SWNOVELXO Chapter 76.1
What Weapons Do Kurresh And Lelei Use?
“Oh, by the way, Kurre, how do you actually use your weapon?”
At Yuuri’s sudden question, Kurresh blinked in surprise. He was biting into one of Yuuri’s homemade cookies while doing so, making the scene oddly comical. Everyone tended to forget how well-formed his face was, likely because of his usual behavior. Such a waste. A real waste.
“My weapon?”
“Yeah. Now that I think about it, I’ve never really seen you fight properly.”
“I thought I explained it before. The knife is mainly for self-defense, and I throw chemical vials.”
“What kind of chemicals?”
Knowing it was asked out of simple curiosity, Kurresh rolled a vial he had on him across the table. The slim test tube-like container was filled with liquids of various colors. Kurresh, who always felt uneasy without something on him, carried these vials even when unarmed, hiding them in his belt or pockets. The reason for this, according to his own analysis, was that he wasn’t very good at hand-to-hand combat. Yuuri picked up one of the vials and examined the contents… The results were quite alarming.
“Hey, Kurre.”
“Yeah?”
“These results say stuff like deadly poison, paralyzing toxins, and highly flammable chemicals.”
“Well, it’s a weapon, after all.”
His casual response made Yuuri realize once again just how dangerous adventurers could be. His laid-back life spent mostly cooking and cleaning was on a completely different level. Then again, if Yuuri the homemaker, and Kurresh, a treasure hunter-in-training, lived in the same dimension, that would be strange in its own way. As he rolled another vial across the table, Yuuri voiced a sudden thought.
“Kurre, does it have to be liquid?”
“No, it doesn’t have to be… but liquids are easier to splash on people directly.”
“Yeah, you tried powder once before, and the wind blew it back at you. You got yelled at, didn’t you?”
“Yelled at?”
“I got an Iron Claw from Ali because he was downwind.”
“Yikes…”
Kurresh, his eyes distant as he recalled the memory, made Yuuri do the same. Ali’s Iron Claw was pretty painful. He’d grab you with his big hands, and you couldn’t escape at all. Yuuri, who had experienced this punishment multiple times, nodded in agreement. Incidentally, the Iron Claw that Kurresh got was far more powerful than the one Yuuri received, since Kurresh was still an adventurer, after all.
“I was wondering, if powder works, maybe we could try a dust explosion.”
“Dust explosion? What’s that?”
“You scatter something like flour around, then toss in a spark, and boom—it explodes.”
“Huh!?”
“What?!”
When Yuuri explained this with vague gestures, both Kurresh and Lelei raised their voices in surprise. How could something like flour, which wasn’t even an explosive, blow up? Their shared confusion was understandable. Still, that’s what a dust explosion is. If the dust, spark, and oxygen come together, boom—it can explode. Flour is scary like that. In her shock, Lelei squeezed Yuuri’s slime pet, Rooks, tightly in her arms, making it squeak in protest. Yuuri and Kurresh quickly patted her shoulder to make her stop.
“Lelei, Lelei, you’re squishing it!”
“Lelei, Roo-chan doesn’t like that!”
“Huh? Oh, sorry, Rooks.”
“Kyu…”
Though the slime didn’t seem to be in pain, it clearly disliked being squeezed into such a weird shape, so it escaped from Lelei’s arms and bounced onto Yuuri’s lap. Apparently, it preferred being with someone who would gently pat its head rather than an oblivious, strong girl. It was certainly safer with Yuuri. Disheartened now that the soft slime had left her, Lelei knew full well that she almost crushed it, so she stayed quiet. Not that Rooks held a grudge, so Lelei would likely keep poking at it in the future anyway.
“Wait, flour can explode?”
“It won’t explode unless the conditions are just right, so it’s safe in daily life. But if the air’s thick with it and a spark flies, then boom, it might.”
“Flour, huh…?”
“But Yuuri, how do you even know stuff like that?”
“Huh? Just trivia?”
“”“Trivia on that level is terrifying.”””
Lelei’s innocent question was met with a casual response from Yuuri. He wasn’t wrong. It was just random trivia he picked up from TV or the internet. Growing up in trivia-filled Japan, it was inevitable that he’d accumulate knowledge utterly useless in everyday life. It wasn’t like Yuuri had specifically studied such things. If he had to choose, he’d much rather look up how to make cute accessories, being the sweet guy he was. Meanwhile, Kurresh and Lelei, staring at laid-back Yuuri, thought something along the lines of “as expected from a foreign world where people go to school before getting a job.” Well, it wasn’t just another country, but another world. In their world, the idea of all minors attending school to study was nothing short of amazing. To be fair, it was quite remarkable. What about scholars? They’re an entirely different breed—people driven purely by a thirst for knowledge, whose screws are a bit loose. Please understand that the failure-prone adult Jake at the hideout is fairly typical as a scholar. Scholars and geniuses are said to be two sides of the same coin—and they’re mostly on the “other” side.
“By the way, I’ve been wondering, Lelei, don’t you use any weapons?”
“Huh? My weapon is these fists. Sometimes I use my legs too.”
“Yeah, I know that. But there are weapons you can attach to your fists, right?”
“Oh, you mean like knuckles?”
“Exactly.”
In response to Yuuri’s question, Lelei clenched her fists. She usually wore fingerless gloves and punched monsters with her bare hands. Since her father was a cat beastman, she had higher physical abilities than the average human. She might look like a normal girl, but truthfully, her strength and stamina far surpassed Kurresh’s. If she wanted, she could even carry him bridal-style, but they’d decided not to mention that since it would make Kurresh sulk. Life is hard for men. Though Yuuri was well aware of Lelei’s strength, his image of martial artists included those who wore knuckle weapons. Considering hand protection, it seemed natural to wear some kind of gear like that. When he voiced this thought, Lelei’s eyes shifted awkwardly, clearly avoiding his gaze.
“Lelei?”
“They told me not to use weapons until I can control my strength properly.”
“Who told you that?”
“All the instructors.”
“Rejected by everyone, huh?”