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'! That's ridiculous--it's advanced magic!'


The fellow who cast the spell exclaimed in surprise.



'Cut, cut, cut, cut, cut, cut...'


--That's impossible.


The princess got on her horse, hit her companions several times on the head, and jumped up like a spring-work.


It was like something out of a nightmare.


The stench of burning flesh. With her whole body engulfed in flames, the princess attacked him. Her hand was no longer holding the sword.
He quickly folded his arms to defend himself. A small fist pierced her from above. You can't believe you guarded against it, but a tremendous shock rushes through your body.

The flesh that should have been strengthened by the mana material distorts and the bones creak. Black flames spread to his hands, and intense pain flashed through him.

It's not human to attack without screaming while your whole body is burned by flames.

Time is running out. If we don't do something, people will come. We'll be wiped out.

'Tie up, tie up!


It's okay. He's been hit by an advanced attack spell. He's badly wounded. we've shown the fox is a threat.
The fallen comrade-- no. We can't afford to take him. You run backwards as fast as you can. The other fellow follows, still holding his arm.


'Kiriki...... ...... ...... , ...... ...'


How can it still move?




--Something engulfed in flames is roaring and chasing me.















This time, it might be the end.

In the middle of the dangerous arena, I stood there with only a sense of obligation to apologize.

The remaining warding fingers--zero.

Krahi, who had thundered down from behind me and allowed me to use my last warding finger, seemed to have completely fainted.
I'm not sure if he did something unnecessary or not, but I wonder if he had something against me?


But not yet. I haven't apologized yet. The warding finger is gone, but I didn't come here to fight.




I'm here to-- to get down on my knees! I'm here to sincerely apologize!
There are few people who would still attack me after seeing my pathetic kneeling--there were quite a few. .......


But if you run away, you're bound to get shot in the back anyway. There is no one better than me at getting shot in the back.


I'm not able to get down on my knees at the right time yet, but I'm making a full-body apology, and the great foxface said in a trembling voice.




I'm sure it's different from the ...... fake. But can you still be calm when you see this?





The fox mask draws a sword from his waist.



--That's all the foxface did. That was all he did, and the air changed.


Instantly-- the air swirled. The air swirled. The strong wind and cloud of dust caused him to retreat, covering his eyes.

Holding the sword in his opposite hand, the foxface raised it in front of him.

The geometric pattern running across the blade is familiar.
It's a powerful treasure, the treasure that the Emperor had told him about - the Key of the Earth.




'This country will be destroyed. It's a fool's errand to assume that no one can charge it.


In the center of the tornado of sand created by the sword, only I and the fox mask stood. The sand, the wind, and the force completely blocked out the sounds and sights of the outside world, as if we were trapped in another world.

But I knew. I've played with many kinds of treasure. Many of them are swords.

The foxface in front of me hasn't used a single percent of the power of the earth key yet.



'Looks like you know a little something. Yes, I haven't activated the power of this key yet.

The amount of charge required for the Key of Earth was such that Lucia, who had raised her total magic power by super-healing, reached the limit many times.

And the power of the treasure tool is almost proportional to the amount of magic power required.


In this world, there are many treasures that can cause massive destruction. Many of them were owned by the state, as they were too much for individuals to handle.
Naturally, even as a collector of treasures, I have never seen the moment of activation of such treasures.


'In the past, the Key of the Earth has destroyed many civilizations. It's easy to destroy this little city even if you only release some of its power!


What ......?

Why would they want to destroy the city? What the hell kind of organization are they?

You're right, Sora failed. She screwed up, thought I was the boss, and did a bunch of stuff.
Well, maybe I'm partly to blame for the confusion, but that's got nothing to do with this town.


'Don't do anything useless! I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, let's make up, I didn't mean to hurt you! I'm sorry--no, I'm sorry!


I'm sorry!


Why? Why won't you forgive me when I apologize? Huh, I knew that.

But I'm proud of the fact that I've come this far with nothing but apologies.

I don't know where he got it, but he has the key to the earth. Then I'll just use it against him.

I don't mean to scare you, but if your opponent's destructive impulse is based on a powerful treasure, showing him the same thing should change his reaction a bit.

He pulls out the Key of Earth from his waist and thrusts it in front of him. The fox mask stopped moving.



'That's strange, I have the same treasure. Of course, it's already charged.



The change in the fox mask was obvious. His limbs and shoulders were trembling. He muttered in astonishment.



'What ...... is impossible. Why are you--'


It's not impossible, it's real. This is real.


It's not uncommon for two identical treasures to appear. If it is a very powerful treasure, the probability drops significantly, but it is still not zero.

It seems that my plan has worked, which is unusual. However, I'm not completely calm.

The stress of having my stock of warding fingers reduced to zero is steadily accumulating. Even my limbs are trembling. I feel like sitting down right now if I can help it.

That's enough. I hope you'll forgive me for having the same rare treasure. I didn't come here to fight, of course I didn't come here to complain.




The foxface is alternately looking at my key and his own earth key. There's no difference even if you check them that closely. They have the same name and the same treasure. There's no doubt about it.

While I was thinking about this, the fox face muttered in a trembling voice.




'What's this?






My eyes widen involuntarily. The key to the earth that the fox-faced man had been holding had disappeared.
He hadn't even blinked - his eyesight wasn't that bad.

At the same time, a fragrant smell wafted into the air, and you couldn't help but move your nose. It's a smell I've smelled a lot lately.

The fox-faced man opens his hand. A golden square object falls to the ground.


You check it out, frown, doubt your eyes, doubt your head.

It was fried tofu. A delicious fried bean curd with a golden brown color.


The fox mask was looking down at the fried tofu in a daze.

I was completely stunned. The anger he'd felt just now was gone.



What? What the hell is going on here? What am I supposed to do? What's going on? How can I follow up?




'That ...... looks like you dropped something delicious?

'............'

'No, no, I'm sure it's-- it's a treasure trove. It's not your fault. The key to the earth must be a treasure trove that turns into fried tofu! This key will be fried too!

''Guh--''


The fox mask lets out a short roar and slowly raises its head.
The fox mask covers half of his head. I could barely make out its expression, but I understood it instinctively.

Oh no, I'm going to get angry. I'm totally pissed.

I don't have a choice. My mind is not fast enough to make a good response in such a situation. In a situation like this-- get down on your knees!




--It was almost a reflex decision.




I'm incompetent. I've gotten down on my knees to make up for all sorts of mistakes. I have almost no instantaneous power, but when it comes to getting down on my knees, I'm well-honed.

Bend your knees, put your hands out in front of you, drop to your knees, and prostrate yourself on the ground.
He repeated it dozens of times, hundreds of times, and even practiced it once in a while, and it became a routine.


It was supposed to be the most beautiful prostration in the world. But in the middle of it, his knee shattered.


'Ah--'!

'?


It was probably the result of the extreme stress caused by the loss of the boundary finger stock.
I nearly fell over, squeezed my eyes shut at the approaching ground, and immediately stretched out my hands in front of me.


However, the Key of the Earth was held in my right hand.



The Key of the Earth is sucked into the ground, as if it should have been.





And the impact blew away in all directions.