Sousetsuka

Chapter 59 Helper-san, Welcome Aboard~

 

"Boss-san, please get her equipment that fits her. Cost no object!"

Boss-san had a dumbfounded look on his face since that was the first thing I said when we got to his store.

"Hey hey, what's happening' here, Nobusada. Wait, yer' tellin' me you've gotten yourselves in another problem huh?"

As expected of Boss-san. He knows me well. Yes, I sure did jump headlong into one.
I gave him a thumb up with smiles to reply to that.

"Correct! And it's urgent, so please sort it out. Mitama, you can use all the money I gave you. Okay then, I'll be leaving for a bit!"

I left the store after telling that to Mitama. I could hear someone saying, "O-oy! Sheesh, what's with the hurry. It takes time to adjust ready-made stuff ya know", but I paid no mind to that!
I'm heading to my destination at a quick pace. That person will surely lend us a hand. After all, this matter might not be unrelated to her.





"And that's that, so yeah, we need your help."

"I don't know what you meant by 'that's that', however, I do not mind assisting you, milord. But, could you at least explain the situation a bit?"

As you can see, I've gone to fetch Kagura-san. From Mitama's testimony and information from Jamito, this whole matter should be connected to Kagura-san in a way.

"Blah blah yadda yadda, that's the gist of it. This disinherited idiotic son of a nobleman, 『Brave』, has a onifolk that follows him around. From what Mitama told me, she kinda resembles Kagura-san somehow. She's just a bit taller than you. Perhaps, she might be?"

"It's very much a possibility. As expected of milord. Giving me the info I wanted most. Even if that onifolk is not my mother, I must bring judgment to my cohort for supporting such vile acts."

"Then please come to the 『Flaming Mallet』 once you're ready. I've got to go and secure us a transport. Oh and I'll take care of foodstuff too, so just prepare your battle gear."

"Very well. I shall make preparations at once."

That's Kagura-san for you. She's quick to adapt. Now then, gotta go to the Ride Beast Guild myself and score us a ride.





This world has a lot of methods of transportation, Ride Beast Guild is an organization that supervises them all. Including of course horses, there are cho**bo-like bird monsters, dragon-shaped monsters called running dragons, and even centaurs. Their upper half is that of humans, is that okay? The costs wildly vary from top to bottom, and they're even offering rental service. I'd like to hire a coachman as well if I could, but I have to see how the contract is like first. Kumahat-san has told me about a contact person here that can be trusted, let's ask for the guy.


"Hello, I'd like to consult about ride beasts and carriage, could I have an audience with Yoshii-san?"

The moment I came inside Ride Beast Guild, I was assaulted by smells of beasts or rather, of many things. It's similar to the cowshed my friend managed.
I could hear animal cries like, kii kii, and gyau gyau from afar.
The one who came out of the shed was a race I never saw before. It's a lizardman of lizardfolk with scales covering his green body. Apparently, they're regarded as beastfolk in this world though some people treat them as demons.

"Ufiffuu, heyaa. You must be the one who called for me. Nice to meet you. It's my pleasure to be acquainted with you. I'm Yoshii, an animal trainer that belongs to this Ride Beast Guild. Now then, what do you need today?"

Ooh, he's a way more sociable lizardman than I thought he'd be. He feels overwhelming since he's almost two meter tall though.

Name: Yoshii - Gender: Male - Age: 38 - Race: Lizardfolk
Class: Animal Trainer - Level: 38 - State: Healthy
Title: None
【Skill】
One-handed Sword Lv3 - Small Shield Lv3 - Animal Training Lv5 - Rearing Lv4 - Gross Eating Lv4

He's got an unknown skill!? Let me see here....

【Gross Eating】
Skill of those who can eat anything with their stomach of steel. This skill disintegrates things like poison and paralyzing liquid and turn them harmless as long as they're orally ingested.

The skill is amazing in a sense. In short, you can eat any type of poison as long as it's orally ingested huh. The fact that you can't get poisoned by your meals is legit by itself.

"I was referred here by Kumahat-san. Actually, I need a ride beast and a carriage in short order. But we don't have anyone with experience as a coachman, is there a ride beast whom even beginners can handle?"

He looks a bit troubled (since his expression doesn't change much, this is a guess).

"Humm, that's quite a tall order. It's dangerous without at least a degree of experience. We have cases where ride beasts went on a rampage and ran away because they couldn't get used to the handling."

Figured. It can't be that easy. Well, I never expected that to work anyway, so let's get down to business now.

"I figured as much. Then I'd like to consult about another matter..."


<TLN: If you're reading this novel at any other site than Sousetsuka .com you might be reading an unedited, uncorrected version of the novel.>

In the meantime, Mitama and Kagura who have finished their preparations and shopping are waiting for Nobusada in front of the 『Flaming Mallet』.

"...Kagura, thank you."

"Pay no heed, this matter concerns me as well. Besides, I cannot possibly refuse milord's request."

"...Is Kagura in an adult relationship with Nobu?"

"W-w-w-w-w-what are you talking about noja... We're just at a level where he's seen my naked body."

"...Unyan."

Mitama blushed with her ears flopped down. Looks like she ended up imagining things after hearing about naked body stuff. Kagura also blushed while muttering, 'I shouldn't have told her that'.

"But still, I wonder what's going on with milord. He said he went to get us a ride, but I do not see a ride beast anywhere... huh? What in the world is that??"

From the direction of the Ride Beast Guild, a canopy-equipped cart is being pulled by a small black thing at high speed. There's something obviously odd about it compared to other carriages around it.

"Milord. Just what are you doing noja..."

"Thanks for waiting! Now then, get on board."

"...Why is Nobu playing around as a ride beast?"

That's right, the one pulling the carriage is Nobusada. The carriage is a size smaller than normal carriages, however, it's still something that should be too heavy to be pulled by someone yet-to-be-adult by himself. It's a ready made cart that can be bought at the Ride Beast Guild.

"No well, we're gonna do a forced march right. And thus, I bought one, a cart. And now I can carry you two easy with this!"

"...So Nobu is gonna pull it no matter what."

"No, but, at this size, even a man who boasts of his strength won't be able to pull it to a satisfactory speed, won't he? Since when did milord train such powerful leg strength?"

"Let's just depart for now. Get on the carriage."

The girls seemingly yielded to the brimming Nobusada and boarded the carriage reservedly. There's enough space to easily fit five to six people inside. The two stare at Nobusada who's gripping the handle as if saying, what now.

"Let's get going. First of all, activate 『<<Anti-Graviton>>』."

Graviton is a gravity magic that crushes things. With magic modification, the less element you add, the easier it is to control. By reversing graviton's effect, you 'mysteriously' get a magic that decrease the effect of gravity. I can easily carry heavy stuff with this. Once activated, this makes the carriage lighter than even Mitama.

"In addition 『<<Air Hover>>』."

This is a magic modified from Wind Wall, normally it produces a wind wall that blows you upward, but this magic creates winds that blows and supports my feet like air cushions. It makes me look like I'm floating from outside perspective. We can't go forward with just these two magic, so I add another one.

"We're taking off. 『<<Air Thruster>>』"

This one is a modified Wind Storm. It's a magic that simplifies the blowing powers of a storm into a mere thrusting power. With a combination of these three spells, the Highspeed Mobile Transportation Nobusada is complete!! (smugface)
Sorry, I got ahead of myself. I was frantically practicing this you know. Thanks to that, I even got Parallel Casting skill. With this skill, combining multiple magic into one gets easier to control.

However, frankly speaking, this doesn't look cool at all. You're gripping the handle, and you don't look like flying after all. But if you can bear with that, you could be rewarded with speed that won't lose to an average ride beast. It's even possible to speed up to modern car's level if you forgo the control. Since I'm doing it very carefully, currently my limit is only around 50 Km/H, but it should be good enough. The cart's base might pop out if I overdo it.

Everyone who got passed by the cart that was being pulled by the floating me turned around with a 『What was that thing?』 look on their face, but I kept carrying on my way and ran past the South Gate.

I'm gradually raising the speed that was suppressed inside the town. Since the carriage was shaking violently, I bolstered 『<<Anti Graviton>>』 strength a bit, almost raising the carriage's wheels above the ground, or rather it's floating already. Furthermore, I use the two wind magic to suppress air resistance and the shaking. This requires me to finely adjust them, but it feels like it comes together nicely and naturally to me.
By the way, Tama-chan has enshrined herself on top of my head during the flight. Since I'm fully concentrating on controlling the flight, she's in charge of looking out at the surroundings.



We're having a meal while also resting at Pezun Village that is the halfway point to our destination. I completely ignored all the questions regarding our method of transportation. I'll explain it once this is all over.
Our meal this time is stuff I've always had on hands. After my first entry to a dungeon, I've been making food in large quantity whenever I have time and stuff them inside magic rucksacks. It's a habit I developed after coming to this world where many things are simply unpredictable. It's all thanks to magic rucksacks with preservation function though.

I only noticed that Mitama had a complete change of equipment after gazing at her munching down the hamburger I made.

"Those protectors, they're just like mine. Yup, it looks good on you."

Mitama who suddenly got addressed choked while letting out a sound, 'n-ga-kuu', like the wife character in a certain long-running daily anime series. My bad, seriously.
She's bought a set of Iron Ant protectors at the 『Flaming Mallet』 that's just like mine. She's also got herself a short bow and two double-edged daggers.



Trent Composite Bow
Quality: Good - Enclosed Mana: 2/2
A composite bow made of metal, Iron Ant material, and wood drop item of Trent. It is unfit for long range attacks, but due to its small size, it's easy to operate and good for short to medium range. The bowstring is made of Iron Ant's feelers, thus it possesses both strength and flexibility.

Maurio's Dagger x2
Quality: Good - Enclosed Mana: 4/4
Double-edged dagger of Maurio. Made of steel. Contrary to its bulky look, it's lightweight and can be equipped on both hands.

Complete Protector Set of Iron Ant (Breastplate, Gauntlet, Leggings)
Quality: Good - Enclosed Mana: 3/3
Protector set made from Iron Ant's carapace. Due to the improvements in processing technique, it's lighter and sturdier than earlier versions.


Boss-san, he's getting even better.

"They're quite something. Ah right, those are presents from me, please keep them with you from now on."

"...No, but, you're already helping so much, taking these would..."

"S'fine no worries. They're made to order for Mitama, so please keep them."

I pushed them to Mitama who seemed like she still had something to say.
I have a reason talking about this here. It's to make Mitama relax a bit since she's been brooding excessively. You could make an unforeseen error if you're too tense. I've been made aware of that thoroughly the other day. It's better to have at least a bit of latitude in your mind no matter the situation. Nothing good will come out of brooding over too much.








Previous Chapter

Chapter 58 An Older Sister's Obstinacy

 

"It happened around a month ago..."

Apparently, the way she was trapped into slavery was similar to what happened with us. She took on a profitable-looking transport quest, however, the moment she arrived at this mansion, she got falsely charged of replacing the content inside the valuable box, and in the end, she was forced to take all the responsibility. They made it look like she replaced the box when she was staying in a room inside Pezun village's inn. The inn's owner was apparently in cahoot, cutting off any hope of escaping the situation.

What a repugnant modus operandi.

Thinking about it, Kurei might have been captured in order to catch us. Since we are partly responsible for it, blaming it on Kurei is like barking on the wrong tree. Un, everything is all that idiot's fault.

After hearing Kurei's story, I start to ponder what to do next. She can't go against that idiot as long as she's got the slave crest.

I can't move well in this state either. When push comes to shove, I'll do everythin' to make sure Mitama escape at least and ask for help... Oh no, wonder if there's anyone who would make a move on a nobleman's son. Kirishna-aneyan would probably do, but that person has her slaves and employees to care for herself. They could become a victim if ane-yan made a wrong move here.

Maybe adventurers... oh there is one. I dunno why, but I've got a feeling that he will force his way through if it's to save us. But, is it really okay to drag him into this?

Ah, but at least this kid. I want to save Mitama no matter what it takes. I don't care if I get dragged through the mud if it's for the sake of my cute important sister. No way I'd let her be that idiot's bride even if the sky comes crashing down. Forgive me Nobu-kun, for getting you involved in this. You can do whatever you like with my body if I got out of this alive.

It's decided then, let's go. I ask Kurei to send a message to that idiot. 'We'll follow your orders so please don't rough us up'. 'Course it's a lie tho'!

Once Kurei got out of the room, I turned to Mitama. She perceived something from my unusual serious face, and changed to a meek look.

"Mitama. I will now remove your shackle and destroy the wall. You get out through that and dash to Gramada. I'm sure Nobu-kun will lend you his strength."

"...But then, Nee-san will!!"

"I'll be fine. I'll buy some time with my barrier. The most I could do now is let you escape. Maybe then you could hurry up and save me too. Besides, isn't this exactly the job for Mitama who's quicker on her feet than me?"

"...Nee-san. I understand. I'll absolutely come back to save you. So don't ever give up okay."

Mitama cutely undertook my request. Oops, this isn't the time to mess around.

"O' course. I believe in Mitama more than anyone else. Lookie', off you go now."

I concentrate on the base of the shackle chaining Mitama. Kuh, this is hard, shouldn't have skipped my training.

"Burn, dance, o dazzling golden flame of Youko. Comes alight and melt everything! Bewitching Flame of Golden Fox!"

This is a secret art of our clan I learned from Ma. A golden colored flame lit up on my fingertip. I pushed that onto the base of the shackle. Mitama looks anguished to feel the heat transferred over the iron. Bear with me, Mitama.
I traced the iron with my finger and the flame severed it  down. Mitama suffered a slight burn but she was freed of her shackle.

Now I just need to make an exit. I've gotta hurry up since I can't maintain this secret art for long. Won't even be enough to unshackle myself.
I trace the wall with my fingertip like earlier. I could feel the flame drilling a hole through the opposite side. And then I begin to draw a circle big enough to let Mitama slip through. Once the circle is complete, I shove my finger on the hole and crank it open. Then I erase the flame and put my strength into pulling it into the room. Since the wall had turned into a melted lump to my flame, I managed to peel it out somehow.

"Go now, they should be still unaware. Take care on your way 'k?"

"...I'm going. I'll definitely come back to save you Nee-san!"

Afterward, Mitama erased her presence and escaped outside.

Please. At least, please let Mitama survive.

After Mitama had gone out, I dragged my exhausted body while breathing roughly and managed to close the wall back, and then I sit nonchalantly as I try to recover my mana. Just as I thought, this secret art may be powerful, but my current amount of mana isn't enough for it.
Okay then, it's a war of attrition from here on out. Wonder how much mana will I recover and how long can I maintain my barrier. Gotta make one that's sturdy yet small enough.
Fuhn, I put some spirit into it. I ain't gonna givin' up no matter what! Not until I could bear witness to Mitama in her wedding dress! Coz I made a promise to Ma and Pa!


<TLN: If you're reading this novel at any other site than Sousetsuka .com you might be reading an unedited, uncorrected version of the novel.>
◆◆◆



"...After that, I started running with all my might when I got to an unpopulated place."

According to what Mitama told me after she was awake, she got into that state because she had been running nonstop almost without a rest and with nothing on her.

But still, that noble brat really gets under my skin. Just like the matter with Sefi-san back then, I could endure it if it was something done to me, but it really gets on my nerves when the harm is directed to something I hold dear. I'll pluck and burst that brat open, physically speaking.
Mitama seems to have gotten anxious due to me keeping silent, she's looking at me with teary eyes. Sorry, my bad, I got lost in thought for a bit there.

"...I know that it's reckless to go up against a son of a noble. But please. Please lend me your strength. You can do whatever you want to me, just please save Nee-san!"

Oy oy, a girl of blooming age shouldn't say that kind of thing y'know. Don't worry, of course I'm gonna help you. It's a secret that it swayed my reasoning hard tho'.

"Oh sorry, I was just coming up with ways to save her. Don't worry, I'm Futsuno-san and Mitama's ally. Sefi-san, sorry about this, but I'll be leaving for a bit to knock the living shit out of some noble brat."

"My my, you're going just like that huh~. Well, that's exactly why you're Nobu-chan~. I knew you wouldn't abandon them~. I really would like to go with you as well, but it'd get too chaotic then~. So take this instead. There's potions inside. And here's a Scapegoat Ring. It will take a certain amount of damage for you."

Sefi-san handed over a magic rucksack and a ring as she said that. Mitama will have the ring. I have overlapping defensive magic like Stone Skin and Mana Clad already.

"Well then, first of all, let's go to Boss-san's place and sort out Mitama's equipment. I'll go fetch another helper while you take your pick, Mitama."

"...Thank you. I... was really afraid... our friend had turned into that guy's pawn... Nee-san was caught... we have no ally."

Mitama spoke quietly and began to weep. It's okay, everything's gonna be all right. I'll do something about it. I've done all the special training and raised my level for this sake. That's why, let's hurry. It's a forced march from here on.

"Mitama, calmed down yet? Here, wipe your tears with this. And let's go. Let's finish preparing as soon as possible and save Futsuno-san. Otherwise, she'd scold us like, 『Yeer' laate, well done' comin' tis' far Nobu-kun』."

She put on a smile and laughed when I fooled around a bit. Yup, Mitama's smile is the cutest after all.

"...Un, let's go. Sefirot-san, thank you for lending me this. Let's have another feast once we get back. Nobu-kun will be in charge of cooking."

"That's right! That party was really fun. Then you have to make sure to come back quick~."

Sefi-san winked at me as she said that. Yes yes, but make sure to do your job too you hear me. I don't want to do an all-nighters potion-making again.

"We're off then."

I pull Mitama's hand and run quickly. Wait for it, you shitty brat. I'll make you regret the day you were born.




TLN: Next update tomorrow



Previous Chapter

Chapter 16-54. Sage's Tower (3)

 

Satou Here. Reading through myths on earth, it's not rare for gods that had been worshiped since time immemorial to degenerate into lower-ranked evil gods by later belief that got popular.
And, perhaps such thing isn't an exception even in another world where gods physically exist?



◇



"A pick up? Ya picking me up? Ooh, yer' makin' me blush! It was worth it turning into a teen after a whole lap ssuyo!"
"Shut up, 116 year--"

The good-looking young man who was with the underling-sounding beauty, whom herself was in high tension and looking bashful, dragged her to the back.

"--I haven't seen you around before, and you don't look like an inquisitor either. I won't stop you from trying if you're really going to woe this age-falsifying hag, however I'd advise against it if you don't want to be shocked in the bedroom."

The good-looking young man who got between me and the beauty had a callous look on his face.

"Yer' so mean Rakero! I'm gonna tell you on Frost Tree-chan ssuyo!"
"Do as you wish. It will be you that mentor will scold anyway. Also, if you'd please refrain from calling my mentor, 『Witch of Frost-covered Forest』, with a weird nickname."
"Then call me 『Witch of Ice Field』 instead of 'you' ssu!"
"You is good enough for you."
"So mean ssu~. Even like this I'm the great witch who rules over the 『Source of Ice Field』 ssuyou, just you know?"

According to the AR readings, the underling-sounding beauty's name and title is [Witch of Ice Field].
If what she says is true, she's a witch who rules over at least one of the Sources.
I'm a bit intrigued by ways to rule over a Source without a City Core.

"Think this skit ever gonna end?"
"Probably not?"

After replying to the tired-looking Arisa, I called out to the one of the waitresses, ordered for their shares of food and drinks, and decided to interrupt these two's skit.

As a side note, other girls besides Arisa and Zena-san are enjoying their meal at their own pace.

"--Excuse me. Rather than standing around like this, how would you like eating together with us?"

I invited the two to a vacant seat while offering the wine cup the waitress brought.

"Ehehe, this sure makes me blush ssune."

For some reason, the underling-sounding beauty--Witch-san is sitting on my lap.

"Mwu."
"Guilty!"
"That place is Tama's~?"

Faster than I could, Mia, Arisa and Tama voiced their objection.

"Lose--"
"The stuff about pick-up is a misunderstanding."

Before the witch could talk and make things get more complicated, I put her on the next seat and cleared the misunderstanding.
If it took too long, Sera and Princess Sistina would join in and the situation would get out of control.

"Really?"

Witch-san looked disappointed somehow.

"Yes, I'd like to know more about your talk earlier, 『Demon God is the forefather of modern magic』."
"Did that pique yer' interest? I'll tell ya anything you want ssuyo! But but, it'd be nice if you could add 『Sama』 suffix with respect on Demon God-sama's name ssu!"

The witch seemed happy when asked about her opinion, she got into high tension once again and pounced on my back.
She looks like a transient beauty outwardly, but her behavior is kinda like that of an old man somehow.

The good-looking young man sitting opposite to the witch sipped his wine cup after saying, "What a curious guy."

"One night won't be enough to talk about everythin' ssu. For now, do you have anything to ask me ssuka?"
"Could you tell me the basis for the belief that 『Demon God is the forefather of modern magic』?"
"Uun, there a whole lotsa to it, but the most famous one was about a sage from long ago finding a slate detailing about how Demon God-sama taught humans magic in the ruins of Lalakie Dynasty located at Tokiswolk Kingdom ssune."
"Hmph. But the Larukeria Slate left in the ruins of ancient civilization after Lalakie civilization in the age of gods, and the Toro Kuro's golden tower definitely negated that."

The good-looking young man denied witch-san's explanation.

"How did those two negate it?"
"On the Larukeria it's written that, through a subordinate under his control the 『Dog-head Demon Lord』, demon god massacred sorcerers in the entire world, and then gave magic skills and magic letters to his followers after the genealogy of ancient sorcerers had gone extinct. While on Toro Kuro, he attempted to do the same to priests, however he incurred gods' wrath and got sealed deep in the underworld."

The young man smoothly narrated his story.
He too seems to be the type that loves to state his knowledge.

"Hold it ssu! I've been telling ya, Toro Kuro looks  fabricated as heck! There are excerpts in Saga Empire's founding emperor's autobiography about his audience with Demon God-sama ssu! Same with Larukeria, it was a huge incident about a massacre of sorcerers in the entire world, and yet there's absolutely nothing about it written on other ruins from the same era ssuyo!"

This time the witch rebutted.
History is difficult.

While listening to the heated debate of the two, I use space magic [Telephone].



◇



『Satou!』
『It has been awhile, Aze-san.』

Telephone magic carried a comforting voice to my ears.

『I heard this talk about [Demon God being the forefather of modern magic] in my journey, do you know anything about it?』
『Modern magic? Hold on a bit, I should find out once I connect to the Memory Vault. Wait for me okay.』
『Thank you. Then, I'll call you back later.』

I reluctantly cut off the call.

Since the debate is still heating up, I try to call another recipient with Telephone.

『--Hero-sama.』
『Heya, Reiane.』

Reiane is a girl belonging to an unusual [Half-Ghost] race I met when I went around [Floating Island of God] Lalakie during the Divine Punishment, she's the last queen of [Lalakie Dynasty] that has been appearing as a topic in the two's discussion.

I get down to business after asking about her recent states.

『Demon God-sama? I'm sorry, I had some experience intermingling with the seven pillar gods during my coming-of-age ceremony, however I had never done so with Demon God-sama and Dragon God-sama.』

She didn't know about the sorcerer massacre incident either when I confirmed her about it.
I also tried asking about the transition from primeval magic to modern magic but did not get a favorable response either.

『One thing I heard about, apparently Demon God-sama often mingled with people in the mortal world.』
『Mingled?』
『Yes, I heard that he was dispatched to increase the number of mortals in order to offer a vast amount of prayers and supplications to gods.』

--Dispatched?

『By whom?』
『I have no idea which, but I think it was by someone amongst the seven pillar gods.』

Looks like demon god was treated like a gofer by the seven pillar gods.
Come to think of it, Aze-san told me something along the line, [He took on the project to build a floating castle in exchange for divinity and authority from gods] while I was investigating the shadow castle at Rumooku Kingdom.
He probably took on this errand boy-like job in a similar fashion.

After thanking Reiane and ended the call, I connected to Aze-san once again.

『Forgive me, Satou.』

She went straight to apologizing.
Judging from her tone, it must be the Demi-god Aze-san.

『Information about the pioneer of modern magic has been put under classified information by the seven pillar gods, so I cannot speak about it to anyone.』
『Please don't apologize, Aze-san.』

Rather, the fact that the gods has put restriction on it means there's really a chance of [Demon God is the forefather of modern magic] being true.
I thanked Aze-san and, although it pained me to do so, cut off the call.


<TLN: If you're reading this novel at any other site than Sousetsuka .com you might be reading an unedited, uncorrected version of the novel.>
◇



"Liffe I saifdh, Demon God-sama's someone brimming with kindness ssuyo!"
"Shh it, you demon god fanatic. He's a god that spread miasma and fear through demons and demon lords, whaft kind of kindness ifh thaft!"

The witch and young man's articulations are getting weirder as their discussion reached an impasse.
Despite their eagerness in opening liquor bottles, neither could hold theirs it seems.

"Hey hey, master. Listening to these two, doesn't it make you think that there are two demon gods?"
"Good point."

I half-heartedly gave an affirmation to Arisa who seemed to seriously consider that possibility.
It's not rare to arrive at a completely different interpretation after analyzing information through filters.
Fortunately, it doesn't seem like the seal of demon god sealed in the moon will get unraveled anytime soon, so there's no need to think so hard about--.

--Wait.

That's right.
The myth in this world states that [Demon God is sealed in the Moon].
I know that's nonsense since I've personally been on the moon, however that is not a common knowledge. To the point that even the Weasel Emperor and those Brains bunch didn't know about it.

And yet they said Demon God was sealed in the underworld.
Perhaps, these guys know the true information regarding Demon God's seal.

"Witch-dono--"

I tried to throw a question, but the witch and the young man are already snoring in sync with red faces.
I could rouse them up right now with magic, but looking at their blissful sleeping faces makes it hard to do that just to answer my doubt.

I ask the waitress, rent two rooms for these two drunkards and shove them in.
Answering my doubt can be postponed after these two are awake.
I'll put Markers on the two just in case.



◇



"Well then, let's split up the job."

After taking care of the drunkards, I announced the candidates for the unsolved problems I'd like to solve and then we decided to split into five groups.

First group is Mia, Princess Sistina and Zena-san as their guard.
The girls are going to challenge the problem, "How do you achieve chantless magic?"

The second group is Arisa and her guard, Liza. I'm thinking of having Hikaru join this team later.
They're going to research about [The transition of primeval magic to modern magic and variations].
Our two acquaintances from earlier could be a big help in this problem.

The third group is Sera, with Nana as her guard.
They're, or rather, Sera is going to investigate about [Denying the irreversibility of the transformation from living being into undead].
If all goes well, we might be able to turn the Tokiswolk vampire children back.

The fourth group is Lady Karina, Pochi and Tama.
The three of them are going to trail-blaze the way to sightseeing spots in Kariswolk city.
It may looks like they're goofing around, but this is the most important job here.
Lady Karina had this mixed look on her face, but private Pochi and private Tama were full of motivations.

"Yep this is, don't you think Liza-san is better off managing Karina-sama and the girls instead?"

Arisa whispered to me.
True, there's a 90% chance of incidents happening with just these three.

That said, having Arisa alone without a guard would weigh down on me.

"Oh Master, you're such a worrywart. If anything happened to me, I could just tell Master with the 『Familiar Powah』. You're gonna rush headlong to help me right?"
"I guess that's true."

With my agreement, Liza moved to Lady Karina's group per Arisa's suggestion.
Just to be safe, I handed over equipment with anti status effect buff to her.

As for me, I'll be investigating the topics 『For what reason do Labyrinths exist?』 and 『How does a Dungeon Master produce magical items and monsters?』.
Both should be relatively easy to solve for a Dungeon Master like me.
Though since I cannot disclose my position as one, I wouldn't be able to announce the answer even if I had one.

I plan to join Arisa and Sera's groups once I'm done investigating these problems.



◇



"『For what reason do Labyrinths exist?』, is it?"

I fetched Core Two at the Solitary Island Palace and went with her to the [Dungeon Master Room] in the lowest layer of Dejima Island's [Phantasmal Labyrinth].
The one giving that question earlier was the blinking Dungeon Core.

"Yes, that's right. Any idea?"
"It's unknown."
"I see--"

It would have been simple were Dungeon Core knew, but apparently this was no easy mode.

"Master, do you know the answer to 『For what reason do Humans exist?』"

I reply to Core Two, "You have a point, I don't."

"Master, the answer to that earlier question was 『unknown』, however, it is possible to surmise contenders to that."
"Really?"
"Yes, the previous master muttered that 『Manufacturing plants equipped with an abundant of mana, miasma and souls』, and 『Cleaners that collect miasma on the surface』 might have been the roles of dungeons."

I agree with the former, but I wasn't even aware about the latter.

"Do dungeons have a function to collect miasma on the surface?"
"No, they do not directly collect the miasma. It comes as a secondary side-effect from dungeons' function of collecting miasma inside them. The previous master hypothesized that the items Weasel Empire used to collect miasma, 『Evil Thought Jar』 and 『Grudge Pot』 might have been created using hints taken from dungeons."

I affirm Dungeon Core's words.
If you can do something about the souls part, it should be possible to turn dungeons into plants by creating a magic to collect miasma.

One of the problems, [How does a Dungeon Master produce magical items and monsters?], can be mostly explained with what Dungeon Core told me earlier, [Manufacturing plants equipped with an abundant of mana, miasma and souls].

"Core, are you able to to explain how a dungeon produces monsters and items by making use of mana, miasma and souls?"
"It is possible."
"Then, do tell me."

That's surprisingly easy.

"By supplying an ample amount of mana, miasma and souls in accordance to the recipes into the Creation Furnace inside Theory Circuit of a Dungeon Core, the virtual factory will produce the desired item. If Master wishes to check on the production process, please refer to the Theory Circuit by operating the Dungeon Core's control panel."

It's not very detailed, but it should be simple once I know the search keywords.
As taught by Dungeon Core, I operate the control panel and read the Theory Circuit.

I try my best to read it.

It's quite complex.

And most importantly, the circuit area is tremendously vast.

I feel the helplessness of a junior high school student who's just finished soldering a radio and tried to read the schematic of the latest CPU.
The scale is such that even with my maxed out INT, reading and understanding everything would take at least several months or even a year.

However, it's worth all that labors, thus I plan to analyses the downloaded schematic whenever I have time.



◇



"Now then, guess I really can't announce the answer..."

I think what Dungeon Core said earlier would be acceptable as an answer, however, there's just one little problem.

If the fact that dungeons need souls to create items is known, I could see greedy people in power sacrificing innocent people and demi-humans to dungeons.
Even if it didn't get that bad, I'm afraid of the possibility people intentionally increasing mortality rate of rookie explorers.

I let out a sigh, went to Solitary Island Palace to fetch Hikaru and went back to the city-state Kariswolk.
Right when I got there, I could hear Tama's and Pochi's flustered voice from below me.

"Big trouble, big trouble~?"
"Master, there's a big trouble nanodesu!"



※ Next update is planned for 7/8





Previous Chapter

Chapter 195 Strongest Sage, Picks Chance

 

About six hours later.
We finished the quest smoothly and got the reward at the guild.

It was a boring but fruitful quest in term of intel gained.
We now know their technological level and the refineries' locations thanks to the map.

『So, what are we going to do now?』

『Right... Nothing good would come out of staying in this town anyway, let's get them quick. We've grasped our enemy positions after all.』

We were probing the surrounding mana reaction the whole time during the quest.
Result, found 32 sub-demons.
A standard amount for a group of sub-demons.

『But these sub-demons are good at acting in unison right? Wouldn't it better if we waited until they're scattered about?』

Alma looked at the surroundings as she said that.
The sub-demons have situated themselves around the center of the town indeed.

It's probably a good idea to wait for the sub-demons to disperse in order to neutralize their union.
However--.

『Nah, there's no point in waiting. These demons must be holding their current positions.』

I peeked at the mana reaction as I said that.
They've been making sure to absolutely stay in the center of the town.

This is probably done on purpose.
Since their sense-sharing is limited to 50 meter range.

And the sub-demons in this town are moving about while always maintaining their link together.
Thus, defeating even one of them would notify the rest of the sub-demons in the entire town.

This is most likely not a coincidence.
They must have willingly taken this kind of security measures to immediately detect any incident or attack from outside.
That all the refineries are located around the center of the town must be for this too.

『...You mean, we're gonna have to face these sub-demons all at once if we wanna beat them?』

『That would happen if we leisurely wait for them to join up with on another. However, if we attack sub-demons that are their on the way to join up with others and end the battle fast, we should end up only fighting a few.』

Even if these sub-demons are gathered together, it's not like they're all smack dab crowding in one place.
These sub-demons are moving with a certain level of freedom within the 50 meter range limit.

『End it quick... The demons are all within a 50 meter range right? They'd join together in a blink of an eye when they're that close...』

『Not necessarily so. Because these demons won't be going in a straight line. Each one should take about 10 seconds.』

Well if there is a sub-demon acting as an intermediary in the center of the 50 meter range, they should be able to move farther than that, in fact, these demons are scattered about in a 200 meter range.
Even if all these demons were to rush here, it would still take a few dozens of seconds at least.
Ordinary demons would arrive in a few seconds by flying or breaking through walls, however, sub-demons don't have that kind of strength.

『T-ten seconds...』

『That much is enough when you're ambushing a sub-demon... Besides I'll be employing a scheme that will stop them from banding together easily.』

『Scheme?』

『Yeah. Put a disguise magic that blurs your mana on yourself and beat them without having your face seen... In short, you want to prevent these demons from moving at their pace, that's the knack for defeating sub-demons.』

The past me went through some hard times defeating sub-demons in my youth.
Their individual strength is far away weaker than an ordinary demon, but it gets really troublesome when they band together.

『Beating a demon without having your face seen... I don't think I could do that though...』

『It is difficult... And that's why it will be me and Iris that's going to directly fight these demons. You two will pretend to be innocent passer by and disturb the demons. Hide yourselves in the spot I specify.』

Ruli and the girls are still not able to hide their presences while fighting.
There's the difference in our level of experience and crest after all.
And Disqualified Crest is the most qualified crest for stealth action after all.
However, the demons would surely overlook them if they just hide without participating in the fight.

However, I've been hiding Iris's mana with magic from the moment we came into this town.
I don't have the leeway to keep doing so while fighting the sub-demons for real.

And thus, Iris will be fighting too.
Iris's fighting prowess is a good match for the sub-demons.

Sub-demons are good at union, but in exchange they have fundamentally low offensive powers, therefore, they can't deal any damage on opponents with an extremely high defensive power like Iris.
Iris probably won't able to hit the sub-demons either, but by acting as bait with her conspicuous mana, it should make my battle considerably easier.

...While thinking that, the sub-demons got into positions that's easy to attack on.
I thought it would take another few hours before we got this chance, lucky us.

『Here's our chance. Alma, and Ruli, go hide over there.』

I pointed at a nearby shadow.
<TLN: If you're reading this novel at any other site than Sousetsuka .com you might be reading an unedited, uncorrected version of the novel.>
『I-I understand! Do we need to prepare anything?』

『I'll release Iris's mana later, use the confusion to make magic tools and slip them in. Make it a type of magic tool that will explode on ground contact. Something flashy would be good.』
『I got it! Should I augment it on arrows?』

Usually, when Ruli augment offensive magic, she does it by augmenting Alma's arrows.
Since simply putting offensive magic in a magic stone won't help in hitting the target.
However, we won't use arrows this time.

『No, just make it ordinary magic tools... Alma, you've learned how to use Wired Homing Enchant right?』

『I've been using Wired Homing Enchant all this time... Huh? Are you telling me to use it on magic stones?』

『That's right. Throw them at the place the demon will step on when I tell you so... Can you do it?』

『Umm... No sweat!』

The 『Wired Homing Enchant』 that Alma usually uses on her arrows can actually also be used on things she throws.
Of course, using it with arrows is more powerful and effective, but this time we're doing a specific method.
This technique doesn't have many uses, but I was right to teach her just in case.

『Me, what about me?』

『Iris, you wait here and flail your spear around randomly at the demons!』

『S-so haphazard! ...I can just run wild?』

『Your role, Iris, is to be a decoy. Just be careful not to stray too far, and go on a rampage!』

I look at the demons' positions afterward.
We're currently right at the edge of the area where the demons are.
At this position, I can catch mana reaction of the entire group of demons there.

--Nice timing.







Previous Chapter

16-53. Sage's Tower (2)

 

Satou here. Keeping stuff tidy and in order, be it data or things, so you can readily get them anytime you need it is a form of talent, I think. You tend to forget where you put things right when you need to get them, don't you.


◇


"--Are all these?"

I reflexively muttered that when I looked up at huge piles of old scrolls and books in front of me.

We were led to a room beyond Sage Karyu's, the principal, room.
I'm here to solve an [unsolved problem that has remained so for 100 years] as part of God Karion's Trial, but looking at these piles makes me get cold feet a bit.

Well, since I'm only supposed to solve one problem among these, there's no need to get so worked up.

"The number of problems themselves doesn't even reach 30. Most of these are investigations and memos left by the past scholars."

Sage Karyu told me so while stroking his long white beard.

"These here are the original scripts, but you can find the copies in the Great Library in this tower, while the problems themselves have been carved on the pedestals of the red salt statues on the first floor so anyone could read it if they so desire."

I see, the statues in the entrance hall carry such a role huh.
According to Sage Karyu, there are other red salt statues carrying a similar role situated in God Zaikuon main temple's chapel and inside the city itself.
As those statues have been reinforced with earth magic, they're holding up fine being outdoors.

"Then, maybe it's a good idea to look around the statues before picking a problem?"
"Nn, more efficient."
"Umu, umu. That's exactly right, missies."

Sage Karyu smiled as he replied to Arisa and Mia's conversation.

"I shall give the key to this library to Satou-kun. You can get to this library from the passages. You can read the documents here anytime you want, however you're not allowed to take them out with you. As their value cannot be understated, take care not to damage them."
"Yes, I will take the utmost care."

Sage Karyu handed over ID bracelets to us along with the key.
We can freely enter the Great Library some floors below as long as we have these.

"So this is the 『Ring of Wisdom』 of 『Sage's Tower』..."

Princess Sistina is gazing movingly at the bracelet she holds in her hands.
Looks like it's a kind of amazing item.


◇


"Would you like to go to Great Library first? Or do you want to check the red salt statues?"

Apparently, Miko Maiya is going to continue acting as our guide.

Looking at the girls, their faces screamed 'I wanna go to the Great Library'.

"Well then, please show us the way to the library first."

We're headed to the Great Library two floors below Sage Karyu's room.
Three levels of this huge tower are filled with bookshelves, and one of those levels is an archive that's not open to public. It's not an archive of banned books, the archive is housing incomplete written memo and book collections of scholars that didn't have a successor. According to my Map, the forbidden library here is located deep underground.

"Lots."
"More than master's library even."
"I think there's about as many books as both the Royal Academy's and Forbidden Archive's libraries put together?"

The girls gave their impressions while looking around at the bookshelves.
The amount of books befit the name Great Library indeed.

It did feel a bit odd for a small City-state nation Kariswolk to have more books than a big kingdom such as Shiga Kingdom, but I got the reason why after checking the author's names of these books with my Map Search.
A great majority of them are books written by scholars belonging here and books written and donated by scholars who were staying here for a time.

"Arisa-chan, Space Lens Eye!"

Arisa survey the books' spines with her space magic reinforced eyesight while saying 'Bikaa' out loud.

"Mwu, unfair."
"Mia-sama, here's a telescope. I brought some along with me since I thought this would happen."
"Tina, nice."

Princess Sistina took a telescope from her magic bag and gave it to Mia.

"Found the first edition of Magic Complete Works!"
"They have the extra issue of Selmaraya Earth Magic Encyclopedia here!"
"Mwu, which."

The girls are getting excited to see rare books.

I stopped Arisa from charging in at the bookshelves to prevent her bothering other people here and went there with her.
I reached the book Arisa's hand couldn't reach.

"--You there!"

A stern sounding voice stopped me, so I turned at the source of that voice.
A beautiful woman wearing eyesight-correcting spectacles stood there with perked up shoulders.

"This is the Bookshelves of Scarlet Floor where only scholars and officiating monks with permission can enter! Take the primary grade kid and away with you now!"
"H-hold on! Excuse me--"

I blocked Arisa's mouth as she was about to object and showed the wrist of my other hand that wasn't reaching the bookshelves at the woman.

"Do you have a problem with--eh? 『Ring of Wisdom』? Why does an adolescent kid have that?"
"Sage Karyu-dono had given these to us."
"N-no way."
"Librarian Besse, he's telling the truth."
"M-Miko Maiya-sama!"

Miko Maiya who came with Princess Sistina after us talked to her.
Seems like they're acquaintances.

"His Excellency Earl Pendragon has taken on God Karion's trial."
"W-what--"

The librarian who became speechless seemed like she found Miko Maiya's explanation hard to believe, but she immediately straightened herself and apologized to us.
I'm glad Miko Maiya came with us.
It probably would have taken some time to convince her with just these bracelets.

"Please give your orders to me or the librarian at the desk if you need a book. As an apology for my impoliteness earlier, I shall make frantic efforts to provide assistants."

Well, thanks to this little incident, we managed to get acquainted with librarian-san amiably, all's well.

"Hey, how many books here can we borrow at once?"
"I'm very sorry, but the books here cannot be lent. Please read them at the reading room, or hire transcribers affiliated with Great Library if you wish to make a copy."
"Can the chained books over there be transcribed too?"

Princess Sistina points her fingers at bookshelves and books that have been chained down to prevent theft.
There's even an iron grill in front of the bookshelves.

"Those books are prohibited from getting transcribed. You can write the part you have memorized, however, transcribing straight from the bookshelves is prohibited."

According to the librarian, they're not of banned books kind, however the books contain dangerous knowledge that could prove bad were they taken out indiscreetly, thus the spread of information has been limited.

"I'll be heading to the entrance hall to check on the statues' pedestals there, Arisa and you girls, are you staying here?"
"Un, I'll do it later."
"Library won't run away."

After thinking a bit, Arisa said so and Mia nodded at her reply.

"...That's right. It's not going anywhere."

Princess Sistina, the former master of Forbidden Library, looked to be a bit regretful to part from here, but she forcefully convinced herself about it and went with us.


◇


"『What is miasma?』, 『What is mana?』, 『What is spirit?』, 『What is a soul?』--These are problems that have existed since the founding of 『Sage's Tower』 huh."
"They're intriguing and all, but there's no way we could solve one in a day."
"Nn, difficult."

Since these weren't recorded in the books the elves had, I should just leave these fundamental questions to the researchers.

"What do you think about this one?"
"Did you find something good?"
"Look."

Beckoned by Princess Sistina, Arisa and Mia came to her.

"『For what reason do Labyrinths exist?』 huh?"

As a dungeon master myself, the mystery hit a bit too close to home.
There were numerous theories about it contained in the books at Shiga Kingdom, but nothing was decisive.

Let's memo it down as a candidate.
Perhaps I could get an answer if I asked Dungeon Core about this.

"These ones here are similar, just replace labyrinths with monsters and demons."

It's easy to come up with these questions after all.
There was nothing about City Cores, since its existence is hidden to public.

And so, the girls and I continued to read unsolved problems carved on the pedestals.

Curiously enough, there was no stuff like [Who made labyrinths?], [Who made skills?], or [For what reason do levels exist?].
In a world where gods exist in reality, people probably think that gods created those.

Considering how God Karion was like during our conversation back then, doesn't seem like they'll answer a question after all.

"『What's the difference between demon lords that get revived and those that don't?』 eh... Master, do you know about this?"
"I wonder?"

As far as I know, only two demon lords have gotten revived, the [Golden Wild Boar King] and the [Dog-head Ancient King].
Their common feature is that both had [True Demon Lord] title, but if that were really the requirement for it, it'd have been made clear once I checked Saga Empire's documents, so it's probably not that.
The Boar King was revived with the help of demon lord adherents and greater demons, but the Dog-head seemed like he just revived on his own at Selbira Labyrinth, thus it's difficult to declare that these revivals need other people carrying out a revival ceremony.

"Master, this is..."

Arisa was at a loss for words while pointing at a pedestal next to her.
Written there is, "What is the condition for the demon lords to manifest in this world?"
I could give the answer to that right here and now, but this is one unsolved problem that absolutely has to remain unsolved.

A tragedy on the level of witch hunt would befall reincarnated people if the truth were to be known.
Yup, I never saw this problem, nuh uh.

"Satou."

I went to Mia as she called.

"Intriguing."

She's pointing at a pedestal written with "How does one achieve chantless magic?"
Princess Sistina who came after me was also piqued enough to say, "Let's get to the bottom of this!", however, just like how chant shortening could only be achieved through skills, I think chantless magic could only be done through Unique Skill like in my and Arisa's cases.

"That's not necessarily true, no? Like, you can use magic without skills if you work hard on it, right. If you can act as the proxy that does the magic calculation instead of skills, perhaps you could do the same with the chanting part?"

Arisa insisted so.

"You're right. It does sound intriguing, wanna give it a try?"
"Try."
"Mia-sama, would you allow me to accompany you in your research?"
"Nn, welcome."

Mia and Princess Sistina seemed eager when I tried rousing their interest.

"Tell me if you need materials, I'll transcribe it for you."
"Thanks."

Afterward, I checked the rest of the pedestals.

"My? Was that all? There were less than 20 here, weren't there?"
"The remaining nine are all located close to the walls."

Guided by Miko Maiya, we went to a hard to find location near the entrance hall's front door where the rest of the pedestals were.
The statue up there looks kinda ominous.

"The ones here are more like subject matters than problems."
"『The transition of primeval magic to modern magic and variations』, 『Did level and skill not exist during the creation of the world?』, 『About the relationship between modern magic and Demon God』, 『Denying the irreversibility of the transformation from living being into undead』... These are all interesting too."

I'm a bit piqued by this [The transition from primeval magic to modern magic and variations], feels like it can be solved relatively easily.

Some of the other keywords are curious too.

The second and the third ones are quite interesting, however, the fourth one, the possibility of turning undead back into living being is quite intriguing.
If it can be done, I could maybe turn the kids who had become vampires at Tokiswolk Kingdom back into humans.
There has been a case of a normal creature that had been transformed into a monster turning back into an ordinary creature, in the form of Princess Doris's pet bird, Hisui, so I don't think it's impossible.

For now, for the trial I'll check out these three, "The transition of primeval magic to modern magic and variations", "For what reason do labyrinths exist?", and "Denying the irreversibility of the transformation from living being into undead", and see if I could easily solve one.

"Master, look at this."

Arisa called me when she saw the last pedestal.
It's a labyrinth-related theme.

"『How does a Dungeon Master produce magical items and monsters?』 huh..."

True, it looks good to be a research theme.
Since there's no way to test and verify things without the help of a [Dungeon Master], it's understandable how this problem remained unsolved for more than 100 years.

This one looks to be quite easy to solve.
Though, if I did, people would then question the source of information and its authenticity, which is just troublesome.

<TLN: If you're reading this novel at any other site than Sousetsuka .com you might be reading an unedited, uncorrected version of the novel.>
◇


"Good work, Master."
"Welcom~"
"Welfomf bafh rarorefu."

We joined up with the rest of the girls who had gone around checking eateries.
After parting ways with Miko Maiya at Sage's Tower front entrance.

Pochi's mouth is stuffed with hodge-podge, she's frantically trying really hard to swallow it.

"Master, Sage Beans and Boiled Kariswolk Pork are tasty, so I report."
"The trout sherbet is pretty good too desuwa!"

Nana greeted me and immediately presented a bowl of hodge-podge.
Seemingly lured by Nana, Lady Karina also held out a plate with slices of frozen fish-like sashimi on top to me.

"Fish sherbet? --Ah, must be stuff that's like Rui-be huh."

Arisa sounded upset at first, but then she recalled some kind of cuisine from earth and nodded.
Apparently, you're supposed to eat this cuisine half-thawed and uncooked, but low temperature kills parasites anyway, it's a good source of vitamins in this winter season where it's difficult to obtain fresh vegetable.

"Welcome back, Satou-san."
"Please come over here. I will get you something warm to drink."

While greeting back Sera, I took the seat Zena-san offered.
As I warm myself with the ginger tea-like drink Zena-san gave me, I look around the eatery.

There's a big stove in the center of the eatery, a pot put on top of it is raising white smoke.

"Master, this salmon thingy is some good stuff."
"Pochi would like Master to eat hodge-podge too nodesu."

Arisa and Pochi offered me food.

I'll start with the lightly seasoned looking Rui-be.
Exactly like how it looks, it tastes like sherbet when you first put it in your mouth, but once inside, the heat thaws it out, spreading rich sashimi-like oily flavor in your mouth.
It tastes a bit like frozen salmon, really good. I could get addicted to this.

"This is good."
"Right~?"

Arisa looked a bit triumphant.
Losing to the gaze of Pochi who was standing next to her with an excited look on her face, I reached out to the hodge-podge.

"This one is pretty good too."
"Yes, nanodesu!"

The flavor is a bit too dense, but the spare-rib-like texture from the pressure cooking is delicious.
And the smallish soya bean-like beans mixed inside goes well with the meat flavor.

"Mia-chan, they have fried mushroom wrap here, would you like a taste?"
"Taste."

Zena-san offered Mia a dish.
Princess Sistina gracefully brought the plebeian cuisines recommended by Lulu and Sera into her mouth.

While we were having a pleasant meal in the corner of the eatery like this, I heard some clatter from the streets.

"Like I said! Demon God-sama is the forefather of modern magic, okay! He's called Demon God meaning he must be god of magic!" <TLN: 'demon' and 'magic' in this context share the same kanji '魔'.>
"This again, you demon lord devotee and your screws-missing head!"

A man and a woman who were arguing with each other entered this eatery.

The man is quite handsome himself, but the woman is one such beauty that was a bit wasted on her underling-like speech pattern.
Putting aside Lulu as a special case, the woman has this transient beauty that wouldn't look pale in comparison to the girls in my party.

"I've been saying, yer' wrong! Even if I'm a believer of Demon God-sama, I ain't no adherent of demons and demon lords! To begin with, there ain't no reliable literatures that say demons are Demon God's familiar!"
"Hmph, have you forgotten about Lalakie Monument left behind in the ruins of a civilization that existed after Lalakie civilization from the age of gods, and the epitaph found at Golden Tower of Toro Kuro!"

That's quite an interesting topic.

As the AR readings have guaranteed that the woman isn't a demon lord adherent, I stand up from my seat to get in touch with the two.

"Hello there, if it's fine with you two, could I join in your talk?"



※Next update is planned for 7/1




Previous Chapter

Chapter 194 Strongest Sage, Mixes Fakes

 

"All right, let's get right to it."

"Yes!"

"Hear hear!"

The three of us begin to work together to put ore into the tank.

『...Should we do this seriously?』

『I don't think we should. They'd get suspicious of us...』

Ruli replied to Alma while looking around.
The factory manager said that it was a heavy labor, but we're used to this kind of work compared to our usual training.

The ore isn't that heavy, and there's no time constraint imposed on us.
Even Ruli, who's got the lowest stamina amongst us, could fill the tank full in 30 seconds.

However, it takes a group of four adventurers a few minutes to do that at other tanks.
They'd begin suspecting us if we didn't take that long.
....What an extremely dull job.

I speak to the three after finishing the batch.

"Let me be in charge of pushing the button, you three stay back."

"Got it!"

After confirming the three had gotten out of the barrier, I pushed the button and got out myself.
Afterward, the machine began to start with a dull sound--and a mana overdrive occurred inside it.

The mana overdrive is being forcefully stopped by the safety device installed in the machine.
Normally, the machine should have stopped functioning the moment this situation happened, however, the machine's remodel must have been done to prevent that.
The mana overdrive ceased while we were looking.

...I see. Every once in 40 instances, the machine isn't able to stop the overdrive, causing an explosion huh.

『That was an amazing amount of mana...』

『Yeah. No wonder it explodes... Well, you can tell when it's gonna do so, as such there's no worry of getting caught in one so long we're careful.』

The machine stopped in about five minutes, then it cough up a very tiny crystal below it.
It weighs about one gram.

"One piece done."

I put the crystal into the casket.
But really, I can't believe they went around telling people this small crystal was used as a 『building material』.
At least try harder to make up something more believable.

We continued the routine while I was thinking that.
Put the ore, wait for the machine to do its magic for five minutes, and then put the crystal into the casket.
Such a routine.

By the way, even though our employers are demons, I still do the job properly... or pretending to as I secretly mix in some fakes.
I've changed the crystal structure of these Rankine Magic Crystals, adding a function to prevent mana bomb from getting ignited.

With this, even if the demons managed to get their hands on refined Rankine Magic Crystal, they won't be able to complete the mana bomb.
It's possible to see through it if they used an extremely advanced analysis equipment, but there's no way a technological level that let machines explode to do refining is capable of that.

And at the 29th time...

"Okay, on to the next one!"
<TLN: If you're reading this novel at any other site than Sousetsuka .com you might be reading an unedited, uncorrected version of the novel.>
"Yes!"

I had the girls get out of the barrier before starting the magic tool as usual.
However... the machine reacted strangely this time.

First of all, the power-on sound was slightly higher pitched than usual.
Next, the mana overdrive happening inside was more intense.
...I see. So this is the rumored explosion huh.

I got out of the barrier while thinking that, then 2 seconds later.
The machine exploded with a shrill sound from the mana overdrive.

Hearing that sound, the factory manager came in to check the situation.

"That sounded like an explosion! Is anyone injured?"

"Nope! We're all fine!"

I immediately replied to the manager.
...The manager looks to be seriously concerned about our well beings.

"Very well! Keep at it, but don't let your guard down!"

The factory manager went back to his post with a relieved look after confirming our safety.

Even though he's being mind controlled by demons, the base must be a kind person.
Since this type of mind control does not erase emotions.

Magic that's able to erase emotions will make the target's facial expressions look unnatural, thus the demons must have purposely left it.
Minimizing the unnaturalness while binding his actions.
Quite a calculated way of mind control.

However, this too will end in a few days.
I wouldn't mind letting demons be were they kept it to themselves... but they went and tried to create mana bomb by manipulating humans.
...I guess it's only perfectly natural since demons do not carry any other emotions besides malice.

As such, I'll keep going with the total annihilation plan.






Previous Chapter

Chapter 57 Entrapped Fox Girl

 

That day, we met up with an adventurer friend of us who came to Gramada. She was a general human adventurer called Kurei, she got along well with Nee-san they sometimes drunk together till morning. As she was older than us, she taught us many things when we just started working as adventurers.
She brought a job to transport a luggage to Pezun Mura to the south. Apparently the stuff was of value and pretty rare, she was looking for people she could trust. The amount of reward was quite extraordinary, and since it was a request from our friend, we took the job on.

We were to prepare the luggage and escort its delivery. There were 12 escorts including us three. Quite heavily guarded considering it would only take 2 days to Pezun Mura. I was a bit concerned just how valuable the thing we were carrying.

Kurei talked to a man who seemed to be the leader, and we were assigned to guard the flanks. Since Kurei was a vanguard, I was to be in the middle and Nee-san was the rear guard, the balance was just right. Some thing that bothered me a bit was the fact that other guards besides us were shady looking men. Sure enough, Nee-san looked slightly rattled. Usually, I would try to act cold on men to keep my distance from them as much as possible, but it didn't seem possible this time. I should keep my guard up at night too. Mainly on the chastity side.

Compared to this, the journey with Nobu was comfortable. There was the fact that he was our life saver, but even Nee-san was at ease around him right from the beginning. It might be partly because Nobu's groin was laid bare when we first met. It was my first seeing one besides dad's, but it was a bit cute? We then traveled together to Gramada as a matter of course, the cooking he made for us was really good. The stuff served in the feast back then was quite tasty too, wonder if we would get to eat that every day if we were in Nobu's party? He did send some slightly perverted glances at times, but it didn't feel uncomfortable, we should be fine being in a party with Nobu.

Oops, no no. Losing in thoughts would slacken my awareness. I'm in charge of looking out amongst us three, gotta keep it up.


Fortunately, we arrived at Pezun Mura without running into either monsters or bandits.

It seems like we're gonna stay here tonight and then transport the stuff to a villa slightly away from here. Our huge luggage is stored in an annex of the inn along with the wagon. The most important item in the luggage, a box of around 50cm wide is being strictly kept in our room for some reason. Apparently it's a direct order from Kurei's employer. I'm a bit discontent that we end up having to keep a night watch even though we're in an inn. But we got no choice since it was our job, so we did.

The next morning, Kurei woke me up, I got ready in a hurry. The box was still here too. Phew, I'm not used to these stuff, so I feel a bit nervous. But when I told Nee-san that, she laughed saying I was fast asleep like usual. I got red in the face.

When we got back to the wagon, the male leader confirmed that the seal on the box hadn't been broken.
Once it was clear that there was no problem, we advanced toward our destination, the villa.

The villa is on top of a small hill to the south of Pezun Village, it can be seen clearly. Wonder what kind of people live in such a huge mansion. Well, it's got nothing to do with me. More importantly, it'll be a job well done once we deliver the package. Apparently, us three would be dismissed right after. I want to get back home quick and eat tasty things. I'm done with dried meat and black bread for awhile. Oh right, I should ask Nobu to make me something. And now I'm already looking forward to pester him.


After climbing slowly, we arrived in front of the villa. The male leader confirmed with the gate's guard.
The guard who had gone into the villa came back, opened the gate and then the wagon advanced inside and stopped before the front door.
A hooded person who's probably the mansion's owner is waiting at the front door. A huge woman is standing next to him. She's got a big horn on her head, revealing intimidating airs. It's my first time seeing an Onifolk, it's a bit scary.

"Well done coming here. I'm pleased to see the luggage got here safely."

The hooded person sounded like a young man. But, I wonder why. I'm having a really bad feeling about this person. Have I met him somewhere?

Right when I thought that, a man who was working as an escort with us pushed and pinned down Nee-san behind me. Looks like he knocked her out in that instant. Right when I tried to turn around to help her, Kurei who was beside me held me down. But why!?
During this confusion, the hooded man approached us. And then he slowly took off his hood, I remembered that face. The reason that made us leave our village. The son of that noble stood there.

"I'm happy that my important luggage, you two, got delivered here nicely. Kukuku, we finally met. You're finally mine. Ha ha ha ha ha, haa ha, haa ha."

The man laughed with a distorted face. The female onifolk next to him followed after him with a lifeless expression.
But why would Kurei do something like this...

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Mitama...."

She shed tears while weakly muttering and pinning me down.

Looking again, I could see some kind of mark on her neck. That's... a slave crest!? It looks similar to the crests I saw at Kirishina-neesan's place. This man must have done something to her. What an awfully detestable man.

Then, something hit me and my view went dark.




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<TLN: If you're reading this novel at any other site than Sousetsuka .com you might be reading an unedited, uncorrected version of the novel.>



We were already locked in a room in the villa when I came to. A shackle is fastened around my legs, I cannae' move. It's an iron ball heavy enough to stop me from moving with my strength.
It's the same with Mitama. Oh no, just why is that idiot here. I gotta wake Mitama up and confirm our situation.
I lightly smack her cheeks and then she woke up with a pouty face.

"Mitama, do you feel anything odd? Do you remember what happened?"

She suddenly realized something and confirmed her body. Looks like she's still herself besides the shackle on her.

"...Kurei was made into a slave. There was a slave crest on the scruff of her neck."

"What!? It was all that idiot's doing huh. Which means, we're gonna end up becoming his slaves if we don't do something."

We cannae' escape even if we want to because of these shackles, what should we do?

Someone made a noise outside the room when I was thinking that. And then the door was violently opened, that idiot came in with the onifolk woman and Kurei. Ah crap, I really don't want to look at his mug.

"How are you feeling, my wives?"

The idiot is looking at us all smiles like he's making fun of us. He looks utterly disgusting.

"It's the worst. And who's your wives eh. Don't even joke 'bout that!"

He let my curses slide like it was nothing. Mugugu, yuck.

"Kukuku, those rebellious eyes are nice. But you won't be able to do that anymore in a few days. Once that gets here, you will be at my mercy. Wait here as you look forward to it. Ahahahaha."

The idiot smirked like he had won. Ooh, I've had enough.

"Right right, I'll leave you with your friend to take care of you. Fufufu, try to get along the best you can."

The idiot went out of the room after saying that. I totally cannae' stand his mug! I'll pray so he pops, baldens and gets torn off. Don't make light of fox curses 'k!?




The three of us are left in the room. First of all, gotta check on Kurei why.

"Kurei, how did it end up like this? How could you become a slave."

Kurei twitched when she heard that. Looks like she didn't think we would know about it.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to do this either. But this slave body of mine couldn't go against that person..."

Kurei began to slowly narrate her story afterward.







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