Translated: Sei, MTL-sensei-tachi
Edited: Sei, Grammarly no Danna
Source: Syosetu

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TL Notes:
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Interlude: In the Lingle Kingdom


This time is a side story.

From Inukami's point of view.

——— read on seireitranslations.blogspot.com ———

　A day in the Rescue Squad starts early.
　I wake up around the time the sun comes up, change into the training uniform I was given, finish getting ready, and leave the room assigned to me.
　I like the Rescue Squad's training uniform because it's like a tracksuit and easy to move in.
　When I lived in the castle, the atmosphere was a bit formal, so personally I don't dislike dressing like this.
　Besides, in my original world, people probably would have looked at me with displeasure if I wore clothes like this.
　Shaking off the thought, I stand in front of the door to the room next to mine———,

"Feruuum! It's mooorning!!"

　I raise my voice and, as always, try to wake up the sleepy demon. Then, with a thud! as something falls off the bed, followed by a series of noisy sounds, the door swings open with force.
　Then, with a loud bang, something falls off the bed, followed by a noisy commotion, and the door is thrown open.

"Shut uuuup!! Stop coming to wake me up with that loud voice every single morning, Suzunee!!"

　Standing there in her pajamas with anger written all over her face is Ferum, my senior in the Rescue Squad and a Demon I once fought as an enemy.

"Nea asked me to, you know! Come on, it's time for the early morning training!! Let's do our best again today!!"
"Why is she so full of energy first thing in the morning...?"

　Maybe she has low blood pressure?
　But if I don't wake her up here, she'll be the one who gets scolded.
　So, hardening my heart, I head off to our daily training———our morning run that marks the start of the day.

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——— read on seireitranslations.blogspot.com ———

　In the Rescue Squad, everyone is free to have breakfast and lunch on their own, while dinner is eaten together by all the members.
　Well, as far as that goes, it seems there are no particular rules besides dinner, so it's fairly flexible. After the early morning training, I usually make a simple breakfast at the new dormitory and eat it together with Ferum.

"Oi"
"What is it?"

　As I sip the milk in my cup, Ferum, stuffing her mouth with a piece of bread topped with a fried egg, looks at me with a sullen yet adorable expression.

"Do you know what's annoyed me the most over this past month?"
"Hmm?"
"That your breakfasts are ridiculously good."

　Is she a tsundere?

"Fuwh, Ferum. I may not look it, but I'm capable of doing most things."
"...Annoyingly enough, that's true, but don't say it yourself...!!"

　When it comes to cooking, if you asked whether I'm good or bad at it, I'd say I'm good.
　When I joined the Rescue Squad, I did have a selfish hope that I'd get the chance to cook for Usato-kun, but he was sent to the Demon King's territory almost immediately.

"It's already been a month since Usato-kun left for the Demon King's territory, huh."

　His dispatch to the Demon King's territory.
　Considering his position, there's nothing strange about him being the one to go... but I can't help worrying that he might have gotten caught up in some kind of trouble again.

"The letter we got the other day said he was training the Demons, didn't it?"
"Yeah. It looks like Usato-kun is doing his best."
"Rather than doing his best, isn't it more like he's making everyone else do their best? I bet he's doing things way harsher than what he wrote in that letter."

　The letter that arrived about half a month ago said that he had been put in charge of training a unit for an investigation into the territory of the monsters. I was happy to know that even though his surroundings had changed so much, Usato-kun was still carrying on as a member of the Rescue Squad while working with the Demon King's army, and I even found myself wishing I could have been there with him.

"It was good to hear that Keira's magic has become stable too..."
"Keira-chan was like a disciple to you as well."
"...Yeah, I guess."
"And she's my little sister too."
"Not a chance."

　She shot that down without hesitation.
　Still, the fact that she's staying by Usato-kun's side after all makes it seem more and more believable that Healing Mages are really liked by Dark Magic users.
　I can't shake the feeling that another formidable rival is about to appear again...

"So, we've got the afternoon off from training today, right?"
"That's right. Rose-san said so too."

　I nod at Ferum's question.
　Even in the Rescue Squad, we don't go through intense training every single day. We do have proper days off.
　Though it seems Usato-kun trains regardless...

"Then, want to go check on Nack?"
"Eeh, you can go by yourself. I'll be staying at the dorm."
"I'm planning to eat lunch out. Is that okay?"
"...Uguguh..."

　At this point, I've practically won over Ferum's stomach...!!
　I can't stop smiling as Ferum turns away with a sulky look on her face.

"Then, shall we go to the clinic where Nack is in a little while?"
"...Haa, I guess I have no choice. I'll at least go and see if he's doing alright."

　Oops, there she goes being tsundere again.
　Ferum is pretty adorable in her own way, too.

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——— read on seireitranslations.blogspot.com ———

　Leaving the dormitory and heading into town, Ferum and I make our way to the clinic where Olga, one of the Healing Mages besides Usato-kun and Rose-san, is.
　There is also another Healing Mage, Ururu, there, but she has currently been dispatched to the Demon King's territory together with Usato-kun, so Nack has been living there and helping out at the clinic in her place.
　...Thinking back to when I first met Nack, I think he has grown tremendously too.
　There's no need to say who he got that single-minded desire to improve from.

"Ah, Suzune-san! Ferum-san! Good morning!!"
"Good morning, Nack. It looks like helping out here is going well."

　As soon as we arrived at the clinic, Nack was opening the door, probably because it was just about time for the clinic to open.
　When he noticed Ferum and me, he greeted us in a cheerful manner.

"There are still many things I have to learn, but I'm having fun!"
"That's good to hear. Since we don't have training today, I thought I'd come check on how things are going."
"I only came along to eat lunch."

　Ferum looks annoyed, but Nack seems used to that kind of reaction from her.
　As I quietly feel warm inside, thinking, "Honestly, what a tsundere she is," a familiar person approaches us while we are standing in front of the clinic's door.

"Oya, Suzune-sama?"
"Welsy?"

　The woman in a familiar robe, with light blue hair and glasses, Welsy, shows a surprised expression.
　Why is she here, when she is the kingdom's official mage?
　She says it's private business... but she's wearing her usual robe...

"Does Suzune-sama have business at the clinic too?"
"I came to check on this kid, but... Welsy, are you feeling unwell or something?"
"Eh~tto... I've been a little overworked."

　Overworked?
　I know very well that Welsy is busy, but I had the impression that she was the type to take proper breaks, so this honestly comes as a surprise.

"I have been working nonstop lately... I told them I was still fine, but my subordinates insisted that I go to the clinic..."
"Did something happen?"
"Yes. It wasn't really enough to call it a commotion... no, from the perspective of magical theory, it was apparently a huge uproar... Well, it's about Usato-sama."
"""...Ah"""

　My, Ferum, and Nack's voices overlapped.
　We probably all thought the same thing at that exact moment, which was also why we fell silent at first.

"Apparently, Usato-sama learned a technique called System Degradation while he was in the Demon King's territory. And it is something that truly, genuinely overturns everything we've considered common sense up until now..."
"System Degradation? Is that the opposite of System Enhancement?"
"Yes... But the problem is that it's not simply the opposite technique."

　Welsy lets out a tired sigh.
　System Degradation... I wonder if it was something he created through mana circulation?

"Hmm, maybe Usato-kun came up with it because he was trying to reduce his mana consumption?"
"! Exactly. It seems the reason Usato-sama arrived at System Degradation was because he intentionally weakened the properties of his mana in order to reduce its consumption."
"Can something like that really be done so easily...?"

　At Ferum's dispirited mutter, Welsy averts her gaze.

"For us as well, techniques related to mana perception are still an unexplored field. We need to investigate them and record our findings, but the problem is that Usato-sama keeps discovering new techniques at an incredible pace, so it's quite difficult..."
"Well, that's Usato-kun for you."
"Yeah, that's just Usato."
"Well, it's Usato-san after all."
"I suppose I'm also at fault for accepting that as a valid explanation, but just how many strange things does that person usually do..."

　"You never know what he'll do."
　That is Usato-kun's greatest weapon.

"For that reason, I thought I would visit Olga-san while I was here for a medical examination."
"Ah, Olga-san's Healing Magic?"

　At Nack's words, Welsy nods.

"Yes. I thought that speaking with him, someone who was born with a high-concentration mana trait, would provide us with various useful references."
"If that's the case, I'll show you the way right away! What about you, Suzune-san and Ferum-san?"
"No, I don't want to cause you any trouble. I've also confirmed that you're doing well here, so I'll go get some lunch."

　That was what I intended to do from the start.
　After seeing Welsy enter the clinic together with Nack, Ferum and I began walking through the city once again.

"That guy's still doing ridiculous things as always."
"Fuwh, that's exactly how he should be."
"I just hope he doesn't come back with some weird new technique or more squad members again..."
"..."

　No, what's scary is that it actually sounds like something that could happen.
　Mainly because of Welsy's mental exhaustion and our own sense of danger.

——— read on seireitranslations.blogspot.com ———

Author's Notes:
Senpai was already enjoying her life in the Rescue Squad before long.
Ferum is surprisingly easy to get along with too...