Sendai Yuusha wa Inkyou Shitai

「Yashiro-kun……」

From behind Yuu, Falhart called out to him with a worried sounding voice.

However, the current Yuu didn’t have the time to pay attention to that.

（……For there to be this much damage while having no one notice it, it was because Recognition Obstruction and Silent magic was casted. There’s no mistake about that. There’s no mistake. Since there are signs that a portion of the rubble was melted with a high temperature and broken with a blast, there’s no mistake that what created his heap of rubble was an explosive type of magic. ……Looking at the empty cartridges in the Magic Guns, Bernadette should have also used magic. ……She should have. A magic battle had happened here. It did! ……Yet, why can’t I feel any “Maryoku”?）

That’s right. Yuu’s unrest was used up by this one sentence.

In this world, Maryoku existed. One could say that there is no place in this world where Maryoku couldn’t be felt.

However, here, he couldn’t feel any Maryoku to the point that one could say there wasn’t any at all.

And then, to not feel Maryoku, in this place, in this situation, this was without a doubt impossible.

Several magics should have been used. Excluding a portion of magic, fundamentally, magic made use of Maryoku that originates from within the body.

And then, by using that, the miracle called magic manifests in the world.

As long as magic has been used, the vestiges of Maryoku should be felt.

It was because of this that Lililuri, an Elf which is a race that oversensitively reacts to Maryoku, sensed Maryoku at Gold’s workshop, who was a Magic Sword blacksmith. (Incidentally, Yuu didn’t notice.)

He didn’t feel any of that at all in this place.

「……No, I guess there’s no need to wonder about this to myself at this point. No mistaking it, this is Snatch.」

The current situation where the surrounding Maryoku is thoroughly stolen away is something that Yuu had experienced before.

「That bastard……So he was alive.」

When he muttered while holding down the impulses that were boiling up, Yuu snorted his nose and started to sniff the surrounding smells.

「Since it’s that bastard we’re talking about……Ahh, I knew it. There’s no smell of “blood” burning.」

The stench of an occasion of a person being burned is something that those who have experienced the battlefield have smelled before. Maybe because he knew that stench wasn’t in this place, he muttered as if he were relived.

「I guess it’s better just knowing that Bernadette is alive. That son-of-a-bitch.」

He clicked his tongue while picking up Bernadette’s Magic Guns and putting them in his waist pouch.

「Is she safe?」

「Yeah, there’s “no mistake” that she’s alive.」

Replying with words of confidence, Yuu, after surveying the area two or three times, took a big sigh and separated from the heap of rubble.

「Where are you going?」

Noticing that Yuu started walking with a definite manner of walking where his determination could be felt after leaving the heap of rubble, Falhart asked. He thought “Does he know the location”, but the only things that he understood from Yuu’s monologue was Bernadette’s safety and the existence of the magician that had probably fought with Bernadette.

Therefore, they didn’t know their whereabouts. Despite this, Yuu started walking as if he obtained the answer. One could say that it was natural to think that question.

Stopping his feet from Falhart’s question, Yuu looked over his shoulder. With those eyes of his dyed in the look of resolution……――

「I’m going to rescue Bernadette.」

Holding panties with a bear drawn on it that he pulled out of who knows where in one hand, Yuu, still looking determined, started walking.

「Hold it right there.」

「Wait a moment.」

「Eh?」

Yuu probably thought that he decided the scene in a cool way but naturally Falhart and Mary stopped him.

「First of all, could I have you explain who the owner of that underwear is and why you are in possession of them? If possible, I would like for this to end peacefully but, if you don’t answer me truthfully……I shall also have to prepare for the worst.」

「W, wait, wait a second. Don’t treat me like an underwear thief! There’s a profound reason for this, if I don’t have this, I won’t be able to search for Bernadette!」

「How is that underwear related to any of this?」

「It’s the scent.」

「「Scent?」」

“Is he telling lies out of desperation?” is what the two of them thought, but Yuu continued on without looking like he was in unrest.

「My sense of smell, if I put my mind to it, can exhibit an ability greater than that of a dog’s. And so, the clothing where a woman’s aroma is left behind is without a doubt underwear. In other words, by sniffing the scent of the underwear, I can ascertain Bernadette’s location! It’s freshly washed but it’s not like it was done with Japan’s detergent, so there more than enough of the aroma remaining! And then, if Bernadette was captured by the kidnappers, we’ll also be able to save the people that those guys kidnapped!」

Yuu showed an “in your face” look that totally said “how’s that!”, but the two that didn’t know about the height of Yuu’s five senses turned looks of doubt towards Yuu.

「Guh……Then, then I just have to show you……Nn?」

Yuu spread open the underwear and tried to bury his nose in the crotch but, suddenly noticing something, he averted his eyes from the two.

「Nn? ……You’re」

Attracted to the same direction and averting his eyes to it, what Falhart saw was young man in a large brimmed black hat adorned with a richly colored feather and wearing a black mantle that was the same color as the hat. In his hand, a pure white cloth that was unbalanced with his appearance was gripped.

It was Jean Jacques Eustace.

The Jean that normally displayed an aloof of the world appearance was raising his shoulders up and down and stood with his breath thrown out of order.

At almost exactly the same time that Falhart thought the question “What could have possibly happened?”, Yuu and Jean both simultaneously opened their mouths.

「Bernadette was swept away by 『Zephyr』.」

「Kuon-kun snuck away.」

The two that had reported together had faces that looked like they had just chewed on something bitter.