By Zephyria 
“I’ve just been spending my time as usual.”
I answered with a nod.
Come to think of it, it had been a long time since Herman and I were left alone like this. Ardian or Zeon were always stuck to my side like glue. Back in my childhood, before I had memories of being Mephisto, the one who clung to me like that was Herman…
Suddenly, the recovered memories of the past flickered back to me.
Herman in his childhood, nagging me while sticking by my side like a mother. How could his behavior be so identical to Matra’s patterns before he reincarnated… Is that a habit of the soul?
‘It’s strange that he continues to stay by my side even after reincarnating.’
I stared at Herman with a renewed sense of wonder. When he glanced back and our eyes met, Herman’s cheeks flushed a faint red, and he was the first to avert his gaze.
“Why, why are you looking at me like that? Is there something weird about me?”
“No. I was just wondering if you remember anything.”
“Remember? Remember what?”
“…Hmm. Never mind if you don’t.”
There was no need to deliberately bring up memories from a vaguely distant past… especially memories from before reincarnation. Matra is Matra, and Herman is Herman. Just as I am Raymond now, not Mephisto.
I patted Herman’s head, feeling as if I were looking at a puppy following me around. There was no particular reason for it; it was an unconscious action similar to how one treats a pet dog. I intended to apologize if he found it unpleasant, but Herman said nothing, his face simply turning red as a carrot.
“Let’s head down to the village now. You said you had to conduct an investigation, right?”
“…Ah! Yeah.”
“Stay close to me. It’s dangerous to wander alone.”
Protecting the investigator’s safety was also part of my duty.
As I started walking first, a hesitant Herman quickly hurried to my side.
We descended toward the village, passing through a forest that remained intact thanks to having been less affected by the contaminated land. The villagers, who had all been hiding in their homes, came rushing out one by one as soon as they saw us.
“Hunter! You are a Hunter, aren’t you?”
“Ah, thank goodness! We’re saved at last!”
After listening to their situation in more detail, they explained that every night, a giant Fiend descending from the contaminated land would either destroy the village or kidnap humans. They said it didn’t appear during the day.
And in my opinion, this wasn’t the work of a Fiend, but rather a ‘new species’ born from the contaminated land.
Like the Dvergr race I had encountered about a year ago… creatures that had either adapted to the contaminated land or were born anew within it.
The reason I thought so was that Fiends generally come in two forms: humanoid and amorphous. Amorphous monsters lack the intelligence to destroy villages and kidnap humans, and while humanoid Fiends are intelligent, they are aloof and possess too much pride to engage in such behavior.
In the first place, humanoid Fiends are essentially a kind of legion under the dominion of Chaos.
Unless Ardian specifically ordered them to do something, they had no reason to act this way.
That left the new species as the only option.
Fortunately, the Dvergr race wasn’t particularly harmful to humans, but there were certainly reported cases to the contrary.
“Ray, what are you going to do? Wait until night?”
“…No. I’m going to go find it first.”
Waiting until night would not only be inefficient in terms of time but would also put me at a disadvantage regarding visibility. If I knew the approximate appearance, I could go find and verify it myself.
“You wait here for a moment.”
“No, let’s go together. I have to investigate anyway, so there’s no need to move twice.”
“…….”
“What. Are you telling me to stay behind because I’ll be in the way again?”
When I didn’t answer, Herman—thinking whatever he was thinking—pouted his lips and grumbled. I corrected his misunderstanding.
“I said that because I was worried.”
To be honest, I did think he’d be a bit—just a tiny bit—of a hindrance. But I didn’t let those thoughts slip out. I believe that was a very wise decision.
“……!”
Herman’s eyes widened as if my words were completely unexpected.
Then, he averted his gaze again.
“If I’m not in the way, let me come along. I… I’m worried about you too.”
Since he went that far, there was no reason to force him to stay. I might have if it were the Herman from the days of his low achievements… but now he is a proper mage, and there is absolutely no reason to coddle him.
I nodded to signal my agreement.
Herman’s expression softened, and he gave a bright smile.
“We will handle it before nightfall.”
“Oh, we leave it to you, Hunters….”
The villagers gathered together to see us off. Leaving them behind, Herman and I headed straight back to the entrance of the special management zone we had passed through.
The entrance, where only a “No Entry” sign stood lonely.
Since it was a place where ordinary people wouldn’t approach even without precise boundaries or someone managing it, there were almost no traces of people passing through nearby.
We stepped onto the contaminated land, scanning the surroundings. First, I planned to look for anything resembling the target based on the appearance described by the villagers.
“Wait a second.”
At that moment, Herman crouched down. It seemed he intended to collect a small sample of the soil. He was quite proficient, as if he had done this many times. While I was quietly watching him, Herman, who was concentrating while using preservation magic, suddenly wiped his face with his soil-stained hand.
Seeing the dark smudge on his cheek look quite clumsy, I reached out and wiped it away for him. I did it because he didn’t seem to notice, but Herman suddenly jumped back in surprise. His face turned as red as an apple.
“Wha-what is it!”
He was so startled that anyone watching would think he had been slapped.
Raising an eyebrow at his overreaction, I explained simply and clearly.
“You had dirt on you.”
To me, this action was no different from brushing the dirt off the fur of a puppy that had rolled around in the mud without knowing it was getting dirty. I had done the same thing whenever Tom acted clumsily, so I couldn’t understand his reaction.
Herman’s eyes darted around in great embarrassment, and then he suddenly shouted.
“You, why do you keep shaking me up!”
“What are you talking about?”
“You, while you’re dating Ardian….”
“What about it?”
Why on earth did the topic of dating Ardian suddenly come up here?
I asked back, genuinely unable to follow the flow of the conversation. I didn’t know what meaning he had attached to it. A look of profound realization appeared on Herman’s face.
Just as I was about to ask again why he was making such a face.
I felt a strange presence nearby and turned my head. Herman seemed to feel it too, as he fixed his gaze in the same direction. A bizarre, rustling sound.
At a glance, there was nothing there.
However, as I narrowed my eyes and concentrated, I saw a slight distortion in the air. ‘Something with a transparent body’ was passing through that spot with very slow movements.
‘Is it a new species living here?’
I couldn’t tell if it was the same one as the target. It was hard to distinguish because it was transparent, and the villagers’ accounts hadn’t mentioned a transparent body.
Perhaps its senses were dull, as it hadn’t discovered us yet despite being quite close. Or perhaps it knew and simply wasn’t interested. I watched it warily. Since it was transparent and I could easily lose its position, I tracked it with my eyes while simultaneously deploying resonance perception magic.
I had tried to avoid using it because new species that react sensitively to magic are often reported, but it was an inevitable choice as a more dangerous situation could arise. And by using resonance perception magic, I gained an unintended advantage.
‘It looks exactly like the appearance the villagers described.’
When using resonance perception magic, the target appears as if coated in white paint, allowing me to perceive its general shape—and that shape was identical to the villagers’ accounts.
‘There were no reports of it being transparent at night… so is it only transparent during the day? Or can it control its own transparency… either way, it’s a nuisance to deal with.’
Just then, a low growl, like that of a beast, was heard. It was a sound made by the target. The target, slowly turning toward us, finally seemed to discover us and began to act violently.
‘Is its eyesight poor?’
I quickly asked Herman.
“Herman. Do you know how to use resonance perception?”
“Uh, not yet.”
At the same time, the target lunged toward us. I scooped up Herman and leaped far back from the spot. Immediately after, with a thunderous crash, the ground where we had been standing was gouged out.
It seemed to possess sharp and hard teeth.
Herman, who couldn’t see it well, gasped softly in surprise.
“Wha-what is it?!”
“The target.”
After setting Herman down at a safe distance, I stared at the target, which was struggling to pull its teeth out of the ground.
Its movements weren’t as nimble as the accounts suggested. It certainly looked like the right one… but there were many aspects that contradicted the reports. Perhaps it was a species that showed a great difference between its nighttime and daytime behavior. If so, coming during the day was the right answer.