summerpeanut

Chapter 52 : New Power

TL:SummerPeanut

Thanks for the peanuts Emblyon

====================================

“Still wanna have a go?"

The golden lion man said.

These words startled the other slave beastmen.

“I have no intention of fighting in the first place, so may I speak with you?”

"Do as you please.”

"Why did you attack me so suddenly?”

"Because you were trying to assess me. So I thought of scaring you a little.”

He sensed that I was trying to appraise him...

I really want to see how amazing this guy is.

"I'm Mars Bryant. May I have your name if you don't mind?"

"I'm Barnes. I'm Barnes Leo.”

"I am sorry for trying to evaluate you earlier, Lord Barnes. May I have your permission to evaluate you now?”

"...Fine.”

I appraised Barnes.

Name: Barnes Leo

Title: Beast King

Status: Beastkin (lion), slave

Condition: Electrocution (Weak)

Age: 29

Level: 62

HP: 310/322

MP: 20/20

Strength: 145

Agility: 128

Magic: 20

Dexterity 5

Endurance: 135

Luck: 1

Special Ability: Beast King Transformation(LvMax)

Special Ability: Martial Art (Lv10/A)*1

He’s way out of the standard...

With that kind of status, he must have gone extremely easy on me…

The fact that his Martial Art skill is level 10 means that the max level of skill is higher than 10.

The title ‘Beast King’ and the special ability is ‘Beast King Transformation’... This is also a point of concern but the most important thing is the state of electrocution (weak). Since that status is there, perhaps…

"Thank you very much. And thank you again for going easy on me.”

For some reason, I was thanking him for going easy on me. Normally, I would have told him not to attack me so suddenly, but after all that happened, I was scared by the overwhelming difference in power.

"Hmmm. No problem.”

Hey. He actually affirmed my apologies.

"I also have a question for you. Who are you? What was that thing you played on my right hand just now? And what happened to my left hand? I can't feel anything right now, you know?"

I looked at Zeke, who was still frozen, not knowing where to go with this question.

Then Zeke nodded as he came back to himself. So he allowed me to talk to some extent.

"I am an E-class adventurer. It was the girl over there who did something to Lord Barnes’s right hand. I think it was me who caused Lord Barnes’s left hand situation but I don't know for sure because I was just that desperate previously.

May I take a look at your hand?"

As I said this, Barnes held out his left hand to me while looking at Clarice.

His left hand was burnt, and when I touched it, golden electricity charged inside the hand entered me.

We were both surprised.

"Are you able to feel your left hand now?"

“Yeah, but what the hell is this? I've never seen this before."

Barnes muttered to himself.

I appraised myself to confirm my prediction.

Name: Mars Bryant

Title: Thunder God / Wind King / Goblin Butcher

Identity: Second son of Viscount Bryant

Condition: Good

Age: 6 years old

Level: 14

HP: 43/43

MP: 5024/6161

Strength: 36

Agility: 40

Magic: 51

Dexterity: 39

Endurance: 37

Luck: 30

Unique ability: Innate Talent (LvMax)

Unique ability: Clairvoyance (Lv8)

Unique ability: Lightning Magic (Lv1/S)

Special Ability: Swordsmanship (Lv7/B)

Special Ability: Fire Magic (Lv2/F)

Special Ability: Water Magic(Lv1/G)

Special Ability: Earth Magic(Lv2/F)

Special Ability: Wind Magic(Lv8/A)

Special Ability: Holy Magic(Lv4/B)

As expected! I had finally learned Lightning magic!

I was able to inflict wounds and electrocution on an opponent who was affected at all by Wind Impulse.

And the title ‘Thunder God’...despite I'm only at level 1 in Lightning magic…..

Oh right, I'm the only one in the world who can use Lightning magic so I'm the Thunder God.

When I appraised ‘Thunder God’

‘Thunder God’. This title is given to the one who stands at the top of Lightning magic in this world. The power of Lightning magic is greatly increased and the activation time is shortened.

Amazing. It's a bit geeky but Thunder God is really cool.

“Are there any more questions?"

Barnes said so.

"We're looking for slaves..."

When I got that far, Barnes said.

"I don't work for anyone weaker than I am. That's why I'm not going under the current you."

"Is…… that so……”

"But if you're good enough, maybe the rest of them wouldn’t mind working with you. In the end, it’s not like we are being too needlessly proud to serve anyone.”

Barnes then looks at the other beastmen.

The beastmen are talking among themselves with a different excitement than before.

What they are talking about is mainly that Barnes talked to a human. I don't know why they are so excited about that. Then Herik, the owner of the store, opened his mouth.

"The only person Sir Syrian has talked to from the human race since he came to this Almeria, apart from me, is Sir Mars. He only speaks with those who he had given some recognition.”

So that means I have been recognized a little.

"May I then assess you all?"

I said to the beastmen slaves, and they nodded. But then Barnes said..

"The woman at the far end is forbidden. As for the rest, ask them yourself.”

It seems that I am not allowed to appraise only the girl who was with Barnes.

I think she's more of a lion than a girl though...

"I understand. Then I will take a look at everyone except the girl in the back."

I appraised the beastmen.

Their stats were a little higher than Clarice's in strength and agility, while their magic, dexterity, and luck were at the lowest level.

When I finally broke the spell of the killing intent and told Zeke about the beastmen's stats, Zeke asked the shopkeeper.

“I'd like to hear how much these people cost. Except for Lord Barnes and the girl in the back, of course."

"The price of the beastmen here is almost the same as that of the humans. Each one costs about 10 gold coins.”

I thought it was unexpectedly cheap, but the owner continued.

"However, you will have to negotiate with each slave for his or her treatment after the purchase.”

Hmmm. So he meant that we have to give the slaves a salary, or something equivalent?

"Also, as you are probably aware, sexual intercourse with slaves is prohibited unless consensual. Few may keep their word but we will always confirm this when we buy or sell them."

Yup! This is nice!

I couldn't help but feel resistance to the word ‘slave’ because of this point.

"Father, how many do you intend to purchase?”

Ike, freed from the killing intent, also came next to Zeke asked.

"Hmmm. If ten gold coins are all that's needed…… I'm thinking about three for Mars and the others, what do you think?"

"Well, it might just be bringing back the magic stones from the Almeria labyrinth but we may encounter magic beasts on the way back. Our plan is to initially destroy some of the enemies on the first floor before diving into the second floor so three people might be better for a safer round trip.”

When Zeke said he wanted to buy three, the owner said.

“How about these three brothers? They are of wolf tribe and I would feel more relieved if they are bought by the same person…”

The three were sixteen years old. A triplet? In terms of ability, they were not that much different from the other beastmen.

And the status of the three was slightly different.

Name: Owl Jet

Title: -

Status: Wolf Tribe, Slave

Condition: Good

Age: 16 years old

Level: 16

HP: 58/58

MP: 5/5

Strength: 26

Agility: 30

Magic: 2

Dexterity: 2

Endurance: 20

Luck: 1

Special Ability: Swordsmanship(Lv4/D)

Special Ability: Martial Art(Lv3/E)

Name: Mack Jet

Title: -

Status: Wolf Tribe, Slave

Condition: Good

Age: 16 years old

Level: 16

HP: 54/54

MP: 5/5

Strength: 24

Agility: 30

Magic: 2

Dexterity: 10

Endurance: 18

Luck: 1

Special Ability: Spearmanship (Lv5/D)

Name: Guy Jet

Title: -

Status: Wolf Tribe, Slave

Condition: Good

Age: 16 years old

Level: 16

HP: 62/62

MP: 5/5

Strength: 29

Agility: 22

Magic: 2

Dexterity: 1

Endurance: 25

Luck: 1

Special Ability: Axemanship (Lv3/E)

Special Ability: Shieldmanship (Lv4/D)

The eldest son, Guy, is more of an all-rounder, the second son, Mac, is the one in charge of brains I think? The third son, Owl, is more of a power type.*2

The owner, Herik, brought the three out of the room and had them greet us.

"Guy is the eldest son of the Black Wolf tribe. Mack, the second son. And Owl, the third son.”

Guy, the eldest, has a good beard. Mac, the second son, has a single right eye. The third son, Owl, is a giant.

And the Black Wolf Tribe? The appraisal result is that he's of Wolf Tribe. ...Well, wolves are supposed to be black, right?

Yeah! From today on they are the Black Tri-Stars*3. I'll teach them Jet Stream Attack*3.

When Zeke asked the Black Tri-Stars about the terms for their servitude…

“Give us food, clothing, and shelter. Give us a place where the three of us can live together. Also, feed us with food every you have a meal. Expensive food not necessary but meat is a must. As long as you promise this, salary is not really needed.”

Is this... perhaps quite expensive? I think the place to live is the biggest problem...

"Hmmm... I'll give you some conditions too.

I will accept all of your conditions. We will prepare a house for you and Ike’s group to live in from now onwards. However, it is I, the head of the Bryant family, who will be your master.

Therefore, you will obey my orders. Is that clear?"

I see, the beastmen recognized me but they didn't recognize Zeke.

"Fine. But you don't dive into the labyrinth anyway, do you?"

“Indeed. Even like this, I am still a nobleman in charge of Irgusia. I cannot stay here for long.”

The owner of the store, Herik, was surprised at these words.

"I was wondering a little earlier, are you Sir Zeke of the Brown Shield? Our Lady Maria's husband's..."

"What do you mean ‘our Lady Maria’...oi… Sigh…well, I am.”

"Oh, yes! Suppose the next time you come with Lady Maria, we will give you a great service! I'm sure she's still very beautiful now!”

I guess it's a good thing to be beautiful, isn't it?

But it tickles me to have my own mom complimented by her looks. It makes me happy though.

"I understand. I'll come with Maria tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Then can I buy them the day after tomorrow, alright? I'll also buy one as a servant at that time. Is that alright with you?"

Helik, the shopkeeper, rubbed his hands.

"By all means! Then I will be waiting for you two days later. I should go get my haircut now and..."

I couldn't hear the last part anymore.

In the middle of the conversation, Barnes went back to his room, and that Barnes..

“Herik! Quickly arrange to have this glass fixed!"

He was angry. I wonder who broke it in the first place...is what I will never say no matter what.

"I'll be back two days later. Please take care of the rest."

After Zeke said that to Herik, we followed him from behind.

====================================

Author’s note:

Sorry to keep you waiting?

Finally, the Lightning magic.

If you feel the series is even a bit interesting and are curious about the story’s continuation, please consider giving ★★★★★ and bookmark as it will really help with my motivation. m(__)m

<<Prev 

Next>> 

TL’s note:

1. Taijutsu
2. Author most likely mixed up the order. Based on stats, it should be the reverse…
3. Jet Stream Attack

Chapter 51 : Let’s Buy Slaves

TL:SummerPeanut

====================================

I returned to Irgusia and talked to Zeke about the magic stone in Almeria.

He said that we should definitely exchange the magic stones for cash.

The Bryant family is obviously one of the richer ones among the viscounts.

Even so, Ike, myself, Clarice, and Leena are going to need a lot of tuition fees.

Especially the first three who are going to live in a dormitory in another country. I understand how Zeke feels.

“I've been thinking about buying a slave for a while now.”

When Zeke said this, Clarice and I looked at each other.

I know it is natural for people from here but for those of us who grew up in Japan, there is some resistance to it.

"Where do people sell their slaves?”

When Ike asked, we found out that they are sold in slave shops in most of the labyrinth cities and border towns.

He told us that there was a large slave shop in Almeria, too, which we were unaware of.

Soon after, Zeke and the three of us returned to Almeria and headed for the slave shop.

The slave shop was located in the northeast of the city, in an area I had never been to before.

When we entered the store, the owner of the store came to Zeke and started to sell his services.

"Dear customer. What kind are you looking for? We have a nice selection of slaves that have recently come in."

Zeke looked at Ike and motioned for him to speak up.

"We're adventurers looking for porter-luggage handlers. So we are looking for someone with high strength and agility."

When Ike said this, the owner gave him a difficult look.

"I'm sorry, but we don't have any person that fulfills your condition.”

“So you're saying there are amongst the non-humans?”

Zeke said, and the owner looked at him with a difficult expression on his face.

"Yes, there are many beastmen who fit that description. However, as you may know, beastmen do not easily recognize those who are weaker than themselves as their masters… The slaves here are not criminal slaves so the slaves have the right to choose…”

“Alright. If that is the case, there is no problem. May I have a proper look at them first?"

The owner nodded reluctantly as Zeke said so and we headed to the back of the store.

The back of the restaurant has several rooms with glass walls so that buyers can see from the outside.

The rooms are very clean and could pass for a normal apartment if not for the glass walls.

Apparently, the slaves can also see us from their side.

The slaves' eyes were not dead but they were looking at us as if they were trying to evaluate us.

It seems that the slaves have the right to choose their masters to some extent.

The slaves' room was a room for four, and there were separate rooms for men and women.

There were 28 people in total. In other words, seven rooms were in use, and only one room was vacant.

I appraised all of them but none of them were suitable as adventurers.

"Mars, did you find any that looked good?"

Zeke asked me that, and I told him about the appraisal results of everyone here.

"No, none of them fit the criteria.”

When Zeke heard these words, he said to the shopkeeper.

"Let me see some non-humans. I hear there are non-humans here who can keep up with adventurers."

"…I understand. But let me tell you something first.

The reason there are no human adventurer slaves is that they have already been bought by adventurers in this town. And the reason why beastmen slaves remain unsold is because they are stronger than the adventurers in this city and they pride themselves to never serve weak masters.”

Hmmm…… I was not convinced, so I asked the shopkeeper a question.

"Why did the shopkeeper purchase such beastmen slaves then? The shopkeeper knows the level of adventurers in this town, right? It wouldn't be cheap for this store to continue to feed the slaves.”

“It is to prepare for the stampede of magic beasts and the labyrinth overflow.

Only in the event of a stampede of magic beasts or a labyrinth-overflow can I force them to fight. This will not be done in violation of the contract that I have made with them. I have been told by the Count of Carmel to make sure that I have good beastmen on hand to protect this city……"

So the point is that they were kept here only for emergencies. Then the owner continued..

“In the past, there were B-class adventurers here so we sold few because some of them recognized those adventurers as their master……Now, all the promising newcomers have gone to Irgusia, and B-class adventurers or B-rank parties have gone to other cities and battlefields…"

I felt that half of this was Zeke's fault.

I suspect that Irgusia will absorb Almeria in the future……

“Thank you for sharing your situation. Please show us. We'll handle the negotiations."

I said and the owner took us to the far end of the store.

It was the same layout as the human slaves' rooms mentioned earlier, but with two people per room, making the rooms larger than those of the humans.

The youngest was about 6 years old, and the oldest was around 30.

When the male beastmen slaves saw us, they would threaten us with their fangs and sharp eyes.

The female beastmen looked at us with contempt as if they were looking at us like we were filth. These eyes are the type that shouldn’t be shown to Dames at all.

It is as if to declare, ‘We will never accept you.’

And the room at the far end was a beastmen occupying the room meant for two.

That room was the only one that was specially ordered, and the interior, as well as the size of the room, was so luxurious that it looked different from the other rooms.

"Why is this room the only special one?"

Zeke asked the owner.

“The adult in this room is the former Duke of Syrian, one of the 12 dukes of the Lister Confederacy.

As you know, the Confederacy of Lister is made up of a round table council of 12 dukes, but Duke Syrian, the representative of the beastmen, was exiled after the coup d'etat. The Count of Carmel took him over for an exorbitant price……”

"Why are the slaves that Count Carmel bought for an exorbitant price kept here?

If Count Carmel bought him for such a high price, wouldn't it be normal for him to keep them near himself?”

Zeke's question is valid. Not as a slave, but he should be put as a knight under his command……Eh? Don’t tell me!

"Duke Syrian said that he would not be subordinate to Count Carmel who is weaker than him…”

When the owner said this, I looked inside the custom-made glass-walled room.

There was a golden lion-man and a lion.

It was when I was just about to appraise the man and the lion.

The glass wall in the golden lion man’s room broke and the man came out.

He came out and attacked me with tremendous killing intent and speed.

I deployed Sylphid with all my might, and while predicting his attacks with Foresight, I used Wind Impulse to blow Zeke, Ike, Clarice, and the shopkeeper, who were all frozen stiff by the man's murderous intent backward and tried to blast the lion man forward with Wind Impulse.

The golden lion man was not affected by Wind Impulse at all and came right in front of me and took an attack position.

Clearly, there is too much of a power difference between us since I can’t see his attack despite using Foresight.

No matter what I did to defend myself, he attacked at a speed that exceeded my own.

I tried to mitigate the impact of the attack by spreading my magic throughout my body.

When the man's right hand came right in front of my face, his right hand was shot off.

Apparently, Clarice was able to break off from his killing intent after she got carried backward with my Wind and cast Barrier magic that appeared right between me and the golden lion.

The golden lion looked at his right hand and me with a surprised look on his face but immediately aimed his left hand at my head.

I tried to guard that left hand with all my might.

"UOOOOOOOGGGHHH!!!”

I screamed as I attempt to guard the man's left hand with both hands but in my Foresight, my head was pierced by the golden lion's left hand.

As expected there is an overwhelming difference in speed. But I can't give up here.

As I tried with all my might to guard my head against the man's left hand, I felt my magic leaving my body.

Barely just in time, I managed to slip my hands in front of the man's left hand.

The golden lion looked surprised and tried to stop his left hand.

The man's left hand stopped just in front of my two hands but my magical power countered back.

"BACHIIIINNNNNN!!!!”

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

The store is unusually noisy today.

Are there customers or alike?

Well, it doesn't matter as long as they don't bring them here.

After a while, Herik, the owner of the store, brought someone with him.

The beasties around were all stimulated. What a small fry!

Herik and someone are still talking.

From the sound of their voices, I guess he is talking to a father and his son.

It was when I was looking at the outside of the glass wall.

A blonde-haired kid was trying to assess me.

Screw you, you little shit!!! To think that a random kid would disrespect me!!!

I broke the glass to scare him and let out a full-on blast of killing intent.

No human could withstand my killing intent. The B-class adventurers who were here previously were also frozen stiff after all.

At first, I was going to shake them lightly but one of them resisted my killing intent.

It’s the damned kid who was trying to size me up!

The kid surprisingly blew his family backward and used Wind magic to keep me away.

It's a kind of magic with minimal killing power.

I released a bloodlust-filled attack that would stop by skin of his teeth and was going to lightly stroke the kid's head with my right hand.

The kid seemed to be able to move reasonably well, but not really that impressive. I was about to place my right hand on his head without any difficulty but something I couldn't see bounced me off.

The impact was so strong that it seemed to take my body with it.

I was a little surprised but I couldn't back down so I immediately tried to nudge his head with my left hand.

The kid was trying hard to guard himself but there was no way he could keep up with my speed.

Just as my hand was about to touch his head, something unusual happened.

The kid's hands were right in front of my left hand for unknown reason.

I thought that at this rate I was going to penetrate the kid's left hand so I desperately tried to stop my left hand.

The result was that it stopped.

As soon as my hand stopped, there was a loud noise and a burning smell filled the room, and my left hand lost all feeling.

====================================

Author’s note:

If you feel the series is even a bit interesting and are curious about the story’s continuation, please consider giving ★★★★★ and bookmark as it will really help with my motivation. m(__)m

<<Prev 

Next>> 

TL: Interesting result from Foresight. I translated it as foresight but the raw text itself means more like future vision. Foresight is either unable to see interference from Unique Skills or it doesn’t predict the future but deduces the most likely future based on Mars’s known information.

Chapter 50 : Almeria Labyrinth

TL:SummerPeanut

TL: Sorry guys. Getting caught with patreon’s staff because he says chapter 42 got sexual violence and I need to take down the chapter if I can’t give them an explanation… All misunderstandings were solved but had to use up my backup chapters stock this week since couldn’t get much time to tl.

Author’s Note:

I will write down who is equipped with what along with their status from now on.

This time I will only list the equipment in the postscript.

====================================

"Alright, let’s try our best from today!”

Ike said and opened the door of the inn.

We got some useful information at yesterday's get-together.

I heard from Zeke and Maria that the labyrinth in Almeria has recently changed a little compared to the past.

The reason I say ‘apparently’ is that none of the parties currently in town have dived into the second floor, and they all know only about the first floor.

And recently, there are more traps on that first floor.

The new traps have made it impossible for anyone to carelessly go up to the second level.

In addition, it is said that magic beasts from the second floor now appear in the first.

They are usually found near the room that leads down to the second floor, and it is an unspoken agreement that adventurers in this town do not approach that room.

We were also told that it is okay to use Fire magic in the labyrinth.

Well, it depends on how big the scale of the magic is but at least Ike's Fire magic does not seem to be restricted.

I was happy about this because I had been wondering if it was okay to use Fire magic in the labyrinth ever since we were diving in the Irgusia labyrinth. Then again, from the very beginning, I used to burn the defeated magic beasts to get the magic stone out.

I think I'll try using Firestorm next time to test it out.*1

I was also told about other things like the situation in the Balkus Kingdom but it's not something I need to know right now.

But maybe the best thing about the get-together was that we didn't have to worry too much about our backs in the labyrinth.

I heard that it is common for adventurers to get into trouble with each other in the labyrinth after all.

We also decided on our roles in the labyrinth.

I'll be the scout and the rear guard, which is a very difficult role.

I will use my clairvoyance to find traps and search for enemies, and if there are any, I will ask Ike and Clarice to clash into them.

From the second floor, I am to search for enemies and, if I felt that an ambush might be coming towards us, I would attack the other side first with magic.

After leaving the inn, I stopped by the Adventurer's Guild and received every single quest we could handle in the labyrinth.

We were able to receive the orders without getting tangled up with other adventurers because of yesterday's incident.

We were allowed to take on quests that normally would not be available to us E-class adventurers.

It seems that Ralph, the guild master, was able to follow up properly.

We then purchased the first-floor map at the guild and dove into the labyrinth.

The labyrinth in Almeria had wide passageways and spacious rooms.

When we arrived at the first room, we found a party of adventurers fighting.

We waited at the entrance of the room for the battle to end.

They were a party of six, and the enemies were three bird-shaped magic beasts called condor with a threat level of D. They had already killed several condors since there were several condor corpses lying around.

"Tsk, we're retreating after the first room again today… only 3 left! Let's go for it!”

A man who seemed to be the leader blasted his voice and inspired the party.

After a few tens of minutes, they defeated the condors and the party took the magic stones out of them.

We watched the process the whole time.

After the party retrieved the magic stone, they came toward us where the exit was.

"Are you guys the kids who off’ed our Almeria adventurers yesterday?"

"We didn't off anyone. We just lightly hit their chests.”

"Well, it's just as the rumors. Go break a leg. As you saw, the number of magic beasts increased so much it’s hard to reach the depths of the first floor. There will be more magic beasts on the second floor so get your guards up. We’ll leave the rest to you."

The party passed by us and headed toward the exit.

"In Irgusia, this level of strength might be equivalent to the level of the third floor. We'd better brace ourselves.”

Ike said, and we nodded and started walking. Of course, I was the first to go.

After passing through the room, there was a passageway but a condor was in that passageway as well.

I informed Ike, and Ike and Clarice stepped forward and started fighting.

Condors are highly agile and even Ike and Clarice can’t defeat them unscathed.

However, Clarice's defender and mysterious anklet will heal her wounds quickly.

Ike, thanks to his Ifrit’s Mail, has only 1 or 2 HP deducted.

Sometimes a condor will fly past the two of them to me but I shoot it down with Wind and finish it off with my sword.

After killing all the condors in the passage, we realized our fatal mistake.

What to do about collecting the magic stone...

We are planning to defeat every single enemy we meet.

Yet we don't have the spare room to collect the magic stones.

For now, we decided to bring what we can carry with us today and when we can no longer carry anymore, we will leave them in the appropriate place and bring them back with us when we return back.

When I went to the next room, I found a trap in the passage.

The trap was a poisonous fog. I and Clarice could use the Holy magic, Cure, so it would not have much effect but for the other adventurers, it was a deadly trap.

I notified Ike and Clarice and stepped into the trap on purpose.

I wanted to see if the trap would disappear after I stepped on it.

I also wanted to see if Cure would solve the poison.

The result was that the trap disappeared when I stepped on it. The poison mist of the trap could be recovered with Cure.

We decided to proceed by stepping into the traps as many as possible, considering the future.

However, it does not mean that all traps will disappear even if we keep stepping on traps. They will reappear somewhere sooner or later.

As we explored the labyrinth while looking at the map we bought at the Adventurer's Guild, we found several places that were dead ends on the map but actually had more to it.

Because of the previous incident where I got teleported to Grantham, I was very cautious in those rooms.

The rooms not listed on the map were nothing special though.

There were no treasure chests or anything like that, just some normal magic beasts and we defeated them as per normal.

It took us all morning and into the night to get to all the places on the first floor.

We were left only with the last room that’s headed to the second floor unexplored due to lack of time.

The traps on the first floor were poison fog and poison arrows. I’m really glad that there were no teleports or similar traps.

There were only threat level D magic beasts and none of the threat level C magic beasts on the second floor.

Unfortunately, no treasure chests appeared this time.

We tried to bring back as many magic stones as we could but there was a limit to how many we could carry.

When we had no choice but to give up more than half of them, a large group of adventurers came in front of us.

"Thank God. You’re alright!”

One of the adventurers said so. It was the same adventurer who had tangled with us yesterday.

"We expected you all to come back earlier since you said you would only dive the first floor today but you all took longer than expected to come back, so we were worried and came to check on you.”

"Thank you for your concern. The map was a little different from the one I bought from the guild, so I had to re-map it which is why it took us so late.

Ah! Just in time. If you don't mind, could you please take back the magic stones left here? Of course, you can all exchange them for cash. We can't hold anymore.”

When Ike said this, the adventurers were surprised to see the number of magic stones.

"...I've never seen...this many magic stones before, and it should have taken quite some time to take out this many magic stones. Besides, are you sure you want us to take this much?"

“Yes, we were going to leave them behind since we couldn't carry them anyway.”

The adventurers hold the magic stone with apologetic yet gloating faces.

Well, we'll take down the magic beasts on the way back, so there's no problem with their both hands full.

"Come to think of it, weren't there a lot of magic beasts on the way here?"

When I said that, one of the adventurers said.

"I found a path where we didn't encounter any magic beasts at all, so I followed that path and found you guys.”

So they were following us from the middle of the road, unaware that was our path.

It was after 8:00 p.m. when we finally returned to town.

We went to the Adventurer's Guild to report the completion of our quest and exchanged our magic stones, then returned to the inn.

The inn we were staying at was the high class with showers installed in the room.

The order of using the showers was Clarice first, then me, and finally Ike.

It was only natural that Clarice should use the shower first but Ike was considerate enough to put me next.

After cleansing ourselves in the shower, we discussed the issues of the day.

What to do with the magic stones dropped. Zeke told us to earn money so it would be a waste to throw away the magic stones as we did today.

In the end, we couldn't come to a conclusion after our discussion alone, so we decided to return to Irgusia the next day and consult with Zeke.

====================================

Mars’s Equipment

Name: Mithril Silver Sword

Attack: 10

Value: C

Details: A sword that easily allows the magic of the wearer to circulate.

Name: Sylph Dagger

Attack: 2

Special: Magic +1, Agility +1

Value: C+

Details: A special dagger that makes the wearer feel lighter when equipped. Enchanting the dagger with Wind magic slightly increases attack power and agility.

Name: Disguise Bracelet

Special: -

Value: -

Description: The wearer's status can be falsified. However, the value cannot be higher than your own status. It cannot be seen through by ordinary appraisals.

Clarice's Equipment

Name: Defender

Attack: 10

Special: Endurance +2

Value: B

Details: Accelerates HP recovery slightly.

Name: Mithril Silver Dagger

Attack: 9

Value: C

Details: A dagger that easily allows the wearer's magic power to circulate.

Name: Magic Arrow

Attack: -

Special: Magic +1

Value: B+

Details: A bow that shoots arrows made of magic power. It can fire arrows of various attributes. The bow itself is enchanted with Wind magic.

Name: Saint's Robe

Defense: 14

Special: Magic +3, Endurance +2

Value: A

Details: Reduces MP consumption and increases the effectiveness of Holy and Barrier magic. Disables abnormalities. Automatic repair.

Name: Mysterious Anklet

Special: Magic +1

Value: B-

Details: HP recovery when walking while equipped.

Name: Disguise Bracelet

Special: -

Value: -

Details: The wearer's status can be falsified. However, the value cannot be higher than your own status. It cannot be seen through by ordinary appraisals.

Ike’s Equipment

Name: Flame Lance

Attack: 20

Value: C

Detail: The spear can be enchanted with Fire magic.

Name: Salamander Sword

Attack: 20

Special: Magic +2

Value: B

Detail: A magical sword made of mithril silver. Enchanting the sword with Fire magic increases its attack power.

Name: Ifrit’s Mail

Defense: 30

Specia: Magic +1, Durability +2

Value: A-

Detail: Can only be equipped by those with Fire magic aptitude. When magic power is channeled, it can be encloaked in fire. Even if the part without armor is attacked, the power of fire can reduce the damage received by the wearer.

Name: Flame Bracelet

Special: Magic +2

Value: C

Detail: A bracelet that contains Fire magic. Reduces MP consumption by 1 when chanting Fire magic, and slightly shortens the activation time.

Name: Disguise bracelet

Special: -

Value: -

Details: The wearer's status can be falsified. However, the value cannot be higher than your own status. It cannot be seen through by ordinary appraisals.

Author’s note:

If you feel the series is even a bit interesting and are curious about the story’s continuation, please consider giving ★★★★★ and bookmark as it will really help with my motivation. m(__)m

<<Prev 

Next>> 

TL’s note:

1. Bruh. Did u listen to yourself?

Chapter 49 : The Adventurers in Almeria

TL:SummerPeanut

TL: I made typo Mangrave before. Should be Margrave or Count that defends the border of the kingdom. Will return back to 2 chapters/week due to busy schedule and release on Sunday.

Author’s note:

This chapter got a little too long.

====================================

For the past month, I've been working on apartments and houses.

Right in front of the labyrinth are four large houses. These houses are exclusively for the parties, Azure Fang and Red Wings, who are here at all times and the other two are for parties that Zeke will hire in the future.

The apartment refers to a large size building that has around 100 rooms.

There is also enough secured space to build two more buildings.

This is because Zeke said he wanted to organize three knights orders later on.

Also, the houses and apartments were built in a way that surrounded the labyrinth.

If a labyrinth overflow happened, the magic beasts would not be able to get out of the blockage.

A wall was built outside the city, making it much more like a labyrinth city now.

My maximum MP increased explosively because I was emptying my MP three times every day.

Name: Mars Bryant

Title: Wind King / Goblin Butcher

Social Status: Second son of Viscount Bryant

Condition: Good

Age: 6 years old

Level: 14

HP: 43/43

MP: 6152/6153

Strength: 36

Agility: 40

Magic: 49

Dexterity: 39

Endurance: 37

Luck: 30

Unique Ability: Innate Talent (LvMax)

Unique Ability: Clairvoyance (Lv8)

Unique Ability: Lightning Magic (Lv0/S)

Special Ability: Swordsmanship (Lv7/B)

Special Ability: Fire Magic (Lv2/F)

Special Ability: Water Magic(Lv1/G)

Special Ability: Earth Magic(Lv2/F)

Special Ability: Wind Magic(Lv8/A)

Special Ability: Holy Magic(Lv4/B)

My earth magic is now level 2, and the civil engineering work had become much more efficient.

Clarice had also become much more familiar with Irgusia and was recognized as Clarice herself, not as the Saintess as she had been with her time in Grantham.

She has not yet been able to use one of the four major magic systems.

Ike had spent the entire month in classroom study, except when he was diving in the labyrinth.

Zeke and Maria often stayed in the spring room with Azure Fang and Red Wings.

Leena, who was left behind, spent most of her time with me and Clarice.

She is especially fond of Clarice, to the extent that she thought Clarice is her real elder sister.

And now I, Ike, and Clarice are heading to Almeria to dive into the Almeria Labyrinth.

Irgusia and Almeria are very close in distance.

We could return to Irgusia from Almeria every day but that would still reduce the efficiency of our labyrinth exploration so the three of us will stay at an inn in Almeria.

We decided we would rent out the same room for three months and return to Irgusia once a week.

Before we left, Zeke and Maria told us “Don’t enter the fourth floor”.

It's a labyrinth with a threat level of C on the second floor and while it’s mix of C and B on the third floor.

We swore that there was no way we would go to the fourth layer even by mistake.

We were also told that since many adventurers from Almeria were flowing into Irgusia, it would be best to weed out as many magic beasts from Almeria as possible.

In fact, I heard that the Count of Carmel had been consulting with him.

When we arrived in Almeria, we quickly dropped our luggage off at the inn and did some shopping for tomorrow's dive into the labyrinth.

To our surprise, we soon found a disguise bracelet. It has the exact same design as the one I’m wearing.

We bought the entire inventory just in case, five in total at the cost of one silver coin each.

We bought more potions and magic potions at the tool shop.

I looked for my weapon and armor but couldn't find anything good so I gave up.

I didn't want to be in trouble again tomorrow due to reasons such as being refused at the entrance of the labyrinth so we stopped by the Adventurer's Guild.

When we entered the Adventurer's Guild, it seemed that other adventurers had just returned from the labyrinth and there were quite a few people there.

And, as luck would have it, we were in for a surprising development.

The adventurers started to find fault in us for our equipment.

“Boys, where did you snatch those equipment? Don't do anything bad, okay? Your kind brother here will make a special offer to help you return it to its rightful owner so hand it over.”

A D-level adventurer class guy said that to me.

His eyes were looking at my mithril silver sword.

The other adventurers were also looking at Ike and Clarice's equipment.

If something like this was going to happen, I should have asked members of Azure Fang or Red Wings to come.

If they had been there, this wouldn't have happened. Ike opened his mouth.

“We took this equipment ourselves from the treasure chests in a labyrinth. We would appreciate it if you would stop making strange accusations."

“Huh!? What are you kids talking about? Do you know how old you have to be to become an adventurer?”

“12 years old if I recall correctly. But all three of us are adventurers in reality. My brother and I were registered as adventurers by the guildmaster here. If you have any doubts, you can ask Sir Ralph to confirm it for you.”

"Screw you! You're full of lies! I was just trying to make things easy for you but you just had to trample on people's goodwill! Hey, guys, rob the equipment away from these little thieves!”

With that, five of them, who were probably fellow D-level adventurers, surrounded us.

At that moment, Ralph, the guildmaster, came down from the second floor.

“What are you doing!”

Ralph said to us, and the adventurers surrounding me said.

“Look at these brats' equipment! It's definitely stolen! We'll get it back, Guildmaster, just watch."

Then Ike said to Ralph.

“Long time no see. I was registered as an adventurer by Ralph three years ago. My name is Ike Bryant. My father, Zeke Bryant, has asked me to thin out the magic beasts in this labyrinth.”

“Ooh. It’s really been a long time huh. You've grown much tougher than before. Not to mention I can no longer call that Zeke without honorifics now. How is Viscount Bryant?”

Ralph said outloud Viscount Bryant on purpose, to make sure everyone knew who we were.

“Yes, sir. My father and mother are doing well, thanks to you.”

“Hmm. I have heard that Margrave Carmel has spoken to Sir Bryant. I did not expect you to come though, but I would like to thank you again for your cooperation.”

As we listened to Ike and Ralph's conversation, the adventurer who tried to stir trouble suddenly talked.

“Guildmaster, is it true that these kids are adventurers? These bunch of money-spoiled kids with only equipment are calling themselves adventurers will lower our value! I can’t accept this!”

“So he says, what do you think, Ike?"

Ralph turned to Ike, and Ike said.

“Then I'll accept his provocation. But I'll give you a handicap. How about Mars alone from our side and the adventurer who just said he’s not convinced from his side? The rule is the first to get down to his knees and say, "Enough. Please forgive me.” If we lose, we will give up everything we have equipped.”

Ike said something amazing. Well, there is no C-class adventurer on the other side so I guess we can easily afford the risk.

“Ike, no matter what that’s impossible, isn’t it? You need to calm down."

Ralph said that to Ike. Well, normally people would agree, wouldn't they?

“No, without this much of a handicap we would be scolded by our father. He has always told us not to bully the weak. If you are saying the handicap is not enough, I can give you more. For example, you could have all the adventurers here fight Mars as well.”

Ike further agitated the adventurers.

He turned all the adventurers into enemies almost instantly.

“All right. I don't care what happens. Then I'll act as the mediator but no killing the other!”

“Oh! Let’s make it so that only the one who beats up this kid Mars will rob his equipment.”

He’s not even pretending anymore. In the end, it became my solo fight against 24 adventurers here.

Thanks to Ike’s provocation, almost all the adventurers here joined the fight.

We decided to fight outside the city.

On the way out of town, Ike said to me.

“You see what I'm getting at?”

“First is in case something unforeseen happens in the labyrinth tomorrow and the other is to discern them……is that correct?”

Clarice came into the conversation between me and Ike.

“What do you mean by discerning them?”

Upon hearing her question, Ike answered.

“I’m hoping that there will be a good party like Azure Fang and Red Wings. Then again, the moment those adventurers tried to stir up trouble I can’t help but give them a low score. Well, I don’t mind closing one eye if they are promising.”

“Brother Ike, I have a question. If I win, what would you have them do?"

Ike laughed when he heard that.

He must have thought of something outrageous.

“One more thing. Were the earlier words of provocation from Brother Ike? You seemed to have suddenly changed and I was a little scared.”

“Hahaha. As expected of Mars. The conversation just now is just me following father’s instructions. That if we ever get in trouble, we should handle it like this. It's a little rough but he told me it's the best way.”

I was relieved to hear that Ike's personality had not suddenly deteriorated.

Out of town, I put on a performance.

I prepared the place to fight.

To be precise, I used Wind Cutter to cut down the grass where we would fight, then used Wind and Earth magic to clear the uneven ground, and surrounded the area with earth in a 50-meter square so that no one could escape.

Even for me, my MP was reduced to about one-tenth of what it should have been but there was no problem.

But I chanted to activate all the magic.

Ralph probably didn't think I had this much magic power. He’s frozen stiff.

The adventurers who were about to fight me were totally intimidated by my unusual magical power, so I followed Ike's example and riled them up.

“Everyone. Please be rest assured. As brother Ike said, the Bryant family does not bully the weak. Therefore, I will not use magic on you, nor will I use weapons. However, please get ready to be attacked until you get down on your knees and say, ‘Enough. Please forgive me.’ Now, Ralph, please give the signal to begin.”

Ralph nodded and said, "Begin!"

The vanguard came charging at me like crazy, and the rear guard poured all the firepower they had into me.

Perhaps they were desperate because they thought they would be beaten if they didn't do so.

I disarmed all of them except the first one who tried to make problems with us. I rushed into their bosoms and shook their jaws with my palm, giving them a concussion.

The only one left was the guy who gave us trouble but I didn't attack him at all.

Meanwhile, Ralph was carrying the unconscious adventurers to safety.

The guy, screaming with bloodshot eyes, swung his sword at me but I only dodged his attacks while I talked to Ralph.

“Ralph, those fainting people have yet to get down on their knees and say, ‘Enough. Please forgive me.’ but how should we proceed now?"

“It’s settled. Mars wins. If they still try to grumble, they’ll be punished accordingly.”

“I understand. Then please wake up all the people who have passed out.”

After saying so, Ike, Clarice, and Ralph woke up the unconscious adventurers.

The adventurers who woke up had no idea what had happened to them. The only thing they knew was that they had been beaten by a small boy.

Ike and Clarice seem to be talking amicably to the adventurers who have woken up.

In their hands, Ike and Clarice have the potion they bought earlier.

Perhaps Ike is saying something like, he is sorry that he went over the line earlier...

Then they all started looking at the battle here.

I thought to myself that I was the only one who got a poor deal as I turned my attention to the berserker in front of me.

He must be very tired because he has been striking empty air all the time. He is breathing heavily.

I dodged the berserker's sword, touched the center of the sword, and released Wind Cutter without chanting.

To the people around me, it would have looked as if I had broken the sword with my bare hands.

No one would have thought that I could activate magic without chanting.

That berserker also thought his sword had been broken with my bare hands and collapsed on the spot.

He completely lost his will to fight.

When the berserker, who was about to get down on his knees, Ralph stood up and took him to Ike, and Clarice’s spot. Then Ike opened his mouth.

“Thank you for your hard work. You did a great job."

Then, Ralph..

“I'm sorry you even had to go through all the trouble.”

He apologized.

When I thought about why Ike was agitating them, it was because he thought there was a possibility that something similar might happen in the future and he needed to be somewhat thorough.

That way, even if adventurers who were not here right now thought of doing the same thing, it would be more likely that those who were around today would stop them.

I do think that we went too far.

The rest is Ike's job, and I'm sorry for Ralph but Ike will probably be recruiting people to Irgusia or something.

How would you like to be an adventurer in Irgusia, where children can be this strong? Something like that...

Or that this equipment came from the Irgusia labyrinth…

This evening, we had dinner with the adventurers we had fought as a get-together.

====================================

Author’s note:

Almeria where the number of adventurers is already dwindling, to think they would still put the adventurers from there…

If you feel the series is even a bit interesting and are curious about the story’s continuation, please consider giving ★★★★★ and bookmark as it will really help with my motivation. m(__)m

<<Prev 

Next>> 

Chapter 48 : Return

TL:SummerPeanut

TL: Previously, I mistranslated author’s note about the promotion to Marquis. It’s actually Count or Earl or rather to be specific Author was saying he will explain why Zeke is aiming for a promotion. I have fixed chapter 47’s author’s note before this chapter 48. Also also, thank you for the support Daniel Thomsen.

====================================

It has already been 10 days since we left Bismarck.

The journey to Irgusia was smooth.

One of the reasons we were doing well was that Zeke had read the letter from Count Beetle, which stated that Clarice could use Holy magic.

First, Clarice would freely heal the horse and when her MP was depleted, I would switch with her.

When Clarice's MP recovered, she would then switch places with me again after I deplete my MP.

By repeating this process, we were able to keep moving day and night.

This time, I had Zeke and Ike as the bodyguards, so I could use MP as much as I wanted.

And now we had just left Almeria and will soon be entering Irgusia.

The four of us were making our final checks before leaving for Irgusia.

“Clarice, you should hide the fact that you can use Holy magic from everyone except us, the Bryants, when you are in Irgusia. Is that clear?”

Zeke said to Clarice.

“Yes. That was the plan.”

“I will also ask you to stay with the Bryants. Feeling-wise, it will be like welcoming a new family member. I've already told everyone except Mars, are you okay with that?”

“T-thank you very much. I look forward to working with you.”

“Father, thank you very much. I mean it.”

“All right, I'll give you the details when we get home. We can see Irgusia already.”

When we arrived in Irgusia, Maria with Leena, the members of Azure Fang, other adventurers, and residents welcomed me.

They were happy to see me return, but more than that, they were surprised by Clarice's presence.

Her ability to attract people's attention to the point where she was known as a Saintess and not to mention the luxurious equipment that covered her entire body.

Adventurers and residents either bowed or assumed the praying posture to her without saying a word. All those towards a six-year-old girl.

When I returned home, a big party was held.

At the beginning of the party, I had to do something first.

I had to do something about Clarice’s position. She had come to this land on her own and become anxious due to that.

I had mentioned about this to Zeke and Ike while Clarice was sleeping on the way back from Rimurgarde.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I am very sorry for the trouble I have caused you this time about me.

And since some of you seem surprised by the person who came with me, let me introduce you.

Clarice. Please come here.”

I called out to Clarice, who was talking with Maria, to come closer.

“This is Clarice Lampard.

She is a very important person in my life so I would like you all to treat her appropriately.”

“I am very pleased to meet you all. My name is Clarice Lampard and I will be staying with the Bryant family. I am sure there are many areas I am lacking but I would appreciate your warm guidance and support.”

Although Clarice was a little nervous, she laughed a little because she noticed that she greeted the audience in a way similar to a working adult.

The attendees at the party were impressed that a six-year-old can use such fine language.

“We'll talk about Clarice's case later. Today is a celebration of Mars's return and a welcome party for Clarice. I hope you all enjoy yourselves.”

Zeke said, and the party began.

The party went on until the evening.

The next day, Zeke gathered the Bryant family and Clarice for a family meeting.

“Mars, Clarice, I know you're tired from your long trip, and I'm sorry for that. But I would like to decide our direction moving forward from now on.”

When The moment Zeke said this, all the participants tightened up.

By the way, Leena is on Clarice's lap. She seems to have gotten really close to Clarice a lot during the day before today.

“Firstly for Ike, I would like you to aim to join the Lister Imperial School in the Lister Confederacy next January. The examinations will start this December. Understand?”

“Yes, father. I will make sure I would be admitted to the Lister Imperial School, which is known to be the most difficult on this continent.”

This must have been told to him in advance. Ike replied firmly.

“Next, Mars, you said that you have learned to use Earth magic. I would like you to spend a month for town planning the area around the Irgusia Labyrinth. Specifically, I want you to use Earth magic to build a large housing complex where adventurers can settle. Can you do that?”

“Yes, I will try my best. However, I am not familiar with designing so please instruct me later.”

Zeke nodded.

“Clarice, there's something I'd like you to do…or learn to be precise.

It doesn't matter what it is, I want you to make sure you learn one of the four major magic.”

Zeke said, and Clarice said.

“Y-yes. I'll do my best... but may I know what is the purpose?”

Clarice asked in response. Zeke's words made not only Clarice but also I and Ike wonder.

“Hmm. I plan to have Mars and Clarice enroll in the Lister Imperial School as well.

This is not only my will but also Count Beetle's wish. He wants you two to see the outside world. Perhaps Lord Lampard would feel the same way.

And you will certainly be appraised during that admission time. At that time, it would be best to conceal Holy magic as much as possible.

However, if you hide your Holy magic, it would mean that you could not use any magic despite your large amount of MP. This is too unnatural. For this reason, it is easier to conceal the Holy magic if you can use other magic systems. Of course, there is a possibility of being seen through despite all that...”

“Yes, I understand. I feel that what you said is entirely reasonable after thinking about it. Thank you for your consideration towards myself.”

As expected of Zeke. I didn't realize he had thought this far. Ike nodded in agreement.

“I want Clarice to get used to Irgusia as much as possible during this month. So much that she can feel like this is her second home. Maria, please take care of her too.”

When Zeke looked at Maria and Clarice in turn, Maria said.

“That is matter of course. I would do anything for my future daughter.”

The Bryant family seems to be on a mission to bury the castle’s outer moat first.*1

Clarice blushed yet looked relieved (or maybe it was just my own perception from her expression), and said.

“Thank you very much, Madame Maria. I look forward to working with you.”

Maria and Leena replied.

“This may take some getting used to at once but please call me mom.”

“Can Leena call Clarice big sis too?”

The Bryant family's onslaught against the six-year-old girl has begun. Meanwhile Clarice..

“Yes. Then I will follow your intention.”

She laughed as she replied so.

“The reason I set a deadline of one month for Mars and Clarice is because I want them and Ike to dive into the labyrinth of Almeria in one month's time. I want you three to level up, equip yourselves, and if possible, earn money.”

That's something I would like to do myself. But I don't think there is any shortage of money in our family.

“What I am about to tell you is the future development of the Bryant family.

First of all, I will aim to be promoted to the rank of count.”

This surprised both Ike and me. Maria was not surprised. It was natural that he had already told his wife, Maria, because it was an important matter.*2

“I will be needing money for that purpose. And human resources. The reason why I asked Mars to build a large housing complex is also to secure human resources. There are adventurers like Azure Fang who will become strong in the future but there are also adventurers who have passed their growth spurt and have given up on being on the front lines.

Some of these adventurers become bandits or fall into slavery in order to make a living.

That is why I want to hire them as the city's vigilantes.

If I am elevated to the rank of count, I would like to have them as members of our knights order, or as instructors.”

Zeke continued with even more fervor.

“All the members of the Azure Fang agreed with me and decided to stay in this city. And the Red Wings members, who are just as promising as the Azure Fang, had also given their support.

Ike should be quite familiar with the Red Wings. They are a C-class party that consists of only D-class adventurers.

I would like to hire these two parties, Azure Fang and Red Wings, and one more party to monitor the Irgusia Labyrinth at all times. Of course, Maria and I will also dive into the Irgusia Labyrinth. In the future, I would like to organize three knights orders. That's about it. Any questions?”

Zeke said so, and I asked.

“Are there that many items that can hide status?”

“I found a few selling in Almeria. And at a reasonable price. Then again, normal people do not need to hide their status to begin with.”*3

That was true.

“Okay, since there seem to be no other questions, I'll have you start tomorrow. Tomorrow, I, Maria, Ike, Mars, and Clarice will head to the boss's room. Mars won’t be attacking by the way. If the four of us can clear the boss room, I will consider going with just four of us to the boss room the day after tomorrow without Mars.”

The next day, the five of us went to the boss room in the Irgusia labyrinth.

They managed to clear the room without me but I was a little scared.

Ike was the only one who could fight the goblin king properly and Clarice had her hands full with the goblin lord. She could use Magic Arrow to get an advantage, but it was hard to use Magic Arrow while conserving MP. And since Zeke and Maria are sorcerers and their MP are not as high as mine, Ike's, and Clarice's, they will soon run out of ways to attack.

The strategy would be for Ike to take down the goblin king as fast as possible and then the goblin lord and goblin general.

If Ike has trouble defeating the goblin king, he will be in a pinch.

Incidentally, no treasure chests appeared if five people attacked the boss room.

Hence we decided to play it safe and to farm in the spring room when the four of them had time without taking the risk with the boss.

A month passed since then.

====================================

Author’s note:

If you think it's even a little interesting and you're curious about the continuation please consider giving ★★★★★  and a bookmark, as it will be my source of motivation. Thank you for your cooperation. m (__) m

<<Prev 

Next>> 

TL’s note:

1. The Japanese phrase for laying the groundwork for future plans. ( ͡ ͜ ͡)
2. In the previous chapter he literally told Ike though…but since Mars is not aware of that maybe is just Ike reacting to the atmosphere or situation? Assuming the author didn’t forget what he wrote himself that is.
3. Is this price demand thingy author? Can you elaborate more pls..

Chapter 47 : Letter

TL:SummerPeanut

I know I said I will use the word in the brackets as translation but I will make an exception for labyrinth overflow (labyrinths). I doubt anyone would understand ‘labyrinths’ is referring to dungeon/labyrinth monster overflow.

====================================

“Sir Zeke! I got a letter from Mars!”

I immediately reacted to those words.

I couldn't believe that I had received a letter from Mars who had gone inside the walls of the first level of Irgusia labyrinth two months earlier.

We had thought he was definitely somewhere in the labyrinth and we kept searching the labyrinth thoroughly.

Van tactfully gave the crystal to Mars but we didn't think he had gone outside the labyrinth.

I had assumed that the crystal had broken inside the walls and thus the crystal was unresponsive.

As soon as I got the letter from Van, I went to the study to check the envelope.

The sender's name was Mars Bryant.

When I tried to cut the wax seal with a paper-knife, it felt strange.

It seemed that the envelope had been opened once. There were subtle traces of having been opened.

There were a total of six letters inside the envelope.

Three of the letters were from Mars, and the other three were from different people.

I read Mars's letter.

To my surprise, Mars had been teleported to a city called Grantham, located at the eastern end of the Kingdom of Zarkham.

How could he have been teleported to an enemy country and during the war at that?

But there was nothing tragic in Mars's letter.

However, there was something strange about it.

I kept this feeling of discomfort in my mind and continued reading the letter.

He said that he had made friends with the people of the town and was being protected by Count Beetle, the lord of the city.

It also said that this letter had been delivered by the courtesy of Count Beetle.

It also said that he would leave for Irgusia a week after sending this letter by fast horseback.

All the expenses would be paid by Count Beetle.

I thanked Count Beetle from the bottom of my heart.

Then I read the second letter. It was a letter from Count Beetle.

It told me that Mars was in love with a girl named Clarice and so was she towards him.

And the letter said that the girl Clarice was not able to stay in Grantham in safety due to certain reasons and that she might accompany Mars to Irgusia, in which case he would be grateful for my cooperation.

He also wrote about Mars's return path from Grantham to Irgusia if he chose to go back.

In doing so, he also wrote that he had planned a path that avoid passing through dangerous places and that he had given Mars a letter from the Count himself so that Mars could stay at an inn even at the age of six.

I felt a strange sense of uncomfortableness with Mars's letter but I also felt uncomfortable with this letter from Count Beetle.

But for now, my priority was to tell Maria, Ike, and Leena rather than to figure out what the discomfort was about.

I immediately called everyone and told them about the letter, and we were all happy that Mars was safe.

Maria and Ike also asked me to let them read Mars's letter so I showed it to them as well.

“These drawings weren't done by Mars, were they?”

When Ike said this, I noticed something strange about the letter. It was a drawing of fire, similar to that of a bonfire, on a section of the letter.

“Yes, that's right. I see the same picture on the Count's letter.”

Mars is not the kind of person who takes the trouble to draw pictures on important letters.

Count Beetle does not seem to be such a person.

What could be the meaning of this picture?

In the end, the day ended with a big party to let the members of Azure Fang and the other adventurers who were searching for Mars know that he was safe.

During the party, everyone was passing around Mars's letter, and each person was happy to read the letter.

The next day, Ike returned from the Irgusia Labyrinth with the members of Azure Fang.

“Father, something funny is going on with Mars's letter...”

Ike said, and when he looked at Mars's letter, he saw that there seemed to be some words on the back of the letter.

“What is this? How do the letters come out?”

I say and try to read the faint letters floating in the air, but I can't read them because the writing is not clear.

“Do you see any change in the letter from Count Beetle?”

Ike asked so I checked the letter from the Count and found nothing has changed.

“No, nothing has changed in the letter from the Count…maybe if we have a party the letters will come to life?”

“Maybe so but perhaps this bonfire-like drawing means we should roast it over a fire? Why don't we try searing the edges of the letter to test it out?”

I decided to take Ike's suggestion. I prepared water just in case and Ike slowly seared the letter with Fire magic.

Then the letters emerged from the reverse side. Ike slowly seared the entire letter, making all the letters emerge.

“Thank you, Ike. But to think that there would be such a good trick. Could you give me a minute? If it's something I can tell you, I'll let you know.”

Ike nodded and left the room. He's a very understanding son which I can’t be thankful enough for.

I quickly turned my attention to the letter.

The letter read something like this

Thank you for noticing. I am the Count of Beetle, Raoul Grace.

I write in the hope that it is Lord Bryant who is reading this.

Why did I do something as elaborate as this? There are three main reasons.

First, this letter has probably been checked in the Kingdom of Zarkham.

That is because I am under suspicion. This matter is deeply related to the third reason. You can read it later on the back of my letter.

The second reason is the abnormality of Mars and Clarice.

Mars's fighting ability is extremely high, so much so that it is hard to believe that he is six years old; perhaps not up to par with B-class adventurers but he is at the very least in the upper C-class. He might not be giving his all in front of me so he may actually be in the B-class.

Mars has thwarted the labyrinth overflow’s waves of the Grantham many times and helped me conquer the labyrinth of the Grantham and stop the labyrinth overflow.

If this were noticed by the royal family or other upper nobilities, they might receive an imperial order to keep Mars within Zarkham Kingdom. So I couldn't even write a thank-you note where others might see it.

Clarice, the girl who might accompany him, could use Holy magic.

As stated in my surface letter, the reason why Clarice cannot live in Grantham is that the inhabitants and other adventurers know that Clarice can use Holy magic.

As Lord Bryant might understand, if people found out that Clarice could use Holy magic, there would be a high probability of unwanted conflict. That is why I entrusted her to Mars.

*TL: back to Zeke’s POV

On the back of Mars's letter, he wrote mainly about Mars and a girl named Clarice.

How could they send a child who could use Holy magic to an enemy country…?

This was very puzzling. If the Count is so smart, he should somehow keep Clarice with him and use her in a useful way for himself...

But if there is a more useful use... for example, if he thinks there will be some benefit for himself by having Clarice work with Mars...

Thoughtfully, I seared the back of Count Beetle's letter over the fire and read it.

There was something incredible written there.

It clearly shows why the Kingdom of Zarkham had secretly censored the Count's letter.

Count Beetle is someone that withholds a too dangerous opinion to the Kingdom of Zarkham.

But if his thought is sincere, I can at least understand his point of view…but it is too dangerous to advocate support for.

The letter also contained a request from the Count regardless of whether I sympathized or not with the idea.

One thing he requested is that I do not tell anyone in the Kingdom of Zarkham about this.

This is not something that can be communicated to the people of the Kingdom of Zarkham as well as the Kingdom of Balkus.

Second, he asked that Mars and Clarice be admitted to the Lister Imperial School in the Confederacy of Lister. The Imperial School is a remnant of the time when the Lister Confederacy was still an empire.

The Lister Imperial School only admits children who are competent in both literary and military arts. And since race is not a factor, it is said that demons, dwarves, elves, etc. can also be admitted if they are capable enough.

As for the tuition fee, Clarice was given two white gold coins.

That amount is to be the three years of tuition and lodging for the two of them.

The reason for this was that they wanted these two very talented students to see and feel more of the world.

I definitely agree with this.

I thought it was necessary to find out immediately from the letter to what extent the girl named Clarice was following Count Beetle's intentions.

I absolutely must go and get Mars and the girl.

And I must return this favor as much as possible for helping Mars.

“Maria, Ike, listen to me.”

I told them that I was going to pick up Mars and the girl and that I will be aiming to be promoted to the rank of count, something I had never really been interested in.

====================================

Author’s note:

I will explain why Zeke's goal of being promoted later.

If you think it's even a little interesting and you're curious about the continuation please consider giving ★★★★★  and a bookmark, as it will be my source of motivation. Thank you for your cooperation. m (__) m

<<Prev 

Next>> 

My random bickering and found image:

Chapter 46 : Reunion in Rimurgarde

TL:SummerPeanut

====================================

Our journey has been smooth sailing since we left Ganar.

Thanks to the ability to use Heal, we have progressed much further than what Count Beetle had planned.

We are close to the border with the Kingdom of Balkus.

“We're finally in the Kingdom of Balkus.”

“It took us longer than expected because of the incident in Ganar but we managed to get here ahead of schedule, didn't we?”

“That's right. Now we just have to see if we can make it across here safely.”

There are less than 10 kilometers left to the border.

The war between the Kingdoms of Balkus and Zarkham is currently in a lull.

We will stay in the frontline city, East Rimurgarde, and leave early tomorrow morning for West Rimurgarde, the easternmost city of the Balkus Kingdom.*1

Apparently the central continent was originally one country.

And its capital is Rimurgarde.

Nowadays, the situation in Rimurgarde is rough. This is because it has been the stage of the war for many years.

We arrived at an inn in East Rimurgarde and wandered around the town because we had some time before the evening.

“I'm glad the war wasn't as intense as I thought it would be.”

“Yeah. I thought it would be more severe. It’s a happy miscalculation.”

After we left the city of Ganar, whenever we went to a new town, there were more and more places to stop by besides the Adventurer's Guild.

We visited a variety of stores. We are looking for grimoires now that we have more money to spend.

The grimoires are generally found in bookstores but sometimes they can also be found in weapon shops and tool shops.

Basically, adventurers are free to sell the grimoires they obtained wherever they want.

I'm pretty sure they don't sell grimoires for my Lightning magic or Clarice's Barrier magic, which only we can use.

After all, we are the only ones who can use them so there is no way for others to write such grimoires.

But maybe they sell Holy magic’s grimoire. Even if the price is too high for us to buy it, just knowing what kind of magic is available could be useful in the future.

By the way, I taught Clarice Cure from Holy magic.

“Hmmm. I expected it but there really are no good grimoires anywhere...”

“Ah, they sell the beginner's level but...well, let's be patient and keep looking.”

While enjoying the shopping trip, there was a reaction from a certain thing.

The crystal that was given to me by Azure Fang's Van!

I used the crystal to find out the location of the other owner.

It seemed to be coming this way from the Balkus Kingdom’s direction.

“Clarice, someone I know is on his way here from the Kingdom of Balkus.”

“What? How do you know?”

I told Clarice about the crystal.

“I think they are from a C-rank party called Azure Fang.

Since I don't think my father and mother could leave Irgusia.”

“If we make a bad move, we might pass each other so let's wait in a conspicuous place.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Let's do that.”

The reactions came closer and closer.

The speed was unbelievable.

Apparently, there was no hesitation whatsoever in crossing the border. Do the people of Azure Fang understand that they are at war?

Two shadows came running from the corner.

It was Zeke and Ike who appeared in front of me.

“Mars!”

“Father! Brother Ike!”

I, Zeke, and Mars ran up to each other, bursting with joy at being reunited.

“We were worried about you! Are you hurt?”

Zeke said so and then Ike

“Glad we made it in time! Anyway, let's get going to West Rimurgarde soon!”

“Yeah. I have someone I want to introduce to father and brother Ike.”

Then Zeke said.

“I know you are Clarice, right? I know most of the details from Lord Beetle's letter.

We’ll go through the details later. Right now, our first priority is to get away from here. I'll tell you why on the way to West Rimurgarde.”

Clarice and I hurried back to the inn, packed our bags, and prepared to leave immediately.

We left East Rimurgarde half an hour after Zeke and the others arrived.

“Just what is going on? To be in such a hurry...”

“Actually, I wanted to take Mars to see Maria as soon as possible but just recently the old Rimurgarde castle, located halfway between East and West Rimulgard, turned into a labyrinth.

That labyrinth is said to be at least advanced level.”

“In such a state, we can't be fighting a war, can we?”

“Yeah, that's right. On-site combat is more of a scheduled event. Some adventurers from both countries are already fighting together to conquer the labyrinth.”

“Does that mean the war is over?”

“No. The royalty and some of the nobility are eager to go to war. Although adventurers may not have to follow them, the knights and magicians can't do so.”

While conversing, we headed in the direction of the Kingdom of Balkus.

Zeke and Ike seemed to have reached here by changing carriages en route so we all rode together in the carriage given by Count Beetle and headed for West Rimurgarde.

There were many magic beasts around the border between the Kingdom of Balkus and the Kingdom of Zarkham.

“There are a large number of magic beasts, aren't there? Is it alright for father and brother Ike to come to a place like this?”

“No, it wasn't this bad. The number of magic beasts is increasing by the minute. Maybe they weren’t able to thin out the number in time.”

“Father, may I thin out the demon beasts with brother Ike and Clarice for a bit?”

“I suppose so. We can do that as we head to the Balkus Kingdom as well. You should do what you want.”

I nodded, and Ike, Clarice, and I headed toward the direction where the magic beasts were.

First of all, I will stay in the back as healing support while Ike and Clarice assess each other's abilities.

Ike used his Flame Lance while Clarice used her defender to take out the magic beasts.

The magic beasts were strong but their threat level is only around D. Ike was able to take them down easily but Clarice took a bit longer. But she still managed to kill the demon beasts.

“Amazing. I am really surprised that a six-year-old girl could be this strong…you are way above my expectations.”

Ike said, and Clarice replied in fashion.

“Sir brother is really strong too. I've never seen spearmanship at your level before.”*2

Ike and Clarice thinned out the magic beasts as they went along.

Ike's level had reached 17 and his skills level had also increased.

He must have been training since I got sent to Grantham.

But there were still too many magic beasts.

I had a feeling that the adventurers were defeating the magic beasts at a decent pace but more and more magic beasts were attacking us.

We are gradually moving northward between East Rimurgarde and West Rimurgarde. If we continue northward, we will reach the old Rimulgard castle town and beyond that is the labyrinth where the old Rimulgard castle is located.

Even before the labyrinth was built, Rimulgard Castle Town and Rimulgard Castle were in ruins due to the war.

As one moves north, the magic beasts become stronger and stronger.

And the number of adventurers also increases.

All the adventurers here were probably C-class adventurers or above.

There must be at least 30 adventurers here, not including us.

There should be a total of five B-class parties and C-class parties.

One of the parties had finished fighting and came over to talk to us.

“It's not safe here, you know? But I guess the fact that you've come this far means you've been fighting.”

Zeke replied in response to the words

“Yeah, We've come north from a point halfway between East and West Rimurgarde while thinning out the magic beasts. We were thinking that we could help you guys out a little bit.”

“I appreciate it but are you sure? We have our hands full ourselves sometimes, so we can't help you...”

“Don't worry, I'll be there if it gets dangerous.”

So Zeke said as he sent three of us to battle.

As expected when it’s come to threat level C or the same class as goblin king, it is difficult to defeat such demon beasts in one attack.

The reason I can kill the goblin king in the blink of an eye is because I have the title of Goblin Butcher.

Even so, if I join Ike and Clarice, we can exert considerable firepower.

Obviously, I didn't want to distract everyone by using Tornado or Firestorm so I used Wind Impulse, which Sasha had taught me, to defeat the magic beasts.

We defeated most of the magic beasts until we were near the castle town of Rimurgarde.

The party that had talked to us earlier talked to us again.

“You guys are surprisingly strong. Thank you for your help. Actually, we came here for the war.

Ironically we are hunting magic beasts here with adventurers hired by the Kingdom of Zarkham now.

The enemies here are strong so it's easy to level up.

But don't ever go to the castle town. There are magic beasts with a threat level of B there.”

“Understood. We are going to go home now. Thanks for the information.”

After Zeke said his pieces, we drove the carriage to West Rimurgarde.

We arrived in West Rimurgarde a little after noon and decided to continue on to the next town.

If the royalty found out that Zeke was in Rimurgarde, they might ask him to join the war.

Of course, it was unlikely that there would be royalty on the front lines but there might be someone with royalty's influence.

It was late in the evening when we arrived at the neighboring town of Bismarck.

====================================

Author’s note:

If you feel the series is even a bit interesting and are curious about the story’s continuation, please consider giving ★★★★★  and bookmark as it will really help with my motivation. m(__)m

<<Prev 

Next>> 

TL’s note:

1. I think the author is trying to say that West Rimurgarde is the most eastern under the control of Balkus Kingdom. East Rimurgarde is either not owned by anyone or maybe it’s Zarkham Kingdom’s territory.
2. Onii-sama.

Chapter 45 : Until the Day We Meet Again

TL:SummerPeanut

Thanks for the support Zaroz~

====================================

“Yummy! Clarice, try this too.”

Misha was excited about the sumptuous meal in the morning.

Finding Sasha's enabled her to laugh from the bottom of her heart.

“Yes! It's delicious. I've never eaten anything like this before!”

Sasha especially prepared breakfast for us.

Sasha said she was unable to thank us for now and yet she gave me 10 gold coins.

No, a million dollars! Well, it's not much for the price of your own child's life, is it?

She said she would definitely express her gratitude the next time we meet. Though I believe 10 gold coins are more than enough.

At any rate, thanks to Misha, Clarice has learned barrier magic, and I've become a lot stronger.

“Are you eating properly too, Mars? You'll regret it otherwise, okay?”

Misha is in a really good mood.

Sasha, while looking at such a cheerful Misha, recounted to me about the slave trading in this town.

“It seems that only a few people knew about the illegal slave trading in this town.

The guild officials and the adventurers in this town knew about it but the Moonlit Dark Night seems not to be an adventurer from this town, so they didn't know about it. The people of this town wanted to split the money from selling you three among themselves.”

Maybe the fact that they didn't take our equipment, the different confinement place, and the fact that they didn't use hand ropes was to make the Moonlit Dark Night and this town’s other adventurers realize that we three were not commodities (slaves).

I asked Sasha what had been bothering her.

“The reason why we let them kidnapped us was that Misha said she saw someone she recognize, do you have any idea who that might be?

I asked Misha at the auction house yesterday but that person wasn't at the auction house...”

“Mhm, I don't have any idea...because none of the adventurers Misha met before in the labyrinth city of Gilburn will come this way...”

“I see.”

Well, I suppose it's not like it's something that needs to be resolved right now.

“Anyway, it's unusual for Misha to be this excited. I think it's the first time, isn't it?”

“Is that so? She and Clarice have been having a blast in the carriage since the day we met.”

“I guess they need friends of similar age... Elves live a long time, don't they?

So there is no such thing as marriageable age... many people don't get married and don't have children. That's why there are no children around Misha's age. ......Would you like to be friends with Misha?”

After Sasha said so, I, Clarice, and Misha looked at each other and laughed.

I and Clarice said ...

“We are already friends.”

While Misha replied happily

“Yes, I and the two of them are friends!”

Misha said with a mouth full of cream.

Sasha looked at Misha's face and smiled happily.

After finishing breakfast, I, Clarice, and Misha took a walk through the streets of Ganar.

Sasha, together with the adventurers she had brought with her, was going to question the people involved in our kidnapping.

Sasha said they would only be given a stern warning...

While we were wandering around town, a man came and stood in front of us from the shadows.

He was handtied and gagged. He was screaming at us with all his willpower.

“Ah, it's Sir Dames. It's been a while. It seems you sir have developed quite a hobby for this short while I haven't seen you. Well, we're in a hurry, so we'll see you later. Have a nice day.”

When Clarice provoked him, Misha and I couldn't help but laugh.

But Dames was desperately trying to get us to untie the rope.

“Eh, why are you staring at me so intently? Don't tell me that you have feelings for me?”

Clarice goaded Dames again. He had almost killed her once so it’s understandable.

Dames's face turned bright red at Clarice's words and he started screaming again.

“No way...your face is turning so red...but I'm only a six-year-old child...”

Their comical dialogue continued, and Misha and I were laughing at it the whole time.

In the middle of the comedy, Sasha came in.

Sasha looked at Dames as if she was looking at a piece of dirt and asked us.

“Is this man an acquaintance of yours?”

“Yes, well, there's a bit of a story…”

I answered her.

Sasha untied Dames and removed the gag. I was sure Dames was going to scream and scream, but surprisingly, he was very quiet. He was looking in one direction all the time. Looking at Sasha's face...

But Sasha was still looking at Dames like she is looking at a piece of dirt.

Maybe Dames has really woken up as Clarice said.

Sasha kept Dames a distance away from us, entrusted him with another adventurer, and came back to us.

“Is he all right? I feel like he's looking at me all the time...”

“No, I believe it’s not just a feeling but he is staring at you.”

When I explained the situation, Sasha's beautiful face became distorted.

And then it was noon.

Misha's good mood lasted until mid-morning.

Both of us had to move on to our next destination.

“Misha, we will be going our ways here. We'll miss you but we'll see you again when the time comes.”

“It was a pleasure talking with you, Misha. See you next time.”

When Clarice and I said goodbye, Misha cried out, "Don't want! I don't want you to leave.”

I was starting to feel sorry for Misha but there’s no helping this.

Then Sasha asked me where we came from.

I hesitated but eventually Clarice and I told her our origins.

Both of them were very surprised to learn that we were children of nobles. Moreover, I was from the Kingdom of Balkus, which was at war.

Sasha, who had heard of our destination, said

“It's not easy to give my thanks when you're that far away...”

“It’s fine when we meet again next time. It's not like I'm going to be in Irgusia all the time anyway.”

“That’s fine then, I'll be sure to thank you one day. Misha too, you have to remember it properly, okay?”

“Yes! I'll give you something special for Mars. You can expect something big.”

Misha cried and winked at me with a crumpled face.

I and Clarice laughed hysterically at that.

Misha and Sasha headed northeast while Clarice and I headed west; both parties went to their own destination.

====================================

Author’s note:

If you feel the series is even a bit interesting and are curious about the story’s continuation, please consider giving ★★★★★ and bookmark as it will really help with my motivation. m(__)m

<<Prev 

Next>> 

Chapter 44 : Night Time Secret Consultation

TL:SummerPeanut

Curus -> Cyrus

====================================

I woke up three hours after depleting my MP.

It is late at night and most are asleep.

I went outside the inn and checked the surroundings. An adventurer, probably hired by Sasha, was guarding the inn.

“What's wrong? Can't sleep?”

Sasha suddenly spoke from behind me.

“Yeah. The agitation from today's happening is still affecting me...”

“I heard you are very strong, Mars. Do you have something you’d like to know?”

I wondered if she made the guess from the look on my face.

“Yes, I do. Then, Sasha, do you happen to be able to use Wind magic?”

“Yes. I am quite good at Wind magic. But how did you know?”

“Because I thought that the elves were somehow in love with the wind.”

“I see. And what about Wind magic?”

“Will you be willing to teach me Wind magic? I'm actually good at Wind magic but I'm mostly self-taught and don't even know what kind of magics there are.”

“Sure. Let me see a bit of yours first.”

“Yes, however, can we move a little distance away from the town? I'm afraid it might cause a little damage.”

“I think it will be fine just in the town. ...Okay, let's go outside the city.”

I went outside the city to a large clearing with Sasha.

I first used chantless Wind and Wind Cutter.

Then Sasha said

“Eh, chantless?”

“Yes, I've been using Wind and Wind Cutter for so long that I can use them without chanting. There is another magic that I can use without chanting but it is my original magic.”

“That's amazing. Rumor has it that you are a swordsman though... can you use other wind magic?”

“Yes, I can use Tornado and Firestorm.”

“!!! I know what Tornado is, but Firestorm? Isn’t that fusion magic! Let me see both.”

I showed her Tornado and Firestorm. The Tornado I showed is the Tornado with Wind Cutter in it.

Then Sasha said.

“It's really a Tornado...even Wind Cutter...

And it's literally a Firestorm. Albeit, not like I've ever seen a Firestorm before...”

Sasha kept looking at Firestorm.

“I can only use these magics, is there any other magic?

Especially in one-on-one fights, I just can't do any damage when my opponent's durability is so high.”

“There is one Wind magic that is stronger than Wind Cutter in terms of prowess against an individual. The magic is called Wind Impulse…which is an enhanced version of the Wind magic that you are using. Instead of using wind to blow them, it comes in the form of a shock wave to blast the target.”

“Will you be willing to teach me that magic?”

“Of course, I am. Then again if you can use Tornado, you'll be up and running in no time with this magic.”

“And I would like you to tell me if you do happen to know but what is the strongest Wind magic like?”

“The strongest Wind magic is probably the Tempest magic. I think the only person who can use it right now is probably the Wind God...”

“Wind God as in a god?”

“No. It’s the title given to the person who masters the Wind magic the most in this world. 2nd to 10th place is given the title Wind King by the way.”

“Is it possible to use Tempest magic only if you are a Wind god? Or can you use it even if you are a Wind King or something?”

“I think it can be used by Wind Kings as well, although there is no precedent for it...”

“Thank you very much. One last thing, please.

This is a story about a friend of mine who was told that he has a talent for unknown magic but he doesn't know how to use said magic. He claimed that really needs to be able to use that magic but there is no such thing as a grimoire for that unknown magic and he doesn't know how to train himself to use it. Is there a way for him to learn such magic?”

“Hmmm I don't really understand. I know some people who uses weird magic, but...

It’s impossible for me. I'm sorry I can't be of help to you.”

After saying that, Sasha taught me the magic called Wind Impulse.

Sasha's magic power is higher than mine so I thought the same magic would be different in power, but perhaps because of the Wind King title, mine was just as powerful as hers.

I knew I should have asked Waltz, who uses Sleep magic by force if need be, how he learned Sleep magic...

But there wasn't a good opportunity to ask him...

Sasha seemed uncomfortable leaving the inn too much and we went back to the inn.

She did ask me to go back with her but I said I still had a few things I wanted to do so I stayed outside of town. I seemed to have obtained her acknowledgment and was told to be careful before she went back.

After I was alone and a little time had passed, a group of six men appeared in front of me.

The six members of the Moonlit Dark Night.

Luckily Waltz is with them.

And when I appraised them, apparently all six of them were not yet fully recovered.

“Hey, you kid! Lend me your face!”

Origo, the leader, said so to me.

“Why should I listen to a kidnapper?”

“Damn it, this is so troublesome. Waltz! Let the kid sleep!”

Waltz then cast a Sleep spell on me.

I chose to take the Sleep magic head-on.

Sure enough, I didn't fall asleep.

“What! It doesn't work!”

“What? How can that be? This kid's a swordsman! Is he equipped against status abnormalities?”

As expected Sleep magic only works against opponents with lower magic power than the target.

“That’s unfortunate. It seems that Sleep magic doesn't work on me. If you answer my question, I can accept your proposal, you know? What do you want, Sir Origo?”

“Fight me one on one! I refuse to believe you were fighting evenly with Cyrus!”

“I’m fine with that. Then I have a question for you, Sir Waltz. How did you learn Sleep magic? Why did you try to learn it? May I know?”

Origo and Waltz looked at each other and nodded.

“Very well. Then let's play the game first! Can we do it here?”

“Yes. Then let's get to it.”

Origo and I immediately struck each other as soon as we had our swords in our hands.

Unlike Cyrus, Origo was serious about the match.

I deployed my Sylphid and attacked Origo.

The sword fight continued for more than 10 minutes with neither of us landing any decisive blow.

As for how the fight went, I was being overwhelmed by him.

After all, I could receive his attacks but I was not so naive that I could move to attack.

My speed was faster than Origo's, after deploying Sylphid, but Origo's weight in each of his blows was overwhelmingly greater than mine. I was bounced by Origo's sword many times and then I was forced to regain my footing with Sylphid.

The difference from the previous battle with Cyrus is that Origo is slower than Cyrus so I can continue the swordfight without using Wind Cutter.

This fact alone gave me great confidence.

On the other hand, Origo seems very disappointed that he is at the same level as a kid.

The sword Origo was wielding was filled with anger.

Then Waltz stopped Origo, saying, "That's enough, yeah?" and Origo followed suit.

“Tsk! You're a real genius… to think that just a kid could push me to such an extent! Hey, how old are you?”

“I'm six.”

“Damn! You just finished the appraisal ceremony and this is how strong... you are. You really are a monster. ...”

“Then answer my question. How did you learn Sleep magic, Mr. Waltz? And why did you try to learn it?”

Waltz looked me in the eye and said.

“Sleep magic was really an accident. I can use Fire magic and Wind magic. I tried to warm myself with fire magic and it felt good. I tried it on everyone and they said it felt good, so I kept using it and before I knew it, everyone fell asleep when I cast it. Maybe the reason it doesn't work on you is that your magic power is higher than mine...”

“Wha? Don't be silly! It's impossible for someone who had sword fights with me on equal terms to have more magical power than you do!”

“And if you think properly there is no way a six-year-old can even face you or me in any normal situation. The fact that this boy is here doing so means he can no longer be measured by our standards. You understand?”

Waltz admonished his party leader Origo.

“I really have one last question. When Mr. Waltz put Misha to sleep, I believe there was one person who was not a member of the Moonlit Dark Night, a resident of this city, or an adventurer. Do you know who that person is?”

I asked, and Waltz replied.

“When I put the missy elf to sleep, there was only member of the Moonlit Dark Night.

Because I can use the precious Sleep magic so I'm always accompanied by one of the members. If something happens to me, the Moonlit Dark Night will be in a quite the tight situation.

If it were possible, we would still like to talk to you but we have our own reasons for doing so. I'm sorry to be so selfish but I think we're done here.”

Waltz took Origo and disappeared into the darkness with the other members.

I guess I'd better get back to the inn.

The slave-trading incident has been taken care of.

I was able to talk to the guy Clarice had told me about, the one who uses weird magic.

I also got to meet Misha's mother.

Now we just have to find out the identity of the other person Misha knows.

====================================

Author’s note:

If you feel the series is even a bit interesting and are curious about the story’s continuation, please consider giving ★★★★★ and bookmark as it will really help with my motivation. m(__)m

<<Prev 

Next>> 

Chapter 43 : E-Class Adventurer VS B-Class Adventurer

TL:SummerPeanut

====================================

The sword fight between me and Curus is terrific.

The adventurers and slaves around us were also watching us.

I was using only my Sylphid.

The momentum of the battle was overwhelmingly in Curus's favor but when my sword was deflected and I could not defend myself in time, I would use Wind Cutter to bounce Curus's sword.

Using Wind Cutter instantly at times like this shows its shine.

Whenever I use Wind Cutter without chanting, Curus showed a surprised look.

“I'll ask you again, kid, who are you? How could you possibly contend with me at your age?”

“If I tell you, will you back off? Would you not come after us again?”

“No way. Even if Gedo and the rest of these guys let you go, I will never let you go.”

The sword fight became even more intense after he said that.

Curus was still not serious. And I know he is not serious even now.

But I was getting used to his pace as we continued the swordfight.

When I started to get used to it, the sword fight became more intense. This pattern kept repeating itself.

It is a very good experience for me though.

Because everyone is glued to the fierce sword fight between me and Curus, no one tries to kidnap Clarice and Misha.

There was one time where a member of the defeated Abyss seemed to try to kidnap Misha, but for some reason, Curus blew me away toward Misha to prevent him from doing so.

Apparently, Curus has no intention to kill me.

“What do you want?”

“I don't need to answer your question when you won't say anything about yourself.”

I was willing to tell this Curus guy if it’s just a little bit about what was going on.

“...my name is Mars. I saved Misha from being attacked by a hellsnake in the Devil's Forest and since then we have been looking for Misha's mother together.”

“Did you defeat the hellsnake?”

“I didn't beat it by myself, but yes...”

“Seriously...can you keep this up for another half hour or so?”

“Yeah, I'm getting used to it.”

“Damn! That's why geniuses are... I’ll go a little faster and stronger!”

When Curus said that, his sword flashes really got faster.

How many of the people watching around me could follow the sword fight between me and Curus with their eyes?

But even with this many sword flashes going on, I have a lot of leeways to spare.

Even if I weakened Sylphid a little, it would still be enough to defend myself.

I suspect Curus lowered down his power and only increased his speed.

I don't know why he did that, but anyway, he waved his sword as if he was instructing me.

I decided to get used to seeing the future while I still could, so I completely undid my Sylphid and fought with my foresight.

At first, I could not get used to the vision, and I was almost cut down many times, but I managed to use Wind Cutter, and when I was really about to be cut down, Curus loosened his sword for me.

It is good to know in advance that your opponent is going to attack but if you are not used to the overlapping images, it is hard to tell which is the real attack.

“I suppose now’s a good time…Someone will be intruding soon so we’ll take our leaves alright.

If you want to get stronger, go north to the Confederacy of Lister.

They have the best school on this continent. Lastly, Mars, I want to say this. Always make sure you know who you are up against.”

With that, Curus returned to Gedo.

Gedo was furious that he can't kidnap Misha but with the reasoning that it would take too long with that monstrous child. When Cyrus told him that the time is already up, he easily reined back his anger.

And then Gedo and his gang disappeared into the darkness.

As soon as Gedo and his gang were gone, the members of the Moonlit Dark Night tried to capture us but they easily backed down when I waved my sword a little.

Did the organizer escape already? There’s nobody here including the host.

And Dames has also disappeared. Dames was handcuffed and gagged, so even if he had escaped, he would have stood out...

I thought I might finally be able to catch my breath but suddenly someone came down behind me.

I was on my guard but I didn't think they could get this close and not alert me...

The person tried to kidnap Misha as soon as he appeared.

When I tried to stop him, Misha shouted

“Mom!”

and broke down crying.

Misha's mother looked just like an adult Misha, with green hair and red eyes.

I felt like it was really finally over and I just sat there, distracted.

Clarice walked to me.

“Thanks for your hard work. That person you were fighting just now, it didn’t feel like he’s trying to kill anyone...”

“Yeah, I felt like he was giving me some guidance.”

“I wonder what is his aim? You seemed like you were talking with him just now?”

“Oh, he told me to go to the Lister Confederacy if I wanted to be strong, and also not to mistake who’s my enemies...

Curus doesn't think I'm an enemy, apparently. He also let the Moonlit Dark Night go.

I think he sees things differently than we do.”

After I and Clarice finished talking, we headed toward Misha.

Misha's mother glared at us sharply, perhaps because she had no idea what had just happened here.

All the way until Misha said, "These two saved me.”

“I'm sorry. I am Sasha, Misha's mother. You saved Misha, and yet I treated you with hostility...”

“Don’t be. I know you were anxious, I’m Mars.

I have to go to the west with Clarice, who is next to me, and on the way we happened to meet Misha...”

“Nice to meet you. I am Clarice. We happened to pass by when Misha was being attacked by a hellsnake, and later we were looking for Sasha together.”

“Thank you, both of you. I would like to express it but it's already dark so I'll see you tomorrow.

I really don't want to stay the night in this town but I have hired an adventurer to watch over so there'll be any kidnapping again.”*1

“Thank you very much. I will take you up on your offer.”

After that, I followed Sasha.

I appraised Sasha on the way.

Name: Sasha Febrant

Title: -

Status: Elf, commoner

Condition: Good

Age: 84 years old

Level: 47

HP: 52/52

MP: 102/210

Strength: 38

Agility: 60

Magic: 62

Dexterity: 70

Durability: 30

Luck: 5

Special Ability: Archery (Lv6/D)

Special Ability: Wind Magic (Lv8/B)

Her status is like a magician's version of Curus.

As expected my status is not yet a B-Class adventurer.

Still, her appearance like that at 84 years of age is foul play, isn't it?

I felt something from the battle with Curus earlier, so I gave myself an appraisal.

Name: Mars Bryant

Title: Wind King / Goblin Butcher

Status: Human race, second son of Viscount Bryant

Condition: Good

Age: 6 years old

Level: 14

HP: 43/43

MP: 5291/6021

Strength: 36

Agility: 40

Magic: 48

Dexterity: 38

Endurance: 37

Luck: 30

Unique Ability: Innate Talent (LvMax)

Unique Ability: Clairvoyant (Lv8)

Unique Ability: Lightning Magic (Lv0/S)

Special Ability: Swordsmanship (Lv7/B)

Special Ability: Fire Magic (Lv2/F)

Special Ability: Water Magic(Lv1/G)

Special Ability: Earth Magic(Lv1/G)

Special Ability: Wind Magic(Lv8/A)

Special Ability: Holy Magic(Lv4/B)

My agility had increased even though I had not leveled up.

And my swordsmanship had also risen to 7.

Although my status is not up to B-Class level, I am sure that my skills are at B level.

I headed to the inn with Clarice.

Of course, Clarice and I had separate rooms.

Tomorrow, I have something I want Sasha to teach me.

I went to bed after depleting my magic power as usual.

====================================

Author’s note:

If you feel the series is even a bit interesting and are curious about the story’s continuation, please consider giving ★★★★★  and bookmark as it will really help with my motivation. m(__)m

<<Prev

Next>> 

TL’s note:

1. This elf mom didn’t retort at all when Clarice talked about her daughter being attacked by a monster even if we discount the possibility of her not knowing what kind of monster is hellsnake.

Chapter 42 : Raid

TL:SummerPeanut

====================================

“Two hundred and fifty gold pieces!” “Three hundred gold coins!” “320 gold coins!”

This steep price rise is because the organizers are selling three people at once.

I wonder if the buyers know what they are doing...

Then the man with his eyes covered who had just asked the organizers a question.

“A blonde-haired and gold-eyed boy, a silver-haired girl, and an elf child, ten white gold coins for just these three! I don’t need the trash!”

Or so he said. One billion yen for us three kids... What kind of lolicon are you...

Then there were oohs and aahs from the entire audience.

Dames, who has the mental strength of steel, couldn't stand up anymore.

The three of us were taken to a man who was hiding his eyes.

I had a question I really wanted to ask him, so I asked him.

“What are you going to do with us?”

“That's not the kind of language a slave should use with his master. I'm going to educate you thoroughly and you can look forward to it.”

I was a fool to think that he might be even a slightly good person.

It happened as the man with hidden eyes was preparing ten white gold coins.

A merchant I had met in the neighboring town over burst into the auction room with his followers in tow.

“The elf child belongs to me! You've got a lot of nerve stealing from this Lord Gedo*1! Seller, get out hereeeee!”

Were these slave traders and merchants a different group?

It's complicated. Anyway, Gedo, the merchant, also called Misha, whom he kidnapped, his thing.

Thanks to the intrusion of Gedo and the others, the hall was in chaos.

I thought the slaves would take advantage of this and run away but no one ran away.

“Why don't you run away while you still can?”

I asked the slave who was successfully bidded.

“Oh, we became slaves of our own volition. There doesn’t seem to be any problem with my future master, so I'm fine with it. Besides, it is quite an honor for a slave to be put up for auction. The treatment is way better than being sold on the slave market, were you all forcefully kidnapped? If so, you might as well run away but this venue has pretty well-skilled guards, so it would be better to give up for your own sake.”

“I understand. Thank you very much for your kind words of advice. I'm sorry, but can I ask you one more thing? I think you are quite strong but is there someone here who is more skilled than you?”

“You're quite the sharp guy. I think I have the power of a lower C-class adventurer, but there should be two B-class adventurers among the guys guarding this place because the difference in power between a C-level adventurer and a B-level adventurer is absolute.”

There are two above me?

I used to consider myself about a B-class adventurer but after my fight with hellsnake, I re-evaluated myself as a C-class adventurer.

A B-class adventurer is capable of defeating a hellsnake by himself.

I stood in front of Clarice and Misha, alert and ready for battle at any moment.

The man with the covered eyes, his cronies, and the organizers surrounded us to protect us from Gedo.

Gedo turned six of his own men on us.

“Gedo's ace party, the Abyss*2, is here! There are two B-class adventurers, we can't take them on alone! Call the reinforcements quickly!”

That's what the guys protecting us said.

And they were right.

Before anyone knew it, the man with covered eyes who had bidden for us was gone.

And when the guards around us were defeated, the ace party’s six members from the organizer's side arrived.

“Long time no see, ‘Abyss’, have you come to be killed by us ‘Moonlit Dark Night’?”

“Let’s skip the banter, today is the day we kill you!”

A fierce battle began.

As soon as the fight started I asked to the both behind me

“Is there anyone here that Misha knows?”

“No.”

“Clarice, is there the person that used the strange magic you said?”

“Yes. See that wizard-looking guy from Moonlit Dark Night with the black cloak? That's him.”

I immediately appraised him.

Name: Waltz Vistaria

Title: -

Status: Human, commoner.

Condition: Good.

Age: 28 years old.

Level: 26

HP: 50/50

MP: 78/95

Strength: 12

Agility: 18

Magic: 35

Dexterity: 22

Endurance: 18

Luck: 1

Special Ability: Fire Magic (Lv4/D)

Special Ability: Wind Magic (Lv3/D)

Special Ability: Sleep magic(Lv1/G)

His status is a little above Zeke's. There is a special ability called ‘Sleep Magic’.

Perhaps this is an acquired skill?

How did he learn it? It might be useful to learn Lightning magic.

I would love to catch him and ask him.

The battle is going in favor of the Moonlit Dark Night.

Sleep magic showed its effectiveness at critical points.

Whenever the party on the side of Abyss is put to sleep by hypnosis, one of them has to go to wake them up, so the side of Abyss is inevitably short of hands.

I decided to wait and see what would happen if the Moonlit Dark Night continued to prevail.

After all, there was another party on Gedo’s side.

It took a few minutes for Moonlit Dark Night to destroy the party of Abyss.

But just as they were about to put an end to it, they were interrupted from the Gedo side.

A swordsman-like man came from Gedo's place, and in the meantime, the members of Abyss party were defeated.

“Fuck, the boss monkey has come out of its woodwork...”

“It's been a long time, Origo. I'm glad you've been taking care of our lil’ Abyss. I'll take care of you too, so all of you come at me.”

The man's pressure was tremendous.

The leader of the Moonlit Dark Night, a man named Origo, was quite intimidated.

Origo is also strong, and in terms of status, he had more muscle power, agility, and endurance than me, but I have more magic power and dexterity than him.

But the man who just appeared in front of me is even stronger than Origo.

Name: Curus Wafers.

Title: -

Status: Human, commoner.

Condition: Good

Age: 32 years old

Level: 41

HP: 128/128

MP: 52/52

Strength: 58

Agility: 60

Magic: 15

Dexterity: 35

Endurance: 62

Luck: 1

Special Ability: Swordsmanship(Lv7/C)

Special Ability: Water Magic(Lv2/E)

So this is a B-class adventurer...

The current me can't compete in close combat at all.

But even though he's this strong, he doesn't have any equipment.

The only thing he had was a sword with a value of C.

Name: Blade of Ice

Attack: 12

Special: Magic +1

Value: C

Details: A sword made of mithril silver. If you put magic power into the sword, the tip of the sword freezes when you swing it.

I guess that means I'm a lucky guy after all.

But my equipment isn't dropping at all though.

The Moonlit Dark Night was not able to match Curus at all despite the fact that they went all out on the offensive.

Sleep magic is useless if it doesn't hit.

Within a few minutes, they were all rendered incapable of combat.

But Curus let the members of the Moonlit Dark Night escape on purpose.

“Come on, tuck your tail between your legs and get out of here. I won't take your life. My real opponent is not you.”

“Damn you, Curus! You always strut with so much composure. You’ll only be able to bask on this today!”

With that said, Moonlit Dark Night fled.

Curus walked toward Misha.

I stood in front of Misha and held my sword in front of Curus.

“Hey, I'm not in the mood to pick on kids. Get down obediently.”

Curus tried to brush my sword away as he said that but I caught him firmly with my sword.

Curus looked at me with a surprised look on his face.

“Who the hell are you? There's no way you can take my sword, no matter how much I held back my strength.”

I silently held up my sword.

====================================

<<Prev 

Next>> 

TL’s note:

1. I’m not 100% sure but his name is probably a katakana play on the japanese word brute/fiend/heresy.
2. Abyss or Naraku. 奈落.
3. Darkness of Moonlit Night or Moonlit Dark Night or Tsukiyo no Yami. 月夜の闇.

Chapter 41 : Slave Auction

TL:SummerPeanut

====================================

I and Misha woke up at about the same time.

Misha was not sure where we were and started to panic but since Clarice and I were there, it didn't turn into big trouble.

“Where is this?”

Misha said, to which I replied

“Misha, don't be surprised. We were caught. However, this is not the same situation Misha had been in before. We got caught on purpose. We got caught on purpose, to find Misha's mother.”

“What? Why? Let's get out of here!”

“Calm down. If we run away here, we might lose Misha's mother again.

There is a good chance that Misha's mother will come to this town looking for you. We just have to be patient.”

“No, no! We have to get out of here now!”

Misha said and tried to leave the room.

I and Clarice did not move. Misha looked at me and Clarice who were not moving and said.

“W,why? Aren't you coming with me?”

“Misha, listen to me, Clarice and I are doing this for Misha's sake.

Besides, we have our own agenda. We can't stay with Misha forever.

Of course, if Misha gives up on seeing her mother and comes with us to a more distant place, we can run away together. What do you want to do, Misha?”

Misha suddenly began to cry, perhaps because my words had been too harsh.

But I continued.

“You can either get out of here right now and come with us while giving up your mother, or you can stay here with us, and actually you have one more choice.”

Misha looked at me with tears.

“That is to get out of here and take action separately from us. You could be captured again, or worse, attacked by magic beasts. What do you want to do? Think carefully and decide. If Misha has thought it over, I'll go with your choice.”

As I said this, Clarice opened her mouth

“Misha, I know you are confused. But calm down, it is possible that Misha's mother was in Gilburn, a labyrinth city northeast of this city. But I don't think she's there anymore, and I'm sure she's out there right now frantically searching for you.”

Hearing that story from Clarice, I thought about Zeke, Maria, and Ike.

I wonder if they have already received my letter that Count Beetle sent. I can't wait to see them.

When I think about it, I think I understand a little more about Misha's feelings.

If Clarice hadn't been in Grantham, if I hadn't had a former Japanese compatriot, I would have been anxious, too.

Not to mention, it will take time before Misha can truly trust us.*1

“Misha, I was out of line. I apologize. I just want you to believe me. I will get Misha to your mother, that I promise. Please.”

Misha cried harder.

“I'm sorry too. I just don't know what to do anymore...”

We talked for the rest of the night as we prepare.

In the end, there wasn't much we could do.

The only thing we could do was to go with the flow and do our best to deliver Misha to her mother when she arrived.

We also had to make sure that we would not fall prey to any strange magic so initially, we thought we had to infuse magic into our eyes at all times while we stay on alert, but come to think of it, I have not checked the performance of the Clairvoyant skill after its level had been raised.

When I appraised the Clairvoyant, I found that I could use Foresight (Vision)(Weak).

I seem to be able to see 0.5 seconds into the future. It is nice to be able to know beforehand the opponent's attack during a battle.

However, it consumes 10 MP per second. How much MP will be lost in one second if I use the magic eye and Sylphid together? And the further away I am, the less effective it becomes. So it only works against those near my surroundings.

In the end, it’s better to not use it unless it’s an all-out battle.

The sun was setting and the house was getting noisy.

The security of the room is very careless, by the way. This room has a window.

I can normally see out of the house through the window.

I can see people who are being handcuffed leaving this house one after another.

Was there a basement? More than 20 people have already been taken.

Then our room opened.

I thought they would tie me up with a rope but they didn't do anything.

But we were surrounded by more than 10 guards.

I was really suspicious so I asked one of the adventurers surrounding us.

“Why aren't you handcuffing us?”

“Because no matter how hard you kids try, you can't escape us.”

I see. I replied and cut off the conversation. I thought these guys were so stupid that even Misha alone was able to escape from them.

They don't even equip any equipment. Don't they realize how incredible Clarice's equipment is?

Or are they thinking that she’s a product including her equipment?

Then we arrived at what looked like a slave auction hall in the northwest part of town.

There were many people dressed in fancy clothes like aristocrats in the auction hall. Some of them were even blindfolded.

The place was quite heated.

Then the auction began.

“Now we are going to start the auction of slaves. Today's last three slaves are the finest in recent years, so please join the party.”

A man who looked like an emcee said that, and first a man wearing a hand rope came out from the opposite side of the room from where we were standing.

Clarice and I couldn't help but let out an involuntary "ah" as the tied man came out from the opposite side of the room.

“The first one is a former baron of the city of Grantham, the easternmost city of the Kingdom of Zarkham.

As a former noble, he is well educated and should be able to do all the basic things.

Now, we’ll start with one gold coin. Go ahead, ooooh!”

There was Dames Barker, handcuffed and gagged at the mouth.

He seemed to be desperately shouting something but since he was gagged, I couldn't understand what he was saying.

The reaction of the audience was bizarre.

“・・・・・”

The audience that had been so noisy until now was as if a lie except Dames's moaning.

There was a terrible silence. No one had made a bid.

The moderator panicked.

“Come on, it's one gold coin! It's a former baron! It's a bargain! Go ahead and bid!”

but no one responded. The host, numb to the situation, said

“Five silver coins, then! It's a bargain!”

He desperately tried to appeal to the audience.

However, the hall was as silent as ever.

Dames was stunned silent, not even moaning anymore.

In the end, Dames came back to us because there were no takers.

When I saw the look on Dames's face as he returned, I felt a little sorry for him. A man who was worth less than 50,000 yen…

After that, the slave auction proceeded smoothly.

It seemed that the market price was roughly 20 to 30 gold coins.

Women are more expensive, and men seem to be more expensive the better they look or the higher their status.

And this is where the Dames’s hell began.

Whenever a sale was concluded, a Dames was always put on display, and each time this happened, there was silence.

The second time Dames would be sold for four silver coins, the third time for three silver coins, and so on, and even if the price was lowered, it was always silence.

How many times had Dames appeared on the market I wonder?

The price of dames had dropped to seven iron coins. Still, no one raised a voice or hand.

Then he came back to our side with his shoulders slumped again.

I don't want to be a slave but I guess it is despairing the fact that one’s value is decreasing rapidly.

It was then that his eyes met mine.

Dames's eyes, which had been dead until then, suddenly came alive.

“yOUuuu BASTARDDdddd!!!”

He began to rage at the same time as the strange voice, but suddenly he started laughing strangely and became quiet.

I guess he probably thought I had fallen into slavery, too, and was thinking that I got my serving.

Well, at any rate, I'm glad he cheered up.

Finally, it was my turn.

“Now let me introduce you to a young child yet well disciplined.

He has a promising future, blond hair, blond eyes, good looks, and no flaws at all! He starts at 50 gold coins!”

Oh, I'll start with 50 gold coins.

Then, the place was filled with unprecedented excitement.

In the blink of an eye, we were over 100 gold coins when a comment was made.

“I have a question for the organizers. How many more are there? Depending on that, I'm prepared to call out some white gold coins.”

said a man with a mask covering his eyes. Then the host said

“Two more, sir.”

The man asked to see them all at once, and the audience encouraged him to do so.

“This may be unorthodox, but I will now introduce you to two more people.

The first one has silver hair and blue eyes, so beautiful that once you see her, you can never take your eyes off of her. She is a mysterious and saintly girl. If you adopt her, you can have her for yourself as is, not to mention a lucrative marriage to another nobleman!”

With that, Clarice came out. The audience was in a frenzy.

“And last but not least, a girl with green hair and red eyes!

Yes, she is an elf! An elf, a very rare elf in this land! You won't see anything like her in the future!”

With that being said, Misha came out.

The three of us on stage caused the greatest enthusiasm from the audience.

No one noticed that Dames had been sneakily brought in from the side too.

====================================

Author’s note:

If you feel the series is even a bit interesting and would like to know more of the story’s continuation, please consider giving ★★★★★ and bookmark as it will really help with my motivation. m(__)m

I’m using Twitter too.

I will be very grateful if you can follow me.

https://twitter.com/qdUYSDZf8XzNaUq

<<Prev 

Next>> 

TL’s note:

1. He’s trying to say that Misha is unlike him who can easily trust Clarice thanks to his past experience in japan with her and that’s why he wasn’t as anxious about being alone.

Chapter 40 : Apprehension

TL:SummerPeanut

====================================

The city of Ganar is quite small. And something about it feels different from other cities I've been to.

I don't know what’s different. It’s just that something felt wrong.

I went to the Adventurer's Guild alone.

I had Misha wait outside the town with Clarice because if I let her out in public, there’s a chance she would be captured again. Of course, they are in the carriage.

The Adventurer's Guild also seemed different from previous guilds.

The guild staff and adventurers were all looking at me with curious eyes.

“Uhm, do you have any lost child quests?”

I asked the guild staff.

“Quest for a lost child? We usually don't get requests for such quest in this town.”

“I see. ...I understand. Thank you very much.

And is there any labyrinth city around here?”

“Yes, there is one of the largest labyrinth cities in the country, Gilburn, just northeast of here.

Then please answer me regarding the previous question. Are you lost? Where are your father and mother? How did you get here?”

I felt as if the adventurers in the guild were listening to the conversation between me and the guild official.

“No, I am not lost. There’s someone I am searching for... my father and mother are at home.

Thank you very much. Excuse me.”

With that, I left the Adventurer's Guild and headed for the opposite side of the carriage. It seemed like I’m being followed.

I couldn't let these unknown people get anywhere near Clarice.

I entered an alleyway to the west of the town and immediately put on Sylphid and left those who had been following me from behind in the dust. I then used Wind magic to pick up the voices of those following me from behind.

“Where did he go? Maybe he noticed you following him?”

“No, of course not. There’s no need to rush. He must still be in town.”

“Yeah, let's go get him and make some cash.”

“Yeah, that's right. What the kid said is probably a lie. If his parents were here, they would tell him to stay away from this town. Otherwise, there’s no way he’ll come here. The kid's a slave once the sun sets.”

So the strange thing about this town is that there are no kids here!

And are they being traded for slaves in this city…?

Was Misha supposed to be brought to this city too?

That means it's no good to stay in this town for long.

I clad myself in Sylphid and tried to head to the east that’s on the other side of the city.

However, people were gathering at the east exit of the city.

On the west side, there are those who followed me earlier. I was completely surrounded.

I walked toward the east exit.

Then, some adventurers or ruffians, I don't know which, on the east side of the city came up to me and said

“Where are you going, kid? It's not safe to go beyond this point because it's outside the city.”

“Thank you. But I'm from outside, so I'll be fine. Now, if you'll excuse me.”

The men block my path and then say.

“Hey, hey, hey. You know what? You should listen to what adults are saying. We’ll properly protect you. Oh yeah, I just found some girls outside, about the same age as you kid. How about you and the girls, 3 of you, have a little fun?”

Clarice and Misha had already been captured...but putting aside Misha, I don't think Clarice would fall behind an opponent of this level. All of them are only about E-class adventurers. There must be some scheme cooking behind it.

“I understand. I'll obey you honestly so I'd like to meet with the girls.”

“!!!??? Wahahah. I don't dislike such frankness either, you know.

However, don't touch the girls. They are important goods.”

The man then brought me to a large house in the northeast part of town. In front of the house was our carriage.

The hoodlum said to another guy in front of the house.

“Hey, take this kid to the girls you just brought. We'll deal with him today too, so don't rough him up. You BETTER not alright! At least not to the point it’s obvious to those people aight! Our share will decrease ‘kay.”

I walked after the thugs and was taken to the last room on the second floor of the house.

There I found the two asleep. I thought they might have been poisoned, so I appraised them.

Misha was asleep and Clarice was normal.

“Oi, don't get any ideas! I'm having a bad day, for God's sake! If you try anything, I won’t go easy on you!”

With that, he left the room.

I turned to Clarice.

“Ahem, what's going on? Why did you get caught like that?”

Clarice opened her eyes and said.

“As expected, you knew I’m awake? You see, Misha told me there was someone who was with Misha's mother when they came. So I got caught on purpose to talk to that person. I had no doubt that Mars would find us, and you did.”

Clarice looked straight at me. It's nice to be trusted, to be depended on.

“Where is that person now? Are you two hurt? Why is Misha sleeping?”

“That man went away after he caught us. We're not hurt but there was a person who used strange magic. That’s why Misha fell asleep. Though I’m fine...

Maybe it was thanks to this Saint Robe. I was able to get a lot of information when I pretended to be asleep.”

“Well... using yourself as bait to find Misha’s mother may be the quickest solution...but it is too risky. You need to take better care of yourself.”

“Yeah, I know. But, you know, I felt I had to help her when I saw Misha's face... Sorry.”

“For now, the apology can be done later. Let’s consolidate the information. The slave trade takes place at night in this city.

I think we will be sold there. We'll see if Misha knows anyone there.”

“Mhm. I believe Misha's mother will be there at night. Misha's mother seems to be a reputable adventurer. Recently there was a spike in the number of magic beasts in the Labyrinth City Gilburn so Misha’s mother was called there. Misha was kidnapped at that time supposedly...

The Zarkham Kingdom is concerned about Misha's kidnapping case this time and has organized a search party. Misha's mother should be with them. But since they need to thin out the magic beasts in the labyrinth, according to the person who brought us here Misha's mother is probably the only strong one.“

“I understand. In any case, tonight is the turning point. It's still late afternoon, so there will be enough time before the nighttime slave trade. I'm going to deplete my leftover MP from the battle with the hellsnake and get ready for the night. Also, Clarice is at level 1 in Barrier magic now so I want you to do your best to master it. It is a power that will be absolutely necessary from now on.”

“As I thought, I am able to use Barrier magic now?! I'm so glad! Then I'll do my best to master it while Mars is sleeping!”

I took a nap while sorting things out one by one.

Slave trading.

Someone Misha knew.

Someone who uses strange magic.

Misha's mother.

I must be in perfect shape tonight.

====================================

Author’s note:

Those who feel this series is at least somewhat interesting and would like the story to continue please give ★★★★★ and bookmark this series as it will give me the motivation so thank you very much m(__)m.

<<Prev 

Next>> 

Chapter 39 : The First Elf

TL:SummerPeanut

Author’s Note:

Thank you for always reporting typographical errors.

TLN: I accept these inputs too. But please do it gently, my heart is fragile. In general, I put characters’ thoughts and dialogues in present tense, while actions in past tense.

====================================

“Mars! Are you okay?”

Clarice ran up to him.

“Yeah. Clarice, did you protect me just now?”

“I don't know. I was just desperate. Are you hurt? Are you sure you're really okay?”

“I'm really fine. I'm just started trembling right now.”

“I'm sorry. Because I said I wanted to help…”

“No, it's okay. I also took it too lightly...

Oh yeah, where’s the girl? Is she alright?”

“Yes, I let her take shelter in the carriage. She might still be scared, so let's go back quickly.”

We retrieved the hellsnake's magic stone and quickly returned to the carriage.

There was a girl in the carriage with long green hair and pointed ears.

“Are you fine? Anywhere hurting?”

“Adventurer? Did the merchant send you to get me back? Because I'm definitely not coming back!”

“Sure, we're adventurers but we will never give you to a merchant.

Where did you come from? We are heading west but if our destinations coincide, do you want to go with us?”

“You won't take me to the merchants? Really?”

“Yes, really. We won't do that. So tell me, where do you want to go?

We'll help you as much as we can.”

“T,thank you very much. Really...you even saved me...”

The girl said tearfully.

“I don't know where to go...because I came with my mother...

I got separated from my mom in the city...and a merchant told me to follow him because he knew where my mom was...”

“Typical development eh...when did you get separated from your mother? Do you know the where?”

“Maybe around three days ago. I don't know where but it was in a labyrinth city.”

“Ok. I'll try to find the labyrinth city in the next town. I'm Mars, pleased to meet you.”

“My name is Clarice. Pleased to meet you.”

“I'm Misha. I'll be under your care for a little while.”

I appraised Misha.

Name: Misha Febrandt

Title: -

Status: Elf, commoner

Condition: Good

Age: 6 years old

Level: 1

HP: 5/5

MP: 12/12

Strength: 2

Agility: 4

Magic: 3

Dexterity 3

Durability 2

Luck: 5

Special Ability: Spearmanship (Lv0/B)

Special Ability: Water Magic (Lv0/C)

Special Ability: Wind Magic (Lv0/D)

I thought elves excelled more in long-range attacks but she’s good at spearmanship.

As I had expected before, her status is high in agility while low in strength and durability.

Still, she looks pretty small… Wouldn’t expect she’s the same 6-years-old as us...

I think I heard that elves grow at the same rate as humans until they are about 15 years old...

Are there perhaps individual differences?

“Well then, Misha, let's clean ourselves up real quick, shall we? The clothes you're wearing are getting dirty, how about borrowing some of Clarice's clothes?”

I said, and Clarice and Misha looked at me with strange faces.

“Mars, you're not thinking of something little strange, are you?”

“Mars, do you mean... already...?”

“There’s no way that’s the case right…,t-trust me a little…”

I said my piece and summoned hot water out of my hand. Of course, my face is turned backward.

For the sake of protecting a smooth relationship with Clarice, I will never make the mistake of turning my face to the front.

When I heard the sound of Misha undressing... I'm a shellfish. I want to be a shellfish…

After Misha finished washing up one way or another, she changed into Clarice's clothes.

It's a little loose but not awkward looking. By the way, she is wearing a hoodie and white pants.

I chose the hoodie so that the color of her ears and hair would not stand out.

But still, elves are beautiful, aren't they?

It is unforgivable to take such a girl as a slave. I will never hand her over to the merchant.

As soon as Misha finished changing, we headed for a town toward the west of the one we had just left.

Inside the carriage, they had already broken the ice.

It may be due to them being of the same age. Or maybe their circumstances are also similar.

Well, I have to sit on the driver’s seat.

And it would be more fun for girls to talk amongst themselves I guess.

On the way, I tried to appraise myself to know my condition.

If a strong enemy comes out here, I'll have to decide whether to fight or flee after all.

Name: Mars Bryant

Title: Wind King/Goblin Butcher

Status: Human, second son of Viscount Bryant

Condition: Good

Age: 6 years old

Level: 14

HP: 43/43

MP: 2100/6020

Strength: 36

Agility: 38

Magic: 48

Dexterity: 37

Endurance: 37

Luck: 30

Unique Ability: Innate Talent(LvMax)

Unique Ability: Clairvoyant(Lv8)

Unique Ability: Lightning Magic(Lv0/S)

Special Ability: Swordsmanship(Lv6/B)

Special Ability: Fire Magic(Lv2/F)

Special Ability: Water Magic(Lv1/G)

Special Ability: Earth Magic(Lv1/G)

Special Ability: Wind Magic(Lv8/A)

Special Ability: Holy Magic(Lv4/B)

And what a surprise!

My level did not increase. My magic and agility increasing by one each which is, in a sense, as expected though.

Clairvoyant is now Lv8 and Holy Magic is now Lv4.

Let's try out various things to see what has changed in Clairvoyant.

The most surprising thing was that my talent for Fire magic went up from G to F.

It's not supposed to be possible for talent to go up but... it actually did go up to F and is at Lv2 now.

The talent of effort being always rewarded… Thank you very much, Demi-God.

Also, I definitely need to learn Lightning magic.

I've been able to get by with just Wind magic and Swordsmanship so far but it may not work against a threat level B magic beast. I tried lightning magic every day but it’s just that I still can't manage to use it.

Next, I appraised Clarice.

Name: Clarice Lampard

Title: -

Status: Human race, Baron Lampard's eldest daughter

Condition: Good

Age: 6 years old

Level: 16

HP: 33/33

MP: 184/245

Strength: 22

Agility: 22

Magic: 24

Dexterity: 22

Endurance: 21

Luck: 20

Unique Ability: Barrier Magic(Lv1/A)

Special Ability: Swordsmanship(Lv4/C)

Special Ability: Archery (Lv4/B)

Special Ability: Holy Magic(Lv4/A)

Why is my level not going up while Clarice's level does?

Well, I don't mind small things. Huh...

Finally, she learned Barrier magic! That magic circle back then must be Clarice's magic.

If she could use that magic intentionally, Clarice would be able to provide an ironclad defense.

I don’t have a lot of MP left but I should have no problem fighting a threat level C magic beast or so. If a magic beast with a high durability value appears, I would need to consider retreating...

I encountered sporadic magic beasts on the way to the next town.

They were kobolds and goblins, so I had Clarice defeat them.

When Clarice returned from the battle, Misha was excited.

“How are you so strong Clarice. Even though you looked around the same age as me. I also want to be as strong as Clarice.”

“I'm still not strong enough, Mars is stronger than me you know. And I'm six. What about Misha?”

“I knew Mars was strong. He was fighting that big snake after all.

I'm six too. We're the same age. ...Clarice is really amazing. Is Mars your follower, Clarice?”

“No, I and Mars are...friends. For now.”

My ears were ringing from their conversation.

Before I knew it, Misha had started calling me without honorifics.

Then we arrived at Ganar, the neighboring town from where the merchant earlier was.

====================================

<<Prev 

Next>> 

Chapter 38 : Bitter Fight

TL:SummerPeanut

Beast race huh? Did someone say anything about that previous chapter?

Btw I’ll be using the word inside the brackets only from now onwards except for some. E.g. Wind Cloak (Sylphid) > Sylphid or magic bow (magic arrow) > magic arrow.

Thanks for the peaanuts Marcus and Kayla.

====================================

We left the Adventurer's Guild and talked as we walked to the carriage.

“Mars, have you ever seen the elves?”

“No, I haven't. Clarice?”

“No, neither have I. In fact, I've only seen human beings. I did hear that there are beastmen and dwarves in the royal capital, big cities, and big labyrinth cities… Are we passing by the Devil’s Forest on our way to the next town?”

“Ah, I might have seen beastmen and dwarves in Almeria; the first labyrinth city I lived at. I don't think we'll be passing near the Devil's Forest. Count Beetle's route prioritizes the safest route, after all.”

“Then why don't we take the road that goes a little closer?”

“Mm...I’m not really keen to put you in danger...”

We got to the carriage and started the horses.

“I'm still a little bothered...isn’t it fine if it’s just for a bit...no? I'm curious about elves.”

To be frank, there’s a part of me that want to see elves too.

“Then we’ll take the route that pass by near the Devil’s Forest. But Clarice, you need to be on the lookout there, too.”

I made a slight change in our route to the next town after saying so.

We were now more than 10 km away from the city.

I could feel the presence of magic beasts in the distance.

I had recently been able to emit wind one way or another, I was able to spot people and magic beasts.

Wind magic is very convenient.

However, since the magic power of wind is being emitted, magic beasts sensitive to magic power will notice it.

Well, they would not know where the wind was coming from, so they would only become wary.

The forest one kilometer away, so that’s the Devil’s Forest... the forest seems to be covered with a veil of magical power.

I had a bad feeling about this.

I would never push myself in times like this. The worst that could happen is that I would turn back.

Clarice seemed to have noticed something was wrong.

“What's wrong?”

“There might be a magic beast in the woods far inside. Maybe it is the forest’s devil. The current us might not be able to win against it.”

“Is it really that strong? Seems like it might be worse than the rumors claim.”

“I don't know but we should be careful. It is not certain that the elf came here so let's give up on the elves.”

With that said, we took a rather large turn.

There was no sign of anyone’s presence. Maybe the elf-slave that was on the request earlier had not come this way.

Fortunately, the magic beast didn't seem to notice us.

We passed by someone that was heading toward the magic beast although we got through without any difficulty.

We were so preoccupied with the magic beast that we didn't pay any attention to what was behind us.

But still, did they not notice the magic beast? Is this guy the elf?

Should I take the risk to help him?

If I die, Clarice will be all alone down the road.

I would have to break my promise to Count Beetle, Gray, and Erna.

As I hesitated, Clarice asked me a question after perhaps reading my expression.

“Is there, possibly, someone heading toward the magic beast?”

Is my expression that obvious? Isn’t my feelings completely exposed to her already?

“Uhh...”

“Let's go help him!”

“It's too dangerous...”

“But! We have to go! I was really happy when Mars helped me at the convenience store, you did save me!”

“...alright. However, we’ll go with utmost precaution. I'll go first, and Clarice can follow after.”

“No. I'll go with you. I might be able to at least blind it with my magic arrow.”

I nodded silently and slowly approached the forest where I believed the magic beast would be.

The magic beast was a large snake.

Name: -

Title: -

Race: Hell’s Snake (Hellsnake)

Threat: B-

Condition: Good

Age: 3 years old

Level: 5

HP: 98/98

MP: 3/3

Strength: 38

Agility: 50

Magic: 1

Dexterity: 42

Endurance: 62

Luck: 1

What an out of the standard monster! So this is the danger of a B-.

It says it has no special ability but its fangs are definitely poisonous.

A small shadow ran toward the hellsnake, apparently distracted by the rear and unaware of the hellsnake in front.

The hellsnake seemed to have noticed the small shadow and was shrieking threateningly.

I thought it would be bad if I didn't do anything so I put my magic power into the Wind Cutter and shot it toward the hellsnake.

Just before it hits the hellsnake, perhaps sensing the threat, it avoided the Wind Cutter at an unbelievable speed.

Even though the distance was far, I didn't think it can avoid it.

The hellsnake’s agro is on me.

The little shadow is actually a girl a little smaller than us. The girl was startled by the hellsnake and froze, so I moved away from her.

Clarice was the one that helped that frozen girl out.

Okay, now I only have to worry about myself.

I put on the Sylphid and fire a volley of Wind Cutter shots.

Even if the Wind Cutter doesn't hit the snake directly, it will cut up the snake's body little by little.

The skin of the hellsnake's body fell off in fluttering pieces.

Hmm? Doesn't it bleed or something? I checked its HP and saw that it is not losing any HP!

This thing was consciously armoring itself with its molted skin!

I dodge the hellsnake's attack and unleash more Wind Cutters.

First, I'll peel off its armor.

It was the beginning of a deadly battle.

Gradually, the hellsnake's molted skin was peeled off.

The hellsnake quickly closed the distance between us. The speed of its attack was so fast that even I, clad in Sylphid, just barely managed to avoid it.

Tornado hit the snake directly and stripped it of all its skin, finally damaging the hellsnake a little.

The damaged hellsnake was furious and attacked me faster than ever in return.

It was right after dodging god knows how many bite attacks.

As I was about to counterattack after dodging a bite attack, the hellsnake's tail struck me with great momentum.

The tail of the snake, which was many times larger than my own, hit me directly and blew me away.

Fortunately, I was able to defend myself with my right hand and my body was not damaged too much but my right hand was broken.

Mars had never been so wounded in a fight with a magic beast before.

However, Mars was strangely not in a hurry. This was due not only to Mars's exceptional talent but also to his Innate Talent:.

*it’s author sudden explanation. Below is back to Mars’s POV.

I used heal while dodging the hellsnake's attacks.

The hellsnake's speed was getting faster and faster and I was on the defensive.

However, it is not bad to be on the defensive.

As I concentrated on evasion, I gradually became accustomed to the speed of the hellsnake.

I had been dodging for more than 10 minutes. Clarice had returned to the safe place where she evacuated the girl she’d secured and was hiding in the grass as she watched.

Perhaps she felt she would only be a burden if she came out to assist right now.

With my right hand fully recovered, I gradually began to fight back.

The moment I ducked an attack, I unleashed a Wind Cutter from near zero distance.

And as expected, the hellsnake's HP was decreasing rapidly since it seemed to be unable to avoid the attack from this distance.

I thought I could continue to push through like this but reality is not so easy.

When the hellsnake's HP was less than half, it began to drool from its mouth.

When the drool splashed on my cloak, the cloak melted with a sizzling sound. It was like a dissolving liquid.

The drool made it impossible for me to just avoid the bite attack by a very small margin like I had been doing previously.

Damn. If I can't dodge with minimal movement, Wind Cutter won’t hit.

I know that I was only wasting time and MP at this point of time.

This was a far cry from my earlier defensive tactics.

The hellsnake attacked again with its bite and drool.

I fired my Wind Cutter to push the hellsnake back and I got away from it.

With this distance, I can cast my strongest magic. With that in mind, I concentrate and cast my magic.

“Firestorm!!!”

☆☆☆

*Clarice’s POV

Clarice evacuated the girl to the carriage and returned to Mars, watching the battle between Mars and the hellsnake.

Mars had the upper hand until about halfway through the battle but when the hellsnake started drooling, the situation changed.

If I enter the battle, I will only drag Mars down... I have to determine the right time if I am to join the battle... I kept my magic Arrow at the ready all the while thinking that.

Mars had just dodged the hellsnake's bite attack again.

This time, however, perhaps he wanted to keep his distance from the hellsnake so he created a powerful wind between him and the hellsnake, gaining a considerable distance from it.

Mars is after something.

However, I had a bad feeling. I couldn’t understand myself despite observing the situation and fully concentrating on that.

As soon as Mars cast the spell, I saw the hellsnake attack Mars at a speed never seen before.

Mars was so focused on his magic that he didn't notice the hellsnake's abnormal speed! At this rate, Mars would surely be bitten to death!

For some reason, when that thought crossed my mind, I was showering my own magic around Mars...

☆☆☆

I, who was in the middle of casting Firestorm, was surprised to see a hellsnake right in front of me.

It was about 50 meters away just now and now it is as close as 5 meters away.

It will take about 3 more seconds for Firestorm to activate.

Right when I was thinking that I would be bitten to death if I don’t do anything.

A beautiful magic circle enveloped me.

The hellsnake tried to enter the magic circle but it was bounced back by the magic circle.

The magic circle disappeared after the hellsnake was bounced back but it is more than enough time for the Firestorm to activate.

An intense fire tornado attacked the hellsnake.

My Firestorm is made up of a ratio of nine Wind magic and one Fire magic.

I am not good at Fire magic but the wind’s role is to make a small fire bigger.

The hellsnake tries to come out of the firestorm but I try my best to hold it back with Wind.

Finally, the hellsnake ran out of strength in the middle of the intense firestorm.

====================================

Author’s note:

I'm sorry if it's hard to read because the POVs of the first person and the third person are mixed.

TLN: >.>

<<Prev 

Next>> 

Chapter 37 : Aiming for Irgusia

TL:SummerPeanut

====================================

I and Clarice are heading for Irgusia together on a horse-drawn carriage.

By the way, the distance from Grantham to Irgusia is about 2,000 km.

Basically, it is a round-trip in a straight line from Tokyo to Kagoshima.

Since Clarice is going with me, it would be better to take a horse-drawn carriage because of the additional luggage.

However, there is no one else to ride the horse. I'm so glad I learned how to ride a horse.

“I think Count Beetle must have thought a lot before asking father and mother to entrust me with you.”

Clarice spoke to me from the carriage.

“Yup.”

“I've already publicly revealed that I can use Holy magic, haven't I? This is a lot more dangerous than I initially thought apparently. He told us that such magic users are traded at a ridiculous price by the higher ranking nobles and demons*1 so as long as I remain in Grantham, there is a high possibility of a kidnapping case occurring…the residents who are there now are all good people but there will definitely be people who will try to kidnap me in the future…and that if I am kidnapped by bad adventurers, it is likely to be much worse...”

“Yup.”

“But you know what? Even if it’s you we’re talking about, Mars, don’t you think it’s outrageous to send a six-year-old girl to a hostile country? I think that's why the Earl has made the Lampards a baron house.”

“What do you mean?”

“I heard that the treatment of prisoners of war differs between commoners and nobles in case someone with malicious intent finds out that I am from an enemy country and takes me in as a prisoner. I’m not sure about the details but a noble from an enemy country will definitely not receive any dubious treatments. They don't suddenly turn into slaves or anything like that. But that’s assuming that they do not know that I can use Holy magic.

Besides that, the Count delivered your letter to Mars’s parents via his fast horse, right? In that letter, you see, the Count himself wrote to them asking for their cooperation if I were to accompany you. That the girl accompanying you…is uhm…”

“Oh, I kind of get it......”

Count Beetle must have been very concerned about us. Also, Clarice must be feeling anxious. Going alone to a hostile country, what if she isn’t accepted by me, my family, and Irgusia’s citizens, what if we have arguments…she lacks her usual vigor as she said this.

“Listen to me, Clarice. I will never let Clarice become a prisoner of the Balkus Kingdom.

Besides, it was very painful for me to not see Clarice for a week after we conquered the labyrinth.

I thought that you were avoiding me one way or another, that maybe you hated me.”

“There’s no such…”

“I know, I know. But I was worried. I took being together with you for granted as long as I stay in Grantham and then I suddenly lost sight of you right after conquering the labyrinth.

I felt like my heart broke...”

…so I just realized something right after saying that! This is just like a confession!

I can feel my face getting hot. It's not just my face, it's like sweat is pouring out of my body.

“I'm sorry. I was thinking about a lot of things and had been struggling just to take care of myself...

That the time with my father and mother, 3 of us,  is about to end so…”

I’m glad that she ignored it. Or maybe she didn’t notice?

Luckily Clarice is in the carriage and I'm on horseback, so she can't see my face.

Either way, I vow I will protect Clarice who came to Irgusia alone.

At the very least until she turns 15.

If she is not accepted by my family and the residents, I am prepared to leave home.

My journey with Clarice was going well.

There were several reasons for that but one is that Count Beetle had written a letter to allow two children to stay the night, which I just had to show to the host, and he let us stay without asking any questions. Though we had to pay for it.

The second reason is that we had access to Holy magic.

If the horse feels a little weak, we can heal them and it will regain its strength. We left the lodge at 8:00 a.m. and only had to take a lunch break while traveling until 5:00 p.m.

Well, I have to give the horse some water every now and then along the way but that's easily doable if I use my water magic.

Lastly, the route that Count Beetle chose for us is also good.

The route was a bit of a detour but it seemed to have been carefully calculated to stay away from the royal capital, the more remote areas, and areas with poor security.

It’s obvious to avoid areas with poor security but it’s recommended to stay away from the royal capital too.

There are various reasons for this. The Count did not give us the details though.

When we arrived in town, we went to the Adventurer's Guild and took an errand quest.

Anyway, we were heading west so we did as many quests as we could to deliver things to the west.

Well, since we are six-year-olds and going into the Adventurer's Guild, I expected a certain template-like development, but as expected, there was no one who would get involved with some six-year-old kids.

However, we were occasionally approached about Clarice's luxurious equipment.

Defender, silver mithril dagger, magic bow (magic arrow), anklet of secret (mysterious anklet), saintess’s vestment (saint's robe).

It is doubtful that the other adventurers know the exact performance of these items but anyone can see that they are valuable.

They asked how we got it and who gave it to but we were never attacked.

My gear consisted of a silver mithril sword, a wind dagger (sylph dagger), and a disguise bracelet.

The silver mithril sword is a very good piece of equipment but it can’t be compared to Clarice's equipment.

They probably thought I’m Clarice's follower.

Well, that's OK with me.

By the way, I heard that Clarice was also registered as an adventurer. She is an E-class adventurer so that she could dive into the labyrinth previously. Well, I had expected that much from Count Beetle since he was the one who discovered my origins.

“Traveling is fun. Seems like I enjoy traveling.”

“I enjoy it too. But it would have been boring if I had been on my own. Thanks for coming with me, Clarice.”

We were talking at the Adventurer's Guild, doing our usual errand quests.

The door to the Adventurer's Guild opened with a bang, and a merchant-like man shouted out loud.

“I would like to put up an urgent quest! A slave for the Duke has escaped! He ran towards the Devil's Forest nearby where our hands can’t reach! I'll pay you at your asking price so someone do me this favor!”*2

There were more than 10 people in the Adventurer's Guild besides us but no one wanted to accept the quest.

Would the slaves be in danger if someone did not accept this?

Then an official from the Adventurer's Guild said

“Could you please tell us the details properly? Can you tell me the characteristics of the person to be protected?”

“...E, he is an elf slave… I can't tell you any more than that. But the reward is 10 gold…no, 100 gold coins! Please! Please, someone take the request!”

Then one of the adventurers said

“Certainly, 100 gold coins is exceptional. But the Devil's Forest is a place where even a B-class party made up only of B adventurers would even die, you know? Money is important but there’s no substitute for one’s life. Sorry about that but you should give it up.”

The Devil's Forest is a very dangerous place apparently.

I heard from Count Beetle that there is a significant difference between C-class and B-class adventurers.

It must be really dangerous because a party made up of only B-class adventurers could be wiped out there.

Clarice and I left the Adventurer’s Guild as if nothing had happened.

====================================

<<Prev 

Next>> 

TL’s note:

1. This author suddenly dropped a bomb that there are demons in the story but it’s not clearly stated whether both races have a connection to do trading or if they are trading magic users internally. Previously, 魔物 -> demon beast. Not sure if the author gonna drop beast race suddenly later or not.
2. The elf gender is not specified in the raws. I bet 50 cents it’s female though.

Chapter 36 : Parting

TL:SummerPeanut

Author’s note:

Today’s last chapter.

====================================

As expected they knew... Only Clarice, Gray, and Erna know my identity.

Did someone leak it? Definitely not Clarice…then that means either Gray or Erna...

“By the looks of it, someone knows where you come from.

It is only by chance that I learned of you as the second son of Viscount Zeke Bryant of the Balkus Kingdom.

I have been puzzling over what I should reward you with for some time now, and I thought why not register you as an adventurer.

Of course, registration alone is not enough of a reward but I had asked Victor, the guildmaster you met the other day, to register you as an adventurer.

Naturally, I didn't know your last name so I used Mars only. Then Victor told me that there was an adventurer named Mars who had been registered as an adventurer in the Kingdom of Balkus three years earlier at the age of three. It hit me that you are definitely the same person so I tried to put a trick question and sure enough.

Of course, I know you have no hostile intentions. But I would like to ask you at least why you are here.”

I am ashamed that I actually doubted Gray and Erna even a little.

“I understand. As Count said, I am Mars Bryant of the Balkus Kingdom.

My arrival here is a coincidence. Somehow I was transferred from the labyrinth of Irgusia and ended up in the Grantham during the demon beast’s march (stampede).”

“Hmmm. Well…it was a very welcome coincidence for Grantham...

Do you have a place to go?”

“No, there is not. But I thought I might try to see if I could transfer from the labyrinth in Grantham to another place in the same way...even if I could transfer successfully though, there is no guarantee that I could return to Irgusia and I might be sent to a completely different continent this time...”

“Hmm. I'll try to arrange for your return. You might be able to pass through the border if you have my letter. Well, we are in the middle of a war so it may not be so easy even if you have a letter...”

“T-thank you very much. I would be very grateful for your assistance.”

“Alright. I will make the preparations as soon as possible. Just give me a week.

And if you would like to deliver a letter, I can send a fast horse and deliver it to Irgusia first.

Wouldn't it be better to let the other side know that you are safe first?”

“Thank you for everything. Then I will write the letter as soon as possible tomorrow.”

“Good. Then, take a good rest today. We will talk again tomorrow. Thank you for your hard work today.”

After saying this, the Count returned to his room.

Thank God even if my true identity was discovered, I would not be blamed.

I went back to my room and fell asleep with much relief.

I didn't want to just wait a week for the time to pass so I went to the labyrinth alone.

I invited Clarice to join me but she had become cold to me after the day we conquered the Grantham labyrinth, and I couldn't stay with her.

I felt like my heart broke. No, it’s not felt like but rather my heart actually broke…

Maybe she only reluctantly entered the labyrinth with me because Gray and Erna asked her to stay with me no matter what until the labyrinth is conquered?

Hmmm, but it was Clarice who told the Count that she was going to dive into the labyrinth with me.

I was going back and forth between the boss room and the spring room while thinking about this.

Sometimes I joined the people of the Knights in the spring room to hunt and talk with them.

I wished the knights were there every time when I went to the spring room.

In my previous life, I was alone when I worked hard all the time. Since I came to this world, Ike has always been with me and put in efforts with me. Recently, that role got taken by Clarice.

When I'm with Clarice, I…no, let’s stop thinking about this now.

I went around the boss room and the spring room without thinking, and as a result, my level went up.

Name: Mars Bryant

Title: Wind King / Goblin Slaughterer

Status: Second son of Viscount Bryant

Condition: Good

Age: 6 years old

Level: 14

HP: 43/43

MP: 3481/6012

Strength: 36

Agility: 37

Magic: 47

Dexterity: 37

Endurance: 37

Luck: 30

Unique Ability: Innate talent (LvMax)

Unique Ability: Clairvoyant (Lv7)

Unique Ability: Lightning magic (Lv0/S)

Special Ability: Swordsmanship (Lv6/B)

Special Ability: Fire magic (Lv1/G)

Special Ability: Water magic (Lv1/G)

Special Ability: Earth magic (Lv1/G)

Special Ability: Wind magic (Lv8/A)

Special ability: Holy magic (Lv3/B)

I finally learned Earth magic.

Now I can use all four major magic.

I've had time to play with soil alone.

Only effort will not betray me. Let’s keep trying hard.

I didn't just hide in the labyrinth for the past week by the way.

The people of the Knights taught me how to ride a horse.

I was planning to return to Irgusia by horse.

And a week passed.

Count Beetle's reward was amazing.

He gave me a horse, money for the journey, arrangements for crossing the border, and even sent a letter to Irgusia on a fast horse to let the other side know that I was safe.

I really can't thank him enough.

Then on the west side of the city.

I went to say hello to the Lampard family one last time but no one was there.

Maybe they didn't know I was leaving today.

On the west side, the Count, the Knights, and the residents of the city came to see me off.

I received pleasant words such as, "Thank you, Sword Saint." and "Come again anytime."

I heard that the Count and Knight Commander Blair would be seeing me out until outside of the city.

I said goodbye to everyone in the city and left Grantham.

I couldn't stop crying the thought that I was going to leave Grantham crossed my mind.

I saw three figures about a kilometer away from the town.

As I approached, I saw it was the Lampard family.

I was glad to finally meet Clarice, who had been avoiding me.

“Mars. Thank you for everything. Thanks to you, the Lampard family and Grantham have been saved.”

“It's not just me, it's because of everyone's hard work.

If you had given up, Grantham would have fallen by the time I got here.”

I said this to Gray and looked at Clarice.

“Thank you, Clarice, too. I had a great month with Clarice.”

Clarice had been crying for a long time. Even before she met me.

She was crying so hard she couldn't speak.

I looked at her and said

“Okay, I'm going.”

And then I tried to leave.

“Can’t you wait a little longer.”

Clarice said that. It had been a while since I had heard Clarice's voice.

“Count Beetle, Knight Commander Blair, and father and mother. Thank you...”

At Clarice's words, Gray and Erna hugged Clarice while crying.

I watched while flabbergasted.

After a little while, Clarice seemed to have stopped crying.

“Well then, let's go.”

She came to me and said so.

“What?”

“Let's go.”

“Eh? No but…”

My mind panicked at the suddenness of the situation.

The Count explained.

“While you were attacking the labyrinth, we had a talk regarding the incident with Dames after I came back. That whether he would be willing to entrust Clarice to you, Mars.”

“Count Beetle said he would give us, the Lampards, time to think about it and we were going to start the talk without Mars but before we could get even start Clarice declared that she wanted to go with you. At first, I didn't want to treat Clarice as a prize or an object but since she herself wished to do so...”

“I, too, was surprised when I heard about it. Despite myself being the one suggesting it.”

I couldn't get the words of Count Beetle and Gray out of my head.

All I knew was that Clarice was not avoiding me or taking advantage of me.

So this whole week she was making memories before being separated from her family!

“Mars, take care of Clarice for me, will you? I'm sure she'll be fine since she's with you but be careful on the road. There are bandits and such on the road...”

Erna advised me while Gray said to Clarice

“If anything happens, you can come back. Your father and mother will always be on your side alright.”

The three of them started crying again.

I finally understood what was going on, and I cried too, and the Count and the Knight Commander were crying too.

A small, beautiful rainbow peeked out in the sky of the Grantham outskirts.

====================================

Author’s note:

Volume 2 ends with this chapter.

From tomorrow onwards, it’ll be the usual 8 pm.

Thank you to those who continued to read up until here.

Please give me your generous ★★★★★  evaluation here.

<<Prev 

Next>> 

TL: This week’s last chapter. Thinking to continue next week.

Well, feel free to bash or praise the novel after reading the first 2 volumes. It’s a chill novel just like the title and I actually wanted more battles like when MC hit the burglar with a mop. Overall I quite enjoyed it after turning off my brain.

Chapter 35: Identity

TL:SummerPeanut

This is the 4th chapter today. 10q 4 de pear-nuts BobTheLost end Marcus.

====================================

When I opened the door, the Knights, including Count Beetle, got down on one knee and apologized to me.

“I apologize, Mars. To be honest, we were a little suspicious of you.”

The Count and the Knights bowed their heads.

“Uh, is there something wrong? I'm not quite sure what's going on here…”

“We knew in advance that Baron Dames was going to revolt. We were monitoring you because we thought you might be involved.

Of course, we believed you but we had to keep an eye on you as insurance.

The fact that you felt uncomfortable is only natural, since you were being monitored by two parties: Baron Dames's subordinates and us. As of this morning, you had been completely cleared of suspicion but I wasn’t able to send the message.”

“I have some responsibility too as I am not able to explain some things to you. So I accept your apology.”

I took Count Beetle's hands in mine and asked him to stand up.

“Would it be alright if I give my report first?”

“Right. I will hear your report at my detached residence. I have something to tell you as well. Is that agreeable?”

“Yes. I understand.”

After that, we headed for Count Beetle's detached residence by carriage.

As we were heading for the villa, I noticed that Baron Dames was also accompanying us.

Except that he had a noose around his wrists. Did he do something again?

It did not take long to reach the detached residence of Count Beetle.

I thought it would be quite luxurious because it was the Count's house but it wasn't. It’s to the point where the Bryant family’s residence in Irgusia was larger in comparison.

I arrived at the Count's residence and was shown into a large room.

There were six other people there who were being tied up in addition to Baron Dames.

There were also two members of the Lampard family, Gray and Erna.

Neither of them had been handcuffed so it was not as if they were here because they messed up or anything.

Clarice noticed their presence and happily ran up to them.

Their faces, which had been tense, fell when Clarice came to them. They were crying with happiness. Naturally, they must have been very worried.

“Father, mother, I have returned.”

“I'm glad you're safe. I'll hear your report later alright.”

Seeing them busying themselves, I gave a bow and reported to the Count first.

“We conquered the boss room today. The bosses were two goblin kings. These are the goblin king's magic stones.”

The goblin kings dropped only the goblin king's magic stones so I handed that to Count Beetle.

“Thank you, Mars. The same for Miss Clarice too.

As I said before, let me apologize again. I had my suspicions that you might be working with Baron Dames there to do stir up something no good.”

That meant that Dames really had done something.

“But this morning Mars showed up an hour early for the meeting. This is something I would never have done if I had been the one cooperating with Baron Dames. Since that would ruin his plan. I wasn’t that suspicious of you that much to begin with but nevertheless, it's true that I doubted you a little. Forgive me.”

“Yes, sir. As I said before, I accept your apology.”

“Thank you. Now let's move on to the reward. Have you thought of what you want?”

“No, I haven’t thought of anything as of yet...”

“Well, then, let me tell you what we have decided.

First, the Barony of Barker shall be dethroned! In addition, the Barkers' six adventurer registrations will be canceled, and they will all be enslaved along with the Dames Barker.”

Oh, I think that's quite the drastic decision, and then Dames started to make a fuss.

It seemed that they had no more use for the Dames, etc so the Knights grabbed them by the scruff of the neck and took them away.

“Now that the riff raffs are gone, I have one more thing to say.

Grey Lampard, from this day forth you shall be a baron.”

This surprised me. I couldn't help but let out a small yelp.

The person himself might have heard about it beforehand since he didn't seem too surprised.

Was that why he had been so nervous earlier?

Clarice's eyes lit up.

“Hooray! Father, mother. Please do your best for the people from now on.”

“O-oh, somehow even though we did nothing so it's a complicated feeling.”

“Don't say that, Gray. The two parents are undoubtedly the reason why Miss Clarice has grown up to be such a fine young woman. The official knighting ceremony will come at a later date but I will allow you to call yourself a baron from this day forward.

If possible, I would like you to hear the answer to the request I mentioned earlier but have you made your decision? Of course, it is not an order so you may refuse.”

He must have been told something beforehand. I am curious as to what was said.

“Yes, I'm still trying to make up my mind.”

“I see, but as you know, we probably don't have much time. I'll get in touch with you soon again. You should go home today and spend some time with Miss Clarice for the first time in a while and discuss it together properly.

Mars, you will be staying at this house today. Is that okay?”

I nodded and Gray said

“Yes, sir. I will go home and talk about it together.”

Gray replied so before turning to me and saying his words to me.

“Thank you for watching over Clarice today too, Mars. I really can’t say thank you enough.

There’s nothing I can do for you right now so please wait a little more.”

“No, it's enough that you let me stay and if you allow me to spend another fulfilling time next time.”

Well, I had to pay some money later on but it came with the signboard girl. It couldn’t be worth more.*1

“Well then, we shall take our leave now.”

With that, Gray and Erna left.

Clarice also said, "See you later" and left the room.

“Then, Mars, we have a lot to talk about, but first, let's take a shower and dinner first.”

“Thank you very much.”

I showered and went to the dining room where many meals had been prepared.

A number of the Knights were invited too and the dinner experience was lively and very enjoyable.

I appraised each ingredient just to be sure but there was no poison in it.

During the meal, one of the Knights said to me

“I am sorry but I have been monitoring your movements. Forgive me.

But that just proves that you are a very nice person.

Many people in the city, including us Knights, are grateful to you for supplying us with potions and ingots at the usual or even lower than the usual prices. We are really thankful to you.”

With that as a sign, the reports from when they had been monitoring me were raised one after another.

Apparently, all the Knights here were the ones who had been watching me.

After that, the Knights gave thanks and compliments one after another.

I was a little embarrassed but everyone was happy so I was too.

The Knights seemed to have work leftover so they returned to their posts after this.

When I was alone with the Count, he asked me a question.

“Let's get down to business, Mars Bryant.”

====================================

Author’s note:

The next one will be posted at 8pm.

I will post the last chapter(36) of volume 2 today.

I’ll be happy if readers who followed up until chapter 36 could give your ratings.

Thank you very much.

<<Prev 

Next>> 

TL’s note:

1. Might be a bit confusing but basically, Mars was treated as a guest first and stayed for free. Later on, he paid some money to stay and treated the place as an inn where he got accompanied by the silver-haired (loli) signboard girl. At least that’s what I think the author is trying to say.

Chapter 34 : Dames Barker

TL:SummerPeanut

Author’s Note:

This is the 3rd chapter today.

====================================

Damn those loathsome bastards!

It's been a week now since the arrival of Mars or whoever the hell he is.

The unexpected magic beast march (stampede) happened but it stopped while I was knocked out.

The people in town who don't get it are calling the kid Sword Saint but the truth is that my sword is special.

That sword is a silver mithril sword so it should be a piece of cake to wipe a hundred goblins with it.

I can't tolerate this kid Clarice either.

She put the lowly people first and healed them over the noble me.

There are plenty of replacements for the residents but why can't she understand that there are no replacements for me?

And the most unforgivable one is Beetle!

He became a high-ranking noble count just because of his better fortune.

He must have been really good at sucking up the higher-up.

But I only need to be patient a little longer.

It's been many years since I’ve been under Magrave Dixon.

And the day that Count Beetle enters the labyrinth with the kids is the time for me to take action.

There are happy talks of the labyrinth overflow (labyrinths) being settled and the residents have grown in numbers but they are all spies from the Margrave Dixon.

Apparently, they are former dangerous thugs…so as long as the Margrave Dixon says he will pardon them, they will give up their lives even if it is against the Knights.

The Knights of Beetle are also not to my liking.

They didn't listen to my orders.

When I take control of this town, I will use them to my advantage.

I went to the tool shop and the arms shop to buy potions and weapons as instructed by Margrave Dixon.

The weapons and potions I bought were to be given to the spies.

Of course, for coup d'etat.

Beetle is an idiot. He seems to be completely oblivious to my actions.

How could such an incompetent person become the Count?

When I get rid of Beetle, I might as well ask him how he became a count.

Maybe he has some blackmail materials of the royal family.

Still, the delivery request from the Margrave Dixon is much larger than planned.

I thought I would only need weapons and potions for 200 people since there were 200 spies, but he wanted me to get 500 each, more than twice as many as I had planned.

As expected, it was too much for me to handle alone so I used some of the spies to buy all the items I could.

Well, I am so smart that Beetle does not notice my change in intention.

Rather than Beetle’s incompetence, it is this Baronet Dames Barker’s being too skillful at fault.

Margrave Dixon said he would return double the cost later so I threw in Barker family's personal assets and managed to get the funds.

And today was the day of the operation.

I was on the lookout for Count Beetle from the morning.

With the spies, of course.

Thirty minutes had passed since the Count and his men entered the labyrinth.

Time to execute the plan.

In another hour, I would be the hero of this city and a viscount.

Here is the plan.

First, 200 spies will attack the Knights and take control of them.

No matter how strong the Knights are, armed thugs are more than enough to handle them with lacking equipment thanks to the magic beast march (stampede) yesterday.

We've been buying up all the goods in the arms store lately.

The same goes for recovery medicine. We have an overwhelming advantage.

It doesn't matter if there are some casualties.

Now, all we have to do is get rid of the Count who came out of the labyrinth and we'll be all set.

Well, I have sent our most skilled ‘Barkers’ to the Count's place.

The Count might even have had an unfortunate accident in the labyrinth but I will think about that when it happens.

The residents must be thinking that it is better to be ruled by this competent Lord Dames than the incompetent Beetle.

Since I am scheduled to become a count, later on, I should let the residents use this opportunity to call this noble self ‘His Excellency’ early.

Dear me, the spies had already attacked the knight's quarters while I was thinking about that.

But the number of spies is awfully small...

Ah, I see! I had told them that the time of the attack would be 30 minutes after the Count entered the labyrinth at 8 o’clock. In other words, the original plan was to start at 8:30.

However, we miscalculated when the Count entered the labyrinth at 7:00, an hour early.

So now we have a split between those who raid at 7:30 and those who raid at 8:30...

Which is the right way to do this? Well, if it’s this genius me, I would raid at 8:00 which is in the middle.

But the stuffy place where the spies were supposed to be attacking was quiet.

Normally, I wouldn't be surprised if there were sounds of sword fights, shouts, and screams...

Well, maybe the Knights gave up because they don't have any good equipment... but to think that they didn’t even resist a little despite the lack of equipment... they're too easy.

After a while, I headed toward the station to see what was going on.

I decided to head there to see at the Knights who were being held in captivity so pitifully.

When I went through the gate to take a peek inside, the gate was suddenly closed.

“Good work, Dames Barker.”

For some reason, a member of the Knights spoke to me in a sarcastic tone.

I was so preoccupied with the question of why he was talking to me, that I had no idea why the Knights were here when they were supposed to be under the control of the spies.

“Oi, be careful how you wag your tongue. I’ll charge you for lese-majesty.”

“True, because tomorrow you will be neither a noble nor a commoner, but a slave.

You should be careful how you speak.”

“W-what are you talking about?”

“Normally this would be a death sentence, but we're short on hands. All of you are now slaves.”

When one of the Knights said that, the other members restrained me.

What is wrong with these people?

Are they nervous in front of me, the noble one?

“I'll give you a little leniency now. I'll let you off with a whipping instead of the death penalty.”

“As I expected, this no-good idiot has lost his mind. He doesn't seem to understand the situation. There’s no point talking.”

When one of the members of the Knights said that, they all laughed at me as if they were insulting me.

As expected, even I, who have a big heart, got mad.

“Hey, where’re the spies? Why are they not here?”

“Haah this guy’s basically just confessed. They are already caught. I know you don't have the brains to understand this, so I'll tell you, there was a lot of our stuff among the spies. You didn't think 500 people's worth of weapons and potions was strange? Most of that equipment went back to us, the Knights. The second wave is coming in another half hour, right? We've already made arrangements to capture them.”

Dumbass spies! They made me waste my money!

For the next 30 minutes, I was being abused.

Then, half an hour later, new spies were captured.

I could hear some fighting, but they were easily defeated.

“Now, Dames. You, come here.”

Following those words, I was forced to sit on my knees in front of the labyrinth until Count Beetle arrived.

I had been brought here even though the Barkers would have immediately overpowered them after they came out of the labyrinth.

These guys are incompetent in the end.

The Count should have been captured by the Barkers by now.

It makes me laugh to imagine of the faces of these incompetents when the door opens.

However, the Barkers did not come no matter how long I waited.

How many hours had passed? My legs were so numb that I couldn't stand up even if they told me to.

Finally, the door to the labyrinth opened.

Yes! The Barkers came out.

It was indeed a D-rank party.

“Well done! Barkers! I'll give you my praise! Hurry up and untie me from this noose.”

It didn't take long for me to notice that the ropes were tied around Barkers' wrists as well.

====================================

Author’s note:

The next post is scheduled at 5 pm.

I plan to upload until the end of volume 2 which is chapter 36 today.

I’ll be happy if readers who followed up until chapter 36 could give your ratings.

Thank you very much.

<<Prev

Next>>

Chapter 33 : Anomaly

TL:SummerPeanut

Thanks for the nuts David Moore

Author’s note:

This is the second chapter today. Since I posted at 1:00, those that might have missed it, please do read the chapters.

====================================

“Huh? They are not here? He said they will wait for us here though.”

When we left the boss's room and returned to the safe zone, Count Beetle, Knight Commander Blair, and all the Knights were gone.

There is only one road from the boss's room to here, so it is impossible for us to have passed each other.

“How do you think we should proceed? Can we just return like this?”

“Hmm, maybe we got here too early. According to the plan, it will take more than five hours to get back so maybe they're all exploring the labyrinth... And not to mention the Knights were excited after seeing how strong Clarice was. Let's wait a little longer.”

“I suppose so, it's only been about three hours after all.”

The two of us spent what little time we had left.

We checked the performance of our newly acquired equipment and discussed our dreams for the future.

But no matter how long we waited, Count Beetle and his subordinates never came.

We waited in the safe zone for three hours but they didn't come so we decided to go back to the city.

“In the end, they didn’t come. I wonder why? Did something happen?”

“Well, we still can't rule out the possibility that they are just exploring the labyrinth so let's go home while doing the same thing.”

“Ok-. Then let’s go.”

We went up the labyrinth while checking out the surroundings thoroughly to make sure we did not pass the Count and the others.

Even so, we didn't find them on the second level.

But we did find something.

While exploring the second level, we found a treasure chest.

It was a treasure chest with a value of 3, and the content was

Name: Silver Mithril dagger.

Attack: 9

Value: C

Details: A dagger that can easily pass through the user’s magic.

I have Wind Dagger (Sylph Dagger), so I gave it to Clarice.

What is a little strange is that the silver mithril sword, silver mithril dagger, and the flame spear (flame lance) that Ike equipped have the same value.

I know that the mithril silver is more valuable but the flame spear (flame lance) has much better performance.

So value doesn't always equal performance.

We started to explore the first layer but decided to leave soon without exploring thoroughly.

This was because we thought that since there is not much danger in the first layer, we could go back to the city and re-explore it with the rest of the knighthood.

About 10 hours after we entered the labyrinth.

Clarice and I were near the exit of the labyrinth.

Since I was about to say farewell to Clarice, my steps were heavy on the way home.

Clarice was probably feeling the same way because her steps were heavy and she didn't say much.

When we came to the exit, I signaled Clarice with my eyes before pulling the door open when I noticed something.

The other side of the door was strangely noisy.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

TL:Count’s POV

“Count, they're finally making their move! We were able to contain it with the Knights, but the damage was ...... too great.”

“Understood! I'm on my way. I’m sorry for Mars but we're going back to Grantham first!”

Seeing the six Knights rushed frantically into the Grantham Labyrinth to report to me, I quickly returned to Grantham.

They were Blair's men and members of the Lyle Corps, a group of 20 men.

On the way back, Blair and his men fought with the goblins to clear the way.

That let me understand again that those two kids were extraordinary.

The ten knights, including Blair, are not weak by any means.

As for Blair himself, he is definitely at D-class adventurer level.

The other members of the Knights are also in the upper E class, if not even D class.

However, they took damage from the goblins.

The combination of hobgoblins and goblin mages is apparently quite irksome. While the hobgoblins are holding the target back, the goblin mages launch their stone bullets.

And since we have to recover with potions as we went along, the progress is slow.

We took a short break after every room capture.

“We apologize. Count Beetle. If only we were stronger...”

“Don’t even start. They're the anomalies. And you, the Knights, are required to be more than just strong. You are doing very well. I am proud of you all.”

The ten knights who were moved by his words bowed their heads.

After what must have been hours, we finally reached the first level.

“We're at the first level now. Let's go to the exit carefully and quickly!”

I inspired the knights.

The ten knights I had brought with me looked exhausted.

“Are you ready to fight?”

I asked the six Knights of the Ryle Corps who came to report to me.

“Let us rest a little longer. Then we should be able to fight.”

“Well, you don't have to push yourself too hard, just let me know when you are ready to fight.”

After several short breaks, we finally reached the entrance of the labyrinth.

This was our last pause.

Blair asked the six members of Lyle's team.

“Right, what happened to Lyle's group? You six came all by yourselves?”

“Yes, just the six of us. The captain and the other members of the squad are dealing with the bandits.”

“Wasn't it hard for six people to get to the second level?”

Blair said and began to walk around the six knights.

“It was really hard. That's why we got injured and used up all the potions we had...”

The knights who were with the Count began to walk around the six in the same way.

Then one of those six said

“W,what is the matter all of a sudden? Did we do something?”

“Let's stop this farce, shall we? We are also tired of acting stupid and can’t be bothered any longer. You've been following us ever since we entered the labyrinth, did you not?”

Blair said, and all at once, ten members of the Knights seized the six.

“Damn! What the hell is going on! This is not what I heard!”

“I wonder who told you what story?”

Count Beetle questioned the six men who have been taken into custody.

But the six men did not answer.

“Hmm. They won't talk. I can't help it. Let's just capture all of you D-rank party 'Barkers' for treason...”

“H-how did you know?”

“I as the territory lord am watching closely the Barker family that’s why.

And even if I don't monitor you, the Barker family is well-known. I receive all kinds of reports about you. Now that you're ready to talk, let's hear your answer again. What do you want?”

“Alright. I'll answer you after we leave this labyrinth.”

The men still had a chance.

The 200 spies should have overpowered the Knights by now.

The knights were said to have no equipment because of the magic beast march (stampede) the other day.

No matter how strong the Knights were, an armed F-class adventurer should be able to defeat an unarmed knight.

However, what they saw as they left the labyrinth was an unbelievable sight.

====================================

Author’s note:

The next one will be posted at 1pm.

I will post the last 36 chapter of volume 2 today.

I would appreciate it if you could give me your review if you read up to the 36th chapter.

Thank you very much.

<<Prev 

Next>> 

Chapter 32 : Easy Victory

TL:SummerPeanut

====================================

Inside the labyrinth, business was as usual.

The strange feeling was gone, and Clarice and I were burying the goblins.

Count Beetle and the Knights were surprised by Clarice's movements.

The six-year-old girl who until the other day had only been blessed with Holy magic was now going more than head-to-head with a goblin general.

And thanks to her equipment, she could recover from some damage quickly.

It was not that the members of the Knights couldn’t defeat goblin generals.

They couldn’t fight for a long period of time because they lack the means to recover from the damage they received.

When we reached the safe zone, we took a short rest.

While we were resting, Blair suddenly asked Clarice.

“Lady Clarice, were you this strong from beginning? I am surprised that you seemed to be stronger than even myself...”

“No, I've only gotten this strong in the last month since I met Mars, and I think I was just barely able to defeat goblins and goblin mages a month ago.”

“Would you be able to tell me how you became strong so swiftly?”

“I was just fighting as Mars told me to. However, I do feel that I am growing stronger beyond belief.”

Then the Count said

“Nevertheless, I am very happy to see such a talented girl born in my city of Grantham. It would be even better if you, Mars, would also stay in Grantham.”

“I apologize. I would like nothing more of the same but due to my circumstances…

It’s about time for myself to depart, is that alright?”

I said as if I was running away.

“I am sorry about that, then I must ask you to conquer the labyrinth for the sake of Grantham, the territory of Beetle’s, and our own Zarkham Kingdom.”

The Count emphasized the word Zarkham Kingdom. Perhaps he might have vaguely noticed my true identity.

“I understand. I will certainly meet Count Beetle's expectations.”

I gave a slight bow to Count Beetle and left the safe zone with Clarice.

On the way here, I believe the reason for the discomfort might have been Count Beetle and the people of the Knights.

Perhaps they were trying to find out where I came from?

With these thoughts in mind, we defeated all the goblin generals in the spring room.

Then I came to the door of the boss room.

“Clarice, I told you before and I'll tell you again.

In the boss room, there is a monster called the goblin king. The goblin king summons the goblin lord, and the goblin lord summons the goblin general.

I need Clarice to support me. But please think about your own safety first.

Also, please conserve MP as much as possible. So, please do your best not to use the magic bow (magic arrow).”

“I understand, I'll try to stay as close as possible to Mars and avoid being surrounded by goblins.”

We nodded to each other and then open the door.

I entered the room with Clarice while being as quiet and as careful as we could.

The first point of difference between this room from the boss room in the Irgusia labyrinth is that it is more than twice the size.

It is definitely more than twice the size but it feels smaller than the boss room in the Irgusia labyrinth.

The reason is the number of goblins.

There are two goblin kings, four goblin lords, and over 50 goblin generals.

The number of goblin kings was within expectations but the number of goblin generals was more than expected.

In the Irgusia Labyrinth, there is only one goblin king, two goblin lords, and 20 goblin generals. Compared to that just the number of goblin generals here, to be honest, there must be near 100…

“The number of Clarice's opponents is higher than expected but there’s no change to the strategy. Let’s defeat them here.”

“Understood, leave the recovery to me.”

I thought it would be inefficient to defeat nearly 100 goblin generals with Wind Cutter, so I used Tornado, a wide-area magic, to engulf them and I planted Wind Cutter inside the Tornado, unlike the last time.

A large whirlwind (Tornado) swallowed the goblin generals.

Goblin lord and goblin king were out of the range.

The goblin generals inside the Tornado filled with Wind Cutter instantly died.

It was great that I could wipe out around 100 goblin generals with Tornado.

Tornado with Wind Cutter consumed 50 MP.

It was quite efficient since it only costs only 0.5 MP per kill but I feel it might be a little bit excessive.

“W-what is that amazing magic...”

“It's called Tornado, and it's the second most powerful magic I can use right now. The lethality itself is lower than Wind Cutter though. It's a wide-area magic so it's very useful in times like these. I can't use my strongest magic in the labyrinth because we would probably be harmed too.”

When we entered this room, I thought it might become quite the dangerous situation but the power of the tornado was stronger than I expected so in the end, it didn't make any difference how many of them there were.

I was rather glad it was a good experience harvest.

By the time I had shot about 60 Tornado shots, the goblin kings and goblin lords had stopped summoning.

And I defeated the Goblin king surprisingly easily.

My level increased too.

Name: Mars Bryant

Title: Wind King / Goblin Slaughterer

Status: Second son of Viscount Bryant

Condition: Good

Age: 6 years old

Level: 13

HP:40/40

MP:2741/6001

Muscle Strength: 34

Agility: 35

Magic: 45

Dexterity: 35

Endurance: 35

Luck: 30

Unique ability: Innate Talent (LvMax)

Unique ability: Clairvoyant (Lv7)

Unique ability: Lightning Magic (Lv0/S)

Special Ability: Swordsmanship (Lv6/B)

Special Ability: Fire Magic (Lv1/G)

Special Ability: Water Magic(Lv1/G)

Special Ability: Wind Magic (Lv8/A)

Special Ability: Holy Magic(Lv3/B)

I wouldn’t know because I had never seen a B-class adventurer’s status but I thought my status was probably B-class.

Then two treasure chests appeared.

With two values of 4.

I decided to have someone other than me open one of them once in a while so I asked Clarice to open one.

I opened one treasure chest first.

Name: Saintess’s Vestment (Saint's Robe)

Defense: 14

Special: Magic +3, Endurance +2

Value: A

Details: Reduces the MP consumption and increases the effectiveness of Holy and Barrier magic. Disables any abnormalities. Automatic repair.

Eh? Barrier magic? This equipment is born for Clarice!

After explaining the effects, Clarice immediately put it on.

Unlike Japanese vestments and although it’s ornamented, it’s not flashy.*1

On the inside of the vestments, there was a magic circle. Perhaps the function for automatic repair came from here?

The base color was white which suits the silver-haired Clarice well.

“S-so cute…”

Clarice's face turned red when I unintentionally uttered the words above.

“Tha-thank you. I will really cherish this…”

Hearing such words from her, my face went bright red too.

“Then I’ll open it for you this time.”

After saying so, Clarice opened the other treasure chest.

Name: Disguise Bracelet.

Special: -

Value: -

Details: The wearer's status can be falsified. However, the value cannot be higher than one's own status. It cannot be detected by normal appraisal.

This is a bracelet with a black magic stone embedded in it.

This is the equipment I wanted.

I immediately equipped it and changed the status. Now I won't be isolated when I have to go to school.

I had been thinking about these kinds of carefree thought until that moment.

====================================

Author’s note:

The next chapter will be posted at 8 o'clock.

Today I will post up to the last chapter of volume 2, chapter 36.

If you read up to 36 episodes, I would be grateful if you could leave a review.

Thank you.

TLN:

So the author purposely made all treasure chests opened by Mars to have non-Mars items because he wants this scene of exchanging treasure…?

<<Prev 

Next>> 

TL’s note:

1. I’m not sure if it’s correct or not but here

Chapter 31: Omen

TL:SummerPeanut

kamthorn puntumapon thanks for the peanuts. How do you even pronounce it though. By the way I never explicitly said this before but 2 double quotes (""*insert dialogues*"") means that it was said by multiple characters at the same time or so I assume that's what the author is trying to do.

====================================

Why is he going back and forth between the labyrinth, the arms shop, and the tool shop?

What does he actually think of the order from Count Beetle?

Also, it is a question mark why is that person also entering the labyrinth.

He is planning on something that’s for sure.

Blair, along with his men, was keeping an eye on someone today.

It had been another week since the goblin general hunt with Clarice.

Clarice is leveling up faster than even Ike. She is already up to 15.

Today, Clarice would start practicing her barrier magic.

But I don't know what to do when it comes to practicing barrier magic.

There is no grimoire, and of course, there is no one to teach us.

We had come to the spring room without any clue.

“Barrier magic, I tried to find a clue by suitably guessing from the type of magic but…seems like it isn’t going to be easy to learn it.”

“Let’s brainstorm as much as needed to use barrier magic. Anyway, let’s just do our best.”

The actual reason to learn this is for the sake of Clarice’s safety so I would really like her to be able to use it.

After all, it is called barrier magic so it is easy to imagine that it’s magic that protects the target’s body.

However, I don’t think it’s good to put too much pressure so I said what I said before.

The joyful time with Clarice in the name of training passed rapidly.

“I’m so sorry, Mars. I'm sorry you have to go through so much with me. I can’t help but feel a little depressed since I still can’t learn it after all that…”

“There is no helping it. This is magic exclusive to Clarice in the end. Tomorrow we will attack the boss’s room so let’s stop here today and fully rest at home.”

She couldn't learn the barrier magic even after a week of trying.

And it was one day until the appointed day.

Clarice worked quite hard.

Name: Clarice Lampard

Title: -

Status: Human, commoner

Condition: Good

Age: 6 years old

Level: 15

HP: 32/32

MP: 18/191

Strength: 21

Agility: 21

Magic: 22

Dexterity: 21

Durability: 20

Luck: 20

Unique Ability: Barrier magic (Lv0/A)

Special Ability: Swordsmanship (Lv4/C)

Special Ability: Archery (Lv4/B)

Special Ability: Holy magic (Lv3/A)

She would have about the same status between a C or D-level adventurer.

She might be weaker than someone of similar status because of her lack of real combat experience though…

Her level hasn't changed from a week ago but her skill level has increased.

Come to think of it, Ike was only up to level 15 in the spring room.

Maybe we can only increase the level up to 15 in this room?

As for me, my status had not changed at all.

It was the morning of the day we entered the boss's room.

It was morning but the sun had not yet risen.

I didn't tell Gray and Erna that we were going in today.

But they must have read it from the atmosphere.

They said things like, "Make sure you come back safely." and "If you don't think it's possible, it doesn't have to be today.”

We left the house reluctantly.

Then we headed for the Adventurers' Guild.

Today, Count Beetle goes to the labyrinth with us.

He won’t be going to the boss's room but he is going to follow us to the safe zone and watch over us.

We are to meet the Count at the Adventurers' Guild.

We are not going to keep him waiting so we arrived at the Adventurer's Guild an hour before the meeting time.

Count Beetle arrived almost as soon as we did.

“Oh, we came quite early but seems like we made you wait in the end, huh?”

“No, we just arrived as well.”

“Good luck today. You can expect a reward for your efforts today.”

“Thank you very much. Without further ado, shall we proceed?”

“Please wait for a moment, I'm going to take a few of the Knights with me today. Even within a safe zone, I feel uneasy.”

Then, about 10 members of the Knights appeared from behind the Count.

One of the men greeted him.

“It's not my first time meeting you but this is the first time we've spoken. I am Blair, the Knight Commander. Sir Mars, I would like to send my gratitude for your timely assistance during labyrinth overflow (labyrinths). Although it might be late, thank you very much.

Also, Miss Clarice helped take care of the Knights. Thank you.

I will be guarding the Count today, so please allow me to accompany you.”

“"We look forward to working with you."”

My first impression of Blair is solemn and strict.

He seems a bit inflexible and will not tolerate any kind of mistake.

I appraised him.

Name: Blair Blaze

Title: -

Status: Head of the Blaze Baronet Family.

Condition: Good

Age: 36 years old

Level: 20

HP: 64/64

MP 10/10

Strength: 22

Agility: 18

Magic: 3

Dexterity:15

Endurance: 28

Luck: 1

Special Ability: Spearmanship (Lv4/D)

Special Ability: Swordsmanship (Lv2/E)

In terms of ability, he is about the same as Clarice, with Clarice's skills being higher but Blair's more experienced.

Van, the leader of Azure Fang, is definitely stronger though.

He seems to be a baronet and the Knight Commander at the same time.

We decided to walk from the Adventurer's Guild to the Grantham Labyrinth, as it was close enough.

Clarice and I walked in the front of the line, with the knights walking behind us, protecting the Count.

After a short walk, I felt a strange sensation. It was the same gaze I had felt the other day. Today, I was able to catch it more clearly than usual.

“Clarice, do you still feel something like a gaze?”

“Now that you mention it, I think I might feel something...from the back?”

“Yeah, it has been following us from when the residents were accompanying us outside. It’s definitely not any ordinary resident’s.”

I slowed my steps and stepped back closer to the Count.

“Count Beetle, Knight Commander Blair, is it my imagination that something doesn't feel right?”

“What do you mean?”

The Count answered in surprise.

“I've been feeling a gaze from a little while ago. Today it feels particularly stronger...”

“I'll deal with that after we conquer the labyrinth. I've already taken measures on my side, so Mars, please concentrate on the labyrinth.”

I was a little surprised this time. The Count also knew about the discomfort.

I went back next to Clarice and told her about it.

“There’s definitely something going around behind our notice. But the Count is right. Let's concentrate on the labyrinth first.”

“I understand. Let me know as soon as you noticed something. I don't want to have any regrets.”

I headed for the labyrinth with a hint of uneasiness.

====================================

Author’s note:

The next post is scheduled to be posted tomorrow 15th at 1 pm.

I plan to post multiple chapters on the 15th so please read them if you’d like.

<<Prev 

Next>> 

Chapter 30 : Home Is Where You Make It

TL:SummerPeanut

Thanks for the peanuts Grant Lindsey. Peanuts is good culture and approved by Anya.

====================================

“As soon as we beat them, the next round will start soon. Let's do our best.”

“Yes. I still have some magic left to spare so I'm going to use my magic bow (magic arrow) and then use defender to finish them off.”

I have been following Clarice's battle with my eyes since the start.

Clarice was finally able to defeat the goblin general one-on-one.

However, she couldn’t finish in time unless it was one-on-one.

Hence that’s why I defeated one every minute when we entered the spring room.

When I had defeated 29 of them, I switched places with Clarice.

Then Clarice can fight one-on-one for one minute.

As soon as Clarice takes any damage, I heal her.

Clarice still can't defeat a goblin general with one hit.

She needs to slash it many times because she can't defeat it unless she can cut down its HP.

While she still has MP, she attacks from afar with her magic bow (magic arrow) and after that, she attacks with defender repeatedly.

When she runs out of MP, she defeats the goblin general with only defender.

The first time she used the magic arrow, she could only fire the arrow but could not hit the target. It seems that dexterity is necessary to hit the target properly.

And the MP consumption is also not a joke: 5 per shot.

Sometimes it takes her more than a minute to kill one goblin general but I'm there to stall or take down the revived goblin generals.

“After we take them down, let’s head back to the safe zone. Deplete our MP and come challenge here again.”

Clarice nodded. Perhaps due to fatigue, she didn’t even reply back.

To be honest, without defender,  anklet of secret (mysterious anklet), and the magic bow (magic arrow), even a one-on-one battle would be tough for her.

But Clarice desperately gave her best.

I had a lot of fun when I was hunting goblin generals with Clarice.

Not only when we were hunting goblin generals. Whenever we were together, we had fun.

In my youth in my previous life, I was always striving alone to do my best.

It's really fun to make an effort together. Moreover, the person I'm working together with is a ridiculously beautiful girl.

What a normie life I'm leading.

Since Clarice and I dived into the labyrinth, there has not been a single occurrence of labyrinth overflow (labyrinths).

Count Beetle explained to the residents that the labyrinth overflow had not occurred because I and Clarice had dived into the labyrinth. As a result, the name ‘Sword Saint’ and ‘Saintess’ became more and more fixed to us.

But it's not just the bad things. I got along very well with the people of the town of Grantham.

Maybe the fact that I got along with the enemy country’s residents is wrong but I do not think so personally.

Of course, there’s the part where Clarice had visited the clinic and healed them and that I had stopped the labyrinth from overflowing (labyrinths) to the city so the residents accepted me even though I did not reveal my origins.

In fact, the population increased after handling the overflow (labyrinths) issue.

This was what Gray told me but apparently once a labyrinth overflow (labyrinths) happened, it won’t happen again and that was why the immigrants from other cities increased.

When potions were found in the treasure chests in the labyrinth, they were sold to tool shops after returning to the city and when ingots were found, they were sold to arms shops.

The price of each of these items was rising but it returned to normal after we delivered all the loots.

The toolmakers and arms dealers kept their prices low and everyone in town was happy.

Gray and Erna were no longer wary of me and seemed to trust me completely.

They even started to allow me and Clarice to stay outside the city for her goblin general’s hunt.

To be honest, I thought about staying in the city of Grantham.

I liked the people and the atmosphere of this city and I had become familiar with the city.

“Let’s deplete MP, go back to the spring room one more time, and go home for the day.”

“I agree. I want to quickly take a shower.”

“Yup. We’ll be going to the spring room for another week before giving your barrier magic a try.

After learning barrier magic, we’ll dive into the boss's room and attack this Grantham Labyrinth-...”

“Yes…that's right…we have to conquer it soon...I guess.”

Recently when we talk about conquering the Grantham Labyrinth, the words just fall flat.

Because both of us know it.

We can only stay together until we conquer the Grantham Labyrinth.

We returned to the safe zone and fell asleep, leaning against the wall and huddled together.

After the goblin general hunt, we returned to the town and, as usual, headed towards the tool shops and arms shops while talking with the residents. We went there to deliver potions and ingots.

We no longer had to go to the clinic. Because Clarice had cured everyone's injuries.

After stopping at the tool shops and the arms shops, I was about to return to the Lampard house when I felt something strange.

“Did you feel any eyes on you?”

“No? Is someone following us?”

I said in a small voice. Clarice doesn't seem to feel any discomfort.

It's been happening sometimes lately but it's more like I'm being under surveillance than followed.

I looked around in a way that won’t be noticed but was unable to locate the surveillant.

There’s no reason for those who looked at us with admiration towards Sword Saint and Saintess to hide.

I thought maybe I was just tired.

But I figured that being too alert is better than being defenseless when the worst case happens so I returned to the Lampards’ house while putting my guard up so that I could protect Clarice any time.

Once back at the Lampards’ house, we took a shower and ate a meal.

I paid the Lampard's some money without telling Clarice because I felt bad how I was staying here forever.

My wallet feels warm these days so it wasn't much of an expense.

I looked out the window for a moment. It was now late in the evening.

The feeling before had already disappeared. Clarice was lying down on the sofa in the living room, tired and asleep.

I appraised Clarice.

Name: Clarice Lampard

Title: -

Status: Human race, commoner

Condition: Good

Age: 6 years old

Level: 13

HP: 28/28

MP: 0/171

Strength: 19

Agility: 18

Magic: 20

Dexterity: 18

Endurance: 18

Luck: 20

Unique Ability: Barrier magic (Lv0/A)

Special Ability: Swordsmanship (Lv4/C)

Special Ability: Archery (Lv2/B)

Special Ability: Holy magic (Lv2/A)

It's an amazing level-up progress.

She is already at a higher level than me.

According to Demi-God’s explanation, Innate Talent made it so that the holder requires three times the experience others but I thought that was a lie.

I'll appraise Innate Talent again next time.

Because Clarice uses sword and magic bow (magic arrow), her strength, agility, magic power, and dexterity go up. Also as she takes damage frequently, her endurance also goes up.

Her swordsmanship and archery skills are also improving nicely.

In a week, she will start practicing barrier magic.

My fun time with Clarice is coming to an end.

====================================

<<Prev 

Next>> 

Chapter 29 : Squirming Shadow

TL:SummerPeanut

====================================

Blair has marked a certain person.

He was secretly asked to do this by Count Beetle.

As soon as he marked this person, he knew something was obviously wrong.

He should be taking orders from the Count. Why would he be going to a weapon shop or a tool shop when he was in the city? ......he seemed to be talking to ordinary residents but when he investigated that person, he found that he was of unknown origin.

Blair, along with a few of his men, kept a watchful eye on this person while making sure he did not notice.

It had been a week since Clarice and I had been diving in the labyrinth.

Today, we started hunting in the spring room. Clarice's level had improved and she was able to take down hobgoblins with ease without my assistance.

This is Clarice's current status.

Name: Clarice Lampard

Title: -

Status: Human, commoner

Condition: Good

Age: 6 years old

Level: 9

HP20/20

MP: 155/155

Strength:13

Agility: 14

Magic:14

Dexterity:12

Durability:10

Luck: 20

Unique Ability: Barrier magic (Lv0/A)

Special Ability: Swordsmanship (Lv3/C)

Special Ability: Archery (Lv0/B)

Special Ability: Holy magic (Lv2/A)

I’m planning to have her defeat the goblin generals with the magic bow(magic arrow) from today.

Her skills should go up starting today.

The number of goblins up to the second layer has settled down a lot.

Now there were a little more compared to Irgusia’s labyrinth.

Also, from today onwards, we are bringing preserved food to lengthen the time we spend in the labyrinth.

We left the preserved food and other items in the safe zone, conquered the large room on the second level, and now we are on the third level.

We are almost reaching the spring room.

As we walked, I said to Clarice.

“I'm going to annihilate them first, so please watch. I've already explained to you how the spring room work but I think you might fall into a panic when you actually experience it.”

“I understand. I can't wait to see Mars's Wind Cutter.”

Yes, I haven't used the Wind Cutter in front of Clarice yet.

I had been using the Wind in a very conservative way because Clarice would not be able to stop it if I used the Wind Cutter.

And then we arrived at the spring room.

There were 30 of them right from the start. There were also 30 vortexes.

When the knights saw them a while ago, they said there were 20 so the labyrinth itself must be evolving or changing.

For me, it doesn't make any difference whether there are 20 or 30 goblin generals.

In fact, I would prefer to have 30 goblins which would net me more experience.

Clarice was puzzled by the number of goblin generals. Maybe she felt a little scared.

“A,are you sure you are OK? Isn't this number unusual? I think we'll have to get the whole Knights to go there...”

“It’s fine, Clarice. I'm sure we can beat them no matter how many goblin generals there are. Watch me.”

I was a little excited to be able to show Clarice my cool side and went to slaughter the goblin generals.

After Mars responded so to Clarice, he headed toward the goblin general's horde.

Mars usually fights with a sword in his right hand but this time he is not equipped with anything.

But when Mars waved his hand to the side, the goblin generals at the end of his hand were cut in half.

Armors and weapons didn't matter. With a single swing of Mars's hand, the goblin generals he had targeted and around him were all cut in half.

It took less than two minutes to kill 30 goblins.

And to Clarice’s surprise, there were no more corpses of the defeated goblin generals.

This is because the moment they were defeated, they were turned into magic stones.

This is abnormal. Clarice thought so.

Any normal person would have been horrified.

But Clarice was happy. She was proud.

If it had not been Mars, Clarice would have been terrified.

But her absolute trust in Mars kept fear away from her.

After literally slaughtering the goblin general, Mars felt a little remorse.

I overdid it...... I was too overzealous to show her my cool side. She’s definitely scared of......me.

Thinking so, I turned back to Clarice and she jumped on me.

“Amazing! Mars. Really!”

It was so unexpected that I couldn't support Clarice and fell down.

Of course, I still had Clarice in my arms.

“Weren't you scared?”

“Not at all! I felt safe after watching halfway onwards.”

“Really, you're not scared of me?”

“There’s no way I’m scared of you right. I'm happy and proud. So much I want to boast that we came from the same world.”

I'm also proud that I'm sharing secret information with such a beautiful girl.

After spending a little sweet time, we…

“Oh right, a treasure chest should appear in this room since I cleared them all within 30 minutes alone. ......oh, there it is!”

Hearing that, Clarice also headed toward the treasure chest.

When the treasure chest was appraised, as expected the treasure chest had a value of

When the treasure chest was opened, a crystal was found inside.

Name: Appraisal crystal

Special: -

Value: E

Details: Can be used only once to appraise people and things.

This is a somewhat plain win I guess. Though it can only be used once...

I'll use it on Clarice later since it will motivate her to level up.

Also, my level finally went up while I was hunting the goblin generals I mentioned earlier.

Name: Mars Bryant

Title: Wind King / Goblin Butcher

Status: Second son of Viscount Bryant

Condition: Good

Age: 6 years old

Level: 12

HP: 37/37

MP: 5840/5886

Strength:32

Agility:32

Magic:42

Dexterity: 33

Durability:33

Luck:30

Unique Ability: Innate talent (LvMax)

Unique Ability: Clairvoyance (Lv7)

Unique Ability: Lightning magic (Lv0/S)

Special Ability: Swordsmanship (Lv6/B)

Special Ability: Fire magic (Lv1/G)

Special Ability: Water magic(Lv1/G)

Special Ability: Wind magic (Lv8/A)

Special Ability: Holy magic(Lv3/B)

It’s been a long time since I looked at my status and saw that my swordsmanship had improved.

I became a pretty good all-rounder.

In the end, I am just happy to see my level go up.

“The goblin generals will revive again in a few more minutes. I'll stun them this time, so Clarice, please put an end to them.”

“I understand, I'll do my best.”

And now the worst nightmare for the goblin generals is about to happen for the next two weeks.

====================================

<<Prev 

Next>> 

Chapter 28 : Sword Saint and Saintess

TL:SummerPeanut

====================================

We decided to return home without visiting the second floor.

We were not expecting to see so many goblins, and although our HP had not decreased, Clarice looked exhausted.

It was a little after noon when we left the labyrinth.

Before leaving the labyrinth and going back to Clarice's house, we headed to the clinic where people who were injured in the labyrinth were being treated. Clarice was to heal the injured adventurers, knights, and residents in order to use her MP efficiently.

Naturally, she healed those with the deepest wounds first. Well, I already healed the fatally wounded a little yesterday.

When her MP reached a single digit, she would say, ‘We'll be back next time’ and go home.

The people who live in Grantham saw that and called her out as a saintess.

After Clarice got back to her house and cleaned herself up, she had a late lunch, depleted her MP, and went to bed.

Of course, I had been deploying Wind Cloak (Sylphid) needlessly since I came back from the dungeon. I had to make sure I could properly empty my MP too.

I woke up in the evening and went for a walk in Grantham city.

I was approached by some of the residents and we chatted for a bit.

Baron Dames is likely to be dethroned.

Well, he shouldn't have committed such a heinous act in front of the residents.

I also took a look at the arms shop.

They said that they are very happy to hear about the labyrinth overflow (labyrinths) and all their weapons are sold out.

They said they would pay a lot for ingots and such if anyone had them so I wondered if I could get to the spring room.

The tool shop also said they would buy potions at a higher price because they didn't have any in stock.

Considering the traveling expense it would take to get back from Grantham to Irgusia, I would happily accept any amount of money I could.

But my contribution of ingots and restoratives would be detrimental to the Balkus Kingdom. It's something to ponder in depth.

The sun had completely set so I returned to the Lampard house and was practicing my magic when Clarice woke up.

I hadn't eaten anything since I woke up in the evening so I ate dinner with Clarice.

“Mom, can you make another meal for me and Mars? We are going to dive into the labyrinth again.”

“What? It's already late, you know? You can do it tomorrow.”

“It doesn't matter if it's morning or night in the labyrinth. We have to do something while Mars is still here.”

“I understand. Be careful, please. Take care of Clarice, Mars.”

I nodded, got ready, and headed for the labyrinth.

The number of goblins seemed to decrease a little as we entered the labyrinth. Well, there were still more compared to Irgusia’s labyrinth.

After reaching the large room on the first level with some composure to spare, we dove into the second floor.

If it were the Irgusia Labyrinth, I would have continued nonchalantly but this is Grantham Labyrinth. Currently, Clarice is with me so I can't be too careful.

I knew it, the structure of the second floor seemed to be the same as the Irgusia labyrinth and the route to the safe zone was the same.

Also, only hobgoblins and goblin mages appeared here.

The second floor was also quite congested. It was so congested that it was unpleasant.

After passing a few rooms while power leveling, we came to a room with a white shining entrance.

We finally arrived at the safe zone.

Once in the safe zone, we sat down next to each other and talked.

“Clarice, can you hang in there a little longer?”

“Yes. I'll try a little harder.”

“Then we'll rest a little and go to the next room which probably has a goblin general in it and we'll attack that room and go home.”

“I understand. I'll take a little rest.”

Clarice said this, put her head on my shoulder, and immediately fell asleep.

After about 30 minutes, Clarice woke up and we headed to the next room.

And there were goblin generals, three of them.

This is definitely harder than the Irgusia labyrinth. In addition to the goblin generals, there are 10 hobgoblins. My work is all the same though. I stun all the goblins and Clarice quickly puts an end to them.

When Clarice puts an end to them, sure enough, there is a treasure chest in the corner of the room.

I appraised the treasure chest and found

Name: Treasure chest

Special: Trap(Arrow)-

Value: 3

Details: I don't know what's in it. The rate of appearance and what is inside depends on ‘Luck’.

When I told Clarice that there was a trap, she opened the treasure chest from behind just as Zeke had taught me long ago.

Name: Magic Bow

Attack: -

Special: Magic +1, Agility +1

Value: B+.

Details: A bow that shoots arrows made of magic power. Depending on the user's magical aptitude, arrows of various attributes can be released. The bow itself is granted (enchant) with wind magic, making it very light.

A bow that doesn't require you to carry around arrows is definitely the right equipment for Clarice!

As usual, my luck doesn't work for me, sadly. ......

Clarice had a complicated expression on her face as she looks like she feel guilty that only her equipment is becoming more lavish.

“Only my equipments are dropping......perhaps it’s telling me to be an adventurer or something?'”

Ah, I misunderstood. I'm not sure if I need the equipment now or not but thinking a little bit and the answer is no.

We had taken what we need to take and we were returning back from the labyrinth.

When we exited the labyrinth, it was so dark that we couldn’t know what time it was.

We went to the clinic which might have been closed by now.

The clinic's lights were on. When we showed up at the clinic, the injured were very happy to see us.

They were so excited that the saintess had come.

She must have understood a little how I feel to be called ‘sword saint’ now.

With a wry smile on her face, she told them she would come back another time after almost fully depleting her MP.

Clarice's level-up progress was so fast.

She was lv1 yesterday, and now she’s at 6. It doesn't seem like it will take her long to get to the spring room.

Name: Clarice Lampard

Title: -

Status: Human, commoner

Condition: Good

Age: 6 years old

Level: 6

HP: 16/16

MP: 1/134

Strength: 9

Agility: 10

Magic: 11

Dexterity: 9

Durability: 8

Luck: 20

Unique Ability: Barrier magic (Lv0/A)

Special Ability: Swordsmanship (Lv2/C)

Special Ability: Archery (Lv0/B)

Special Ability: Holy magic (Lv2/A)

Her holy magic increased to level 2.

If she does not become an adventurer with this status, what does Clarice want to be in the future?

With these thoughts in mind, we returned to the Lampard house to clean ourselves, eat a meal, empty MP, and go to bed.

====================================

<<Prev 

Next>> 

Chapter 27 : Power Leveling

TL:SummerPeanut

====================================

“......I see...... I get it. Clarice, you've got to hang tight for this city.”

Currently, I'm with Clarice, talking to Gray at the Lampard’s house.

I told him what I had talked about with Count Beetle at the Adventurer’s Guild.

And that's when he responded just now. To be honest, I thought he would be vehemently against it.

I thought they would not accept that their own cute child…a 6-year-old girl, would have to dive into the labyrinth. And no matter how strong her companion was, he was still another six-year-old.

“Mars, take care of Clarice, will you?”

“Yes. I will certainly protect her. I'm going to get a room in an inn so I'll excuse myself for today. I will seek your presence tomorrow, thank you.”

“Mars, what are you talking about? You should stay at our place, right? Dad.”

“Umm, mm...... right, I haven't been able to repay you much, Mars. You're the one who saved the Lampard family. I know it's a small place but accept our hospitality.”

I turned him down softly but he pushed through anyway.

But I was told I couldn't stay in Clarice's room. Obviously right.

However, we did talk in Clarice's room together until bedtime. Clarice's ability and mine.

I spoke in a low voice and in Japanese.

‘I have something to say to Clarice. Will you spare me your time?’

Clarice was surprised that I spoke in Japanese.

But she must have immediately realized that there was something special going on.

‘Of course. What is it?’

‘First of all, I have the unique appraisal skill. Clarice has aptitudes in swordsmanship, archery, and holy magic. And the unique skill given to Clarice is barrier magic.’

‘Am I using the bow since you mentioned it previously? I know I had a talent for archery from the appraisal ceremony...but I wasn't told I had a talent for barrier magic... in the first place how does barrier magic work?’

‘I’ll have Clarice use bow. It seems that Clarice has more talent for archery than swordsmanship.

And your talent in holy magic is even higher than archery. Also unfortunately, I’m not sure how to use unique skill. Let's go to the labyrinth, properly level up and learn how to use them.’

‘I understand. Is there anything else?’

‘You should deplete your MP every day. It will increase your maximum MP. I suspect that those with talent in magic don't fall unconscious nor die, they just fall asleep due to MP deficiency.’

‘Yes. I kind of knew that. That's the reason I used to heal every day.

But how did Mars know about magic?’

‘......I'm not actually a swordsman.’

‘So you are a sword saint?’

‘No, I'm a magician. Mainly wind magic.’

‘!!!!!!’

Clarice tried her best to keep her surprised voice from leaking out.

‘That’s a lie, right? You’re so great with the swords but you’re a magician? But I heard that wind magic is the least favorable type...’

‘It's true that I've heard that earth magic and water magic are the best in this world but I think wind magic is also strong in its own way. I'll show you tomorrow when we dive into the labyrinth. Also, I can use holy magic too. So if Clarice gets hurt, I can fix you up with a heal.'

‘I thought holy magic users couldn't use other magic ......ah, but I can use barrier magic too...

Somehow I feel tired from all the surprises. I feel sleepy already so can you tell me more tomorrow?’

‘Sure. I understand. Good night then.’

‘Good night.’

After that, I left Clarice's room slowly. I have to give Gray who was hiding in front of the door some time to go back. Well, we were talking in Japanese all the time and in a low voice so that no one could hear us so there was no way he could know the content of our conversation.

The next morning we decided to go to the labyrinth after asking Count Beetle for a bow.

We decided to buy some recovery medicine just in case but they were already out of stock. I asked the shopkeeper about it, and he told me that they were out of recovery medicine and that even the expensive recovery medicine had skyrocketed in price.

Since I had heard about the labyrinth in advance, I decided that we should reach the safe zone and retreat today.

If it's true, I'd like to stay in the safe zone and level up though. ......I have no ulterior motive at all, okay?

Then we entered the labyrinth with Count Beetle, the Knights, and the town's residents seeing us off.

The first level of the Grantham labyrinth had a structure similar to that of the Irgusia labyrinth. The structure was the same but one difference was that the number of goblins was greater in the Grantham labyrinth. In some places, the labyrinth was so jammed with goblins that there was no space between the passageways.

I hit the goblins with the belly of my sword. To the point of knocking them out or disabling them.

When the goblins were so dense that there was no room, I would blow them out with my wind and stun them. Clarice would finish them off when they were stunned. This is the so-called power leveling.

“I kind of feel bad. Other adventurers are struggling to raise their levels and I'm having it so easy...”

Clarice was finishing one off with her sword.

The bow is not for a six-year-old girl so she couldn’t use it and she will have to use the sword until her level and muscle strength increase.

“It's an emergency.”

The structure of the labyrinth is the same as that of Irgusia Labyrinth, so we proceeded in the same route as Irgusia Labyrinth, going up to the second floor of the labyrinth.

Then we arrived at a large room. In the Irgusia Labyrinth, there is a stairway to the second level but even there were differences here. The size of the room and the number of magic beasts.

There are 20 hobgoblins and 10 goblin mages and the rooms are huge.

I had no problem with this but it would be tough for adventurers who had just graduated out of the paper ranks. As before, I stun them, and then Clarice delivers the last hit.

In no time at all, we had defeated the enemy and found a treasure chest in the corner of the room

I appraised it and found no traps and it had a value of 3

I opened the chest and found the following

Name: Anklet of Secret (Mysterious Anklet)

Special: Magic +1

Value: B-

Details: When you walk around with it on, it heals your HP.

I hit the jackpot.

I explained the effect to Clarice and had her wear it.

The beautifully decorated accessory shines on Clarice's beautiful legs.

With the defender and the anklet of secret, I can feel a bit more secure now.

And Clarice's level was rising steadily.

Name: Clarice Lampard

Title: -

Status: Human race, commoner

Condition: Good

Age: 6 years old

Level: 3

HP: 10/10

MP: 116/128

Strength: 6

Agility: 6

Magic: 7

Dexterity 6

Durability 5

Luck: 20

Unique Ability: Barrier magic (Lv0/A)

Special Ability: Swordsmanship (Lv2/C)

Special Ability: Archery (Lv0/B)

Special Ability: Holy magic (Lv1/A)

However, her skills have not changed at all due to only doing power leveling......

Then we found a stairway down to the bottom when we proceeded to the end of the large room.

Unlike the Irgusia labyrinth, this labyrinth was a downward labyrinth.

====================================

<<Prev 

Next>> 

Chapter 26 : Negotiation

TL:SummerPeanut

Previously mentioned ‘disrespect’ > ‘lese majesty’.

====================================

“I would like to express my gratitude again. Thank you. Now without further ado, what is your name?”

Count Beetle asked me when he arrived at the guildmaster's room of the Adventurers' Guild.

Next to Count Beetle is a man who appears to be the guildmaster.

“I am known as Mars.”

“What about you, the lady at the side?”

“I am known as Clarice”

“How old are you?”

“”Six years old.””

“How are you able to be so versed with swordsmanship, Mars? I heard you're even called as a sword saint.”

“I am self-taught and have been wielding a sword for a long time. I was only called a sword saint but never claimed to be one.”

I tried to give answers that would avoid people asking about my origins as much as possible.

Clarice noticed this too, so she just nodded next to me.

“I see. Originally, I would like to hear more details...

But firstly, I would like you to listen to my request. As you may know, we would like you to help us maintain security here in Grantham. Well, specifically to help us cull the goblins. Of course, I will give you an additional reward. Can I trust you with this request?”

“Please answer my doubts first, how long will the labyrinth overflow (labyrinths) continue? Is there anything we can do to stop the overflow (labyrinths)?”

I asked the question said outside previously here to respond to his question.

“I don't know how long the overflow (labyrinths) will last, but the overflow (labyrinths) will stop if you conquer the labyrinth.”

“When would the labyrinth be conquered?”

“I can't bring parties higher than B-rank in my territory here. The C-rank and D-rank parties that have gained experience in the Grantham labyrinth have gone west to the war with the Kingdom of Barkus. I absolutely cannot ask for help from other nobles. They will take advantage of us in many ways.

So, we really don't have a chance to conquer the labyrinth at the moment.”

“I understand. Then, may I have the reward for my contribution first?”

“Sure. Tell me your price.”

“Promise me that the Lampard family will be safe. Baron Dames has a one-sided grudge towards the Lampard family. For my part, it’s just reaping what I sow but please show leniency towards Clarice and Lampard family who were penalized due to lese-majesty.”

I and Clarice briefly explained our tussle with Baron Dames.

“Seems like I have done something unfortunate. I understand…your actions, Mars.

I promise you that the Lampard family will be safe. As expected, I can't say that this is a reward. It's that much obvious from the incident. Is there anything else you want?"

“Yes, I do. But I’m afraid I would have to add a condition so would that be acceptable?”

“Condition?”

“Yes. Due to some reason(excuses), I cannot stay in this town for a long time, no more than a month.

During that time, I will conquer the labyrinth. I would like to ask for your help in for the raid preparation. And after I have conquered the labyrinth, I would like to receive another reward again...”

Count Beetle looked at me in surprise.

I guess it would seem ridiculous for a six-year-old to enter a labyrinth, much less to talk about conquering the labyrinth. He might even be doubting my sanity at this moment.

And Clarice, who was standing next to me, voiced out her disagreement.

“Mars, it's dangerous even for you! Don't take life so lightly!”

Clarice said. I replied that I had my way and that it would be fine. And then Count Beetle said.

“Even a B-class party of six C-class adventurers couldn't make it back from the boss's room, you know? And no matter how much they call you a sword saint, there’s a limit for a single person.”

If I say anything carelessly, he would ask me about my origins.

But I have to return to Irgusia as soon as possible so I can't stay here for a long time.

I was thinking about how to persuade him.

“I'll go with you.”

This time I was surprised. But it was not a bad idea.

If I leave this town, it is the people of this town who will protect the Lampard family and this town.

If I dived the labyrinth with Clarice for a month, I believe she’ll become quite strong.

“You won't be able to do anything even if you go with Mars. You will only slow him down.”

“No, I can use holy magic. I can heal the wounded Mars.”

This time, the Count growled. Incidentally, Clarice's ability to use holy magic was necessary when she was explaining the tussle with Baron Dames so she exposed her card.

“Hmm Mars, can you not share the reason why it is not possible for you to stay for an extended period in this place?”

“Yes. Unfortunately...”

Then the guildmaster, who was flanking Count Beetle, spoke up for the first time.

“I can only allow you to enter the labyrinth if you are an E-rank adventurer or above or if you are a member of a knighthood.

Also, adventurers have to be 12 years old to be allowed...”

“But I am already-...”

I almost told him I was an E-rank adventurer.

If I said that, he might find out that no one here in the Kingdom of Zarkham had become an E rank adventurer at the age of six, and he might question whether I might be from another country.

“Already?”

The guildmaster asked.

“I am already strong enough to be able to defeat any number of hobgoblins or goblin mages. I think Count Beetle knows that too. If you really need a status to give the permission, I would like to be a member of the Knights during the labyrinth attack only.”

“Mm-hmm. It is as Mars said, Victor.”

The guild master, Victor, hung his head and responded with, ‘I apologize for my outburst.’ I knew that guilds and nobles were not equal.

“It's no use sitting still too... Mars, Clarice, I will accept your proposal.

What exactly do you want me to do to prepare and how do you want me to cooperate?”

“I would like to have some armors that Clarice can equip herself with. I would also like two swords and, if possible, a bow.”

“We can't provide armor that a child can wear. Though I can get you the swords right away. For the bow, I can get one for you by tomorrow. Hmm for the armors... I'm sorry but I don't think I can be of any help. Instead, I will give you this sword as a reward.”

The Count then handed me the sword that he had been holding at his waist.

It was beautifully decorated and anyone would know that it’s expensive at first glance.

“This is a sword that increases durability when equipped.”

I appraised the sword and found.

Name: Defender

Attack: 10

Special: Durability +2

Value: B

Details: HP recovery acceleration.

He gave me a very good sword.

This is definitely Clarice's equipment.

“After that, here take Baron Dames’s sword. I’ll handle the talk with Baron Dames.”

Actually, this was a good sword too.

Name: Mithril Silver Sword.

Attack: 10

Value: C

Details: A sword that easily allows the holder’s magic to pass through.

“Thank you very much. I will start attacking the labyrinth tomorrow.”

“I look forward to your contribution. If you have any problems, please let me know.”

Count Beetle then tossed me a gold coin.

“You will be well rested now.”

Come to think of it, I didn't even have money for lodging so this was probably the most gratifying thing he could have done.

“Again, thank you very much. Now if you'll excuse me.”

With that, we left the Adventurers' Guild.

We had to go to catch Gray and Erna now.

After all, they would never have dreamed of Clarice diving into the labyrinth.

====================================

<<Prev 

Next>> 

Chapter 25 : Resolve

TL:SummerPeanut

====================================

I and Clarice were watching the battle in the city from outside the window.

Our hands were connected the whole time.

From the moment Clarice took my hand and invited me into her room to when we were talking in bed, and even to now, we have always held hands.

Outside, the Knights had surrounded the labyrinth and were holding back the goblins.

The fourth wave also consisted of hobgoblins and goblin mages.

What was different from the third wave was the number.

It seemed that the goblins were still coming out of the labyrinth, and even more goblins were flooding in endlessly.

At this rate, the knights would not be able to hold them back. If the front line was breached, I think the city might be trampled down.

The inhabitants were ready to flee. They were not running away yet though.

Clarice's hand tightened as she watched the situation.

I tried not to get too actively involved in this battle, partly because it was an enemy country.

It’s to the point I thought that it’s fine for me to curb Lampard Family now in case they become a risk factor.

But it’s different for Clarice. It’s natural for her to want to help those she spent time with who were in a terrible situation.

“What do you want to do?”

I asked.

“Of course. I want to help. I want to help them without abandoning this city.”

“Then let's go help.”

“But Mars is from an enemy country, right? I am not clear what's going on right now but surely it's better for Mars's country that things stay their course?”

“Certainly, it might be better for my country if Grantham was to be trampled by magic beasts.

But Clarice is here after all. That time I couldn’t protect you properly but this time I will make sure to protect you to the end. I know I just said that on the spur of the moment but  I'm not lying.”

These words brought tears to Clarice's eyes and she hugged me.

Now that I think of it, just what am I really saying here I wonder. It sounded like I’m taking advantage of the suspension bridge effect while saying my pick-up lines to a girl. I could feel my face getting more and more scarlet.

“Thank you.”

After Clarice said that, I broke the embrace and walked out of the room.

Gray and Erna were there.

I had somewhat expected they would but I guess they were really eavesdropping. I opened my mouth.

“It looks like the fourth wave has arrived. I'm going to go stop it.”

“Are you sure? It might become a serious problem later on, you know. That time, I don’t think we can take Mars’s side.”

“I’m prepared for that.”

So I ran out of the house with Baron Dames' sword in my right hand after saying my piece.

I then made my way through the residents to the Count of Beetle, who was commanding the front line of the Knights.

The people cheered as I passed by.

Some of them even call me ‘Sir Sword Saint’.

The count was frantically commanding the front line which was about to collapse at any moment.

Behind the Count is Baron Dames, who was preparing himself to escape on his own.

I’m sure if the fourth wave can be contained, he’ll join but if not, he’ll make sure that he can escape anytime.

The residents below that count were turning their expectant eyes to me.

“Count Beetle, may I join you in the fight?”

When I said that. Then Baron Dames interrupted.

“You bandit! I’ll deliver your judgment!”

He shouted and slashed at me.

He had bad timing that’s for sure.

I dodged Dames's attack and shot him in the jaw with the bottom of my palm, knocking him out.

The Count saw this and said.

“Who are you? Is that sword not Dames's? Either way, a child cannot be allowed to participate in the war. You will be dealt with later for disrespect to nobility, so stay where you are!”

At these words the inhabitants.

“Count, the child is the one I was telling you about.”

“Sir Sword Saint! Please slaughter those goblins!”

They said in response.

None of the residents were worried about Dames or took his side.

The Count had also received the report and he must hadn’t thought such a child would be the one…

“I see, you are the... can you do me this favor?”

He said in a bewildered but polite way.

“Yes, sir. I will surely defeat them.”

I answered and headed for the front lines where the battle lines were about to collapse at any moment.

The front had already reached its limits.

Even though Knight Commander Blair was wounded, he could not retreat.

Even if he retreated, there would only be the wounded and the inhabitants behind him.

The adventurers had just received medical treatment in the previous battle. There was no way they could participate in the battle.

They already knew that the only thing they could do was to act as a wall of flesh and buy time.

However, Blair desperately tried to inspire them.

“We are almost there. In a little while, the sword saint from earlier will come! Until then, endure!”

It felt quite vain if he says so himself.

According to the reports, a small child had defeated more than 300 goblins single-handedly but there was no way such a child could do such a thing.

And that was not even counting the fact that there were a group of hobgoblins and goblin mages in it.

It would have been impossible unless it’s a high-ranking Zarkham royal knight or minimally a B-level adventurer.

While he was thinking about this, one of his men on the left was hit by a goblin mage's stone bullet which rendered him incapable of combat.

The recovery medicine he had on hand was already used up.

If his subordinate does not retreat now, he would die in less than a minute.

But he could not let him retreat.

He felt this was that moment. That the whole city will be swallowed whole if the magic beasts were to break through this point.

The hobgoblin came laughing to put an end to his subordinate on the left. He was too occupied fighting the hobgoblin in front of him to do anything.

When he thought that he should at least watch his men’s last struggle.

The hobgoblin's head flew off right in front of his subordinate.

Unable to comprehend at all what happened, I froze for a duration shorter than a second.

And when he came back to consciousness, he saw that his subordinate's wounds, which should have been severe, were getting better.

It was not a full recovery but it was no longer a fatal wound.

To his further surprise, the hobgoblin's head in front of him had also been cut down.

I guess I've taken down every spot that looked dangerous.

After confirming the battle situation, I undid my Wind Cloak (Sylphid) and began to slaughter the goblins calmly.

This time, the goblins were so densely packed that it took only about three seconds to take down one of them.

The goblins' faces, which had been smiling cruelly earlier, twitched.

Even the least intelligent goblins must have realized that they had changed from predators to prey.

“Okay, this is the last one.”

With that, I took down the last one.

The headless goblins rolled around me.

I heard shouts of joy from the residents and even the words, ‘Long live the Sword Saint’.

The knights were also sitting down, relieved.

Count Beetle came up to me and said.

“Thank you. You did a good job. You saved Grantham. We will talk about Baron Dames later but I would like to talk about the reward and the afterward. Is that alright with you?”

“Yes, sir. I just have a question. Will there be a fifth wave?”

“I don't know about that. Labyrinth overflow is rare. If you conquer the labyrinth, it should definitely stop...but there are rumors that just diving into the labyrinth will also stop it. Either way, we can't let anyone dive under these circumstances. Even if we need to, we will need a D rank or higher adventurers and knights. If we were to attack the labyrinth, we would need a party of upper B rank... Well, since it’s not right to talk about it here, shall we head to the Adventurer’s Guild master room?”

“I will follow your arrangement. May I also ask you to return this sword to Baron Dames later? I had borrowed it without permission...”

With that, I handed the sword to Count Beetle and followed him to the Adventurer’s Guild.

Clarice came to me, looking happy.

“Thank you. Seems like Mars saved me again.”

“I'm determined to help Clarice this time after all.”

It seemed that Count Beetle heard this conversation and Clarice was also asked to go to the Adventurer’s Guild.

====================================

<<Prev 

Next>> 

Chapter 24 : Lampard Family

TL:SummerPeanut

====================================

After a brief session of crying, we decided to introduce ourselves.

We hugged each other unintentionally and after we came back to ourselves we are sitting facing each other while feeling embarrassed. However, I just couldn’t seem to stop crying.

‘I'm Fujisaki Yuusho, 20 years old. Over here, I'm Mars Bryant, age 6.’

‘I am Ayanokoji Aoi, 20 years old. Over here, I'm Clarice Lampard, age 6.’

‘Just to confirm, you're the clerk at that convenience store, right?’

‘Yes. You're the one who helped me that time, right?’

‘I didn’t save you in the end though.’

Clarice's parents looked at us in surprise as we spoke in Japanese.

I still had a lot to talk to Clarice about but I didn’t want to look suspicious anymore so I continued in the language of this world.

“I apologize. I was so excited from the battle with the goblins and I was so happy that I could communicate in a language I had just learned that I teared up. My name is Mars Bryant and I am six years old."

Even I thought I was giving an illogical excuse but he seemed to be on board with my talk.

“I-I see, I was startled when you suddenly started crying with my daughter. I'm Gray Lampard.

Behind me is my wife, Erna, and my daughter, Clarice.”

“The mother, Erna. Thank you very much for helping Clarice and the rest of us.”

“I'm Clarice. Sir Mars. May I have a moment of your time to speak with you?”

I nodded. But Gray seemed wary of me.

Perhaps he was wary of what I might do to her daughter. It showed a little in his expression.

Gray opened his mouth.

“Clarice, would you mind if I had a word with him first?”

“Yes. Father.”

“I don't think Sir Mars is a child around here, may I know where did you come from?”

“Yes, sir. I come from the Irgusia labyrinth city. Formerly, a domain of Count Carmel.”

“Hmm? I have never heard of such a city. I've never even heard of Count Carmel.”

“It is a new labyrinth city that was built further west of the labyrinth city of Almeria that’s located in the southwest of the Balkus Kingdom.

I believe that Count Carmel has been elevated to the rank of Margrave.”

“The Kingdom of Balkus... well, this city is the labyrinth city of Grantham, located to the east of the Kingdom of Zarkham.

I do not know if you are aware of this but our Kingdom of Zarkham and the Kingdom of Balkus in the west of Zarkham are at war......but I owe you a debt of gratitude for your help.......”

The atmosphere was swarthy after hearing Gray's words. But Erna…

“It’s not really an appropriate topic to talk about while standing. Shall we retire to our house first? If people around us hear what is going on, something not interesting may happen. And if Mr. Dames finds us, we might get into trouble again...

For Clarice's sake...alright?”

“I suppose so. Sir Mars, no, Mars. Even though we are enemies, we owe you favor so I would like to offer you proper hospitality if that's all right. Well, as much as the Lampard family could afford.”

“Thank you very much. I would love to hear your story so there’s no reason not to indulge your kindness.”

We headed for the Lampard house without anyone noticing.

Hence, we walked in silence as I appraised Clarice.

Name: Clarice Lampard

Title: -

Status: Human race, commoner

Condition: Good

Age: 6 years old

Level: 1

HP: 6/6

MP: 4/124

Strength: 2

Agility 3

Magic: 4

Dexterity: 4

Durability: 2

Luck: 20

Unique Ability: Barrier magic (Lv0/A)

Special Ability: Swordsmanship (Lv2/C)

Special Ability: Archery (Lv0/B)

Special Ability: Holy magic (Lv1/A)

I guess she doesn't know her own Unique Ability (Unique Skill) yet. Also, unlike me and Ike, she hasn't trained yet, so her status is a little low.

I think her level 2 swordsmanship must be from her previous life. Her stance under the rain that day was beautiful.

We arrived at the Lampard's house and Gray told me many things.

About the situation here in Grantham, about Count Beetle, about Baron Dames, about Clarice, and so on.

As expected, he did not tell me much about the Kingdom of Zarkham.

We also talked about me and about Barkus. I told him that the eldest son was a better swordsman than I was, and that on top of that, his spear was in the realm of untouchable compared to his sword, and that a labyrinth, where only goblins appeared, had recently appeared in Irgusia.

I didn't want him to think I was lying so I didn't reveal that I had cleared the labyrinth.

I don't think a six-year-old kid can clear the labyrinth, no matter how strong he is.

I also hid the fact that I could use magic. Well, Clarice, one of the reincarnated ones, might have known already.

“There is an abnormal outbreak of magic beasts, not only in the Kingdom of Balkus but also in the Kingdom of Zarkham…?

And both countries are building similar dungeons...

Maybe in a few more years, Irgusia labyrinth would experience labyrinth overflow too...

I need to let father know about this as soon as possible.”

“Perhaps we have no time for wars. We commoners always look like fools.”

Gray started mumbling. And at that moment, Clarice...

“Dad, do you mind if I talk to Mars…too?”

Oops, I've been called directly without honorifics. I welcome it of course because it makes it easier to be friendly when the honorific title is dropped early on.

To some extent, Gray's wariness of me has been lifted.

“Yeah, two of you are similar in age so it might be a good stimulus too. Suit yourself.”

“Then let's go to my room.”

With that as a signal, Clarice pulled me by the hand and we went upstairs to her room.

I glanced at Gray and Erna, and they looked surprised.

That's right. You would normally think they would talk here.

But I also wanted to talk to her alone so I decided to let Clarice pull me this time.

As soon as we got to the room and when we were able to both sit down without tension on the bed, Clarice questioned.

“What happened after that? You know, after we've been struck by lightning?”

She looked like a child that has the brains of an adult? It was a little too impactful to me.

Well, we're both kids, so it's not like anything will happen between us…

I told Clarice as much as I could remember about my conversation with Demi-god. I didn't tell her about my abilities, though.

I also asked Clarice about her time in the boundary world. Clarice had little explanation to add and she didn't even know about the Unique Ability (Unique Skill).

Come to think of it, Demi-God told me that the two people other than me…would be handled by his alter ego.

That means that that convenience store robber is also here in this world.

I had completely forgotten about him.

When I told this to Clarice, we decided to act in such a way that neither of us would be recognized as a reincarnated person. We decided not to speak Japanese in public unless there was a reason to do so.

While we were talking, there was suddenly a lot of noise outside the window.

It seemed that the fourth wave had arrived.

====================================

<<Prev

Next>>

Chapter 23 : Clarice Lampard

TL:SummerPeanut

====================================

I got out on the other side of the wall and saw a lot of injured people in front of me.

Looking back, it seemed to be the city walls. The wall is similar to the one in Almeria.

There was no reaction at all from the crystal given to me by Van.

I thought this wall might be connected to the dungeon but apparently, that's not the situation now.*1

On the other side of the wounded, people and goblins were fighting.

There was one place where I could hear the angriest shouts and screams, so I quickly moved to that place.

Because of my child's body, I can easily slip through even when people are crowded together.

I then deliberately walked past the seriously injured in a way that avoided being noticed by the others and used heal.

The seriously injured people looked at their wounds in wonder.

And soon I reached the place.

It was an odd sight. They were supposed to be fighting goblins but people were trying to kill people.

For some reason, the people around them didn't even try to stop them.

A little girl called out ‘Dad!’ in loud voice.

The person that was about to be cut must be her father.

It's still not too late now.

With such thought in mind, I used Wind Cloak (Sylphid) and accelerated into the front of the man that was about to be slashed and fired a palm strike to the other guy’s chin.

When I shot him in the jaw, our eyes met. An expected reaction, he looked very surprised.

I seemed to have put too much force into it. He was blown up so spectacularly that I thought he was a stuntman.

My action caused a scene around the area.

I took the decorated sword from the man I had blown back without caring, and healed the wound of the man who was about to be cut down in a way that the people around me would not know.

“For now, let's take down the goblin. Please explain the situation later to me.”

I said that to those nearby.

Then.

“There are over 300 goblins! Some of them are hobgoblins! There’s no helping now!”

“If we could do that, we would have done it already.”

The voice replied angrily.

“I will handle the goblins on this side alone. Everyone, please be mindful of the other side instead.”

So I said and ran into the horde of goblins.

The residents looked at me with the face of wondering what on earth I was saying.

I started defeating the goblins with my sword alone, without using magic, despite their stares.

Because I thought that if I used magic maybe even the people who were still alive would be harmed.

With 300 goblins and assuming I kill one every five seconds, I could wipe them out in 1,500 seconds or 25 minutes.

I had been doing battle with only goblin kings, goblin lords, and goblin generals, so now hobgoblins and goblin mages are no match for me.

I don't even need to use the Wind Cloak (Sylphid) to instantly kill them.

After half an hour, we finished defeating all the goblins in the town.

The town was filled with shouts of joy.

Several people thanked me.

But soon the residents started to evacuate because a fourth wave might be coming.

As they began to evacuate, the Knights arrived. Together with Count Beetle who rules here.

“I am Raoul Grace, Count of Beetle. What's going on? Are the residents safe? Is anyone injured? Treat the seriously injured first. Tell the Knights if you are seriously wounded or if there is a seriously wounded person nearby. You may speak to me directly!”

Count Beetle seemed to have come in his clothes and was not wearing any armour.

Then the man I had knocked off swooped on the Count.

“Count Beetle, I have been grazed. Also, an unidentified bandit attacked me and knocked me unconscious, and I have a headache. Please give me the highest priority.”

“Indeed, if you can prattle so much we can talk about it later. You all, look for seriously injured residents.”

“W-what? I am a nobleman, and I request that you treat me first.”

“You’re in the way, the rest of you get on with protecting the residents!”

When Count Beetle said this, he left the scene and began treating the residents and providing them with psychological care.

The baron, who had been lightly handled with, shouted in a screeching voice when he spotted me.

“Bandits! There's a bandit in the house! Capture him! No, prepare to execute him for disrespect.”

None of the residents moved.

Rather, they surrounded me as if to protect me, to hide me.

“What are you doing! You bastards too shall be put to death for disrespect! And the Knights, seize that brat!”

Then one of the Knights said.

“I am sorry to say this but Lord Dames does not have the authority to give us orders. We have been told to protect the residents and I hope you will understand.”

The Knight Order members also left the scene to search for the seriously injured.

That guy's name is Dames huh. The honorific title 'Lord' meant he doesn't have a fief.

He’s no Knight Commander nor does he seem to be Magician Commander. He doesn't seem to be particularly strong, so he simply inherited his title from his parents. If this kind of incompetent can inherit a peerage, it would be better if the nobility had lots of children.

Let's just not stay here. I don't want to get involved with the Dames again.

Thinking so, I hid behind a house using the human wall as a shield.

That Dames lost sight of me and gave up but now he was turning his anger towards the residents.

I am indeed annoyed by his unmanageable behavior.

After hiding in the house, I noticed one thing. The sword in my right hand.

If I leave like this, I’ll be stealing it. I wonder if this belongs to Dames.

If I give it back to the Dames who are now on the rampage, he might use it to attack the residents again, so I think it's better not to give it back now. Maybe it's better not to return it for now. Or maybe it's better not to return it for the rest of his life. I don't know what to do. Right as I was wrecking my head.

“Thank you very much. You saved me and my daughter.”

I heard such voice.

I turned around and there stood that man who had almost been cut down by Dames.

“No. In fact, I plead forgiveness for my previous outburst.”

For a moment I thought about handing the sword to this person but I stopped because I felt that if he went to return it, he would be cut again.

“Even so, you have great strength for someone so young. My daughter is about the same age as you and I thought she was a genius. Clarice, come here”

Then a girl came out from behind the man.

The girl stared at me without saying a word.

I too stared at the silver-haired girl with a very beautiful face.

My head and heart were telling me something.

I had already noticed that something previously.

The boy and the girl slowly approached each other.

Then they got closer and took each other's hands.

'Thank you for helping me again. You saved me.'

'Thank you too! You helped me just now.'

After exchanging words in Japanese..., they collapsed on the spot and cried together while hugging each other.

====================================

<<Prev 

Next>> 

TL’s note:

1. Author suddenly used dungeon english word instead of labyrinth so…