(… I guess they should be heading home any time now.)

In a place not far away from the cave to the east of Lucua village where the Kobolds were staying, the trees were sparse and the sun was shining through the foliage.

Buster, the black-armed Kobold, avoided that sunlight as he stood and leaned back on one of the trees. 

After his comrades left for Selkram, the Royal Capital, he led the pack together with Knuckle and Smith southward to a cave that they made into a temporary dwelling. Since then, he had continued to train whenever he had the time in the slightly open corner of the forest.

However, he still had not trained today… because he felt that the ones he had been waiting for were arriving anytime soon.

(Now that I think about it, Chief has always been ahead of me…)

He smiled bitterly at the memory of his childhood, where he found himself constantly being brought to the ground despite his physical superiority. Still, back then, Buster never doubted that he would follow in his father’s footsteps and lead the pack.

However, he knew that the Chief was better suited for the role than he was, and understood why his father chose him as the next Pack Leader instead of him.

(But still, this and that are different things, and I  just can’t stand losing all the time… No, rather than that, I’d like to be acknowledged instead.)

Although he has already relinquished his position as Pack Leader to Archer and is in retirement, my father’s heroic appearance is still etched in my memory.

When my brethren and I who were born at the same time attacked by the Grey Bear, my father led the males of the pack to stand against the bear when it chased one of the young Kobolds as he approached the settlement. 

When I looked at his back, I vowed to become a fine male and protect the pack… So I might still be hung over the fact that my father did not choose me even though I knew what influenced his decision.

(Oh well… It’s been a long time since I’ve challenged Chief to a match, so maybe that’s why I’ve been thinking of unnecessary things lately.)

In the past few months, we’ve attempted to go the mountain range that could be seen from afar, gotten involved with humans and fought some bandits, and fought off the Goblins together with the Werecats…  We’ve been through a lot.

I am also aware that I have gained quite a lot of strength through these events.

I have been training with Knuckle ever since Chief and the others set out for the Royal Capital in the west, so my strength has improved since then…

As I was thinking about this and a couple of other things, a strong wind blew through the forest, and I picked up the scent of my returning friends.

(Guess I’ll challenge the Chief to a match.)

……………

………

…

After we left Lucua village before dusk, we found someone waiting for us in the slightly open area near the cave where Knuckle and his old pack previously lived, which now served as our temporary shelter.

“U, guguaaoon.” (Hmm? Isn’t that Buster?)

“Kuu, uaruu, kuruau~♪” (Oh, you’re right, we’re home~♪)

“Oruto, maasel cobalto…” (It’s another macho Kobold…)

When Blazer spotted the black-armed Kobold, my sister wagged her fluffy tail and hurriedly approached, but… I tilted my head as I noticed the vigorous aura surrounding him.

“Wau, wafion, guruaao?” (Huh, is something the matter, Buster?)

“Guau, wafuau… wauo gurua voruoooaaan.” (Nothing… I was just thinking how it’s been a while since I fought Chief in a match.)

After he lifted himself off from the tree he was leaning on, he removed his Leather Armor and placed it beside the Great Sword nearby. He stood wearing only a straw skirt, which was the Kobold’s primary garb, for ease of movement.

When Kobolds fight for position in a pack, they do not inflict lethal wounds on their opponents as the pack itself would collapse if, for example, the two highest officials in a pack both died during a match.

We have always spoken with our fists in our pack for generations even though there are various forms of competitions such as hunting or fishing contests. And for that reason, we remove things that could potentially restrict our movement, such as armor, before every match.

“Waon, garuoaa…” [Alright, I accept…]

(I kind of expected this will happen soon anyway…)

Like Buster, I also removed my equipment and placed it on the ground, and walked towards him. Meanwhile, the others kept silent and watched from the sides.

… But it’s not like I came unprepared.

I was aware that the direction of my growth was not specialization in physical combat, and my new-found magic ability would be a rule-breaker and create conflict within our ranks… after all, the only things I could use in a match like this are the limbs I was born with.

So I came up with a secret strategy.

“Fuuu… VORUAAAAH!!”

【Activated：Adamantine Body(Earth Attribute-Type)】

I borrowed a bit of the life force that resided within the earth, causing the power circulating inside me to violently rage and burn, as it turned my body indestructible!

“Garuu, woaruuaan, gurua!” (Haah, that’s a nice trick there, Chief!)

A moment later, the muscles of my upper body bulked up, and I became as muscular as Buster.

Yes, I have been doing my best to read the contents of the unique grimoire, “The Book of Herculean Pulverization”, during breaks, and while we were on the rocking carriage on our way home…

Of course, it was written by none other than the Steel Sage, Greio Elballard. 

There’s a thing called supply and demand in the world… and while the contents of the book would leave an ordinary mage dumbfounded, the grimoire was valuable to me who is sometimes challenged to a fight in the pack.

Yes, it was valuable even though unsold copies of this grimoire were stacked high in the old magician Greio’s private study…