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~ - 162. Monster Lurking in the Depths of the Mine

162. 162. 162. 162. Monster Lurking in the Depths of the Mine

I crouched in the shadows of the tunnel, stretching my neck to peek toward the direction where the woman’s laughter echoed softly.

What came into my view was a vast space, entirely different from the tunnels before. The walls were covered with moss-like objects, faintly illuminating the surroundings, giving off an enchanting atmosphere. This must be the “workshop” she was talking about.

And there, disrupting the enchanting atmosphere with her laughter, was Maristel. I couldn’t see Isezaki-san anywhere.

“Hahaha! You’re truly the best! Much better than those slain soldiers!”

“Enough… please… haahaa…”

Isezaki-san’s voice, strained and breathless, reached me. It seemed she was behind a protruding boulder, guided by Maristel’s gaze.

I wanted to heave a sigh of relief knowing that Isezaki-san was alive, but her voice portrayed extreme exhaustion. It was too early to feel reassured.

Moreover… the absence of the monstrous creature’s hideous cries was more concerning than anything else. If we were to confront that creature, we needed to act with even more caution.

Suppressing my sense of urgency, I awaited the right moment to rescue Isezaki-san. Suddenly, Maristel staggered to her feet.

“Phew, that was close. Now, what should we do next? Hmm… hmm…”

“Are you… still going on!? Can’t we take a break…?”

Ignoring Isezaki-san’s exhausted plea, Maristel chuckled mercilessly.

“I’m the type who enjoys playing with toys until they’re almost broken. It’s those unexpected moves that entertain me the most. So, I won’t forgive you just yet. Now then, what’s next… let’s see…”

Maristel rested her chin on her index finger, gazing into space. Alright… if I’m going to strike, it’s now.

“I’ll ambush with [Leap Warp]. Colin, can I ask you to distract her?”

“Yes.”

“Regina, provide support—”

We were in the midst of whispering our plan when it happened.

Maristel, who had been staring into space, suddenly twitched her nose, then turned her head towards us. Her red eyes pierced through me. Oh no, she found us…!

Maristel widened her eyes in surprise.

“Huh?! Why are you two still alive—”

“[Leap Warp]!”

With no time to waste, I activated [Leap Warp] and leaped out alone.

In an instant, I landed in front of Maristel at the center of the workshop.

“Ohhhhh, sir!?”

Isezaki-san’s panicked voice came from behind. When I turned around, I saw her crouched on the ground, clearly exhausted. What on earth had happened to her?

I wanted to run to her immediately, but first, I had to deal with Maristel—right then, Maristel appeared right in front of me.

“You were just in time! But what the hell—”

“[Acceleration Haste]—”

In the next moment, Maristel’s movements slowed to a crawl. It was the effect of [Acceleration Haste], a time-space magic that only accelerated me.

Avoiding Maristel’s swinging leg just before it reached me, I deployed [Storage Storage] above her head.

Then, creating several broken pieces of wood I had obtained before, I distanced myself from her, deactivating [Acceleration Haste].

“Huh!? Dodge… Huh? Ahh, noooo!”

Sudden realization hit Maristel as she noticed the large wood pieces descending from above—

BOOOOOOOM!

A deafening roar echoed as she was engulfed by the falling wood.

Glancing at the cloud of dust rising from the pile of wood, I quickly rushed over to Isezaki-san.

“Isezaki-san!”

“My husband! You came after all!”

Isezaki-san stood up and greeted me with a smile. She didn’t seem to be injured, but her hair was disheveled, and fatigue was evident in her expression. 

Suddenly, as if realizing something, Isezaki-san covered her mouth with her hand and timidly asked me, “Um, um, husband? May I ask when you arrived here?”

“I just got here… Why do you ask? Anyway, there’s some dangerous creature making creepy noises nearby. Where is it?”

I scanned the area, but there was no sign of the creature. Judging from its cries, it must be quite troublesome. I wanted to confirm its whereabouts immediately.

“Uh, creature…?” 

However, Isezaki-san looked momentarily puzzled, then suddenly looked down and fell silent.

Had she been injured somewhere? Concerned, I was about to speak up when she started murmuring softly to herself.

“I did it… I’m safe, I’m safe…! Phew!”

It seemed the relief of being safe had just hit her. But it was still too early to bask in that relief.

“Yeah, it’s a relief that you’re safe. But now, about that creature—”

“Ah, yes, the creature! The creature, um… yeah! It ran away just now! Look, over there! In that hole!”

Isezaki-san looked up and pointed to a small hole in the wall. It didn’t seem likely that such creature could escape from such a hole…

But from Isezaki-san’s relieved expression, it didn’t seem like she was lying—

“Hehehe…”

At that moment, a faint laughter reached my ears.

There, rising unsteadily beside a large tree, was Maristel.

She seemed to have some injuries on her shoulders and arms, but she had apparently escaped using [Leap Warp], so the attack by the fallen wood hadn’t done much damage.

“Hehehe, so you’re here, which means you’ve come to break my dolls, haven’t you? It’s hard to believe, but that seems to be the case…”

Maristel spoke calmly while looking at me, maintaining a composed smile as she continued, “But you see, my dolls aren’t just those. I didn’t expect to use them here, but I have a special one for…”

“Husband, may I have your hand?”

“Huh? Oh, sure.”

While Maristel was saying something, I obediently extended my hand.

Then Isezaki-san grabbed my hand and—

“Die! [Divine Thunder God Bolt]!!”

With Isezaki-san’s shout, a lightning bolt struck Maristel from far above.

Original Author’s Comment:

Afterword:

The book version of “The Neighborhood High School Girl Isezaki-san is a Great Saintess from Another World” is scheduled to be released on February 16th! Pre-orders are currently being accepted! Please check out the latest update note below for information on store benefits! 

https://kakuyomu.jp/users/fukami040/news/16818023212450832909