Published: January 24, 2026
Orun defeated in an instant the few enemies that I had struggled to take down.
Orun is our ace.
It's no surprise that he takes less time to annihilate enemies than I do.
(But what was that movement just now...?)
Orun’s speed when he took down the wolves was simply too fast.
I couldn’t catch his movements at all, to the point that I wondered if he had been repeatedly using space leap.
But if he were using magic, a magic circle should have appeared.
Some magic circles can be cleverly concealed by shrinking them to the point of invisibility, but for a complex technique like space leap, it’s impossible to make the magic circle invisible.
That means Orun’s current movement, which is basically teleportation, must have been done purely with his physical abilities.
Well, he probably has some buffs.
As I was thinking this, I heard a different man’s voice behind me.
“I’ve heard about Orun’s high learning ability... but it’s crazy that he’s already mastered distance shrinking less than two months after seeing it.”
I turned toward the voice and saw Haruto and Fuuka from the Red Copper Twilight.
Distance shrinking!?
That’s said to be a pinnacle of martial arts, even considered a secret technique.
Because it’s a secret technique, very few people have been able to use it, even in the past.
I have also heard the story that Fuuka has reached the ultimate level of martial arts.
So, does that mean Orun learned distance shrinking from Fuuka?
“I just imitated what I saw. I’m the first to admit that I’m nowhere near Fuuka’s level.”
“Hmm. By the way, Fuuka, how would you score Orun’s distance shrinking from earlier, out of 100?”
“…Sixty.”
“Oh, that’s over half. What’s the passing score?”
“At least eighty. There’s too much wasted movement. The weight transfer needs a lot more work. That technique might work against weak opponents like those wolves, but it’s not good enough to be part of a strategy against strong enemies.”
I’m surprised Fuuka spoke so much.
I thought she was usually quiet and only said the necessary minimum.
It seems that Orun and Fuuka have become pretty close over the past two months.
…Huh? Why am I bothered about their closeness?
“Ah, I get it. —Hey, Ms. Selma, are you okay? That nosebleed is from overusing magic, right? We’ll keep watch around you, so take a break for now.”
Orun ended his conversation with Haruto and the others, carefully helped me sit on the ground, and formed a magic barrier around us.
Since we were in the wilderness, there was a lot of dust blowing around, but Orun’s magic barrier protected me from the sandstorm.
“Ah, yeah. I was saved by Orun coming. Thank you.”
I looked up at Orun and expressed my thanks; he gave me a reassuring smile that made me feel at ease.
“You don’t need to thank me. If a comrade is in danger, you’d have acted the same way as I did, right?”
While talking with Orun, I took a towel from my storage magical tool and wiped my nosebleed.
The bleeding had already stopped, so no fresh blood came out.
“That’s true. So, why are you guys here?”
“We heard from His Highness Lucilla that you were here. We hurriedly came to find you.”
“So it was Lucy. Then you also know why I came here, right?”
“Yeah, I heard. That Sophie is engaged to Viscount Emelt’s eldest son.”
“I see. So can I count on Orun’s help?”
“…My intention is to bring about the result Sophie desires. But aside from that, since there’s a possibility of flooding in this dungeon, we’re going to conquer it.”
I see.
That sounds like Orun.
“Alright, that’s good enough. Thanks. I appreciate it. Now that you’re here, let’s quickly conquer this dungeon.”
Though I still had a headache, I couldn’t afford to waste more time.
“...Understood. Can I take command? Ms. Selma, you probably don’t know Fuuka or Haruto well yet.”
When I suggested resuming the conquest, Orun looked like he wanted to say something but swallowed his words.
He probably wanted me to go back since I felt like a burden, but he respected my feelings.