Mob Kousei No Ore Demo Boukensha Ni Nareba Riajuu Ni Naremasuka: Chapter #146
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
Translator(s) note: Anyone still awake? We will
give you multiple chapters today~
Episode 146: Reunion (3)
"――――Sorry to keep you waiting."
When I stepped out of the
Kochū no Ten, I saw Anna alone in the club room, doing some paperwork.
"Not at all. How is Senpai’s mother?"
"She cried herself out and is now sleeping
with Ai."
After celebrating our reunion
with a good cry, my mom and Ai fell asleep in each other's arms as if a switch
had been flipped.
I could tell from her haggard appearance that Mom
hadn't been able to eat properly for the past month…
I sat down opposite Anna and
asked,
"Where are Oribe and Teacher?"
"I told them to let you have some private
family time today, Senpai. ...But I can call them if you'd like, Senpai."
"Yeah, do that. I can't exactly take it
too easy right now."
"This is because of the time flow
difference you mentioned, isn’t it..."
Anna said, looking down at the
Card Gear in her hand.
Before I left the island, I
had quickly sent her a message outlining the time flow difference between
regions, the Star Mother Association, and the situations that could happen
going forward.
She must have read through it
while I was with my mom after returning to Tachikawa.
"We can discuss that in detail later… but
there's something I want to hear before the two of them arrive."
Anna leaned forward, peering
into my face,
"...You look young. I remember you looking
quite aged when I handed over the supplies you requested."
So that's what this is about, after all...
I thought like that while
leaning back into my chair.
Anna's Elf, Tanya, had seen my
aged face due to the Urashima Taro effect.
It was only natural that Anna,
who must have shared Tanya's vision through their Link, would be curious.
"Well, there's no point in hiding it now,
so I'll tell you: just as you guessed, I have a card with Rejuvenation
skill."
When I said that so casually,
Anna's face showed a hint of surprise.
"You're telling me that so easily? You do
understand the value of that effect, don’t you?"
"Yeah. It's the kind of ability that those
in power covet so desperately, right? They'll even do anything to obtain
it."
"Exactly. If you understand that properly,
then I have nothing more to say. ...Is there anyone else who knows about
this?"
I thought for a moment before
answering,
"The one person I can say knows for sure
is Shigeno-san from the Hachioji Guild."
Anna's eyebrow twitched.
"...Someone from the Guild?"
"Yeah. He saw me in my aged form when I
received the aid supplies, and then saw me rejuvenated after the battle with
the Pied Piper of Hamelin."
"Hmm... Anyone else?"
"...I don't know. I haven't told even my
family, but considering Teacher, it wouldn't be strange if that information was
extracted using a Mind-reading magic item."
"I see..."
Hearing my words, Anna showed
a gesture of deep thought.
"I have a question—about when did you
acquire that rejuvenation effect?"
"...Pretty soon after hearing Kudan's
prophecy."
"In that case, I believe the Mind-reading
magic item has not been used on you since then, at least."
I involuntarily raised my
eyebrows.
"Why do you think that?"
"Because if the government knew about the
rejuvenation effect, there would absolutely have been an idiot who went out of
control."
Anna's straightforward answer
made sense to me.
I see, that’s true. Unlimited rejuvenation?
There's no way those in power wouldn't jump at the chance.
The moment the Self-Defense
Forces learned of the rejuvenation effect, word would definitely reach the
nation's top brass. Even if it was treated as a military secret, it would
definitely leak from the military top brass to connected politicians, and then
to connected corporations...
And somewhere along that
chain, there will definitely be an idiot who goes uncontrollable.
The only reason I, believed to
hold the key to the dungeon's disappearance, hadn't faced military force so far
was solely because they were wary of Renge. But an idiot wouldn't consider that
and would try to obtain the rejuvenation effect through short-sighted means.
At the very least, someone
would ordinarily try to hold my family hostage to get me to comply.
Given that nothing like that
has happened, I can assume the country doesn't know about my [True Rain of
Amrita].
And if I had been regularly checked with a Mind-reading
magic item, my thoughts would have been read at least once since Kudan's
prophecy. So, it’s certain that there are no regular checks on me.
The question is, when was the last time a
Mind-reading magic item was used on me? ...Hmm, It's likely that it hasn't been
used since Teacher transferred here.
Besides, as Teacher said, a Mind-reading magic
item is a double-edged sword for the one wielding it as well. Politicians and
the like probably want to destroy every single one except the one they use
themselves, don't they?
It's unthinkable that they would wield such a
double-edged sword lightly.
Considering all that, it was
highly likely that my thoughts hadn't been read at least since I obtained the
True Amrita.
"Well, even if the country knew, it
wouldn't matter now."
Yeah. Now that spatial isolation has made it
difficult to even reach an intended destination, it doesn't matter if the
country knows.
It would be far easier for them to hunt
monsters that drop rejuvenation items than to target me.
"On the other hand, the real problem is
the Hachioji Guild, which definitely knows. If that information reached the
Tachikawa Guild too, it could be a bit troublesome."
Hmm. I don't think Shigeno-san would actively
spread the word, so I think it's fine... but Anna doesn't know Shigeno-san's
character, so it's only natural for her to be worried.
"Well, you don't need to worry too much
about that either. If push comes to shove, we can just abandon this place and
escape to the island."
"The island you came across during your
journey, Senpai...?"
Anna wore a slightly troubled
expression.
"If the situation were the same as
yesterday, I'd agree wholeheartedly, but now we have the time flow difference
issue. Even as we speak, time is passing thousands of times faster on that
island. We need to check the situation there with our own eyes before doing
that kind of thing..."
That concern was certainly
valid.
It was entirely possible that
the island's condition had drastically changed while I was here.
Anna's opinion that we need to
see the island’s state with our own eyes beforehand was reasonable.
"Also, there's the problem of how to move
the school building... If we have the means, I'd really like to take this
school building with us."
"Oh, right. How did you manage to move it
into Hesperides?"
I asked the question that had piqued
my curiousity.
The first thing I thought of
was converting the school into a card and carrying it in. However, while
converting a building into a card isn't impossible, it requires a design
engineered for card conversion (or its subsequent use will be hampered) and a
number of cardification magic item corresponding to its size.
A single cardification magic
item can, at best, convert a two-story single house; something as massive as a
school would require over a hundred of those items.
Even if we obtained
cardification magic items by defeating monsters in the domain, this school
existed since before the dungeons appeared, so it wouldn't have been designed
to withstand card conversion.
And there was one other thing.
I noticed that the school’s dungeon gate was not visible when I looked up from
outside.
Even if the school building
was converted into a card, that gate should remain where it was, floating in
the sky.
If dungeon gates could be
moved that freely, humanity wouldn't be so troubled by dungeons.
Then, the only possible method is...
"As for the school, we
incorporated it directly into the Garden of Hesperides. ...No, to be precise,
should I say we covered it?"
Just as I thought.
I
nodded, but pressed further to dig for details.
"Covered?"
“Apparently, otherworld class
cross-space cards can be deployed in a way that they incorporate existing
structures into their space. Though it's more like covering it than truly
absorbing it—so we can't move the school building once it's done. ... ...Therefore,
if we decide to move from here, we'll have no choice but to leave the school
building behind and escape."
Hearing that, I asked out of
pure intellectual curiosity,
"Hmm, so that means turning the school
building into a Tsukumogami was impossible?"
"The thing we talked
about at the family restaurant the day before Angolmois, yes? After that, I
followed up on some leads and looked into it, but apparently there's a size
limit for turning things into Tsukumogami. It seems a single house—about the
same size as what one cardification magic item can handle—is the maximum."
About the same size as what
one cardification magic item can handle, huh... That feels like an
ambiguous line between large and small.
"What about the gate on
the rooftop? Was it similar?"
"Yes. It seems that when
a cross-space card is deployed in a location with a dungeon gate, you can
choose whether to place the gate in the dimensional space or leave it
outside."
"Hoh~..."
So, true to the principle that
dungeon gates can't be moved, the coordinates remain where they are, but they
can be covered by a cross-space card...
If a gate can be covered by a
cross-space card, a Calmed dungeon would become much easier to maintain... wait
a minute?
"If dungeon gates can be covered
by cross-space cards, couldn't the damage from Angolmois have been greatly
reduced if all the dungeons across the country—even just the C-rank ones and
above—had been covered with cross-space cards?"
When
I said this, Anna scratched her cheek and answered with a troubled expression,
"Hmm, I think that would
be difficult. It seems only Calmed dungeon gates can be covered by a
cross-space card."
"Ah... so it's
impossible, then."
The fact that it's only the already
Calmed gates means A-rank dungeons are out of the question.
Even for B-rank dungeons, the
report said that it take months for even the SDF's elite forces to clear, so it
would have been impossible to Calm all 200+ B-rank dungeons across the country
before Angolmois.
Either way, B-rank monsters
would have flooded out.
...Well, given that the SDF
was dysfunctional anyway, maybe that was a pointless assumption.
"In any case, I'm glad everyone and the
school are safe..."
Anna nodded deeply at my murmured
words.
The school had everything
needed to make shelter life comfortable: a large Magic Stone generator, home
economics rooms for cooking and clothing production, a library and audiovisual
room for the evacuees' entertainment, a gym and pool for sports.
While not strictly vital for
survival, they were undeniably convenient... that was this school building.
The entire facility ran on
electricity, and the presence of a Magic Stone generator for large facilities
was a major advantage.
The fact none of it had been
lost was undoubtedly a stroke of luck.
"...Right, the two of them should be here
any minute now. One last thing—are you going to tell them about the
rejuvenation? "
"Yeah. From now on, I intend to share
everything unless it's extremely personal."
"Okay. I think that's for the best,
too."
Anna smiled, adding,
"Otherwise, Sayo might genuinely start to
dislike you," when the club room door slammed open--
"――――Senpai!"
Oribe burst into the room and
immediately crumpled to the floor as soon as she saw me.
"Ah, it really is Senpai... I'm so glad,
I'm so, so glad..."
Watching Oribe sobbing, my
heart tightened.
What should I do...
I was still flustered when
Anna quickly rushed over and hugged her.
Am I still a virgin because I can't move
smoothly in situations like this...?
As I left my outstretched hand
awkwardly hanging, another girl entered the room.
The first thing that caught
the eye was her perfectly sculpted face.
Long, fair locks with a
halo-like glow. Clear white skin. Eyes that were somehow cold, yet beautiful.
Her beauty was close to the
level of monster cards like Elves and Succubi, who were considered the most
beautiful among non-humans.
The girl, dressed in a simple
turtleneck sweater and jeans, which she donned like a model, smiled happily
when she saw me,
"Welcome back, Maro. You did well."
"...Teacher."
When I involuntarily muttered
that—
"Oh, oh,
let's not do that. Call me by my surname, or preferably my given name."
“I’m Kotori, you see.” she
said with a wink, and I could only give a wry smile.
" Senpai, welcome back. I'm so glad you're
safe."
Oribe, having stopped crying,
walked up to me and smiled with lingering tears in her eyes.
I smiled back.
"Yeah, I'm home."
And so, I finally reunited with my comrades.
【Tips】Authority of the Deity of Gate
Authority of the Gate enables
travel between gates of the same Authority, or via transfer gates.
Before Angolmois, it was
considered somewhat impractical since movement was limited to within the same dungeon
and couldn't reach transfer gates set up in other dungeons. However, in the
current situation where cards can be summoned outside dungeons and travel to
other regions is restricted, it has transformed into an extremely beneficial
Authority.
It is one of the Authorities
whose ‘stock price’ soared through the roof after Angolmois.
The drawback is that very few
possess it.
The True Skill version of the
Authority of the Gate even enables movement through Gatekeepers’ Gate, giving
an immeasurable strategic advantage from being able to deploy their forces
unilaterally...
***
[ANNOUNCEMENT]
We decided to have
a GOAL starting now:
IF WE
EARN $225/month for AT LEAST 3 MONTHS STRAIGHT from Patreon membership, WE
WILL ADD ANOTHER ADVANCED CHAPTER ON EACH TIER on our Patreon!
The advanced chapters are
based on the original schedule, and we make sure we stick to it on
Patreon, so you might get MORE than that! Please check our Patreon!
We set the “earning
visibility” public so you can always see it.
More people joining means
more advanced chapters for you Patreon members!
Previous chapter | Novel page | Next chapter
Please help
us out and get Advanced Chapters on our Patreon!
Or you can
keep our spirit up by buying us Coffee (人ゝω・）
