought at least once.

I want to become a bird; someone, please give me wings.

Why did he have to make the effort of walking for an hour when he could use Flight? Of course, he understood that Kasim, his companions and the priest wouldn’t be able to keep up with him.

If he tried to carry them like he did Kyne, this many people would definitely be over the weight limit. It would use too much Mana. And Vandalieu wasn’t large enough to have four people riding on top of him. If a strong gust of wind blew or they were attacked by a monster like a giant raven, someone might fall off.

That was why there was no choice but to walk on the ground’s surface. Vandalieu had been staring at the sky, thinking that he wouldn’t have to go through this trouble if he could use a spell that allowed him to fly while carrying multiple people.

And then something suddenly occurred to him.

Huh? If I want wings, I can just grow them, can’t I?

Indeed, if he wanted wings, he could simply grow them. Having thought of this, Vandalieu wanted to try it out right away, but he restrained himself.

It would be impossible to convince these people that it’s light-attribute magic. I’ll try it out after I reach the Seventh Cultivation Village and head for the city with Eleanora and the others.