Reincarnation Band Magician

He was alone at this moment, and his emotions, which he had tried so hard to suppress all day, were now difficult to control.

Sometimes he was so excited that he wanted to challenge the monster, and sometimes he was so depressed that it seemed as if his heart was blocked.

At this time yesterday, he was cooking and chatting with his mother on the sofa about the new house.

Morning……

He tried to stop thinking and not think about what happened next.

"I hope the goddess will bless you."

Make a prayer gesture.

Now is not the time to think about that.

Nagasaki Qing felt that he understood the goddess' intention in arranging teammates, and his sense of responsibility to protect his teammates made him firm.

Continue to be vigilant in this dark night.

Maybe it was because it was my first time spending the night in the wild, so I felt a little uneasy.

Nagasaki Kiyoshi didn't take it seriously at first, thinking it was a normal behavior at night, and sat down next to his teammates.

The starry sky is bright, but the neon lights of Tokyo cannot illuminate the shadows of the distant woods, and those shadows are scary.

As time went by, this uneasiness became more and more intense, and a sudden fear of forgetting or neglecting something emerged in my heart.

【Something is approaching.】

That feeling had occurred just that morning, before an out-of-control truck slammed into the guardrail towards them.

Sixth sense?

When people are afraid, they become numb, they escape, they shrink like ostriches, and hope that the danger will disappear.

But Nagasaki Kiyoshi would not do that. He endured the fear and forced himself to carefully check his surroundings.

Star.

Xiangzi.

bonfire.

A girl with small horns squatted beside him and smiled.

In the Cage: 5. Improved job transfer system

An inhuman creature that appears beside you late at night.

Realizing this, my heart started beating violently as if it was about to escape.

Nagasaki Kiyoshi's first reaction was to wake up Xiangzi, but the surroundings seemed to be shrouded in a stagnant aura, and any movement would break it. It was unimaginable what would happen next.

It's like the pause shot between two masters before a fight in an animation, or like the silence between arguments, which is disturbing.

The girl-like creature stared at him. In the firelight, his hair and eyes could not be seen clearly. There was only a smile with a perfect arc that seemed to be carved on him.

"She" is observing herself.

The sand in the hourglass fell out little by little, and the horned girl raised her hand. Nagasaki Qing raised his sword, but she didn't care. She touched the hourglass, turned it over, and time continued to flow.

"—"

After putting it away, she spoke softly.

But Nagasaki Kiyoshi didn't understand the language of the other world.

Then she said three or four more sentences.

I still don’t understand.

He wanted to communicate with body language, but stopped. Nagasaki Kiyoshi didn't know which actions would be considered insults and provocations.

Not to mention the other world, even on Earth, actions like shaking your head and waving your hands are not universally accepted.

He could only express his confusion with his eyes.

At this time, he discovered that the other person's eyes were very smart, the emotions were clear, and the direction was clear, not as complicated and chaotic as those of normal humans.

Because there is no other more appropriate adjective, Nagasaki Kiyoshi calls her "simple". Her eyes are very simple, at least, you can tell whether she is happy or not.

The horned man pointed at himself.

“Solitar.”

Then repeated twice.

Solitaire, what's this, a name?

Nagasaki Kiyoshi felt a little regretful that he didn't learn the language of the other world.

The other person raised his finger and pointed at him.

Nagasaki Kiyoshi tried to say his name and repeated it twice.

She laughed with joy, as if she had seen something new and lovely.

The reason why Nagasaki Kiyoshi thought she was happy was because the curve of her mouth corners was a little higher.

The expression of emotions is very... "precise".

It's like measuring each emotion with a ruler and then carving it on the face.

When Xiangzi next to me smiles, I also have this feeling, but her eyes, facial muscles and tone are all coordinated with it. The one in front of me is simple and directly moved up.

Nagasaki Kiyoshi, who was keenly aware of this, felt a chill, as if he was facing a machine covered in human skin.

It’s just… so good.

Machines are great; a program must follow a fixed process to complete, but humans don’t have that – or rather, humans’ “programs” are so chaotic that they are difficult to understand and are affected by all sorts of things. You don’t know which variable will change and your emotions will change accordingly.

The "girl" in front of him now showed a happy expression, so she probably wouldn't launch an attack until her mood changed.

This kind of stiffness that was not human actually made Nagasaki Kiyoshi feel at ease.

He is actually quite good at observation, so that he can get along well with friends after finding them.

Although, through his interactions with Toyokawa Shoko, he saw that there were big problems in practice. He keenly felt that Shoko had a lot of things that he didn't say. Observing is one thing, but being able to propose and change it is another.

……

Solitaire, a nameless demon whose name is not recorded by humans.

My interest is studying humans.

Over the past few hundred years, after all those who could be called "friends" died in the struggle with humans, she came to a new understanding of humans - they were very dangerous.

If these words were spoken out loud, any demon would laugh at them. But when the Demon King and the Seven Collapse Sages were mentioned as powerful, any demon would puff out his chest.

Solitaire also has the pride of the demon race and does not believe that humans can reach the level of the demon race, but it does not prevent her from being vigilant.

To kill a demon, one only needs to pierce the heart. Even if she is not prepared, she may be pierced through the heart by an ordinary magician who has practiced for twenty or thirty years.

Just like a poisonous snake to humans, being weak is not without threat.

After understanding this, she gradually changed her approach.

They began to become "timid" and would never expose themselves to dangerous situations. They began to learn human knowledge and magic and would not expose themselves unless necessary. Once exposed, they would clean up the surroundings and would not let go of any living creature.

Then I realized that the more she thought humans were more interesting than all other creatures, the more difficult it was for her to resist the urge to interact with them.

But during this period, in order to avoid being ordered by the Demon King to support the battlefield, she lived in seclusion on the seaside and expressed her attitude: she would not obey orders, nor would she make trouble.

It's been a long time since I last had contact with humans.

Two weeks ago, Solitaire picked up a whale on the beach, breaking the record for the largest size of her collection. She was busy until today to make it into a perfect skeletal specimen and hang it up, so she decided to take a long-awaited walk to celebrate.

I also wanted to try my luck.

Are there humans?

In the north, the empire, surrounded by demons, is like being surrounded by a group of lions. It is still organizing a counterattack, breaking through the demon blockade from various places, contacting the outside world, obtaining intelligence about the demons, and making various responses and counterattacks.

Maybe he'll come around?

That needs to be resolved promptly.

Now there are too many things in her "home", rare specimens, unique magic books, and it is almost impossible to collect them again.

Of course, your own life comes first. If you find any signs of a breakthrough from here, clear out your residence and move to another place.

Solitaire carefully weighed the danger.

Being cautious, I walked a little further.

Saw the fire.

It really does.

They'd actually reached such a close distance? Were the demons from all over the continent just too lazy, or had they killed everyone who stood in their way?

The Empire's Magical Secret Service?

Lighting a bonfire in the demon clan's place, another force of the empire, the [Shadow Warriors] would not do such a ostentatious thing.

If there was only one team... She was curious.

The addiction is back.

Solitaire observed cautiously for a long moment.

There are no traps, no warning magic, and no magical fluctuations.

They were two humans who looked very weak, even too weak.

There is a sense of "standard" in the behavior of young women, which is what humans call etiquette. Only the upper class and the demons who have nothing better to do would do this.

The other one looked a little thin, but had a sharp intuition. He looked over several times, but human eyes could not penetrate the darkness.

Interesting, based on her understanding of human culture, this combination probably means... elopement?

After searching for a long time, they did not find any hidden fighting power. These two weak humans seemed to have fallen from the sky and landed in this land with no food and few monsters.

So she restrained her breath and quietly moved closer to them.

The terrified expressions on human faces are also something we never get tired of seeing.

But... I only saw the ordinary fear of facing unknown creatures.

Hey, the demons who have killed two-thirds of humanity for a thousand years are sitting next to you, and your reaction is just "alert"?

After staring at the other person for half an hour, Solitaire confirmed this.

He really didn't know the demons.

Even when he saw her face clearly, there was a moment of fear and shock... the look that often appears in the eyes of male humans when they look at beautiful women.

It’s called… “appreciation”?

Solitaire appreciated the other's appreciation.

So, take them back and relieve her peaceful life.

……

In the Cage: 6. Generous benefits for joining

I haven't had such a good sleep in a long, long time.

Hard work pays off, and you can clearly feel the improvement. The last time I felt this eager to wake up and work hard was... that spring day.

Toyokawa Shoko opened her eyes.

The sun was about to come out, and the light made her feel uncomfortable. It was also a bit cold around her, otherwise she would have slept even later.

No, the sun is out?

Is Nagasaki-san asleep too? She must have stayed up really late and was too tired to even wake her up.

or……