I Became a Raid Boss

The silver sword blade shimmered with light.

Zing!

The sword smoothly penetrated the leather.

It looked like a fork piercing pudding, but the result was far from peaceful.

Slash!

The monster’s head soared into the sky.

The lifeless head spun around, spraying blood everywhere.

“Oh.”

I messed up.

The original plan was to neatly separate the head from the body, but thinking of something else while cutting made me apply too much strength.

Thanks to that, I got all sticky…

I grumbled as I wiped the blood sticking to my body.

“Huff… you shouldn’t say things like that, Kana…!”

“Here we go again?”

What nonsense is she about to come up with this time?

With my arms crossed, Da-eun took out a white handkerchief from her pocket and began to wipe my cheek.

Rub rub.

Squish squish.

“…”

“Ugh, hehehe…”

“You’re really trying to clean me, right?”

“Of course! Ta-da, all done!”

As soon as I brought up the topic, Da-eun pulled her hand away from my cheek.

The once pure white handkerchief was stained a dark crimson color from the monster’s blood.

It wouldn’t be easy to get its original color back even after washing.

Well, given that it was soaked in monster blood, I doubt it would be usable again anytime soon, hygiene aside.

If I took this to a village of humans in Ardina, wouldn’t I be treated as a terrorist?

“Fluffy fluffy Kana, complete!”

“Fluffy fluffy? I’m still all sticky!”

Though she wiped away the blood, the unpleasant feeling and stickiness it left still remained.

Well, it wasn’t washed with water, so that’s only natural.

“You shouldn’t say things like that. You know? There are really a lot of strange people in the world who imagine weird things even when you say something normal.”

“Is there really anything weird about saying I feel sticky? What even is ‘weird imagination’?”

“There are some things in this world that are better left unknown. I just hope you stay pure like you are now, Kana. Can you understand this older sister’s feelings?”

“Yeah. For now, I get that Joanie is one of those weird people.”

“Kana, what do you mean by that…? You just haven’t met any truly weird people! I’m at least in the normal spectrum!”

“Hmmm.”

But if she’s saying, “I am at least normal,” maybe she knows she’s weird.

If she genuinely believed she was normal, she wouldn’t have said something like that.

I ignored the self-proclaimed “normal” weirdo as I shook the blood off my sword.

“How many did we catch?”

“Precisely twenty.”

“That’s quite a lot.”

Instead of Da-eun, who was still mumbling, Selin answered my question.

“If you’re tired, how about taking a break for a bit?”

“I’m not tired. Just bored.”

Doing the same thing repeatedly gets old.

Especially when it’s a simple repetitive task that’s completely devoid of complexity.

“Simple repetitive task… huh?”

“That’s right.”

We wait for the monsters to appear.

When a monster approaches, we separate its head from the body and send it off to a good place.

That’s it.

If a monster were strong enough that thick mana dripped with every breath, I wouldn’t have the luxury to think so idly.

Surprisingly, though, there weren’t any exceptionally strong monsters in the center of Raxia.

My expectation that powerful monsters would exist, far exceeding those in Ardina or the outskirts of Raxia, turned out to be wonderfully wrong.

Hearing my words, Justina replied with a serene expression.

“Of course, that’s what the barrier was created for, isn’t it?”

One of the roles of the barrier.

To prevent the concentrated mana in the center from spreading across the continent.

Even so, they couldn’t stop some mana from leaking out, but if the barrier hadn’t existed, Raxia’s situation would have been much more dire… Justina said.

“The source of the monsters’ life and strength comes from mana. With just this little bit of mana, there’s no way a monster that could take you on would appear.”

“Then there should be strong monsters inside the barrier, right? I haven’t seen any even inside it.”

“A farmer should always keep an eye on his field. If pests arise, he must deal with them right away.”

Even if a potential monster was born outside of the barrier, it would end up being prey for other monsters.

Unlike other life forms that instinctively shy away from mana, monsters don’t care about that at all.

The environment of Raxia, which is favorable for the emergence of monsters, actually interferes with the blooming of the potential they possess.

“Then, the fact that such monsters were seen in Ardina occasionally…”

“It’s likely due to the lack of natural enemies. If a particularly strong monster is born, it will grow by devouring others.”

“I’m not interested in tales like that.”

“Didn’t you start this whole thing, Kana?”

“Joanie, slander is a bad thing!”

“No…! It definitely happened like that…!”

Da-eun struck her chest, distressed.

I gazed at the scene silently before tugging at Da-eun’s sleeve.

“Enough already.”

“…!”

Da-eun wore a look of awe.

“Are you worried about me, older sister?”

“Yeah.”

How could I not worry when she was pounding her chest like that?

“Joanie likes big breasts, you know.”

“…Huh?”

“If you keep pounding them, what if they sink in and shrink?”

“Wait wait wait.”

Huff.

Da-eun took a deep breath.

Then, faster than she inhaled, she exhaled.

After a few deep breaths, Da-eun spoke in a voice that struggled to maintain calm but was far from it.

“I have a lot to say, but first, let me ask this. What… does loving big breasts even mean?”

“…? I mean it literally. You’re always envying Celin. So I thought you liked them…”

“Didn’t I?!”

She seemed relieved by my tilted head.

“Oh… is that what you meant? Can you not say it in a way that allows for misunderstandings next time?”

“Was there a possibility of misunderstanding?”

“It wasn’t ‘possible.’ It was overflowing to the point of being problematic. Ugh… it’s chaotic again. Kana directly said she didn’t mean it that way. Stop tormenting the perfectly fine polar bear! Polar bears are life!”

I never used to understand such words, but now I do.

What a handy skill.

While I was nodding in satisfaction, this time, the arrows flew toward me.

“And besides, just because you hit your chest doesn’t mean they would shrink.”

“What are you talking about? It would be lucky if that were all that happened. How many people die because their ribs get crushed?”

“Do you think I’m the type to hit my chest hard enough to crush my ribs?”

“…”

“Excuse me, Kana?”

“…”

“Hey, answer me.”

“Hmm, who is she calling?”

When Da-eun calls me, she usually calls me ‘Kana’ or ‘Kana-ya~.’

That’s how it is when we face each other in conversation.

That must be Da-eun’s habit.

Initially, it felt strange to be called in such a soft voice that tickled my ears, but now I’m quite accustomed to it.

Anyway.

What I’m trying to say is, if she were calling me, she would’ve used my name, so the “hey” she used now is directed at someone else.

Hmm, then who is she calling?

It can’t be Justina, so could she be speaking casually with Celin?

As I was distracted, Da-eun suddenly grabbed my waist.

“Ah!”

In an instant, my height rose.

My feet swung freely in the air, not touching the ground.

“It’s you, you. Are you trying to drop me? You cocky little brat! You’ll face punishment…!”

Heh, that tickles.

My face was cleaned, but my clothes were still drenched in blood.

Da-eun didn’t care about getting her clothes dirty.

Tickle, hug, tickle…

After a moment, Da-eun, who had been causing a ruckus, finally set me down.

Whether she knew or not that my face was covered in blood, Da-eun looked quite satisfied.

“Phew…”

“Since it looks like you’re reflecting, I’ll let this slide. Just promise to behave from now on.”

“Did I really reflect?”

Celin, who had been watching from the side, tilted her head.

“Of course. Just look at Kana’s expression. She’s clearly remorseful!”

“I think she’s just getting tickled… More importantly, Da-eun?”

“Yeah?”

“Um…”

Celin hesitated to speak up.

While she was hesitating, I took a moment to calm my ragged breaths.

Finally, just as I had completely settled down, Celin opened her mouth.

“I occasionally thought I felt some gazes, but so it was that you envied me…. If I could give you anything, I would, but this is something I can’t even if I want to…”

“Why is Celin getting involved too?”

It’s all Kana’s fault!

Da-eun let out a loud sob.

For now, it doesn’t seem to be my fault.

I averted my gaze, pretending not to notice, and started a conversation with Justina, who was watching me with a look of pity.

“We should move to a different location. It seems we’ve taken care of the nearby monsters.”

Though they would eventually show up if we waited, it seemed better to move than to just wait around.

There were two reasons for us to go outside the barrier to hunt monsters.

One was to eliminate possible dangers before the barrier disappears, in case monsters come rushing in, and the other was to collect any deficient mana using the corpses of the monsters, even if the barrier were to be retracted.

As I already mentioned, it wasn’t particularly difficult, and even if the amount of mana collected was minuscule, it was better than doing nothing.

Luring monsters by igniting mana and dealing with those that came—it was a simple task.

“I share the same thought.”

Justina agreed with my opinion.

“How much longer do we have to keep doing this?”

“I suppose we should make a full lap?”

“A full lap means….”

“I meant around the barrier.”

“…Is it that much?”

A town of demons…? Or a city…?

Either way, the isolation barrier protecting it was quite large.

While it may not be at the level of the holy laws encircling the Holy Kingdom, it would still take quite a bit of time to walk a full lap around the barrier.

Since we wouldn’t just be walking; we’d need to lure the monsters, kill them, and then shift locations repeatedly…

“Let’s wrap this up quickly.”

I reached the conclusion that if I didn’t want to camp out, I’d have to move diligently, and I started walking without waiting for Justina’s reply.

Though I’d join the plan, I had no choice but to deal with the nearby monsters first.

A thirsty person only has the option of digging a well…

By the way, I wonder how long those two will keep it up.

I ignored Selin and Da-eun, who were quarreling, lest the flames catch on to me.

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