I’m Not Good at Offensive Magic, but I’ll Do My Best With Support Magic!

Chapter 2: The City of Tanza

「Snow, the floor there, dangerous」
「Yes, thank you. Rinshia, watch out for the wires」

With Shia-san and Snow-san in the lead, we proceeded down what seemed to be an underground passage. Where exactly are we going? Besides, who would have set this trap and for what purpose?

「What’s wrong, Yuan oneechan?」
「I was just a little surprised at how many traps there were」

Lurilna-san and I are walking behind them, keeping an eye out for traps. I can sense danger and know where to go, so I have room to spare, but Lurilna-san is also walking along without stepping on any traps, looking like she has room to spare.

「Fun, right?」

In fact, I think she may even be enjoying it.

「No, it’s not fun, but… who in the world could have set this up?」
「Well, I’m the one who set the trap. I’m also an informant, but I’m registered as a Trapper as an adventurer!」
「Trapper?」

That’s a profession I’ve never heard of. However, if Lurilna-san had set the trap, it would be a good reason for her to be able to relax.

「Well, it’s a profession that involves setting traps and knocking down enemies, and it can be used when defending or resting!」

It seems to be a profession that involves setting traps and stopping monsters and bandits from attacking when they can be foreseen, and sometimes setting lethal traps. It’s not likely to lead to direct combat, but if there are traps, it’s hard for those with wisdom to pay attention to them as well. In some cases, our allies will be harmed as well.

「But why did you set them up in this place?」
「That’s because this is my territory!」
「Territory?」
「That’s right. This passage is like a hidden passage that was originally used by nobles. It seems to be a forgotten place that is no longer in use, so I’m using it」

It’s a big city, after all.

「But I’m amazed you were able to find this forgotten place」
「I’m an informant!」
「Lurilna-san…」
「Yuan oneechan, can you call me Luri?」
「I understand. And so, Luri-san…」
「Lu・ri」

It seems that “Luri-san” is no good either. She wants me to call her by her name.

「No fair. Then, I’ll settle with Shia」
「Then, I am your …… f- friend, Snow is fine」

There’s more, though.

「I won’t change my mind about what to call you! More importantly, you need to keep your eyes on the road ahead!」
「Muu」
「Disappointing」

You don’t sound happy about it, but we’re both older than you. It’s a matter of familiarity.

「I’m good, right~?」
「It’s no good. Luri-san is older than me… or not. Please stop with the “oneechan”」

From what I’ve heard, Luri-san is the same age as me. So I’m not “oneechan”, you know.

「I don’t care how old you are! Oneechan is oneechan!」
「Either way, I’m shorter than you, so it’s weird to call me oneechan」
「Is that so? Well, whatever. Then, you can call me Luri-chan, okay? Yuan oneechan!」
「Mou, that’s fine」

I’m afraid I’m going to get pushed around if I talk about this any more, so I gave up. There are other things I want to ask you, you know.

「So, Luri-chan, how do you know about this place?」
「It’s just a coincidence?」
「Really?」
「Yeah, I guess. I mean, if you look into what’s going on in this city, you’ll probably end up here」
「This place?」
「Yeah. You’ll see what I mean when we get to the end~」

Apparently, there’s something up ahead. Either way, we can only go forward, so we have to be careful and cautious…

「Snow, that floor is dangerous」
「Really, thank you…」

When Snow-san took a large step forward to avoid stepping on the discolored floor.

Patan

「Kya!」
「Dangerous」

A bow and arrow popped out of the wall. Shia-san reacts, swinging her sword and flicking it away.

Basha!!!

At that moment, a large amount of water began to fall from the ceiling.

「Hahahaha! You’re both soaking wet~!」

When Luri-chan saw this, she laughed out loud with happiness.

「Unaware…」
「Uu… Mortifying」
「But I’m glad it’s just plain water」

It seems that there were multiple traps set up. The discolored floor was a dummy, and if you avoided it and took a big step, you would step on a wire the same color as the floor, and a bow and arrow would fly out, and the bow and arrow that flew out would also have a wire connected to it, and when the wire was pulled, water would fall from the ceiling. It’s a horrible trap to think about if the water wasn’t just water.

「It’s a good thing I followed you, because if I’d just locked you in, I’d never have seen this sight!」

It seems that this was the reason why she said there was no point in locking us up back then.

「Well, then, let’s move on!」
「… Un」
「… Yes」

We continue onward again with the soaking wet pair in the lead. They seem to be getting quite tense, will they be okay? By the way, it was also forbidden to dry them with magic. Because Luri-san seems to be truly enjoying this situation. It’s a good thing I have magic to sense danger.

After that, they got caught in many traps. When the floor suddenly falls out and Snow-san falls into it, a mud ball flies out and hits Shia-san, who is trying to save her, or when Snow-san tries to get out of the hole, she triggers another trap in the hole and gets soaked again… It’s kind of miserable for both of them. Every time they get caught in a trap, Luri-san laughs at them, which makes me feel even more sorry for them. Fortunately, there are no lethal traps so far. The first bow and arrow had a crushed arrowhead. As long as you don’t get hit too hard, you won’t die.

「…………」
「…………」

They fell silent. It seems that they are more mentally tired than physically.

「Luri-chan, are we there yet?」
「We’re almost there~ Come on!」

As we continued down the passageway, we saw a single door.

「Snow… open carefully」
「I know. There could be traps in the door, too」

You are quite alarmed. Well, it’s the most suspicious.

「I’ll open the door. Rinshia, if anything happens, please take care of it」
「Understood」

Snow-san cautiously opens the door and Shia-san prepares herself.

「Juuu!」

The door slightly opened and something popped out of the crack.

「Kya!」
「No problem」

It was a rat the size of a cat.

「Monsters!?」

That’s a monster called Demon Rat. On its own, it is classified as a G-Rank monster, less than a goblin.

「Why are they here?」
「Snow warning. Demon Rat Characteristics…」

Shia-san heightened her vigilance. That’s right. A Demon Rat by itself is G-Ranked, but only by itself. The dangerous thing about Demon Rats…

「They’re coming out the door」
「The gap is narrow. We’ll meet them here」

One by one, the Demon Rats popped out of the crack. Demon Rats are famous for acting in packs. The number of rats in a group determines the rank at which they are defeated. Rumor has it that there have been cases where the Demon Rats have multiplied to numbers as high as ten thousand, and there have been cases where cities have been destroyed in a matter of days. It’s a typical example of how the violence of numbers can push people over the edge even if their individual abilities are low.

「Don’t let them reach Yuan oneechan!」
「Is everything okay?」
「Un. There’s not that many of them」

That said, they’ve already killed over 30 of them. Their waves continue uninterrupted, and they are defeated one by one by the two of them.

「I’ll hold the front, Rinshia, you take care those I miss!」
「Understood. Tell me if it gets tough」

Snow-san uses a beautiful stance to cut down a jumping Demon Rat with a single strike. There was no hesitation in Snow-san’s swordsmanship, and the flow of her sword always led to the next move, cutting down the Demon Rats that attacked her without stopping. Shia-san, on the other hand, always seems to be in support. Even though it was a narrow passageway, some of them seemed to target the small me and Luri-chan, so she moved in all directions to take out the Demon Rats that ran along the walls and tried to avoid Snow-san, as well as the ones that fell from the ceiling at Snow-san. Shield and sword, the roles of the two can be seen that way.

「Snow, unexpectedly capable」
「Rinshia, too. I’ve heard much about you, and I can look ahead with a sense of security」

It’s a relief to know that they have room for conversation. Well, the scary thing about Demon Rats is the sheer force of numbers. If you are surrounded in an open area, it is dangerous, but if they come from one direction, it is easy to deal with them because they do not move so fast. Because it’s durability is such that I can manage to defeat it with magic, which I’m not very good at. With their swords, it’s actually even overkill.

「Luri-chan, can I help too?」
「No, it’s a test for both of them!」
「I know, I know. However, there is a possibility that I might have to fight with Snow-san in the future as well. It wouldn’t hurt to know my magic, right?」
「Auxiliary magic… well, the end is nigh!」
「Thank you… Shia-san, Snow-san, I’ll help you」
「Yuan’s assistance, I’m glad」
「Let’s see what you got」
「It’s auxiliary magic, so you’ll have to work hard, Snow-san」

I’m not going to participate in the attack. Now, what do we need here? I think for a moment and decide on the magic I want to cast on them.

「I’ve put up a barrier, so please drop your defenses and concentrate only on the Demon Rat coming out of the door. Shia-san, please continue to deal with the Demon Rats that are swarming Snow-san」
「Understood」
「Leave it to me!」

Shea will be receiving Physical Enhancement.

「Light」

Shia-san moves so fast that an afterimage remains. Even the walls and ceiling are used as footholds as she moves through the narrow passages.

「Snow-san, please swing your sword at the gap in the door. Enchantment 【Hien】」
「Understood!」

Trusting my words, she swung her sword toward the gap in the door, and the slash disappeared beyond the door while cutting the cobblestone.

「「「Ju──────」」」

The Demon Rat’s desperate cry echoed in a chorus. It’s got plenty of firepower. However, there are some drawbacks to this enchantment.

「This is difficult to con───trol!」

It’s because the sword has been given wind magic and it is sending the magic flying. The sensation is different from usual, and there is a possibility of mishandling. The slash that Snow-san sent flying destroyed the door.

「Shia-san, please join Snow-san in intercepting them」
「Understood」

At that moment, the door was broken and the Demon Rats came flying out like a flood.

「Sorry」
「No problem」

The two of them line up to take on the oncoming Demon Rats. I’ll be supporting them. Demon Rats prefer to live in dark places and tend to dislike light, so here.

「Shea-san, Snow-san, please watch out, it’ll a bit bright… Holy Lance!」

I cast the lance of light into the swarm of Demon Rats. Several Demon Rats were rendered motionless by the Holy Lance. Ehehe, even if I’m not good at offensive magic, I can still defeat Demon Rats, you know! Goblins are a bit of a challenge, though. However, the purpose is not to attack. The lance of light does not disappear for a while after it is stuck in the ground, but illuminates the area as a light source.

「Both of you, while the Demon Rats are avoiding the light, reduce their numbers」

Before I could say more, they were already on the move. I should say that this area is quintessential. In a battle, judging the situation can make the difference between life and death. Shia-san wasn’t worried, but Snow-san started to move at about the same time, so it wouldn’t be surprising if she had as much skill as Shia-san. I hadn’t asked about it, but is she at least C-Rank? From that point on, it was one-sided. It was one-sided to begin with, but it accelerated. They had killed quite a few of them before the door was broken, so there weren’t many left, and soon after this, Shia-san cut down the last one and the battle was over.

「Good job, everyone!」
「Luri, this is beyond a simple joke」
「Ah, that number of Demon Rats… it’ll not be surprising that they’re be C-Rank to kill」

The corpses of the Demon Rats are lying at our feet, filling the passage. It looks like there are more than a hundred of them.

「The problem with Demon Rats is that there’s not much you can use them for as materials」
「Yeah. That’s why no one wants to take it」

The habitat is dark and unsanitary, and they are not taken in as material, wasting too many of them. It comes up rather frequently as a request, but I get the impression that there is always a surplus.

「Okay, now that we’re done, let’s move!」
「Luri」
「I know I’ve done some things wrong. But, let’s face it, that’s about as bad as it gets!」

This is the extent of the request for about a C-Rank, though some people might be angry. Luri-chan didn’t show any sign of concern and touched the wall, not where the door was, but where it was.

Gogogogogo.

The wall slid down, revealing a hidden passage. Apparently, the door was also a dummy.

「Don’t worry, it’s safe now, from here on out!」

As if to prove it to herself, Luri-chan walked into the passage first.

「Luri-chan, we have to deal with the Demon Rats first」
「Don’t worry! It’ll be cleaned up in a few days! There are still a lot of Demon Rats out there!」

Demon Rats don’t cannibalize each other while they’re alive, but when they’re dead, they seem to become food for the Demon Rats. These numbers plus another swarm of Demon Rats… will this city be okay? With this concern in mind, we followed Luri-chan’s lead and proceeded further in.

Author-san

Cat Day, Loss Time

「Shia-san, I heard that February 22 is Cat Day」
「Yes」
「But we’re canines, so it doesn’t matter」
「Nyot really」
「Shia-san?」
「Nothing」