484: Two Optimal Solutions
The morning sun dyed the white scales a pale orange.
I didn’t know what Lital-sama’s cruising speed was, but she didn’t even bother to avoid the thin clouds in front of her and plunged in. For a moment, my vision was dyed white—and the clouds were scattered, and my vision became clear again.
A dragon was not, strictly speaking, a mage. Basically, a magical spell was optimized for a human to use. But the physical enhancement that was constantly deployed to support its massive body. The gravity control that made its heavy body float effortlessly. The interference with the surrounding atmosphere, which made me feel only a slight breeze, even though we were going at a considerable speed. —Any one of them was a first-rate thing. In that sense, a dragon could even be called a natural-born mage.
Lital-sama slowed down and circled in a large arc. And she said, as if to spit it out.
“…That’s it. A Black Hound Barghest with a bad coat.”
I thought that the Barghests Lital-sama usually saw were a rather special case. …That said, from now on, a fluffy, well-groomed coat might become the standard for a Black Hound Barghest.
“I’ll drop you off a short distance away. If anything happens, give me a signal.”
“Yes.” I nodded, and Lital-sama glided down to the ground. If it had been a transport carriage, then its careful movements, which were overflowing with a sense of luxury and consideration, were like a limousine.
After we had landed, we unfastened the lifelines that had been connecting us all and dismounted.
“—Rebecca, Samarkand, Harken, act as an irregular patrol. What you do depends on the opponent… but I leave the judgment to you.”
“Yes. …I’ll be as elegant as I can.” Rebecca smiled fearlessly.
Normally, she was gentle and intelligent. But she was a veteran soldier, who had sworn revenge and had achieved it, and who was one of the top in the Listrea Demon King’s army.
“Lital-sama, please wait here until this is over.”
“Yes. If anything happens, call me.” Lital-sama nodded, her head moving up and down.
“Layla. …I’ll do my best. Go with Rebecca and the others.”
“Yes. …I believe you.” Layla smiled, and her brown tail wagged loosely.
“Liz and I will act separately. The safety of the villagers is our top priority. —And we will restore peace to this village.”
And I exchanged a look with Liz and nodded. I intertwined my fingers with hers. After we had looked at each other, we closed our eyes.
Without a sound, Liz and I muttered, as if to whisper, and we traced the name of the spell.
[Optimization].
When I opened my eyes, my eyes met Liz’s. Her eyes were a little more narrowed than usual, and they were without light. I couldn’t see, but I was probably the same. A kind of a mental magic that was collectively called a mental adjustment spell, which you cast on yourself. The aptitude was different for everyone, and the effect was also different.
The one that Liz and I had chanted was just to calm down and to optimize our thoughts and our actions. A spell that was just ‘that.’ But Liz, under the influence of this spell, was a perfected assassin. She would judge all kinds of fear, all kinds of conflict, as unnecessary, and she would paint them over in the name of necessity, and she would achieve her objective. Her own life, and the lives of her comrades, were all the same, a weight on a scale.
Of course, since her personality was Liz, she actually liked this state. To have love whispered to her, in a flat, emotionless tone, was also a good thing.
I was not as good as Liz. And yet, my heart was calming down. The noise was disappearing. I just felt like I had to do what I had to do. What I thought was necessary. The best for the Lord of Disease.
I unclasped my intertwined fingers.
“…Master?”
And I hugged Liz tightly.
“…Let’s go, Liz.” I whispered, as if to mutter, in her long ear.
“Yes. …So, why are you saying that while you’re hugging me?” Liz, too, asked, flatly.
“Because it’s… necessary…?”
“That’s a question.”
“I am convinced that it is the optimal solution, to get a relaxing effect in a short time before a battle, to replenish the Liz levels that were lacking in an unexpected development, to re-recognize each other’s magical signatures, and to deepen our marital bond.”
“…Your optimal solution is… special, Master.”
“I don’t think so.” I retorted, flatly.
I was a very ordinary human. —I had been. My wishes sometimes manifested in a rather special form, but they were all very ordinary.
And above all…
“…Then I, too, will relax, replenish my Master levels, and re-recognize your magical signature before I act.”
Liz also hugged me back tightly. This feeling was special, but not special. She, too, felt the same.
“Well then, I’m counting on you. Go ahead and hide. The signal will be as planned. …Alright?”
At Rebecca’s words, who had called out at the right time, we separated, and we both nodded.
“No problem.”
“No problem.”
