Home Saint Mari Chapter 4 – As I lead the Hunt

Chapter 4 – As I lead the Hunt

TL:Yuki

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From Misley, we headed west towards a forest near a lake. There was a nearby village which was the one who requested the guild for our current request. The village name was Naruka, a fishing village.

 

 

 

Mari and Sophia departed from Misley early in the morning when it was still dark, arriving at their destination around at around 9 in the morning. There are a lot of monsters in the forest which also makes it a good hunting spot.

 

The autumn sky was clear and it was a good day for hunting. It was her first time hunting in this world after reincarnation, so Mari was in a great mood.

 

 

「I’m happy, it’s like were going on a picnic」 Sophia smiles while enjoying the mood.

 

 

 

「It will a memorable first step on our conquest of Aldecia!! You should be more grateful for receiving such honor! 」

 

 

 

「Yes, yes. Because, of Mari’s ambition, right」

 

 

 

「That’s right! Another thing is that this is my favorite hunting ground」

 

 

 

「Have you been here before?」

 

 

 

「Maybe……Maybe not……」

 

 

 

「What’s with that?」

 

 

 

「Well, don’t mind it」[TL Note: Mari’s used dodge the subject]

 

 

 

Mari laughed it off to dodge the topic. She will eventually tell Sophia more about herself, but that time is not now.

 

 

 

After the two finished checking their equipment, they begin their hunting preparations. Sophia has a long sword and chainmail which was considered as light equipment. There are also small plates that help protect her shoulders and other parts of the body but do not hinder her movements, and even if it did not give a lot of protection, her evasive skills would fill the gap. Evasive stance is technique that prevents damage by avoiding attacks.

 

On Mari’s part, she only had her white robe that she bought yesterday. It is indeed a mage robe, but it’s old and with poor attributes but wearing one is still better than not having any equipment at all, not to mention that the money used to purchase it was from Sophia.

 

It’s also fun to start from this point!…is what she was convincing herself.

 

 

 

After she finished her preparations, it’s now time to hunt!

 

 

 

「Shophie, let’s go――――!」[TL Note: Mari calls Sophia, Sophie]

 

 

 

Mari slowly raised her hand and moves gracefully as she started her magic chant.

 

Defense・Attack・Evasion・Accuracy・Movement Speed・Poison Tolerance……and more than ten other buffs were appliead to both of them. After one magic was cast, a pillar of light rose from the magic circle then scatters after being followed by another one scattering light particles all around them. It was a magnificent sigh for Sophie who was staring like an excited child.

 

 

 

「Hey, Mari! What’s all these? Your heal was already flashy, but all these magic are another level of flashiness」

 

 

 

「It’s not just the appearance that is flashy though, because when you start hunting, you will be even more surprised」

 

 

 

It was something that she couldn’t help so she was about to start hunting early, Sophia wasn’t also able to calm down because of it. Just then, Mari took out a wide sheet and spread it in front of Sophia. After she finished spreading it properly, she then sat down gracefully.

 

 

 

「Well then, I’ll be over here」――――

 

 

 

――――*Gonk!! Sophia’s fist splendidly pounds Mari in the head!

 

 

 

「Ouch……why did you do that?」

 

 

 

「Why you say, aren’t we going to start our hunt right now! hunting!!」

 

 

 

「Eh~, but I’m a healing specialist~, Although it’s not something to be proud of, I barely have any attack power~」

 

 

 

「What about supporting me along the way!」

 

 

 

When Mari hears her response, she goes yare yare as she shook her in disbelief.

 

 

 

「You see, Sophie just doesn’t understand it! It’s not like I’m just sitting here for now reason so I will correct your misconception」

 

 

 

Dragged by Mari’s momentum, Sophia reluctantly sits down to listen.

 

 

 

「Listen well! Magic consumes a lot of Magical Energy when used. Because of that, the recovery speed of a magician can have a very significant impact on a party’s survival. On that note, Recovery Speed is greatly increased if when you are in a relaxed state, which is why I was sitting. Sitting is also a beneficial job of a Priest!」

 

 

 

Mari who followed up her momentum continues the magical lecture……

 

 

 

「There are parties out there getting annihilated because of their magicians running out of mana and the recovery didn’t make it. Sophia is a Knight so I don’t know if you have ever heard of Magic Management……」

 

 

 

「Alright, I get it!! Stop it already, I understand!」

 

 

 

「Is that so, I’m glad that you understand」

 

 

 

(No, I don’t get it at all you know……)

 

 

 

Sophia stares at Mari who was happy about it as she thought to herself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

「Ahhh, I forgot about that, so can you close your eyes for now and think about me」

 

 

 

Sophia followed closing her eyes and thinking about Mari as she was told.

 

 

 

「Nn? Nothing seems to be happening」

 

 

 

「Oops, I forgot to make it public. Switching it now…… So, can you see my Status now Sophie?」

 

 

 

Just as Mari explained, Mari’s Status became visible in Sophie’s mind. 『Status』 is a list of various parameters like physical strength, Magic Power, Defensive Power and Attack Power.

 

 

 

「It’s convenient after all. With this, we can now see each other’s condition even if were far apart, and if you are in a pinch, I will be able to send you heals even from a distance」

 

 

 

「Is this also Magic?」

 

 

 

「Yes, it’s called Party Manager. Priests would usually manage a party while looking at everyone’s status. Because it’s for management, it is usually only visible to priests」

 

 

 

Party Manager is a Magic used to arrange members in a party while able to check status and directly contact each other. The members are free to disclose or hide various data from their status by an On/Off function.

 

 

 

After giving a rough explanation to Sophia, Mari also quietly closed her eyes.

 

 

 

『How is it Sophie? It’s should be possible to hear my voice right now』

 

 

 

Suddenly, Mari’s voice resounded in Sophia’s head and she panicked out of surprise.

 

 

 

『Don’t panic. Ease your mind and try talking while being conscious of me.』

 

 

 

『Don’t, don’t surprise me like that, I was really shocked, you know』

 

 

 

『Sorry, sorry』

 

 

 

『But this sure is amazing. I couldn’t believe that we could communicate only with our minds. We could also communicate even if were far away, right?』

 

 

 

『Yup, we could communicate even while far away from each other. You can’t go too far though because the Magic Effect would be out of reach』

 

 

 

Mari opened her eyes and spoke directly to Sophia this time.

 

 

 

「Okay, do you now understand. With this, you can hunt without much trouble. So go ahead and do your best」

 

 

 

Sophia sigh as she watch Mari who was smiling and decided to hunt alone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sophie looks out towards the forest from the grassland and looks for affordable prey. Then she found a huge bear about a kilometer ahead. A Misley Bear and it was probably an elder individual, boasting a magnificent massive body exceeding 2 meters in height.

 

From downwind, she approached carefully, and she ran all at once while trying to get the hang of the effects!! And by that time, she realized the dramatic effect of Mari’s Magic!

 

 

「What is this! This speed is!?」

 

 

 

It was no wonder why she was so surprised. After all she was running a speed that exceeds 100km/h.

 

It was already too late when the Misley Bear noticed the approaching hunter, and the sprinting Sophie preparing her sword slashed the monster’s torso and literally slicing the monster into two.

 

 

 

「Mari did say that I will be surprised, but this is really amazing!」

 

 

 

The magic that was cast on Sophie didn’t only improve her speed but all of her abilities. Her Muscle strength was also greatly improved to the point that she couldn’t even feel the weight of the sword.

 

 

 

「If I don’t properly control my swings, this sword will definitely break」

 

 

 

While she was thinking about that and looking at Misley Bear’s corpse, she did not realize that her face was showing a ferocious grin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mari was sitting and was monitoring Sophie’s hunt from a distance.

 

 

「Her monstrous Strength increase and other features were definitely similar to the effects given in the game」

 

 

 

The party manager tells her that Sophie is about level 50. Considering that, the monsters around the area could be easily subjugated.

 

This world definitely has a lot of similarities as the game world……Mari is convinced by this by observing Sophie’s hunt. After all, the monsters around the area they are hunting would only be around level 40 which they could easily clear out.

 

This will be an easy time is what Mari concluded as she started to yawn.。

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sophie was obsessed with hunting. She is running through the woods even into the depths of the forest. And, gradually, she began to realize that Mari’s magic wasn’t just about speed or strength.

 

For example, if she focuses her mind on something far away, it will appear to be just around the corner. She can grasp movement as if it is slow motion. All senses were sharpened to the limit, and even the slightest hint of a monster could not be missed.

 

 

Sophie, who has been on a good hunting state like that, still made some mistakes.…… a Misley Wolf slipped off her attension.

 

Even if you think that it’s only a wolf, there would definitely be herd of wolves nearby, and the Wolf who noticed the crisis of their comrades surrounded Sophie in a group. Thirty animals surrounded her. Even if she has a sword, she can’t defend all of the attacks. Then she realized that it was really bad situation.

 

Sophie tries to inform Mari about her situation, but she was too busy hunting that she lost sight of where she was.

 

 

「That’s right, Party Manager!」

 

 

 

Just as explained earlier, she tried shouting 『Mari! 』 in her mind. However, there was no response. Moreover, the status display of Mari floating in her head is in a strange state, it was ren and flashing.

 

Is this a warning? ……Sophie’s heart rate immediately intensifies!

 

 

 

Something might have happened to Mari!

 

There was no time for Sophie to hesitate and brute forced her way out of the wolf assault!!

 

 

 

From that point, it became a fierce battle. It was a very disadvantageous situation for her, where she could only protect her upper body but cannot cover the rest. Then one of them jumped aiming at her left foot.

 

She grimaced…… but the pain didn’t last long. When she look closely at her feet, she could see the wolf biting her but was not strong enough to penetrate her skin. Realizing the situation, she changed the way she fought. She decided to abandon defense and use all her focus only for attacking.

 

 

 

Eventually after some time, Sophie defeated all the wolves, and returned in a bloody looking state. Blood was dripping from her arms, her sword while breathing violently. Her appearance was the very depiction of an Ashura to which one wouldn’t know who the real monster was.

 

 

 

「That’s right, Mari!」

 

 

 

After shouting that, Sophie immediately started running back. There was no time for her t waste or clean off the blood from her body. And finally, when she returned, Mari was――――

 

There was the figure of her lying down on the sheets as if she was lying on a bed.

 

 

 

「Haaaa―――h, you idiot, your status will change if you sleep while on the hunt!」

 

 

 

Losing all the strength from her body after, Sophie collapsed near Mari. Staring at Mari’s gentle sleeping face, she sits down while staring at the girl sleeping and enjoying the warm sunshine. She couldn’t help but be amazed at her guts of being able to sleep on the hunting ground, but she is thinking that it’s even cuter this way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

「Hh~~~~nn」

 

 

 

Mari woke up and looked around with her sleepy eyes. As soon as she sees Sophie covered of blood, she immediately took distance and stare at her with shocked eyes.

 

 

 

「Sophie、you stink!」

 

 

 

「What’s with that reaction!! Return my struggle for worrying about you earlier――――!」

 

 

 

Sophie attacks Mari, with a hug while smiling and hugged not caring about her current situation.

 

 

「ure, ure! This miserable idiot~~~」

 

 

 

「Stop it, Sophie!! The blood, the blood will stick to my clothes!」

 

 

 

「It’s only a bit of blood so that should be forgiven, right――――!」

 

 

 

「Eee~~h, but I’ve just bought these clothes a while ago――――!!」

 

 

 

Two people were cuddling for a while, but they soon got tired over time, laid down in a sprawl and laughed while breathing heavily.

 

 

 

 

 

◇◇◇

 

 

 

 

 

After a while, they washed off the blood on a nearby creek and went hunting again.

 

 

 

Mari looks over the surrounding landscape while wiping her body.

 

The autumn wind was blowing, and the trees that began to change color were shaking giving off a rustling noise.

 

And the sky is blue that was spreading out everywhere.

 

 

 

「Misley is really beautiful after all」

 

 

 

In the game, it was a beautiful place, but when it was shown as a reality, the impression couldn’t even be compared to virtual reality.

 

 

 

「Sophie, is downstream of this creek Narca Village」

 

 

 

Narca Village was the village that commissioned this hunting request from the adventurer’s guild.

 

 

 

「Have you been there?」

 

 

 

「You could say maybe…… or maybe not……」

 

 

 

「That again?」

 

 

 

Mari has visited Narca many times in the game, but has not yet visited in this world. However, when she closed my eyes, she was able to draw a clear view of the village.

 

After all, the title『Saint of Aldescia』 was acquired on a quest in Narca Village. Her popular name 『Saint』in game also started at Narca village so she had a special connection to the village.

 

 

 

「We don’t really need to go to Narca Village because it’s a request from the guild but…… do you want to go?」

 

 

 

Mari nodded vigorously to Sophie’s suggestion.