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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Heavenly Death Star Grows
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Enoch glanced around at the serene forest landscape.
The place where he'd wandered before meeting Rionne had been a forest too, but somehow this one felt different from that one.
"Today, I'll teach you about the forest."
Rionne looked especially cheerful today.
Maybe because she loved the forest so much—her long ears were twitching perkily.
[Do I really need to learn even this stuff? It's not like I'll be coming back here much once I return to the human world anyway.]
"You never know, Undine. You have to prepare for any situation."
In truth, Rionne was just teaching Enoch like he was a young elf, but she offered the excuse anyway.
Come to think of it, it didn't sound wrong at all.
"I like forest too."
[Whoa, was that the first time this kid's spoken a full sentence? I thought I'd die from frustration waiting, but hey, his speech is improving after all!]
Crackle!
[Gyaak!? What the hell are you doing, you little brat!]
With a sullen expression, Enoch shot out a thin bolt of lightning and quickly hid behind Rionne.
"Undine, I told you to speak nicely."
[Ugh, ugh...! Seriously! I'm going insane!]
Undine clutched the back of her neck in betrayal at her friend's behavior and collapsed.
The fallen spirit was automatically unsummoned, but Rionne paid it no mind.
She'd be resummoned on her own in about five minutes and start splashing around again anyway.
Rionne shot a glare at the spot where her immature friend had been, straightened her posture, and looked at Enoch.
"The forest is a kind friend that gives us so much. Oh, Enoch. Do you remember how to write the character for 'forest'?"
Enoch nodded and ran his finger across the dirt ground.
Rionne nodded in satisfaction at the correct spelling.
"Our Enoch is so smart. Good job."
Rionne ruffled the beaming Enoch's hair wildly and continued.
"Anyway, just because the forest is a kind friend doesn't mean we can treat it roughly, right?"
"Yeah."
"In the forest, we only take what we truly need, and we have to know how to protect it if someone tries to harm it. It would be a problem if the forest got upset, wouldn't it?"
Enoch nodded blankly, over and over.
Knowing he always listened well, Rionne led the child through the woods.
"This is a deer nose mushroom. It's delicious when grilled. Oh, should we take some? Let's have it for lunch today."
Round, black mushrooms like a deer's nose went into the basket.
"This is bristle thistle. If you have digestion issues, boil it after washing it well in water, and it'll get better right away."
Enoch observed the bristle thistle closely.
With its fuzzy, hair-like bristles, it looked like it would taste awful if eaten raw.
"Oh, there's a rabbit over there. This forest has lots of animals. Deer, wolves, boars, bears—you name it."
The forest that Rionne had tended with such care was abundant.
It was probably one of the best forests to live in on the entire continent.
That was when it happened.
- Snort!
Enoch's ears perked up at the faint sound.
Rionne smiled faintly and explained.
"Perfect timing. It's a wild boar. Want to follow it quietly?"
"Yeah."
Rionne moved her steps lightly.
She walked as if it were nothing, but there was no sound or presence at all.
Enoch watched her in wonder and tried his best to imitate her.
"Hee hee."
Rionne smiled warmly at how Enoch's presence diminished by the second.
And soon,
"Shh."
The two people hiding in the brush peeked out.
There, a wild boar was munching on fruit.
"It's huge, isn't it?"
Enoch nodded.
"If we catch it, we could eat for a whole month and still have some left... Hmm, maybe not?"
Thinking about it, Enoch's appetite was enormous.
If it were back when Rionne lived alone, she might not have bothered hunting it, but now it seemed they could finish it without issue.
"Alright then, Enoch. Want to try catching it?"
At Rionne's words, Enoch nodded.
And right away,
Crackle!
Scattering electricity, he leaped up into a tree.
The oblivious wild boar grazed leisurely.
Enoch's eyes narrowed as he watched it.
Rionne was expecting great things, so failure wasn't an option.
As fast and stealthy as possible.
Cut off its breath in an instant.
"Hsss..."
Enoch held his breath and waited for the perfect moment.
Then,
Whoosh!
The wind blew.
A leaf brushed past the boar's side, and its gaze shifted.
The opening.
Crackle!
With the current, Enoch's form shot forward swiftly.
"Squeal!?"
The boar noticed and widened its eyes, but it was too late.
Reaching the boar, Enoch leaned back and clenched his fist.
Rumble!
His thrust fist, accompanied by thunder, slammed into the boar.
"Squeeee!)
But the boar was no pushover either.
Living in this bountiful forest and absorbing trace amounts of mana, it was no ordinary beast.
The boar staggered but glared ferociously.
Insolent human.
I'll snap your waist in two.
But the human was nowhere in sight.
As the boar looked around, thud—a heavy weight landed on its back.
"Squeal!?"
Enoch, now mounted on the boar's back, gripped its fur tightly.
The boar began to buck wildly.
If he held on too long, Enoch would tire out.
Calculating in an instant, Enoch acted.
Lightning wrapped around his teeth, and he bit into the boar's nape.
Crunch───!!
"Squeeeeeeel...!!"
The boar let out a throat-shredding scream.
"N-No biting, Enoch...!!"
Even Rionne shouted in surprise.
Why bite with teeth when he had perfectly good limbs!
Combat was supposed to be brutal, but that was hardly suitable for training.
"Huh?"
Enoch looked up at Rionne's panicked expression.
Ptoo! He spat out the chunk of flesh, blood dripping from his mouth.
The boar staggered, weakened, unsure what had gone wrong.
Well... she said not to bite.
Compliant, Enoch wrapped electricity around his hand.
And then, smash!
He hammered down on the torn spot like he was crushing it, and the boar shuddered before collapsing.
Enoch hopped down from the fallen boar and stared blankly at Rionne.
[...Crazy brat. Barbarian. Heavenly Death Star.]
He ignored Undine, who had returned unnoticed.
"Enoch, you can't do that."
Really, in a pinch, there was no choice sometimes.
Survival came first.
But if that became a habit, it could cause problems once Enoch ventured outside.
No matter how little Rionne knew about humans, she doubted they had a culture of suddenly biting people's napes.
"...Yeah."
At Rionne's scolding, Enoch drooped his head sullenly.
"H-Hey, I'm not really mad, Enoch! Don't feel too bad!"
"Yeah..."
"You did great anyway! There aren't many humans your age who could take down a boar like that, right?"
[There are plenty, aren't there?]
"Undine!"
[Eek!?]
Rionne stuffed her meddlesome friend into her pocket and smiled gently.
"You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"
"No."
"Want to explore the forest a bit more? Or head home and rest?"
"More exploring."
"Shall we?"
Rionne tapped Enoch's cheek with her finger.
Water droplets formed in the air, cleanly washing away the blood splatters on him.
"Alright, let's go!"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
After a noisy forest expedition, the group returned home.
Rionne grabbed the drowsy Enoch—who had washed up and was nodding off—and made him finish his studies before stretching languidly.
"Ahhh...!"
Her fair skin glowed brightly in the deepening sunlight.
She gathered her golden-thread-like hair and draped it over her shoulder, then asked Enoch, who was pouting.
"It's an awkward time for a nap. Want me to teach you some more martial arts?"
Studies were boring, but martial arts training was fun.
Enoch nodded eagerly.
"Alright... Let me think."
Rionne headed to the yard while rummaging through her mental library.
The knowledge she'd accumulated over long years could fill a library if compiled, so she selected a suitable technique and recalled it.
"Yes, this should work."
⚡ SKILL NAME ⚡ Furious Eagle Claw Technique
A claw technique mimicking the movements of an enraged eagle.
Claw techniques were a type of martial art where curved fingers like beast claws tore enemies apart.
Since Enoch had instinctively fought in a similar way, it seemed like a good match for him.
"You've learned the basics of fist techniques before, so this shouldn't be too hard either."
Fist and claw techniques were distinct martial arts, but they shared similarities.
Moreover, the Furious Eagle Claw Technique was fundamentally a basic technique.
Not overly difficult, it should be fine for Enoch to learn.
"Here."
Rionne crooked her finger, and plant stems burst from the ground to form a scarecrow.
"Try copying me... Huh?"
Rionne watched as Enoch waved his hand in the air.
Wondering what he was doing, she saw him squeezing out mana to draw a pattern.
"Wha...!?"
And that pattern resembled the magic she'd just used.
Enoch had memorized the form of the mana she'd moved in that instant and was replicating it.
- Crackle──!
The crudely completed magic circle took effect.
Electricity surged from the ground, briefly outlining a scarecrow shape before scattering.
A close look at the soil revealed a tiny charred sprout.
"Oh my god...!"
Our kid's a genius...!
Undine grumbled, shoving aside the excited Rionne.
[Looks like he's got talent for magic too, of all things.]
From the way he acted, magic? This brat who went around barbarically biting everything.
That kid can actually speak properly but pretends to be dumb, doesn't he?
"Grrr..."
Rionne hugged tight the growling Enoch toward Undine, calming him, and lifted the child up high.
"Enoch! Want big sis to teach you magic!?"
At Rionne's joyful question, Enoch rolled his eyes.
More things to learn wasn't ideal, but...
"Want me to teach you...!?"
There was no refusing that.
In the end, Enoch smiled brightly and nodded.
"Yay!"
Rionne cheered.