ED: Sorry for the sudden hiatus, I just got caught up in one thing after another, and a month flew by before I even noticed. Also, you might have noticed that Kuhaku just went and disappeared one day, along with their discord channel (and the owner deleted his discord account, so I can’t even contact them to figure out what happened), so I decided to throw together a simple website to keep posting chapters on. I still have contact with Rihn and NomAsh, and they both said they want to keep working on this novel, so we will keep it going here instead.
In other news, I’m going back to Heroic Soul Blade – Incomplete, and I’m dropping the [Tangerine] joke at the end. In case you didn’t know, the name of Jin’s sword, Soul Blade – Incomplete, which he had since Part 1, is read as ‘reitou mikan’, which is a homonym for ‘frozen oranges’ (tangerines to be exact) in Japanese, but since author added another words at the beginning, it doesn’t really work any more, and they don’t seem to make this joke any more either, so I’ll just leave it as one of those things you might know about if you’ve read the entire novel.
Translator: Rihn
Editor: Zioming
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Chapter 87: The Barrier and the Conclusion of the Hidden Area
Author’s Note: This is the final chapter of Part 5, so it’s the usual pattern. I didn’t know where to cut it, so it became unintentionally long. And most of it is explanation.
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Having named Elle, there wasn’t anything else I needed to check. The other members are still waiting near the barrier, so let’s head back for now.
I got on Blue and flew towards the Hidden Area. Also, it might have become troublesome if dragon newts were to see Elle, so I sucked her in like udon again.
L: If possible, I would like to manifest all the time…
Yeah, at the very least, I don’t intend to let you do that while we’re in the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area. And even after that, I don’t plan on having you out all the time. Also, If there are ever times I don’t want you to be seen, I will put you into sleep mode as well.
L: That is unfortunate…
A: If you do not wish to obey Master, there is always the ‘delete’ button.
L: P-please spare me from that at the very least!
Alta really has no mercy on Elle. Of course, even if she wanted to erase her, I wouldn’t let her.
A: As her senior, I cannot allow for any disrespect towards Master.
L: Uuu… I cannot even go against Alta-dono. I will behave…
There’s not even a sliver of her dignity as the Ancestral God-Dragon left any more. …Well, I’ll let you out from time to time, so you don’t have to be so down. Besides, if there’s anything for you to do as my familiar, I’ll make sure to ask you then.
L: Thou promise!? I want thee to let me out whenever possible! Also, bring on the familiar work!
A: Quiet, please.
L: Yes…
Now I feel kind of sorry for her. It should be fine to let her manifest while we’re at the mansion at the very least…
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“Master, we’re almost there.”
“Right, good job.”
We were about to arrive at the (already destroyed) section of the barrier around the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area. Sakura and the others are all together, waiting for us, so let’s land next to them.
“The boss battle’s over.”
“Thank you for your hard work, Jin-sama.”
“Welcome back, Jin-kun…”
“Kyu~ Welcome back~”
Everyone greeted me as I jumped down from Blue’s back. Once I got down, she transformed back into her (completely naked) human form. Mikazuki and Leaf were already in their (clothed) human forms, by the way.
“You too, Sera. You did well back there.”
“No, it was no problem at all. I can easily erase a magic attack of that level, so there’s no need to thank me, Master.”
“Sera-chan was pretty epic, right Master!?”
Like Mio just said, it was Sera who single-handedly took care of that final breath attack from Elle. Still, being able to erase magic attacks can come in useful in more ways than one, it seems. And my Heroic Soul Blade – Incomplete can also absorb magic now, so I’d say we’re pretty well equipped for any anti-magic combat right now.
“More importantly, Master, you got all sorts of new skills and stuff, right!?”
“Yeah, there were quite a few of them this time, so I’ll explain about them later.”
“Nice!”
Looks like she’s pretty hyped about my newly unlocked powers, but let’s put it off for now. I’ve already tested them out a bit, and while talking to Mio might result in some new and interesting ways of using them, I would still rather do it once things have calmed down a bit.
“And you too, Mikazuki, Leaf, good job. There weren’t any problems, right?”
“Yes, nothing worth mentioning. But after the battle, my body suddenly started to feel strangely light, so, does Master know what happened to me?”
“Me tooo. My body is somehow overflowing with pooower. What is thiiis?”
Since Sakura and Mio fought while riding on the two of them, Mikazuki and Leaf were naturally also treated as participants in this battle. However, they seemed to be unaccustomed to the idea of a rapid increase in one’s status caused by gaining multiple levels at once, and got confused by it. Well, we defeated quite a number of dragons this time, and even the core members’ levels increased considerably, so it’s only natural for Blue, Leaf and Mikazuki, who participated as our mounts, to level up by a lot as well.
“Oh, when I think about it, so have I. I’m sure Master must have done something…”
“Ahh, I see…”
“…?”
Mikazuki, who had already seen a fraction of my power before, seemed to have understood something from Blue’s words, but Leaf, who’s a newer addition to our group, apparently didn’t.
“Oh? It looks like you have already become accustomed to Master’s way of doing things.”
“Well, it’s Jin-kun after all…”
Sera, Sakura, shouldn’t you have answered their question instead…?
“…That’s just the effect of you girls levelling up, right? I’m sure someone will be able to explain it to you in detail later. Right now, we should return to the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area. We wouldn’t want to keep the Chieftain and the others waiting, now that the dragon horde has been dealt with.”
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This time, we all headed towards the Chieftain’s Mansion in the centre of the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area. Well, to be more precise, we were actually headed to the Gate of the Ox, the Dragon’s Gate opposite from the destroyed Gate of the Goat, behind it, since that’s where most of the dragon newts were gathered.
After flying for a while, the Gate of the Ox came into view. Incidentally, since there were many outsiders present, I decided against using ‘Portal’ this time around, just in case.
“Ohh, you are safe!”
The Chieftain came out of the group of dragon newts, and exclaimed in relief when he saw us return. Now that I think about it, both he and Elle have a similarly old-fashioned way of speaking.
L: How cruel! Do not put me on the same level as this old geezer!
A: …
L: I apologise for bothering you…
“I did not think you would really be able to defeat all those dragons.”
“I told you, didn’t I? That I would slay the dragon horde. I never go back on my word-”
“How dare you! How dare you do that to Akatsuki!”
As I was talking with the Chieftain, a vaguely familiar-looking old woman came out from among the dragon newts. ……Ahh, it’s that old woman from damn maggot’s branch family. I totally forgot about her, given the excitement of the battle that followed. She tried to grab me, but the dragon newts around her restrained her. It seems that the Chieftain had already relayed damn maggot’s actions leading to his death to everyone.
“I have already told you! Akatsuki destroyed the Dragon’s Gate, which almost led to the destruction of the entire Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area! Even if he had not died to the dragons, he would still have been executed for it!”
“Akatsuki was clearly set up by those humans! Even the destruction of the Dragon’s Gate must have been their work, and they simply blamed Akatsuki for it!”
“I saw it all happen!”
“Chief also thought poorly of Akatsuki! That doesn’t prove anything!”
“Haah… It seems nothing I say is going to make a difference right now… Take her away…”
The Chieftain sighed resignedly at the old woman, who clearly wasn’t going to listen. Like he said, she would have likely twisted anything he said, and blamed it on us instead. With the Chieftain’s hand gesture, the dragon newts holding the old woman took their leave, dragging her away.
“Let go of me! I’m not done here! Who do you think I am!”
I took my eyes off the fading old woman and faced the Chieftain again.
“Please control your people better…”
“My apologies. She did not react this way when I explained things to her earlier, so I let my guard down.”
“…Well, it’s fine. As you can see, all the dragons have been eliminated, so there shouldn’t be any problem with everyone returning to the village now.”
“Right… Then, I guess we should head back for the time being…”
The Chieftain answered briefly, before instructing everyone to return home. Still, they all looked worried, as they departed towards the village. I guess it’s only natural, considering their future prospects.
The Chieftain himself was going to stay at the Gate of the Ox and oversee things until everyone left, so I decided to stay as well. There were some things I wanted to talk to him about anyway.
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“So, what will the Dragon Newts do next?”
I asked the Chieftain once most of his people had left the Gate of the Ox.
“Well… The barrier protecting the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area has been broken, and even if all the dragons in the surrounding area have been subjugated for now, new ones are bound to gather with time. This place is no longer a safe haven for dragon newts.”
The Dragon Forest surrounding the Hidden Area wasn’t originally inhabited by dragons, but rather, came to be as a result of the Hidden Area’s existence. And if dragons will always gather where there are dragon newts, then killing them will always be only a temporary solution.
“There are three options left for us now. The first, and the most reliable one, would be to ask you, who have the power to defeat dragons, to permanently reside in the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area, and have you protect it.”
“Kyu~! Too selfish~!”
Dora, who was riding on my shoulders, got angry at the Chieftain for trying to push everything onto us again. The Chieftain immediately nodded and continued talking.
“Of course, I do not expect you to do us this favour. It is far too much to ask of you.”
“Pretty much. Considering our current goal of travelling around the world, we don’t intend to settle down in any one place for the time being. And protecting my subordinates is one thing, but asking us to spend the rest of our lives here, and even guard the entire Hidden Area while we’re at it, is a bit too much…”
If it’s just a one-time aid, then that’s fine, but if you ask me to devote my entire life to protecting you, then that’s not really something I’d be interested in doing. At that point, I’d rather just release everyone’s taming and abandon you altogether. …Then again, If you ask me to ‘train you to be able to defend the Hidden Area’ instead, then that might actually work.
By the way, Dora (on my shoulders) has not once asked me for help or assistance for the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area. Just how uninterested in this place are you really…?
“Right, there is also the problem of it likely being a lifelong assignment… As for the other options, one would be to defeat dragons ourselves whenever they come, while the other would be to abandon the Hidden Area, and keep moving, so that they do not catch up with us.”
The Chieftain offered two more ideas, but immediately shook his head.
“But honestly, neither one of these is realistic. Stay here? When a single high-ranked dragon is enough to kill us all, like it almost happened the other day? Keep moving? Can we really endure the life of constantly being on the run, with no end in sight, after being cooped up for so long?”
As he pointed out, neither of these options would mean a bright future for the Dragon Newts. Well, I might actually have some good news for you.
“For what it’s worth, you don’t have to leave the Hidden Area. The barrier has already been restored.”
“……Huh!?”
The Chieftain became dumbfounded, with his mouth wide open.
To fill you in, before coming here, I became the dungeon master again, and repaired the barrier section destroyed by damn maggot. We already had a ‘Portal’ set up next to the dungeon core, so it only took a moment to get there. In addition, I also restored all the other functions that became disabled once the Dragon’s Gate was destroyed. I know, I know. I did say I wasn’t going to become the Hidden Area’s dungeon master, but they didn’t really leave me with much choice, given the circumstances.
“Some time after we returned inside, the barrier was restored and we weren’t able to go out again.”
It’s not a lie, mind you. …I just omitted the part about us being the ones who restored it.
“Did something happen at the Sealed Cavern…?”
The heck!? This place’s dungeon is called ‘the Sealed Cavern’? What a pointlessly cool name. Talk about a cheeky dungeon, …even though it was poorly designed and barely had any monsters in it.
“N-no way, did you…!?”
“Oh, whatever do you mean?”
I guess the Chieftain is not so foolish as to think we had nothing to do with this. Well, even if I keep pretending I don’t know anything, it probably won’t have much effect at this point.
“…I thought I would not be surprised by you any more, but I guess I was still being naive.”
“By the way, Chieftain, how much do you actually know about the cavern?”
I asked the astonished Chieftain. My knowledge about the Hidden Area’s dungeon comes from Alta and the dungeon core itself, so I wondered how much information the Dragon Newts actually have.
“There is a legend about it, that has been passed down from generation to generation, and only to each generation’s chieftain. According to it, the cavern’s entrance will open once there are less than a hundred dragon newts left, and if you obtain the orb inside, you may be able to fix the barrier. …But I thought it was a lost cause, since it is also said that if a Dragon’s Gate were ever to be destroyed, the condition for the cavern opening would no longer apply.”
There don’t seem to be any mistakes or omissions in this legend, but if the Chieftain knows this much, then is he also aware of the original dungeon master’s grand design?
“…However, the orb can only be used by the first person who touches it, and it is said that they will be able to control everything within the Hidden Area… In other words, you have now taken full control of the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area, have you not?”
“…Well, there’s not much point in hiding it any more. As you’ve deduced, I’ve successfully conquered the Hidden Area. Do you have a problem with that?”
I’m not the type to avoid the topic with half-hearted ambiguous answers, so I straight up declared my conquest to the Chieftain instead.
“No, I would not say it is a bad thing per se. There already was no future for the Dragon Newts without your help, so, in a way, it is not so different from my first proposal to have you protect the Hidden Area. …Still, I do have to ask. What is it that you, who has now become the true ruler of the Hidden Area, and has more power than me, its chieftain, truly desire?”
“That’s…”
I shared my wish with the Chieftain.
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Once we had finished talking, we all returned to the Hidden Area’s village.
The Chieftain gathered all the dragon newts and announced that the barrier had been restored by us. However, he did not disclose the means by which we’d done it, nor the fact that I was now the true ruler of the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area.
Most people were just happy that the barrier had been restored, but some of the more perceptive ones still had a complicated look on their faces, as if aware of the meaning behind it. Interestingly, they were all among the dragon newts I hadn’t tamed. I guess it’s only fitting that they would be able to see through our attempts at taming them with food as well.
After that, the Chieftain made a follow-up announcement about some of the Hidden Area’s rules being revised. Naturally, most dragon newts were against this, but their protests were quickly silenced by the Chieftain’s following words.
“If I told you that if we do not change the rules, the barrier will be broken again, could you still say the same thing?”
Naturally, I’ve already instructed him to use the threat of me tearing down the barrier with my authority as the dungeon master against them. Having been left with no other choice, the Hidden Area’s residents reluctantly agreed.
Next on the agenda was the punishment for the ones responsible for the destruction of the Dragon’s Gate.
The Chieftain and both the gatekeepers named damn maggot as the one responsible, but with his death already made public, it was the old woman and her faction’s members who ended up being blamed for it. At first, they made an excuse that it was damn maggot alone who did it, but since not one of them did anything to stop him, and the old woman even interfered with our own attempt by blocking our way with her own body, they were all found guilty of aiding him in the end.
Still, they continued to argue in an unseemly and selfish manner, and in the end, they chose to completely disassociate themselves from the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area. Leaf later told me that it was quite an unsightly argument. …Oh, I knew it was going to be unpleasant, so I left the scene beforehand. Ignoring the Chieftain’s words that they will not be severely punished for this, they took some time to prepare, before leaving through the Gate of the Ox. (ED: The one leading in the direction opposite from Narnka Kingdom where Jin entered from)
Anyway, given how they were bound to settle somewhere sooner or later, it was safe to say that the secret of the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area’s existence was now a thing of the past. As such, I agreed to the Chieftain’s request to disable the transfer function of the Dragon’s Gates. With this, the old woman’s group will no longer be able to return to the Hidden Area. We can come and go with ‘Portal’, so it doesn’t matter to us though.
On that topic, I also told the Chieftain about ‘Portal’. Of course, I didn’t tell him about all of our special powers, just about that one spell, …and then I had him announce it to the public. And with that, I am now free to take the dragon newts I have tamed, outside of the Hidden Area.
As for the reason why the Chieftain agreed to this, it’s because it no longer puts the Hidden Area’s safety at risk. …Well, it’s three reasons combined, to be exact. The first one is that the secret is already out, with the old woman’s group now outside of the Hidden Area. The second is that, with the Dragon’s Gates’ transfer function now turned off, no one can enter the Hidden Area, except through “Portal”, any more, even if they do have a dragon newt with them. And the third one is that I, the ruler of the Dragon Newt’s Hidden Area, am their master.
But won’t they be attacked by dragons the moment they step outside? Well, that’s actually not a problem as it turns out. To begin with, dragons are not able to sense dragon newts’ exact location. According to the Ancestral God-Dragon, Elle, they are only able to sense their approximate location whenever they use high-level ‘Draconic Magic’, so, in other words, even if they do go outside, there’s no problem as long as they don’t use it. Of course, if they randomly happen to run into a dragon, they will still be attacked, even so…
As such, there is nothing stopping me from taking my monster followers outside of the Hidden Area any more. On the contrary, some additional people asked to be tamed by me, once they had learned that they’ll be able to go outside if they do. Of course, I can’t just suddenly let them loose in the middle of a human city, so they will have to learn some human common sense from the maids first, but still, if it goes well, we might even be able to create a squad of dragon knights riding on dragon newts in the future, so I’m actually looking forward to it.
And then, there was ‘What to do about the next chieftain?’, the most difficult question, in a sense. For now, the selection was put on hold, and the Chieftain will continue to manage the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area as its (official) ruler. Of course, the next chieftain will have to be chosen at some point, but with dragon newts being a pretty long-lived race, they aren’t really good at dealing with sudden changes. And with so many things changing all at once this time around, it will probably be some time before they come around to it.
On that topic, Dora, Blue, and Leaf have all had their positions as chieftain candidates restored. After all, they aren’t monster followers of some random human, but of me, the current ruler of the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area, so, in a sense, they are now even more suitable to be candidates for the next chieftain, given how the position itself is a substitute for the Hidden Area’s dungeon master to begin with.
Blue’s right to enter the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area has also been restored. The official story seems to be that she was pardoned in view of her contributions in defeating the dragon horde, however, now that she became Blue, she no longer has any interest in becoming the next chieftain, and neither do Dora and Leaf, who didn’t want the position in the first place.
Depending on the rules, someone other than the three of them might become the next chieftain, but I’ll leave that part for the Dragon Newts to decide. I might be the actual ruler of the Hidden Area, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to deal with all the troublesome aspects of it, …or disregard the Dragon Newts’ opinion on that topic.
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Once the Chieftain’s speech was over, we decided to finally finish our preparations for leaving the Hidden Area. We also gathered the first group of dragon newts we’ll be taking with us.
“Now then, we haven’t forgotten anything, right? …Well, even if we did, we can just come back for it anytime.”
“Travelling with Master really doesn’t feel like you’re actually travelling.”
Mio said what was already on everyone’s mind.
“That’s right… I think it’s even more comfortable than travelling in our original world, if you’re not very good at it… I’ve never travelled with friends or family in our original world… I didn’t have any friends to begin with…”
“Ah…”
You never know where Sakura’s emotional landmines may be buried. Mio froze, not knowing what to say.
“Ah, I’m sorry… I have friends in this world, so it’s okay… Like Sakuya-chan and Cattleya-chan…”
I already knew Sakura and Sakuya were friends, and Sakuya and Cattleya seem to be fellow foodies, so, is that the connection there? Or, maybe it’s just because the three of them are my only subordinates, and not slaves or monster followers.
“Still, Sakura-sama’s friends are both royalty, right? No, wait, what’s even more unusual is that they are both Master’s subordinates…”
“It’s Jin-sama, after all. It’s only natural that he would rule over royalty.”
I can’t really retort to that, can I? Since I already have a not insignificant number of royals under my command (in the double digits). (ED: Counting the royal family of Narnka Kingdom, see chapter 72)
Ahh, I’ve also added 3 more, with Blue, Leaf, and the Ancestral God-Dragon, Elle, in the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area, since they are all royals in a sense. (ED: Dora has a title of ‘Dragon Newts’ Imperial Princess’, so the other two are technically also princesses)
L: Am I a royal now? I did not have any authority to command anyone…
Come to think of it… Then, it’s only two royals, counting Blue and Leaf.
L: The fact that thou canst say “only two”, is what maketh Master so frightening.
Oh, I am well aware that I’m outside of the norm in various ways. Lately, it’s even become normal for royals to be under my command… Anyway, now that all the preparations are done, it’s finally time to go home.
“Then, Chieftain, I’m leaving the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area in your hands.”
“Mmm, you can leave it to me. If there are any problems I will contact you.”
“Yeah, please do.”
No matter how much control I may have over the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area, I still don’t intend to live here all year around. Basically, I’m just going to have the Chieftain act as its rules, same as before. The Chieftain himself was not tamed by me, but there are a number of people under my command in the Hidden Area, so he should be able to contact me through them if need be.
In addition, it seems that the maids are also planning to have several people stationed in the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area at all times. When I asked them why, I was told that it was simply unthinkable to leave such a vast area out of the maids’ network. …I didn’t quite follow what they were talking about, so I asked about it in detail, and they explained that the maids have adopted a system where at least two maids are to be stationed (on a rotation) in all lands and bases under my control. They even already had people at the royal castles of Kastal Queendom and Estia Kingdom… When the heck did that all happen…?
“Kyu, Kyui Kyui~ Grandpa, bye bye~”
“Mmm, be well, Shirayuki, or rather, Dora.”
“Kyu! Un!”
Once the Chieftain and Dora said their goodbyes, we all transferred to the Kastal mansion via ‘Portal’.
“Welcome home, Master.”
“Welcome home.” x30
Upon my return, I was greeted by Lucia dressed in her usual neat maid uniform, and about 30 maids.
“Oh, I’m back. These people are the dragon newts I told you about earlier. Make sure you educate them well.”
“Yes. Please leave it to me.”
With these words, she guided the dragon newts who came with us away. Perhaps because it was their first time outside of the Hidden Area, they were all looking around like country folk on their first visit to a big city. …Well, they pretty much are, but still…
They will be taught human common sense first, and after that, we will teach them according to their individual strengths. It looks like more than half of them are going to be trained as cooks. Of course, Blue, Leaf, and Mikazuki also need to be taught human common sense, so this is where we part ways for now. Blue seemed reluctant to leave my side, but ultimately, she gave up and trudged off.
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After enjoying a dinner prepared by the maids, and taking a long bath for the first time in a while, it was finally time for the long awaited talk about my recent gains. I started by briefly explaining to everyone about the titled skill, the special powers, and the weapon upgrade I had acquired after the battle against the dragon horde, and the subsequent fight with the Ancestral God-Dragon.
“So, basically, I have a new weapon, a new skill, and three new special powers.”
“And it is also the reason why I can manifest in this state.”
After the brief explanation, I manifested Elle, the Ancestral God-Dragon. Everyone was pretty surprised at the sight of a dragon (in her beautiful girl form) suddenly emerging from my body.
“As usual, Master’s special powers are off the charts.”
“Muu! Dora hates dragons!”
Mio smiled wryly as per usual, while Dora showed her discontent at seeing Elle. Elle also understood the reason for that, so she looked to me for help with a troubled look on her face.
“What shall I do, Master?”
“Dora, she’s my familiar now. She won’t do anything bad to you.”
“That is correct. I am Master’s property. I no longer have any hostility towards dragon newts.”
“Muu… Got it, if Master says so, Dora is okay with it…”
Dora looked troubled for a while, but finally decided to put up with it for my sake. Well, you can’t just drop a deep-rooted mental aversion, now can you, so that should be enough for now.
“There, there. Dora is a good girl, isn’t she~?”
“Ehehehe~”
Saying that, I patted Dora’s head, making the grumpy look on her face disappear, and be replaced by a big smile. So cute.
“So, Jin-sama can now use the ‘Complete Resistance’ skill of the Ancestral God-Dragon, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right. I can also use ‘Dragon Body’, ‘Dragon Breath’, and ‘Ancestral Dragon Arts’. What about it?”
I could pretty much guess what Maria’s reason for bringing up ‘Complete Resistance’ was though.
“So, Jin-sama will be much safer now, right? That’s good to hear…”
“As expected of Maria-san…”
As I and Sera had already guessed, it was about my personal safety again.
Still, there’s no doubt that ‘Complete Resistance’ was the biggest hit among the skills I had acquired this time around. After all, it completely nullifies abnormal status conditions. If this were a game, it would be a one-of-a-kind one-time-use item, or one that can only be obtained after beating the game. When someone strong loses to someone weaker, it’s usually due to surprise, carelessness, or abnormal status conditions, so when you consider that it can practically erase one of these possibilities, then there’s no doubt that it’s a powerful skill.
“But, it’s a good thing that Jin-kun will be safer, right…?”
“Of course. Master can do some pretty ridiculous things without ever batting an eyelid, so it does not hurt for him to have some extra resistance.”
“Exactly. If you ask me who should have increased resistance, I’d definitely choose Master, ten out of ten times.”
“Master is Invincible~!”
It seems that it’s unanimously a skill I should have.
“But still, forcibly activating a skill that is normally unusable, with a special power, sounds a lot like a video game exploit.” (ED: When you exploit a bug, or use an in-game system in a way that wasn’t intended by the game’s developer, to make things that shouldn’t usually be possible, happen)
“I thought so too. Plus, in games, cheats like that can often literally break the game.”
Both Mio and I keep thinking in video game-related terms. On that topic, I know of a few bugs and glitches that let you equip weapons you shouldn’t normally be able to use, but they can sometimes make the entire game freeze as well.
“Really…? I’m not really familiar with things like that…”
Sakura is also an otherworlder, and she had played video games before, but she didn’t seem to follow our cheat talk. I guess she was honest even when playing video games. I wish that my friend who liked to tamper with the games’ code during beta testing could learn from her. (ED: Um, he saved you by doing it, on at least one occasion. See ‘Side Story 5 – The Second Scene of the Former World’)
“That’s right. If this world were a game, Master’s surroundings would be a hotbed of bugs and glitches.”
“I guess so.”
But if you put it that way, then what about Sakura’s ‘Magic Creation’ that can literally create new magic spells…? We’re talking adding new magic to a game it wasn’t designed for, without asking anyone’s permission. It’s completely remaking the game itself, isn’t it? I think that’s way more out there than some innocent exploits.
Well, there would likely be no end to the discussion about special powers, so let’s just leave it at that.
“Then, let’s talk about the ‘final trials’ next. When I stabbed Elle, my Soul Blade – Incomplete was upgraded, and I got a title and a skill.”
The weapon was super-enhanced, the skill is pretty much a dead skill, and the title is just an extra. …In fact, only the weapon is of any use to me.
“If Jin-sama’s weapon has become stronger, then I have no complaints.”
“That may be so, Maria-chan, but that’s not the point here. It’s godly. Godly! That’s the second rank from the top in rarity!”
Maria had no further comment, but Mio was all giddy about it. Of course, I won’t deny I shared her feelings on the topic.
“My guess is that, once it becomes of the highest rarity, Genesis, the ‘Incomplete’ part will change to ‘Complete.’”
“I wonder if it will go higher if you stab Elle-chan again…”
“P-please do not do that! I have never heard of these ‘final trials’, but given that it hath ‘final’ in its name, I think it is only valid once!”
Elle became understandably distressed by Mio’s random comment. I also didn’t think the same thing would happen again, even if I did stab her one more time.
“Nevertheless, it would be a shame for ‘Transcendence’ to become a dead skill, so I hope Maria can do it the next time we get a chance. She can use my Heroic Soul Blade – Incomplete at that time. …Ah, but it’s restricted to me now, so she won’t be able to use its effects…”
To begin with, it’s Maria who earns skill points the fastest in our group, so I can’t even begin to imagine how fast it would be like if she got the bonus from ‘Transcendence’ on top of that. But then again, Heroic Soul Blade – Incomplete is now restricted to only me, so it would be just a blunt sword in her hands. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, this thing. Or was it a different saying?
“Please leave it to me! I just need to hold Heroic Soul Blade – Incomplete while I beat the final trial, right? Since Jin-sama is good at hand-to-hand combat, I also wasn’t slacking in training myself in it.”
Maria said confidently, but let’s just try to imagine it for a moment. The scene of a 12-year-old girl punching away at a tremendously intimidating dragon (Elle) while holding a sword in her other hand. It’s surreal to say the least. And the biggest problem is that, except for the 12-year-old girl part, it’s pretty much what I did as well. What the heck are you doing, me?
“Then, I’ll leave it to you at that time, but you don’t have to force yourself to carry it, okay?”
“No, it’s fine! Please leave it to me!”
I looked into Maria’s eyes, only to see that she was dead serious. Well, there was my sword at stake, after all… (TL: He’s making a joke here. One of the kanji for serious(真剣) is sword(剣))
It’s been a while since I used such a lame pun…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After we finished talking about my recent gains, we all moved to Estia’s dungeon’s 53rd floor.
“Then, Tamo-san, go ahead and absorb these.”
Saying that, I took out a mountain of dragon carcasses that we had defeated in the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area from the ‘Inventory’. Of course, I intended for Tamo-san to absorb them in order to strengthen itself. After all, we killed so many of them this time around, there were plenty left, even after I absorbed one of each kind. As a side note, I was unable to collect most of the dragon carcasses during the battle with the dragon horde, but I collected them all at once once I became the dungeon master.
“Got… it…“
After muttering just that, Tamo-san split, before starting to absorb the dragon carcasses, as it was told. Tamo-san’s ‘Division’ skill levelled up, so it could now split into 16 copies, 14 of which were currently here. As each one of them could absorb a whole dragon carcass at a time, the huge pile disappeared in the blink of an eye.
“It is a hell of a sight. Somehow, it is different from the slimes that I know of…”
“Tamo-san is Master’s hidden weapon. In fact, there’s usually one hidden in his pocket.” (TL:懐刀 means a small blade that you can carry in your pocket, like a dagger, but it can also mean a right-hand-man. The kanji are literally pocket (懐) and sword (刀), hence the joke about Tamo-san often being in his literal pocket)
“That’s true. It’s a first-class secret security force, and a purveyor to multiple royal families.”
Mio and Sera responded to the astonished Elle’s comment.
The two Tamo-sans that aren’t currently here are in the pockets of Sakuya and Cattleya, so that must be what Sera meant by ‘purveyor to multiple royal families’. Sakuya and Cattleya are both royalty, which unfortunately means that they have many enemies. However, since they are not very good at fighting, no amount of royal guards could keep them entirely safe, which is why I decided to lend them a Tamo-san each, to act as their personal guards. …Not that I think they would ever need them, with Alta around, but you know. Just in case.
After absorbing all the dragons, the Tamo-sans gathered in one place.
“Hm? What is it now?”
“Looks like they are sharing information about the carcasses they’ve absorbed, so that each one of them can ‘Mimic’ each type of dragon.”
“It really is a mysterious ecology… How can they even do that…?”
Sakura, I think you should stop taking Tamo-san’s ecology so seriously.
The Tamo-sans combined and became one giant Tamo-san, before splitting into 14 copies once again. What’s strange is that that’s all it took for them to share their ‘Mimic’ options. Incidentally, this method can only be used among copies of one individual, so if you try to catch and mix in some other metamorphic slimes, they will just be rejected.
After that, the Tamo-sans mimicked the dragons as I instructed. For the time being, I had them transform into dragons with pompous names like Fire God-Dragon, Water God -Dragon, Earth God-Dragon, and Wind God-Dragon.
“Dora, do you feel any disgust?”
“No~ It’s okay~“
“Then, you can use these dragon forms from now on.”
Hmm, she showed aversion to Elle in her beautiful girl form, but not to Tamo-sans using ‘Mimic’ to change into dragons? How mysterious. By the way, If Dora were to dislike Tamo-san’s dragon forms, I would have just forbidden it from using them in the future.
“Alright, good job. Please return to your usual posts.”
“Okay…“
After having a quick admiration of Tamo-san’s new dragon forms, I told it to return to its regular duties. Well, one of them is still here. Its purpose? It’s my escort, of course.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After returning to the mansion, I was about to go to bed when a big problem arose.
“Dora is Master’s pet, so Dora sleeps with Master!”
“I am Master’s mount! I want to be with him when he sleeps!”
“I think it is only natural for a familiar to be with her master.”
Simply put, it was a turf war between Dora the pet, Blue the mount, and Elle the familiar, who all wanted to sleep in the same room with me. Setting aside Dora, who I often sleep with, I was surprised when the other two requested it as well.
“Dora won’t give up Dora’s position as Master’s hug pillow~!”
“Kuh, I can not do anything about that. But, Blue, thou art a mount art thou not? Then shouldst thou not sleep in lodgings appropriate for thine position?”
“Wha-!? You’re telling me to sleep in a stable!? Don’t joke with me! You’re the one in the way here! Just unmanifest yourself and that’s that!”
“I definitely do not wish for that! Master told me I could manifest in the mansion at all times! I want to do it even when I sleep!”
Fortunately (or unfortunately), my bed is pretty large, so, even excluding Dora, it can easily accommodate at least one more person. As such, the big question now was whether it should be Blue the mount, or Elle the familiar who takes that spot.
Still, they weren’t as much fighting, as they were arguing, trying to establish a pecking order within our group, with me at its head. What can I say, it’s a very animal-like way of thinking. What’s more, their individual strength was entirely irrelevant in this case, as all that really mattered was which one of them I liked more. And I guess the right to sleep beside me was somehow supposed to be proof of that.
“Master, please decide! Who will sleep in the bed with you, me or this dragon!”
“Right thou art. No matter how much these mistresses fight, it is Master who should decide in the end! Then, let us settle this once and for all!”
Naturally, it came to this in the end. I am the one who decides. And the answer was obvious from the start.
“No, I allowed you to sleep in the same room, but I never said anything about letting you sleep in the same bed with me.”
“Wha-!?” x2
The two of them exclaimed in unison. I can’t believe they reacted in the exact same way. Wouldn’t you say they actually get along really well?
“Pets aside, it’s not like I need to sleep in the same bed with a mount, or a familiar, right? If you want to sleep in this room, go lay out some futons in the corner, or bring in small beds for yourselves.”
Dora’s position in my bed is as a ‘hug pillow’. In other words, she’s part of the bedding. She isn’t there because I want to have a pretty girl in my bed. What I care about is whether or not she can contribute to my good sleep.
“Uuu… A mount can’t win against a pet, is it…? Being Master’s partner in battle is nice, but I wanted some love too…”
“Kuh, I have miscalculated. I thought that, since thou hadst me take on the form of a girl, thou mightst be into that kind of thing, but I did not realise that thou seriously just seest me as a familiar. My goal was to get on Master’s good side, and continue to manifest at all times, but…”
If you listen carefully, it sounds like the two had slightly different aims. Well, given how they are approaching it from different standpoints, as a mount, and as a familiar, I guess it’s only natural.
“Then, how about the two of you go and sleep somewhere else? If you want, I’m sure we can spare a room for each of you.”
“I do not want that!” x2
Again, the two of them said the exact same line. As I thought, they really do get along. Well, I’m not going to kick them out at this time of night, so I will have to let them sleep here today anyway…
A: If Master asks a maid to do something, she will do anything, regardless of what time it is.
Yeah, that’s why it’s hard to ask believer maids for help. Whenever I casually ask them for something, things tend to go out of hand…
In the end, the two of them laid out futons inside my room and decided to sleep there. I visited the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area, so in a way it’s only natural, but I feel like the ratio of dragons and dragon newts around me has skyrocketed.
…Well, it’s fine, I guess.
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Author’s Note: Next week I’ll take a break from the main story, and the week after that, I’ll post the list of characters for Part 5 (more than half of them are dragons) and an extra chapter (it’s pretty long, but not to the extreme). Part 6 will be updated every Sunday.
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