I Was Reincarnated As the Strongest Protagonist Who Would Eventually Become a Hero, But It Seems the Burden Was Too Heavy For Me - Chapter 12

Ten days had passed since I met Anita.

During that time, my routine had become completely fixed.

During the day, Anita taught me healing magic and I practiced diligently.

At night, I sneaked away from the safe zone and started training on my own.

That night, too, after making sure that Anita was asleep, I quietly got out of my sleeping bag and headed off to train late at night.

[They’re here! Two Death Mantises and—]

“And one Titan Golem.”

The monsters let out strange cries as they approached me.

It was a sight that would have made me panic in the past. But now I could calmly assess the situation.

“Aqua Shoot.”

I hit the head of the Death Mantis in the lead with a mass of water, causing it to stumble.

And then—

“Blaze Edge!!”

I slammed a fiery slash into the staggering monster.

As a result of pouring a little too much magical power into it, the huge body of the dead Death Mantis was blown backward and collided with the second Death Mantis. Using that opportunity, I sneaked in close and unleashed another Blaze Edge. Because my positioning was perfect, I was able to cut down the second Death Mantis and the Titan Golem next to it with one slash.

“Okay, it’s done.”

I put my sword back into its sheath and took a breath.

[Your right arm is a little injured.]

“Oh, you’re right.”

After Salamander pointed it out, I immediately used Cure to heal the scrape.

Unlike before, the healing was completed in an instant.

The results of my training were steadily paying off and I was beginning to feel a sense of accomplishment.

Especially in these past few days, I’d been fighting monsters even during late-night training so I’d been feeling great.

When I first learned healing magic, I wasn’t confident enough to use it in combat, so I had resorted to injuring myself just to practice. But now, with Anita’s approval of my proficiency, I could use it in real battles without hesitation.

I realized that it would be more efficient to fight monsters and get hurt than to hurt myself. It would also help me improve my magical power and at the same time help me practice healing magic. Now, fighting monsters was like killing two birds with one stone.

However, as much as this training method suited me, producing great results…

“…I don’t get hurt as much anymore.”

[Indeed! It’s a piece of cake for you now!]

“But this won’t be good practice for healing magic. Let’s fight stronger monsters.”

[Huh?]

Salamander let out a sound as if she’d been struck by a snake hiding in the bush.

By my tenth night of training, I’d reached the point where I could instantly heal even bone fractures. 

Healing minor scratches no longer served any purpose.

“I’ve gotten gotten used to magic.”

[It was worth practicing every day.]

“Yeah. Practicing magic is pretty fun. It’s like working with clay.”

I was ready to devote everything to acting as Luke, so I should have restrained myself from having fun, but I was glad that my motivation didn’t waver.

Magic was fun. I remembered working with clay in art class in elementary school.  There was a special joy in manipulating magical power and seeing the results come to life, just as you imagined.

I’d recently learned how to activate Cure twice. Although the range of effect was small, it recovered faster than mid-level healing magic and didn’t consume much, so it was very useful.

When I told Anita about it, she was surprised and said, ‘That’s multiple activations! How did you know that?’. Apparently, the method of deploying magic twice and three times was a fairly difficult and well-known technique.

[You’ve had the talent for magic all along. My presence has nothing to do with it.]

What does she mean by that?

I had thought my ability to use magic so well was thanks to Salamander teaching me how to manipulate magical power…

[After you made a contract with me, you used spirit arts right away, right? At that time, I was controlling most of the magic, but spirit arts also depended on the abilities of the contractor. Luke had a remarkable talent for handling magic from the beginning.]

“…I see.”

Thinking about it, the fact that I was enjoying and improving so much already indicated extraordinary talent. Many people felt more pain than joy during their efforts and gave up halfway.

‘Luke… you really were born to become a hero, weren’t you?’

Still, I deeply regretted the loss of an important companion.

Never allowing myself to grow conceited or complacent, I continued fighting monsters relentlessly until Anita woke up.

◆

“Luke! This is a big deal!”

After waking up, Anita stared into her bag and said that.

“We’re out of food!!”

“…Ah.”

Well, I knew it would happen someday.

Anita, who had taken on a guild mission in this cave, had apparently prepared a month’s worth of rations in case of a prolonged stay. But with my arrival, the food consumption had doubled.

At first, I had said, ‘I’ll take care of my own meals’, but Anita insisted, ‘I don’t want to be seen as a master who can’t even provide meals!’ and split her rations with me. …She had been horrified when she found out I’d been surviving on wild plants, so maybe she was just pitying me.

“Then I’ll go get some food.”

“Eh, but I don’t like wild plants…”

“It’s not like I only eat wild plants.”

Maybe she thinks I’m a herbivore…?

“Actually, I have some business outside. I’ll stop by a nearby village and buy food while I’m at it.”

“Really? Well then, I’ll just give you the money. Here you go.”

Anita handed me a bag full of coins.

“Sorry.”

“This much is fine. I’m already rich.”

“As expected of someone near S-rank.”

“Oh, did I tell you that, Luke?”

Crap. I accidentally revealed knowledge from the original story.

I was extremely flustered. But I had to remember to act as Luke. Hiding the anxiety in my heart, I acted like a confident man as usual and told him.

“I could tell just by looking. I know how strong you are, Anita.”

“Hehe, you got it~”

Anita puffed out her chest proudly.

It was a relief that she was such a pure-hearted person.

“So, how much food should I buy? About ten days’ worth?”

“Hmm… I’ll just need about three days’ worth.”

Less than I thought.

Seeing my puzzled expression, Anita grinned confidently.

“I think I’ve almost figured out how to cure the poison. It took longer than I thought to analyze, but… Once I’m healed, I plan on resuming my mission.”

Since she had accepted the guild mission, Anita had a duty to complete it as quickly as possible. 

This also meant that my training with Anita would soon come to an end.

“Okay. Then I’ll at least buy something good.”

“That’s thoughtful of you~ I’ll look forward to it then.”

I gave Anita a small smile as she waved her hand, and left the cave.