Chapter 30 — Why Does Our Martial Art Have Anti-Air Techniques, Anyway?

"The last time we saw someone use magic, they didn't need a staff."

He had already forgotten the guy's name, but Yogiri did recall the classmate who had destroyed the bus. He'd had nothing like a staff at all.

"I'm a Wand Master. I can draw magic from a staff, but that's it; I can't use magic without it," Riza answered from her spot crouched on the floor.

Fundamentally, using magic required some sort of energy reserve and an appropriate amount of charge time before use, depending on the strength of the magic. The amount of time needed varied based on the user's competence, the type of magic being used, and other special factors, but it was never zero. A Wand Master's staff, however, was constantly charging that magic, so it could unleash powerful attacks at terrifying speeds. The drawback was that such mages could only use the few spells that were already built into the staff itself."Hm, well I can deal with enemies that require items to use their powers. If only things would always be so convenient."

It had only gone this well by sheer coincidence. Yogiri couldn't expect that most of their opponents would rely on such items.

This girl may possess other hidden tools. I believe the safest option is to kill her now.

As Mokomoko cautioned them, Yogiri turned to face her. Since Riza couldn't see the spirit, it must have looked strange to see him conversing with thin air, but he wasn't especially concerned about her opinion.

"If I just killed everyone that could be dangerous to me, everyone around me would be dead." Yogiri wasn't especially fond of killing people. But his only way of defending himself was to kill others. He didn't hesitate when it came to killing, but that didn't mean he would go out of his way to do it. He turned back to Riza. "It seems you kind of get it already, but I'll explain it anyway. I can kill people just by thinking it, and I can detect any threats against me. If you try anything, I'll kill you instantly, so please keep that in mind. If you understand, then I'd like to ask you some questions.""Understood," Riza replied, nerves clear in her voice. Her previous air of looking down on them as children had completely vanished. If she made the wrong choice, she would die. That fear must have felt like a physical pressure on her.

"As a Wand Master, I find it hard to believe you only carry that one staff with you. Do you have any backups?"

Reaching between her rather ample breasts, Riza pulled out a pencil-sized stick and placed it on the ground.

"Why would you hide something there, of all places?! And Takatou, stop staring so much!" Even in this situation, Tomochika was the same as always.

"No, I just thought it was a clever hiding spot."

An item of that size could be hidden anywhere in her clothes. Perhaps we should strip her as well?

"I've never tried, but I could probably kill just her clothes."

"Hold on, you're joking, right?" Tomochika piped up, disbelief clear in her voice.

"You haven't complained about me killing people, but making them naked is a problem?" He couldn't follow her train of thought, but he wasn't keen on having Tomochika be upset with him, so he left it alone. "Next question. You were ordered to retrieve Dannoura, right? It seems you've given up on that, but does that mean your orders aren't absolute? From the story we heard earlier, Yuuki was using slaves in suicide attacks on monsters, right?"

"The suicide attacks were for labor-tier slaves with no other use. We upper-tier slaves are much more valuable, so we are instructed to protect ourselves above all else."

"What about your friends? There are five members of the Bodyguard Unit, right?" Erika was dead, and Riza was here, so that left three.

"Of course," she said with a chuckle, "they have received the same orders." As she spoke, something dropped from the ceiling. Whatever it was had aimed directly for Tomochika before being slammed violently into the floor. Catching it midair, she drove it straight into the ground.