Mob Kousei No Ore Demo Boukensha Ni
Nareba Riajuu Ni Naremasuka: Chapter #141
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
At the abandoned port in the
north of the island, refugees were fishing since early in the morning.
"Yes!
Cast the nets right here! Please make sure no fish escape through any gaps, okay~"
Näkki-Neito, a mermaid with
dazzling golden hair and an astonishingly enormous chest, was the one directing
the refugees doing the fishing.
Thanks to her skills in fishing
and swimming, even this group of complete amateurs who knew nothing about
fishing managed to get some kind of organized fishery going.
The refugees' faces were splitting into cheerful, Ebisu grins1 as
Näkki-Neito, her ample bosom gently bouncing, taught them how to fish.
Rumor had it that this fishing
session had dozens of applicants for just a few open slots.
Since the applicant numbers on
days she wasn't present were usually just the required amount, their motivation
was obvious.
Conversely, on days when
Kimaris provided agricultural guidance, the applicants would all flock to the
fields instead.
"They're
hard at work,"
A voice behind me remarked as
I watched the fishing. I turned around to see Yujin-san.
"Ah,
Yujin-san, good morning. Thank you so much for your help with the fishing
gear,"
I said, bowing slightly.
The boats and fishing
equipment used in this operation were all provided by the local residents.
Even with a port, without
tools, they couldn't even fish, and without boats and nets, they couldn't catch
much.
At best, they would have been
limited to having aquatic cards bring them fish.
Thanks to the local residents,
they were able to catch enough fish for all the refugees and still have some
left over.
"No,
don't worry about it. Compared to the favor we received from you, this is
nothing, Kitagawa."
Although
Yujin-san
said that, I knew that the boats were scarce vessels that had escaped mechanical
destruction, making them incredibly valuable to the local residents.
They had also provided
valuable advice on what could be harvested where, and where the currents were
fast or dangerous due to rocks.
They
were helping out so much that it felt like it went beyond simple gratitude...
Just as I was about to ask him
about the deeper intentions behind their help,
"Look,
Master!"
With a splash, Näkki-Neito suddenly
surfaced from the sea.
"I
caught a crab, a really huge crab!"
She showed me a giant crab
with excessively long legs.
Its body alone was as large as
her face, and its legs, when spread, seemed easily three meters long.
"Wow,
that's enormous!"
"Right?!"
Näkki-Neito replied, nodding
and shaking her ample, ample, ample chest.
Truly,
enormous...
"What
kind of crab is this, Master?"
"It’s
a Japanese spider crab (Takaashigani)2."
Yujin-san chimed in when Näkki-Neito
and I were tilting our heads, wondering what this crab, as it was even bigger
than a red king crab, was.
Japanese
spider crab... If I recall correctly, they're a specialty of Suruga Bay.
"The
water is deep around here, so we occasionally catch them."
"Ooh,
are they tasty?"
"They
are. The only downside is that they don't last long, since their meat starts to
go mushy after they're hauled up. But if you keep them in a tank, they'll be
fine for a while."
"Then
I'll go catch some more!"
Näkki-Neito handed the crab to
me and plunged back into the sea with a splash.
Yujin-san then said with a
profound sigh,
"...Nice
boobs."
"Yes."
As fellow boob lovers, we
nodded at each other in solemn agreement. Then Yujin-san murmured softly,
"Don't
worry about the boats, really. We are genuinely grateful. ...Grateful that we
didn't have to commit any more crimes."
A week had passed since the
day of that trial.
Ultimately, the entire fiasco
was publicly attributed to the actions of a lurking B-rank monster.
Pinning everything on Solomon
and his card... would have completely thrown off the power balance between the
migrants and the local residents.
How could the vast majority of
migrants, who hadn't even witnessed the trial, accept that their leader had
suddenly be branded a criminal when they were sure to have won the fight?
However, Yujin-san, who was
now proven to be the victim of a frame-up, couldn't just be executed.
The compromise both sides
reached was the idea that ‘Solomon was also a victim, and everything was the
work of a lurking B-rank monster’.
This wasn't spread by someone
in particular; it naturally spread from those who witnessed the trial to
everyone on the island, and before long, it had become common knowledge among
all.
Of course, many people noticed
the contradictions.
But no one dared to address
them.
Everyone was simply exhausted
from fighting among themselves.
Why did we hate each other so
much?
When it was over, they wondered...
Many people said the same
thing.
As a result, everything ended
in a state of 'tacit agreement3'.
Yujin-san was exonerated. He
naturally stepped down as the local vigilante group leader, but neither the
migrants nor the local residents felt that the vigilante groups were necessary
anymore.
I, Victor-san, and the other
refugees were accepted as contributors to the resolution of the incident.
Currently, the three
parties—migrants, local residents, and refugees—were cooperating to rebuild the
island.
The local residents provided
tools and knowledge for agriculture and fishing, the migrants supplied daily
necessities from their large stockpiles, and our side lent out production-type
cards and those with [Advanced Housekeeping Magic] to repair homes damaged by
monsters. They were helping each other as if it was a lie that they had been
killing each other just recently.
...No,
maybe it's because they had been killing each other just a little while
ago.
The recent conflict had
resulted in a significant number of deaths on both sides... especially among
the local residents who had lower morale.
Most of those deaths were
probably Ose (Pruflas) hunting for soul stock under the cover of darkness, but
some were undoubtedly at the hands of humans.
I, too, had a lingering sense
of guilt for deciding not to interfere because I couldn't tell whether the
conflict was orchestrated by non-human or was a purely human conflict.
To
avoid facing that guilt, we are being overly kind to each other...
Perhaps that was part of the
reason for this unnatural level of cooperation.
After watching the early
morning fishing, I had a lavish breakfast of Japanese spider crab with the
cards and the refugees who participated in the fishing. Afterward, I headed out
to perform my daily routine: collecting Carbuncle Garnets.
This was an important routine, one I hadn't
missed even when renovating the abandoned village or on the day of the trial.
That said, it was actually my cards who did
the work, while I just waited at the base during that time.
From an outsider's
perspective, I might seem to be living the high life by making my cards do all
the work, but since it was a familiar task, there was no need for me to join
them.
In fact, due to the limited
capacity of Eliza's magic carriage or Myra's back, I might even be in the way.
『Master, the Garnet collection
is complete. 』
I waited for them to finish
their work in Audrey's Mayoiga when I received a message from Eliza via
Link.
『Good work. What B-rank did you
encounter today?』
I thanked her and asked.
There was a C-rank dungeon in
this area, and one B-rank monster spawned from it every day.
A wild B-Rank was no longer a
major enemy for us. Since their rare drops were often useful, they were slowly
turning from formidable enemies into welcome prey.
I had told them to contact me
before a fight if the opponent seemed like one that would require my Luck
Manipulation, so I figured this time’s opponent wasn’t a challenge.
However, Eliza's reply was
unexpected,
『We didn't encounter a B-rank
monster.』
『Didn't encounter one?』
From my experience so far,
unless we deliberately avoided them, we were almost guaranteed to encounter a
B-rank while collecting Garnets.
The fact that they didn't
encounter any suggested three possibilities.
One, it was a complete
coincidence. Two, it had already been defeated by someone other than us. And
the third…
"...Audrey,
we're going too."
"Right
away, Goshujin-sama."
We reunited with Eliza and the
others who had returned via Teleportation, and we circled the entire area.
Then...
"Bingo!"
I found exactly what I had
expected, and a smile spread across my face.
――――The third possibility:
today's B-rank was a cross-space type that doesn't move on its own.
Far in the distance, its outline
hazy, it was there.
It was a brilliant blue palace
constructed of sapphire-like, translucent blue mineral.
Catching the sunlight, it was
enveloped in a light like the Aurora Borealis4.
Grand, yet solemn, it truly looked worthy of being called the dwelling of a
god.
To the human eye, nothing can
be seen. But when viewed through the eyes of the cross-space card Audrey, it
was definitely there.
"Wow,
this... is amazing."
I couldn't help but utter
admiration as I looked down at the palace from above.
As we approached, the full
scope of the palace became clear, and I was dumbfounded by its sheer scale and
extravagance.
Centered around the palace,
which was entirely constructed from the sapphire-like mineral, a garden that
looked like a work of art in itself spread out, all enclosed by a circular Aurora-like
wall.
From a distance, the palace
had looked wide, yet not particularly tall, but as we got closer, I saw that
its height was considerable — comparable to a five-story shopping mall.
The palace, shaped like the
letter H, covered an area large enough to accommodate ten Tokyo Domes, and when
combined with the garden, the total area of the grounds would likely be
equivalent to three hundred Tokyo Domes.
It wasn't just mindlessly huge
and fancy, either. From the garden fountains to the palace walls themselves, it
was covered in intricate carvings were everywhere, revealing a level of
precision and calculation down to the finest details.
It was truly a sight fit for a
palace of the gods.
"With
this scale, it's probably just shy of an otherworld cross-space type..."
For something below the
otherworld class, in the so-called structure class, it would undoubtedly be
among the largest in terms of scale.
『Huh? What was that just now?』
As we flew over the Aurora
wall above, the cards felt a slight resistance upon passing through.
Our small goddess of knowledge
answered my question,
『I felt a slight draining of
our power. Weak monsters... perhaps E-rank or lower, wouldn't even be able to
cross this wall at all. It should be some kind of magic barrier to ward off
malicious intruders.』
『Hoo~ 』
A
boundary that repels the small fries and weakens anyone who passes through...
Even
being a cross-space type is enough to keep out minor foes, but to have an
additional filter based on combat power is superb.
『Alright, let's head inside.』
We entered through the
colossal gate in the center of the horizontal beam of the H-shaped palace.
What greeted us upon entering
was a hall as large as a school gymnasium, a space dominated by white and
gold.
Unlike the exterior, which was
entirely made of blue mineral, the interior was constructed from a whitish,
marble-like mineral, tastefully accented with gold in moderation to avoid being
tacky, while the floor featured a sweeping red carpet.
Directly ahead the entrance
hall were large doors leading further into the palace, flanked by two
symmetrical curved staircases ascending to the second floor. Long corridors
stretched out to the left and right of the entrance hall.
The corridors were wide enough
for a dozen adults to walk side by side with their arms outstretched, and lined
on both sides of the corridors were sculptures that seemed to be deities.
『Master.』
As I found myself captivated
by the luxurious interior, making me think of Versailles
Palace5 or Schönbrunn Palace6—or maybe
even more lavish—Yuki alerted quietly,
『Enemies.』
With her warning, the large
doors ahead were thrown open, and female knights clad in white and blue dress
armor appeared.
The dress armor looked
somewhat styled like maid's uniform, and I could definitely sense divine
attribute emanating from them that my cards also carried.
They
are divine beings, yet dressed as maids in a subordinate position, then, a
palace so luxurious and vast that it's almost excessive...
I see.
Now I understand where this is and who the owner is.
"I
get it. So this is Frigg's palace, Fensalir,
huh?"
Frigg, wife of the supreme
Norse God Odin and the goddess of marriage and oaths.
Her
palace, Fensalir, was described as 'a place of incomparable splendor’, where
many goddesses serve her.
The
maid-knights before us were likely 'Nameless Goddess Handmaidens', summoned by
stripping away the concept of individuality from these goddesses.
While
they don't exist as cards, the Nameless Goddess Handmaidens possessed combat
power equivalent to the upper C-rank monster. What made them unique for an infinite
subordinate summon was that while they were of the mid-level dependent body, their
rank was high.
In
terms of abilities, they were balanced with no outstanding capability, but as handmaidens
serving Frigg, they possessed inborn skills such as [Maid], [Martial Arts],
[Shield of Devotion], and [Intermediate-level Wizard], enabling them to adapt
to various situations.
...That
said, they're no great threat to us now.
Without needing to use the
skills of the Celtic Trinity Deities, I quickly disposed of them and called out
to Eliza before the next enemy could appear,
『Eliza, the map.』
Eliza nodded and used her
Clairvoyance magic.
The blueprint of Fensalir was
projected into her mind, and I and the other cards shared it through the Link.
Relying on that map, we set
off toward the innermost part where Frigg's presence was felt, but...
"I
knew it would come to this."
We quickly had to stop.
The map acquired via
Clairvoyance showed the palace rapidly expanding in scale and its internal
structure changing at a dizzying pace.
Our current location had
already changed, and even though we had only passed through one door, the
entrance hall was now a great distance away.
If this were a Mayoiga or
Winchester House, we'd just ignore the maze and smash through the walls to
reach the core, but...
『Yuki.』
『Yes!』
At my call, Yuki delivered a
powerful kick toward the wall.
Despite her combat power
exceeding 3,000, the wall did not collapse to form a large hole――instead, it
only developed spiderweb-like cracks.
"Tch,
it's tough after all."
The
durability of a cross-space type structure is a direct reflection of its core's
durability.
The
Winchester House is roughly equivalent to D-rank, Mayoiga is equivalent to
C-rank, and Frigg’s palace should be equivalent to B-rank.
What's
more…
I looked at the wall which
already returned to its original state. The cracks had been completely repaired
instantly.
The overly
intricate carvings etched into this wall. These are probably not just
decorations.
They
are likely a type of magic circle that increases the durability of the walls
and pillars, as well as enhancing allies.
I
recalled that Fensalir's effects were something like this: ‘Reduce the combat
power of enemies inside by 10% of Frigg's combat power and increases the combat
power of allies,’ and ‘Greatly increases the vitality, durability, and status
ailments resistance of allies inside, while providing continuous recovery of vitality
and magic power.’
These effects must also apply to Frigg
herself... and, by extension, the durability of Fensalir.
『Yuki, equip Dress and try
again.』
Yuki, blessed by Dress,
delivered another kick. This time, a massive hole opened in the wall with a
deafening boom.
It seemed a combat power of
over 6,000 couldn't be withstood.
However, that large hole also
sealed up faster than a blink.
The
repair speed is on a different level from Mayoiga. With a Mayoiga, there would
have been at least enough time for us to pass through...
Then, I remembered that the
Winchester House’s repair speed was slightly faster than the Mayoiga’s.
Maybe
the repair speed of a cross-space type is proportional to their overall scale.
No,
maybe it's the ratio of damage that differs.
While
a large hole in the wall of the house-sized Mayoiga might be like a knife
through the palm of your hand, for Fensalir—the size of ten (or three hundred,
including the grounds) Tokyo Domes—it might be nothing more than a mosquito
bite.
In
that case, breaking through walls is impossible.
"This
is annoying..."
I've
never properly tackled a cross-space skill before.
Taking
advantage of our high combat power, I always chose to smash through the walls
and take the shortest route to the core.
But
with Fensalir's instant-repair ability, that tactic won’t work.
Tch,
so cross-space types become this troublesome at B-Rank.
No,
rather, this is the true difficulty of a cross-space type monster, huh..
"Okay,
what should I do now..."
Therefore,
the standard strategy against such cross-space skills is to persist until the
opponent exhausts their resources... but that would take too much time.
A
structure of this scale likely has a good amount of resources, and if it goes
poorly, this could take an entire day. I couldn't possibly afford that.
That
leaves only one option.
『Eliza, it's finally time for
the big reveal.』
『Yes, Master.』
At my words, Eliza flashed a
faint smile and bowed respectfully.
Then, she pulled out the
Hamelin's Flute and began to play a tune.
――――[Prelude
of the Budding Heart]
The ‘Second Song’ of the five
songs that can be registered to the Hamelin's Flute.
It was the moment of its grand
debut.
***
Notes:
1 Ebisu (god of fortune) is known as ‘the laughing god’. The raw uses an idiom here: 鼻の下を伸ばしての恵比寿顔 (hana no shita o nobashite no ebisu-gao). This is a humorous expression to describe men whose faces become loose due to an attractive woman. ↩
2 It is the largest crustacean in the world. ↩
4 When particles from space bombard gases in the atmosphere, they can give the atoms and molecules of the gases extra energy that’s released as tiny specks of light. (info from NASA)↩
5 former French royal residence and center of government, now a national landmark. ↩
6 From the 18th century to 1918, Schönbrunn was the residence of the Habsburg emperors in Vienna, Austria. ↩
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