Giant Escargot

---

PAGE 2

It was clear that this labyrinth had been altered greatly at some point.

The ground was covered in tiles, and the walls were smooth.

And there were lights every few dozen meters, which made it easy to see.

“My father is in the lower levels. Where there are no lights and the walls are bare rock.”

“And do you think he is trapped down there?”

“I don’t know. However, my father is an expert swordsman. It would take a great opponent to give him trouble.”

“Well, it could be more complicated than that. And while I am concerned for him, our safety is also important.”

“What do you man?”

Asked Eve, quietly.

“This is a dungeon that has been maintained. It was meant to be Sabnac’s treasury. There are likely guardians down here. I am worried that we will encounter them.”

“Ah, I see.”

Agreed Eve.

Then Jeanne said,

“Don’t be afraid, maid. The strong Saint and Demon King are here. Nothing can beat us. Unless it is a giant snail.”

“Why a snail?”

“I hate snails. I cannot fight at my best when they are around.”

“Is it due to some kind of trauma? I thought the French enjoyed snails.”

“Not all of us. Some of us hate them.”

“I bet you ate too many as a child and got sick.”

“How did you know, Demon King? Can you read my mind?”

“Hardly. It just seemed typical.”

Still, it was surprising that she didn’t like escargot.

But for some reason, she said that she didn’t mind slugs and could touch them just fine.

—Of course, she did not eat them.

“No, I’m not from China.”

And yet, it seemed to me that up until now, she ate practically anything.

Hadn’t she been looking at the wyvern with hungry eyes?

Regardless, it was then that we had the not so unexpected visitor.

It was as if Jeanne’s confession had called it.

Slowly, slowly.

The thing that crawled towards us was indeed a giant snail. 

“As she said, the Saint is pale and stiff. I don’t think she will be able to fight.”

“Indeed. I guess Ryoma and I will have to take care of it.”

I said. And then I heard a bang.

She had already drawn her gun and pulled the trigger.

Then she looked at me and grinned.

“It’s just a damn snail. The person who strikes first always wins.”

“I can agree with that.”

And so I chanted and created an Ice Lance.

I pierced the snail with it. However, whenever I aimed for its flesh, it went back into its shell.

And the shell was hard like a rock.

“This is going to be annoying.”

This was a ridiculous level of defense.

I doubted any ice spear or fire spell would work on it.

Of course, Ryoma’s gun did not damage either.

However, it was a different story when it came out to attack. The bullets found their target with precision.

And every time, the snail shuddered with pain.

So it was doing some damage.

“Maybe we can kill it at this rate?”

I wondered. But Ryoma shook her head.

“That won’t work. While these bullets are hurting it, I have not been able to deal a lethal wound.”

“I see.”

While the weapon was quite loud, it really was just firing a small bullet.

That would still be lethal against a human, but it was not necessarily the case against a giant creature.

Perhaps Ryoma’s weapon was a bad fit for monsters.

“So, it’s your turn. Demon Kings are strong against monsters, aren’t they?”

“Not especially. But we’re certainly not weak against them.”

“Then kill it for me.”

“You make it sound easy.”

I had been attacking it already. But as magic was slower, it was harder to hit it before it retreated into its shell.

So in a way, I was even less effective than her. But it currently seemed entirely unlikely that her gun would do the job. Besides, she had limited ammunition. If she used everything here, she would be useless by the time we reached the lower floors.

And there was always the possibility of encountering more of these. It was best to figure out an effective strategy while we could.

“So, we just need it to come out of its shell. And then we can skewer the head.”

It was easy to say, but hard to do. But I had a plan.

When practicing magic recently, I had awakened to a certain skill.

PAGE 2

The Legendary Rebuilding of a World by a Realist Demon King