Transmigrated to a Dark Fantasy World of SSS-Rank: King of the Void-Chapter 16: What I Saw in You

Bang!

The detonation echoed through the forest, startling the dark birds perched in the shadows. Jeanne immediately looked toward the trees while stirring the firewood in the campfire.

At the same time, the coachman glanced at the sky, recognizing the distant sound with a serious expression.

Ellegaard burst out of the carriage and ran toward Jeanne. She stopped abruptly, staring into the forest.

"What was that? An explosion?"

"Seems like it. It was loud—and pretty close."

"Obviously it was close," she said, scanning the surroundings. "And where’s that perverted dog? Where is he?"

Jeanne pointed toward the forest.

"Over there..."

The same direction the sound had come from.

"What?"

"Mitsuki went into the forest just a little while ago. He said he was going to train his magic."

Ellegaard frowned.

"That didn’t sound like conventional magic. It had to be something else. I’ll go check."

"I’m coming with you."

Ellegaard nodded. Then both of them looked at the coachman, who was brushing the horses’ coats. The old man raised his thumb in response, as if telling them everything would be fine here.

With that, the two girls ran into the forest.

Meanwhile, Mitsuki stood up from the ground, holding the shotgun with a wide grin. He looked like a child who had just been given a brand-new toy.

’It’s powerful, and each shot only costs 1 MP... I’ve got fifty shots with this thing before I run dry. If I use it against a monster around my size, its whole body would be splattered everywhere.’

With just one test, the shotgun had proven to be an exceptional "staff." There was nothing else to test with this weapon. It was perfect—except for the recoil, which sent Mitsuki’s thin body flying backward.

’I could keep using it, but there are probably other items that consume mana. I’ll store it for now and—’

"Mitsuki!"

"Rookie!"

Jeanne and Ellegaard shouted at the same time, appearing as if they had materialized out of thin air. The sudden screamer startled Mitsuki so badly that he yelped and dropped the shotgun.

"Damn it! You almost scared me to death!" he said, picking up the weapon.

"We heard an explosion, idiot. It didn’t sound like magic, but..."

"That thing you’re holding looks pretty interesting," Jeanne said, walking toward the wreckage.

She ran her hands over the shattered trees, visibly surprised. Ellegaard did the same, though she avoided looking Mitsuki in the eyes.

"Why do you both look so shocked? Didn’t I say I was going to practice magic?"

Jeanne shook her head.

"But I didn’t expect you to have a staff specially made for war."

"Where did you get that thing, tick? When we found you, you didn’t have anything."

Mitsuki sighed.

’I knew this would happen, but not this fast. Well, it’s not like I was hiding my Spatial Storage. I just didn’t know how to use it until now.’

He thought for a moment before answering.

"The truth is, I can use Spatial Magic to store things. When I woke up, I noticed I had a few items that might be useful, so I’ve been testing them. Among them was this beauty."

He lifted the shotgun as if it were a giant fish.

Ellegaard stepped closer. With a quick strike of her staff, she knocked the weapon into the air and snatched it from Mitsuki’s hands. Then she caught it effortlessly with her other hand.

"Hey, that’s mine..." Mitsuki complained, but Ellegaard ignored him.

She released her staff, which began floating beside her, and examined the shotgun.

Jeanne joined her.

"What do you think, Ellegaard?"

"It’s very old. The metal details were crafted by a master runic blacksmith. The wood is sturdy—possibly ancient guayacán enchanted with erosion resistance."

’They completely forgot this weapon is mine, didn’t they?’

Mitsuki crossed his arms and waited.

Ellegaard seemed especially interested in the "staff." She ran her fingers along the wood, whispering words in her native tongue that sounded strange to both Jeanne and Mitsuki.

The shotgun faintly glowed with golden light, then dimmed after a second.

"It’s a formidable tool," Jeanne added. "I once saw something similar in my father’s gallery, but it wasn’t exactly like this one."

"I checked the enchantments. They’re very good, but already quite worn down," Ellegaard said, grabbing the shotgun by the barrel and handing it back to Mitsuki. "In any case, what you have here is an antique. If you sell it, you’ll become rich."

Mitsuki took the weapon and hugged it like a baby.

"Not even if I were starving would I sell this masterpiece. It’s mine—even if I have no idea where the hell it came from."

"You do realize that staff makes you suspicious, right?" Jeanne said with a confident smile.

"I know. But in the end, I only have the same answer for you: I don’t remember anything. When I woke up in the carriage, I already had some of these things."

Ellegaard stepped closer and looked him straight in the eyes, coldly.

"You’re telling the truth. It seems that after all this time, you’re finally starting to show who you are."

"Really?"

"Yes. You’re an idiot."

Jeanne burst out laughing at Ellegaard’s comment.

"Then we worried for nothing. Let’s head back to camp. Breakfast should be ready by now."

Mitsuki felt confused.

’That’s it? Just like that? I thought there’d be more tension or something. Though if there had been, I’m not sure how I would’ve handled it.’

Walking ahead, Jeanne waved her hand goodbye. Ellegaard did the same, but stopped before leaving to say something to Mitsuki.

"By the way... I’m sorry about last night. I lost control."

"Okay... I accept your apology. You sound sincere, at least..."

"But that’s not the only thing I wanted to say," she turned around, looking him in the eyes, forcing Mitsuki to look away. "You must be wondering why, despite all the clearly suspicious things you’ve done, we’re not cautious around you."

’Actually, I was just about to start wondering that.’

"It turns out that the first time I used my magic on you, I knew you weren’t someone evil. At least, what little I saw in you didn’t show that. So from now on, you can keep traveling with us knowing we won’t treat you like a villain."

With that, Ellegaard returned to camp.

However, Mitsuki stared at the ground with a disturbed, shadowed expression that, unfortunately, no one else saw...

’What did she see...?’

He clenched his fist tightly and stored the weapon back into his Spatial Storage.

’Please... tell me you didn’t see that...’

Ellegaard’s magic had already proven capable of absurd feats beyond normal human understanding. What made him think entering someone’s mind wasn’t one of those absurd things?

Mitsuki sat down on the ground, closed his eyes, and calmed himself.

’No. I’m sure if she had seen that, she never would’ve helped me. I’m just being paranoid.’

He looked at the trees—trees that were supposed to be shattered—but they were completely intact, as if the shotgun blast had never touched them.

’I didn’t even notice when she restored them...’