The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautious, Vol. 3 Read online

  “I’m not hungry.”

  “Okay…”

  I munch on the death worm all by my lonesome when out of nowhere…

  “Weeee-hee-hee-hee.”

  Seiya laughs like a disgusting pig!

  “Wh-wh-wh-what’s wrong?! Why are you laughing like a maniac?!”

  “It’s nothing.”

  Oh no…! Oh no, no, no! This is seriously bad! He has genuinely lost his mind! I recommend temporarily sneaking back to Little Light when the beastkin aren’t looking, but he immediately turns down my suggestion. I don’t even want to think about what will happen to me if I say something that rubs him the wrong way. I decide to keep everything I say mild for as long as he’s like this.

  Day six of my life as a mole.

  To no one’s surprise, Seiya continues to eavesdrop on Bunogeos underneath the mansion today as well. However, this time, we hear the footsteps of someone other than Bunogeos. It sounds like another beastkin has come to the mansion, and Bunogeos’s voice is bubbling with glee.

  “Ohhh! Thank you for coming!”

  “Screech! It was a long flight here, but these were Lord Grandleon’s orders, after all!”

  “Anyway, let’s get down to business! Let’s use those powers of yours and find the Hero!”

  “No need. He could already be nearby!”

  And then…

  Skreeeeee!

  I hear a faint high-pitched sound, thanks to having a better hearing range than humans. It looks like Seiya was able to hear it as well, though.

  “He said he flew here. A bat-type beastkin, perhaps? I’m not familiar with bats, but he used echolocation. He probably found these caverns.”

  “What?! But we’re underground!”

  “Echolocation is effective, whether underground or in the water.”

  “Wh-what?! Then we have to go deeper!”

  “No. Even if we descend ten meters, which is Cave Along’s threshold, we risk the chance that Bunogeos’s attacks will still reach us, burying us alive.”

  “…?! I thought you said we had nothing to worry about?!”

  “I said that normal attacks wouldn’t be able to hit us, not Bunogeos’s. Anyway, we need to make a move unless we want them taking the initiative.”

  Seiya promptly undoes Cave Along, sending our bodies up toward the surface. When we arrive at the narrow space between the ground and the bottom of the mansion’s flooring, I try to crawl out from under the mansion, but my head bumps into a floorboard and cracks it open.

  “Screech! See? There they are!”

  A frowning bat-like monster looks down at me as my head pokes out from the cracked floor. I’m overcome with despair, but Seiya is already bringing the blowpipe to his lips. As the bat beastkin carelessly stares at the hole in the floor, he is hit with Burst Air at point-blank range. His head explodes, and his body tumbles to the floor. Then Seiya bursts out from under the floor to send the headless body flying before firing Burst Air at Bunogeos. He must have already figured out Bunogeos’s location while under the floor. Unfortunately for Bunogeos, the orc doesn’t have the reflexes to dodge Seiya’s sudden, accurate attack, and Burst Air’s bullet hits him right in the head. However…

  “Tch! That huuurt! Ya little…!”

  Bunogeos places a hand over his forehead while glaring at Seiya. It looks like the attack was only strong enough to leave a small cut!

  “Ya little shiiiiiiiiit! You’ve been hiding under my hooouse?!”

  C-crap, crap, crap! This is bad! Burst Air was Seiya’s one and only attack move as a Jolly Piper! But it hardly did any damage!

  In the extremely spacious, dilapidated room, Bunogeos grabs the ax on his back. He then points his weapon at us as it glows with the sinister aura of Chain Destruction.

  “I’m not lettin’ ya get away this tiiime!”

  Seiya can’t use fire magic to create a smokescreen anymore, and if he uses Cave Along to dive underground, Bunogeos will smash the ground and bury him alive!

  “Wh-what are we going to do, Seiya?!”

  When I glance in Seiya’s direction, he’s already putting his platinum flute away in his breast pocket! H-he’s lost the will to fight?! Noooooo! We’re done foooooor!!

  But at the very next moment, he holds a hand before his face and mutters:

  “Class Change…! Jolly Piper / Earth Mage to Earth Spellblade!”

  I watch Seiya in astonishment as he is wrapped in a blinding light.

  “What…? No way! You can change classes without even asking Enzo in Little Light?!”

  “There’s no reason that toothless old fart can do it and I can’t. I only had to watch him do it once to figure it out.”

  What he’s saying is extremely rude, but this isn’t the first time he has done this. He learned Elulu’s Fire Arrow and my Appraise ability in the blink of an eye.

  The light disappears, and Seiya is no longer a Jolly Piper. His equipment has transformed into that of a Spellblade.

  D-did he really change classes? …Oh yeah! Why don’t I just use Scan and see for myself? He probably hasn’t had enough time to use Fake Out, since he just changed jobs!

  I focus mainly on his class while using Scan…

  SEIYA RYUUGUUIN

  Class: Spellblade (Earth)

  LV: 99 (MAX)

  HP: 321,960

  MP: 88,155

  ATK: 293,412

  DEF: 287,644

  SPD: 268,875

  MAG: 58,751

  GRW: 999 (MAX)…

  I—I saw his stats! He really did change classes! …Wait! What the…?!

  “Tch. Stop.”

  After noticing that I was using Scan, Seiya immediately uses Fake Out, blurring his status.

  At any rate, it looks like Seiya was telling the truth. He changed classes on his own. But…that’s not what shocked me the most.

  H-he’s at max level already?! How?! When did that happen?! W-wait… Hold on! That’s it! It only makes sense for him to level up like this after sniping so many beastkin! Especially since he started out with the EXP Boost ability as well!

  Leveling up after defeating monsters is only natural, but given this Hero has never leveled up like this before, it didn’t even cross my mind. Oblivious of my surprise, Seiya calmly brushes back his glossy black hair.

  “I hit my target of three hundred after defeating that bat thing. I was able to surveil Bunogeos as well. There’s no point staying here any longer.”

  “Enough rambling! Are ya prepared to fight me or whaaat?!”

  “‘Prepared’? Hmph…”

  Seiya unsheathes his platinum sword. He elegantly swings it a few times as if to refamiliarize himself, then points it at Bunogeos.

  “I’m perfectly prepared.”

  CHAPTER 12

  In Check

  I-it’s been so long since I’ve heard him say that!

  Every time Seiya utters that phrase, he crushes his opponent. Nevertheless, it’s too early to relax just yet. Bunogeos is a powerful foe. Other than speed, his stats aren’t too different from Seiya’s, despite being at the max level. In addition, he has special abilities such as Dark God’s Blessing and Total Magic Nullification to compliment his weapon that can destroy our souls. Just like when Seiya fought the emperor, I’m sure it’s going to be a close match where even the smallest mistake could be the end.

  …Seiya makes the first move. Raising his sword aloft, he closes the distance with his incredible speed…but to my surprise, he destroys the table right by Bunogeos’s side instead.

  “What the…?!”

  I watch in bewilderment as particles of glass glitter in the air like rain. Bunogeos cackles.

  “Wee-hee-hee! Hate to break it to ya, but that’s not the spell stone ya broke. That was just an ordinary crystal ball. Made sure to hide the spell stone somewhere you’d neeever find.”

  Acting like he was going to attack Bunogeos but striking the spell stone instead… Yep, that’s something Seiya would do. But despite being mocked that it
wasn’t his target, Seiya’s expression doesn’t change.

  “I was just making sure you couldn’t contact Grandleon anymore. I figured you’d be begging him for help by the end of the battle.”

  “Wh-what?!”

  As Bunogeos’s nose twitches in rage, Seiya scornfully glares at him, flips his sword around, and sheathes it.

  “Seiya?! What are you doing?!”

  “I’m only going to use my sword to deliver the final blow. Earth magic should be enough until then. By the way, I only leveled up to the maximum for caution’s sake. I actually could have defeated this thing on an even lower level.”

  “Whaaat?! Then why were you spying on Bunogeos for three days straight?!”

  While I may be genuinely surprised, Bunogeos’s face is burning red with rage.

  “Y-y-y-you’re gonna wish ya hadn’t said thaaaaaat!”

  He raises his ax in the air and charges Seiya! But out of nowhere, Bunogeos clumsily collapses with a loud thud.

  “Hmmmm? Whaaaaaat?!”

  I look carefully and notice something tied around the beastkin’s ankle.

  I-is that earth magic?! It is! That’s a magic snake that can be controlled remotely! It’s similar to Automatic Phoenix and can only be cast by high wizards! The earth serpent twists its head and tries to sink its teeth into Bunogeos’s hip, but…

  “Is this a joooke?!”

  He slices clean through the elongated serpent’s body with his ax, effortlessly turning it into sand.

  “Wee-hee-hee! Pathetic!”

  Bunogeos grins smugly until, almost instantly, he hears a sound. Cracks spread across the entire floor, followed by dozens of earth serpents squirming out. Earth serpents are even invading from within the walls and windows!

  In an unrestrained voice, Seiya says:

  “The mansion is already surrounded by hundreds of earth serpents. There is nowhere for you to run, and no one is coming to save you. This place belongs to the snakes now.”

  Wh-when did he summon this many earth serpents?! …Oh! Seiya wasn’t just hiding underground and stalking Bunogeos these past three days! He was taking his time creating earth serpents! He must have then sent them out to surround the mansion after that!

  Countless earth serpents slither across the floor, while even more tear holes through the walls and ceiling, endlessly appearing. Each of them rushes toward Bunogeos as if they’re all trying to surround him. The eerie sight sends a chill up my spine. This is something a demon would do! I refuse to believe that a Hero, who’s trying to save the world, would do such a thing! Just as the numerous snakes lunge toward Bunogeos…

  “Don’t you dare underestimate meeeeee! God Chopper!”

  The orc freely swings his ax, creating a gust of wind. The earth serpents that are grazed by the blade or brushed by the wind are reduced to sand and blown away.

  “Wh-what power…!”

  The fact that he was able to obliterate over a dozen earth serpents in the blink of an eye leaves me gaping. Bunogeos, on the other hand, casts a glance at the piles of sand on the floor and smirks.

  “Looks like yer magic snakes can’t regeneraaate.”

  Bunogeos places his free hand on his steel breastplate, then tears off his armor.

  “What the…?!”

  I gasp at the sight of his body. From his chest to his stomach is a massive, open mouth baring an irregular set of fangs!

  “I’m gonna eat these snakes with a side of humaaaaaan!”

  H-he’s gonna swallow us whole?! This can’t be happening!

  I direct my gaze to Seiya for help.

  “What are we going to do, Seiya?! I think he’s gonna try to suck us into that mouth!”

  “Yeah, I remember him having a skill like that. This is where you come in, Rista.”

  “Huh?! M-me?! What do you want me to do?!”

  “Sink.”

  “Huh?”

  Seiya promptly raises a hand into the air, then…whack! He suddenly drops his fist on the top of my head!

  “…?! Hawaaaaaah?!”

  Crack! Crack! Whack!

  The Hero’s extraordinary power sends my lower body through the cracked floor and into the ground.

  “Wh-wh-what has gotten into you?!” I yell, looking up at Seiya with half my body buried in the dirt.

  That’s when…

  “Dieeeeee! Vacuum Shredder!!”

  …the mouth on Bunogeos’s body flies open. As expected, the sound of a powerful vacuum rattles my eardrums as the earth serpents are gradually sucked into his mouth! I can even feel my gorgeous blond hair on the verge of abandoning ship!

  “Ahhhhhh!”

  He’s probably going to draw us in, destroy our souls, then swallow us. Bunogeos waits with the Chain Destruction–infused ax in hand.

  No, no, no! I’m gonna die!!

  I panic, but I’m able to endure Bunogeos’s vacuum, since half of my body is underground. And Seiya…has his arms wrapped around my shoulders to keep himself from being sucked in as well.

  “Hmm? Wait a second! Do I look like a pole to you?!”

  My irritation doesn’t last for long, though. After all, in a way, it’s like Seiya is holding me in his arms from behind.

  H-huh…? Hold on… This isn’t half-bad. In fact, it’s amazing. Well…it looks like I’m a pole now. I’ll stand tall and support you no matter what, Seiya. Because that’s what poles do!

  I’m on cloud nine until I’m almost immediately drawn back to reality…because there isn’t a single earth serpent left!

  Bunogeos stops his vacuum attack and shuts the mouth on his stomach before smugly smirking.

  “Wee-hee-hee-hee! I turned every last one of yer snakes into duuust!”

  H-he’s powerful! Too powerful! Seiya needs to stop messing around and unsheathe his sword! But even if Seiya did that, he wouldn’t be able to move once the orc starts using Vacuum Shredder again! How are we gonna beat this pig?!

  In spite of my panicking, Seiya takes his hands off my shoulders, then faces Bunogeos while leaving himself vulnerable.

  “Seiya?! You have to stay behind me! You’re gonna be eaten if he uses Vacuum Shredder again!”

  “There’s no need to worry about that. The battle is already over.”

  In a detached tone, Seiya continues.

  “Bunogeos, you may believe you ate and destroyed all of the earth serpents, but you’re wrong. I turned a few live ones into sand to make it look like you destroyed them. I made sure to mix a few in the sand of the ones you killed.”

  “Hmm? What was thaaat?”

  “They’re already turning back into snakes inside your stomach as we speak.”

  “Wh-what…?! N-no…!”

  “Your exterior may be protected with Total Magic Nullification, but I’m willing to bet your insides are pretty fragile, hmm?”

  Bunogeos’s face turns pale as the Hero stares at him with a distant, penetrating gaze.

  “Devour the enemy… Transform: Automatic Naga!”

  Without delay, Bunogeos’s stomach and chest expand as if being pushed by numerous slender bars from the inside, followed by the horrifying sound of flesh bursting apart.

  “Gwaaaaaah!”

  The earth serpents bore holes in Bunogeos’s body.

  “Eeeeeek!”

  I scream at the horrific sight. Automatic Nagas crawl out from every part of his body with the exception of his arms and legs. Blood spews into the air as they devour his flesh. When the last one crawls out of Bunogeos’s stomach, he coughs up black blood from both his normal mouth and the mouth on his stomach. And just like that, his massive body falls forward onto the floor… After a few moments go by, he doesn’t even twitch.

  “I-is it over?”

  “Yeah.”

  Seiya places a hand on the top of my head—pop!—and pulls me out of the ground!

  “…?! Hey!! Do I look like a radish to you?!”

  I’m annoyed by his crude treatment, but he ignores me. Though after finally shifting em
otional gears, I find myself impressed with how he handled Bunogeos.

  “I can’t believe it. You really defeated Bunogeos without drawing your sword. It wasn’t even close. Earth magic is powerful stuff…”

  “It outclasses all other magic when it comes to deception. If used efficiently, I may be able to defeat other enemies the same way, regardless of their status.”

  “Yeah… Yeah! I bet we can even beat Grandleon with earth magic!”

  “Don’t be rash. Earth magic alone isn’t going to cut it any longer. I need something to complement it, which is why we need to return to the spirit world. But to do that, we need to destroy the spell stone.”

  “Oh yeah! I wonder where it could be. I mean, Bunogeos said he hid it somewhere we’d never find…”

  As I frantically scan the room, I catch sight of something that makes me shudder. Bunogeos’s massive body is slowly getting up off the ground!

  “S-Seiya! He’s alive! He’s still alive!”

  The cautious Hero declared that the battle was already over, so I believed him! But despite having his innards devoured and endlessly hemorrhaging black blood, Bunogeos is still alive! What unbelievable vitality! Seiya and I got cocky… We forgot that this was the SS-ranked world of Ixphoria!

  “It’s not…over yet…!”

  Bunogeos then proceeds to shove a finger into his left eye!

  “What the…?!”

  I cover my eyes and peek through the opening between my fingers. Bunogeos is pulling his eye out with his finger!

  “Wee-hee… Wee-hee-hee-hee! This is the spell stooone! The Demon Lord embedded it in my body! Th-this stone has enough mana to curse the entire town. O-once I eat this, no one will be able to stop meee…!”

  Then Bunogeos promptly brings his eye—the spell stone—to his mouth.

  “Ya should have killed me when ya had the chaaance! You’re gonna wet yerself when ya see this! Second Form: Beast Hazard! Ahhhhhh!”

  “S-Seiya!”

  Although I’m losing my mind, Seiya doesn’t seem concerned.

  “Your second form, huh? I’m kind of curious, but I’m not going to watch you transform, and I’m not going to wet myself. If you wanted to defeat me, you should have gouged out your eye and transformed from the start. You would have had a slight chance of winning then. But, well, I made sure to piss you off so that wouldn’t happen.”