Chapter 28

Chapter 28: Invitation (1)

Spanichi, sent flying by the Witch's magic and slammed into the wall, stared at the Witch's head as it dropped to the ground with a thud.

It had all happened in an instant.

Anagin had stepped outside the shield and thrown a rock to provoke the Witch, and she had turned it against them, trying to wipe them all out at once.

It was truly cunning. Pretending to fall for the provocation while actually launching a counterattack.

'Probably to end things quickly. She can't fly for long at her age.'

And yet, he himself had fallen for it, approaching carelessly and getting taken down by the Witch... It was truly pathetic.

To aim to be a hero, and yet fail to see through an old crow's scheme.

But the man called Anagin was different.

He too had appeared fooled by the Witch, but amazingly, it had all been an act.

He deliberately pretended to fall for her performance, showing an opening to make her drop her guard. The proof was that even though the gash in his side from the blade wind had healed instantly, he'd feigned pain.

'A recovery rate rare even among Giants! And on top of that, the cunning to put on an act to match the situation! ...Just who is this person? He looks about the same age as me.'

He had already heard of Anagin's reputation, but even so, he couldn't help but be impressed.

The moment the Witch closed in to finish him off, Anagin grabbed the Witch's feathers he'd picked up earlier and threw them all at once.

Defying the expectation that they would be blocked by the Witch's magic, the feathers embedded themselves in her body.

It was a strike at the loophole that feathers proven to be part of the Witch's body were unaffected by her own magic.

Hearing it explained, it made sense—but it was an idea hard to conceive of in the split-second heat of battle.

Anagin had instantly pierced that blind spot, lured the Witch—who had occupied the advantageous position—down to the ground, and dropped her.

That was the end of it.

The Witch, crashing to the earth, rolled along the ground, and Anagin drew the sword at his waist, Beastcleaver, and finished her off.

Before her head fell, the Witch cried out.

[F-Feathers, become armor and protect me!!]

In response to her incantation, her wing-arms turned to steel.

But Anagin swung Beastcleaver as if it were nothing, slicing clean through the wing-arms and the Witch's neck.

So cleanly that it was almost beautiful.

Spanichi felt his mind go hazy.

He realized the rumors of the Hero of the Fringe weren't exaggerated—if anything, they were understated.

He'd thought Anagin was simply a Giant who had inherited an unusually dense portion of giant's power, but he was more than that.

He wasn't just strong. He was a true hero with experience and skill.

The judgment and strength to bring down the Tower, astonishing throwing skill, the acting ability to lure the Witch, the logic to strike at magic's weak points, and beautiful swordsmanship on top of it all. He truly had everything.

In that brief but deeply impressive display, a small seed of respect for Anagin sprouted in Spanichi's heart.

"Take this."

Anagin checked the Witch's head, then tossed it to Spanichi.

Spanichi stammered, not understanding.

"W-Why are you giving this to me...?"

"You said you needed proof that the Witch was defeated, didn't you?"

"That's true, but... you're the one who defeated her, aren't you?"

"I came here to kill her. I don't need the head."

"E-Even so, you should keep it. If you take it to a temple, the God will recognize your deeds—"

"Don't need it."

Anagin cut Spanichi off cleanly.

"I don't need that head, so keep it or throw it away, do whatever you want. It's yours now. In exchange, I'm taking the body."

Anagin spoke as if delivering an ultimatum.

At this point, Spanichi couldn't refuse either.

Spanichi took out the magic tool 'Fresh Cloth' from his subspace bag.

A magic tool that preserves whatever it wraps at maximum freshness. Spanichi wrapped the Witch's head in the cloth, placed it in his subspace bag, and looked at Anagin.

He was conversing with the Robe Girl standing before the Witch's corpse.

"What are you doing?"

"It's fascinating. The Witch turned her feathers to steel, so how did you cut through so cleanly...? Anagin, you're good with a sword, huh?"

"It's the sword that's good. It's Beastcleaver."

Anagin showed off the sword at his waist with a proud air.

Engraved on the blade was the phrase: "I strip the hides of beasts, cut their flesh, and sever their bones."

The sword's performance was exactly as the inscription said. He liked it.

"Harpies aren't beasts, you know. Though I suppose the Witch might have entered the stage just before Monster."

"Doesn't matter. I see her as a beast. Anyway, move."

Anagin shooed the Robe Girl aside, then grabbed the Witch's severed wing-arm and plucked out the feathers barehanded, ripping them out in handfuls.

Matching his relentless touch, as if scraping off stubborn grime, the densely packed feathers fell in a cascade, and the Witch's arm was left bare. It looked a bit gross, like a giant raw chicken.

But Anagin didn't stop, grabbing the other arm and the lower body and plucking the feathers out in the same way.

"Pick these up for me."

"Anagin, I already told you I'm only doing the laundry."

"Damn it."

At the Robe Girl's refusal, Anagin regretfully gathered the plucked feathers into a large sack.

Then he drew Beastcleaver and hacked the Harpy's chicken-like limbs into pieces.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Unhesitating cuts.

Anagin split open the Harpy's belly, drained the blood, and—shhhk!—skinned it in one go.

The remaining innards and flesh he simply tossed to the ground.

Splat!

And so, the old ruler who had held sway over this region was reduced to a lump of meat in an instant.

A shocking sight, if nothing else. Spanichi and the Robe Girl looked at Anagin.

He pulled out a cloth and casually wiped the blood from his hands.

"What are you looking at?"

"...You're skilled at this. Did you work as a butcher?"

"Something like that. Whenever I killed a beast causing trouble for the village, I'd butcher it on the spot."

"Heh... So what are you going to do with all this?"

The Robe Girl pointed at what had once been the Witch.

The plucked feathers, the wing-arms, the legs, the Witch's wrinkled skin.

Anagin spoke as if it were a foolish question.

"Put it in the subspace bag, obviously."

"If you just put it in, it'll rot, you know?"

"Then I'll salt it."

Anagin had salt among the spoils he'd picked up, so he answered confidently.

"Hmm, what a waste... Salting it lowers the quality. Honestly, that's a waste too."

The Robe Girl muttered, looking at the collapsed Tower.

Thanks to throwing a stone pillar to bring it down, they'd avoided the traps and pulled the Witch outside immediately, but in exchange, everything inside the Tower had been lost.

The Witch's wealth and collections amassed over the years. For the Robe Girl, who knew their value, a sigh came naturally.

"So crude..."

"Then you should've spoken up with a better method first. If you're not going to do the work yourself, you'd better keep your mouth shut."

Ignoring the Robe Girl's complaints, Anagin moved to take out salt from his subspace bag. It should be somewhere in here...

"Please, take this."

Spanichi handed Anagin a large cloth.

One large enough to wrap a person whole. Anagin asked what it was.

"It's Fresh Cloth. It keeps whatever it wraps at maximum freshness."

"Is it alright for you to give me something like this?"

"I've already received great help, and I was even gifted the head—what's one cloth? Please, take it without worry."

"Then I gladly will."

Anagin accepted the cloth Spanichi offered without hesitation, wrapped up the Witch's skin, wing-arms, and clawed legs, and placed them in his subspace bag.

"Want this?"

Anagin asked, handing the Robe Girl the bracelets that had been wrapped around the Witch's wing-arms.

"Oh my, a gift?"

"More like 'eat this and get lost.'"

"...If you'd just said 'yes,' we'd both feel good about it."

"I don't like that."

The Robe Girl glared at Anagin for a moment, but she took the bracelets without complaint.

She slipped the bracelets onto her arm.

At that moment, the Robe Girl's tan hands were revealed as they were. Her pointed, glistening nails stood out in particular.

As the cleanup drew roughly to a close, Spanichi spoke up.

"I'm going to visit the village the Witch ruled."

"?"

"To inform them that the Witch is dead, and that they've been freed from oppression and are now free people."

Spanichi spoke with a voice full of conviction, but Anagin felt no particular stirring.

It was fundamentally a matter he had no interest in, and he doubted whether they'd truly been oppressed... Above all, he questioned whether the village could truly become free just because the Witch was gone.

Freedom wasn't something you gained because someone disappeared—it was something you had to seize for yourself.

Otherwise, it was merely a brief absence of a master.

'Not that it's any of my business.'

Anagin nodded vaguely and started to leave. His business here was done, after all.

"Good work."

"Would you not come with me?"

"Hm?"

"Your deeds should be known as well. You're the one who actually defeated the Witch—shouldn't people know?"

"I'm not interested."

"Fame isn't a personal thing."

Spanichi spoke with a serious expression.

"Fame, seen narrowly, is for an individual, but seen broadly, it belongs to everyone. When one hero rises and makes their name known, the villains and monsters in the surrounding area will think twice on their own. A single name can save people beyond your reach."

"Hmm... Did you learn that at home?"

"Pardon? ...Ah, yes!"

When Anagin hit the mark exactly, Spanichi looked slightly surprised.

"It's something our family's founding god, Dolos, said. Though he's my grandfather, as well as our founder."

Spanichi smiled sheepishly. He'd spoken as if his family had deep history, only to be caught out as a family of just three generations.

"Ahem, ahem! Grandfather always said that protecting people is what makes a splendid Ascetic."

"That's impressive."

Anagin affirmed and expressed admiration. Since it came from someone who didn't seem like he'd say such things easily, Spanichi felt genuinely pleased.

"Do you mean that?"

"Yes. I like people like that too. People who help others."

"Haha..."

"But I don't plan to live that way. I'm an extremely personal and selfish person. That's also why I want to become an Ascetic."

"......"

Spanichi, thrown off, faltered.

Not all Ascetics were selfless, but even so, it was startling to meet someone who said it so brazenly. Honestly, at this level of confidence, it was less shameless and more... admirable. He was also curious why on earth a person like this would want to become an Ascetic. Still, it wasn't something he could ask right away. For an Ascetic, that was a sensitive matter.

"I appreciate the concern, but I'm really not interested, so please don't drag me into it."

"Th-Then, how about visiting my home!"

Spanichi proposed to Anagin as he was about to leave.

Would he come to his house?

There was no deep meaning or ulterior motive behind it.

He'd simply wanted to invite Anagin and blurted it out on reflex.

But it didn't seem like a bad idea either. Interacting with an Ascetic who had made a name for himself was itself a form of ascetic training.

Yes, it wasn't a bad suggestion.

"It's awkward for me to say this myself, but our family is a fairly well-known one in this region. Other Ascetic Families know of us too. A visit wouldn't be a bad idea. Perhaps it could be a good opportunity for you as well."

Did the persuasion work? Anagin deliberated for a moment.

Then, after quite some time, he asked.

"Would it be alright if I ate a lot?"