Mob Kousei No Ore Demo Boukensha Ni
Nareba Riajuu Ni Naremasuka: Chapter #120
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
Episode 120: The Longest Day of My Life (4)
Anna's way of speaking, though
phrased as a question, was as if she were delivering a condemnation.
The atmosphere was tense, as
if the air were charged with electricity.
At that, I sighed inwardly.
I guess we can't just let things be as they were,
can we...?
Even if Teacher doesn't have a
reason to continue being a spy anymore, that doesn't erase his past as one.
As the leader, Anna likely
wouldn't overlook this point. Oribe, too, was already looking at Teacher with
an expression that had completely dropped any pretense of treating him as one
of her group.
Seeing their faces, Teacher
nodded once and said,
"That's right... I understand that I can't
stay here now that it’s been revealed I was a spy for the country."
"You don't need to leave."
I blurted out reflexively.
Anna's thin eyebrows twitched
slightly.
"It would be troubling if various
information were leaked to the government… but if you'd stop doing that, you're
a valuable asset, and I'd be happy if you stayed."
Being the one who was spied
on, I think I'm naive myself, but if Teacher hadn't taught me about Links, I
wouldn't be who I am now.
Through self-study, I probably
wouldn't have mastered Perfect Link by this point, and I might have just died
during the Hound Master's attack.
Even without those things,
Teacher, who has greater skill with Links than I do and is versatile, is a
valuable asset in terms of combat strength.
Regarding Secret Link, now
that we know the Self-Defense Forces can't be relied upon, there shouldn't be
any obligation to keep it secret.
Or rather, considering he was
snooping around my secrets, I'm definitely going to make him spill the beans.
Especially since the
applications of Peeping Link and Telepathy could become crucial lifelines in
the future.
Hearing my words, which
contained such strong determination, Anna showed a slight expression of
contemplation...
"Hmm... From our side, if the others are
okay with it, we'd be grateful if you could stay. Of course, on the condition
that you stop the spying... Sayo?"
"...Fu~u. If the senpai who was being
spied on says it's fine, then I have nothing to add."
With Anna and I agreeing to
Teacher staying, Oribe sighed and nodded.
"I'm grateful for you saying that, but
I'll still leave. Everyone would probably be uneasy with a spy around."
"Is that so? That's a shame."
Anna nodded in a way that
didn't seem particularly disappointed.
No, I understand how you feel, but you could
try a bit harder to persuade him to stay...
Even though he was a spy, he's
our only source of information on Secret Link.
Just as I was about to open my
mouth to try and persuade Teacher to stay, he spoke slightly faster,
"...However, as a sort of compensation,
would you mind accepting my little sister?"
"Little sister ......?"
Anna tilted her head slightly
in confusion.
I also tilted my head
inwardly.
This was the first I'd heard
of Teacher having a little sister.
"Un. She's not a Four-Star, but I
guarantee she has the ability to match one."
At that, it clicked for me.
Wait, no way...!
“Are you talking about... Kotori-chan?”
"Yes.”
Anna, who had been listening
to our exchange, asked,
"Could it be, Senpai, have you met her
before?"
"Ah~, kind of. She's… Teacher's twin
sister."
"...I see."
Anna turned to Teacher,
"Just to confirm, this little sister of
yours isn't a spy from the country too, right?"
"Ah, you can rest assured about that. My
sister is completely unrelated to the government. She won't become a spy in the
future either. I guarantee it."
"...If 'that is the case,' then I'm
fine with it. What about Sayo?"
"...Ah, I also don't mind, if 'that is
the case.'"
The two of them nodded,
looking somewhat exasperated.
...It seems the two of them have already
figured it out, but a person named Kotori-chan doesn't exist.
Her true identity is
Teacher, who took the sex transformation drug, Tiresias’s
Medicine1.
Teacher is implicitly saying that by changing
his gender and discarding his previous identity, he will sever his ties with
the government.
...That's what the two of them probably think,
but they're wrong.
Teacher is simply trying to indulge his own perversion
on this opportunity.
Actually, Teacher had a hidden
fetish.
A desire for gender
transformation. A fetish for cross-dressing and exploring the mysteries of the…
female body.
Don’t get it wrong, Teacher's mental gender is
male, and his sexual preference is also women. There's no sad backstory or
anything that warped his mind.
One hundred percent fetish. Teacher simply
likes the way he looks as a woman.
You might call it a kind of
narcissism. According to Teacher, his ideal opposite sex just happened to be
himself in female form.
I first learned about this
when I was training about Links. We were reading a gender-swap gag manga with
Renge during a break, and he suddenly confessed it.
Since then, Teacher would
occasionally take Tiresias's Medicine when it was just the two of us.
Well, everyone has their own quirks.
We decided to watch over him
with lukewarm gazes.
By the way, the thing I gave
Teacher before was also Tiresias's Medicine.
Teacher had already finished
collecting enough medicine for a complete gender change, but he always needed
more Tiresias's Medicine to play around with, so we traded.
I had heard that he planned to
discard his current appearance and rewrite his family register after graduating
high school, but it seems he decided to accelerate his plans on this
opportunity.
Teacher's older sister is
naturally aware of this fetish and apparently finds it utterly disgusting, so
their relationship is quite dry.
"Oh, and my sister's deck composition is
similar to mine, but don't worry about it, it's just a coincidence."
The two female juniors sighed
in frustration at Teacher's nonchalant statement.
"Ah, yes, is that so? Understood."
"...Even if there's a card with the same
appearance and the same name, I've decided not to mind."
As I watched the unrepentant
pervert, thinking, "A shameless pervert is tough to beat,"
suddenly—
"Uh...!?"
"Is something the matter, Senpai?"
Anna, sharp-eyed, noticed my
slight gasp and change in expression.
"...Monsters have started coming out of
the dungeon."
From Eliza's perspective atop
Myra, the figures of monsters overflowing onto the streets while destroying the
Dungeon Mart were visible.
Fortunately, no one was
visible in the streets, probably because people had already evacuated to nearby
shelters or their home basements.......
Just then, Myra's [Spiritual
recurrence] ended.
So, that means about four hours have passed
since Angolmois began. The monsters are overflowing a little earlier than
expected.
Looking down from the sky, it didn't seem like monsters
were overflowing that much yet, so maybe this dungeon was just early...
"I see... if monsters have started
overflowing, it probably won't be long before C-rank and B-rank monsters come
out onto the surface."
No matter how many people have
evacuated to shelters, the cards deployed there are at most a few C-ranks and
some D-ranks. If C-rank monsters overflow onto the surface, they won't be able
to resist at all, and the same goes without saying for B-ranks monsters.
If there are Three-Stars or professionals among
the evacuees, the survival rate would probably increase somewhat, but…
"... Now that the monster flood has begun,
we don't have much time for a lengthy meeting, do we? At most, maybe one or two
more things, but is there anything?"
Saying that, Anna looked at me
meaningfully.
...Right, if I'm going to say it, now's the
only time.
"Actually, there's something I've been
keeping secret from everyone."
...Although, at this point, Oribe is probably
the only one who doesn't know.
I told Anna about it myself, and Teacher
figured it out on his own.
Thinking this, I glanced
Teacher, and he gave a small nod in return.
"...That's right. It's probably best if I,
the former spy, am not here any longer. Well then, please take care of my
sister when she arrives."
With those words, Teacher left
the club room.
No, that's not why I looked at him… Well,
whatever. It's true that having him here would complicate things.
I pulled myself together and
told my secret, mainly directed at Oribe.
――――About Renge's ability to
manipulate fate. Garnet's true capability. That I had used that to get B-rank
cards using Lottery cards and prepared for Angolmois. And how I had told only
Anna beforehand and she had helped me secretly buy up Garnet behind the scenes.
"........................"
Oribe listened to it all with
her arms crossed and in silence, but halfway through, she started tapping her
upper arm with her finger, clearly getting irritated.
Once she had heard
everything...
"There are a lot of things I want to
ask... but why did you only tell Anna?"
"That's... honestly, because deep down, I
doubted Teacher. But I didn't want to admit it... so, yeah."
"Hmm..."
If I only told Anna and Sayo,
that meant not telling Teacher... which was the same as internally concluding
that Teacher was a spy. I mentally avoided doing that.
Therefore, I decided to only
tell Anna, who was the leader and absolutely necessary to obtain Garnet.
Well, as it turned out,
Teacher was really a spy, and only Oribe was kept in the dark like this...
"So, the only one who didn't know was me,
huh? Is that so?"
Whoa, she's sulking super openly...
Oribe was sulking so obviously
that she even dropped her usual chuuni speech pattern and spoke like a normal
girl.
I felt bad for her… but I also
thought it was a little cute...
"I mean, I get your reasoning, Senpai, but
Anna, couldn't you have told me?"
"Eh!?"
Suddenly having the blame
directed at her, Anna looked flustered.
"Senpai probably didn't want to
acknowledge his own mentor as a spy, but Anna, you suspected Kannadzuki-senpai,
right? Honestly, I thought he was suspicious too, and Anna, you obviously did
too, right? So, couldn't you have secretly talked about it at the back?
Right?"
"Uhh, um... You see… well, it's wrong to
just go around talking about people's secrets, right...?"
"Hmm, hah, hee, I see... I wonder about
that!!"
An awkward silence fell over
the room.
Oribe fell into a sullen
silence, and Anna and I couldn't say anything, breaking out in a cold sweat.
Only the sound of Oribe
tapping her finger on the desk echoed in the silent room...
"…Senpai."
"Yes2!"
For some reason, I replied in
polite language.
Oribe looked at me with sharp
eyes, like a detective, but also with a hint of unease, and asked,
"You only told Anna because she's the
leader and necessary to obtain Garnet... right?"
"Y-Yeah. That's right."
"There aren't any other secrets between
the two of you, are there?"
"No, there aren't... Ah!"
" ...What is it? Another secret?"
"Ah, no, it's not exactly a secret with
Anna... more like, in the worst-case scenario, Anna's dad entrusted me with a
shelter, telling me to escape with his daughter."
He had told me not to spread
it around too much, but it should be alright to tell Oribe.
"...Ah, you're talking about when you met
Uncle Kanou, huh? I see... that sounds like something he'd do."
"Y-Yeah, that's it. Really, that's
all."
"Hmph... I'll ask just in case, but that's
not just a last resort for you and Anna, right? You'll take me... and my family
too, right?"
"Yeah, of course. I promise."
When I looked straight at
Oribe and stated that firmly, she finally nodded as if convinced.
"...Well, if that's the
case, I have nothing to say. It's certainly not a secret that can be revealed
lightly3."
She was back to her usual way
of speaking.
Anna and I both let out a sigh
of relief.
"But... from now on, please stop excluding
only me. It hurts..."
"Okay, I promise."
"Un. From now on, there won't be anything
to hide anyway."
...Phew, I feel like a weight has been lifted
off my shoulders.
A lot happened, but I'm glad I
could properly share the secret.
"So, you said you bought card for
Angolmois with the B-rank you got from the Lottery cards, but what did you
buy?"
"Ah, this."
I took out the Hesperides card
and showed it to her.
"…Hoo, an otherworld-class cross-space
card, huh? I see, it's a good card. The internal capacity won't be an issue, and
the food problem is solved too. Intruders will head for the golden apples, so
securing the safety of the residents will also be easy. It's definitely a card
suitable for Angolmois."
"Right?"
"If you have an otherworld-class card,
shouldn't we evacuate the students as soon as possible? Right now, weak
monsters aren't approaching due to the [Lord of The Territory]'s effect, but
eventually, strong monsters will be drawn here, won't they?"
"Ah, you're right. That's true."
I was about to summon
Hesperides just then, but I stopped myself.
Wait a minute... cross-space cards can't
isolate the space if your card is dispatched outside or if the master
themselves is outside, meaning it will end up becoming free for anyone to enter
and exit.
Right now, since I've sent Eliza and Myra to
pick up Dad, me deploying Hesperides wouldn't be very meaningful.
Besides, there's a high possibility that we,
the Adventurers' Club members, will be doing more activities outside in the
future.
Considering various circumstances, the use of
Hesperides is rather...
"Hey, do you mind if I go see my mom for a
minute?"
"Un? Oh,
I see what you mean. Got it."
"I see. Indeed, it would be much better if
someone who's inside most of the time used it, rather than us. We can trust
Senpai's family too."
The two of them nodded,
understanding my intention without me even explaining it.
At times like this, it's
helpful when people's minds work quickly; it makes things go faster.
"Alright, I'm going to go see my mom for a
bit."
"Okay."
I headed towards the pot
placed in the corner of the room.
Touching the pot and standing
there for a few seconds, it seemed permission to enter was granted, and I was
sucked inside.
Inside, as the legends
described, was a lavish Chinese-style building, and the delicious smell of
cooking wafted from the back.
As I waited at the entrance,
an old man with a long white beard, looking like a hermit, came to greet me.
"You must be the Master's family? Welcome.
Please, this way."
"Thank you."
I was guided by the old man,
who seemed to be the core of the Kochū no Ten, to the room where my mom and the
others were waiting.
Soon, I arrived at the room,
where my mom and Oribe's family were chatting.
There were two elderly couples
who seemed to be her grandparents. A couple who seemed to be Oribe's parents,
and a middle-aged woman who seemed to be her aunt. A beautiful woman who looked
like a college student and a beautiful girl who looked like a middle school
student, though I wasn't sure if they were Oribe's sisters or cousins.
It seemed Oribe had brought
all the relatives she was close to.
"Honestly, your son is so admirable, I
envy you. To even prepare such a splendid card for Angolmois!"
"Oh no, not at all... Oribe-san, you also
had a cross-space card prepared, didn't you?"
"Well, yes. However, perhaps it's my
daughter's taste, but it was rather eerie, and not a place I wanted to linger
in. It felt like ghosts might appear... In comparison, this place is truly
comfortable. The food is delicious, and there's even sake."
"Still, to prepare a cross-space card for
her family, she's such a kind daughter."
"Hahaha. That's true. She's a thoughtful
and kind daughter I'm proud of."
"Our daughter often talks about
Utamaro-kun at home, you know～.
She's definitely smitten with him."
"Oh my...! Really!?"
Uwah… they're having a really stilted
conversation to walk into. Give me a break...
As I stood frozen at the
entrance of the room, Ai, who was talking with the group of children, noticed
me.
"Ah, Onii-chan!"
At that moment, everyone's
eyes focused on me.
For some reason, I felt more
pressure than when I spoke in front of everyone in the gymnasium, and my back
broke out in a sweat.
"Please, have a seat."
"Ah, thank you."
The college-aged woman pulled
out an empty chair at the table where my mom and the others were talking, so I
reluctantly sat down there.
Looking at them up close, both
the college-aged woman and the middle school-aged girl looked a lot like Oribe.
The difference was the volume of their chests; the two of them were quite
well-endowed.
...These are her cousins, then (definite).
As soon as I sat down, my mom
immediately asked,
"Utamaro, where's your father?"
"I sent Eliza and Myra to get him. I think
they should be arriving soon."
"...I see. Oh, these are Oribe-san's
family."
"Nice to meet you. My name is Utamaro
Kitagawa. Your daughter and I are in the same club. She has always been helping
me out, so I am thankful."
"Nice to meet you too. I'm Sayo's father. We're
the ones who should be thanking you for always taking care of our
daughter."
Following that, I exchanged
greetings with Oribe's mother, grandparents, and her sisters (they were
actually sisters...).
Once I finished the social
pleasantries, I got to the main point.
"Mom, can I talk to you for a
moment?"
I led my mom, who tilted her
head in confusion, into the hallway and said,
"I have a favor to ask of you, Mom."
"What is it?"
I handed her the Hesperides
card and explained that it was a larger scale cross-space card than the Kochū
no Ten, and that I wanted her to become its master.
"Eh...? That's
a little... I don't know how much it costs, but this is a very expensive card,
isn't it?”
My mom, having heard the
explanation, was understandably perplexed.
"Well, to be blunt, it's crazy expensive.
That's why I can only entrust it to someone I trust."
"U-n, can't you just be the one using it,
then, Utamaro? Wouldn't that be safer in various ways?"
"While the master is outside or has sent their
card out, the space can't be isolated. And I'll need to continue activities
outside in the future."
"Hmm... as a parent, I wish you wouldn't
do that either, but I guess it's not my place to say anymore... Alright, I'll
hold onto it."
"Thanks. About how to use it..."
Just as I was about to explain
the specific ways to use Hesperides,
『Pi...bzbzbz! ...bzbzbz!』
A sudden strange noise. The
source was... the Card Gear on my arm.
What’s this...?
This was the first time I've
ever seen it do this.
Is it because we're inside an other-dimensional
space that it's difficult for signals, like radio waves, to reach? No, but the
space isn't even isolated right now...
"Sorry, I'm stepping outside for a bit.
Just register yourself as the card's master for now."
"Ah, okay."
I handed over the Hesperides
card for the time being and went outside the Kochū no Ten.
Then...
『…ro! Utamaro...!』
"Dad!?"
I heard my dad's voice, more
urgent than ever.
"Dad!? What's wrong!? What
happened!?"
『---Buzz!』
Even though I called out
through the Card Gear, there was no response this time.
"Senpai, what's wrong!?"
Anna and Oribe, sensing the
change in my demeanor, rushed over.
"I don't know! It seems like my dad's in
some kind of trouble."
Eliza and Myra... they've reached where Ikebukuro Station4 is within sight!
If they've made it that far, that's enough. I'll
have them land on the rooftop of a nearby building and teleport to pick me up.
『Yuki, Audrey! Come to my
location immediately!』
While calling the two I had
sent on a separate matter via Link, I said to Anna and Oribe,
"I'm going to go to my dad's place. Sorry,
but I'll be taking all my cards with me. As for how to use Hesperides, could
you explain it to my mom?"
"Understood. Please be careful."
"Leave your mother and the others to
us."
"Yeah...!"
Jumping out of the window onto
the schoolyard with Yuki and Audrey, who had rushed into the club room, Eliza
was just about to activate the teleportation.
After jumping in, we all flew
to Ikebukuro before the teleportation portal disappeared.
『...Utamaro!』
As soon as we arrived on the rooftop
of a building overlooking Ikebukuro Station, the communication with my dad,
which had been cut off, reconnected.
"Dad! Are you alright!?"
『Huh!? What are you talking
about?! Shouldn't I be asking you if you're alright?!』
"Huh? What... what do you mean?"
『What are you saying...? You're
the one who contacted me saying, “Help me (....)!”, right!?』
---A chill ran down my spine.
I immediately summoned Suzuka
and called out to my dad,
"Dad, is everything you just said
true?"
『Y-yeah, it's true.』
"Master! It's not a lie!"
Damn...! This is a trap...!
"Eliza...!"
Turning around sharply, what
entered my eyes was the sight of the Hamelin's Flute she held, being dyed
black.
No matter how much she tried
to blow into it, not even a faint sound would come out.
"This is...!"
Then, as if adding insult to
injury, a call came from Anna.
『Senpai! Just now, A monster that
looks like a clown came and... your sister! ――――Utamaro! Ai, Ai is...!
――――Wai-, Ai’s Mother, please calm down!』
The communication with Anna was
cut off, and then a call came in from Shigino-san.
I reflexively answered it.
『Kitagawa-san! Is this a good
time!? The elementary school children we were looking after have been
kidnapped! According to a staff member who witnessed it, an Irregular Encounter
appeared! We are terribly sorry!』
"Master, both are true!"
"Kugh...!"
I gritted my teeth hard enough
to break them.
"I've... been had...!"
I've been had! I've been had!! I've been
had!!!!!
Here?! At this timing?! Going this far...!?
Making it usable on the surface once Angolmois began,
had us use it extensively, lulled us into a false sense of security, and then
disabled the flute.
All to surely snatch away those precious to me,
to inflict fear and frustration upon me...!
At that moment, I definitely
heard that clown's mocking laughter.
Motherfucker...!
"Master!"
Turning towards Eliza's voice,
I saw the flute extending threads of crimson light, like blood, into the
distance.
That way is towards Hachioji.
If you want to save the children, come and get
them... is that what that bastard is saying...?
For a moment, I thought this
might also be a trap, but intuitively, I felt that this itself wasn't a trap.
If the goal is a rematch with me, he shouldn't
lie about the dueling ground.
Rather, I should be wary of the place itself
being filled with ploys.
"Myra, use this!"
"This is...!"
What I handed over was a large
rough diamond...... Vouivre Diamond.
Myra had used up all of her
[Spiritual recurrence] time, but if she obtained a new [Spiritual recurrence],
she could gain an additional hour of transformation time.
In other words, she could
transform into a Wyvern again, albeit only for an hour.
Myra, seeing what I threw to
her, immediately crunched it down.
Myra's Dragonet form was
enveloped in light, and her silhouette grew larger and larger.
When the light finally faded,
Myra stood there in a half-human, half-dragon form, with the upper body of a
beautiful woman and the lower body of a flying dragon.
[Race] Vouivre (Myra)
[Combat Power] 945 (Initial Combat Power 400 +
195 for Growth + 50 x 5 for Spiritual recurrence + 100 for Vouivre Diamond)
[Inborn Skills]
・Treasure Dragon's Orb: The
heart of a treasure dragon, which generates and stores life force and magic
power.
・Treasure Dragon Scales: An
extremely sturdy dragon's armor. It has extremely high resistance to magic
attacks, but is somewhat weak against physical attacks.
・Treasure Dragon's Breath: A
technique that can be called a dragon's signature. By exhaling magic as a
breath, it enhances the power of the magic and allows it to be released without
chanting. It can weave two types of magic simultaneously.
・A Broken Mirror Will Never
Shine Again: Can transform into a human form with reduced combat power but with
skills such as maid skills, and into a half-human, half-dragon form with
increased combat power. The jewel on the forehead has the effect of reflecting
any attacks once a day, and in human form, it can be lent to others as a
pendant. This skill includes [Maid] and [Intermediate-level Storage] skills.
[Acquired Skills]
・Spiritual recurrence
・Selfless devotion
・Elementary wizard → Intermediate level wizard
・Novice maid → integrated into
the acquired skills.
・Tactics
・Vouivre Eyes (NEW!): Can
reflect any attacks once a day. Increases combat power by 100 at all times.
Normally, I’d observe the new
form a little longer, but there’s no time now.
I immediately had her switch
to Wyvern form, and we all climbed onto her back.
"Let's go! Fly towards where the light is
pointing!"
On Myra's back as she flew
straight towards the light, I had Eliza hold me while I summoned Dress.
What appeared wasn’t a
graceful female Dullahan... but Nemain, a black-haired goddess with a
chillingly beautiful face.
[Race] Nemain (Dress)
[Combat Power] 2000 (400 UP!)
[Inborn Skills]
・Goddess of Death and Victory
・Trinity Deity
・Feast of Destruction,
Slaughter, and Victory
・Poisonous Woman
[Acquired Skills]
・Precise Movement → integrated
into Maid Master
・Fall seven times, get up eight
・Indomitable spirit
・Swordsmanship → integrated
into Advanced Ninjutsu
・Martial Arts → integrated into
Advanced Ninjutsu
・Pride of Deity → Eliminated
・Subordinate Enhancement
・Art of Distant View
・Maid Master
・Breakthrough of Limits
・Advanced Ninjutsu5
"Dress! Sorry for the rush, but equip
Myra!"
"Roger thaーt!"
Dress, now a Nemain, saluted
with a friendliness that didn't match her cold beauty, and then cast a blessing on Myra6.
Myra's flight speed, her
combat power having instantly increased by 20007,
surged.
The wind pressure was already
so strong that I could barely keep my eyes open, but then I had Renge cast Level Up magic8 on both Dress and Myra.
With this, Myra's total combat
power became approximately 5000.
At this intense speed, which
felt like I'd be blown away if Eliza wasn't holding me, I felt a slight relief
that we'd arrive in no time... at that moment,
――――*Crack*
A sinister cracking sound
echoed from somewhere.
Before I could even wonder
"What was that?",
『!? Master!?』
The shock of the sudden stop
assaulted my entire body.
While gripping the Golden
Reins tightly to avoid being thrown off, I looked ahead through Myra's eyes and
saw a spatial distortion that had suddenly appeared, trying to swallow us
whole.
Its size filled my entire
field of vision, making it impossible to evade in time, and we were helplessly
swallowed by the spatial distortion.
"Wh-where are we...?"
The first thing I sensed was
the smell of the sea.
Next, what caught my eyes was
a sandy beach illuminated by the setting sun, a slightly murky, darkish sea,
and scattered houses that looked like ruins. A faint, smoky mist drifted around
the surroundings.
"A... fishing village...?"
Were we swallowed by some kind of cross-space
monster... no, wait, that's strange!
A cross-space type with such a vast space would
definitely be B-rank or higher. It's far too early for B-rank monsters to be
overflowing outside the dungeon!
I tried to contact Anna and
the others with my Card Gear, but I couldn't get through.
Th-this is...!
"A-An Irregular Encounter...?!"
N-now...? At this exact moment when I have to
get to Ai as quickly as possible...!
This kind of 'misfortune'......
Despair washed over my heart,
and my vision twisted sickeningly.
Lowering my gaze, my Card
Holder came into view.
Half unconsciously, I took out
the carded Hope Diamond.
The diamond depicted on the
card was completely shattered...
"...Utamaro, bad news. Just now, the
distortion of the law of causality suddenly swelled up rapidly... and then, it vanished."
“Ha ha .......”
A dry laugh escaped my lips.
I see... so this is the Hope Diamond's true
effect?
It accumulates the distortion of the law of
causality internally in proportion to the good fortune it brings, and then
releases it at a crucial moment...
A cursed diamond said to invariably lead its
owner to ruin. Is this the price I pay for underestimating it...?
『―――― Raise your face! Utamaro!』
A harsh voice, like a slap,
struck my heart.
I snapped my head up, and
there, a vision of Athena with a stern face floated before me.
『A hero doesn't give up so
easily, you fool!』
"Athena..."
『If you give up, what will
become of the people who seek your help, of Ai?!』
"...!"
Yeah, that's right! There's
no one else who can save them but me! I don't have time to be kneeling down in
a place like this.
*CLICK!* Somewhere in my
heart, a powerful switch flipped on.
My wavering sense of self,
which had been so vague until now, finally solidified.
I will protect my family, my loved ones. I will
not lose a single one of them in this Angolmois. Everyone within my reach, I
will protect them from this injustice.
I will slaughter any enemy who stands in my
way...!
『Yes, that's good. That's how a
hero who befits me should be.』
Athena, looking at my face,
smiled contentedly.
It was truly the smile of a
goddess guiding a hero.
Lost in that sight for a
moment—
"……Ah, damn it. Beating me to it!"
Renge said while scratching
her head roughly.
Suzuka, seizing the perfect
opportunity, taunted her after seeing her more frustrated than ever,
『Pfft, you're always acting so
high and mighty, but you had the best part stolen from you! LOL! Serves you
right, brat!』
"Shut up! …But, well, Athena's right. Only
those who don't give up until the end have the right to grasp fortune."
"Yeah, you're right."
I nodded, recalling the time I
discovered Renge's [Spiritual recurrence].
Back then, it was precisely
because we struggled and resisted so desperately that we are where we are now.
If that's the case, then this time too, I'll
struggle with all my might until the very end.
"So, what do we do now?"
In response to Renge's
question, I surveyed the ground below.
First, I have to figure out the enemy's
identity...
"Master, there's someone collapsed over
there."
"What?"
Looking through Eliza's eyes,
I saw an arm extending from the shadow of a house.
A white suit, a gold wristwatch... not a
monster, a human!
Hurriedly, I had Myra land,
and after summoning all the regular members as a precaution, we cautiously
approached.
Eliza checked for traps, then
took the fallen person's arm and shook her head at me.
So we're too late... But this corpse... it’s
strange.
At first, from the suit's
design and the flashy wristwatch, I thought it was a fairly young person. His
hair was long and dyed blond, so I initially thought he was a host.
However, when I actually looked
up close, his hands were quite wrinkled, clearly those of an elderly person.
There are occasionally older
people who dress flashily, but this outfit was too mismatched.
Also, the cause of death is concerning. At a
glance, there are no external wounds, and no signs of bleeding nearby.
It's as if he simply died of old age right
here...
The fishing village field, the
body of an old man who collapsed without any injuries, and an Irregular
Encounter.
A chill ran down my spine. A
bad premonition, close to certainty.
I had Eliza turn the elderly
man's corpse face up and search his pockets.
The object I was looking for
was quickly found.
“Kira Kujakuin... 21 years old.”
On the business card, which looked
like it was from a host club, was printed the face of a young man who looked to
be about twenty.
His hairstyle and clothing
were undoubtedly the same as the corpse in front of us...
"Confirmed, then."
Renge muttered quietly.
I nodded.
"Yeah, no doubt. ――――It's Urashima Taro9."
That was the name of the
protagonist of a folktale known to every Japanese person, and the name of the
worst enemy most feared by all adventurers.
The reason for this fear wasn’t
simply because of his strength.
There was a certain
characteristic that only Urashima Taro possessed among all Irregular
Encounters.
―――― One year of aging per
minute. The [Rule] enforced by this Irregular Encounter, which recreates
Urashima Taro's cruel ending.
Therefore, its effect cannot even
be blocked by the barrier provided by the card.
[Tips] Type of Equipping Skills
Skills that add one's own combat
power or skills to the master or other cards are called equipping skills.
Even though they are all called
'equipping skills’, there are several types depending on their nature, and
different types can be equipped to the same target simultaneously.
Equipping skills can be classified
as follows:
The Possession type, which accounts for over
80% of equipping skills and is the most popular;
The Blessing type, where the main body and the
equipped target can act separately;
The Item Possession type, which can possess an item
and be simultaneously equipped with others of the same type; and
The Curse type, which is powerful but has
severe drawbacks.
The latter types become
increasingly rare.
***
Notes:
1 Item description: A medicine that reverses the gender for one month. Continuous use for three years will completely change your gender. Added note: In Greek mythology, Tiresias (or Teiresias) was a blind prophet of Apollo (a Greek deity for music and truth) in Thebes, famous for his clairvoyance and for being transformed into a woman for seven years.↩
2 the raw is はい！(Hai!) which is a formal way of speaking. ↩
3 This is one of her usual chuuni way of speaking, more formal and slightly more dramatic than normal. The raw: 「……ま、そういうことなら我から言うことはない。軽々に言える秘密でないのも確かだしな」 ↩
4 Ikebukuro Station is located in the Ikebukuro district of Toshima, Tokyo.↩
5 For [Maid Master], [Breakthrough of Limits], and [Advanced Ninjutsu]: Nemain that appeared as a dungeon boss copied these skills from Maro’s cards, so now Dress can also use them ↩
6 Using the [Poisonous Woman] skill, an advanced class equipping skill. ↩
7 By blessing other card, Dress can give them her combat power. After transforming into a Nemain, her current combat power is 2000↩
8 It should be the same as the one in magic card form. Here’s the description from there: advanced auxiliary magic・power-up magic. It temporarily boosts combat power to its growth limit. However, experience gained from the battle will not be gained. ↩
9 A Japanese folktale about a fisherman who rescued a sea turtle and was then carried to the Dragon Palace (Ryugu-jo) beneath the sea. The turtle turned out to be a princess (Otohime), and Taro spent a few joyful days in the palace. When he decided to go back, the Princess gave him a mysterious box, instructing him never to open it. Arriving in his village, he discovered that at least a century had passed. His home and everyone he knew were long gone. Overwhelmed by loneliness and forgetting his promise, he opened the box, releasing a cloud that instantly turned him into an old man. ↩
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