Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash Vol. 2

11. That

—Man, am I awesome or what? Ranta thought. Actually, I'm clearly way too damn awesome. I'm a genius. Was I chosen by some god? If so, I've gotta wonder what that god was a god of. A god of darkness, like you'd expect? Was it Skullhell? Anyway, am I badass or what?

I mean, I'm still alive and all.

"Man..." Ranta said with a sigh.

Even the great Ranta-sama figured he might be in trouble this time. Just maybe, he might be done for. There sure wasn't much to suggest he wasn't. Maybe this was the end. Honestly, the thought had crossed his mind.

Nearly pissed myself back there. Didn't actually do it, though. Well, I did come pretty close.

Maybe I pissed myself a little, just the littlest, tiniest bit.

Still, Ranta was alive.

That's the important thing. The incredible thing.

Ranta had done something no one else could have.

I think I can boast about that. I want to praise myself silly.

Every sentient being in this world ought to have been singing Ranta's praises.

"...Hey, you think so, too, right, Zodiac-kun?" Ranta asked, turning to the blackish purple demon floating beside his head.

Demons were minions of the dark god Skullhell that dread knights could summon with their dark magic spell, Demon Call.

Demons changed shape as the dread knight who summoned them accumulated vices, and Ranta's Zodiac-kun was shaped like the headless torso of a human with two hole-like eyes in the chest area and a slit like a mouth beneath them.

"No, no... No... No, no... Not at all..." When Zodiac-kun talked, its mouth hissed and burbled as it moved. A demon's voice sounded almost like a group of children all whispering at the same time. It was pretty creepy until he got used to it.

Actually, even now that he had gotten used to it, it was still creepy, and he got goosebumps every time he heard it.

"Still, it beats being alone..." Ranta murmured.

"Wimpy, wimpy... Wimpy, wooly caterpillar... Wimpy, wimpy, wimpy... Caterpillar, caterpillar... Caterpillar, caterpillar, caterpillar..."

"Hey, by the end, you were just repeating the word caterpillar..."

"Caterpillar, caterpillar, caterpillar... Ehehehehehehe... Caterpillar... Ehehehehehehe... Caterpillar, caterpillar, caterpillar..."

"That's enough out of you!" When he swung his hand up to whack the demon for comedic effect, Zodiac-kun floated up to avoid Ranta's hand.

"Ehehe... Ehehehehe... Ehehehehehe... Caterpillar, caterpillar... Ehehehehehehehe..."

"...Dammit. Friggin' Zodiac-kun..." Ranta hugged his knees, pretending to sob.

Doing that just made him feel empty, so he stopped.

"Still, I'm impressed I made it up to the fourth level..." he said.

—That's right.

Ranta wasn't in the refinery on the fifth level. He was in the farm on the fourth.

Just how in the world had he cut his way out of that bloody battle? He didn't know himself how it happened, but after sending Moguzo on ahead, he'd just run around like crazy and eventually he'd ended up at another well. He did remember kicking down a number of kobolds as he'd climbed the rope ladder, though.