Chapter 72: After All The Fighting, All I Got Was A Place To Settle Down And Sleep
A large amount of water had accumulated in the Golem’s joints.
The water ran down its arms and mercilessly chilled the body of the captive Lord. The black clothes he was so proud of were too wet and heavy. The jewels adorning his chest had also come off and been lost.
Outside the forest, soldiers and adventurers were firing arrows and magic. They were only threats, because those attacks were falling in front of the forest. Perhaps because of the threat, the Golem didn’t leave the forest.
The Lord of Ilgafa sighed for the umpteenth time.
I wonder how this happened.
…Of course, I know. Because I activated this Golem myself.
When Iris told me about this, my first thought was to destroy it.
But then I got scared.
The thought that I would be the one to preside over the festival in the future, instead of the Shrine Maiden, frightened me to the point of shaking.
This is not the first time that a Shrine Maiden has had her life threatened.
That’s why we have been keeping the Shrine Maidens locked up to prevent them from dying before leaving children. Iris’ future husband had also already been decided.
Anyone would do the same in my position? What’s wrong with wanting power to protect oneself?
“… shall not die. If I die, what will happen to Ilgafa …?”
“There are plenty of people who can replace you.”
A growl came from the Golem’s mouth.
The head of this Golem resembles a squashed frog. It looks like something between a human and an aquatic creature. I was horrified to see the tentacles on its waist moving rapidly as it walked.
“I am a soldier made to defeat the Demon Lord. Return my Master.”
“Master…”
Is it that Marquis’ daughter?
“You are not my Master. Tell me where my Master is.”
“… that woman … is”
What would happen if I tell this Golem that she is in the prison in my house?
Won’t it head straight for Ilgafa? This is no joke. How can a Lord enter a town in the hands of a Golem, such disgrace!
“Somebody please save… I’ll pay you! Give me your blessing! Kerukatoru!”
“You are already selfish enough by causing a scene on our day off.”
Swoosh
Suddenly, a figure landed on the head of the Golem.
It looked like a golden beast. No, no. It’s a beast girl with golden hair, beast ears, and a tail.
Her arms were crossed, her golden hair fluttering in the wind, she looked down at the Lord of Ilgafa with cold eyes.
“Just to be clear, you’ve already formed a ‘Contract’ with Iris about keeping our information confidential. I’ll help you because… Master wants to.”
“What…? You…”
“A companion of the Sea Dragon Hero. So you can’t tell anyone about this.”
GISYAAAAAAAAA─!
Before the Lord could answer, the Golem reacted.
In anger at being something on its head, it moved all its tentacles at once. It thrusted the tentacles’ pointed tip at the girl above its head. The girl kicked the Golem’s head just in time to escape the tentacle.
The girl used her slender arms to fight off the tentacles that were attacking her in mid-air. She punched, kicked, and passed them off. It’s as if she was dancing in the air. The Lord could hear her singing. As she sang, her movements accelerated. The Lord couldn’t even follow her with his eyes. She was too fast. He didn’t even know what kind of skill she used.
“GUGAAAAAAAAAAA!”
The Golem let out an angry yell. Its crushed, frog-like head were glaring at the girl as she flew through the trees. Even with all of its tentacles, the Golem was unable to catch the girl. It was as if it was trying to pierce the petals floating in the air with a spear. The Lord couldn’t take his eyes off her. The Golem’s gaze, the tentacles, and the Lord’s gaze were all focused on the girl…
“You are attacking attack me!? A soldier made to defeat the Demon Lord!”
“I heard that line a lot in the Dungeon. Master knows exactly what he’s doing.”
In the air, the girl smiled.
“So, I am just distracting you for a moment. Master, now!”
The girl’s gaze was looking far into the ground.
The Lord followed suit and looked down, but the Golem’s fingers were in the way and it couldn’t see. It just heard a voice.
“Activate! [Delayed Arts LV 1]!”
A huge sword wind passed in front of the Lord’s eyes.
A black blade emerged from beneath him and effortlessly sliced through the Golem’s arm, tearing the joint apart… and then
The attack even blew away the consciousness of the Lord who could no longer process the unexpected situation.
“Ha!”
I managed to catch the falling Lord────.
Yuck
Yeah. I couldn’t catch him completely.
I managed to catch him at one point, but he slipped and fell straight to the muddy ground.
Well, I killed the momentum of his fall, so I’m pretty sure I saved him.
“GYAGULAAAAAAAA!!!”
The Golem roared.
Our strategy was simple.
I had the regular soldiers and adventurers fire warning shots to contain the Golem in the forest. Rita flew around using the trees as a foothold and drew the Golem’s attention while I used my skill to blow the Golem’s arms off from below. And then I rescued the Lord. That’s all.
Rescuing hostages is such a hassle.
It would only take one shot of Cecile’s magic to defeat the Golem.
“…Do you want to interfere with the extermination of the Demon King?”
“That’s enough.”
I have no use for a puppet that can only speak the words it is installed with.
I carried the unconscious Lord on my back and ran, deep into the forest.
A girl with beautiful brown skin was standing at there.
Her little lips were moving. She was chanting a spell. Ever since a while ago.
“Return to your primordial form, leak, go back. Return to the surrounding that you naturally dwell in, mana. The mana residing in that thing, the mana residing in that being, return.”
It was Cecile’s magic, finally perfected.
It took her a long time to translate her special magic’s chant into Ancient language.
Next to Cecile, Aine was holding her weapon “Mop of Steel”. She was Cecile’s bodyguard she completes the chant.
Monster corpses were surrounding the two of them.
Monsters in this forest were no match for Aine’s [Monster Cleanup LV 1] and [Sister Soul].
“…leak…mana”
Cecile continued her chanting.
“GIGAAAAAAGAASYAAAAA!”
The Golem was chasing me. It’s arm had also started to regenerate. Probably because of the Mana Crystal that the Lord implanted. And it was being noisy. I couldn’t even hear Cecile chanting in her sweet voice.
“Sorry, Reggie. One more time!”
“I don’t care! Let’s destroy this big pile of junk!”
The cursed sword Reggie answered from my back.
Cecile’s chanting was almost over. There’s no need to run anymore. I shook off the Lord.
I clutch Reggie with both hands and started swinging her.
Swish, Swish, Swish,────, Swish
“Activate! [Delayed Arts LV1]!”
Reggie’s blade, which become huge once again, blew away the tentacles of the Golem and that penetrated into its body. But it still didn’t reach the Mana Crystals inside the Golem’s body. On the contrary, its arms and tentacles began to regenerate. As expected of a cheat Golem made by a Visitor.
But it’s over.
Cecile has finished her chant.
“Finish it, Cecile!”
“Therefore, I hereby return you to your source! ──── [Drain Arrow]!”
Then, Cecile’s Ancient language version of the [Drain Arrow] activated.
The [Drain Arrow] is a special magic or skill created by me, Cecile, Rita, and [Skill Restructure]. It has the power to take away the mana of the enemy, but because it is a special type of magic, it took Cecile a long time to translate it with [Ancient Language Interpretation LV 3].
The chanting is terribly long and since it is an Ancient Magic, and the mana consumption is about the same as that of the [Ancient Language: Fireball].
But against Gargoyles and Golems, it’s invincible!
“Gah? Huh? Strange. Is this Demon Lord’s power?”
“No. It’s the power of love.”
Cecile replied flatly to the frightened Golem’s voice.
A jet-black arrow flew out from Cecile’s arm.
It was several meters in long, several times taller than Cecile.
It was more like a spear than an arrow.
As soon as it flew out - it flew several dozen meters and pierced the Golem’s torso.
At the same time, Cecile’s body lurched and shook.
I hurriedly ran over to her and hugged her little body. I put my hand on Cecile’s tiny chest.
I activated [Skill Restructure LV4] and sent some mana to Cecile.
“… Nagi …”
“Are you okay? Did I make it in time?”
“Um. My body is much more comfortable than usual. …Thank you …”
I’m the one who should be thanking you. I’ve made you work on your day off.
I kept Cecile in my arms and watched the Golen.
The Golem was twitching but remained motionless.
The ancient version of the [Drain Arrow], which was embedded in its torso, had somehow become like a large branch and was beginning to grow roots around it.
Those “roots” crawled through the Golem’s body as if searching for something - and it reached the Mana Crystal in the center of it’s body.
The black root entangled the Mana Crystal, stole the mana within it and disappeared.
The mana that had filled the Golem’s body also disappeared.
A Golem that has lost its mana is just a puppet.
Its right arm, tentacles, and torso that I cut down were all crumbling to pieces.
It’s remaining arm fell off its shoulder and shattered on the ground.
When the [Drain Arrow] disappeared, all that remained was the wreckage of the Golem that had stopped moving.
Just to be safe, I’ll shatter it later.
I also have a grudge against working on holidays.
“Hi, I’m the ‘Sea Dragon Hero’.”
I introduced myself to the Lord who woke up.
The Lord, who was sitting leaning against a tree in the forest, opened his eyes and screamed, “Heeeee!”.
“I’m not going to do anything to you. I mean, if you don’t want my help, that’s also okay.”
I raised my hands in the air.
I’ve asked Cecile, Rita and Aine to sit out, so all three of them hiding behind trees.
I like to always keep some of my cards as hidden as possible.
“You’re … no, you’re my daughter’s beloved …?”
That’s all the Lord said. He seemed to have calmed down.
“You are Souma Nagi, right? Are you the one that the Sea Dragon Kerkatoru recognized?”
“Yeah. And I have an advice for you.”
“Advice?”
“…Don’t get involved with the ‘Otherworld’.”
I tried to keep my voice as cool as possible.
“The Golem that almost killed you this time, the masks that the Order of Divine members wore, they were all powers of the ‘Otherworld’. You can’t control them.”
“The power of the Otherworld?”
The Lord looked at me dumbfounded. Waiting for the words to sink in, I continued.
I’m not good at coming up with these kinds of settings. I was going to ask Rafilia to come up with one, but she would have come up with too cool of a name. I tried to keep it down for the sake of realism.
“Neuel Hoffimier was also fascinated by this power. The Sea Dragon Kerukatoru does not want even the Lord of Ilgafa to commit the same folly. In order to avoid such confusion, the Sea Dragon changed the form of the festival. How can you not understand that?”
“…”
“This time, I was asked by Iris Hoffimier to save you. If you are unable to give us the already decided reward, she will take it upon herself to pay me. How much more does the Lord want to burden the Shrine Maiden with their duties?”
“… Heee!”
The Lord’s face turned pale and he began to grind his teeth.
“Make a ‘Contract’. Lord of Ilgafa.”
I said.
“From now on, the Ilgafa Lord will have nothing to do with the power of the Otherworld. That will be one of the rewards for me helping you this time.”
“What’s wrong with wanting … the power to protect yourself? I am terrified … of taking the place of a Shrine Maiden.”
“The Shrine Maidens until now have been able to do it, haven’t they? If you really don’t want to, you can negotiate with the Sea Dragon. Just like Iris did. Or you could legally give up your position as Lord to someone else. I don’t want it, though.”
“… Oh.”
The Lord nodded his head disappointedly.
I sympathize with you, but you’ve been locking up the Shrine Maidens and treating them like a tool. I think it’s too easy to be afraid of being in the same position. I mean, the blessing of the Sea Dragon will last for a hundred years, so it’s fine. Even if you are late in finding the substitute, there’s no need start panicking.
“All right, …, I’ll never get involved with the Otherworldly Powers again. I will form the ‘Contract’.”
“That’s what you should do. And don’t tell anyone that we saved you. Come with me, my Lord.”
The Lord can’t tell our secrets to others.
“Live with the secret you can’t tell anyone. That’s your responsibility for the folly you’ve done this time.”
“… I understand.”
The Lord of Ilgafa looked at me with a frightened face.
“What reward has Iris promised you?”
“Iris’s reward?”
“You said so, didn’t you? Don’t tell me you want the Lord’s house? Or a percentage of the annual revenue?”
The Lord looked at me with a grudge, grinding his teeth.
What does he think people are like?
“Our reward is to be paid a fair amount of money and rent a villa along with …”
“What …?”
The Lord’s eyes darted.
I continued as if I didn’t hearing anything.
“This time, my party members lost their ‘paid leave’ because of this incident. I couldn’t keep my promise with them since oor holiday was disturbed.”
In order to erase this regret, the girls must be given a fulfilling vacation. Those who perform great work need to rest in order to use them. They have done a lot of work in the series of events related to the festival. It would have been nice to give them a month off, but unfortunately I can’t do that.
“However, we need to replenish the power we lost in this battle. Those who have worked must be given the time off and rewards they deserve. We need a restful environment and time. The wise Lord of Ilgafa will understand this, right?”
“I don’t know what’s going on… no, I get it!”
The Lord nodded, looking frightened for some reason.
No, no, I’m getting angry again.
I really can’t control myself when it comes to working on holidays.
“I hereby ‘Contract’ that you will never again be involved with the Otherworldly Powers, that you will not divulge any information about us, that you will rent the villa owned by my Ilgafa family to us, and that we will receive a monetary reward.”
The Lord then took out a “medallion” from his chest.
“Yes. That shall be your reward for rescuing me from the Golem this time.”
““Contract.””
Clack
We formed a contract.
Thus, finally, all the incidents related to the Festival of the Sea Dragon had come to an end.
That night.
After throwing a “Thanks for solving the case” party instead of a picnic, we returned to our house.
Cecile was fast asleep from daytime fatigue. Rita and Aine cleaned up, while Iris and Rafilia went back to the Lord’s mansion. … I was in my room watching Cecile and checking the documents. It was a map to the villa borrowed from the Lord, and a book about the Magic Research City” near the villa.
The “Magic Research City” was originally a research city created by humans who were weaker in magic than the demons and elves, in order to compete with them. If we go there, we might at least hear rumors about the Guild Master.
If I can make contact with a magic researcher, I may even be able to gain some information about the magic that summoned me.
If all goes well, I might even be able to find a way to return to my world…
“… No, I don’t want that one.”
Now that I’ve established a base of life in this world, I don’t want to go back to the original world.
I can’t just leave everyone I signed up to be slaves.
Besides, I’ve already been paid by the Lord for killing the Golem. It would be too much of a waste to leave this behind and go back to the original world.
I was given a monetary reward and an indefinite (…) loan of a vacation villa.
I’m a little concerned about the “indefinite” part, but I have a ‘Contract’ with the Lord, and he can’t divulge any information about us, and he can’t harm me. So we can probably keep it indefinitely. But I’ll keep my guard up in any case.
Anyway, now that we have enough money, we can all buy swimsuits and relax at the villa for a while. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone in their swimsuits.
Besides, we’ve made a lot of splashy moves this time, so it’s better to get out of town until things cool down.
Tomorrow is the start of our paid vacation as compensation for today’s paid vacation, and we’re all going to go but some swimsuits. We’ll prepare for the trip for a while, do some quests if we have time, and then take a leisurely trip to the villa.
I looked at the bed.
Cecile was sleeping quietly. Her long silver hair was spread out on the bed sheet. Her thin arms and legs were stretched out from her thin nightgown, and she was sleeping facing me. She seemed to be in good health. Until a while, she had resisted, saying, “I’m afraid to sleep in Nagi’s bed.” But she was really tired and fell asleep on it.
“… Na-kun, can I come in?”
Suddenly there was a knock at the door with Aine’s voice.
“It’s open. I’m just about ready.”
I put the paper and pen on the desk.
I was going to write a letter to Leticia before our trip.
She said she would come over here when we got settled, and I didn’t want her to visit during this time. I thought I’d let her know where we were going for our trip. In this world, we don’t have a communication network or home appliances.
So I asked Aine for hrlp in writing a letter.
I can manage to read the letters in this world, but I’m still not very good at writing them. In addition, Aine is the only one who knows Leticia’s address, and Letica can easily recognize Aine’s handwriting.
“I’m sorry to bother you at …”
Aine looked at Cecile and nodded reassuringly.
Then, quietly, she walked into the room.
“A letter to Letitia, right? What should I write?”
“For the time being we’ll be moving to the villa in a week. Also, … ‘GuildMaster’ and the Visitors. This should be a little blurry.”
“All right. Anything else?”
“You can write about our current situation. I’ll leave it to you, Aine.”
“Can I write about my personal life, too?”
“Yes. I’ll try not to read that one.”
“Okay… well, “Na-kun has become the Sea Dragon Hero. He has more slaves now. Na-kun is …”
“No, you don’t have to write it here and now. Also, stop putting in sentences that Leticia can’t respond to.”
Leticia would probably read it with a smirk on her face. …That’s not what I want.
“But since I’m going to write about what’s been going on, you will inevitably be involved. That’s why I think I can write better if you’re around me.”
Aine sat down in a chair and started to write out a sentence, but then she turned her head and looked at me.
“I see.”
I can’t help it if that’s the case.
“All right. Then you can go ahead with this. But you don’t have to say it out loud.”
“Why?”
“It’s kind of embarrassing.”
“…I understand.”
“I’m glad you understand.”
“I’m going to whisper so you don’t get embarrassed.”
“You don’t understand at all.”
“I have a habit of saying things out loud when I write with emotion.”
Aine mumbled, poking her ear with the butt of her pen.
Does such a habit exist? …But if Aine says so, so I guess there is.
“Well, that’s okay. I’m the one who asked for your help, so you are free to talk.”
For Leticia, it’s a letter from her best friend.
It’s better if I don’t tell her what to do.
Aine went to her desk again and started to write.
“I enjoy writing letters, so Na-kun should sleep.”
“You don’t have to put that in a letter, you can just say it in person.”
But, well, I’ll take your word for it.
“… fluff.”
I sat down on my bed.
I’m starting to feel sleepy.
“…In the end, it was Na-kun who solved the incident in this port town. But … says that Na-kun only wanted to help Iris. …”
I could hear Aine’s voice and Cecile’s sleeping breath and that made me somewhat relieved.
‘…, so don’t worry about anything Leticia. But you know, … Aine is … hey, Leticia.”
I remember that incidents after incidents have been occurring sinc I have come to this world. This is the first time I’ve been able to relax like this.
It feels good to sleep while listening to the voices of my friends, doesn’t it?
… I didn’t know … until I came into this world. …
“The fact that … Aine wants to be the same as Cecile and Rita …that’s…”
“… Good evening. You’re writing to Leticia, right? I want to write something to her too…”
A light knock on the door followed by Rita’s voice entered my ear. I said, “You can come in.” I felt like I was …
Rita and Aine were at their desks writing letters, while Cecile was asleep beside me.
Aine’s pen began to move at a rapid pace, as if she was getting into the swing of things…
Rita had a lot of opinions, and Aine responded to them…
As I listened to their voices, before I knew it, I was asleep next to Cecile, so…
It would be a long time before I knew what had become of the letter I wanted sent to Leticia.
Thus ends the incident in the port town of Ilgafa involving the Sea Dragon and the Visitors.
We managed to find a place where we could relax at the end of the incident.
End of Volume 4
Skills Used
Ancient Version of the [Drain Arrow]
Special magic [Drain Arrow] translated to [Ancient Language Interpretation]
Because it is a magic with a very specific grammar and magic operation, it took a long time to translate.
The original [Drain Arrow] deprived the opponent of magna, but the Ancient version is a maximum enhancement of it.
When activated, it creates a black arrow several meters long and throws it at high speed.
After piercing the target, the [Drain Arrow] takes root in the flow of mana in the opponent’s body and devours the mana itself. It is the most powerful magic against Golems and magical creatures. It is currently unknown what will happen if it is used against a person, but there is no doubt that it will cause the worst “loss of mana” in an instant, so it is very dangerous.
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