My 'Trash Skill' Called Observer's Eye Could Actually See Everything - Smoke, Flames, and the Worst Night

BOOM! A thunderous crash echoed out, and Kusano Kei's glasses nearly flew off his face. "Wha——" A massive ball of crimson flame streaked across the sky above the road at breakneck speed. The smell of scorched leaves. Sophie instinctively raised her shield. Kei threw himself flat against the ground. Seconds later. The bushes rustled violently. The sound of branches snapping. Then—CRASH!—a figure burst through. Brilliant aquamarine twin tails swayed wildly. "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!!!" A girl came running while screaming, chased by a swarm of red wasps buzzing loudly behind her. Nearly twenty of them—massive insects about twenty centimeters long. Blood Hornets—large red wasps with venomous stingers that reached danger level B when swarming. The girl thrust both black-gloved hands forward and attempted to fire another flame. Flare Burst—an attack spell that fired a ball of flame from the palm—detonated with a BOOM! The trajectory was completely diagonal upward. It struck a tree trunk directly, and the bark exploded outward. "I can't hit anything at all!!" "……Did you just fire that?" Kei lifted his head from the ground and managed to confirm it. "Yeah! The wasps were chasing me so I shot at them! But I panicked and everything went flying in crazy directions!!" She pointed backward while crying. The swarm of Blood Hornets circled above the girl's head, buzzing loudly. Sophie couldn't lower her shield in time and looked at Kei. "Kei, just now……a flame passed right over my head" "It did pass over" "That's way too close!?" "It was very close" This was no time for that kind of conversation. Kei stood up and adjusted his glasses. His Observer's Eye activated automatically. [[Blood Hornet Swarm: Individual Count 22, Danger Level B Equivalent]] [[Behavioral Analysis: Tracking via olfaction rather than sight, Strong aversion response to smoke/combustion gases]] [[Current Action: Transitioning from threat display to attack mode——approximately 15 seconds remaining]] (Smoke.) "Riko" "Huh, who are you, wait who even are you, and why are you so calm——" "Can you control your flame output? Lower the power as much as possible—produce smoke instead of burning" Riko froze with an "eh." Her bright purple eyes blinked. "I've never tried that before……" "Try it now. Right now" Riko gripped her black gloves. Slowly, carefully, she channeled magic into her hands. A small flame flickered to life—so weak it looked like it might extinguish. But the combustion was incomplete, and white-tinged smoke began spreading in wisps. The swarm of Blood Hornets stirred all at once. The buzzing sound of their wings became chaotic. Their formation collapsed. Then they scattered into the forest depths one by one. Silence. Only the sound of birds returned. "……They're gone" Riko stopped the smoke. The smell of scorched gloves drifted through the air. Then she slowly turned to face Kei. "You! You just said something amazing! How did you know that!!" She leaned forward eagerly. Her aquamarine twin tails swayed. "It's a skill called Observer's Eye. If I look at something, I can generally understand it" "That's incredible!!" Riko clasped her hands together. Then she bowed deeply. "Let me join your team!! Please!!" "Huh" Sophie murmured "ah" and smiled happily. "Our Kei……Kai……wait?" "It's Kei" "Kei! That's fine, right!?" Riko remained bowed, looking up at them with her eyes. Her purple irises glistened with moisture. (I'm being pushed along by this momentum again.) Kei let out a small sigh. "……Understood. Thank you for having me" "Yesssss!!" Riko raised both hands toward the sky. And so they became three. ──── About ten days passed in a flash after that. The coordination between the three developed faster than expected. Kei's Observer's Eye read the monsters' weak points and movement patterns, and Sophie delivered her sword strikes with precision. Riko's flame bullet magic connected whenever Kei called out "Now! Right!"—most of the time. The occasional tree caught fire, but they decided to consider that within acceptable margins of error. Greyfang subjugation, additional Rockbiter subjugation, medicinal herb collection escort requests—as they completed one job after another, rumors began spreading in the tavern of the way station. "Those three with the Observer's Eye cleared another request in one go, I heard" "That silver-haired knight, the aquamarine mage, and that plain-looking guy with glasses, right? Apparently the plain guy is the strongest one" "We did it! We're getting famous!!" Riko bounced around in the night lodging. The bed creaked loudly. "Let's take on harder requests next! What about C-rank!?" "……Becoming famous is a little frightening" Kei gazed out the window and whispered softly. The two of them gave him questioning looks. Kei said nothing more. ──── Back in Calen, around that same time. Dolku Heizen read the report from the messenger bird that had arrived and slammed his thick fingers on the table. "……This is not amusing" Starting the next day, senior adventurers began heading toward the royal capital Regnoa. Their objective was singular: to spread rumors. "Kusano Kei's Observer's Eye is a cheat skill" "A problem child who was expelled is deceiving knights and completing requests" "Don't trust that trio" The rumors spread faster than fire. ──── One morning, when the three tried to pick up a new request at the counter, the receptionist's face twisted. "So you're them. The fraud trio" "Fraud!? That's not true!!" "We can't accept you. We've been told from above" It wasn't just that one place. At the next town's counter, and the one after that—every time they tried to apply for new requests, they were flatly refused. After Riko received her third rejection, she pressed her head against the wall in the inn corridor. "Why……we're doing everything right……why……" Sophie pressed her lips together firmly. "Someone is systematically spreading false rumors. That's what this is, right?" Kei answered quietly. "……I think it's the Calen branch. Probably on Dolku Heizen's orders" The two fell silent. A sickening sensation spread through Kei's chest. The reason he'd feared becoming famous was this. If you stand out, they come to crush you. He'd learned that lesson in his body over three years at the guild. And now, he wasn't just dragging himself down—he was dragging Sophie and Riko with him. ──── It was on the forest road heading to the next request location. Dappled sunlight filtered through the trees on a quiet afternoon. Riko was about to say "I'm getting hungry" when— A man stepped out from the shadows. Thirty years old. Solidly built. Two swords at his waist. The wear on his equipment spoke of extensive combat experience. His expression was flat, unreadable. "So you're the Observer's Eye trio" His voice was low. "I came to erase your reputation" With just those words, the man moved. Fast. Sophie drew her sword. The metallic scrape of steel. Goran's twin blades crossed diagonally, tracing an arc. Observer's Eye began processing automatically. [[Goran Vess: Dual-wielding swordsman, B-rank equivalent combat ability]] [[Right blade: feint, Left blade: true attack]] [[Next attack: Three consecutive strikes from the right, 0.3 second opening at left flank after third strike]] Kei shouted. "Sophie! Three strikes from the right! There's a 0.3 second opening at the left flank after the third strike!!" Goran clicked his tongue. "Annoying eyes, Observer's Eye boy" Even as he said it—he charged forward. Not at Sophie, but at Kei. "Kei——!" Sophie dove in front of him. Between Kei and Goran. Goran's blade carved deep into Sophie's shoulder. Blood sprayed. "Ugh——" Sophie's knees buckled. She collapsed to the ground. Kei tried to catch her—but he was too late. "Sophie!!!" Riko fired Flare Burst. Her control was shot from panic. The ball of flame struck the ground and only gouged out dirt. Goran took two steps back. He flicked his blade, shaking off blood. A smile of amusement played across his face. "I'm not killing you. It's more fun to keep you alive" He looked at Kei and continued. "Your reputation is finished. Take your time falling apart" Then he vanished into the forest. For a while, no one could move. Kei pressed both hands against Sophie's shoulder. Slowly, something red seeped into his palms. It was warm. "Sophie" "……It's fine. Not a fatal wound" Her voice was thin. Riko ran over, crying. "Why couldn't I hit him! Why couldn't I——Sophie, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!!" Her voice sounded distant. In Kei's mind, the same thought repeated endlessly. He'd seen everything. Goran's movements, the trajectory of his blades, the danger heading toward Sophie—he'd seen it all on his Observer's Eye. And yet he couldn't protect her. He could see it, but his body couldn't keep up. And more than anything. (It's because I formed this team.) Sophie was bleeding. He couldn't find his voice. ──── They returned to the way station at dusk. The innkeeper helped treat Sophie's wound. The cut was deep, but it hadn't reached the tendons. They wrapped it tightly with bandages—for now, she just needed rest, they were told. Riko sat in the corner of the room, hugging her knees and crying. "If I'd been able to land my magic properly……" "I should have been the decoy" "Both of you, be quiet" While being wrapped in bandages, Sophie spoke quietly. "I chose to protect you myself. That's all" Kei looked at Sophie's face. Observer's Eye reported quietly. [[Pulse: Stable. Pain is significant, but no regret in expression. Gaze toward Kei: unwavering]] That fact only made it harder for Kei. As night deepened and Riko fell asleep from exhaustion, Sophie closed her eyes in shallow breathing. Only Kei couldn't sleep. Stars shone outside the window. When he was in Calen, he'd never looked up at the night sky like this. He watched Sophie's sleeping face from a distance. The bandage was white, slightly stained with red around the shoulder. Yet her sleeping face was peaceful. (How can you make that kind of face?) Kei looked away. Out at the stars beyond the window. At his own hands. The palms that had pressed against blood that afternoon. He'd washed them, but the sensation lingered. Why had she—stepped forward for him? Kei couldn't quite organize that reason. Observer's Eye didn't convert emotions into numbers. It provided information about expressions, pulse, and gaze direction, but it didn't explain "why someone would do that." So he was afraid. ──── The next morning. The innkeeper brought a sealed letter. Heavy paper. A wax seal with a familiar crest—the emblem of the Valthheim Adventurer's Guild headquarters. Kei opened it. The message was brief. 'Regarding the authenticity of Kusano Kei's skill Observer's Eye—you are summoned to appear before the Royal Capital Regnoa Inquiry Council' A date and the signature of the Guild Inspection Division. Riko peered over and her face went pale. "An inquiry council……" Kei folded the paper. "I'll go alone" "I'm coming with you" Holding her bandaged shoulder, Sophie looked straight at him. "I'm coming with you" The same words, spoken again. Kei had no response. He held the letter, looking at Sophie's face. Observer's Eye reported once more. [[Gaze: Unwavering. No regret]] (This person's face hasn't changed.) The morning air outside was still cold. To the royal capital Regnoa was roughly ninety kilometers. Beyond that lay an inquiry council where the honor and credentials of three adventurers would be formally questioned.

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Episode 4

Name: My 'Trash Skill' Called Observer's Eye Could Actually See Everything
Author: Novelia

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