Kousuke, who has stepped away from the management layer to engage in adventurer activities, is not leaving his party members completely to their own devices regarding the manifestation of their powers.
He had gained some understanding of those he had granted blessings. This allowed him to grasp the general situation not only of members like Ririka, Peach, and Shurein, who had already manifested their powers, but also of the other members. He understood this was because they were either manifesting their blessings or were on the verge of doing so. It was due to these circumstances that Kousuke was able to perceive Peach’s dream and return to the management layer. Since he could comprehend the situation even from a distance, he was able to engage in adventurer activities with a certain sense of peace of mind.
Despite this, Kousuke was also experimenting with his own powers. Currently, Kousuke and his companions were acting together with Ririka’s party members. The reason for this was a request from Sally, Ririka’s party leader. Although the request could be handled by a single party, Sally had proposed a joint expedition due to the anxiety of having recently welcomed new members. Initially, Cecil and Arisa had been approached, but they had apparently declined once, stating that Kousuke was with them. However, since Kousuke was amenable to the idea, the proposal had reached him as well. Kousuke was also looking forward to acting with Ririka, so it was a perfect opportunity.
Suddenly, an idea struck Kousuke, and he asked Ririka, who was beside him, “The weakness of the Blancbear we’re about to defeat is its chest, right?”
“Ah, yes. That’s correct.”
Not just Blancbears, but for most monsters resembling animals, the heart is usually the weak point, and its location is generally fixed. For Blancbears, the heart was located in their chest.
“Hmm. I see.”
“Did you think of something?”
Arisa, who had been listening, asked this. Just like before, Kousuke had been experimenting with something during subjugation quests. She asked this, assuming it was one of those instances.
“Yeah. Well, I got the idea from watching you, Ririka.”
“From me?”
“That’s right. Well, you’ll have to wait and see what it is until we get there.”
Kousuke said this with a broad smile. He had a certain degree of confidence in this experiment. However, the experiment was absolutely impossible without Nana’s cooperation. To the confused gazes of everyone, Kousuke stated that it would be a surprise until they arrived at the scene and did not elaborate on the experiment’s details.
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First, Ririka’s party set out to hunt the Blancbears. Kousuke and his group were on standby to deal with any potential issues that might arise for Ririka’s party. Initially, their coordination was awkward, but by the time they hunted the last of the multiple Blancbears they found, it seemed to have improved considerably. Conversely, Kousuke felt they had witnessed the power of true coordination.
“Wow, that’s amazing. This must be what proper coordination is like.”
“Indeed.”
Cecil and Arisa nodded in agreement. When Kousuke’s party fought, the general pattern was for their familiars to hold back the monsters while they defeated them with spirit magic (or fairies). While it could be considered coordination, the battles ended in an instant, and Kousuke realized this wasn’t true coordination by observing Sally’s party’s fight.
“I’m glad you compliment us, but what do you guys usually do?”
After finishing the subjugation, Sally, having overheard their conversation, asked this. There was no reason to hide anything, so Kousuke recounted what they had just discussed.
“I see… I’m envious, or perhaps, it seems a bit reckless.”
As expected, for someone like Sally, Kousuke’s fighting style appeared reckless.
“Is that really your impression?”
“Well, I can’t say for sure without seeing it properly.”
Hearing about it and actually witnessing it were entirely different experiences. Therefore, Sally avoided making a definitive judgment. She thought she could properly evaluate it when it was Kousuke’s party’s turn.
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After witnessing Kousuke’s party’s battle, Sally’s mouth hung wide open. Not just Sally, but Ririka and the other party members wore similar expressions.
“How should I put it… can I retract my previous assessment?”
“Um, what do you mean?”
“For this floor, when it comes to subjugation, coordination isn’t necessary at all!”
Pointing at the Blancbears that had been effortlessly defeated before her, Sally declared this. The party members, upon hearing Sally’s words, nodded vigorously. They hadn’t imagined spirit magic to be such powerful magic. Defeating Blancbears with a single spirit magic spell seemed like a joke. Of course, there was a misunderstanding. It wasn’t that spirit magic was powerful, but rather that Cecil and Arisa, who used it, were strong. Even so, those two didn’t consider themselves particularly strong, as Colette, a spirit user, was on another level. Just like Kousuke, the fact that Cecil and Arisa only knew Colette as a spirit user led to this incredible misconception. By the way, Kousuke hadn’t summoned any fairies during this battle. Kousuke mused about what would happen if he had, a slightly off-topic thought.
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Since they had successfully completed the requested subjugation, the others agreed to accompany Kousuke for his experiment. Sally’s party had also performed without any particular issues, so they could have returned, but Sally herself showed interest in Kousuke’s experiment. Kousuke, who had no intention of hiding it, granted permission for them to observe. Now, before them, Nana and a Blancbear stood facing each other. Incidentally, Nana had stayed by Kousuke’s side during the previous battles, so this was her first public appearance. The sight of a Blancbear frozen in place, glaring at a single wolf, was extraordinary, but Kousuke’s next instruction was equally unbelievable.
“For now, Nana, try to charge towards its chest.”
As Kousuke said this, Nana vanished from her spot. In the next instant, there was Fnanabear lying on the ground and Nana wagging her tail happily beside it.
“Hmm. Nana is too strong, so I can’t really gauge the effect.”
It was understandable that everyone except Cecil and Arisa internally screamed that she was far too strong. While observing Kousuke swiftly issuing further instructions to Nana, Sally asked Cecil and Arisa, “W-what was that!”
“What do you mean… it’s a wolf familiar?”
Cecil replied, looking puzzled and tilting her head. She didn’t vocalize “With ‘God’ attached to it,” however. Giving unnecessary information would only trouble Sally and the others. Only Ririka wore a subtle expression. Even if she couldn’t grasp that it was akin to a divine beast, she seemed to sense something.
“Th-that’s… not just a normal wolf, is it?”
“Well, ordinary wolves can’t do that. In that sense, our familiars are also special, aren’t they?”
Cecil veered the conversation away from Nana, but Sally, oblivious, looked at the wolf and the fox at Cecil’s feet. Come to think of it, a familiar capable of subduing a Blancbear was hardly ordinary. It was only when Cecil said this that Sally realized this. Sally couldn’t help but sigh internally, thinking her own intuition was becoming unreliable.
The author intended to detail Kousuke’s experiment, but Sally ended up taking the spotlight. And Nana! Nana is purely the author’s favorite!
