Chapter 65: [Mind Linkage] and Cecil’s Confession
(Elina POV)
The air swelled with heat and blew around me.
Shards of shattered stone scattered about. The burning shards broke the windows of the mansion, spreading a burning smell.
A mass of flames rained down on the island, igniting the garden plants and furniture.
Plus, shock.
It was only when I felt a sharp pain in her back that I realized I had been knocked against the wall. Smoke was rising from my robe. So, I took it off my robe and clung to the swaying castle walls.
The wall that blew up was on the south side of the city. It was on the opposite side of the city from where Neuel Hoffimier was.
The south side is a cliff.
There’s no place to put a ship and what the hell is with this power?
Fragments of shattered stone flew towards the Order of Divine. Those who were unlucky enough to be hit cowered, holding their limbs. Most of those who were knocked down by the first blast were already unconscious.
Still, we were lucky that the fireball didn’t hit us directly. If it had hit us, we would have all been turned into charcoal.
That [Fireball] was too huge. It was impossible to miss.
It was as if another sun had come down.
And yet, none of us died. My heart was about to break. Despite having this much power, the opponent had no intention to kill. The opponent’s goal was to take away the fighting power of Eme and the Order of Divine. That’s all he’s thinking about. He can easily kill me but won’t.
The mansion’s defenses are gone. The southern wall was blown out, and the western and eastern walls were beginning to crumble under the impact.
The ground on the south side was bright red. It was scorched – so much so that the surrounding rocks seemed to be melting.
That [Fireball] must have hit the base of the city wall.
The impact and heat gouged the ground and collapsed the walls, which had lost their support. The stones were burned and blown away by the mere aftermath of the attack. The seawater poured down from overhead and the water vapor blocked my vision.
“Oh, no. This is crazy.”
I groaned and looked out towards the ocean.
Beyond the steam, I could see the ship from earlier.
It’s just a small boat. A lightly dressed boy and a girl who seemed to be a dark elf were on board.
They don’t even look at me. They just walked away as if their work was done. What was that?
“We’re not there yet! Attack ────!”
The scream reached my ears and I turned around.
With a shout, the regular soldiers come ashore from the port. The Order of Divine is in no condition to fight. More than half of them have been killed and their footing is unstable. There was no way they could fight on the crumbling walls.
Neuel Hoffimier was being seized on the ship. The person holding him is the green-haired Iris Hoffimier – not! It’s a soldier with green seaweed tied to the horn of his helmet. I didn’t notice it because he was hiding behind the mast !? Did I get fooled? The Hero himself became the savage !? To a group wearing a playful thing like ‘Kerukatoru’s mask’!? To those who are screaming, “Don’t you wear a mask !? It’s time to awaken ──!” !? What is awakening !?”
My mind was completely blank. I couldn’t think of anything.
I didn’t even notice the blood flowing from my bare arm. I must have been cut by a piece of stone. I can feel the pain. I can feel the pain, but my brain won’t let me understand it.
Because it’s impossible for me, a Hero, to get hurt.
Strange. This is strange.
I thought I had done my job perfectly. I was supposed to have lived up to expectations.
I’m supposed to be the one who controls others, not the one being controlled.
“…What is this?”
I flopped and sat down.
It can’t be. This is not real.
“Huh? The same thing happened in the original world, right? That wasn’t real either, was it?”
My boss would never scold me, right? Someone who tries to go home on time when everyone else is working deserves to be punished, right? Why should I be punished? Too much? Too much of a parent? So what? My boss didn’t give me an order? I don’t know anything about that.
A letter of resignation? Yeah, that’s right. ‘Temporarily’, right? That’s what my boss was nodding at me for. It can’t be real, it can’t be this real, right? …Haha. Hahahahahahaha.
It was more than ten minutes later that the Marquis Eterina Hasburg, who was sitting motionlessly on the castle wall, was seized.
(Normal)
“Cecil, good night.”
“I don’t want to.”
I stroked Cecil’s limp hair.
Even though I was supplying her with my magic power, the ancient language [Fireball] was still too much for her.
I mean, gouging out the shore is completely overkill.
We are on a boat with a small sail.
We’ve long since left the island and are making our way toward land.
The strategy was simple.
Use Neuel Hoffimier to distract the Marquis and gather the enemy to the north. While the other side is thin, use the ancient language [Fireball] to blow up the castle walls. That’s all.
When there are three lights floating in the air, that’s the signal to start the mission. Until then, we, the mysterious wizards hired by Iris, are hiding behind a rocky outcrop away from the island. That’s it.
It’s simple, isn’t it?
If the Marquis was used to using people and running them down, I figured she would bite on either Neuel Hoffimier or the fake Iris. It was half a gamble, but it seemed to have worked.
The only thing I didn’t account for was the fact that [Ship Control LV7] was surprisingly expensive.
It’s a port town. It can’t be helped that it’s expensive because of the demand, right?
It’s a few dozen minutes by boat from land. Even if I have the skills to navigate a boat, it is still scary.
If we launch the lights, the ship that Iris has arranged will pick us up, but we don’t want to be seen, so we should get a little further away from the island.
I confirmed that Cecil’s [Fireball] had blown up the castle walls. The defensive power must have been drastically reduced, so I think we can capture the island by surrounding it and shooting arrows and magic at it. The captain of the regular soldiers is a good guy, and he seems to be awake, so I think we can leave the rest to him.
I’m not really interested in the Marquis Eterina Hasburg. In fact, I don’t want to get close to her, especially if she’s the boss of the Order of Divine. I don’t think I’d be able to talk to a person who created that kind of organization in the first place.
Honestly, all I need to do is neutralize her and get the information out of her about who she is and who is behind her. That’s the job of the regular soldiers. We’re just adventurers, and we can only help.
“Will I need to pay for the skills and rent the ship?”
As I said this, I maneuvered the sails and pointed the ship towards land.
“…Nagi.”
Cecil was at the bottom of the ship, trying to get up.
But she doesn’t seem to have any strength.
“Are you okay? Cecil. Do you want some water? It’s cold, but I have some tea that Aine made for me. If you’re cold, I can give you a blanket.”
“It’s ─── and ──────”
“I’m sorry. I can’t hear you very well. Can you speak a little louder?”
“…────Ma────?”
Cecil’s little lips were moving. But the wind was so strong that I couldn’t hear her voice.
Are you sick? I pushed you too hard, didn’t I? I am sorry.
Welfare benefits are very important. If Cecil has any requests, I have to make sure to ask her.
I’ve decided that I’m going to spoil Cecil to the limit today instead of forcing her.
“Cecil! Can you hear me? I’m here.”
“────Nagi.”
“I can’t hear you very well. Can I use my skills?”
“──── Skill────?”
“I explained it to you yesterday, [Mind Linkage LV1]!”
“────Which Skill ────?”
I don’t think she can hear me.
I thought I explained to her about the skill I got after yesterday’s [Soul Engagement].
“M-i-n-d-L-i-n-k-a-g-e! It’s the one that shares your consciousness! The one that shares consciousness!”
“It’s… It’s ────. What?”
Cecil’s face turned bright red.
She looked at me with red eyes, wiped her lips with the palm of her tiny hand, and then…
“…Here you go.”
Cecil closed her eyes as if she had made up her mind.
I let go of the mast for a moment and grabbed Cecil’s hand. I lifted her slender body up. Cecil, you’re really light. You’re so tiny. No one is watching, but I’m still worried about the report because the rules of the previous world are ingrained in my mind. But I can’t just ignore the voices of my slaves, can I?
I was trying not to worry Cecil.
“Activate [Mind Linkage LV1]”
Cecil’s lips were warm and soft. Her breath was very hot.
[Mind Linkage]
A skill to communicate with a slave for a certain amount of time.
Even at a distance, a slave can communicate his will to his master.
The master can do the same, but by focusing his attention, the master can also read the thoughts of his slave.
Mutual trust is required to activate it.
A kiss on the lips is the key to activating it…
“Cecil, Cecil. Can you hear me?”
After I put Cecil down, I asked her in my mind.
Cecil curled up on a blanket spread out on the bottom of the ship. Her silvery hair was spread out like a shiny carpet. Her skirt was flapping widely because of the wind coming in from the stern. If Cecil hadn’t turned her head toward me, I would have been in trouble.
“Hey. Cecil. Tell me if you’re sick. Do you want some water? According to [Ship Control LV 7], we’re riding the current, so we should be on land in about 15 minutes.”
“My body is fluffy and my heart is pounding. I’m dying of happiness…”
Cecil said, hiding her reddened face with the blanket.
To be precise, it was a message directly to my head. What I hear seems to be the same as Cecil’s actual voice.
“How many times do you have to make me a bad girl, Nagi?”
“Cecil, what were you trying to tell me earlier?”
“When I came here, I found a store that sold Iegafa’s famous fried sea dragon, so I said, ‘Why don’t I buy some as a souvenir for everyone?”
…It didn’t matter much, did it?
By the way, fried sea dragon is an otherworldly style of deep-fried fish fillets and vegetables. It tastes really good when eaten with freshly baked bread.
“It’s wrong of me to be alone with Nagi.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“No, I’m too happy to be the only one working with Nagi, and even to be able to use the [Mind Linkage]. I feel like I have strange expectations. I’m not as good as Rita or Rafilia.”
Cecil was holding her chest as she turned her head to the side.
I was getting all sorts of vague thoughts, but what is this?
“Oh, by the way, using the [Mind Linkage], you can read my thoughts, can’t you, Nagi?”
“If I concentrate enough. I’ll ask permission before I use it, so don’t worry…”
“What? What? So what I’m thinking right now is completely visible to you? ”
“That’s why I’m not going to peek into Cecil’s thoughts without permission…”
“A full view of my dream !? A dream of staying with Nagi for the rest of my life ── a dream of living quietly in a peaceful place surrounded by children of human and demon blood !? Do you see it completely !? ”
“Cecil, that’s a confession! I mean, it’s a self-destruct!”
“…Pushu….”
I’m not listening.
Cecil started rolling around on the bottom of the ship with a blanket over her head.
Maybe it’s because I’m panicking, but I’m mixing up my thoughts and the message I want to send. When I think about it, I’ve never used [Mind Linkage] before, and it’s hard to distinguish between what I want to say and what I’m thinking… Especially when you’re excited.
That’s why Cecil’s thoughts were leaking out to me…
“Don’t even think about it. Nagi will know. So, don’t think about having Nagi’s children or living among the children of half-demons.
Of course, I can’t be the only one to be happy, so Rita’s beast-blooded children will also live with us! Don’t think about that!
I’m so happy that I’m holding a half-demon child next to Nagi. Just thinking about it makes me heartburn. But I’m too embarrassed for Nagi to know about it, so I won’t think about it now. I can’t do that!
If I thought about a paradise surrounded by half-demon, half-beast children, or Aine and Rafilia all getting along?
If Nagi finds out about this, I’ll die of embarrassment. So don’t even think about the half-demon, half-beast paradise! I can’t do this now. I can’t think about having a child with Nagi right now. ────!”
Bang
At the bottom of the ship, Cecil raised herself up.
With a blanket over her head, she looked up at me with tears in her eyes.
“Nagi! Did you hear what I just said? Did you hear me? You heard me!”
“What’s wrong with you?”
I tried to play it off.
Because Cecil was so red that steam was almost coming out of her head.
If I provoke her any further, she’ll collapse for reasons other than the loss of magic power.
“I don’t know. ”
” Why are you holding your mouth and laughing? Well, you heard me, didn’t you? If you look at me with such warm eyes, I’m going to melt. Please say something, Nagi!”
“Cecil’s cute.”
“Oh, don’t fake it by popping me on the head! You are not allowed to stroke me! But it’s even worse if you stop! Nagi!”
Cecil puffed her cheeks, but she was smiling with a melting smile on his face.
“It’s like the deepest part of my soul is resonating. It makes me want to squeal. Nagi, if you’re going to keep quiet like that, I’m prepared to do the same. I’ll pretend that you heard what I just said, okay? Is that okay? What? I’m not sure what to do.
…Awwww…, Nagi, you’re so ────!”
So, Cecil was busy laughing, getting angry, and getting embarrassed.
If I didn’t calm her down, she was going to roll over and fall into the ocean…
I kept stroking Cecil’s head until we reached land.
[Mind Linkage LV1]
A skill that allows both parties to use telepathy by kissing.
The effective range is currently unknown, but it is very useful in this world, as it allows communication even in the middle of a storm or when separated by a soundproof wall. Since it doesn’t matter how many people you have, you can use a tactic that would be a nightmare for the enemy: surround the enemy in pieces and work together with no time lag.
Basically, only the messages that both parties thought to convey are transmitted to the other, but if you are not used to it, you may get confused and the slave’s thoughts may leak out to master. It’s like trying to save an email and accidentally hitting the send button.
Not many people have had the experience of sending telepathy, so you have to be careful.
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