The Neighborhood High School Girl, Miss Isezaki, Is the Great Saintess Returned from Another World~ And I, Suddenly Awakened as Her Exclusive Mana Supply Uncle, Travel Between Earth and Another World with Time-Space Magic~ - 137. Cleanup 2

137. 137. Cleanup 2

At the collection point, the remaining members of “Stinger” were already eagerly awaiting us.

Looking at the pile of corpses stuffed into the spatial net, Seriphos opened his mouth with a slightly stiff expression.

“Haha… Thanks to Matsunaga-san, we finished much faster. Thank you… Well then, it’s time for Notos to use his fireball… Hey, Notos, what’s up!?”

“Force field with magical power… Affecting space… No, it can’t be… Even if hypothetically… But the vastness――”

When I looked at Notos, he was murmuring to himself while staring at the spatial net, seemingly oblivious to Seriphos’ words. Since the work wasn’t progressing like this, I decided to deactivate the spatial net.

“Oh…!”

Notos reached out into the now empty space with a regretful expression, and Regina punched him on the shoulder.

“Hey, none of that. Come on, get to work!”

“Ugh, you violent woman. Just you wait…”

Notos gave Regina a sharp look, then moved away from the pile of corpses and began muttering something. However, his incantation seemed longer compared to the earth arrows he had unleashed against the bandits earlier.

“Notos is good with earth magic but not so much with fire magic.”

Gandor responded, perhaps sensing my curiosity. I see, so if it’s something he’s not good at, the incantation becomes longer.

Still, it’s impressive to be able to use it even if it’s not your specialty. I, for example, can’t use anything other than spacetime magic.

After about a minute, a fireball the size of a beach ball floated up in front of Notos.

“――Go.”

Following Notos’ command, the fireball advanced forward and landed on the pile of corpses. With a loud roar, the fire spread rapidly, engulfing the pile of corpses in flames.

Magic fire indeed seemed to have incredible power. Even though I had distanced myself considerably while Notos was chanting, the heat from the flames still felt like it was searing my skin.

After watching the pillar of fire for a while, Regina let out a big sigh.

“Phew… That should do it for now. Thanks to you, Matsunaga-san, we finished quickly!”

“Oh no, I should thank you. You worried about Colin, and if this wraps things up for you…”

“Haha! You don’t have to worry about that! Oh, by the way, why not join us? That black net from earlier was really something!”

“Well, being an adventurer is a risky profession. It’s impossible for me.”

But Seriphos smiled pleasantly as he spoke.

“Haha, Matsunaga-san. It’s good to put your life on the line. Especially for monster hunting. It gets the bl00d pumping, you know?”

“That’s right. Once this mission is over, we plan to use the reward to prepare thoroughly and go dragon hunting again.”

“Dragon hunting? But if you’ve already made a name for yourself as a dragon slayer, there’s no need to fixate on dragons, right? Do you have any special reason?”

I heard that there are other valuable monster materials besides dragons. So I just asked out of curiosity.

But in response to my question, Regina’s smile turned into a grimace.

“…You see, when we went to the capital the other day, I heard that an Earth Dragon was brought to a certain trading company.”

“An… Earth Dragon?”

“Yeah, an Earth Dragon. It’s said to be quite a big deal among them. So, you see, when you defeat a dragon, it’s common for the name of the conqueror to be announced as well, but in this case, everything about it is kept secret by the trading company.”

“Oh, I see…”

“I’ve asked around a lot, but it seems the company is keeping the names of the slayers confidential. Even so, rumors are rampant in the capital that a new dragon slayer has emerged.”

It’s unmistakable. It must be the Earth Dragon I sold to the Dornesia Trading Company. Regina continued speaking with a furrowed brow.

“When it comes to Earth Dragons, they’re a higher species than the Sand Dragons we defeated. So to defeat one and not even claim credit… For us, it’s quite embarrassing… Hahaha…”

Shaking her shoulders while quietly laughing, Regina looked downright scary.

As promised, the Dornesia Trading Company seemed to have kept our and Lady Levia’s information confidential. It doesn’t seem to have leaked from elsewhere either, and the effectiveness of the gag order issued under the noble’s name is remarkable.

However, it seems that it deeply wounded her pride.

“Haha, Regina. We’re not just going to settle for Sand Dragons. Next, we’ll defeat even higher-level dragons and show the world the strength of ‘Stinger,’ right?”

Seriphos gently expressed concern for Regina. But despite his smiling face, his temples were visibly throbbing with veins.

“Hmm. We never intended to boast about just Sand Dragons in the first place.”

“Hmph, Sand Dragons are just the beginning…”

Gandor and Notos, who uttered these words, had faces similar to Seriphos. It seems they are also not pleased internally. They began speaking one after another.

“But Earth Dragons are a big deal. It’s concerning that there were no sightings of Earth Dragons until they were defeated.”

“They probably came all the way from a distant place to sell in the capital. The Dornesia Trading Company seems to be doing well financially, so they must have expected a good price.”

“Hmph, I don’t like the idea of selling secretly…”

“They’re undoubtedly skilled, with no interest in fame. But I’d like to know at least the size of the party.”

“Hmm… Oh, that’s right, Matsunaga-san. Did you hear anything through your merchant connections? Just some gossip would suffice.”

“Huh? No, I haven’t…”

Suddenly being asked by Regina, I reflexively responded. I mean, in this atmosphere, there’s no way I could say, “I defeated it!”

“I see… That’s too bad. Well, in any case, we won’t be satisfied until we show them up. We’ll make them realize that we’re better for sure…!”

“That’s right!” “Indeed.” “Hmph.”

The three echoed Regina’s words. Even after the pillar of fire subsided, the four members of “Stinger” continued to discuss the Earth Dragon and its slayers.

――I must ensure that they never find out that I defeated the Earth Dragon.

Feeling cold sweat trickling down my back, I made up my mind.