《Inferior Magic Swordsman: Using the Skill Board to Become the Strongest》


 Chapter 1: Prologue

    <h4>Chapter 1: Prologue</h4>


    A water hole? The feeling of sinking under water was so sudden I didn¡¯t have time to brace myself.


    Tonight, Toru was dragging his exhausted body along the sidewalk when he suddenly lost touch of the ground, he was free-falling.


    He is wondering if his waist had stopped working from over-fatigue. Wondering why there is no ground when he tries to strech his feet.


    ¡°Huh? Hmm!?¡± (Toru)


    his legs are getting stiff but the feeling of falling doesn¡¯t stop and the wind rushing towards me is pressing hard against my skin.


    A few seconds after the rming feeling of suddenly free-falling intensifies. He is no longer ¡°just free-falling¡±,


    Even though his eyes were wide-open, it was pitch ck. Now he¡¯s ¡°free-falling in the pitch ck darkness¡±.


    Finally he fell through.


    When he finally realize that his fall has concluded, his eyes were suddenly filled with a blinding sh of light.


    His fall ended anti-climatically, after that long dark fall his butt felt like he just sat on the floor.


    There was no sharp pain or any kind of pain for that matter.


    ¡°Eh, what¡­?¡± (Toru)


    Toru, who couldn¡¯t understand what is happening to himself started to look around.


    There¡¯s nothing around here, just vast emptiness.


    There are no buildings, no houses, no roads, nothing at all.


    The space was pure white.


    ¡°What is this here¡­?¡± (Stranger)


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ Why is another human here?¡± (Stranger)


    Suddenly he heard a voice from behind. Toru¡¯s shoulders stiffened when he heard a voice behind him.


    As he turns around, there, a lone figer was standing alone this vast white emptiness.


    The figure was wearing a simple white dress.


    Her hair is long and golden like it is made of rays of golden sunlight, though her hair may look otherworldly her features are strangely Japanese-like.


    However, deep purple eyes are a color that cannot be found on any Japanese.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± (Stranger)


    ¡°Oh, you are a girl.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°eh?¡± (Stranger)


    Toru was shocked at the person¡¯s reaction. he thought that the beautiful preson inb front of him was a girl. While he was panicking, the person smiled,


    ¡°I¡¯ can be either. My looks depends on the person seeing me. The person before you thought I was a man.¡± (Stranger)


    ¡°I can¡¯t see you being a man at all¡­¡± (Toru)


    ¡°When you are done pondering. I am going to introduce myself. I am deity. Well you humans call me one anyway.¡±


    Then suddenly the girl started eating potato chips. She¡¯s eating and munching quite loud.


    (¡­Where did that potato chip bag came from?)


    She didn¡¯t looked like she¡¯s holding anything. It¡¯s like a magic trick.


    ¡°So once again, I am God.¡± (Stranger/God)


    ¡°Eh, what?¡± (Toru)


    Her words disheartened Toru.


    Hees from a country that has low belief on gods, however this person is iming to be one.


    ¡°You people from earth, especially Japanese share simr reactions, Don¡¯t you believe I¡¯m God?¡± (God?)


    ¡°Are you some sort of scammer?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°¡­ apparently I have to re-educate the Japanese once.¡± (God?)


    Suddenly her eyes are showing an unnerving glint in them.


    ¡°By the way, where is this ce? While I was walking, the road suddenly vanished and I fell.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Ding! Ding! Ding! That¡¯s right. You fell. You fell because you walked towards a dimensional rift.¡±


    ¡°A dimensional rift?¡±


    ¡°Yes. The rift is an extremely rare phenomenon that randomly appears anywhere on earth. No matter how much we try to fix thews of the universe, it doesn¡¯t disappear. You fell from the rift and now you¡¯re here. You are okay being here right?¡± (God?)


    ¡°¡­Uh, yeah. Well, yes.¡± (Toru)


    Toru was under a state of disbelief.


    But whether he believes it or not, it doesn¡¯t matter. He found himself on a ce beyond his ability toprehend.


    It might be a dream he thought, he pinched his cheeks but he only felt pain. He didn¡¯t even feel like he¡¯s waking up.


    Also he fell but felt no pain. Hisnding felt quite soft considering the length and his speed while falling.


    There is no other answer. But he still can¡¯t believe it.


    ¡°Well it has been nice meeting you but I have a job tomorrow. I really need to get going.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°I can¡¯t do that.¡± (God?)


    ¡°Why?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°If you wan¡¯t to go back, It¡¯s up there¡­¡± (God?)


    The girl pointed up. There was a faint but extremely small ck spot in the white ceiling.


    He can¡¯t quite grasp the distance my distance from that hole, but he thinks that if proceeding toward the ck hole will be his solution in returning to where he came from.


    But how to get reach that hole is unknown.


    ¡°¨CCan you fly in the air?¡± (God?)


    ¡°I can¡¯t¡­¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Then give up!¡± (God?)


    Flying is the only solution.


    What a uselessly simple solution.


    ¡°No, no! I still have work. If I don¡¯t get to work tomorrow I will never finish my work before the deadline. You im you are God? If so, please return me to the original world with your godly powers. ¡± (Toru)


    ¡°I cannot bring you back¡­¡± (God?)


    The woman said as he scrutinize Toru from head to toe, while munching on potato chips.


    ¡°I can¡¯t do it because you are in that state.¡± (God?)


    ¡°¡­¡­What do you mean?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°You¡¯re just a soul.¡± (God?)


    ¡°Heh?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Do you really believe that if a human body suddenly falls through a dimensional rift he will be alive once hees out of it? The human body is a three-dimensional object. It would have been fine if it were two or four dimensional, but three¡­ uh-uh.¡± (God?)


    ¡°Such¡­¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Well, don¡¯t look like that. Anyway, the job that you have is a job that anyone else can do. If people can¡¯t find you, it doesn¡¯t really matter, someone will surely take over your job without any problem.¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± (Toru)


    This self-proimed god says things that hits where it hurts the most.


    Toru himself is very aware of that. However, when he was told face-to-face, made him more aware of the insignificance of his existence.


    ¡°So¡­ what do I do now?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Well now that you¡¯re done whining, let¡¯s move on.¡± (God)


    As she ps her hands, the chip bag vanish and the emptiness suddenly changed.


    The once white floor immediately started changing.


    White, green, and blue patterns were slowly flowing on the floor, as if the entire floor became a huge monitor.


    ¡°You have two options. One is to die. You can go back to earth without any pain and no pain at all.¡± (God)


    ¡°Oh, so I can go back.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°No.¡± (God)


    ¡°Why did you even said that?!¡± (Toru)


    ¡°The second is¡­¡± she continued, ignoring the question from Toru. ¡°Migrate to this¡±


    A with sshed with white, green and blue hue was in the image.


    Realizing that, Toru looked down at the.


    ¡°It¡¯s difficult to bring a soul that has fallen from Earth, but it¡¯s easy to bring it down on another. You don¡¯t have a body right now, but I can put it in a good body.¡± (God)


    ¡°Is the body okay?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s a body without a soul.¡± (God)


    ¡°Is it a corpse?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°You might call it as such.¡± (God)


    ¡°Ehhh¡­¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Hey don¡¯t look at me like that okay! It¡¯s hard to suddenly make a body out of nowhere. I can do it but it needs other resources, which can lead to bugs appearing in ces unknown.¡± (God)


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it possible to have a baby that isn¡¯t born yet?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°In order to do that, you have to kick-off the baby¡¯s soul. Even a baby has a soul you know. Do you want to transfer to steal the body of the baby and erase the baby¡¯s soul?¡± (God)


    ¡°No, that is¡­¡±(Toru)


    ¡°And when you transfer to a baby, your mental age remains the same. Do you have a hobby of sucking a woman¡¯s breast milk? If so, I can probably lend a hand¡ª¡°(God)


    ¡°No, thanks!¡±(Toru)


    If it is the only way the answer is a a clear ¡°NO¡±.


    Some may have such a ¡°special hobby¡±, but Toru is different.


    ¡°That¡¯s okay. You¡¯re dead now-I¡¯ll just send you a good body!¡± (God)


    This guy is clearly sending me to a corpse.


    Toru stared at the woman.


    ¡°By the way, I don¡¯t know anything about the other world, can I survive there?¡±(Toru)


    Language changes when the country changes.


    There are rare people whomunicate with bodynguage without even using words. However, Toru is not that kind of person he needs to usenguage tomunicate.


    In addition, it is easy to imagine that the changes in life style are vast.


    With Toru a person who grew upfortably in Japan, a country which has the one of the best lifestyle on the, is thrown into other regions without prior knowledge. He does not have the confidence to be able to survive when it urs.


    ¡°That is one of my domains. The people who have fallen into the rift of have all transferred to that with my help.¡± (God)


    ¡°You sent other people there too.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Yes. If done right you can live a fulfilling second life. However¡­¡± (God)


    ¡°However?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°¡­Yeah. If you¡¯re a careful, you¡¯ll be able to have a fulfilling second life.¡± (God)


    The woman suddenly changed the subject.


    [What was she about to say¡­] (Toru)


    Toru is feeling anxious, even if she said he would be safe.


    ¡°¨CAbout what you were about to say.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°You ready?¡± (God)


    ¡°I wonder how many people in that world die every day.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°¡­well.¡± (God)


    It is said that 1-8 people die every second on the earth.


    While they were talking like this, many people have already died.


    The body that is most suitable for iming will be ¡°made soon¡±.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll give you this before I send you over there.¡± (God)


    Saying that, the woman presented Toru with an A4 size transparent board. The moment I touched the te that looked like an acrylic te a sh of light appeared and the te disappeared.


    ¡°Eh, what happened? Did it disappear?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°I¡¯ve just handed you a skill board. I mean, you know, what a skill board is, right?¡± (God)


    ¡°A little¡± (Toru)


    Toru nodded.


    Toru, who likes games as much as any person, knows and has knowledge about what a skill board was.


    Is a device or system that improves on a character¡¯s/person¡¯s potential.


    ¡°Why did it disappear?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°It¡¯s tied to you¡¯s soul. You can use it when you go to the other world. If you lived back on Earth, it would be useless.¡± (God)


    ¡°Eh? Is this something you can¡¯t usually use?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Yeah, you look like a serious person and you think before you act, right?¡± (God)


    [Is it all right because I¡¯m a serious person?] (Toru)


    Toru tilts his head sideways in question.


    If you¡¯re not serious,will there be a penalty?


    Toru put his hands behind his head and tried to remember what god said. Did the people who have been revived have serious personalities. Suddenly Toru felt cold sweat run through his back.


    ¡°Use it well and live long. I¡¯ll send you there now.¡± (God)


    ¡°Wait a minute! I still have somethings to ask¨C¡± (Toru)


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. This isn¡¯t a farewell. If you meet the conditions, you can always see me. Well then, do your best.¡±


    The girl smiled and held her hand towards me.


    White light seem to be concentrated on the palm.


    Then it covered the Toru¡¯s sight in an instant.


    ¡°Do your¨C¡°


    Before the end of her speech, Toru¡¯s consciousness was cut off.


    ¡ð


    After sending the human to the other world, God exhaled slowly, ¡°Fu¡±.


    Although it is only a soul, it is difficult to intervene in that world. Still, it was God¡¯s duty to send the souls that fell through the rift to a new path.


    Duty¡­ No, I¡¯m looking forward to it.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how this human being will live his life.¡±


    This time, God was secretly working on Toru¡¯s the skill board.


    The skill board is an auxiliary system used by living creatures on the the called ¡°Eargard¡±, if used correctly, one can obtain cheat-like powers .


    However, no one has been able to fully use it so far.


    First of all, half of the people sent there cannot use skill boards.


    The skill board cannot be used because using it requires experience from their previous world.


    Equal trade.


    God does not give power to indolent people.


    Next, even if the skill board can be used, Most of them have not cleared the ¡°requirements¡± for unlocking a skill.


    There are both kinds of people; those who did not want to get it but can, and those who want but could not acquire.


    How about the soul god just sent?


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s okay for that child to use the skill board. After that, he will pick only nesarry skills after careful deliberation.¡±


    If he bes aware of the essential skills, he will attain unprecedented power.


    How will that person change when he has that amount of power?


    Will he walk a proper life or stay towards insanity


    God is now looking forward to that humans choices.


    But there are more things that interest her.


    It is something that is sent along with him on his skill board.


    ¡°Do your best okay.¡±


    God took something out¡ªit looked like a bag of potato chips¡ªthen God started eating again.

 Chapter 2: New Body

    <h4>Chapter 2: New Body</h4>


    Born in a small vige, Lid was lying on his back under a cliff.


    Blood flows freely from his fractured skull due to the impact of falling from the cliff above him.


    The ground is dyed red after being soaked in Lid¡¯s blood.


    Far above, away from Lid¡¯s sight three people are standing. On top the cliff are three adult men from the same vige.


    Clement, Robert and Tuck.


    ¡°Ain¡¯t he d, he¡¯s gonna meet his parents?¡±


    ¡°He¡­he¡­¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s going to help that cursed brat! Die you little shit.¡±


    Looking down on Lid from the cliff, the adult men left with rotten smiles stered on their self-righteous faces.


    Lid no longer had strength to move his body. Standing up is impossible, he can¡¯t even lift any of his extremities.


    Blood is flowing from the back of his head and he¡¯s totally paralyzed. He¡¯s stuck on where he¡¯s lying, under the cliff from where he fell.


    The cliffs are very high. He¡¯ll never be able to climb even if he¡¯s not injured.


    ¡°If this is where I end, I should have done it¡­¡± (Lid)


    He should have killed.


    Lid wishes that he had killed the people who killed his father and mother.


    However, Lid can never avenge his parents.


    He doesn¡¯t even have the strength to y the enemy.


    As a result, Lid was knocked down by them and now injured and dying.


    ¡°¡­Ku¡± (Lid)


    Tears of regret and sorrow burst from Lid¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Daddy¡­Daddy!!¡± (Lid)


    As his tears dry, Lid the curtain closed on his short 16 years of living.


    ¡ð


    Toru opens his eyes as he regains conciousness.


    The white emptiness can¡¯t be seen, but now a vision of a cave fills his sight.


    ¡°This ce¡­¡± (Toru)


    His body aches, probably from lying on the bare rocky floor. As he raises his body on a sitting position, he touches the back of his head


    ¡°Hmm?¡± (Toru)


    Something sticky is covering his head and palm.


    He moves his hand toward his face, dreading what he might find. As he looks at his palm, he finds it covered in blood.


    ¡°Oh!¡± (Toru)


    Toru hurriedly touches the back of his head. However, there are no sign that a wound was anywhere there.


    ¡°I knew my body would be from a deceased person, but it is certainly surprising if theres blood when you wake up. So this person died from an injury, right? Is the injurypletely healed?¡± (Toru)


    It seems that the injury was healedpletely when Toru¡¯s soul was transferred.


    Well otherwise, his second life would have been over in seconds as soon as his soul is transferred. It would be an extremely short second life.


    ¡°Am I really in a different world?¡± (Toru)


    Toru stands up and scouts the area around him. His first impression is that he is on some sort of limestone cave.


    Toruis slightly disappointed. He thought that the scenery of a different world was vastly different from Earth.


    The appearance is not much different from that of the Japanese limestone caves he visited. There is no feeling ofing to another world.


    It was quite a disappointing reality, but then he noticed that the area was strangely bright. So he looked up at the source of the light.


    There.


    ¡°What is that?¡± (Toru)


    The tip of the stctite, which haspletely filled the ceiling, was dimly shining.


    Each one has the same amount of light as a firefly, but because there are countless stctites, the entire limestone cave shines as if it was illuminated.


    ¡°Oh. The stctites are emitting light naturally.¡± (Toru)


    Atst. Toru excitedly stands up and stares at the otherworldly scene that he found.


    However, the body does not move the way he expected.


    ¡°¡­Ah, that?¡± (Toru)


    About to fall again, Toru fixed his posture.


    The reason awkwardness of his motion is not because his body is difficult to move but the opposite.


    His body is moving too easily.


    The height is about the same, but have his skin has a very healthyplexion.


    The back of the hand is smooth without any wrinkles.


    ¡°Was I de-aged?¡± (Toru)


    Toru was moving his joints, from his shoulder to his arms. Everything was moving smoothly. Not as single awkward movement, nor is there strain in his muscles.


    He tried jumping to his as hard as he can. His body feels like it¡¯s floating.


    The performance ispletely different from that of Toru¡¯s original 32 year old body.


    When I flipped my shirt up, I saw a well-defined six-pack abs.


    As he feels his body with his very dexterous hands. There is only the feeling of well-defined muscles under firm skin.


    ¡°Oh, my body is in peak condition again¡­¡± (Toru)


    It¡¯s seems like waste to him.


    A sigh leaked voicing a mixture ofplex emotions that envy, joy, and regret.


    ¡°How old was this body¡¯s owner?¡± (Toru)


    While he was wondering, the number 16 appeared in his brain.


    It is the memory of the owner before Toru¡¯s soul is transferred. If that is the reality, Toru is now 16 years old again¡­


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Toru sighed once again.


    He feels depressed when he think that a child who is only half the his own age has just lost his life.


    ¡°¡­I will use this body and this new life with care.¡± (Toru)


    Toru gave a prayer of gratitude to the soul who would no longer be here.


    After praying, Toru immediately checks the power he received from the self-proimed god.


    ¡°But how can I summon that out?¡± (Toru)


    He tried to pray, but it doesn¡¯t appear.


    He raised his hand in front of him and breathed a little.


    ¡°Go!¡± (Toru)


    But it didn¡¯t work


    ¡°She said because I have a serious personality¡­!?¡± (Toru)


    Cold sweat runs through his new body.


    Toru now remembering his time on that white space, her recalled and said¡­


    ¡°-Skill board!¡± (Toru)


    Suddenly, a transparent te appeared suddenly and soundlessly in the empty space in front of him.


    Apparently the skill board is voice activated.


    ¡°That is good. It came out properly¡­¡± (Toru)


    Toru was relieved that it worked, that self-proimed God looked like she was fooling around..


    Refocusing, Toru confirms the details on the skill board.


    ¡ð Status


    Toru Minasuki


    Level: 1


    Race: Human ¨C upation: Hunter


    Rank: ¢ñ ¨C Skill points: 1000


    ¡°Hey. This was a body of a hunter. No wonder it¡¯s fit.¡± (Toru)


    Toru murmured at the upation column.


    Toru was an office worker in Japan. Of course, He was not a hunter. He doesn¡¯t have such skill or knowledge.


    In other words, this upation column seems to be calcted from physical data, not memory.


    Next, Toru looked at skill points.


    He believed that the skill points could be used to improve abilities.


    There is no confusion as it is amon system for RPG games.


    It¡¯s muchplex than that though.


    ¡°What does rank mean?¡± (Toru)


    Since there is I, it can be expected that there will be II and III. But that¡¯s it.


    (I don¡¯t even know if I is the highest or the lowest.) (Toru)


    ¡°There is no exnation even if you tap on it¡­¡± (Toru)


    (I touched the ranks with my fingertips, but the exnation did not appear either.) (Toru)


    In these cases, when you click on a skill or item in game, a description usually appears.


    This skill board doesn¡¯t seem to be designed to be user-friendly.


    ¡°I should probably ask that self-proimed God the next time we meet?¡± (Toru)


    The self-proimed God said they could meet in the future.


    (I have no idea what the conditions are for meeting, but I¡¯ll keep it in mind and remember to ask when we meet.) (Toru)


    Toru shifts to the next item in the board.


    Below rank and skill points, sets of passive and technique trees are visible. He tapped it to gain ess.


    ¡ðPassives


    [Complete Enhancement] [Body Enhancement] [Magic Enhancement] [Natural Recovery] [Enhanced Resistance] [Stamina¡¿¡¾Magic¡¿¡¾Strength¡¿¡¾Dexterity¡¿¡¾Agility¡¿¡¾Intelligence¡¿¡¾Luck] [Limit Break]


    ¡ðTechniques


    < Sword Art > < Spear Art > < Staff Combat > < Unarmed Combat > < Magic Art > < Training > < Methodology > < Detection > < Secret Maneuver > < Intimidate > < Provocation > < Intuition > < Language > < Poker Face > < Oration > < Incitement > < Conviction > < Concealment > < Animal Husbandry > < Cultivation > < Sewing > < Couture > < Jewelry Crafting > < Alchemy > < Metallurgy > < cksmith > < Various room > < Chant Revocation >¡­¡­


    ¡°Oh¡­ I have so many.¡±


    The released tree was packed with passive and technical skills. The basics are still on the screen. But the techniques doesn¡¯t end, no matter how much you scroll down.


    The tech tree seems to be lined up with all the things that can be called technique, old and modern.


    There are things that you can imagine such as < cultivation > and < sewing >, but some are hard to under stand.


    ¡°What should I pick?¡± (Toru)


    As a test, tap < Increased Night Vision >. Then, there was an item called ¡°storage¡± its function is hard to identify.


    Toru taps it. Then < Increased Night Vision > disappeared from the tree list.


    The missing < Increased Night Vision > was stored at the bottom of the tree in the newly created ¡°storage¡± section.


    ¡°So that¡¯s how it works, but it¡¯s a pain to sort out all this¡­¡± (Toru)


    (There are thousands in total. You have to tap each one to store them. If you do it properly, you can sort it out a little faster. However, it may store skills that I might need.)(Toru)


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll do it slowlyter.¡± (Toru)


    Giving up on storing the unnecessary skills at the moment, Toru will select necessary skills first.


    First is passive skills. Allocate everything here.


    Basic skills required different points depending on the type.


    For example, [Complete Enhancement] [Body Enhancement] [Resistance Enhancement] [Magic Enhancement]. It can be imagined that all three enhance the body.


    However, [Complete Enhancement] requires 100 points to raise by one level, whereas [Body Enhancement] [Magic Enhancement] requires only 10 points.


    ¡°Hmm, why is there a discrepancy?¡±

 Chapter 3: Testing the Skill Board

    <h4>Chapter 3: Testing the Skill Board</h4>


    As a test, Toru threw pebbles he found on the ground. Check the flight speed and increase [Strength] by 1.


    >>¡¾Complete Enhancement¡¿¡ú¡¾Complete Enhancement+1¡¿


    Toru picks up the pebbles again and throws them at full force.


    ¡°¡­Hmm?¡± (Toru)


    It doesn¡¯t seem to change much.


    Toru then made a jump. With the image of jumping up to the top of a cliff about 10 meters away, He pushed through with all his strength.


    However, Toru¡¯s jump didn¡¯t even reach a meter in height, let alone on the cliff.


    (It¡¯s about the same as when I first arrived here.)


    ¡°It looks like it hasn¡¯t changed at all. Why?¡± (Toru)


    At around level 1 the effect is too low and you can¡¯t feel any change.


    However, 100 points per level, I can¡¯t waste that many points to confirm the effect.


    Before conducting the experiment, Toru decided all the skills that seemed necessary.


    < Sword Art > < Magic Art >


    (I can¡¯t say for sure, but this world is likely to have a lighter view on life and death than Japan. It is essential to raise < Sword Art > and < Magic Art > to protect yourself.)


    Also, < Intuition > and < Thought Trace > are necessary to protect yourself. If they were just like Japan, they could die.


    < Language Comprehension > is the most necessary skill to live in this world. This has to be selected.


    After that, choose the skill considering desires and the benefits.


    (As I watched the skill carefully, I suddenly noticed something different.)


    ¡°¡­[Magic Sword]!¡± (Toru)


    Magic sword generally means a sword imbued with magic or special power.


    Generally speaking, it is a magical sword. On the other hand it can mean a demon¡¯s sword or a sword with a demonic skill.


    I don¡¯t know which it is and what it does, but it seems that you can get it on the skill board.


    [Magic Sword] requires 5 points to acquire.


    Although slightly higher than the average value of other skills but it cost less than [Complete Enhancement] and [Limit Break].


    ¡°It¡¯s really cool, but¡­ it¡¯s just my desire to acquire it talking.¡± (Toru)


    This is a skill board prepared by the self-proimed God.


    God often tests humans. Therefore, something may happen if I choose a wrong skill.


    ¡°But¡­Yeah, I really want to get the ¡°Magic Sword¡± skill.¡±


    Men are children at heart no matter how old they are. Weak to the idea of justice, legendary weapons, ultimate magic, and so on.


    It was Toru who resisted the temptation of [Magic Sword] for a while, but at the end he gave in and used skill points.


    ¡ð Status


    Toru Minasuki


    Level: 1


    Race: Human ¨C upation: Hunter ¡ú Magic Swordsman


    Rank: ¢ñ ¨C Skill points: 1000 ¡ú 0


    ¡ðPassives


    [Complete Enhancement + 5]


    [Body Enhancement + 5] [Magic Enhancement + 5]


    [Natural Recovery +5] [Enhanced Resistance +5] [Limit Break]


    [Stamina +5] [Magic +5]


    [Strength +5] [Dexterity +5]


    [Agility +5] [Intelligence +5] [Luck +5]


    ¡ðTechniques


    < Sword Art Lv4 > < Magic Art Lv4 >


    < Intuition Lv4 > < Intimidate Lv4 > < Thought Trace Lv4 >


    £¼Magic Grimoire LV4£¾£¼Chantless Casting LV4£¾


    < Language Comprehension Lv4 > < cksmith Lv4 >


    < Magic Sword Lv1 >


    Apparently, the acquired skills also affect the upation.


    The profession changed drastically as soon as I acquired < Sword Art > and < Magic Art >.


    Regarding [Limit Break], got me curious so acquired it anyway. This seems to be a good skill so I took it, just in case.


    Regarding the effect [Limit Break], I have no idea right now. When I tried to use it, nothing really happened to my body. There is no sign that my body became easier to move.


    ¡°I tried acquiring it because the name sounded amazing, but I guess it was a mistake.¡± (Toru)


    [Limit Break] is 100 points for each level up. At the moment, I can¡¯t really feel the effect of acquiring the skill.


    ¡°Hmm. It might have been nice to use the points to level up other skills and not [Limit Break].¡± (Toru)


    I am slightly regretting it, but I can¡¯t help what I chose.


    Toru stops himself from regretting.


    After acquiring my skills, I am now worrying about other things.


    First of all, is there a limit on the number of skills that can be acquired. The maximum number of the skills is unknown even the maximum level is unknown? No hint has appeared on the skill board.


    Next is the change in the number of points required to improve skills.


    For [Complete Enhancement] and [Natural Recovery], the number of points was the same regardless of how many times they were improved.


    However, for [Stamina] and < Sword Art >, level 1 is 1 point. Level 2 has 3 points. Level 3 was 6 points, and the required points gradually increased.


    Finally, the notation.


    The passive skill is ¡°+¡± notation, while the technique skill is ¡°Lv¡± notation.


    It¡¯s still unclear what the difference is or if there is any.


    ¡°I wish I had a little more exnation.¡± (Toru)


    The skill board is not really a user-friendly design.


    I want toin to the creator that the user¡¯s needs and wants are ignored.


    (I have to find a way to meet the self-proimed God.)


    So Toru swore in his heart.


    After allocating the points, it was the techniques that made him feel a big change in his capabilities.


    As soon as he raised the < sense >, he began to feel subtle changes that he could not feel before.


    he couldn¡¯t use < Magic > at this time.


    ¡°How can I be a magic swordsman even though I can¡¯t use magic?¡± (Toru)


    That¡¯s a perfectly normal question. However, it is such a mysterious effect because the skill board normally shows improvements when skills are acquired or enhanced.


    Not being able to fully utilize the skills is a problem, so I can¡¯t help butin on the skill board.


    It can be assumed that there are some special conditions or knowledge for using magic, but Toru, an Earthling, has never seen or used magic. There¡¯s no way around it.


    Needless to say I can not live here without <nguageprehension >.


    However, there is no one to talk to, so I can¡¯t make sure that <nguageprehension > is working correctly.


    ¡°It would be disappointing if <nguageprehension > wasn¡¯t a skill for conversing.¡± (Toru)


    It wouldn¡¯t be funny if he can¡¯tmunicate with any one in this world. He¡¯ll need to finds skills that help inmunicating if it doesn¡¯t work.


    < cksmithing > is apletely chosen because he wants it. Toru decided that he would like to make his own equipment using the skill.


    However, I have no idea when I can make my own equipment.


    Toru regrets that he might not have had to shake now.


    < Inventory > as a skill has the same function as the inventory of the game.


    If you focus and think about storing the pebbles in your hand, the pebbles will be stored using < Inventory >.


    When you want to take out from < Inventory >, just imagine what you want to take out and just think e out¡±.


    < Inventory > has the advantage that of carrying and storing a lot of items all at once.


    Whether or not Toru travels around the world in the future, it has the ability to raise his quality of life just by possessing it is the ability.


    And finally, [Magic Sword].


    [Magic Sword] can be leveled up. 5 points were needed to acquire [Magic Sword].


    On the other hand, 1000 points are needed to raise from Lv1 to Lv2.


    ¡°Is there a difference between 1 and 2?¡±


    Toru spectes that skill points may be acquired as the level increases. This is because most games that acquire skills use simr systems.


    However, how much should level would I need to raise before I could collect 1,000 points?


    There was a desire topare lv1 and lv2 magic swords, but rather than raising the level of [Magic Sword], the performance may be better if the passives and technique levels are raised.


    Raise the passive and technique level first, and if there are extra points, that¡¯s when I¡¯ll give it a try.


    There¡¯s still the problem on passive skills.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± (Toru)


    I tried to increase the basic skills as much as possible, but at the moment I can¡¯t feel any major physical change.


    I threw a stone while leveling it several times, but I could not confirm the increase in the stone throwing speed.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there a visible change when I raise my skill, is the skill limit 100?¡±


    It¡¯s good to try and improve myself with the special power of skill board, but I don¡¯t feel stronger. I¡¯m quite disappointed.


    ¡°Maybe the average person might already have acquired about +5 level in passives.¡±


    The skill board was only given by the self-proimed god and is likely to be a rare skill.


    Still, it is easy to guess that the skill items themselves areplicated. The proof is that there are really good skills.


    If even the skill seems simple, I am worried about the intention of the self-proimed god who mixed the < Increased Vision >.


    Aside from that, it is natural to think that skill boards are skills that allow you to visualize and distribute the passive skills and technical skills in the world.


    Then, there is a good chance to increase the skill without using the skill board. By practicing it will naturally increase.


    ¡°How strong are people in this world¡­ level 100?¡±


    Toru trembled with the overwhelming difference.


    Everything is different.


    But it¡¯s interesting.


    ¡°How nice¡± (Toru)


    Toru¡¯s lips formed a wry smile.


    Rather than living in a world where you know what you can do in the future, a world where you don¡¯t know what the future holds is many times more interesting.


    ¡°Lack of directions¡± is just the same as ¡°multiple destinations¡±.


    It was then that Toru was excited about his new life in a different world.


    Toru¡¯s < intuition > is telling something to him.


    At the same time, his hearing is picking up the sound of mozo¡­¡­mozo¡­¡­.


    ¡°¡­I don¡¯t think this is another person.¡±

 Chapter 4: Caterpillar?

    <h4>Chapter 4: Caterpir?</h4>


    The creature that can be grasped by <intuition> is obviously different from human.


    Toru began to prepare without any hesitation.


    From the back of the cave. A huge thing crawled from the ce where the light did not reach.


    "It''s too big for a regr caterpir..." (Toru)


    It looks like a caterpir, but it was dozens of times the size.


    If you don''t like insects, you will be shocked.


    "No way that all the insects in this world are huge... is it?"


    The world in which giant spiders and centipedes are rampant, and this world sure is mysterious.


    Toru can''t help hoping that there is no such world.


    The caterpir, which had been moving until then, responded to the pool of bloodon the ground.


    The blood shed by Toru''s body (previously the original owner).


    Crawling towards it and tasting the blood, then nced at Toru.


    "--!?" (Toru)


    My spine froze.


    Toru is back-stepping following his instincts.


    The mouth of a caterpir is beyond its the eyes and nose.


    Then the mouth of the caterpir cracked into three pieces, much like a chestnut in the harvest season.


    Countless fangs can be seen behind the mouth.


    If Toru was standing there, he would have had his second life finished prematurely.


    Of course, Toru didn''t actually have the power to avoid the opponent''s attack.


    He was only able to avoid the attack thanks to <intuition> and <thought trace>.


    "I''m d I have acquired my skills properly!" (Toru)


    (If I met this guy before I acquired my skills...) (Toru)


    Considering that, Toru''s cold sweat trickled along his back.


    The caterpir positioned itself, again ready to attack.


    But before being attacked by the caterpir.


    "Come on [Magic Sword]" (Toru)


    Toru was amazed.


    The [Magic Sword] that appeared is about 70 cm (2'' 3") long. It was a single-edged long sword with a width of 5-10 cm (2"-4") and a slight warp.


    The de is ck and there are red patterns in scattered along it.


    Raising a jet ck color that absorbs light, a murmur was heard inside the cave.


    The soundes from the caterpir.


    The body of the caterpir, which was about to attack, was strong.


    "-Shih!"


    His body moves towards the gap in the caterpirs defense.


    Toru moves his body using the <sword art> skill.


    Toru''s movements were so elegant that it seemed like he had always held a sword.


    Toru cuts the caterpir and escapes behind.


    With a single contact, Toru was shing the caterpir three times.


    Toru stopped himself.


    With the faint sound, the body of the caterpir was bisected and quartered.


    Atst, Toru rxed and lost his tension as a squelching sound echoed behind him.


    Looking back, the caterpir is divided into four parts.


    "Oufu"


    Inadvertently looking straight at the grotesque corpse, Toru nced away immediately.


    "This [magic sword] is amazing... I didn''t feel any resistance."


    Of course, thanks to the follow-up of <sword art> skills. Although I handled a sword for the first time, I was able to move without any difort.


    Toru is an amateur when ites to swordsmanship. Without skill, he couldn''t wield a de and would use the sword like a blunt weapon, or the sword would have missed.


    Toru confirms the feeling by holding and opening his hand.


    I''ve just transferred to another person''s body, and I can''t really grasp the feeling that this is my body. It felt like I was inside a dream.


    "I thought this was a dream." (Toru)


    It it was the truth, Toru didn''t fall into the hole, and Toru just fell asleep due to overwork and fell asleep on the street. When he woke up, he was in Tokyo and was forced to finish work tomorrow until night...


    He''ll surely be back on thest train tomorrow, and if it''ste not good enough, he will be staying at thepany.


    Most of the sry he got from his boss disappeared into his living expenses. Working like a ve, and wearing down his body and spirit.


    "-I''m d this is real!" (Toru)


    Looking at hell in the sight of Japan that he recalled, Toru''s life turned a 180.


    Toru has no lover, wife or children. The only thing that kept me connected to the earth was work.


    Once away from work, I realized that it wasn''t the ce I wanted to return to.


    "¡­¡­Yup"


    Clenching his fist, Toru nodded strongly.


    I can''t go back anymore.


    Then he''ll live here.


    Once he decided to do so, the first step he has to do is familiarize himself with his new body.


    The sound wasing from the back of the cave again--this time caterpirs were appearing in droves.


    Toru swings the [Magic Sword] and tilts his mouth.


    His back quivered and trembled with excitement.


    "Well, let''s have a little spar with you." (Toru)


    Muttering, Toru dived into therge group of caterpirs.


    With a big smile on his face.


    ¡ð


    How many caterpirs were there?


    Toru calmed down his rough breathing, and sprawled on the ground, which was moist with the worm''s body fluids.


    I stopped counting after the number of subdued caterpirs exceeded 10.


    From the back of the limestone cave, an unusual amount of caterpirs appeared.


    If he was a weak person like when he was on earth, he would be out of breath and crushed by a group of caterpirs.


    However, probably because this body is young, or because the body became lighter each time the caterpir was cut, it was possible to easily repel the swarm of caterpirs.


    "Hah...hah... I think I''ve be able to move to properly after a while?"


    Gradually, I was able to master my body, which was not my own.


    However, there are some discrepancies in recognition.


    They are about the same height, but haven''t got used to the differences in weight and limbs.


    It is simr to when you enter a small room, it seems that you will always bump into things.


    "...Speaking of which, there was a level in the status."


    Recalling that information, Toru called the skill board.


    Then,


    ¡ð Status


    Thor Minaski


    Level: 1 ¡ú 8


    Race: Human - upation: Magic Swordsman


    Rank: ¢ñ - Skill points: 0 ¡ú 70


    There were 7 levels up. Is this the reason why my body is lighter than before?


    Thanks to the level up, skill points were increasing.


    "Will the skill point increase by 10 points per level?"


    With this, there was a way of securing new skills.


    However, raising the level of [Magic Sword] to 2 is extremely difficult. Anyway, each level is increased by 10 points. In order to earn 1000 points, you have to increase your level to 100 without spending any points.


    I''ve killed a lot of caterpirs now and raised my level by 7. If I keep the same pace, I can reach level 100 by hunting 14 times as many caterpirs.


    However, it seems impossible. The true value hard to be determined as the experience value required for leveling up gradually increases. It is unlikely that you can easily earn points.


    "Really, what is level 100?"


    Level 100 is the summit when on a game.


    I didn''t think it was realistic for Toru, as he aimed to reach the top without spending any other skill.


    Unless the average level in this world is 100 and the level cap is actually higher, it will be a different story.


    If so, Toru would curse the god that dropped him into such a harsh world.


    "Is there another way to earn points?" (Toru)


    I have no way of knowing.


    Currently, Toru doesn''t know anything about this world or skill boards.


    "Okay" (Toru)


    After calming down himself, Tooru stood up and looked up at the cliff.


    It''s a pity that I''vee to this point and about to be starved to death.


    I must leave the cave before getting hungry and stuck.


    The closest exist is on the cliff.


    However, the cliff is is about 10 meters (32 - 33 ft) high.


    If you do not use this cliff, there is a possibility that there is another exit inside the cave.


    When ites to adventures, every boy gets excited.


    However, Toru didn''t feel like exploring the cave.


    Even if you go to the back of the cave, you will be blocked by the caterpirs, and above all he is sensing a bad premonition.


    Perhaps because Toru became more sensitive and <intuition> became more sensitive, Toru could feel the signs of danger.


    There was no sense in ignoring a nearby exit and proceeding to the depths where there was strong sense of dread.


    Toru turned turned towards the cliff.


    The cliff surface is smooth and there is very few ces to grab onto. It is a cliff that ordinary people cannot climb.


    If he we sh here and there with [Magic Sword], he may be able to climb with the footholds as if he was rock climbing.


    However, Toru dared to choose a different method.


    "Soo...!"


    He ran towards the cliff then kicked the face of the cliff, and jumped up.


    Despite slowing on the way, he kicks against the cliff surface and elerates again.


    Reaching out he grabbed the edge of the cliff and lifted his body.


    "Heave ho!"


    Toru climbed the cliff swiftly, with a slightly screaming voice.


    "I thought I could do it somehow, so I tried it, but I didn''t exactly climbed..."


    Toru was slightly suprised from physical abilities that cannot be considered normal on earth.


    The benefits of leveling up were higher than how Toru imagined.


    "But I suppose this might be normal in this world. Caterpirs were fine, but it might be dangerous if I encounter a ghost. Let''s I have toughen up!"


    Toru''s back, standing at the entrance to the limestone cave, trembled.


    It''s like when I was a kid, when I was swinging a folded umbre like a sword, or when I was wearing a jacket like a cloak and hanging it over my shoulder. Blood rushed through my body, as if I was posing in line with the heroes he''s seen on TV.


    --Beyond this, is a world you don''t know is waiting to be explored.


    What is there? What can I do?


    What kind of future is waiting?


    I can''t stand waiting or standing by imagining.


    Toru couldn''t stand the excitement and a wide smile filled his face.


    "Okay, I''ll do my best!!"


    With various expectations and hope, Toru took a step from the limestone cave to the outside world.?

 Chapter 5: Nameless village

    <h4>Chapter 5: Nameless vige</h4>


    Outside the cave was a deep forest.


    Toru instinctively breathed in the air to the dense scent of wood. He touch the trees that he could not see in the city he used to live in.


    The vegetation is overgrown and the visibility is rather poor.


    But Toru knows where he should go.


    ?


    It''s a weird feeling to know where you''re heading, even though it''s a foreign ce.


    "Is it the memory of the previous soul?" (Toru)


    The memory of the former owner was still faint.


    Toru tries to read the memory.


    The memory I could read was very little.


    It was almost full of holes and there was no consistency.


    When I read the memory patiently, tears suddenly spilled from my eyes.


    "Ah... what? What is this?" (Toru)


    Tears overflowed one after another, as if the faucet had broken.


    Toru himself is neither moved nor sad.


    The body responded to something in the memory.


    (To shed tears like this. What kind of sad person was the owner of this body...)


    Waiting for the tears to stop, Toru arranged the information found from his memory.


    First of all, this world must be called "Eargard".


    The owner of the body was named Lid.


    It turns out that Lid lived in a small rural vige without a name.


    And the reason why Lid died.


    Lid''s parents were already dead.


    Lid has lived alone since his parents were lost. Sometimes he helped farmers, but in many cases Lid hunted in the woods and forage there.


    Lid was isted in the vige.


    The cause of istion is his appearance.


    "...A cursed child?" (Toru)


    While muttering, Toru touched his bangs.


    The transparent hair was ck. Also, the eyes are ck although they are not visible to him.


    On the other hand, no one in the vige has dark eyes and hair.


    Just because they had different eyes and hair color from themselves, Lid was called a "cursed boy" and kept away from the vigers.


    I don''t feel like going to the vige as it is.


    However, Toru''s back is now covered with blood, and the fluid of the caterpir is also attached. I was even starting to feel a little hungry.


    Even if I leave this ce for another, I should change clothes and secure food.


    "Well, I''ll be going there!" (Toru)


    Life''s a game you have to win to be able tolive.


    Toru shoved all his fears under and headed for Lid''s estranged vige.


    The vige where Lid lived in is a ce that can be reached after 30 minutes walking on foot.


    Surrounded by simple fences, the vige was lined with twenty houses, surrounding arge house in the center.


    All the houses are made of wood and are so fragile that a strong person can break it with one tackle.


    The main product of the vige is wheat.


    Vigers live here and work on the farnd outside the vige.


    The men who are working are outside the vige. The ones remaining are women, children, and the elderly, whose limbs do not move.


    When everyone saw Toru, they looked like they bit something bitter and turned their eyes away.


    The vigers quickly returned to their houses to avoid Toru.


    Within a minute of entering the vige, every person disappeared from the visible area.


    "This is... terrible. Lid often worked here."


    Toru makes a prayer for Lid, who is no longer in the world.


    If Toru lives here, he decided to leave the vige within a week.


    Toru''s feet headed to Lid''s home without hesitation.


    When he entered the house that was more haphazardly made than the ones around it, hj=e noticed a single hook and a bow and arrow.


    There is no furniture, no bed.


    It''s like a vacant house, as there''s almost nothing but the basic needs are there.


    There was a piece of cloth in the corner of the house.


    All the pieces are connected. It''s pretty shabby for patchwork.


    Lid used this piece of cloth instead of a futon.


    "Lid...you should have lived well..."


    Unknowingly, my eyes tears-up a little bit.


    Toru headed to a well shared by the vigers with a bucket made of more patchwork than the original bucket.


    When Toru made his way to the well, the vigers who have reappeared outside run back into the house to escape.


    "On the contrary, their reactions are interesting..." (Toru)


    Will theye and go from their homes every time they see me approach or leave?


    It''s like a joke or a gag show.


    Toru drew water from the well a smallugh escaped from his lips at the ridiculouslyical image he imagined.


    I returned home, washed my body thoroughly with the water, and changed into new clothes.


    "Ah... refreshing" (Toru)


    The stickiness and tackiness I felt on my back disappeared. He felt so rxed and refreshed.


    I felt like I was alive again.


    Unfortunately, there was only one change of clothes.


    After staring at his bloody clothes for a while, he decided to leave them on.


    Lid was stockpiling meat because he lived on hunting.


    Take a piece of dried meat hung on the ceiling and took a bite.


    "Oh, the taste is decent. I want pepper alongside it if possible?"


    It tasted quite gamy, but it''s not bad.


    Toru bites the dried meat and throws the rest into his inventory.


    He also threw in the bow and arrows inside. Toru who has [Magic Sword] has no need for other weapons but Toru has no money. Of course, Lid didn''t also have any money.


    Money cannot be created from nothing. It might be terrible to Lid, but the weapon will be sold for cash.


    Even if the selling price is two coins or three , it is better than nothing.


    Having finished eating the dried meat, Toru looked around the whole house. Then he close his eyes and pray.


    Instead of praying for Lid.


    Toru put Lid''s thoughts into the prayer for the house and Lid''s parents who built it.


    "thank you for helping me" (Toru)


    ¡ð


    Clement returned from the field for lunch, and was frightened when he saw a familiar ck-haired ck-eyed boy.


    "...It''s a lie" (Clement)


    The boy was a viger here, a cursed child called Lid.


    He was also the man Clement and his colleagues pushed him this morning from the cliff of the limestone cave.


    It was about 10 meters high and it should have been a cliff impossible to climb.


    Besides, Lid''s head was broken by the impact of the fall.


    --At least as far as Clement saw, it was supposed to be a fatal wound.


    So why is Lid wandering around this ce?


    "Hey, is that Lid?"


    "Why is he alive..."


    Robert and Tuck returned with Clement shook their lips.


    "Isn''t he dead?"


    "Didn''t he fall from his head and bled-out?"


    "Oh, why is he alive...?"


    Clement and his buddies pushed Lid off the cliff because he was a cursed child.


    ck hair and ck eyes bring disaster to this vige. Yes, the vige head said.


    In fact, since the birth of the Lid, wheat yields have declined among the vigers. In addition, the number of times the vige is attacked by demons is increasing.


    As a matter of fact, Clements is ignorant and does not know whether the yield is really decreasing or the number of attacks by monsters is increasing.


    But if the chief says so, there is no need to doubt.


    What''s wrong with the vige is all Lid''s fault.


    If Lid is gone everything will be better.


    That was themon understanding of the vigers.


    Clement and others got up for the vige.


    First, they eliminated the parents of Lid, who gave birth to a cursed child.


    The crime of bringing the cursed child to the vige is great.


    Let Lid''s parents pay for that in blood and their death!


    Clement and three others lure his parents to a cave that is said to contain spirits, and thrust them off a cliff.


    Clement''s work on Lid''s parents quickly spread throughout the vige. But they didn''t receive any me.


    Because it''s for the vige.


    Justice is on their side.


    There is no mistake in their actions.


    Yes, Clement and others thought so.


    His parents were killed sessfully.


    After that, only the cursed child remains.


    Clement''s group also lured Lid in the same way then knocking them through the cliff.


    Lid was bleeding from his head.


    And they thought he was dead.


    However, he now reappears before Clement and others.


    "... after all that, he is truly cursed."


    Three of them muttered in a quivering voice.


    He won''t die even if they kill him. That possibility made Clement''s heart and soul freeze.


    "He''s a devil. It''s not good for him to live."


    "Oh, this time I will definitely kill you!"


    "Kill him and bring peace to the vige!"


    Clement''s mood waspletely that of a hero.


    But is there a brave man who finds in joy when killing?


    Is this really the right thing to do?


    Such a question was quickly wiped out by the "voice" rising from his heart.


    Clement and the like have set their eyes on the enemy.


    With bloodshot eyes they head for Lid''s house.


    The door was opened all at once, and the lid inside was attacked by three people.


    They lifted him up and headed towards the cave.


    "I have some work again from noon tomorrow. I''ll throw him away in the limestone cave."


    "Yes"


    "Oh"


    Robert and Tuck hold an unconscious Lid that, while Clement leads.


    ¨”Kill? ¨”Kill? ¨”Kill? ¨”Kill?


    "Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill"


    Such murmuring leaked from the drooling mouths of Clement and others who rushed to the limestone cave.


    But no one realizes what they are talking about.


    Rather than that, they were only thinking of making sure Lid is dead.


    Arriving in front of the limestone cave.


    All they have to do is drop Lid over the cliff.


    From behind Clement who was thinking of their next action,


    "I wonder what I''m going to do, it''s the same killing method. Don''t you people learn." (Toru)


    he heard Lid''s voice.

 Chapter 6: Soul Reaper

    <h4>Chapter 6: Soul Reaper</h4>


    Toru, who was about to leave the house, was suddenly beaten up by a trio of men who broke into his house.


    Not knowing what had happened, Toru was very confused.


    But the confusion soon subsided.


    This is because the men''s attacks didn''t hurt at all.


    He was shocked by the attack but the pain was just as painful as a baby''s pat.


    Toru, who knew he was not endangering his second life, calmly observed the other person.


    The man who broke into the house was a man in histe twenties to early thirties.


    His hair color is the same as that of the vigers, and his body looks stronger than that of Lid.


    Toru didn''t want to incite the other person so he asked the other person directly.


    (--Hie!?)


    Tohru took a breath as he looked at the men.


    Their eyes were bloodshot, and foam had umted in the corners of their mouths. The appearance is simr to a person possessed by a demon.


    The aura around them was strange.


    In fact, the Intuition skill felt that they had something not quite human in them.


    Lid''s memory tells us about the three-man group that was attacking Toru.


    They were vigers named Clement, Robert and Tuck.


    They are the people who killed Lid this morning.


    He is also one of the people who killed Lid''s parents.


    When Lid''s memory conveyed that, Toru''s brain was calm.


    But behind that calmness, < thought trace > begins to activate at high speed.


    (The reason why these guys are weird is that they are being manipted by someone?)


    Toru didn''t think they were ordinary vigers.


    There is magic in this world. Toru knows very little about what magic can and cannot do. However, it is thought that there may be "magic to manipte people."


    Therefore, Toru pretended to have fainted.


    Even if they continue to beat him like before, Toru will not die.


    So Toru let them proceed and observe what they are doing.


    If you want to kill with their weapon, he can just run away.


    But if they head for the person who uses "mind maniption magic"...


    Toru has to confirm it for Lid''s sake.


    The men are murmuring something.


    Toru was unnerved by their constant murmuring repeatedly saying ¡°kill¡± endlessly.


    (They''re being scary!)


    On the other hand, Toru feels ted that <nguageprehension > is working properly.


    He was worried if he could talk to the other party, but now his worry has been resolved.


    Toru''s first word from the people of Eargard is "Kill". He is feeling anxious about his future.


    The only thing left is whether or not the other person can talk normally.


    (Are these people able to make a decent conversation?)


    I could not help holding such concerns.


    After leaving for a while, Toru felt that he had returned to the limestone cave that he had just been on.


    (Why are they back...)


    Apparently Toru was just over thinking.


    They had no such instructions.


    They killed Lid and his parents at their own will.


    Discouraged by his disappointment, Toru quickly escaped from his restraint between Robert and Tuck.


    "I wonder what I''m going to do they are going to kill me again. I don''t ever learn." (Toru)


    "...Ah, eh?" (Clement)


    Hearing Toru''s voice, Clement turned around and lookedpletely astounded.


    "Oh, hey, Robert, Tuck! Lid is awake! Why didn''t you restrain him properly!!" (Clement)


    "Oh, I did! But when I realized it, he pulled away from my hand." (Robert)


    "Dude!" (Tuck)


    The sound of teeth clenching can be heard from Clement.


    "What do you feel good about Lid? There are three of us and you are alone. Even if you resist--"


    Clement is filled with murderous intent.


    The next moment.


    The figure of Robert next to Clement disappeared.


    "Wow!"


    ""-!?"


    Robert fell from a cliff.


    The head fell on the ground, making a smashing noise and his skull broke open.


    "One down, two to go."


    "...!"


    Clement had no idea what Lid did.


    But what happen seems that Lid probably kicked Robert off the cliff.


    However, Clement''s known Lid is by no means strong. He was a person who could be defeated easily if surrounded by three people as strong as Clement.


    A strong adult who has been trained in farm work.


    On the other hand Lid is just a boy who has never done farm work and had trouble eating.


    From amon sense point of view, the formershould be stronger.


    Therefore, Clement could not ept the fact.


    "What did you do?" (Clement)


    "What the hell did you do?" (Tuck)


    Lid looked at Clement.


    Clement''s body froze when he was stared down.


    There is no hate or murderous intent on Lid''s face.


    However, he was staring at Clement and Tuck as if they are not people.


    Perhaps I have touched some thing I shouldn''t have.


    But it was toote.


    While thinking about what to do, Tuck fell over the cliff.


    An unpleasant sound of smashing meat echoes in the limestone cave.


    The sound reverberates, but Clement keeps his eyes on Lid.


    "You cursed child...!" (Clement)


    "What? Should I die if my eyes and hair color are different from you?"


    Lid''s hand, which swung down, suddenly had a ck sword in his hand.


    Immediately after seeing the sword, Clement spine shivered due to an unknown fear.


    Don''t touch that.


    A "voice" in Clement''s head screamed at him to run away.


    "Then you who has a different color than me means that I can kill you?" (Toru)


    ¡¸¡­¡­¡­¡­¡¹


    Already, Clement''s throat was silenced.


    He was stunned and frozen by the overwhelming intimidation from the eyes of Lid.


    (What on earth am I facing...)


    If there is an evil god or a god of death in this world, I''m sure they would have such an eye.


    Overwhelming pressure deprived Clement of freedom.


    "Woooooooooooo!!" (Clement)


    However, Clement still raised his voice and desperately moved.


    The other party is not an evil or god of death.


    It''s Lid. It''s human.


    By any means, this guy can be killed.


    (Kill! Kill!)


    "Kill"


    "Break"


    "Dye everything in darkness"


    ording to the voice in his heart, Clement jumped at Lid.


    However,


    "Ah?" (Clement)


    Clement fell when he noticed the shock from his chest.


    Almost at the same time, the voice that filled his heart until now disappearedpletely.


    It''s as if he didn''t hear such a voice from the beginning.


    Clement crashed into the ground and looked up at the cliff, nearly fainting in pain.


    The figure of Lid looking down from the top of the cliff with his ck sword in hand made him look like apletely different person from the one he knew for some reason.


    ---------------------------------------------------------------


    Clement and others had an extraordinary murderous intent in their eyes.


    Toru fought against arge caterpir and was used to murderous intent to some extent. But their blood-lust was different. The blood-lust swirls in ckness as if it were not human.


    (Maybe all the people in this world are so dangerous?) (Toru)


    Toru was intimidated.


    ?


    If he was a weak person like when he was on the earth, he must have been frozen.


    On the other hand, an unfamiliar urge was born in Toru''s chest.


    The impulse is


    "What do you feel good about Lid? There are three of us and you are alone. Even if you resist--"


    With Clement''s words, an unidentified urge exploded.


    Toru left the impulse and kicked Clement and three others off the cliff.


    When kicking off, Toru also shed them with a [Magic Sword].


    This is to attract the caterpirs that are attracted by the smell of blood.


    However,


    "That''s weird. I should have cut them properly." (Toru)


    [Magic Sword], which Toru had swung through, shed the wrists of the three people as intended.


    There was a shing feeling.


    If Toru''s [Magic Sword] was working properly as a de, their wrists would have been cutoff from their bodies by this time.


    But their wrists were still on their bodies.


    The [Magic Sword] has passed through the body.


    "Why?" (Toru)


    Toru was a little confused.


    I shed the caterpirs a lot, but this never happened.


    "Hmm. Right." (Toru)


    Toru threw his doubts at ease.


    Although they could not be cut with the [Magic Sword], Robert''s head broke when dropped.


    From the cracked head, everything that shouldn''te out spreads-out.


    With this, Toru''s aim can be fully achieved.


    When Toru was is in Japan he has never seen a cracked head. Nevertheless, when I saw Robert''s head from the top of the cliff, I felt nothing.


    Ordinary people may look a little pale, but even that does not happen.


    Toru epts the discovery of a new side, as he was tolerant to harm.


    Clement, who fell under the cliff, was hardly injured, probably because he had a good ce tond on.


    However, the attitude changed from the previous one and he has calmed down.


    "Li, Lid... What is this all about?"


    Clement''s expression when he asked was as if he had lost his memory because of a bad ce to hit.


    The dark expression he wore before waspletely wiped out.


    Are you acting pitiful because your position has reversed? I thought so, but it seems not only that.


    (They more likely to get angry when pushed down by me)


    "Oi, Lid, answer me!" (Clement)


    "Clement, do you really not know why you are there?" (Toru)


    "I don''t know, I''m listening!" (Clement)


    "Hah. Clement doesn''t remember trying to kill me or actually pushing me off the cliff?" (Toru)


    ¡°That''s what we¡­¡­¡­? Why did we try to kill Lid!?¡± (Clement)


    The situation is strange. They don''t have the capacity to pretend.


    I was in a rush that I had forgotten about it.


    No matter how you think about it, the situation is strange.


    "Hmm...I was right." (Toru)


    However, Toru does not confirm their true motives here.


    It is true that they killed innocent Lid and his parents.


    And I tried to kill Toru.


    This is not earth. It''s a different world.


    There is now in which Toru has to save them.


    "Hmm, what is this sound. What is there?" (Clement)


    With a small noise, "Mozou...", arge swarm of caterpirs appeared from behind the cave.


    A barely conscious Tuck was stunned by the appearance of the caterpir.


    "Dude, is it a monster!!" (Tuck)


    Clement, on the other hand, hurriedly approached the cliff.


    "Lid, I beg of you, help me." (Clement)


    "Have you helped Lid in the past?" (Toru)


    "That is..." (Clement)


    "Lid just wanted to live. He has been trying to live without inconveniencing anyone. But you rejected him. You unterally made a decision and drop him over a cliff. You abused me, why should I help you?" (Toru)


    "So, why did you push us down? If you just wanted to live, you didn''t have to push us down!!" (Clement)


    "It''s not the line that a person who pushed the person who just tried to live should say. And--" (Toru)


    Toru let out the words inside of Lid''s chest.


    "Can you forgive the murderer who killed your parents?" (Toru)


    "... Gu!" (Clement)


    "I got the answer." (Toru)


    "Woooooo!!" (Clement)


    Clement started running towards the caterpir with a screaming voice.


    He made a fist and punched the caterpir.


    The force of the punch filled with muscr strength was spectacr.


    However,


    ¡¸¨D¨D What!?¡¹


    The skin of the caterpir resisted Clement''s punch.


    Without showing any difort, the caterpir aimed at Clement.


    The caterpir split the mouth in three and opened wide.


    "What the..." (Clement)


    The end was a moment.


    The worm bite off Cleman''s head in an instant.


    "Waaaaa!" (Tuck)


    Tuck panicked after Clement''s quick death. However, that scream also attracts the caterpir.


    Arge number of caterpirs appeared one after another from the back of the cave so they could be drawn by sound.


    "... still so much?" (Toru)


    Toru killed a lot of caterpirs, but it seems that he was still in the few. A overwhelming number of caterpirs were under the cliff in no time.


    "That, ke... Ah, ah, ah..." (Tuck)


    Tuck seeking for help is chewed from. Robert, whose head was broken, was also eaten away in no time.


    Clement''s body is gone. Only the bloodstain was left and disappeared in the belly of the caterpir.


    When their bodies were eaten none was left behind,


    "--!?"


    An unpleasant sign filled the space.


    Toru reflexively manifests and sets [Magic Sword].


    A caterpir appears again from the back of the cave.


    This time there is only one.


    But many timesrger than the others.


    "I think it''s a caterpir boss. If I leave it as it is, it mighte out." (Toru)


    At present, caterpirs cannot cross the cliff. But as the numbers increase, caterpirs pile up, eventually crossing a 10-meter wall-- a stampede.


    Once stampeding, nearby viges will definitely be destroyed.


    Toru doesn''t hate the vigers who didn''t hurt Lid directly.


    I don''t want to be involved again, but I don''t think I would die.


    I wanted to prevent the stampede if I could.


    However, Toru was unable to take any action.


    Toru''s "intuition" skill warns that he should never fight that caterpir.


    The caterpir''s parents carried the "food" that the children had secured. Then its eyes focus on Toru.


    Chew, swallow. The chewing sounds echoed inside the cave.


    At first nce, there are plenty of opportunities. But that is Toru''s judgment as an Earthling.


    Toru knows little about the strength of monsters and demons in Eargard.


    Ignorance makes you recklesss.


    Therefore, Toru obediently followed the voice of < intuition >, which is the power of this world.


    "But..." (Toru)


    There is no reason to overlook this.


    Toru jumped up.


    At that moment, the caterpir''s parents quickly looked up at Toru.


    Just as if it said, "If ites to me, I''ll eat it simr to the other party."


    --also.


    Toru seemed to be alert, and the caterpir parent was barely alert.


    While gazing at the parent caterpir, Toru uses [Magic Sword].


    after a moment,


    Shattering sound echoes.


    Several stctites on the ceiling began to fall all at once.


    """Eey!!""" (Toru)


    A stctite crushes a caterpir child. But it''s not enough.


    "More!!" (Toru)


    At the same time as before, he jumps again.


    Toru chops up the stctites one after another and smashes the caterpirs under the cliff.


    Around the fifty stctites that fell. Signs of living things diminished from under the cliff.


    "...Did I do that?" (Toru)


    Toru shook his head. Still not enough.


    Although it was faint, I felt a sign of a caterpir. I don''t know about the child, but the parent is definitely alive.


    Arge amount of stctite was cut off, which reduced the distance from the bottom to the top of the cliff. In this state, the caterpir wants to leave the cave earlier than Toru''s idea.


    So Toru left the cave and swung the [Magic Sword] toward the entrance.


    A roaring noise echoed and the ceiling at the entrance to the cave copsed.


    Now you can''te out easily.


    ¡¸¡­¡­¡­¡­¡¹


    Toru meditated in front of the copsed cave.


    "It might have been extra care-"


    ¨D¨DI killed the enemy you wanted.


    Yes, I prayed to Lid''s soul.


    ? Acquire 150 skill points


    ? Acquired the title [soul reaper]

 Chapter 7: Road to the Unknown

    <h4>Chapter 7: Road to the Unknown</h4>


    Before leaving the limestone cave, Toru recovered the fallen stctites.


    I''m pondering if it is possible to sell these at a reasonable price?


    "I wish I could sell it at a reasonable price." (Toru)


    A small amount of money will stabilize your future life.


    Whatever Toru is going to do in the future he has to find stability first.


    While throwing the stctites inside his inventory, Toru thought about the anomaly when he shed Clement and others.


    "Why did the sword slip through them at that time?" (Toru)


    Toru ced his finger against the de.


    Then the sword passed through Toru''s finger.


    "Oh!?" (Toru)


    I was afraid that I had cut myself, but when I looked closely, I found no cut on the finger.


    "...are humans unaffected by the de?" (Toru)


    There is a possibility.


    In the future, I should be careful when fighting with humans. It would be pitiful to only beg for forgiveness during such a situation.


    After collecting the stctites. Toru gathered up the mementos of Lid and headed to another city far from the vige.


    He''s heading towards a town of 10,000 people. In such a big city, there should be a ce where Toru can work.


    As I walked through the woods towards the city, I encountered a group of wild dogs.


    "" "Gururururu...""


    10 in total.


    A wild dog, which isrger than a Japanese dog and is covered in gray hair, bared its fangs.


    Even though he was threatened by 10 wild dogs, he didn''t feel any threat.


    If he had still been living in Japan he would have soiled his pants.


    It doesn''t happen because the < intuition > tells him that it''s just a dog, no threat at all.


    At the same time wanting to keep and pet the dog arises, but since the opponent is a wild dog it''s impossible.


    You don''t know the diseases it carries, so it''s better to stay away.


    "Should I practice a little?" (Toru)


    I''ve assigned skills on the skill board, but there are still techniques that I haven''t used properly at this point.


    Toru did his best and used one of them, < intimidation >.


    (I wish I could stop the movement of the wild dog to some extent)


    Toru uses < intimidation > to a group of wild dogs.


    The air in the forest changedpletely.


    Then,


    "" ""Hyayun!""""


    The wild dogs screamed all at once and fled into the woods.


    It''s like a child who looks at a ghost.


    "Ehhh..." (Toru)


    We were able to confirm the effect of < intimidation >.


    But Toru''s soulder


    "They didn''t have to go and scram quickly..." (Toru)


    No wild dog was able to be tamed.


    The escape of the frightened animals caused deep emotional damage to the animal-loving Toru.


    After driving away the wild dogs, Toru tries to activate magic while walking.


    But he still doesn''t know how, or if magic can be activated.


    "Fireball!" (Toru)


    I try to say such a magic name as a trial,


    ¡¸¡­¡­¡¹


    But nothing happens.


    Toru''s voice just echoed in the forest.


    ¡¸¡­¡­¡­¡­¡¹


    I''m embarrassed.


    Toru held his head in shame for a while.


    "Well, I don''t know anything about magic. I can''t help but make mistakes. But how do you activate it? It''s said that a strong image can help you circte your mana."


    Recalling the story of fantasy things that he often sees in Japan, Toru searches for mana and magic that circte in his body.


    But he doesn''t feel anything.


    In the first ce he doesn''t even know what mana is so he can''t find it.


    "Hmm?"


    Magic and "jutsu" are simr so that might help somehow.


    After trying various things, Toru wasn''t able to use magic after all.


    I''ve never been able to do it by myself. But if I can''t then I can''t help it.


    "I have to ask someone who seems to know magic... but before that." (Toru)


    Just in case, Toru summons the skill board.


    This is to confirm that he did apply skill points to < magic arts >" aftering to here.


    "Oh, the level is pretty high."


    ¡ð Status


    Toru Minasuki


    Level: 8¡ú15


    Race: Human Primary Job: Swordsman - Secondary Job: Mage


    Rank: ¢ñ - Skill points: 70 ¡ú 290


    (T/N-I think this should be the proper skill board)


    He leveled up seven times.


    "I didn''t mean that I went up just by killing the wild dog... I just escaped with just a bit of "intimidation." My experience level seems to be low, so I probably killed a lot of caterpirs in the copse of the limestone cave. I wonder if that''s the number of skill points I have increased!


    The number of skill points acquired up to level 8 was 10 points per level.


    However, from that point, 220 points have been added during the 7 increase in level. When converted per level increase, it is about 31 points, which is very weird.


    "Is there some pattern in gaining skill points. Is there any other acquisition condition?"


    I''ll think about it for a while, but I can''t see a theory that fits perfectly.


    "Hmm. Right, right." (Toru)


    There is no use in continuously thinking about things that you do not understand. I have to be positive that I was lucky enough to have the ability to survive.


    Suddenly, Toru waved his [Magic Sword].


    The big tree that [Magic Sword] touched, tilted without sound and fell down.


    Small tremors flowed as¡­¡­ the big tree fell into the forest floor.


    The birds, who were surprised by the sound, soared high in the sky.


    "Is the tree cut normally? I wonder if only humans can''t be cut by it." (Toru)


    Toru is convinced that because the performance of the sword is insane, it may be restricted to not be used against people.


    However, what can to be cut and what cannot be cut needs further rification.


    If the opponent''s attack slips through during thest minute of a fight, it could be fatal.


    "Well, it''s best not to be in that kind of situation."


    Toru cuts down arge tree to test it once again.


    It worked the first time so it may be a fluke. But it worked again so it''s might not be a fluke. I should test it some more.


    After carefully checking the [Sword] and bringing the fallen trees to the edge, Toru, who was satisfied, walked out of the forest.


    After clearing. There will be four houses built in the forest, and a mysterious space with vacant lots.


    At the end of the space, there were beautifully piled stacks ofrge trees.


    Is it a lumberjack''s joke or the sign of secret manuvers of a county?


    Those who enter the forest will be worried when they see this space, but that is a while away.


    Through the forest, searching eyes caught arge grasnd and a well used dirt road.


    "Is that a highway? What''s the name of the nearest town? Winris...No, Kinris...?"


    I managed to read traces of the memory left in my brain, but the name of the city was not there.


    When Lid was alive, he never remembered visiting the ce, so he doesn''t remember it.


    He can only remember the road.


    Toru goes on the highway, relying on Lid''s memory.


    "What kind of town is it?" (Toru)


    What kind of ce could it be? What kind of food is there? What kind of people are there...


    Imagining a city he hasn''t seen yet made Toru''s walk feelexciting.


    It was when I went down the highway for a while. Toru''s < intuition > tells him about the strong blood-lust in front.


    When I focused my eyes further, I saw a lot of small figures on the way along the forest.


    The memory of Lid whispered all at once.


    "Enemy" "Weak" "Escape"


    "Hmm?"


    Lid''s memory was so fragmented that Toru was having a hard time judging.


    If it''s an enemy and it''s the weak it is better to defeat it. However, the word to escape has also appeared.


    Should I fight or run away?


    While pondering his eyes caught sight of a human figure.


    There was one human in armor, surrounded by a group of "enemy".


    "--!!"


    The moment he saw that figure, the option to escape from Toru disappeared.


    Toru ran toward the group with all his might.


    At a speed that he have never felt before, Toru goes forward.


    The flowing scenery was hazy, and it quickly flowed backwards.


    As we approached the group, we could clearly see the "enemy".


    The "enemy" is scrawny with a height of about 1 meter, and the skin is green.


    It has the shape of a human child, but its face is ugly and does not appear to be very human.


    tI doesn''t wear anything, but every one has a weapon. From this, it can be seen that the "enemy" has a certain level of intelligence.


    The "enemy" that surrounds the person swung up the club he was holding towards the human in the center.


    There is no time to go.


    Toru instantly manifested [Magic Sword] and screamed.


    "Uooooooooo!!!" (Toru)


    The screaming exerts in a certain amount of < intimidation >.


    Toru''s < intimidation > froze the enemies.


    There was also an "enemy" who had fainted when hit by Toru''s < intimidation >.


    However, regardless of such a situation, Toru swung the [Magic Sword] with all his might.

 Chapter 8: Goblin Cleaning

    <h4>Chapter 8: Goblin Cleaning</h4>


    "I''m your opponent!" (Toru)


    I shouted loudly to get the attention of the "enemy".


    The "enemy" was shocked by the appearance of Toru who suddenly appeared.


    Then Toru shed at the "enemies" bisecting multiple of them at once.


    A squelching sound echoed and the remaining "enemies" started targeting me.


    "Gega Ga!!" ("Enemy")


    The "enemies" view Toru as the enemy with the highest priority to subdue. The flock of the "enemies" murmurs amongst themselves.


    "Ki, you..." (adventurer)


    I heard a high pitched voice from behind.


    When I turned around, a swordsman holding a long sword was looking at Toru was on guard.


    It is no surprise she''s vignt especially when someone came swinging their weapon.


    Toru thinks so and speaks with a gentle voice.


    "Can you protect yourself?" (Toru)


    "Oh, yeah" (adventurer)


    "I will defeat as much as I can, so please fight "enemy" over there." (Toru)


    "Wait, wait! You are--" (adventurer)


    Toru didn''t get to finish what the swordsman said, but instead headed straight to the "enemies".


    From the feeling that he had to escape his "enemy" earlier, Toru found that he was never going to lose to the "enemy."


    As Lid remembered, "weakest".


    Then, why can he fight against a crowd of them?


    How good is his strength?


    With that thought in mind, Toru swung the [Magic Sword] with all his might.


    --Swoosh.


    [Magic Sword] soundlessly cut through the body of the "enemy".


    The blood from the "enemy" spurted through the air.


    The blown blood was mixed in the air had tuned into a drizzle of red.


    You can''t stop by just cutting one.


    He cut two. And then three, and more "enemies" beyond that.


    Ssh. Warm "something" kept sshing over him.


    Without confirming anything, Toru keeps swinging his [Magic Sword].


    Did the "enemies" think that Toru was too dangerous? The "enemies" change change their target to the other swordsman.


    The "enemies" started to pass through Toru.


    "Uoooooo!!" (Toru)


    Once again he used <intimidation>.


    Toru interfered with the actions of the ¡°enemy¡±.


    shing, thrusting, Cutting and kicking.


    Avoiding, counter-attacks, and severing.


    As he quickly shed the nearest he kicked the pebbles on the ground targeting the farther ones.


    The "enemies" hit by the pebbles rolled all-over the ce with pain-filled grimace.


    His body moved ording to Toru''s imagination, and even performed beyond his imagination.


    Only with his will to fight, the blurring body defeats the "enemy".


    When he swung the [Magic Sword] to the enemy on the right side, Another enemy was nking him.


    Toru''s body responds calmly to the attack.


    Looking at the moment when he swung up, Toru grabbed his "enemy''s" hand with his free hand.


    Toru is not putting much effort into it, but the hands of the "enemies" suddenly stop.


    The attack never gained momentum and can be thwarted by little force. Toru was able to judge the best timing only because of intuition.


    Toru turns around without waiting for the ¡°enemy¡± to react. He cut off the neck with the [Magic Sword].


    His body is feels like it''s burning with heat.


    "Haha!" (Toru)


    Toruughed during the battle.


    It was fun and unbelievable that hisy body could move as he wished.


    Toru is using his own hands to take another creature''s life.


    However, there was no aversion or pity.


    This is another world, Earguard.


    Surrounded by a group of "enemy", his own life is more important your life will be lost if you fool around.


    Now it''s either to take life or have your own be deprived.


    sh, poke, kick.


    Take life one after another.


    "Ha ha ha ha ha!!" (Toru)


    Breaking through the limits of concentration.


    Adrenaline creates pleasure.


    (More and more)


    Toruughed.


    Whileughing, he kept defeating the "enemy".


    ¡ð


    Surrounded by a horde of goblins, the adventurer Esther didn''t know if she can believe the sight in front of her.


    In front of her, an unfamiliar boy is fighting against a horde of goblins.


    The boy''s ability was overwhelming.


    If it''s a goblin, it''s going to be killed. Kill every goblin in sight.


    The request Esther received at the Adventurer''s Guild this time was a goblin subjugation within the forest.


    It is a standard request for E ranks that can be cleared by defeating 5 targets.


    Among the subjugation requests received by the Adventurer''s Guild, Goblins are low ranked for the lowest and second lowest ranks of adventurer.


    It may be called the weakest monster, but it is also a monster that bes a hurdle for those who experience subjugation for the first time.


    goblins have the habit of forming a horde and is a little bit more intelligent.


    Although it is smaller than humans, it can definitely fight back.


    Nheless, Esther has some abilities.


    She was capable enough to defeat a few goblins.


    However, something unexpected happened this time.


    At the request, it only said to "subdue 5 goblins along the highway," but when she came to the location, countless goblins upied the highway.


    I came across a horde, but I''m not going down without a fight. Esther searches for an escape route while cutting down a goblin that approached carelessly with her sword.


    However, some goblins threw rocks at her.


    "Kuh..." (Esther)


    The thrown stone hit her body, and Esther moaned in pain.


    Although the damage was small, it was powerful enough to chip away her physical strength.


    Estelle''s chance of escaping steadily dwindled, and she was surroundedpletely surrounded before she reached the city.


    As she was surrounded by goblins, she begun to realize that she would never live after this.


    Esther is an adventurer. She knows she can lose her life. Though she is thinking of fighting until the moment when her life is exhausted.


    However, her body still trembled with fear.


    The goblin lifted the club in his hand.


    But the next moment.


    A boy who suddenly appeared and cuts off several goblins in an instant.


    ¡¸¨D¨D What happend!?¡¹


    You can usually defeat a small group of goblins when you are an E rank adventurer. However, if you want to subdue this much alone, you must have at least D rank.


    However, Esther didn''t remember a D-rank adventurer who could do so much.


    "This boy is..." (Esther)


    His movement when swinging a sword is a beautiful in a word. He is swinging his sword as if he was dancing.


    There is no sign of a goblinnding a hit. It is looks impossible for goblins tond one, especially for a low intelligence goblin.


    Esther has the pride of being a swordsman.


    But even Esther couldn''t imagine a future she could fight him.


    Simr to his skill, the sword he holds is also strange.


    The curved ck and white de with a red pattern is quite rare in this area.


    The sword boasted extraordinary sharpness.


    When the long sword was swung, it cut the goblin''s body silently.


    On the other hand, Esther''s sword always produces a sound when shing.


    That''s because Esther''s sword is a type of weapon that hacks.


    Even with the same "sh", the results were totally different between Esther and the boy.


    "Wow!?-Wow!" (Esther)


    Not when she is fascinated by his skill. Esther shed and pushed away the goblin that had inadvertently sneaked up to her.


    The cross section of the goblin cut by Esther is crushed. This is a normal wound.


    On the other hand, the boy''s sword is cuts so beautifully that the bisected parts are like puzzle pieces.


    "...Wow" (Esther)


    Was the only word that came out of Esther''s mouth.


    She couldn''t find any other words to describe him.


    ¡ð


    When thest "enemy" who was trying to escape into the forest was cut and died, Toru''s concentration was back to normal.


    "Hah...hah...fuh" (Toru)


    When I took a deep breath, my breath quickly adjusted. Thanks to the skill <Natural Recovery>.


    Toru has always been able to keep fighting with all his strength because the <Natural Recovery> skill was able to recover his declining physical strength continuously.


    Without this, Toru would have been out of breath and had been crushed by the hordes of "enemy".


    He fought and was surrounded by the "enemy", but he didn''t even get a scratch.


    This is due to the fact that <Intuition> keeps track of the position of "enemy" and <Thought eleration> that quickly processes the obtained information. (T/N - I''m changing <Thought Trace> to <Thought eleration>


    "I was only trying the skill acquiring, but after acquiring it was the correct choice."


    There was a sea of ??blood.


    Blood and offal are mixed together and there is no ce not soaked by blood.


    When the wind blew, the smell of blood and offal scattered.


    The word "grotesque" is appropriate, but since Toru was like this after winning, he doesn''t mind.


    Toru erases the [Magic Sword] and wipes the blood of the "enemy" stered on his face.


    Then he remembered something.


    "Speaking of which, there was someone here." (Toru)


    Because I was so concentrated fighting, Ipletely forgot that there was someone I needed to help.


    ?


    "Are you okay?" (Toru)

 Chapter 9: A woman named Esther

    <h4>Chapter 9: A woman named Esther</h4>


    I knew by intuition that the other person wasn''t hurt. But just in case, Toru asked.


    "Okay, okay. Uh, are you alright?" (Toru)


    "I''m fine. Oh no..." (Esther)


    Toru, whose begun to rxed, frowned.


    "Something wrong?" (Toru)


    "The blood doesn''t look like it can be washed off." (Esther)


    It''s not just the blood of the enemy. Body fluids and internal organs were sticking to her body, giving off a very bad odor.


    It may not be possible to remove the odor no matter how much you wash your clothes.


    The swordsman smiled at Toru who frowned.


    "I will pay for my clothes. Thank you so much." (Esther)


    The swordsman bowed his head in a beautiful motion. It was a graceful bow that you would never see in Japan.


    Toru was slightly surprised when her face rose.


    I didn''t notice it because the breast te covered her chest, but the swordsman was a woman.


    Toru observes the other person but tries not to look rude.


    Long golden hair is tied together in the back of the head.


    Nine of the ten people will turn their heads after she passes-by.


    This is the first time Toru saw a woman dressed as a swordsman other than cosy. However, I don''t feel the disconnected atmosphere like in cosy.


    The sword and armor had a good feel and were well suited to her body.


    "I''m Esther"


    "I''m Toru. Minasuki Toru. Or you can call me Toru Minasuki?"


    "Toru Minasuki, I''m an adventurer in Finlis, but I''m sorry to say that I haven''t seen your face. Which guild are you from? (Esther)


    ¡°Adventurer..." (Toru)


    "Hmm?" (Esther)


    "Nothing just thinking." (Toru)


    Toru shakes his head. Adventurers are a ssic fantasy profession. In the story, the adventurer guild deals with various tasks from chores to subjugation of demons.


    Is this world the same?


    "I''m not an adventurer" (Toru)


    "You''re not an adventurer? (Esther)


    Esther, who had always thought of him being a renowned adventurer, was surprised by Toru''s words.


    Then is Toru a knight?


    Even if he is said to be a knight in some territory, he is quite a mysterious man.


    Toru opened his mouth before Esther asked again.


    "I''m just an average person," (Toru)


    "eh?" (Esther)


    "eh?" (Toru)


    If Toru''s ability to easily wipe out goblins is at an ordinary level. demons have been exterminated from this world.


    Is this a situation where I can''t say who I really am?


    Esther cautiously spoke her next words.


    "Are you really an ordinary person...?" (Esther)


    "Yes, I suppose. Should an ordinary person defeating this much enemy, he could be charged with murder!" (Toru)


    "Heh?" (Esther)


    "...Hmm?" (Toru)


    (I thought I would get charged with murder for killing...)


    From the reaction of the Esther, it seems unlikely.


    I feel that the story is notplete, but Toru does not understand the cause.


    For now, if he''s not guilty for defeating a human-looking "enemy", that''s fine.


    Toru changed to another topic.


    "Is Esther-san from the Finlis town?" (Toru)


    "Ester is fine" (Esther)


    "No, as expected..." (Toru)


    Lid was 16 years old. Toru''s mental age is younger than 32, butpared to Lid''s age, Esther seems to be older.


    I thought it was rude that I didn''t attach -san.


    But Esther shakes her head.


    "It''s just that I speak in formally. I don''t have an aristocratic position. I''m just an adventurer. I want you to talk more casually."


    Is this one of the cultures in this world? For the time being I should follow her towards the town. Toru decided to follow her words.


    "Okay... I see. I want you to call me Toru too." (Toru)


    "Oh, I understand. I''m from another ce, but I''m currently working in Finlis." (Esther)


    "That''s right. Well then, can you take me to Finlis? I just came to this country so I didn''t know the way." (Toru)


    "Of course! You defeated all these goblins." (Esther)


    "Wow. This is a goblin." (Toru)


    I know the name, but this is the first time to see the real thing.


    Toru frowned at the former goblins scattered on the ground.


    "No way, did you kill it without knowing it?" (Esther)


    "Yeah, because I thought it was an enemy." (Toru)


    "It''s a right decision." (Esther)


    ?


    Esther nodded with a smile.


    "In return, I''ll get the reward from the guild for the defeated Goblins. Then I''ll give it to you... No, Thor. Pleasee with to Finlis." (Esther)


    "You don''t have to give it to me." (Toru)


    "No! I was surrounded by goblins and I could have died. I have to do something to show my gratitudes." (Esther)


    "Is that so?" (Toru)


    (It would be enough just taking me to Finlis...)


    I thought so, but Toru decided to ept her words.


    After all, it''s been less than a day since I came to this world. People who can give reliable information are valuable.


    Esther has been cutting off the goblins'' ear as proof to the guild then throwing it into the bag.


    After cutting off all the ears, they threw the goblin corpses into the woods. This is because if left unattended on the highway, monsters that prey on goblins may get attracted.


    "Even this kind of creature can be eaten." (Toru)


    "Oh, you can''t eat most monsters, but there are some that I can eat. Well, I think it''s okay because it''s a monster that''s not in a shallow forest, but it''s a problem with something." (Esther)


    While talking to Esther, Toru carries the goblin to the forest.


    With the current power of Toru, you can easily carry any number of goblins.


    However, because of the stink of the blood and other fluids he doesn''t feel like holding a lot.


    Esther was stunned watching Toru. He was throwing a goblin into the woods while avoiding body contact to the corpse.


    (No matter if it''s a monster, wasn''t it bad to handle a corpse roughly?) (Toru)


    Esther was stunned, but he doesn''t me her. Then, passing through the surprised appearance of Esther, Toru threw corpses one after another into the forest.


    If you can''t afford it, you can just throw it away in the opening of the forest. However, it has a bad odor.


    Furthermore, I am concerned about infectious diseases.


    I added some points into <Resistance>, but I don''t know the effect it has.


    Torupleted the process as quickly as possible without touching blood or offal.


    The sun had already been dyed orange due to the long cleanup time.


    Toru was fascinated for a while because of the big sunset that he could not see in Japanese cities.


    "Hey Esther. How long does it take to walk to Finlis?" (Toru)


    "It takes about an hour... but Finlis''s main gate is closed when the sun goes down." (Esther)


    "We have to be inside before the main gate closes, Right?"


    "That''s right. If we run, we may be in time. Toru, I''m sorry, can we hurry a little?" (Esther)


    "Okay, then please lead the way." (Toru)


    "Leave it to me" (Esther)


    After saying that, Esther started running.


    She is an adventurer. Toru gets ready because she may be faster than himself. However, contrary to his imagination, Esther''s speed was simr to a light jog.


    (This is a good pace. I can follow this) (Toru)


    Looking at the swaying ponytail, Toru ran closely behind Esther.


    "Hey Esther. Can anyone be an adventurer?" (Toru)


    "Ah. Anyone can be an adventurer as long as they have notmitted any sin."


    Toru was confused by the word sin. Maybe he hasmitted one after Clement and the other two fell of the cliff.


    (I think it''s alright...) (Toru)


    It hasn''t been found by anyone yet, but if it doesn''t work, I can find another way.


    Toru thinks positively, saying that there are many ways to work if he can''t be an adventurer.


    In order to live in the future, I have to have a job on hand.


    If I can''t be an adventurer, I can rely on my<cksmith> skills and be a cksmith.


    If that doesn''t work-there is a skill board at hand. No matter what kind of work I do, if I improve my skills, I should be able to work better than starting from nothing.


    Esther was in quite a hurry while Toru was thinking about his future.


    (Toru has a lot of physical strength.)


    At first, Esther was running without leaving Toru behind. However, because Toru had plenty of room, Esther increased her running speed.


    Now she is running at full strength.


    Still, Toru was running with such a rxed face that he might even start humming.


    Esther couldn''t believe he was an ordinary person.


    Esther initially thought that he was a knight who is wearing a disguise.


    But her conversation with him made her think differently.


    No matter how new a knight is, everyone knows what a goblin is. Let alone make a misunderstanding that "the general public must not defeat a goblin."


    (Really, who is Toru?)


    Esther rushed to Finlis, breathlessly and trying to figure out Toru''s identity.

 Chapter 10: Towards the town of Finlis

    <h4>Chapter 10: Towards the town of Finlis</h4>


    We arrived in Finlis shortly before the sun went down.


    Heading towards the entrance slipping in at thest minute.


    "Esther, I thought you wouldn''te back today." (Guard)


    ?


    A man who seems to be a guard standing at the gate spoke to Esther in a light tone.


    "Hah... huh... I was about to give up thinking that I could make it in time." (Esther)


    "I''ve been running for a long time... What did you fight? You look tired. What happened?" (Guard)


    "A lot of goblins" (Esther)


    "Did you kill them all?" (Guard)


    "I did" (Esther)


    "Really? Ester?!" (Guard)


    The guard opened his eyes to Esther''s words. He didn''t think Esther would lose likes of a goblin.


    (I guess Esther is such a strong adventurer)


    The reason sheg behind the goblins this time is because the opponent was a horde.


    Quantity overwhelms quality. It''s the same whether it''s the Earth or Eargard.


    "What happened?" (Guard)


    "Hey, can you let us in first? We are a bit tired." (Esther)


    "Oh, I didn''t notice it. Then show me your guild card." (Guard)


    Esther put her hand from the side of the iron breastte and took out a business card-sized silver card from the inside.


    "You are confirmed. Who is that?" (Guard)


    "Yes. This is Toru, but he doesn''t belong in any guild. Toru do you have anything to prove your identity?" (Esther)


    "I came out of an unnamed vige with just my clothes, so what can I use as proof?" (Toru)


    "If you don''t have a certificate of identity, you''ll have to pay a toll." (Guard)


    Saying that, the guard reached out.


    I understand that the gesture means pay one big coin.


    But now, Toru is poor and homeless.


    (If you can''t pay the toll, where do I go? Isn''t this bad?)


    Cold sweat starts to bead on his face. Whether or not she knew the inner feelings of Toru, Esther dropped arge copper coin into the hand of a guard.


    "A big copper coin is just right. OK, you can go through." (Toru)


    The guard sps a copper coin and opens the way.


    Seeing Esther entering the gate quickly, Toru hurriedly followed.


    "Oh¡­¡­" (Toru)


    Looking at the cityscape of Finlis, Toru suddenly eximed.


    Immediately after entering the gate, two-story wooden houses were lined up all the way to the back.


    Perhaps thew stiptes that the exterior walls are painted white and the roof is all red.


    The road is lined with stones. On the side of the road was a gutter for rainwater.


    (The level of culture is quite high...) (Toru)


    Toru, who had imagined medieval Europe, turned his eyes to Finlis''s high level of technology.


    The main street was full of energy.


    Stalls are lined up along the street, and the shop owners speak out to attract customers.


    Finlis'' people are crowded in front of a stall with colorful vegetables and cooked dishes on a tter.


    From somewhere, there was a good smell of grilled meat and fat.


    (I want to see all of it! I want to eat and walk around!!) (Toru)


    Toru was curious as to what kind of food was lined up and what kind of food was avable.


    However, if he is moving all over the ce, Esther will be troubled.


    Torupletely suppressed his curiosity.


    "Ester. About the toll I''ll return itter." (Toru)


    "Don''t worry. It is not much." (Esther)


    "Is that so?" (Toru)


    Toru tilts his neck.


    "Oh, by the way, you said that Toru was from the countryside. Have you never seen money?" (Esther)


    "Um..." (Toru)


    Toru hasn''t seen the money of this world yet. However, if he talk about it, she may find out that Toru is not a resident of this world.


    Toru carefully opened his mouth.


    "That is... I haven''t seen any money yet." (Toru)


    "Well, if you live in a small vige, you rarely spend money. It''s not strange to not be able to see one." (Esther)


    "...Oh, right. That''s right." (Toru)


    That was good. She didn''t think it was strange.


    Toru rubs his chest in relief.


    "Hey Esther. Where is the Adventurer''s Guild?" (Toru)


    "It''s a little further away." (Esther)


    "Then you can tell me a little about money while we walk?" (Toru)


    "Understood" (Esther)


    Support the trantor onzytrantions.weebly


    Esther nodded and took out the purse bag through the gap of the breastte.


    She took out three coins from the inside and ced them in the palm of her hand.


    "The unit of money is Garde. one Garde is one small copper coin, ten Garde for onerge copper, and a hundred Garde for one silver. On top of this, there are ten thousand Garde per gold coins and one million Garde per tinum coins. Unless you are an aristocrat, you will not use thest two. There are other bills as well, but that is mainly for children''s use and it is not worth any." (Ether)


    "I see. What can one copper coin buy?" (Toru)


    "If it''s 1 garde, you can buy just one meat skewer there." (Esther)


    In front of Esther''s line of sight was a food stall. On the signboard of the stall, Toru was written in a character he had never seen, "one meat skewer, one copper coin."


    (Oh, the < Language Comprehension > skill can be used not only conversations but also letters.)


    < Language Comprehension > I feel the usefulness of the skill.


    The meat skewer looks like a yakitori. If this is the normal size, it can be finished in just three bites.


    (In that case, 1 garde is about 100 yen)


    100 yen for copper coins and 1000 yen forrge copper coins. The silver coin was 10,000 yen, and Toru understood the mary value of Eargard.


    The money that amoner needs for one month''s life starts at around 5 silver coins.


    Weapons must be at least 10 silver coins.


    Clothes start from 3 copper coins for used clothes, and 1 silver coin for new ones.


    I was walking while listening to the prices of this world from Esther, I suddenly looked up at arge building.


    A building made of stone and wood with a triangr roof attracted his attention.


    "Hey Esther, what is that building?" (Toru)


    "That''s a Forcelian church." (Esther)


    "Hee..." (Toru)


    (Is there a religion in this world?...Maybe that self-proimed god was called Forcels?) (Toru)


    Toru looked at the roof seriously.


    I looked for clues that could connect to that god, but I could not find any simrities.


    "Is Toru a follower of Forcelism?" (Esther)


    "No, no." (Toru)


    Maybe, I should look in Lid''s memories.


    It seems that Lid was not a believer, as there was no reaction when he asked Lid''s memory.


    "So, another god?" (Esther)


    "Eh?" (Toru)


    "Hey, the blessing and majesty of the six pirs in Earlgard haven''t even reached the vige of Toru." (Esther)


    Toru''s reaction made Esther snort.


    After a while, I found a building on the main street that was a little bigger than the surroundings.


    "We''ve arrived Toru. This is the Finlis Adventurer''s Guild." (Esther)


    "It''s pretty big." (Toru)


    The Finlis Adventurer''s Guild was about the size of a concert hall.


    The first floor is made of stone and the second floor is made of wood, making it more luxurious than other buildings.


    "Finlis is thergest city in the area. Inevitably, there are many adventurers and requests. We need this huge building to handle everything." (Esther)


    While they were talking, Esther enters the Adventurer''s Guild.


    Toru also stepped into the adventurer''s guild, while looking at Esther''s ponytails swinging happily.


    "Oh" (Toru)


    The first floor of the Adventurer''s Guild was like the front of a hotel. There was a reception counter, and there was a bulletin board where requests were posted.


    There was also a bar in a ce away from the counter. There was a glimpse of the adventurers who had already started eating.


    (After all, an adventurer is a bar)


    While peeking around the bar, the adventurers at the bar opened their eyes as they saw Toru. Some of them are spitting out the alcohol they drank.


    Toru sees the adventurers as they walk and walks behind Esther.


    "Oh, Esther, weee home." (Receptionist)


    When we arrived at the counter, the guild receptionist smiled with a smile.


    For the adventurers who haspleted the killing subjugation request, this smile must be a reward. It was a flower like woman.


    "... Esther, who is that?" (Receptionist)


    Receptionist Marie desperately fixes her face in front of Esther who appears.


    It has been several years since I became a receptionist. Mary has observed various adventurers.


    From that experience, you can understand the ability of the other person just by looking at it.


    Marie saw boy apanied by the new adventurer Esther, apparently, had a strong man''s aura.


    Marie, who has no fighting power, seems to have her hips about gave way because of the blood rushing out.


    Although not shown in her expression, her legs arepletely trembling.


    "Oh, hey. Ipleted the request, but there was a problem." (Esther)


    "problem¡­¡­" (Marie the receptionist)


    What happened?


    Is it a lot of deaths? Is it a mass murder?


    Mary was confused.


    However, her turmoil is hidden by her pride as a receptionist.


    "...Is that child involved?" (Marie)


    "No, actually-" (Esther)


    "Oh, Esther-san. It was a quick return." (Male voice)


    After obstructing the words of Esther who was trying to exin, a tenacious male voice was heard from the back of the counter.

 Chapter 11: Ups and Downs in the Adventurer’s Guild

    <h4>Chapter 11: Ups and Downs in the Adventurer''s Guild</h4>


    The man steadily walked over and gazed at Esther.


    He called Esther "Esther-san", but she knew that he didn''t respect her at all.


    "Was the requested goblins subdued?" (Creepy Guy)


    "Of course. However, there was a big difference between the requested content and the actual number of goblins." (Esther)


    "well well¡­¡­" (Creepy Guy)


    The man turned to Toru there.


    At the moment when the eyes turned to Toru. His skin crawled like cockroaches were walking over his spine.


    "Who is that boy?" (Creepy Guy)


    "He''s Toru. He got involved in subjugating the goblins." (Esther)


    "I see. Esther-san saved the boy there and couldn''t defeat the prescribed number of goblins. It''s a shame, I''m really sorry." (Creepy Guy)


    "It''s different. The request was sessful." (Esther)


    Esther took out a cloth bag from inside her breastte. Opening it then seeing it filled with goblin ears.


    (What''s going on in Esther''s breastte?)


    Up to now, the adventurer card hase out in various moments. But this time it''s extremely special. The bag that came out is not small enough to fit in a breast te.


    Is her chest smaller than I imagined? When I thought that, Esther gazed at me sideways.


    (Hiii!) (Toru)


    The receptionist, who received the bag and opened her mouth, opened her eyes wide.


    "E, Esther, how many goblins have you subdued?!" (Marie)


    "Hmm, there werethirty to fifty bodies?" (Esther)


    "so much¡­¡­" (Marie)


    "Can you confirm?" (Esther)


    "Oh, I see. I will evaluate it immediately." (Marie)


    "--Hmm" (Creepy Guy)


    A man snorted beside the rushed receptionist.


    "A subjugation while protecting this child? Did Esther-san really do it? You must have cheated or something, right?" (Creepy Guy)


    "How rude, but I would have been killed by that many goblins by myself." (Esther)


    " So, who is the helper?" (Creepy Guy)


    "Ah. Toru killed most of the goblins." (Esther)


    "Eh?" (Creepy Guy)


    Esther was very proud of herself.


    Her grin was so wide it looks like it''s reaching both of her ears.


    (Why is Esther proud...) (Toru)


    It was then that Toru''s sense of tension vanished.


    "This dirty little child, hey you" (Creepy Guy


    "... that word, take it back." (Esther)


    Esther was angry at the man''s words.


    It was so strong that I couldn''t even feel it during the battle with the Goblin. The atmosphere made the man feel pressured.


    "Okay, I''ll take it back." (Creepy Guy)


    "... Is that all?" (Esther)


    "Guu.... I''m very sorry, Toru-san." (Creepy Guy)


    "No. It''s a fact that I''m a bit dirty."


    Esther and the man were rxed because of his neutral tone.


    The light tone of Toru is not to soften the ce. Even if a man said that he was a little dirty, Toru thought only "Well, that''s right."


    It''s true that he''s dirty, so it can''t be helped.


    "Fufu. Toru has a lot of humor." (Esther)


    Esther blew out a sigh in relief.


    "Good, Philip. There''s hope for you yet." (Esther)


    ¡¸¡­¡­¡¹


    "I''m sorry to have kept you waiting. Please check because the assessment is over." (Marie)


    In the meantime, the receptionist finished the assessment. Using that as a signal, the man called Philip went back to the back of the counter as if nothing had happened.


    "I confirmed the ears of 43 goblins in total. This is the reward for achievement of the request epted by Esther. Since the number of goblin subjugation was quiterge, this time it''s considered a special request has been cleared. I added a bit." (Marie)


    "Oh, that helps." (Esther)


    Esther received a small hemp bag with the reward from the receptionist.


    She took out a fewrge copper coins and put them in her own purse bag.


    The remaining with the bag she handed to Toru.


    "¡­¡­this is?" (Toru)


    "It''s a reward for Toru" (Esther)


    "No, but-" (Toru)


    "Toru killed most of the goblins. I''d be troubled if I had received all of this." (Esther)


    It was Toru who was extremely thankful, but there is no words to describe his feelings.


    However, a loan should be returned immediately.


    Toru took out arge copper coin from the hemp bag and pressed it against Ester.


    "This is the money you used to get me in. With this my debt was repaid." (Toru)


    "Well, uh... no, you didn''t have to worry about this." (Esther)


    "I will be in trouble if you do not receive it." (Toru)


    "¡­¡­¡­¡­all right" (Esther)


    Toru imitated her words making Esther smile.


    "Assessment is over, but is there anything else?" (Marie)


    "There''s one. I want Toru to be registered in the guild." (Esther)


    "Okay, so please fill in the required information first." (Marie)


    Toru takes a pen and looks at the paper presented. Items include your name, ce of origin, weapons to handle, upation, etc.


    (Weapons are swords. What kind of work should I write? I wonder if it''s a swordsman or a magician?


    Tohru worried for a while and wrote "Unemployed".


    "Hou. Toru can write letters." (Esther)


    "Ah... yeah. That''s right." (Toru)


    When Esther told me, I realized what I was writing. Toru was casually writing other world characters with out any feelings of discrepancy.


    (Is this also because of the &ltnguageprehension> skill? It''s convenient, but it''s kind of strange.)


    Support the trantor onzytrantions.weebly


    It''s okay if you write unconsciously with your hands moving, but you know what you''re writing. I should not be able to write Eargard characters.


    When the questionnaire was filled up, the receptionist returned from the back of the counter with a transparent ball.


    "I''ve kept you waiting. Well, Mr. oru. Please put your hand on this crystal." (Marie)


    "this is?" (Toru)


    "This is a tool to observe the soul." (Marie)


    "Observe the soul...?" (Toru)


    I do not understand what it means. Toru tilted his neck.


    "This is mainly to check if the soul has been stamped with a "mark" in the past." (Marie)


    "If you are from a vige, you may not be familiar, but in a big city, a person whomits a felony has a "mark" on his soul." (Esther)


    Esther told him about the transparent ball whose meaning was not understood. She insisted that he didn''t know because he was from a vige.


    "So that''s it" (Marie)


    ¡°Other than that, you can also easily measure your suitability as an adventurer.¡± (Esther)


    "It can do that." (Marie)


    "Yes. Since it is a qualitative tool int the least. It cannot see what kind of potential you have, but it be used as a reference for your suitability to a request." (Marie)


    "Is that so. I understand." (Toru)


    "Okay, please." (Marie)


    Toru gulped and put his hand on the crystal on the counter.


    Then a small light shined in the middle of the crystal.


    "Oh" (Toru)


    It is like a light bulb that responds to human hands and emits light.


    Toru eyes were glued on the magical reaction he saw for the first time.


    "eh?" (Marie)


    "eh¡­¡­" (Esther)


    However, in contrast to Toru''s reaction, the receptionist and Estelle were excited.


    "What happened?" (Toru)


    "No, that''s... I thought something because Thor''s light was so small." (Marie)


    "Maybe he has no talent?" (Esther)


    "No, it''s not the size of light that determines talent..." (Marie)


    Esther asks the receptionist with confidence.


    "Oh, yeah, yes. Whether or not you have talent is not the size of the light, but the brightness. Toru-san has a certain level of brightness, so there is no problem..." (Marie)


    The receptionist cut the words there and continued with a look that seemed ufortable.


    "When did youe to Eargard?" (Marie)


    At the moment when the receptionist asked, Toru felt like time had stopped.


    [When did youe to Eargard?]


    This question does note out unless they think that Toru is from another world.


    In other words, the receptionist suspects that Toru is a different-world person.


    "¡­¡­why" (Toru)


    "If I make a mistake, I apologize and I will correct it. This soul measuring instrument changes the intensity of light ording to the "soul record". Usually, it is the age of the person registered in the guild. The fist is about the size of arge fist, but Toru-san apparently has no record of his soul.


    Looking at your possible age, you can''t get such a tiny light unless you suddenly appeared from nowhere.


    In other words, if the light is so small, it is highly possible that the soul is of a "lost person" who hase to this world." (Marie)


    "A lost person..." (Toru)


    "You''re a lost person!?" (Esther)


    The reaction between Toru and Ester was the opposite.


    Being called a lost person, Toru is pondering what to do when being from "a different world." However, Esther made a surprised expression.


    Toru wanted to avoid people hearing that he was from a different world. Because if he is known as such he would be branded as a strange person.


    But if the lost person is asked straight-on he can''t answer with a lie.


    "You''re right" (Toru)


    Toru nodded.


    "Maybe if you''re a lost-person you can''t register in the guild?" (Toru)


    "No, that''s not the case. There are people who have been lost and have been registered in the guild in the past." (Marie)


    "There seems to be many lost people" (Toru)


    "Yes. It''s a bit rare, but it seems to happen several times a year." (Marie)


    (Hey, are you okay to send people from different worlds so often?) (Toru)


    Toru was disappointed at the work of the self-proimed god.


    Sending a soul from another world is likely to have a bad effect on Eargard.


    "I understand the meaning of the light. I would like to ask if I can register in the guild even if I''m a lost person." (Toru)


    "Are you sure you want to register?" (Marie)


    The receptionist remembers.


    (She''s very cautious) (Toru)


    That was when I had doubts.


    "Hey, it''s that "tomato bastard" is also a lost". (Drunkard 1)


    "Being an inferior person wanting to be an adventurer is a death wish, so quit and quit." (Drunkard 2)


    ""Gyahahahaha!!" (Drunkard 1 & 2)


    Perhaps both were looking at the appearance of Toru from the attached bar. Two adventurer-like men with mugsughed.


    Their face is very red. Both seems to be quite drunk.


    Toru leaned in their words.


    "Inferior?" (Toru)

 Chapter 12: Ability test

    <h4>Chapter 12: Ability test</h4>


    "Inferior?" (Toru)


    "...Lost persons have been ridiculed for a long time. The Lost persons have poor fighting power and cannot fit in with the normal life." (Marie)


    When the receptionist answered Toru''s question, Esther looked up next to her.


    "Take it back! Toru is not inferior! Toru protected me from the Goblin horde!" (Esther)


    "Oi. Girlie, Why da wed face?" (Drunkard 1)


    "Don''t lie. He''s da one who iz ''bout to die. Then ya helped ''im, din'' ya?" (Drunkard 2)


    "No. I was the one saved!" (Esther)


    "Why do ya protect sus ''nferyers?" (Drunkard 1)


    "Maybe he''s fooled ''er?" (Drunkard 2)


    "Stop fooling around!!" (Esther)


    Ester going to attack the two drunks.


    She''s about to pull out her sword--,


    "Ester. Let''s calm down a little." (Toru)


    "-what!?" (Esther)


    Toru put his hand on the handle and stopped the sword that was about to be pulled out.


    Being stopped by Toru made Ether blush like a boiled octopus.


    Toru gazed at two men in the bar then Toru talked.


    "I''m currently trying to register as an adventurer, so can you keep quiet?" (Toru)


    Toru was getting a little annoyed because not only him but Esther was also ridiculed.


    He activated <intimidation> with all his might towards the men.</intimidation>


    At the moment the air seemed to freeze, like you could tap it and it''ll shatter.


    ""-Ugh!?" (Drunkards 1 & 2)


    The men''s bodies reacted badly to the intimidation.


    Their bodies grew stiff and started to gasp for air.


    "Whaz iz dis... dis brat..." (Drunkard 1)


    "Cam on..." (Drunkard 2)


    As Toru continued to stare, the drunks fell on their chairs andnded on the floor with a bang.


    Their pants got damp then got soaked through.


    The sound of someone gulping was the only sound to be heard.


    The cacophony of talking and movement was reced by deafening silence.


    As Toru looked around, the adventurers swiftly turned away, avoiding Toru''s line of sight.


    Toru was a bit worried about the reaction, but since it became quiet, he was happy to resume the procedure.


    "Please continue." (Toru)


    "meee¡­¡­" (Marie)


    Have I not stopped using Intimidation? The receptionist is moving her mouth like a fish, but no words areing out.


    (Huh? I haven''t used <intimidation> on this person.) (Toru)</intimidation>


    Just in case, I deactivate <intimidation> consciously.</intimidation>


    "Hey. What did Toru do to them?" (Esther)


    "nothing?" (Toru)


    "Why did they fall down?" (Esther)


    "Isn''t they were just drunk and passed out? It looks like they were really drunk." (Toru)


    I''m not interested in them. So Toru answered while avoiding the truth.


    "Now, continuing from the previous story, it is true that there are people that treat lost persons as "inferiors." However, the Adventurer''s Guild is an open institution that epts people who pass tests without discrimination. So I would like if Toru-san enters the Adventurer''s Guild. How is it?" (Marie)


    "Of course. I would love you to register too." (Toru)


    "There is something I want to sell," Toru added.


    "What do you want to sell?" (Marie)


    "Yes. I don''t know if it will sell, but it looks pretty so I think it will sell as a material." (Toru)


    Saying that, Toru took out the glowing stctite.


    "eh--!?" (Marie)


    "Well..." (Toru)


    Esther is convinced that the receptionist ispletely dumbfounded.


    What they were staring at was not a glowing stctite but where it came from.


    "Toru-san, do you have a <inventory>?" (Marie)</inventory>


    "I do have one" (Toru)


    "I wondered if this was the case because Toru''s weapon had disappeared without realizing it, but you were putting it in the <inventory>." (Esther)</inventory>


    ¡°...Ah, yeah, yeah, that¡¯s right.¡± (Toru)


    Toru''s "Magic Sword" wasn''t strictly in the <inventory>, but Toru himself doesn''t know what the "Magic Sword" is or where it disappears to.</inventory>


    [Magic Sword] seemed like a pain to exin, so Toru decided to leave Esther''s misconception as it is.


    "We will definitely buy this. This is a spirit crystal." (Marie)


    "Oh, this is called a spirit crystal." (Toru)


    "Did you bring it without knowing?" (Marie)


    "Yes. It is pretty so I thought that I can sell it." (Toru)


    "So that''s it¡­¡­" (Marie)


    The receptionist smiled slightly at Toru''s words.


    "Spirit crystal is a general term for stones that have special powers. It takes a long time for it to change from normal stones. The name implies, "changed with the power of spirits". Then it came to be called the spirit crystal.


    It is this spirit crystal, but it is believed that the power of thend is contained in the way it shines. It is a very rare and valuable item, so we will purchase one at 1000 Garde." (Marie)


    "Oh!" (Toru)


    A fist-sized spirit crystal is 1,000 garde. It''s worth 100,000 yen in Japan. (T/N around 1,000 USD)


    Toru was surprised at the price.


    The stones I collected with the feeling that I want to sell them because they are beautiful are 100,000 yen a piece.


    (It was nice to have collected many!)


    "Are you sure you want to sell this at 1,000 Garde?" (Marie)


    "Oh, I have more, so can you buy the rest?" (Toru)


    "Okay, you know...wa...what?" (Marie)


    Toru pulls out the spirit crystals from the <inventory> one after another.</inventory>


    The total number of spirit crystals is 15 pieces. It is around 150 silver coins.


    Since it was said that the living expenses of the ordinary people in Eargard are 5 silver coins a month, it would be possible to live for 30 months if we spend it wisely.


    (Oh, if I could sell it at a high price, I should have collected more...) (Toru)


    "Here, I will immediately appraise. During the appraisal, can you take the ability test for the adventurer registration?" (Marie)


    "Ability test?" (Toru)


    When I heard that it was a test, I thought of the entrance exams as the mostmon thing. Do I have the necessary knowledge to be an adventurer?


    But Toru had the wrong idea.


    "What do you do in the ability test?" (Toru)


    "This is a test to determine the fighting ability of an adventurer." (Marie)


    Combat ability test.


    Toru was anxious about the words she said.


    "Don''t worry. Just look at Toru-san''s physical strength and skills. You won''t get hurt." (Esther)


    "Huh..." (Toru)


    "Please ask the person in charge for details. Even if the result of the ability test is bad, we will not refuse the adventurer''s registration. It is just a reference to make it easier to give additional training. If the test result is good, you can skip F rank and start from E rank. Please do your best." (Marie)


    The receptionist gave me a form to take to the test, and Toru went to the training field.


    The training field was a hall about half the size of a gymnasium.


    It''s quitete in the day so there are barely anyone there, but adventurers will usually be conductingbat training. Various weapons made of wood were leaning against the wall.


    Unlike the reception hall, the training ground is covered with sand.


    "Oh, who is the new adventurer to be registered?" (Trainer)


    While observing the training ground, a loud voice was heard from behind Toru.


    Looking back, there was a skinhead macho man. No matter how you look at it, his face is quite fierce.


    He is just wearing a shirt and cks, but his muscles look like they are about to rip his clothes, it''s so form fitting it''s like part of his skin.


    He looked at Toru''s face and opened his eyes in surprise for a moment, but he immediately recovered and extended his hand.


    "Give me your form. Did you get it from the receptionist?" (Trainer)


    Toru hands the paper that he received from the receptionist. The man quickly nced through the paper and gave a disappointed look.


    "What you are an inferior?" (Trainer)


    "Is that what is said?" (Esther)


    Esther, who had apanied Toru, clenched her teeth after hearing the man''s words.


    But the man pretended not to hear Esther''s words.


    "Well.. Be careful not to hurt yourself. I''ll try not to hurt you, but there''s a limit to it too. It''s troublesome to get hurt andin." (Trainer)


    "You have no idea--" (Esther)


    "Okay" (Toru)


    Torues out to the front while pulling Ester back.


    "It''s a test of fighting ability, but what should I do?" (Toru)


    "Ah, I don''t have to attack at all, so attack me with the weapons there. If you have a weapon you are good at, use it. Even if you are an "inferior person" and have no weapon you usually use."


    His words have no provocation only resignation.


    An inferior person cannot be strong. It is totally needless to do a test. He knew the result from the beginning.


    (I''m sure I''ve had a couple of mistakes in the past) (Toru)


    Toru felt such an atmosphere from the trainer.


    "Are the Lost persons so weak?" (Toru)


    Toru picked up a wooden sword leaning against the wall.


    The Lost person, who came to Eargard as an adult, does not have the power that he would normally acquire if he started as an infant.


    Languageprehension is an example.


    If you live in a ce for a long time, you will be able to speak thenguage of the area in which you grew up.


    Like people born and raised in high altitude areas, they have strong lungs and heart.


    If you learn piano from an early age, your hands will be dextrous and your cerebellum will develop better.


    Toru thinks that such a "power that should be naturally acquired by the environment in which he grew up" is missing from the Lost persons.


    Toru is using a skill board to correct his ability.


    (But there may be a decisive difference that the Natives have and the Losts don''t) (Toru)


    Therefore, Toru stands up in front of the man without letting his guard up.


    Toru is a challenger.


    From the beginning to he will deal with this seriously.


    He closed his eyes and concentrated his mind.


    "...Fuh" (Toru)


    Take a deep breath and dive deep, deeper.


    His outstretched hand was still as he entered fighting mode.


    A second seemed tost forever.


    Now, Toru opens his eyes.


    With a wooden sword in front, he looked straight at the man.


    "¡­¡­ready" (Toru)


    "Okay,e anytime" (Trainer)


    Toru leaned a little and inhaled.


    The next moment,


    "--!?" (Trainer)


    Toru was suddenly in front of the trainer.


    The man opens his eyes.


    But the man still doesn''t move.


    (An opening!) (Toru)


    Toru swung the wooden sword hard.


    -Bam!!


    The sound of flesh being hit echoed in the training ground.


    The sword hit the mans side swiftly.


    The man was sent to the back after being hit.


    He rolled around three times before finally stopping.


    Toru was about to ready his second swing.


    "...Ah, that?" (Toru)


    Toru was working on the assumption that the man would block his de at thest minute.


    However, the man didn''t even show any movement to prevent it.


    Toru can''t hide his surprise.


    (I thought he would prevent it...) (Toru)


    Or it would be nullified by the man''srge muscles.


    However, it seems that the man couldn''t receive Toru''s attack due to his heavy muscle.


    "Ugogogo..." (Trainer)


    The man is nted near the wall.


    There is no sign of him standing up immediately.


    "Good job, Toru!" (Esther)


    Behind Toru, Esther eximed.


    "Let''s go, Toru! Beat him up!" (Esther)


    "No, that''s not the rule!?" (Toru)


    Esther gave a squeal, probably because his provocation was too much. However, beating him here is not training but just assault.


    Toru exhaled a sigh and lowered the wooden sword.

 Chapter 13: Ogre

    <h4>Chapter 13: Ogre</h4>


    When asked to test the newly registered adventurer, the trainer Ogre quickly went towards the training ground.


    Ogre was preparing to retire for the day because the sun had already set. Tomorrow would have been fine to give the new adventurers an ability test.


    But Ogre chose to do the test immediately.


    The reason is that he likes to take care of new adventurers.


    Even if he''s already 40 years old and retired. He was once a C rank adventurer.


    During his active days as a C rank adventurer, he could be considered as a respectable adventurer.


    It was not easy when he decided to retire. He was earning good money from fulfilling C rank quests. Plus all the time and effort he put in to reach C rank was considerable. It wasn''t easy to let go.


    Even so, he can''t beat the ravages of time on his body. No matter how much he trains his body, he can''t stop its weakening no matter how much he wishes to.


    It is stupid and irresponsible to die because of pride and stubbornness.


    With that in mind, he retired from being an adventurer.


    Some adventurers believe in "Death on the battlefield." However, living was more important for Ogre.


    No matter what you do, you must live for yourself and others.


    Ogre who retired from being an adventurer can still be found at the guild. He was epted due to his skills. So, this time he is an employee and trainer.


    He believes in training new recruits and insists on training them personally.


    Neers barely have the knowledge required to survive. Many of them make mistakes and lose their lives.


    Ogre is quite proud that since he started training new adventurers the death toll has declined and very few lose their lives.


    Also, he is quite proud that many of his trainees became C or B ranked adventurers in the guild. It is a fact that he happily boasts about.


    He dreams of a time that the adventurers he trains will never die during a quest. And that he trains them into bing high ranking adventurers.


    He dreams of mentoring a rookie with great potential. He can''t help but imagine such a bright future.


    So he was quite ecstatic at his new role.


    Being a trainer was not a job for him but a calling.


    Anyway, when Ogre came to the training ground, there waiting for him was a boy and a girl. The woman was called Esther, a new adventurer but quickly rose to E rank.


    She has potential


    Ogre anticipates that if she continues to work hard, she will be able to reach C rank.


    Esther has such a talent.


    Of course, it is not Esther who will perform the ability test this time. It is the boy next to her.


    He was a boy with unusual coloring, ck hair and ck eyes, which I have not seen yet in Finlis.


    But for some reason he''s covered with blood. He was surprised at first but it quickly passed.


    Life as an adventurer is filled with blood and gore. That is why it isn''t surprising to see someone in the guild covered in blood.


    Rather than standing there all bloody, Ogre was more concerned about the air around him.


    There seems to be an extraordinary and unusual atmosphere around him.


    For a second, he felt like a goblin being stared at by a dragon.


    (Is he the one I am waiting for, a person that has potential to be an A ranked adventurer has finally appeared!?) (Ogre)


    I looked at the paper he gave me, but the fire in Ogre''s blood cooledpletely.


    "What? You are an inferior?"


    In the remarks column of the adventurer''s new application form, it was written as "Lost Person".


    Immediately, his expectation for neer to dropped rock-bottom.


    "Inferiors" do not go above level 1.


    Their physical abilities don''t improve no matter what they do. It is because their levels don''t increase no matter how much they try to level up.


    The cause lies in the "Level Cap".


    Every person has a level cap.


    it is the maximum level a human being can achieve.


    If you''re a normal person from Eargard, you have level 20 level cap even if you are a weak person


    It is said that there are those that are over level 90, but they are extremely rare.


    For lost persons, their level cap is at level 1.


    History shows that there are no exceptions to this...


    Your physical growth is limited by your level. If you cannot level up, your strength and skill will never change.


    This was the reason why lost persons were called inferiors.


    Ogre who has level 32 cannot possibly lose to a person who is only level 1.


    If the ogle feels like it, it will be possible to defeat the opponent with just his finger.


    (Though I do not do it because I am tired.) (Ogre)


    A boy (named Toru on the application form) held a wooden sword in front of him.


    "--!?"


    Ogle, who was reluctant to deal with "inferiors", was suddenly deprived of motion.


    Immediately, he felt the hairs on his back raise and his spine tingle.


    (What the hell is this... The opponent is an "inferior" person, but this feeling of intimidation. Maybe he has learned some swordsmanship?) (Ogre)


    Toru''s stance was so well guarded that even Ogre, a former C-rank adventurer, couldn''t find a hole in his defense easily.


    Ogre''s impression of Toru went up.


    Still, Ogre wasn''t that impressed.


    Just as quantity overwhelms quality in battle, even if he has skill that reached its apex has no meaning before the overwhelming difference in physical prowess.


    However, Ogre''s confidence is...


    "...Fuh" (Toru)


    The boy exhaled and vanished in the next moment.


    "--Gaha!!" (Ogre)


    Ogre noticed that he was suddenly rolling on the ground.


    His stomach hurts a lot. Bile and acid rises up to his throat.


    (What happened to me!?) (Ogre)


    Ogre had no idea what had happened to him.


    However, from the pain in the abdomen and the posture of the boy looking down on the ogre. He could guess that he was hit with the wooden sword.


    However, even if you understand the situation, whether he can believe it or not is different.


    (I didn''t even know that I was attacked!? Damn... Is he really an "inferior"!?) (Ogre)


    Originally, Ogre is ranked C. He was a top adventurer in Finlis. Generally, it is considered a first-ss adventurer.


    It''s hard to think that inferior person can make an attack that has such high power behind it.


    The other person may have cheated, or Esther may have attacked instead of the boy. While enduring the pain and nausea, Ogre desperately think.


    However, none of the ideas made sense.


    Ogre could not have ever thought that he had been downed by a proper hit.


    Under normal circumstances, it is a situation in which one would think of being attacked by Toru. However, Ogre''s knowledge of lost people prevented him from thinking of that as a possibility.


    "...For the time being, this is the end of the ability test." (Ogre)


    Ogre spoke after the abdominal pain subsided. He wrote the result of the ability test on the paper at hand and hand it to Toru.


    "By the way, Toru. Have you ever learned swordy?" (Ogre)


    "Kenjutsu... or Kendo as a hobby during my school days." (Toru)


    "kendo?" (Ogre)


    Ogre is convinced, although he is hesitant, after hearing the unfamiliar words. Kendo was probably learned from his old world.


    Schools also exist in Eargard. However, not everyone can enroll. Only a handful of talented people at a certain age can.


    (Toru is probably an elite in his original world.) (Ogre)


    It is nodding that I felt such pressure before the battle.


    But even so, there was no exnation of the movement that could not be traced with the eyes.


    "But what was that?" (Ogre)


    Ogre whispered murmuring while watching the backs of the two leaving the training ground.


    In the ability test, Ogle filled in one of three patterns on the reception form.


    ¡ð for those with high fighting ability.


    ¡÷ for people in need of training.


    x If there is no fighting ability.


    In this ability test, the judgement that Ogre made to Toru was--


    "I didn''t think there would be a day when I couldn''t judge my opponent''s ability..." (Ogre)


    [I don''t know]


    --As a person in charge of ability testing, it was a deration of help.


    ¡ð


    Returning from the training ground, Toru handed the paper received from the trainer back to the receptionist.


    As the receptionist read through the contents,


    "eh?" (Marie)


    She looked at a certain point twice and stared.


    "Umm, Toru-san. You have done the ability test, right?" (Marie)


    "Yes" (Toru)


    "What is the result of the match...?" (Marie)


    "I hit him once, then I won." (Toru)


    "Eh!?" (Marie)


    When Toru talked about victory, the receptionist was surprised by her wide eyes.


    "You downed Ogre-san with one hit? That''s..." (Marie)


    "Toru is amazing!" (Esther)


    For some reason Esther was extremely proud.


    It can be seen through her ponytail! It looked like it was swishing proudly.


    "He''s a person in charge of the ability test, so that person is considered a very skilled person in the guild, right?" (Toru)


    "Yeah, you are right¡­¡­" (Marie)


    Tori''s words, Marie nodded awkwardly.


    As she said, Ogre is a former C rank. He was a top adventurer.


    But just because the other person is a Lost person, he is not the kind of person who throws a fight for another person.


    He has a very strong belief in the adventurer''s ability to fight.


    Regardless of who the other party is, he despises injustice and cheating. He puts his maximum effort and beliefs into ount.


    He is a honorable person that does not match his thug-ish appearance.


    Marie couldn''t believe that Ogre-san had lost.


    (I wondered if I was wrong when I evaluated him as a lost person. But before all that, Toru-san having overwhelming fighting capabilities was my first impression!) (Marie)


    Guild reception is hard work, performing tasks quickly while being calm and in-control of adventurers with rough personalities.


    You have to carry heavy packages such as materials and proof of subjugation. And even if you are a littlete for responding, adventurers will yell loudly at you.


    The sry is also very low.


    However, the reception work is still a high-reward workce.


    The reason is that you can make a connection with adventurers.


    If you connect with a promising adventurer, you can find a spouse that will provide for you.


    A D-rank adventurer can barely make ends meet.


    But C and above are different. They can earn a few months'' worth of living expenses in just one day.


    Bing the wife of a person who can earnrge amounts of money, being provided for and living at afortable house. You can live a life simr to a low-ranking aristocrat.


    It is such a high possibility to marry an adventurer that there is no woman who does not aim to be a receptionist even if it is hard work.


    (If I take good care of Toru-san, my future will be secured... Ufufu) (Marie)


    (Well, how can I help you? Hehehe.) (Marie)


    Marie shows a professional smile but a more sinister smile is behind it.


    "As expected of Toru-san." (Marie)


    "...Hey, Toru. What did you do?" (Esther)


    Contrary to the warm atmosphere of the shy receptionist, Esther turned her eyes full of suspicion on Toru.


    He can''t remember doing anything at all. Toru shakes his head as if he saying "I am innocent."


    "I''m happy to take care of one of the strongest men in the guild. I''ll be taking care of you in the future!" (Marie)


    "Toru...?" (Esther)


    "I don''t know. I don''t know anything!" (Toru)


    The mysterious pressure emanating from Esther causes Toru''s legs to quiver.


    If this continues, he might bore a hole through his stomach.

 Chapter 14: Get the Guild Card and Find an Inn

    <h4>Chapter 14: Get the Guild Card and Find an Inn</h4>


    (A/N) We are near the good part. Just a little longer.


    "Umm, can I proceed with the application procedure?" (Toru)


    "Ah, yes. I''m sorry for the tangent. Now that the ability test ispleted, I will issue the guild card. This ability test is a bit of a special case, I am wondering what to do. By the way... Toru-san will start from F rank, is that okay?" (Marie)


    "of course" (Toru)


    Toru shakes his head vertically.


    "Thank you. Now, let me talk about the Adventurer''s Guild Terms." (Marie)


    The receptionist took out a worn out parchment from under the counter.


    Exining the guild''s rules while tracing the letters on the parchment.


    The rules are not particrly difficult. First, an adventurer shouldn''t attack civilians. Second, an adventurer shouldn''t harm their clients. Third, an adventurer shouldn''t cheat on his/her quests. For Toru, who has lived for nearly ten years as a normal functioning member of society, everything was justmonsense.


    In addition, he will receive a brief lecture on how to ept requests, how to make a report, and selling materials.


    "An adventurer is must follow these rules, but there are exceptions, if involves self-defense or missions. Please be careful so you won''t vite the rules.


    Afterpleting a certain number of quests, the adventurer''s rank will increase. The higher the rank, the more rewards you can receive, but the difficulty of quests will also increase. Please be aware that should you fail a subjugation quest, you may also lose your life.


    Please note that failing a quest due to neglecting preparations or not matching your ability before taking, will incur a penalty. If you keep getting penalized, your adventurer rank may drop.


    Regardless of rank, depending on the reason of the quest''s failure, you may also get expelled. Please note that if you are expelled, you will not be able to register again for a certain period of time." (Marie)


    "Yes. Could you tell me a little more about the guild ranking system?" (Toru)


    "Yes. The guild rank is starts at the lowest F and to highest A. This rank is tied to the rank in difficulty subjugating a monster. However, it is not always the same as your rank. Please note that some cannot be defeated alone. Please see this paper for specific examples of monster and adventurer ranking."


    Specific examples of adventurers and monster ranking were printed on paper.


    Rank A = World-ss adventurer: Dragon, etc.


    Rank B = Nationally renowned adventurer: Ogre King, etc.


    Rank C = First-ss city adventurer: Troll etc.


    Rank D = Normal adventurer: Goblin King, etc.


    Rank E = Beginner adventurer: Goblin, etc.


    Rank F = Newly Recruited adventurer


    (Well... Goblins were E-ranked monsters)


    "Is there anything else you need?" (Marie)


    "No, it''s okay." (Toru)


    "Then, I will give you your guild card." (Marie)


    The receptionist presented a card simr to a business card.


    When Toru touched it, letters started to appear on the surface of the card.


    "Oh! The letters are showing." (Toru)


    "The soul''s wavelength is registered in the guild card. This makes it possible for the card to read the soul''s wavelength of the owner and the status will appear on the surface. This assures that there is no risk of misuse for any lost card. However, please note that if you lose it, you will receive 10 silver coins as a reissue fee.


    10 silver coins is worth 100,000 yen.


    Toru, who hasn''t even owned anything close to 100,000 yen in Japan, had his hand shaking for a while.


    "Oh, thank you very much" (Toru)


    "Congrattions. Now Toru-san is an adventurer." (Esther)


    "Yes." (Toru)


    "I give one advice as your senior." (Esther)


    Esther pointed at me and tilted her head up slightly before telling me her advice as my senior.


    "Adventurers shouldn''t let themselves be mocked. If a request from a clientes, he/she may choose "the person who seems to be strong." Toru''s tone is too polite, but makes you sound weak. Also only merchant''s use polite tone, so unless you want to be mistaken as one, avoid using it.¡± (Esther)


    "Really?" (Toru)


    He doesn''t think Esther''s is wrong, but it could be tinged with bias. Toru turned to the receptionist and inquired.


    "Esther-san''s words are generally correct. It is true that there is such a trend among adventurers." (Marie)


    "Do all speak roughly?" (Toru)


    "It depends on the asion, the quest, and the quest giver." (Marie)


    "So that''s it" (Toru)


    For example, when meeting with the head of an organization, an appropriate attitude is required. Even though he is an adventurer, one must act appropriately or you could seem like a brute.


    It means that the TPO is clear. (t/n - time ,ce and asion)


    "By the way, we don''t care about an adventurer''s tone of speaking." (Marie)


    The receptionist is human, even if she doesn''t favor any adventurer initially. As a human being, you can''t help but be offended by rude people.


    This is the same in Japan. If the other person is taking politely towards someone. It could leave a good impression and make interactions go smoother.


    Aside from that neither adventurer and client should be offended. So no one would hire a or be hired by someone who is rude.


    "Okay. Thank you for your advice." (Toru)


    Toru politely replied to the receptionist''s words.


    Then the receptionist smiled widely. Apparently Toru passed her "test".


    "...Toru?" (Esther)


    "Huh!?" (Toru)


    Esther''s cold voice made Toru shoulders quiver.


    Toru was about to take his guild card,


    he identally dropped the card that cost 100,000 yen to reissue it, and it got stuck in the gap on the floor and almost lost it.


    To not lose it, Toru carefully stored the guild card in the <inventory>.


    "...I forgot to tell you that." (Marie)


    The receptionist leaned over of the counter and approached Toru.


    ¡°<Inventory> is extremely rare, and it is a useful skill by itself. Be careful not to let yourself be known to hold <Inventory> until you have the ability to protect yourself. There are many ways to manipte people.¡±


    (Hee! What is that scary¡­¡­) (Toru)


    The receptionist threat was carved on Toru''s heart.


    "This is the end of the guild briefing. Do you have any questions?" (Marie)


    "No, it''s okay" (Toru)


    "Now, let''s talk about the spirit crystal of the earth that I received earlier." (Marie)


    The receptionist took out the paper on which the assessment results were written and read it out to Toru.


    "There were 15 spirit crystals in total. Since they were all of very high quality and translucence it has a buying price of 10 silver coins."


    The total says 15,500 gardes. About 15,000 Garde and a bonus 500 Garde is paid for the spirit crystals.


    (I earned a few months'' sry in Japan in just one day!)


    "Are you okay with the set price?" (Marie)


    "Well, oh, waaa!" (Toru)


    Toru, who was scared of therge amount of money, managed to nod.


    The receptionist carried a cloth bag containing 1 gold coin and 55 silver coins. Toru was about to store it in his <inventory>.


    However, he remembered the advice of "Be careful not to be seen" as she said earlier, and he reluctantly held it firmly in his hand.


    Toru is ufortable because he suddenly got a lot of money. People passing by or approaching from behind felt like they are aiming for his money.


    (Haaa¡­¡­. I want to throw it inside my <inventory> soon.) (Toru)


    With Toru teary-eyed, Esther smiled and speaks to him.


    "Then, Toru. Let us go to the city well." (Esther)


    "City well?" (Toru)


    "Ah. There''s a city well that everyone in can use." (Esther)


    "I want to secure an inn near the well." (Esther)


    The sun has already set and the area is getting dark.


    He could not sleep yet, so Toru needed to secure an inn for tonight.


    But Esther shook her head with a grin.


    "First, you have to stop looking like you bathed in blood or else the guards will be called." (Esther)


    "¡­¡­Ah" (Toru)


    He only noticed it when it was pointed out,


    Toru was still covered with goblin "bits" and dirt.


    ¡ð


    Toru was washing his clothes and his body near the city well, while getting stared at by passersby.


    After washing, Esther gave him a cloth to wipe himself with.


    Toru wrung his clothes as dry as he can, but it still clung to his body and cold.


    Still, it''s definitely better than not washing-off the "bits."


    "It''s better than before Toru. So when you enter the shop, the guards won''t be called." (Esther)


    "I see. Thank you." (Toru)


    "Don''t mind it! The benefits I have received are priceless." (Esther)


    "No, I''m thankful for the help you made." (Toru)


    After being covered by goblin blood and offal, Esther not leaving him alone after leaving the guild touched his heart.


    "Next is to buy new clothes. The goblin''s stench is persistent. You can wash-off the blood but the fishy odor doesn''t disappear. It''s better to rece everything." (Esther)


    "That''s right. Then can you guide me to a clothing store?" (Toru)


    "Sure" (Esther)


    Toru went to a clothing store with Esther and bought some used second-hand clothes. Esther paid for the clothing.


    He said he would pay, but she said, "You helped me and got your clothes dirty. I''m going buy you the clothes. So let me pay!"


    Toru was carrying arge sum of money that he could use to pay, but he decided to ept Esther''s words. If he didn''t do that, they would be arguing non-stop.


    Finally, Toru asked Ester to help him find an inn.


    "Anything else you would like to know?" (Esther)


    "Hmm. Oh yeah. Do you know how to use magic?" (Toru)


    "Ah, magic. I know it, but..." (Esther)


    Esther, who had been answering everything enthusiastically until now suddenly became somber.


    "What''s wrong?" (Toru)


    "No, why is Toru wondering? I don''t know if you can use magic." (Esther)


    "Oh, yes." (Toru)


    It is said that those who are "Lost" are inferior in performance to the Eargard people so that they are called "Inferiors".


    He may not be able to handle magic. That''s right, even if he gets taught by Esther.


    "We don''t have magic in my original world, so I''d like to try it. But if I can''t use it then I''ll give up." (Toru)


    "Ah. to use magic we have to walk down the streets so we can find some at the store just past that path." (Esther)


    "Is magic being sold?" (Toru)


    "Oh, magic is basically an item." (Esther)


    "Is that so!" (Toru)


    The magic that did not exist in Japan may finally be achieved.


    When he thought about it, Toru immediately wanted to go to the store.


    However, almost all Finlis shops are already closed. He had to give up on going to the store.


    "Huh, is there anything else?" (Esther)


    "Hmm...isn''t there anything special here?" (Toru)


    "What if I guide you around Finlis tomorrow!" (Esther)


    "No, no. You might be busy." (Toru)


    Esther is a rank E adventurer, higher than Toru''s rank, and also his senior.


    Of course, he wanted to get some additional guidance from her. However, Toru cannot restrain her from earning money by having her guide him.


    "You can even join a party with other adventurers, but how about that?" (Esther)


    "Thank you very much, but... It''ll be hopeless for me." (Toru)


    Toru is a new adventurer and an "inferior" person. Even if a party was formed, Toru could only see the future that he drags them down.


    "No, but--" (Esther)


    "Thank you for everything, Esther. It was really helpful. If I hadn''t met Esther, I might have died, lost somewhere." (Toru)


    ¡¸¡­¡­¡¹ (Esther)


    "If you have any problems, I will rely on you first. Until then, I''ll try to do it alone. If I don''t do it alone, I will have a habit of relying on someone and I won''t grow." (Toru)


    "...I see. That''s right." (Esther)


    Toru''s words made Esther''s expression sank all the same.


    He thought it was bad for her, but Toru''s words rang true.


    If he didn''t move and think for himself, he will stay naive forever.


    In order for Toru to survive in Eargard, he must acquire the most important basic knowledge. To that end, Toru thinks that it is better to repeat trial and error alone.


    In front of the inn shown by Esther, Toru turned to Esther and said.


    "This is it Esther. Someday let us meet again." (Toru)


    "Oh, oh..." (Esther)


    Esther nodded vaguely.


    Toru walked towards the inn without checking Esther''s reaction.


    While walking away Toru actually wanted to return or find Esther running after him. Hoping they could go on an adventure tomorrow together.


    That''s why Toru rushed into the inn to shake-off the urge.


    "wee!" (Aunty)


    Immediately after entering the inn, a weing middle-aged woman made a loud voice.


    "Are you a guest?" (Aunty)


    "Yes. Please give me one room." (Toru)


    "There are morning and evening meals. Which would you like to have?" (Aunty)


    "Please both." (Toru)


    "Then it is 40 Gard per night." (Aunty)


    40 Garde, it''s is about 4,000 yen. This price is quite good while having morning and evening meals included. Toru was surprised at the low price.


    "How is it, this inn is cheap right?" (Voice)


    "Oh, I was very surprised. They even include two meals on my.-What?" (Toru)


    Toru, spoke to the voice behind then he turned around and checked.


    Esther was there when they have just separated.


    "...Why are you here Esther?" (Toru)


    "I am staying at this inn too!" (Esther)


    "Is that so¡­¡­" (Toru)


    His heart beat skipped for a bit.


    "Landy, I brought you a good customer. He''s also my benefactor, so I''d like you to give him a good service." (Esther)


    "Ester-chan, wee back. I understand, leave it to me." (Aunty)


    "Oh, and for Toru''s room, if room 201 avable can he stay there?" (Esther)


    "Room 201?" (Toru)


    Toru tilted his head.


    (Ester said to the proprietor, "I want you give him a good service, so I wonder if I will be in a better room than others.") (Toru)


    "Oh, next to my room!" (Esther)


    "Oi" (Toru)


    As expected, Toru thought that having a woman''s next room would be bad, but I wonder if that was normal in otherworld inns.


    However, if a woman says, "Rooms are next to each other," this is embarrassing.


    Toru is still a healthy youth (although the contents are of an uncle).


    Even if the other person does not have simr feelings, I will be troubled as a man, so please stop.


    ndy, please not Room 201, but another room." (Toru)


    "Well, it''s bad, Toru-san. It seems that only Room 201 is avable." (Aunty)


    "what¡­¡­" (Toru)


    Toru was stunned and now looking like an idiot. While the,ndyughed with a smile.


    "Is it a lie that there is no room?" Toru thinks, he also needs have to look more confident. Toru cleared his throat afterwards.


    Taking out the silver coins from the bag and settling for 7 nights. When thendy put the key on the counter, the key was swiped up from the side.


    "Then, let''s take you to the room!" (Esther)


    Esther who steals the key quickly leads Toru to the room.


    "No, I can go to the room alone." (Toru)


    "What should I do if you get lost?" (Ester)


    "I''m not easily confused. Look, give me the key." (Toru)


    "It''s okay. It''s next to my room anyway. Isn''t it fine since were going in the same direction?" (Esther)


    "Okay fine, Why should I be in the next room?" (Toru)


    "Don''t say anything ok. Let''s go!" (Esther)


    His arm was pulled hard, and Toru was guided by Esther while going to Room 201 (which was just up the stairs), just as she said.

 Chapter 15 To the Magic Store

    <h4>Chapter 15 To the Magic Store</h4>


    As soon as he entered the room, Toru changed his clothes and fell into bed, and Toru fell asleep without even eating dinner.


    There were various experiences before he arrived at Finlis.


    It was a day that was chock full of events for just a few days.


    Toru wasn''t tired, but his heart seemed to be quite tired.


    Still, he woke up before daylight. His body is functioning and responding due to Lid¡¯s instilled habits.


    Toru goes out to the inn''s courtyard and carefully rinses his face with well water. His head feels clear and refreshed because of the cool water. But there is still some lingering drowsiness.


    After confirming nobody was around Toru used [Magic Sword].


    Moving his body while following his skill¡¯s direction he swings the [Magic Sword].


    Gradually he reconciles his skill-driven movement with his mind and body. He drives in his movements into his muscle memory and reflexes.


    Toru, who has never done any form of sword art outside of school lessons, is grateful for the skill that allows him to move at the expert level just by swinging.


    However, it is bad to just leave everything to unconscious control.


    He wanted to understand his skills and techniques so that he could control it with his own will.


    When after finishing all the forms and stances, drowsiness disappeared from Toru''s head.


    "Good morning, Toru. You sure practice early." (Esther)


    "Oh, good morning Esther" (Toru)


    Esther emerged from the inn. She washed her face with well water before stretching her body.


    Now Esther¡¯s hair which was once on a pony tail is now loose and falling freely behind her. (T/N ¨C The auToru has some weird obsession with Esther¡¯s hair)


    The first rays of the morning illuminated her hair. The golden light of the morning makes her hair glow as if the rays became one with her hair.


    A woman washing her face. Toru can¡¯t help but enjoy the scene.


    "Toru, the weather is good today." (Esther)


    "Yeah" (Toru)


    "It''s a perfect day to party.¡± (Esther)


    "There is no such day." (Toru)


    In a party panion) way not a party (celebration) way.


    Toru suddenly being solicited as a party member made his shoulders sag. She doesn''t seem to have given up on partying with Toru yet.


    "...why me?" (Toru)


    "I can trust Toru!" (Esther)


    I am afraid for the person with so much unconditional trust.


    What would she do if Toru was an outrageous viin? Toru became uneasy about her future.


    "Do you have good eyes for judging people?" (Toru)


    He can¡¯t blindly trust her words. Toru stared and observed Esther.


    But Esther doesn''t seem to have any shred of doubt in her words. Even if Toru stares at her suspiciously she remains calm.


    "Isn¡¯t it normal for Toru to escape from the goblin horde after seeing that many goblins? Humans show their true nature when they are in the face of danger. Toru''s actions at that time are enough. I think it deserves credit.'''' (Esther)


    "I guess that¡¯s reason enough..." (Toru)


    "And, Toru. There are those people I can¡¯t really trust, but I can¡¯t deny people who are trustworthy." (Esther)


    "Wow" (Toru)


    There is no smidgen of doubt on Esther¡¯s words, who has really thought things through.


    Seeing Toru speechless, Esther thought before asking, "Is that thest push needed?¡±


    There is no question on why Esther wants to party with Toru.


    Toru is very strong. He is also not prideful and arrogant.


    He is sincere in his reaction towards money.


    As soon as he got his money, he repaid therge copper coin on the spot.


    It can be understood from the current interaction that Toru has a personality that cannot be faked.


    He may not be the best looking but he is pleasant to the eyes.


    He also doesn¡¯t nce at her with lust-filled gaze, unlike the men of Eargard.


    Esther dared to appear in a vulnerable moment in front of Tour, but he waspletely unresponsive.


    Toru¡¯s apathy towards Esther is a little worrying for her, she is asking herself if Toru came from a world with men with no libido.


    Humans are animals. It is an impossibility to not have libido because humans have to leave offspring to survive as a species.


    However, whether to suppress it is the most important point in forming a party between the opposite sex.


    Esther thought Toru was the best person to party with.


    Esther has been active as a solo adventurer, but she is not particr being solo.


    She believes that forming a party is essential if she would continue to be an adventurer.


    Then Toru a superbly talented person appeared.


    She was only worried that he was a "lost person," but there is no fear or dissatisfaction with hisbat power.


    Esther was enthusiastic about this chance and doesn¡¯t want to miss it.


    "I really want to have a party with Toru." (Esther)


    "If you''re going to have a party, I think it''s better to be a stronger person rather than a lost person..." (Toru)


    "I saw Toru defeat the hordes of Goblins with my own two eyes. Whatever other people say I believe in Toru''s power." (Esther)


    What a wonderful and powerful speech. But when ites to being told face-to-face, those are quite the embarrassing words. Toru couldn''t resist being embarrassed.


    Toru felt that being in a party might decide the future bot his and Esther¡¯s.


    But for adventurers, parties may not be as special as he thought.


    If you''re an adventurer, you might even organize a temporary party for a quest.


    At such times, there aren''t many people who worry about such things and their future.


    Still, Toru could not form a decision immediately.


    Forming a party is taking responsibility for the lives of allies.


    Toru does not know whether he will be able to bear that level of responsibility.


    Toru considers Esther to be his benefactor. She is also a good person. There is no reason not to be happy when the other party invited you to join a party while using such embarrassing speeches.


    However, that''s why he couldn''t give a quick answer.


    Toru, who was uncertain about his answer. I decided to escape.


    "... Well, Esther. The answer is still the same." (Toru)


    "Oh, hey, Toru!" (Esther)


    Support the trantor onzytrantions.weebly


    ?


    He didn¡¯t want to talk more to Esther and so he returned to his room.


    After training, he wiped off his sweaty body, fixed his appearance, and headed to the inn¡¯s dining room.


    When Toru enters the dining room, Esther is already sitting in her chair. Breakfast is prepared in front of her, but she hasn''t touched it yet.


    "Toru, here!" (Esther)


    Raising her hand and waved, but Toru ignore it and sat down in the far corner.


    With such an obvious reply, Esther puffed up her cheeks. She picked up the tray with breakfast and quickly approached the seat where Toru was sitting.


    "Toru. Is it vacant here?" (Esther)


    "It''s full" (Toru)


    Currently, only Toru is sitting at the table for four.


    "No matter how you look at it, it looks empty.¡± (Esther)


    "Don''t ask then if you know the answer." (Toru)


    "...!" (Esther)


    Toru intended to ignore her, but for some reason Esther looked happy and sat in the seat in front of Toru.


    "Now Toru!" (Esther)


    "It is useless" (Toru)


    "I haven''t said anything yet!?" (Esther)


    He guessed she was going to say "let''s form a party!" Looking at Toru with such eyes, Esther''s eyes became teary.


    From there, Toru and Esther had some small talk and had a meal. asionally Esther would say, "Let''s form a party," but Toru sealed it with a quick activation of < intimidation >.


    Breakfast was ck bread, salt soup and sd.


    The ck bread is very hard, and if you try to bite it, you''ll feel like your teeth will break.


    "...Eargard people have strong jaws." (Toru)


    "No. No, it is impossible for me to eat it as it is. This is how I eat it." (Esther)


    Esters dipped the tip of the bread into the soup. It seems that ck bread cannot be eaten without softening it in soup.


    Toru imitated Esther, soaked the bread and bit into it. Then, unlike the toughness it had before, the bread broke when bit.


    "¡­¡­Hmm" (Toru)


    Because the color is ck, Toru thought it might be having a distinctly unique taste. However, contrary to expectations, ck bread was incredibly nd.


    In contrast to ck bread, which was tasteless, the saltiness of the soup is so strong. It''s really made for both to be eaten together.


    "Still..." (Toru)


    Really, it''s just salty soup. There is no stock. The only ingredient there is small pieces of dried meat. It is terrible just to throw in the scraps.


    The sd looked almost like weeds. It is quite terrifying.


    "¡­¡­Yup" (Toru)


    Unexpectedly or expectedly. This was the most delicious part. It''s a bit bittersweet, but it''s delicious enough to be eaten by Toru who has a taste for Japanese cuisine. If there is some dressing on this, he felt that it would be easily improved.


    "Hey Esther. Is this breakfastmon in Eargard?" (Toru)


    "I think most of the time, it''s just bread and soup. This inn is great because ites with a sd." (Esther)


    "I see." (Toru)


    Toru wondered if, "Eargard is under extreme poverty," but in Japan, bread and coffee is the normal breakfast meal. It doesn''t change that much.


    The biggest problem is the taste. Also, nutrients are a concern. A soup made from salty meat and tasteless bread. There is also a very small serving of sd, Toru doesn''t think it''s a very healthy diet.


    "Additional bread is free. How about another one?" (Landy)


    "...No, that''s fine." (Toru)


    "You won¡¯t grow big if you don¡¯t eat, isn¡¯t it right?" (Landy)


    "Sorry¡­I¡¯m fine¡­" (Toru)


    Thendy was kind but a bit pushy, but Toru declined politely.


    His stomach is not full, but his brain is sick of it and doesn¡¯t want more of it.


    That''s true.


    It''s like eating nd bread and hot water.


    No matter how hungry you are


    If you leave it as it is, you may lose weight and be weak.


    Today, securing a delicious meal was one of the most important issues for Toru.


    After having breakfast, Toru opened the window in his room and escaped from there. He felt that if he leaves the inn the usual way, Esther will be endlessly following him.


    In fact, Toru''s < intuition > skill was capturing the Esther¡¯s presence who was waiting at the front door.


    Toru intends to head to a magic store that Esther taught him from yesterday.


    If possible, he wanted to slowly look at the items in the magic store without worrying about anyone.


    Toru walks while chewing on the dried meat from his < inventory >.


    Dried meat tastes better than ck bread and soup. Lid seems to have quite the good cooking skill.


    "What kind of magic is there. I''m looking forward to it, but first I wonder if I can use magic." (Toru)


    Toru put points for < Magic Art > and < Chant-less Casting > on the skill board. If he trusts the skill board, he can surely use it. However, it is different whether or not a person has the necessary background.


    In addition, Toru is a lost person.


    They are called "inferiors".


    "Earth has no magic. Even if I allocate some skills, it may be difficult or impossible to use." (Toru)


    As Toru was walking around thinking about that, he arrived at the magic store pointed out by Esther.


    The magic store was a small wooden building.


    The outer walls are covered with nts.


    "Excuse me" (Toru)

 Chapter 16 An Elf Girl Named Lily

    <h4>Chapter 16 An Elf Girl Named Lily</h4>


    When Toru opened the door, there was just a small counter in front of me.


    There are only about two tatami mats of space where Toru can move. Instead, all the walls are filled with shelves overflowing with products with almost no space left. (T/N ¨C 1 tatami is 3¡¯ x 6¡¯ or 0.91m x 1.82m)


    On a shelf simr to bookstore¡¯s, books that seemed to be for sale were lined up closely. The shelves with silver coin price tags on it are staggering in number and the books were arranged with the spines facing forward. On the other hand, the shelves with gold coin prices on it had the book with its cover facing forward. When Toru breathed the air, the smell of ink, paper, and wood was wafting through his nose.


    "It''s very calm. It looks like a good store..." (Toru)


    It feels like you''re in a small bookstore.


    When Toru began to feel rxed by the ambiance of the shop, the entrance door opened with a bang.


    "Excuse me!" (Esther)


    "Wait, that?" (Toru)


    "Oh, didn¡¯t expect to see you here Toru.¡± (Esther)


    As Esther opened the door.


    She pretends to have found him by chance, but the words arepletely suspicious. She came here after predicting Toru''s next action.


    Did she notice that he left the inn? However, it was quick of her to notice.


    How did she notice that Toru disappeared from the inn?


    She might be worried about Toru, but Toru knows he would feel happy if she doesn''t know where he is.


    "I¡¯m just asking, but why did Esthere here?" (Toru)


    "Of course, it''s decided because I also want to learn new magic." (Esther)


    "Uhuh" (Toru)


    When she says so, he can''t deny it.


    Toru epts her excuse and asks.


    "But Esther could use magic." (Toru)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Esther)


    She suddenly has be quiet. Toru stared at Esther.


    "That child can barely use magic. What did youe here for?" (Voice)


    While Toru was asking Esther, a voice with little intonation came from the back of the counter.


    When Toru turned around, there was a beautiful young girl who possesses surprising features.


    Glossy dark brown hair with white bare skin. A girl in a green robe with sleepy eyes.


    Also, the girl had sharp ears.


    "Elf?" (Toru)


    The little girl nodded at the murmuring of Toru.


    Elf. It is a fictional race known as a long-lived species in Japan.


    Hearing Toru''s words, the sleepy eyes became drowsier.


    As Toru was gazing at her ears, they began to flutter.


    "¡­¡­What?" (Elf)


    "Oh sorry." (Toru)


    Did Toru stare rudely at her? Toru immediately looked somewhere else.


    "I wanted to use magic and after consulting with Esther I found out about this store. I wonder if you can teach me anything about magic." (Toru)


    "...Yes. If so, hold out your hand first." (Elf)


    The girl took out a ck colored mat and a transparent ball from under the counter. The transparent ball is simr to the crystal I saw in the guild the other day.


    "Is it a soul appraiser?" (Toru)


    "No. This measures magical power. My magic tomes work perfectly. But without magical power, you can''t use the magic within.¡± (Elf)


    In her words, she was confident about her product but she wore an angry expression.


    Perhaps someone with no magical power purchased a magic book and imed that it was "defective" because the person could not use magic.


    "I made him unable to say that again" (Elf)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Toru)


    I heard the consequence of people who filed aint.


    Toru trembled.


    Esther brings her mouth close to Toru''s ear and whispers.


    "Because the elves are long-lived. She may look like this but Lily is incredibly strong." (Esther)


    "She can be a bit too much though she looks like that" (Esther)


    It should have gone from one ear then out to another.


    The ears of the shopkeeper (known as Lily) suddenly twitched.


    (After all, is an elf a long-lived species?) (Toru)


    She looks younger than Toru. However, in the case of an elf, the appearance does not reflect the actual age.


    She gives off a look of a girl who has never had much of life experience, but there is also the possibility that she is "an extremely old magician who has lived several times longer than Toru."


    Toru swore in his heart to not touch the reverse scales of the dragon, in this case, Lily.


    "What would happen when I touch it?" (Toru)


    "If you have magical power, the ball will shine. Then you will know the attributes you have ess to." (Lily)


    Lily poked the ck mat with her finger. Even while looking at the mat, it didn''t seem to have any special tricks.


    "What if the ball didn''t glow?" (Toru)


    "Goodbye" (Lily)


    Lily suddenly pointed her finger from the mat towards the door.


    Toruughed at her direct attitude.


    Toru is a lost person and called an ¡°inferior¡± in Eargard.


    Even if he put his hand on the crystal, a sad future where it won¡¯t light up may be waiting.


    "... okay!" (Toru)


    Determined, Toru put his hand on the crystal.


    When I ced my hand, a dim white light began to emit from inside the crystal.


    "Oh, I got it!" (Toru)


    "You did it, Toru!" (Esther)


    Esther peeked out from behind and shouted out loud.


    The light slowly filled the crystal.


    When the crystal was filled with white light, the same color of light then appeared on the ck mat.


    The light traveled through the mat from the bottom of the crystal and drew a magic circle and other circles. The light grew from the circle in all directions, creating a small magical square.


    "This can¡¯t be real..." (Lily)


    After seeing the magical square, Lily shouted out loud. Toru was worried about her appearance, but Toru couldn''t take her eyes off the fantastic light emerging from the mat.


    The light eventually extended the line to connect the small magic square.


    And when all were connected, the curves connected so did all the outer circles.


    It was about 10 seconds so far. In Toru''s life, those ten seconds can be the best or second-best 10 seconds of his life.


    "When the light forms, it means I can use magic, right?" (Toru)


    "¡­¡­wait" (Lily)


    Lily pped Toru''s hand and quickly put back the crystal and mat from under the counter.


    She was working diligently under the counter, but Toru can''t see what she doing from his current position.


    "......Normal. But it''s strange. All attributes ¨C ¡®N¡¯. That can¡¯t be!" (Lily)


    Lily raised her upper body before long,


    "Broken" (Lily)


    She muttered with a suddenly refreshed look that came from nowhere.


    Support the trantor onzytrantions.weebly


    ?


    "Well, did I break it?" (Toru)


    "Do not worry" (Lily)


    "No, but..." (Toru)


    "You were just unlucky. It broke on you. Deterioration due to age." (Lily)


    "Oh, is that right? But I should probably pay for it..." (Toru)


    "Okay. Just buy a lot of items." (Lily)


    Lily pointed around the entire shelf. Toru got permission to buy the products from her.


    "Is it okay for me to use magic?" (Toru)


    "Hmm" (Lily)


    "Oh!" (Toru)


    "However, it is unknown how much you can use. If it does not activate, I will not eptints." (Lily)


    In other words, the use of magic is unpredictable. However, no one in every world knows what they can do from the beginning. Everything begins with trial and error.


    Toru acknowledges Lily¡¯s words and immediately inspects the product shelves.


    "Lily permitted you to buy from all the shelves. Toru is amazing." (Esther)


    "Um, can we usually buy anything if we have magical power?" (Toru)


    "Even if you have magical powers, you can only purchase items with the proper attributes. For example, I can only buy non-attribute items, so I can only buy items only on from shelf." (Esther)


    "Oh, Esther can only use non-elemental magic." (Toru)


    "That''s ok. However, unlike the others, non-attribute is magic that specializes in self-strengthening. It looks pretty in." (Esther)


    "But self-strengthening is an attribute that can be applied in a variety of ways." (Toru)


    Toru squinted at the shelf with non-attribute items.


    There is no magical technique that looks shy, such as < Muscle Strength Enhancement > < Olfaction Enhancement > < Auditory Enhancement > < Vision Enhancement > < Pte Enhancement >. However, if you fight with your sword in your hand, all these magic was useful.


    Of course, it''s also useful for sses other than swordsmen. < Vision Enhancement > and < Auditory Enhancement > can be some necessary skills for Scouts.


    Toru picked up four tomes: < muscle strength enhancement >, < auditory enhancement >, < visual enhancement >, and < olfactory enhancement >, those could be used in battle.


    There are eight types of magic other than non-attribute: fire, water, earth, wind, light, darkness, spirit, and space.


    The cheapest ones are 5 silver coins. < Ignition >, < Water supply >, < Drying >, and other magic tomes that can be used in everyday life.


    First of all, Toru picked up the ¡°Ignition¡±, ¡°Water supply¡±, and ¡°Drying¡± from life magic.


    Next, he picked "Fireball", "Water ball", "Earth Needle", and "Air Cutter", which are rtively inexpensive among the magic used in battle.


    Looking at the shelves with four basic attributes, Toru noticed high-priced items at a high position.


    "< re >! The price is --!" (Toru)


    Seeing the price, Toru¡¯s eyes almost fell from his sockets.


    10 gold coins. It''s quite a high price.


    "Is this "re" spell strong after all?" (Toru)


    "< re > is advanced magic. Beginnersck magical power and cannot be used by them." (Lily)


    "¡­¡­I see" (Toru)


    Strong magic cannot be so easily obtained.


    Toru was quite interested, but he gave up on buying re.


    From magic other than the 4 attributes, from the light attribute, < light > and the dark attribute, < blind > on the counter.


    There was only one item for spirit and space magic.


    Spirit magic is < spirit evocation >. Spatial magic is < spatial fracture >. Each is disyed in a frame.


    The name was so cool that Toru thought of buying it, but the price for each is 100 gold coins!


    It is doubtful if it sells due to the extremely high price.


    The total magic that Toru decided to purchase was 10,000 gardes.


    Paying one gold coin, Toru immediately asked Lily how to use the magic book.


    "Activate magic by pouring in mana. Once activated, magic is engraved in your soul." (Lily)


    "Can you use it without this magic book?" (Toru)


    "Yes. After use, the magic book disappears. Reselling is not possible." (Lily)


    "Oh, I see. Thank you for today. If there is anything, I wille back to buy some." (Toru)


    "Hmm" (Lily)


    To thank Lily, Toru left the store quickly.


    "Toru are you going to learn magic from now on?" (Esther)


    "Yeah. What about Esther?" (Toru)


    "It''s just free time. I want to go see Toru use magic." (Esther)


    "No, go to work." (Toru)


    "Today is a holiday!" (Esther)


    "Fine." (Toru)


    No matter how he refuses, there is always a follow-up.


    Esther already has non-attribute magic. Then, if he has any problems with using magic, she may help him.


    ¡ð


    Lily, the store manager, was worried about the inside of the magic book shop.


    It was her first time to see "N", which has a talent for all nine attributes, over the past 100 years.


    Even Lily, who is confident in magic, is only a quintet with five attributes. Moreover, one of them was an attribute that can be developed over a long time.


    "What is that boy?" (Lily)


    Most of the human beings who have a skill in magic be "duo" with two attributes.


    Esther who came to this store is a "solo" with only one attribute. Although she can do magic, she is said to have no attribute.


    Among those who have magical knowledge, one in 10,000 people is a "trio" with three attributes, and one in 100,000 people is a "quartet" with four attributes.


    When ites to the five attributes "Quintet", it is less than 0.1% of the total magician poption.


    Up to now, Lily has thergest number of attributes known to have six attributes, sextet, and there is only one person in the world.


    That person is Lily¡¯s mentor and is name the Great Sage of the Forest.


    The boy called Toru had three more attributes than Lily¡¯s mentor.


    Furthermore, Lily has never heard of having both light and dark attributes. Those two attributes sh with each other.


    "But it is unknown how much magic he can use..." (Lily)


    No matter how much magic one has, not all magic can be handled to a usable level.


    Even if magic ispatible, it may be usable or not depending on the discipline, level, and amount of magic.


    The most important thing isprehension and image.


    No matter how much training, leveling up, and enormous magical power, if theprehension and image are rough, even if it activates, it is not possible to invoke the full effect of the spell.


    "I''m looking forward to what happens in the future" (Lily)


    However, his branches are still young. How he grows in the future is unknown.


    (If you want to look into the abyss of magic...) (Lily)


    ¡°Yes, at that time, let''s look into the abyss together¡±, Lily smiled.

 Chapter 17 First Magic

    <h4>Chapter 17 First Magic</h4>


    Taken by Esther, Toru came to the outside of Finlis.


    Toru originally nned to practice in the courtyard of the inn, but Esther strongly discouraged him saying that it would be dangerous to do a magical test in the city.


    Her input is often correct.


    If my magic does not work, there would be no problem. However, if the magic runs out of control, the inn may be damaged.


    Toru didn''t think about that because he was pessimistic about his chances of using magic.


    "Well, then what attribute should I use first?" (Toru)


    "Yeah. First, I think it''s better to start with the non-attribute like mine. If it''s non-attribute, I can coach you, and if you know the feeling of moving your magical power, it might be easier for you to use another magic attribute." (Esther)


    "I see. That''s right. Let''s go start using non-attribute magic." (Toru)


    Toru immediately picked up a non-attribute tome from his < inventory >.


    "Toru. You should read the spells that appear on the surface while your mana is passed through the tome." (Esther)


    "...Yeah, but how do you do it?" (Toru)


    Toru smiled at Esther''s exnation.


    He has no idea of what mana is. Toru''s idea of what is that mana is the source of magic. But he is not sure how to control mana.


    "Be aware of the powers within your body other than your physical strength." (Esther)


    "Power other than physical strength..." (Toru)


    "Yeah. Even if you don''t put a lot of power into your muscles, when you put in this ¡°power¡±, you get a feeling of being empowered, like something is flowing. That''s the source of magic, mana." (Esther)


    Gestalt is likely to copse due to the influx of "power"ing out of Esther''s mouth. (T/N ¨C Who is this Gestalt guy. Here is the vocabry meaning.)


    Refocusing, Toru trusts her words and closes his eyes.


    He is diverting focus from his strength towards the power inside his body.


    After a while, Toru realized that he feels apletely different ¡°source¡± in his body.


    "¡­¡­So that''s it" (Toru)


    When he understood the feeling she¡¯s describing, he was able to clearly understand the whole meaning of Esther''s word, which made no sense before. "¡­if you don''t put a lot of power into your muscles when you put in this ¡°power¡±, you get a feeling of being empowered..."


    When Toru understood it, it seems that there is no other better exnation than Esther¡¯s.


    Certainly, there was a feeling that Esther said that she could focus on other ¡°power¡± other than her physical ¡°power¡±.


    While being aware of this feeling, Toru used the tome of " Strength Enhancement".


    Then, faint letters appeared on the surface of the tome.


    " ¡®Strengthen my body by magic. < Might Force >!¡¯ -Wow!?"


    At the same time as he read the letters, the tone changed and became a ball of light and jumped into Toru''s chest.


    Toru is surprised and crossed his arms. But the light passed through his arm and entered into his chest.


    "Sess for the first time!" (Toru)


    "Yes, if you seed this will happen" (Esther)


    Toru suddenly had his heart buzzing.


    Certainly, Lily-san said that the tome would disappear or second-hand resale is impossible, but he never thought, "I can''t resell because the tome would disappear into the body after turning into light."


    "The spell of ¡®Strength Enhancement¡¯ should have been engraved on Toru''s soul. Try it now." (Esther)


    "Should I use the chant to use it?" (Toru)


    "Yeah. If you get used to it, you can even use it < Chant-less Casting > once you get used to it." (Esther)


    "Hmmm" (Toru)


    Toru has already acquired the < Chant-less Casting > skill.


    (That was in the skill tree because it can be learned through practice) (Toru)


    Toru again activates < strength enhancement >, conscious of his inner power.


    This time, < Chant-less Casting >.


    The next moment, he suddenly felt his body brimming with power.


    "--Foo!" (Toru)


    Toru stepped on the ground and jumped forward.


    He felt an eleration that he had never experienced before. The scenery flows at high speed at the edge of his field of view.


    Both < Strength Enhancement > and < Chant-less Casting > were sessful.


    "I said that you can do "Chant-less Casting" eventually, but as expected, you did seed..." (Esther)


    Esther''s eyes were glued on Toru¡¯s back. Suddenly, did she think that him using < Chant-less Casting > was strange?


    However, Toru could use it without any previous experience. It''s probably nothing special.


    Toru walked towards his original position while confirming the condition of < Strength Enhancement >.


    "This magic is pretty good. I still have to be consciously casting the spell to maintain it, but if I get used to it, I may be able to maintain it without thinking." (Toru)


    "Usually, it takes a month before you can use it while in action..." (Esther)


    Now it''s good because people are usually dealing with a monster smaller than themselves. However, it does not mean that there will never be times when you will face a monsterrger than themselves.


    The size difference is proportional to physical strength. The greater the mass, the greater the attack power.


    Strength Enhancement is an essential skill to ovee such physical phenomena.


    Considering the life of adventurers in the future, they have to be proficient enough to continue to activate them unconsciously.


    Then Toru used his purchased tomes one after another. Toru was impressed by the four types of magic, from the basic attributes.


    < Fireball > pierces the ground he targeted, < Water ball > further pierces the hole.


    The < Earth Needle > made the ground produce spikes and the Air Cutter > cut the jagged ground.


    Although life magic was not shy, it was very useful.


    If one has < Ignition >, they can quickly start a fire, and if someone has the spell < Water Supply > it can produce fresh drinking water. < Drying >, makes wet clothes dry simr to clothes dried under the sun.


    Toru once cast one spell and then tried to activate it with < Chant-less Casting >.


    Its power is slightly weaker than when casting, but it is still overwhelmingly fast.


    If you can activate magic during closebat, it will increase the number of maneuvers you can do and it will be easier to corner your opponent. Also, it may be possible to avoid the attack from the opponent who chants to activate the magic.


    "Wait a minute, Toru! Are you nning on destroying the area!?" (Esther)


    Toru performed a magical test and pointed at the uneven, barren ground, but Esther got angry behind his shoulder.


    "Yes, I mean no, but it''s better to shoot at the ground, right?" (Toru)


    "If it''s normal power the terrain should not look... that rugged, the guards willin." (Esther)


    "Wow, that''s bad then. Should I aim at a distance? But I think it would be dangerous if there were people." (Toru)


    "Simr to bow and arrow, magic also loses power over distance. It would be okay if no one is in the visible range." (Esther)


    "Well, I see. I''ll try it." (Toru)


    Believing in Esther''s words, Toru fired a "fireball" at a distance.


    --Boom!


    The ejected < fireball > makes a sound as if it crosses the wall of sound velocity, and advances steadily forward.


    ¡¸¡­¡­¡¹


    ¡¸¡­¡­¡¹


    further.


    ¡¸¡­¡­¡­¡­¡¹


    ¡¸¡­¡­¡­¡­¡¹


    and further.


    ¡¸¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡¹


    ¡¸¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡¹


    The ?fireball? became a dot and disappeared from the visible range.


    Shortly thereafter. A pir of fire rose from the other side of the horizon towards the sky.


    "...I''m sorry, Toru. Apparently what I said was a mistake. Forget what I said." (Esther)


    "¡­¡­uhuh" (Toru)


    Never cast magic far away. Toru carved those words deep into his heart.


    Subsequently, Toru used < Lighting > and < Blind >.


    When he chanted < Lighting >, a small light appeared. It was stationary magic.


    It''s a magic that keeps shining endlessly if one puts it in his designated ce unless the mana is exhausted or the caster erases it.


    "Most people who have a mastery of light magic will learn this < Lighting > at the very beginning. With this, you can reduce the cost of candles and stay up all night!" (Esther)


    "It''s kind of like the lights kids would want to y with." (Toru)


    "What do you say. I suppose nights are time is when people study... Maybe it''s different in Toru¡¯s original world?" (Esther)


    "Oh, yeah. I think the activities atte night is rather excessive." (Toru)


    In Japan, there were tools such as PCs for gaming that could be yed even at night.


    However, there are no games orputers in Eargard.


    The only things people can do here at night are studying or working at home.


    What a healthy world.


    "In my world, when I stay upte, my parents get angry, saying that I should go to bed early." (Toru)


    "It''s the same in this world." (Esther)


    Esther smiled bitterly.


    It seems that parents in every world have the same job of putting their children to sleep.


    Toru learned < Blind > spell.


    Blind isn¡¯t as shy, but it is a spell that blocks your opponent''s view. If it is released during a battle, the battle situation can be changed.


    "Efficacy depends on how you use it." (Esther)


    Esther was astonished by the variety of tomes he had purchased and the results.


    First of all, she was surprised that he seeded in the < Chant-less Casting > of spells with just one try.


    Since Toru, who used magic for the first time, seeded in < Casting > for the first time, Esther felt the shock that the world would copse, ¡°There are no big elves in this world.¡±


    "¡­¡­impossible" (Esther)


    Even more amazing is the power of his magic. Toru''s basic magic was powerful enough to transform the terrain.


    Besides, the magic he casts reach far beyond one¡¯s sight, without diminishing.


    Even the advance magic she saw didn¡¯t respond like this.


    Is this truly basic magic!?


    Esther is not a magician. However, she has experience of seeing magic.


    The basic magic that an ordinary adventurer uses is not as powerful as Toru¡¯s.


    "Usefulness of magic depends on how you use it" (Esther)


    What more is he going to do?


    For Esther, everything is getting more absurd!


    Toru is convinced that he is using advanced magic, not basic magic.


    And above all, Toru has mastered all the magic he purchased.


    If he was a normal beginner, he should have run out of magic just by using a few spells. He should have run out of mana when he learned some of the spells.


    If one is near the end of their mana cap, they will feel dizzy and tired. If one further use magic from that state, they will experience palpitations, shortness of breath, and eventually faint.


    Toru had already released dozens of spells, but there is no sign that he will run out of mana.


    "Is Toru a ¡®lost¡¯?" (Esther)


    It seems pretty suspicious.


    As a person who was originally born and raised in Eargard is still unconvinced.


    Esther doesn''t want to discriminate against lost people. However, she still knows that it is reasonable for ¡®lost people¡¯ to be called an ¡®inferior¡¯ since their levels do not rise from 1.


    Toru was far too far from the general image ¡®lost people¡¯ show.


    "That is why we should form a party." (Esther)


    Esther received a tremendous amount of support from Toru.


    That time against the hordes of goblins, Esther was prepared to die and never return.


    Toru rescued her from that reality.


    He will never be the kind to be too proud even in the future, he will not let it go up to his head.


    However, apart from that, she thought.


    (Isn''t it possible to go anywhere if I form a party with Toru?) (Esther)


    Toru cut down a horde of goblins with only a ck longsword. He possesses more than enough ability as a swordsman. Besides, his magic is also outstanding.


    It is a super excellent talent as an adventurer. Anyway, she wanted to have a party with him.


    However, the ability of Esther herself is a problem.


    "... after all, you have to support each other..." (Esther)


    The party members are equal. Only if one supports the other it will eventually fail.


    The parties work because theyplement each other in areas theyck.


    Esther''s ability was a bit insufficient to form a reliable party with him.


    "I can''t stay like this." (Esther)


    Toplement Toru''s mastery of magic, Esther pulled out her long sword.


    (To keep being an adventurer and to be selected by Toru, I need to be stronger and grow even stronger!)


    To stand next to Toru.


    Esther abandoned her pondering and simply trained.

 Chapter 18 First Request

    <h4>Chapter 18 First Request</h4>


    Taken by Esther, Toru came to the outside of Finlis.


    Toru was absorbed in the magic he used for the first time.


    He resisted the urge to say something chuunibyou, such as "Kukkukku" or "I must calm the evil sealed in my hand". (T/N ¨C a.k.a. middle-school second-year syndrome: typically used to describe early teens who have delusions of grandeur.)


    This time he barely resisted, but Toru does not know when another episode will ur.


    Chuunibyou urges are dangerous.


    While using magic, Toru realized that changing his image would change the magic.


    For example, < Fireball >. If you use it without any image, a ball of fire of about 10 cm (4¡±) in diameter will fly towards the target.


    When he was creating an image before activating it, he could change the size of the me and increase or decrease the power of the spell.


    Toru isn''t nning on imagining < re >. He wanted to use < Fireball >, so he tried to make it as small as possible and increase the firepower to the maximum,


    "And what? What are you doing?! It looks way too suspicious. I''m leaving now!" (Esther)


    Esther was upset.


    Toru thought that she was exaggerating, but he became so scared of her unusual reaction that he stopped from casting it.


    Not just power. The color of magic has been changed.


    ?Fireball? can be changed into various colors if you imagine the me¡¯s power.


    When imagining a BTB solution, < < Water Ball > > was changed to yellow, green, and blue. (T/N ¨C BTB (Bromothymol blue) solution is used for pH indication for alkali substances. Colors range from yellow, green, and blue. Just google for more info)


    The image of < Rock Needle > changes colors from varying shades of white to ck depending on what substance he imagines. However, even if he tried hard, he couldn''t make it golden or silver.


    He thought it would be interesting if the < Rock Needle > turned golden or silver, but ordinary ins do not containrge amounts of gold and silver. So the color doesn''t change.


    Besides, it was not possible to change if the substances thought off are low in concentration.


    The only thing that didn''t change color was wind magic.


    Since air is colorless. There may be colored air in this world, but Toru doesn¡¯t know. If he didn''t know, he couldn''t have it show in his magic.


    "I think that if I collect and release colored smoke, I can add color to < Air Cutter > as well. I think it will take time and effort if I do not prepare the smoke first." (Toru)


    However, just because it was done does not mean that the power of magic changes or that it became easier to use.


    It''s just a hobby for Toru.


    Toru was bing ustomed to magic while performing various experiments.


    When he noticed, the day has already begun to end.


    "Oh, I''m hungry..." (Toru)


    When he was no longer able to concentrate as his stomach called his attention.


    Toru used magic to level the bumpy ground to not be a bother to others.


    "Toru. I''ll be back soon." (Esther)


    Esther, who had been training herself very hard, was putting her sword in a sheath and wiped her face with a towel.


    So far she hasn''t interfered with Toru''s magic practice. She hadn¡¯t talked to him since she stopped Toru''s "re"-like "fireball".


    "Sorry, I''m sorry to have wasted your day." (Toru)


    "No. It was good because I was able to concentrate on my training." (Esther)


    The two quickly passed through Finlis'' gate and returned to the inn.


    After finishing their dinner that wasn¡¯t quite tasty, they ate enough for the skipped lunch. Toru returned to his room and immediately copse into his bed.


    By the way, dinner was a steak that was hard and chewy as leather with an overwhelmingly salty taste.


    ¡ð


    Before bedtime. Toru suddenly reminded himself of a ssic fantasy training.


    Like muscle training, "if you continue to use magic, your magical power will increase."


    Therefore, Toru decided to use magic before going to bed to increase his magical power.


    The magic used is of course not the kind of < fireball > or < waterball >. If he used such a thing, the inn will be burned down in no time. Good thing < lighting > can be used even at home.


    However, if one normally uses < lighting >, the room will be so bright and he will not be able to sleep.


    So Toru decided to put the < lighting > under the bed.


    "How many can I cast?" (Toru)


    He tried to insert cast of them. However, he did not feel that his magic power has decreased.


    It was useless to cast one by one, and it became troublesome after a while and he cast one with all the mana he can pour.


    Immediately, the bed began to shine like a UFO.


    The amount of light seems to emerge from that single light alone.


    If someone were to look straight at this, he will be blind.


    However, Toru ran out of magical power after activating < Lighting > and faints after doing so. Luckily he avoided the horrors of blindness.


    Toru woke up the next day,


    "what''s this¡­¡­" (Toru)


    He was at a loss of words for a while because of the radiance that overflowed from the bed.


    When his head started to clear, he finally remembered, "Speaking of which, I had cast a lot of "lighting"st night."


    Some disappeared during the night, but there was still a fair amount of < lighting > left in the futon.


    Waking up with a shiny futon was a very surreal experience.


    It feels like a reborn Tutankhamun. (T/N ¨C Tutankhamun, ¡°Boy Pharaoh¡±, is a well-known Egyptian pharaoh. For more info, google him.)


    It became a sarcophagus, not a bed...


    Anyway, Toru silently disabled the < lighting > and prepare for the day.


    As soon as the sun rose, he left the inn.


    The day before, he was able to fully satisfy his desire to use magic, so today he wanted to receive a request from the guild.


    The guild was quiet. It''s not yet the time for adventurers to start working.


    There are no adventurers, but the guild was open.


    People are in the guild for 24 hours so they can respond when an emergency happens.


    There are no people at the reception desk, but there is a bell.


    It''s the same as the front desk of the hotel, and it seems that someone will appear if he rings the bell.


    Toru looked at the bulletin board where the guild''s requests were posted.


    "The request that can be received even by an F-rank is...here?" (Toru)


    Luggage carry: 5rge copper coins a day.


    Delivery: 4rge copper coins a day.


    Water supply cleaning: 6rge copper coins per day.


    If he looked only at this, he will feel that adventurers are just names and that they are just temporary staffing businesses.


    But this is also an important job. All are indispensable tasks in the city.


    Toru found a request to "collect herbs" from among them.


    Since this request is permanent, there is no failure. If he brings medicinal herbs, he will be paid only for what he brings.


    "It¡¯s good that there are no failures." (Toru)


    It is impossible for Toru, but if he used the memory of Lid as his guide. He can collect herbs.


    Maybe it''ll be fine, but Toru decided to make this "herb collection" request without thinking deeply.


    Since the request is permanent, it does not matter if he does not apply to the reception. Toru left the guild as it was.


    He bought grilled meat for lunch at the stalls along the way and threw it into his inventory where no one could see it.


    "Oh, hi. Uh...It is Toru, right? You alone today?" (Guard)


    "Yes. I''m going to collect herbs." (Toru)


    "Already. Hmm, do your best." (Guard)


    "Oh, yes." (Toru)


    Presenting the guild card to the guard Toru exited through Finlis Gate.


    "...What was with that reaction?" (Toru)


    Toru remembered the look of the guard as he left the gate. It was a stern expression. However, he said nothing and left Toru to his devices.


    "Is it difficult to collect the herbs? Is it dangerous? But it''s an F-rank request." (Toru)


    He does not understand even if he thinks about it.


    ¡°Well, there are no problems, it would probably be okay?¡± Toru rushed to the forest and headed.


    Various nts grow in the forest. For Toru, these nts look just like weeds, no matter how much they look different.


    However, when he recalled Lid''s memory, he found that it was a nt with various effects.


    Shibily grass, spice grass, licorice grass, disinfectant grass...


    There was no official name in Lid''s memory, but the taste can be understood with a single shot.


    "...Maybe Lid has eaten all these grasses?" (Toru)


    He lived mainly in hunting. However, it is not always possible to hunt for prey every day. There must have been days when no prey was found.


    At that time, Lid was eating grass to satiate his hunger.


    Toru was crying when he imagined that Lid was eating grass. Getting hurt and suffering from the spiciness, and happy to find sweet grass.


    Toru has lived in Japan without any inconvenience. He never got hungry and had to eat grass. No matter how poor the people became there was the food offered by the government to helped people. That was once his normal.


    But how blessed was such a life?


    Eargard is not such a world.


    If he is not able to work, Toru will be forced to live on grass because to pay for future expenses.


    "I must do my best!" (Toru)


    Toru renews his determination to live in Eargard.


    When he walked through the forest, he found a medicinal nt easily. The collection method was also remembered by Lid. If possible, trim only one stem from the center without damaging the root.


    By doing so, the medicinal nts will sprout and grow without dying.


    A wild dog would often approach Toru, but it would run away with its tail tucked in with only a slight < intimidation >.


    The encounter rate with wild dogs is higher than before.


    "Is it normal to target the same individual?" (Toru)


    If the beasts be too persistent, cut it, and throw it away.


    However, because the beasts look like a dog, Toru didn''t want to kill it aggressively.


    "I don''t want you to get near me if possible..." (Toru)


    Toru cast four < fireballs > overhead while thinking. Rotating it over and over.


    The activated Fireball has a modest power. It is dangerous if the magic power runs out while in the middle, and if the power is too strong, it will burn the trees.


    The reason why he activated < Fireball > is to train his magic.


    If he can do this unconsciously, it will be much easier to activate magic.


    < Fireball > When four are getting easier he added another one. When 5 became easy, he gradually increased the number to 6.


    In rare cases, the control would be disturbed and the trees would get burned, but Toru immediately extinguished the fire with a < waterball >, he had been preparing to use.


    When he was searching for medicinal herbs while practicing magic, he noticed that beasts suddenly stopped appearing.


    "...Is my intent understood by the wild dogs?" (Toru)


    The reason why the wild dogs wouldn''t get close to him was not that they knew that he didn''t want to kill them.


    It''s simply because they don''t want to approach a suspicious person with countless < fireballs > on their head.


    If ones¡¯ survival instinct is functioning properly, they will be afraid to approach such dangerous people.


    However, without realizing it, Toru hummed satisfied and collected herbs.

 Chapter 19: Request Report and Rank Up

    <h4>Chapter 19: Request Report and Rank Up</h4>


    When the sun was beginning to change the hue, I postponed the herb collection quest and left the forest.


    Getting out of the forest I bring-out the meat skewers I bought this morning from my inventory. A wild dog appeared again, perhaps attracted by the smell of meat skewers.


    However, it still probably remembered me, or it was just looking at me from a distance.


    Watching the wild dog whining like "kuun" while drooling saliva makes me feel like I''m a terrible person.


    However, the opponent is a wild dog. Not a pet dog. If I get bitten and get sick, it will be the end of me.


    Rabies, in particr, causes sure death when it progresses. I shouldn¡¯t let a wild dog approach me just because it is cute. I hardened my heart and finished the meat skewers.


    When I arrived at the gate of Finlis, the guard waved his hand and approached me.


    "Oh Toru, wee back" (Guard)


    "Hello." (Toru)


    "You seem safe. I suppose you got some herbs. So how was your first quest?" (Guard)


    "I was able to collect some, but I''m not sure if it is enough." (Toru)


    "Oh, yeah. Yeah, it seems that a lot of Silver Wolves have been seen roaming a lot recently, but you seem to be okay." (Guard)


    "Silver Wolf... is it ¡°dog-like¡± in appearance?" (Toru)


    "It does look like one I guess." (Guard)


    The smiling guard suddenly turned and focused on me while looking a bit ominous.


    "Did you see one?" (Guard)


    "Yes, I saw them quite a bit." (Toru)


    "Oh wow. It is good that you survived..." (Guard)


    The guard looked unconvinced.


    He was quite astonished because Toru is currently dressed in normal clothes and has no armor equipped.


    It ismon sense to fight these wolves with proper equipment. But I look unarmed


    However, I have < Magic Sword >.


    I haven¡¯t used it recently but if one of those wolves attacked me. I wouldn¡¯t hesitate on shing them and killing the wolves.


    However, others who do not know the existence of < Magic Sword. It seems that I just went there unarmed and unprotected.


    For adventurers, an armor is like a suit for office workers.


    Even if you are saying "I am working for apany" but you¡¯re wearing Steteco shorts. Nobody would believe you. [T/N: Steteco/Suteteco are something like pajamas or clothes you wear at home]


    (Maybe I look like someone suspicious. I should probably have some kind of equipment on me?) (Toru)


    "Well, were you doing the quest with Esther?" (Guard)


    "No. I¡¯m doing something else from Esther. We''re not at a party." (Toru)


    "Oh, I thought she¡¯s the reason you¡¯re safe." (Guard)


    The guard scratched his head.


    "Were you once an adventurer?" (Toru)


    "Yes" (Guard)


    "There are some dangerous ces, so I''m relieved if I can have a party... but no, it¡¯s a troublesome thing to say. It¡¯s a terrible idea." (Toru)


    I thought about it, Esther is a beautiful woman and his senior in adventuring. Nobody wouldn¡¯t want her as a party member.


    But I¡¯m a lost person, someone whose abilities are considered sub-par, an ¡°inferior¡±. This is why I refused to party with Esther. Me partying with her would only bring trouble.


    "Hmm. Maybe when we meet, we should discuss finding a suitable partner for her." (Toru)


    I purchased some hemp sacks at one of the shops along the road.


    After entering an alley where no one is near. I put the herbs in the hemp bag after taking it all out from my < inventory >.


    "¡­¡­so inconvenient." (Toru)


    If possible, I would like to use < inventory > as much as possible due to its convenience. But after hearing what Marie said I can¡¯t stop but be anxious.


    I wonder if there¡¯s a more convenient way.


    When I entered the guild, a line was now present unlike when I came this morning. Another adventurer who has probably finished his quest is reporting hispletion.


    After waiting at the end of the line Toru''s turn soon came.


    "Wee Toru-san. What kind of business do you have today?" (Marie)


    "I have been collecting herbs from the permanent quest on the board. Please check them." (Toru)


    "Oh, that one?" (Marie)


    "Eh, is there any problem with the request?" (Toru)


    "No, it''s okay as long as you collect the herbs properly. Then, please ce the herbs here." (Marie)


    "Here you go." (Toru)


    Toru nodded and put the hemp bag full of herbs on top of the counter.


    Marie was shocked when she saw the bag on top of the counter.


    (¡­¡­) (Marie)


    "What¡¯s wrong?" (Toru)


    "None... are all of the herbs inside, may I check it?" (Marie)


    "Sure, go ahead" (Toru)


    Marie opened a frighteninglyrge bag.


    There truly was a lot of herbs inside.


    "wow¡­¡­" (Marie)


    As soon as she saw it, Marie''s head nked out. [EN: asionally you¡¯ll see something like this when it changes from first person to third person. Here it changes from first to third. That is the following symbol] [1 ¡ú 3]


    A few secondster. The first thing that came to her mind was the word "joke".


    (It''s a joke. It''s different from the usual harvests of herbs I see.) (Marie)


    To clear the herb collection request, one bundle with five herbs is required.


    The usual adventurer brings back 3-4 bundles of herbs.


    With the same amount of time.


    This is not normal.


    When Marie witnessed the number of herbs that would be around or more than 10 times the norm, she felt hermon sense shake and breakdown.


    She thought that he was going to be a promising adventurer in the future. But his talent is too abnormal...


    (¡­¡­¡­¡­) (Marie)


    "Sorry, did I bring the wrong herb?" (Toru)


    Toru quietly asked Marie who had suddenly stopped moving.


    "No, no. It''s enough! I was surprised that you could collect so much." (Marie)


    "That¡¯s good¡­¡­" (Toru)


    Toru felt relief from the bottom of his heart. He was feeling a little bit depressed when he was told that he had collected a lot only to bring the wrong amount or kind of herb.


    "Well, if you don''t mind, could you tell me how you collected this amount?" (Marie)


    "Well the answer is pretty much the usual, I just collected it..." (Toru)


    "The usual... What is ¡®the usual¡¯?" (Marie)


    Support the trantor onzytrantions.weebly


    The receptionist assessed the herbs while looking exhausted for some reason.


    The total amount of herbs collected by Toru was 103 bundles, with the requested amount being 1 bundle. Toru has suddenlypleted an unexpected number of achievements.


    Unbeknownst to Toru, Marie¡¯s exhausted appearance suddenly became lively


    "The cutting is perfect, and there are no mistakes. They are quite high quality. Toru-san is pretty used in handling herbs." (Marie)


    "Yes. I know a bit." (Toru)


    This limited knowledge is only about the forest near Finlis.


    Besides, Toru could not collect herbs unless he reads Lid¡¯s memories. All of his knowledge is just borrowed power. This is not something that he can be proud of.


    "A bit? This permanent request has high difficulty." (Toru)


    "Why is it F-rank?" (Marie)


    "The degree of danger is F-rank, but it is necessary to have an eye for distinguishing medicinal nts and knowledge of how to harvest. Since you have to have both of them, you should also be on guard not to be attacked by monsters. So even among requests for F-rankers, it¡¯s considered the most difficult.'''' (Marie)


    "I see." (Toru)


    "Since neers fail in this kind of mission one after another, it has be a permanent request, so even if a neer fails, there are no disadvantages. Otherwise, new adventurers will repeatedly fail toplete the quest and will be removed from the guild roster in no time." (Marie)


    "I see." (Toru)


    As Toru listened to the receptionist, cold sweat poured on Toru''s back.


    (I chose this because I can¡¯t see myself making any mistakes. But that''s why I need to think things through before receiving a request...!) (Toru)


    "It is not only here, but at present, the request for medicinal herb collection has be permanent. Because F-rank adventurers fail too often..." (Marie)


    "I see." (Toru)


    "This is not the only request that frequently fails. Recently, several adventurers are being kicked out because they continue to fail. Recently, many guild staffmented that the adventurers arecking in skill and talent¡­¡± (Marie)


    "Well, that sounds tough." (Toru)


    "That''s right! Thanks to that, the number of adventurers with rank E and F has decreased... It''s still okay for now, but if it continues, there is a possibility that low-rank requests will not be avable in the future. I wish everyone was a good adventurer like Toru-san." (Marie)


    "Ahahaha....." (Toru)


    The receptionist looked at Toru with an expectant look.


    That gesture made the adventurer who was waiting behind Toru click his tongue while being filled with murderous intent, "Chi! (Explode)."


    His bloodlust is piercing Toru and cold sweat flows down on Toru''s back.


    "Is that all?" (Toru) [1]


    "Ah, yes, I''m very sorry. Then, I will go through the procedure toplete the request. Toru-san, here is your guild card." (Marie)


    "Thank you" (Toru)


    Toru put the card on the tablet that the receptionist ced on the counter. When the receptionist pushed a button on the side of the table, a light came out and was absorbed by the card.


    103 lights have emerged. It is the number of requestspleted. Meanwhile, the receptionist begins to press the button 103 times.


    "Foo..." (Marie)


    The receptionist shook her hand after the analysis showed 103 lights.


    (Well, if you push the button that many times, your fingers will surely get tired...) (Toru)


    "Thank you for waiting. This is the reward for this time. Please check." (Marie)


    Toru took the small hemp bag from the receptionist and looked inside. There were 10 silver coins and 3rge copper coins inside.


    The reward is onerge copper coin per bundle of medicinal herb.


    Whether the reward is high or low is unknown to Toru. One might consider it cheap for only getting onerge copper coin forpleting a difficult quest.


    However, if they make proper preparations, they can make a killing if they bring back 10 bundles which are equal to a silver coin.


    "And congrattions. Since the number ofpleted request has exceeded the amount needed to rank up, your adventurer rank has increased to E." (Marie)


    "eh?" (Toru)


    Toru never expected that his adventurer rank would go up after one quest.


    Though he was surprised he acted calmly.


    "Isn''t it too easy? I''ve only cleared the herbal collection." (Toru)


    "There is no problem for F-ranks because it uses a simple point system. Some may feel tricked, but in the first ce no one cleared the required points with just one medicinal herb collection quest." (Marie)


    Marie replied while smiling.


    It would have been hard to carry 103 herbs into the guild.


    If a person doesn''t have < inventory >, it''s difficult to rank up when you just do the herb collection quest.


    "Somehow it feels too easy..." (Toru)


    "The F-rank is made only to observe the basic physical strength and the reliability of the adventurer. I do not think that the standard is low, but if you are going to be an adventurer, you should clear this stage easily. It is a stage where one bes a true adventurer when crossed.'''' (Marie)


    "So that''s it" (Toru)


    In other words, Marie is describing something like a probation period when getting employed by apany. Toru was convinced.


    "You can now receive subjugation requests from E-rank. The difficulty is quite different from an F-rank request, so please be careful." (Marie)


    "Okay. Thank you for your guidance." (Toru)


    Toru bowed and left the guild.


    -While feeling a stabbing gaze directed at him.

 Chapter 20: Repelling the Ruffian and Esther Missing

    <h4>Chapter 20: Repelling the Ruffian and Esther Missing</h4>


    On the way from the guild to the inn. My < intuition > caught the sign of someone tailing me.


    There are about two people following me. They have been following me since I left the guild premises.


    Thinking that it might be a misunderstanding, I entered an alley as a test. However, there seem to be no further signs of being tailed. I probably misunderstood the people who seem to be following me.


    But I turned around the corner and moved to intercept the people following me and then I waited.


    "What!?" (Unknown men)


    When I suddenly appeared from the corner, I surprised the two people following me.


    I thought it to be rude that the two who seem to be following me were surprised.


    I was slightly upset and began to talk.


    "You have been following me since I got out of the guild. What do you want from me?" (Toru)


    I observed the people tailing me.


    I noticed that there is something familiar with the two people in front of me.


    Where have I seen them¡­ They¡¯re the ones from that time at the guild.


    These two are the drunk adventurers from the guild.


    I don''t know their names and I''m not interested in knowing. I don''t know what their purpose is but I know that nothing good wille of it. Only that is clear.


    The menughed like hyenas, raising their chin and looking down on me.


    "As seniors, we can see that you don''t know much about adventurers. So we¡¯re hoping to teach a rookie like you." (Drunkard 1)


    ¡°You have nothing to teach me" (Toru)


    "Well. Well, there is an important lesson you must learn. Right?" (Drunkard 2)


    ¡°Oh, yeah. Look at us, we''re E-rank adventurers. And we¡¯re close to rank up to D. Being an adventurer is a tough job. Even if they are highly capable people like us. It''s hard to rank up, and no matter how good your skills are, you can easily die." (Drunkard 1)


    "¡­¡­Just what do you want?" (Toru) [1]


    I didn''t want to waste my time chatting with these adventurers. I wanted to return to the inn immediately.


    When I asked them about what point they are trying to get across, one of themughed before putting his arm on my shoulder.


    "Small fries like you ¡®inferiors¡¯ should learn your ce."


    Then, the man punches me right in my stomach.


    It was a blow that is impossible to evade when someone is holding the target''s shoulders.


    "--eh!?" (Drunkard 1)


    "That''s all I want to say?" (Toru)


    I caught the fist with just one hand.


    "So you caught my fist. Stop acting like a big shot, you ¡®inferior¡¯!" (Drunkard 1)


    "What are you going to do, Here take this!" (Drunkard 2)


    If they attack me. That¡¯s when I¡¯ll strike back...


    I can¡¯t help but feel like they¡¯re pathetic.


    I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt. But after talking to them, I realized it was useless.


    I pushed the man slightly.


    The man lost bnce and fell on his ass.


    This is E-rank and someone close to D-rank?


    The story that the receptionist said, "The quality of adventurers is falling" is probably not an exaggeration.


    "Bastard, what are you doing!!" (Drunkard 2)


    "Don''t be in a hurry because you suddenly reached E-rank! Tomato bastard!" (Drunkard 1)


    "It¡¯s shameful to have you in the guild. You¡¯re so full of yourself! (Drunkard 2)


    The men pulled out the swords on their hips and pointed them towards me.


    I think the two drunks have gone insane. However, I calmly observed the two attackers.


    "Will you resign from being an adventurer, or will you kneel and give us your reward from earlier? I''ll let you choose." (Drunk 1)


    I finally realized their true goal.


    Here is what I think they want:


    "Apologize for shaming us in the guild, and give us the reward that you received as a fee."


    It''s stupid.


    "I should have ignored them but I still did it..." (Toru)


    "what?" (Drunk 2)


    "No, there¡¯s still a way to fix this. You¡¯ll eventually do this again... but I won¡¯t give you the chance." (Toru)


    I activated < intimidation > with all my might.


    At the same time, the men''s faces be blue and cramped.


    They began to gasp and their mouths pped like a fish.


    In the meantime, I instantly cast < Strength Enhancement > to my whole body.


    The enhancement of magic instantly strengthens my body.


    I did it before the men regain theirposure,


    "¡ªhyaa!" (Toru)


    "Gua!?" (Drunk 1)


    "ouf!?" (Drunk 2)


    I hit both of the men on their stomachs with a palm thrust


    The moment my palm touched the two men, their bodies flew.


    The men blew off ten meters from where they stood, then falling and rolling another five meters.


    They''re vomiting and foaming from their mouths, but they''re already unconscious. It is probably an effect of having their stomach juices forced out of their stomach.


    I confirmed that both are unconscious, before releasing the spell and heading to the inn.


    "With this level of ability, and me as an E-rank. This is probably the deterioration of the quality of adventurers... Well, the receptionist did say that it is quite easy to rank up to E once you¡¯ve mastered the basics. But that doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯re strong."


    Even some full-time employees in apany can do worse than part-timers. It is probably simr to that


    Even the E-ranked adventurers mayck ability.


    ¡°In a meritocratic hierarchical system, people are promoted to the limit of their abilities¡± (Toru)


    It is simr to what is called Peter''s Principle on Earth, which is true even in the adventurer society of Eargard. [T/N ¨C Peter¡¯s principle ¨C states that a person within an organization will be promoted to his optimum level ofpetence and seeding promotions will only decrease theirpetence. You can google it if you want a clearer definition]


    Those who have the ability get promoted further, and those who do not stagnate on their level.


    These two are thetter.


    "...Yeah. Don''t just follow the procedure of ranking up. If you don¡¯t think and enhance your skills, you''ll die quickly." (Toru)


    I defeated the two armed men in an instant, and reminded myself of this.


    I didn''t think that he was able to beat the opponent because he was strong. He was called an inferior because he was weak then, The opponents this time were just weaker.


    "Slowly but surely, taking one step at a time. I will grow and reach the normal strength of the locals here then I will survive Eargard..." (Toru)


    Because it is a world where life is cheap, I can never be too careful.


    ¡ð¡ð¡ð


    Toru, who went to the dining room at dinner, ate delicious food before dining at the inn. [1 ¡ú 3]


    Until yesterday, there has been nobody who wanted to approach him until he heard a voice,


    "Hey Toru. Is this seat vacant?" (Landy)


    "Isn''t she back yet?" (Landy)


    Toru was thinking ¡°where is she anyway?¡±, ¡°she was getting a little annoying¡±. But without Esther, he felt weirdly lonely somehow.


    "What about Esther?" (Toru)


    Thendy who heard Toru talking to himself approached him while grinning.


    "So, yeah. Did Esther make a request today?" (Toru)


    "She hasn¡¯te back yet." (Landy)


    Thendy said she was afraid. Toru is slightly annoyed. Why is she that worried?


    But it is wrong to be angry at someone for just asking. So Toru immediately stopped himself.


    "Are you worried?" (Landy)


    (¡­¡­) (Toru)


    "Oh, she''ll be back soon. She has been a long time adventurer. When the request is over, she¡¯ll probably want Ale to drink. So just wait for her and just chill and wait, but she might never return. There are even adventurers who don¡¯t.'''' (Landy)


    (¡­¡­¡­) (Toru)


    "Hey, it''s a joke. Don''t look at me with such scary eyes. Well, if you are worried about her too much, your heart will wear out. So go on and eat." (Landy)


    Saying that thendyughed loudly and served a big serving of "sd" on my te.


    What an energetic woman!


    While having small talk, thendy has been observing what Toru normally likes and eats.


    Energetic, but attentive. A very skilledndy.


    Toru''s reactions made her feel happy.


    Surely Esther wille back tomorrow. Toru convinced himself, so he slept with another UFO bed enchanted by plenty of < lighting >.


    But Esther didn''t return to Finlis the next day.

 Chapter 21: Receptionist’s spirit

    <h4>Chapter 21: Receptionist¡¯s spirit</h4>


    Three days have passed, but Esther hasn''t returned to Finlis yet.


    I can¡¯t pretend that everything is fine.


    While heading to the guild, I checked the E-rank request on the bulletin board. Most of the overhanging requests were for monster subjugation, and the rest were collection & reconnaissance requests.


    Not one single request posted should take several days to clear. I could probably finish most of these in a day at most.


    Esther was known to be on the verge of being promoted to D-rank. But right now, she¡¯s still an E-rank adventurer. It is highly possible that she took one of those E-rank requests.


    However, she hasn¡¯t returned yet.


    It is very possible that she¡¯s in trouble while doing the request.


    I went to the reception.


    "Excuse me. Esther hasn''t returned and a few days have passed since west met. Do you know where she went?" (Toru)


    "I''m sorry, Toru-san. Due to our rules on confidentiality, we can¡¯t divulge information pertaining to quests and the adventurers that undertake it." (Marie)


    "... her absence is already a cause for concern. If Esther is still alive, we might be able to save her if we go help her now. Esther may die because of your reluctance to give information. We might be toote if we don¡¯t do anything right now. Do you understand that?" (Toru)


    (¡­) (Marie)


    I released < intimidation > and shook my head.


    I feel maybe I¡¯ve overdone it? The receptionist was quite pale and petrified. Tears are also about to fall from her eyes.


    (Why am I so agitated...) (Toru)


    I¡¯m not in a party with Esther, nor do we share a close rtionship. However, I guess we share an inn and we are fellow adventurers after all.


    Also without Esther, I wouldn¡¯t have even been able to know about Finlis. If she didn''t pay for my toll. I wouldn¡¯t be able to enter Finlis.


    She taught me about the Adventurer''s Guild and gave me the push to register. Taught me about the inn and the magic store.


    Without her, I believe that I wouldn¡¯t be where I am right now.


    That''s why I felt a great debt to Esther.


    If she''s in a bind, I want to go help her.


    While I¡¯m pondering what Marie¡¯s silence means. Marie regained her calm and opened her mouth.


    "Toru-san. Do you want to take an E-rank request? There are many subjugation requests for E-rank, and the most famous one is Goblin subjugation. There is also the subjugation for Silver Wolves. There are very few monsters in the forest, but when you go deep inside the forest, the monster encounter rate will gradually increase. However, if you go further, you will also encounter monsters that E-rank adventurers cannot deal with. Please be careful as there have been simr cases." (Marie)


    The receptionist stared into my eyes and tapped the counter with her fingertips.


    "Besides subjugation requests, though few, reconnaissance requests are also avable. Those can be taken by E-rank adventurers." (Marie)


    ¡°-Huh??... Oh yeah. Thank you for exining.¡± (Toru)


    "But please be careful." (Marie)


    Marie stared at my eyes with eyes brimming with emotion.


    And in response, I nodded thankfully.


    She exined that she was asked by the receptionist to receive an E-rank request, but she hit the counter in ces.


    When the contents are put together, it is ¡°Silver wolf, forest, deep inside, and encounter with monsters that cannot be dealt with E-rank, and reconnaissance requests¡±.


    The other day, when I passed through Finlis'' gate, the guards said, " Silver Wolves have been seen roaming a lot recently."


    When I remembered that phrase, I was now able to put together what Marie-san was talking about earlier.


    (Ester went deep into the forest of Finlis to investigate why Silver Wolves were multiplying!) [Toru]


    And the probable reason why Esther hasn¡¯te back yet, as Marie-san had said, "monsters that E-rank adventurers cannot deal with?¡± This is what Toru got from what she implied.


    The receptionist was able to clearly convey the necessary information as fast as she can without viting the confidentiality rules.


    "Thank you very much¡­¡­" (Toru)


    In return for my debt, I vowed to find Esther no matter what.


    I prepared myself and ran towards the forest as fast as I could. [1 ¡ú 3]


    ¡ð¡ð¡ð


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    "Is that the ¡®inferior¡¯ boy?" (voice)


    As Toru left the guild, a cold voice was heard from behind Marie.


    Marie¡¯s shoulders shivered in response to that voice.


    "...Chief. That¡¯s a terrible thing to say. We are relying on every adventurer¡¯s quest fulfillment." (Marie)


    "Huh. I respect excellent adventurers, but why do I have to respect ¡®inferior people¡¯? If they fail the request due to ack of ability, it will be terrible for all of us. Is there a problem?" (Philip)


    "You¡¯re right, but what you said is still discriminatory. If you don¡¯t take it back, I will report you to the head." (marie)


    "Please feel free." (Philip)


    Then Philip, the chief receptionist, smiled and closed the distance with Marie.


    "So, what did you say to him earlier?" (Philip)


    Marie freezed. Not because he brought his face closer to hers.


    He knew that Marie had passed information to Toru and broke guild rules.


    Vition of confidentiality will result in immediate disciplinary action.


    There are various degrees, but at the very least her sry will be reduced.


    (Oops¡­¡­) (Marie)


    Marie trembled, thinking of the future of her being fired.


    On the other hand, a part of Marie remembered the chief days before had been the one who suggested the request to Esther.


    (By the way, it was the chief who rmended this request to Esther...) (Marie)


    Suddenly the suspicion rose up and a wrinkle appeared between Marie''s eyebrows.


    Marie thought that Philip noticed something when he suddenly straightened his posture.


    "Well, that''s fine. Please be sure to handle information carefully to prevent this from happening in the future." (Philip)


    "¡­¡­Yes, thank you" (Marie)


    (I was let off.) (Marie)


    When Philip disappeared in the back, Marie suddenly felt exhausted and sighed. [EN: She didn¡¯t sigh in the original trantion, but the sentence didn¡¯t seem smooth, so i made it a little smoother]


    (Something feels wrong.) (Marie)


    Recently Marie felt Philip¡¯s actions have be strange. Especially with his treatment of Esther''s requests, Philip was quite active with interactions with adventurers.


    ......Not only was he involved with Esther¡¯s request. He is active with many other adventurers


    Philip was often involved in the requests of multiple adventurers.


    Though he is the Chief receptionist. He can help with advising the adventurers who ask Marie for requests.


    But his usual job is to manage the finances behind the counter.


    He arranges for payments for requestpletion and purchasing of materials.


    (Despite that, why...) (Marie)


    That was quite the mystery. But there is no answer to be found.


    Marie could not pursue Philip.


    If she chose to question him, he¡¯ll do something back to her. She can''t question him, and otherwise, he willunch a counterattack.


    She can imagine a future where she will be removed from her current job and ced somewhere where she can no longer interact with adventurers.


    The work of a receptionist is hard and the sry is meager. But Marie is quite attached to this job.


    It is good that nothing happened, it is a well-known fact that curiosity killed the cat.


    As a receptionist, she can only hold her tongue.


    ¡ð¡ð¡ð


    I ran towards the heart of the forest with all my might. I¡¯m done with waiting. I applied < Complete Enhancement > and then activated < Auditory Enhancement >.


    With the < Magic Sword > in hand, I shed at the curtains ivy blocking my path.


    Three days have passed since Esther left Finlis. It''s unclear how much supplies she has prepared for her mission. But the amount of supplies a person can carry is not endless.


    If she is injured for any reason she may sumb to hunger and thirst.


    I can''t even think that Esther is dead even for a second.


    Of course, it''s possible that Esther is already dead. However, thinking about it is useless.


    A little while after I ran through the forest, I heard a loud sound.


    "...Is someone fighting?" (Toru)


    The sound came deeper from the forest. As I listened, I heard the noise from arge object hitting something and a voice that seemed to belong to a woman.


    "Esther!?" (Toru)


    I rushed towards the sound.

 Chapter 22: Saving Esther!

    <h4>Chapter 22: Saving Esther!</h4>


    Esther is now confronting rock worms in the woods. Rock worms are giant caterpirs that are over a meter tall.


    Its body is covered with rock-hard carapace, so it''s difficult for Esther''s sword to pierce it.


    It might look like a caterpir, but rock worms are carnivorous. Even if it is against a human, she¡¯s still considered prey.


    It was a very ferocious and annoying monster.


    Esther didn''t even think that the rock worms would also be breeding, although she entered the forest due to a guild request.


    She was just expecting Silver Wolves had multiplied too much.


    It was na?ve of her.


    "...I¡¯m in quite the mess" (Esther)


    In order to defeat a rock worm, an adventurer should have at least D-rank ability. So Esther ran away at the exact moment she saw the army of rock worms.


    Esther will soon reach D-rank but she¡¯s still just E-rank. It is an opponent she can fight and has a chance to win against.


    However, that is only if she¡¯s fighting with one rock worm.


    But Esther saw an army of at least 10 rock worms. There is no of her winning if she shes with the group.


    Therefore, Esther escaped like a rabbit.


    It was the correct choice in that situation.


    However, she should have remained calm during her escape.


    As Esther escaped for her life and desperately ran away, she lost sight of her way out of the forest.


    She went often to Finlis Forest to carry out guildmissions. But today is the first time she¡¯s been to the deeper part of the forest.


    The forest of Finlis isrge andbyrinthine. There is no guarantee that a person will be able to return safely if they lose their way.


    Still, Esther didn''t despair and tried to escape from the forest, relying on her senses and memory.


    Frightened by the shadows of rock worms and other demons, Esther desperately aimed for a way outside the forest all day and night.


    It was the third day after she got lost in the forest.


    When Esther discovered a square clearing that suddenly appeared in the forest.


    It was arranged in the shape of a square, and it was arge area where four houses could be built.


    At the end of the clearing was a pile of huge lumber that could have been knocked down when the ce was cleared.


    All the trees were trimmed into an even height about 10 cm from the ground.


    The tops of the stumps are surprisingly smooth. The surface felt like they were cut by an extremely sharp sword.


    However, it is not possible to cut arge tree with a sword.


    "What is this..."


    Who made this clearing within Finlis Forest?


    What does this clearing mean?


    (Why is there a huge pile of lumber, do they n on building anything here in the future? But who¡­¡­) (Esther)


    Esther stood in front of the unusual scene.


    But It was at that time.


    --Crack.


    The sound of a twig breaking echoed within the forest. Esther reacted quickly and pulled out her sword. There she saw the one who made the sound.


    "Chi...!" (Rock worms)


    Countless rock worms were surrounding her. And a rock worm is already aiming at Esther. Some are ready to pounce and some are lifting their heads. There is no sign of a gap she can escape through.


    Esther could outrun them.


    Rock worms are rtively sluggish.


    Once Esther used < Muscle Enhancement > on herself she may be able to escape.


    But she still didn''t know in which direction she could escape getting out of the forest.


    If she escapes without thinking, she might look like she escaped from the rock worms.


    But instead, she could head further, deep into the forest.


    --what will she do?


    During this short period, Esther lost her chance to escape.


    "-Kuh!"


    Surrounded by rock worms.


    Since there are no trees around, the monsters can move better.


    Esther immediately readies herself for battle. She hesitates to attack the rock worm first and shes to counter the attacks.


    "Kuu... It''s tough!" (Esther)


    Her hands felt numb. It was as if she had tried to cut solid rock.


    Esther frowns.


    The sword she uses is one of the few good swords in Finlis. Its kind can be seen and bought at a moderate price in any weapon and armor store within Finlis.


    Still, the toughness of these worms is above par. And no matter how hard the monster was hacked, its carapace was neither chipped nor bent.


    The sword is her reliablepanion that has never given up on her.


    However, it is unreliable against an unbreakable opponent.


    (...No, it''s me who is unreliable) (Esther)


    A master can use any sword.


    What shecks is not sharpness. It is Esther¡¯s skill.


    (If only I''m a little stronger...) (Esther)


    Esther bit back a scream of frustration.


    Fortunately, rock worms are slow. Esther is confident that she wouldn''t be fatally injured if she worked hard on evading.


    She ns on devoting her strength on evading and nning an escape route.


    At the same time, she still kept trying to attack the rock worm.


    The battle was at a stalemate.


    But that condition will end in a matter of time.


    "Nu-huh!?" (Esther)


    Suddenly Esther''s knee buckled.


    As she continued to strengthen her muscles, she is now experiencing a shortage of mana in her body.


    Noticing theck of magic within Esther the worms surrounding her suddenly changed tactics. The rock worms all lifted their heads and went towards Esther.


    The tip of their mouth began opening like ripe chestnuts.


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    ?


    "Oh..." (Esther)


    (This is not good.) (Esther)


    (I will die here.) (Esther)


    (My life as an adventurer ends here.) (Esther)


    (What did I do wrong...) (Esther)


    Esther copsed like a puppet whose strings are cut once she was certain of her death.


    "help¡­" (Esther)


    This is deep in the forest.


    Even if she called for help, it was unlikely for anyone toe to her aid.


    But still, Esther called for his name.


    "... Toru"


    It wasn''t her parents'' faces nor her friends'' faces shed in Esther¡¯s desperate mind. But the face of the boy who had somehow easily annihted a goblin army, saving her.


    Then at that moment.


    "--Just in time" (Toru)


    The wind smashed the rock worm in front of Esther.


    ¡ð


    At the moment Toru found Esther, she was about to be eaten by a caterpir, Toru used magic with < Chant-less Casting >.


    He sent 10 < Air Cutter > and shot at the caterpir.


    ¨D¨DPaaaan!!


    The head of the caterpir that was trying to swallow Esther flew away as if it had been hit with a huge hammer.


    Forcing the magic to be activated multiple times made the shape of the wind de quite dull. The sharpness that was supposed to exist was not there. And it became a mere air bullet.


    But Esther''s life was saved none the less.


    "¡ªJust in time" (Toru)


    Toru stood between Esther and the caterpir, and relief filled Toru¡¯s heart.


    "Toru?¡± (Esther)


    "Yeah, Esther, are you okay?" (Toru)


    "Ah, but why..." (Esther)


    "Please listen to what kind of request you will take next time before taking them... Okay." (Esther)


    (I came because I was worried.) (Toru)


    Those words were pushed into the back of Toru¡¯s throat due to his embarrassment.


    Hiding his embarrassment, Toru raised his [Magic Sword] and shed towards the caterpirs.


    The caterpirs in the front are now dead. However, the caterpirs in the back row were still alive.


    Toru wished he could properly activate Air Cutter, then caterpirs in the back row would have also been killed, but for now, he can¡¯t help it.


    Toru is still not ustomed to magic orbat. He can only handle magic correctly during surprise attacks.


    He focuses his mind and shed the caterpirs.


    The caterpirs were wary of the sudden appearance of Toru. However, Toru killed the caterpirs without them getting the chance to open their mouths.


    "...Wow" (Esther)


    As Toru killed all the caterpirs, Esther muttered behind him while staring at him.


    "Is this kind of caterpir lurking all over the forest..." (Toru)


    These caterpirs were the same type of creatures that he found in the cave where he first revived.


    Was it a survivor of the copse, or was it from another group?


    "I can''t beat a rock worm that easily. Toru is amazing..." (Esther)


    "It''s not that hard. I mean, this is called a rock worm. Is it considered a monster?" (Toru)


    "That''s right." (Esther)


    "Is it normal for this kind of creature to umte?" (Toru)


    "That''s right." (Esther)


    Toru, who had imagined that the rock worm was just a normal bug in this world, felt relieved his heart after being told the truth.


    (Good. This is not a world where huge insects spread...) (Toru)


    "You can cut off the hands or feet even with the hardness of the rock worm''s carapace." (Esther)


    "That''s right, but I think I could only defeat it because my sword is so sharp." (Toru)


    "I see." (Esther)


    "Then Esther can almost beat the rock worms." (Toru)


    "What is your reasoning?" (Esther)


    Esther smiled.


    Did theirughter cut the tense atmosphere? Esther can¡¯t help but sit down.


    "Are you okay, Esther?" (Toru)


    Toru quickly approached Ester and took out a water bag from his < inventory >. But Esther shook her head gently.


    "I¡¯m not thirsty. I''m just a little tired." (Esther)


    "But Esther wandered through the woods for days, right? Are you sure you aren¡¯t thirsty?" (Toru)


    "Oh no problem, I just have enough water and food with me." (Esther)


    "That''s right. Oh, but I can''t find your luggage." (Toru)


    "Here it is." (Esther)


    Esther smiled sagely and put her hand inside her breastte. When she pulled it out, she had a water bag in hand.


    "Oh, what?" (Toru)


    "Actually, I have "inventory" the same as Toru." (Esther)


    "¡­¡­Oh I see" (Toru)


    "I can only hold a certain amount of luggage though." (Esther)


    Esther''s exnation finally rified a few misunderstandings.


    Esther used to take out hemp bags with money and her guild card from her breastte to conceal her ability to use < inventory >.


    "But that''s why anyone who sees misunderstands..." (Toru)


    "Oh, what?" (Esther)


    "Because you''re obviously putting things that don''t fit in the breastte." (Toru)


    Looking at Esther who leaned her head towards him, Toru smiled thinking, "Is this what the guard was talking about?"


    It seems that they are dealing with it, but there is a hole in the logic.


    "He''s skilled" (Toru)


    That guard was pretending not to notice even though Esther was using "inventory."


    "What are youughing at?" (Esther)


    "No, whatever. Then Esther, let us head back to Finlis...?!" (Toru)


    Let us head back? The words stopped in the back of Toru¡¯s throat.


    Deeper into the forest, Toru felt a bad premonition. Reacting his feelings, the hairs behind his neck stood up.


    Toru immediately raises his [Magic Sword] and stares deep into the forest.


    (This feeling. Maybe...) (Toru)


    ¡ð


    A mysterious space that suddenly appeared within the forest.


    (What is happening here) (Toru)


    (Who or what is it) (Toru)

 Chapter 23: A Duel with the Queen Rock Worm

    <h4>Chapter 23: A Duel with the Queen Rock Worm</h4>


    I had previously felt an unpleasant atmosphere simr to this.


    As soon as I remembered, I found out what was hiding deep in the forest.


    (¡­¡­) (Toru)


    ¡°I''m sorry¡±, I wanted to say those words, but I couldn''t,*


    (SubZero:* I don''t understand this sentence.)


    "What the hell is that?" (Esther)


    "Esther... please move further away from me." (Toru)


    "Is it a monster?¡± (Esther)


    "Yes." (Toru)


    I say that she should keep herself calm, but I myself was not calm, I fixed my expression to seem more calm. [1]


    "Because it will end soon" (Toru)


    I escaped from ¡®it¡¯ before without fighting ¡®it¡¯.


    I know that during that time I had no chances of winning against ¡®it¡¯.


    But not now.


    I am more experienced and stronger than before. I also know magic this time.


    Certainly, my strength has increased.


    Just maybe¡­.


    Is it possible for me to win now¡­? Of Course it is!


    "Toru? Why are youughing?" (Esther)


    "¡­Hmm¡­?" (Toru)


    After being pointed out by Esther, I put my hand over my mouth.


    I noticed that the edges of my lips were pointing up.


    I was never able tough and smile in this situation while I was still living in Japan as a sried worker.


    I typically would have turned tail and tried to escape, with a pathetic expression.


    But not now.


    I wasughing while trying to confront a strong enemy.


    Was the cause the soul transfer or is it from Lid''s body?


    -Or the [Magic Sword]? [2]


    The skill imbued within it is just inly named < Harvest >, plus the good sharpness that even rocks are easily cut. There are probably no disadvantages to this sword.


    I started to wonder if the [Magic Sword] is changing my soul.


    After thinking about it for a while, I knew that there are no ways to change my skills.


    At least I have no idea how. I may never even want to.


    Then it''s toote. The only way is to ept it and live by adapting.


    I don''t think there was something wrong with this choice.


    In any case, I would have not survived without obtaining the [Magic Sword]. It was quite essential. Then the path I took to survive is not a waste.


    In front of me, the sound of trees falling can be heard.


    I only think about this battle.


    From deep in the forest, a giant body releasing miasma appeared.


    "...Did you follow me?" (Toru)


    ?


    It was the queen of the rock worms I saw in the cave.


    At the moment when the queen appeared, I used arge amount of < Strength Enhancement > on myself and plunged into the fray.


    "-Shh!!" (Queen Rock Worm)


    A sh appeared on the queen''s body.


    It was my attack, which had hit the queen but only made a shallow cut.


    "Haha! Take that!" (Toru) [EN: He only told Haha! But, I added a Take that! To add more character into his words, it feels like he¡¯s super excited]


    That¡¯s it? Huh.


    I can feel the difference in strength between me and that Monster. [EN: He says Queen, but i changed it to monster]


    If this was an oversight, how disappointing.


    Iughed at my sense of < Intuition > and the toughness of my body.


    In the next moment.


    The queen swung its body while I was unprepared.


    I was blown away from being hit on the side, receiving the shock of being hit by a truck.


    With a violent smash, I hit a pile of logs.


    The impact made the pile copse and crush the me underneath it.


    "Toru!!" (Esther)


    Esther shouted in a shrill voice I had never heard before.


    It seemed that me being hit like that is a big deal.


    However, even with such an attack, I only felt a little bit of pain.


    This is thanks to enhancement magic.


    "...My turn." (Toru)


    I, who was convinced of my strength, grinning widely, immediately activated spells with < Chant - less Casting >.


    ¡°< Fireball > < Waterball >¡± (Toru)


    ¡°< Rock Needle > < Air Cutter >¡± (Toru)


    If it were against normal monsters, the spells would be quite lethal.


    However, it was not a fatal blow to the Queen Rock Worm.


    Still, the Queen can be seen writhing and wriggling in pain.


    Did it instinctively feel that it would take damage one-sidedly and be killed if it stayed from a distance? I thought as the queen charged towards me.


    It''s not like a normal rock worm. It possesses amazing speed.


    However,


    No matter how fast, if the body is huge. It is just arge moving target


    I cut the logs without hesitation and quickly changed my posture.


    Then, I intercepted the queen¡¯s charge with my [Magic Sword].


    It resulted in the sword tearing through the skin easily.


    "Piguar!!" (Queen Rock Worm)


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    Did it feel life-threatening pain for the first time in its life? A high-pitched scream from the Queen reverberated through the forest.


    "You have no time to recover after being hurt." (Toru)


    After waving the [Magic Sword], I immediately continued to pursue the Queen.


    While shing with the sword I cast < Rock Needle > from under the queen¡¯s belly simultaneously.


    I aimed at the bottom of its belly because I thought it was the softest part of that Thing.


    Every time the < Rock Needle > hits, a sickening sound can be heard. I don¡¯t know if there is any damage. However, regardless of the result, I continued to use the < Rock Needle >.


    Counter. Intercept. Counter.


    Always shooting spells and moving around the opponent''s blind spot.


    I was overwhelming a monster many times his size.


    All thanks to my non-attribute magic.


    Without < Muscle Enhancement >, I can''t beat the gargantuan queen, no matter how sharp the [Magic Sword] is.


    I shed at the queen continuously at the same spot. Soon a yellowish fluid began to flow out of the wound. The blood of a rock worm. The blood kept pouring out until it slowed down.


    Still, the queen¡¯s fighting spirit does not decline.


    Detecting the spells that I threw at it, the queen concentrates its defenses on its abdomen.


    At first, it received a < Rock Needle > but now it twisted its body and I can barely see any damage.


    When the queen focuses, it seems that its defense power is improved.


    While battling, the opponent is learning gradually.


    How fun.


    I activated a spell with all my might.


    The Queen who felt a sign of magic getting activated turned its attention to its abdomen.


    Seeing that, I smiled.


    " < Fireball > " (Toru)


    Toru fired at his opponent''s wound and shot a fireball brimming with mana.


    Boom! < Fireball > flew with a boom as it crossed the speed of sound, and swallowed the queen in an instant.


    "Piguar!!" (Queen Rock Worm)


    The queen, who was prepared for the attack from under its belly, could not react to my Fireball.


    The high-temperature mes, which should have been repelled by the hard outer skin, enters through the wound and burns the body from inside.


    " < Fireball >! " (Toru)


    "Piguar!!" (Queen Rock Worm)


    One additional shot.


    " < Fireball >!! " (Toru)


    "Piga-Gabot!!" (Queen Rock Worm)


    One more shot.


    After three shots, a scream came from the Queen¡¯s mouth, and a me rose.


    The me that spreads throughout the body burns the Queen. Just after thest shot, the Queen approached me. But that was thest.


    The Queen curled up and fell to the charred ground. [1 ¡ú 3]


    ¡ð¡ð¡ð


    "How... Queen Rock Worm!?" (Esther)


    Esther was ready to die when the monster appeared.


    The Queen Rock Worm is a monster that can be safely defeated only by a party of rank C adventurers.


    The hardness of its carapace is of a different levelpared to a normal rock worm. The way of fighting is the same as the rock worm, it charges while boosting its defense.


    Still, the status values are different.


    Both speed and strength are exceptionalpared with normal rock worms.


    In fact, Esther was confident that she could dodge a rock worm''s attack, but the Queen''s attack seemed impossible.


    Rank E adventurers against Rank C demons. The difference in ability is sorge that it is impossible to win.


    Unlike a rock worm with rank D danger. This should not be at a level where you can win if the attacknds.


    ¡°How can Toru fight easily against the Queen Rock Worm?¡±, thought Esther


    "Is Toru really a ¡®lost¡¯ person?"


    A lost person is a weak individual, a person that can unmistakably be called ¡°inferior¡±.


    In the history of Eargard, this has never been an exception.


    However, Tour defeated the hordes of goblins almost by himself, learned magic easily, and seeded in < Chant - less Casting >.


    Toru continues to overturn themon sense of ¡°lost¡± people.


    Esther''smon sense is also continued to be overturned.


    Toru skillfully uses his opponent''s attack to counter and inflict more damage. At the same time, he is also driving magic into the queen''s belly.


    "Who can fight like this...?" (Esther)


    Esther felt like she was dreaming in the middle of the forest.


    Hermon-sense kept on shing with reality. However, the reality was merciless and kept shattering hermon sense.


    "I thought it was strange, but..." (Esther)


    Esther was convinced.


    (He is not a person who can be considered an ¡®inferior¡¯ person.) (Esther)


    Toru sessively damages the queen. The blood of the Queen flows continuously from the deep wound.


    Focusing on the wound, Toru shot off the < Fireball > in quick session.


    It was as if it was a < Fireball > that contained absurd amounts of mana like the advanced fire magic < re >.


    "...Wow" (Esther)


    Toru defeated the queen, who can only be subjugated by a group of C-ranked adventurers, alone without any serious injury.


    Witnessing reality, Esther had no other reaction but to be shocked.


    It was an exciting reunion between Toru and the thing he met in the cave.

 Chapter 24: A Short Break Outside the Forest

    <h4>Chapter 24: A Short Break Outside the Forest</h4>


    When the battle ended and the tense atmosphere broke, Toru felt dizzy and exhausted.


    It seems that he used too much magic power.


    "Toru you¡¯re amazing!" (Esther)


    "Kehokkehhh! Ester are you okay?" (Toru)


    While being alert, Esther smacked his back making him cough violently.


    "Why are you so calm? You just defeated a C-rank monster!" (Esther)


    "That''s right... and I''m really tired." (Toru)


    "You were amazing, it¡¯s normal for you to be tired." (Esther)


    Esther smiled while she was speaking.


    Toru thought that was just fine.


    His ability had improved more than he expected. (SubZero: Proofreader here. Changed ''better'' to ''more'' cuz it makes more sense.)


    However, Toru is overwhelminglycking inbat experience.


    If the queen rock worm had acted unpredictably, Toru would not have been able to fight as efficiently.


    For example, if it had suddenly targeted Esther...


    Toru became terrified by imagining such a possibility.


    He was lucky to be able to defeat the Queen without taking significant damage.


    If he had fought an enemy with equivalent strength, he might have gotten seriously injured.


    "First of all, I have to get proper armor..." (Toru)


    "Ah, yeah. Who would have believed that you¡¯ve defeated a C-rank monster without even wearing any sort of armor? A drunk person would be the only kind of person who would attempt such absurdity.¡± (Esther)


    Toru takes out a water container from his < Inventory > and then took a huge gulp. As the water flowed through his throat he began to feel refreshed.


    While Toru was taking a break, Esther plunged her sword into the monster''s body.


    "What are you doing?" (Toru)


    "I''m taking out a magic stone. There are magic stones in monsters. If you bring this into the guild, it will be purchased at a good price." (Esther)


    "That''s right... Well, I didn''t take it when I was fighting goblins." (Toru)


    "Because goblins have trash magic stones, you can only sell one for two or three garde, but if your clothes get bloody you will have to buy a new one. Unless you are an adventurer who''s going through financial troubles, you will not dismantle goblins. That''s a fact.'''' (Esther)


    "I see" (Toru)


    Previously, Toru threw away all the clothes he wore during his battle with the goblin horde.


    He washed it with water over and over but the goblin smell just wouldn¡¯t wash away.


    It is a big loss when the clothes are useless even though you only get trash magic stones in exchange.


    Sadly, some adventurers need to take out trash magic stones.


    When his physical strength recovered, Toru joined the dismantling and collected the magic stones.


    The rock worm¡¯s magic stone is about the size of a thumb. The Queen Rock worm, on the other hand, was as big as a baseball.


    Putting it all in a hemp bag. Toru then threw it into his < Inventory >.


    "Anything else to dismantle?" (Toru)


    "Hmm. Both rock worms¡¯ and queen rock worms¡¯ carapace can be used as armor, but... honestly, there is nothing that can be salvaged from this." (Esther)


    "Sorry, sorry" (Toru)


    The rock worms were shredded by Toru with his [ Magic Sword ]. He thoroughly minced the monsters because he thought they had a strong vitality. But what he did was overkill.


    However, if he eased too much, he could be counterattacked by a rock worm that he thought he killed but was ying possum.


    It was difficult for Toru, who has little experience in fighting monsters, to adjust his battle style.


    Unlike rock worms that fell apart because of his attack, looking for an un-charred carapace is close to none. Toru believed that there was no room for leniency.


    He believes that once he gets used to battling monsters, he will be able to kill the monsters and keep the materials. Until then, he is likely to repeat the same pattern for a while.


    "It''s difficult to defeat monsters while leaving the materials intact." (Toru)


    "But that¡¯s part of being an adventurer. If you want to rank-up, it''s a required skill. It''s good to learn as soon as possible. You need to start practicing." (Esther)


    After collecting the magic stones, Toru and Esther walked towards Finlis.


    After all, it seems that Esther¡¯s physical strength has declined after three days of living like a vagabond. Esther''s legs are heavy with exhaustion.


    Her usually neat and lively ponytail looks dead and dirty today. [TN: Seriously is this a fetish or something?] [EN: Probably, Don¡¯t question it. You know you want to touch that sweet-ass ponytail] (SubZero: That''s gross. Then again, I have seen this kind of Fetish irl.)


    As she walked towards Finlis, Toru asked her to slow down, and then talked to her.


    "By the way, is Esther''s requestpleted?" (Toru)


    "Ah. The reason why the silver wolf has be somon these days is probably because of the rock worms. The rock worms emerged from the depths of the forest. The wolves migrated to escape from the worms. As a result, the number of silver wolves living in the shallow area of the forest increased, and that is the reason people see the wolves quite often." (Esther)


    "So that''s it." (Toru)


    "I think it''s probably the goblins who caused the rock worms to appear around here." (Esther)


    "Hmm, why would they move because of the Goblins?" (Toru)


    "Rock worms love goblin flesh above all prey." (Esther)


    "Uhhh..." (Toru)


    Toru frowned and groaned after remembering the smell of goblin blood and offal on his clothes.


    Toru can¡¯t imagine anything liking such disgusting things.


    "But aren¡¯t goblins living all over the world? They do have a diverse choice of habitats they could live in." (Toru)


    "Well yes. The goblins are seen throughout Eargard." (Esther)


    "Then, you can''t surely use it as a viable cause, maybe they were migrating." (Toru)


    Esther gently shook her head.


    "Rather, you see... didn¡¯t we just beat a lot of goblins recently?" (Esther)


    "Ohhh..." (Toru)


    Previously, Toru had beaten a horde of goblins.


    The smell of the corpse probably invited the rock worms to move to this area.


    "If I had burned the goblin''s corpse, it might not have happened..." (Esther)


    Esther shook her head unconsciously.


    If they directly report what happened to the guild, you will not know what had happened.


    However, Toru pretty much did something simr or worse depending on what happened.


    He did copse parts of the cave where he transferred to Lid¡¯s body. The Queen surely survived even if he blocked that entrance there probably might have been some other opening from that limestone cave.


    If Esther was guilty of such matters, then Toru who didn¡¯t report sighting rock worms and queen rock worms would also be responsible.


    Of course, that would be a dumb idea. Toru, who was not even an adventurer at the time. So he has no responsibility to report the monsters as an adventurer.


    For the same reason, Esther doesn''t have to take responsibility for "not burning the goblins¡¯ corpses that Toru, a civilian, had defeated.


    "Anyway, I epted a goblin subjugation and found a horde, and this time I was doing reconnaissance and found rock worms. Am I seriously that unlucky..." (Esther)


    "Well, we¡¯re adventurers and I think there are times when that happens." (Toru)


    "Yeah. But it was quite the blessing to meet Toru. If I didn''t, I wouldn''t even be here talking." (Esther)


    Esther smiled with pure joy, unlike when she wasmenting her bouts of unluckiness.


    Having that smile directed at him, Toru became embarrassed and turned away.


    Upon leaving the forest, Esther suddenly fell.


    "...Sorry. I''m sorry. I just felt so relieved that my legs lost strength." (Esther)


    Esther''splexion is very bad. Her eyes are drooping and she¡¯s starting to nod-off.


    Finally, out of the forest and under sunlight, dark circles can be seen under her eyes.


    Wandering in the woods for three days. She must have been unable to sleep well.


    "Let¡¯s take a break for an hour." (Toru)


    "I''m sorry. Thank you for letting me take a nap for a short while. Can I ask you to be the lookout?" (Esther)


    "Of course" (Toru)


    Toru stands vignt of the surroundings, while Esterid down and closed her eyes. She looked desperate for sleep, soon slow deep breathing can be heard


    Toru confirmed that Esther was sleeping deeply before summoning his skill board.


    ______________________________________________________________________


    ¡ð Status


    Toru Minasuki


    Level: 15 ¡ú 20


    Race: Human Primary Job: Swordsman Secondary Job: Magician


    Rank: ¢ñ Skill points: 290 ¡ú 340


    ¡ð Passives


    [Complete Enhancement + 5]


    [Body Enhancement + 5] [Magic Enhancement + 5]


    [Natural Recovery +5] [Enhanced Resistance +5] [Limit Break]


    [Stamina +5] [Magic +5]


    [Strength +5] [Dexterity +5]


    [Agility +5] [Intelligence +5] [Luck +5]


    ¡ðTechniques


    < Sword Art Lv4 > < Magic Art Lv4 >


    < Intuition Lv4 > < Intimidate Lv4 > < Thought eleration Lv4 >


    < Magic Grimoire LV4 >< Chant-less Casting LV4 >


    < Language Comprehension Lv4 > < cksmith Lv4 >


    < Magic Sword Lv1 >


    ______________________________________________________________________


    "Oh, I am at level 20 now"


    Most of the experience probably came from the subjugation of the Queen. Toru checked the screen while feeling quite giddy.


    "The point is... I''m back to 10 points per level. Well, I don''t know what the conditions are for the increase in skill points." (Toru)


    I didn''t suddenly get a lot of points like I did when I leveled upst time.


    If the number increased by defeating the queen, the requirement must be "stronger enemies, more points", but unfortunately the points increased normally.


    "I wonder if I will acquire any new skills" Toru


    Thinking about it, Toru suddenly remembered what happened in the back alley the other day.


    It was good that he could win without identally injuring or killing his opponent. However, there will be situations where things will not work that well in the future.


    Isn''t there a skill that does not kill or severely injure the opponent?


    For a long time, he searched for the innumerable skills that he can view, and finally, Toru discovered the skill he wanted.


    "The battle this time ended in my victory due to the cards being stacked in my favor. And it may be just for today and the next battles... well. Okay, I will raise a lot of skills."


    Toru decided on his skills and quickly assigned points.


    ______________________________________________________________________


    Skill points: 340 ¡ú 5


    ¡ðPassives


    [Complete Enhancement + 5¡ú8]


    [Body Enhancement + 5] [Magic Enhancement + 5]


    [Natural Recovery +5] [Enhanced Resistance +5] [Limit Break]


    [Stamina +5] [Magic +5]


    [Strength +5] [Dexterity +5]


    [Agility +5] [Intelligence +5] [Luck +5]


    ¡ðTechniques


    < Sword Art Lv4¡ú5 > < Magic Art Lv4¡ú5 >


    < Intuition Lv4¡ú5 > < Intimidate Lv4¡ú5 > < Thought eleration Lv4¡ú5 >


    < Magic Grimoire LV4 >< Chant-less Casting LV4 >


    < Language Comprehension Lv4 > < cksmith Lv4 >


    < Aikido Lv5 > NEW


    < Magic Sword Lv1 >


    ______________________________________________________________________


    [ Complete Enhancement ]¡¯s effect, which has the highest skill point requirement, is still unclear. However, I had already leveled it up to such an extent. So I will increase the level until I see an effect.


    Also, the techniques used in battle have been raised evenly.


    He chose Aikido as his new skill. With this, Toru thought that he would be able to predict and counter the attack of his opponent. (SubZero: Cool. Aikido is normally VERY hard to master. I know cuz I am a practitioner of Aikido.)


    It was the influence of a video of the aikido master he saw on the inte when he was still in Japan.


    The master defeated arger man without using much force or weapons.


    If Toru can imitate those actions, he should be able to surpass most human enemies.


    Of course, this is not just for self-defense.


    < Aikido > is a martial art that practices on using the body to its fullest. It is based on logical and scientifically proven theories that join muscle movement and force vectors, and the principle of leverage and applying it by positioning your body to redirect or neutralize the attack.


    Toru was in quite the anticipation that it would have a synergistic effect on other skills as well, like < Sword Art >, if he has aikido.


    The effect of skill acquisition was immediately felt.


    He can clearly understand how the trees, flowers, and air around him are moving, and where they are heading. It was as if his understanding of the world had suddenly increased.


    The range of his techniques like < Intuition > has been expanded.


    That''s not the only change. After testing his skills, Toru adjusted his center of gravity slightly. And with that change alone, his body was in a state of equilibrium like a great tree whose roots make him almost impossible to move.


    Now he is confident that even if a professional wrestler rushes in, he won''t be blown away.


    "Amazing... I think I''ve be apletely different person with just one skill." (Toru)


    Toru felt that the change from Lv1 to Lv4 and the change to Lv5 werepletely different.


    "Why does it feel like when my skills leveled up from 4 to 5 it drastically changes?" (Toru)


    Although the skill name has not changed, it is a possibility that evolution to advanced skills could ur within the skill.


    Or if there is a certain level reached new effects are being added as boons for reaching that level.


    Another skill affected him greatly and is quite far from the norm.


    "...I have a lot of thoughts simultaneously going through my mind." (Toru)


    Toru noticed that he had multiple thoughts that are running in tandem with one another. Toru was verifying his skills, but he can somehow also focus on thinking about what he will have for dinner today.


    "I''m really hungry. I know that. But what is happening?¡± (Toru)


    Toru felt like he had apletely different person in his head.


    But all the thoughts are his. He can improve his skills, and he can also think about other stuff. Toru thinks thatining is unnecessary.


    Toru thinks that practice can help him make simultaneous thoughts feel normal.


    Toru¡¯s thoughts are moving smoothly and at a fast pace like parallel highways and his thoughts are in overdrive.


    Meanwhile, < Thought eleration > helps in optimizing the use of his and Lid¡¯s memories helping him make better judgments.


    "--!?" (Toru)


    Toru, who realized something from the conversations he had before.


    "He seems a little dangerous" (Toru)


    "Oh, did he mean that...!" (Toru)


    When I recalled the conversations something clicked, the dialogue spoken by the guard had apletely different meaning.


    "Maybe that person knew something was happening." (Toru)


    The guard controls the people whoe in and out of Finlis. It is possible that he obtained information from the people who came in and out, and he might be implying something.


    But he had no evidence.


    And at present Toru can¡¯t think of a way to prove his hunch.


    "¡­¡­What should I do?" (Toru)


    Toru continued to stare at the skill board until Esther woke up, and he continued to think about his next course of action after returning to Finlis.

 Chapter 25: A Confrontation

    <h4>Chapter 25: A Confrontation</h4>


    As soon as Esther woke up, We started traveling toward Finlis.


    Perhaps because she¡¯s more refreshed, we traveled at a faster pace. Her lifeless ponytail also seems to have recovered. [EN: This is getting weird] [1]


    Just before the sun has dyed red. We arrived at Finlis without any hindrance.


    "Oh, Esther and Toru. Wee back. Were the both of you safe?" (Guard)


    "Yes, thanks for everything." (Toru)


    "What do you mean? I didn¡¯t do anything. Good luck." (Guard)


    After showing the guild card to the guard, we went through the gate. I went straight to the guild.


    "¡­¡­Hmm?" (Toru)


    Outside the guild, I stopped and squinted my eyes in concentration. Somehow I can hear quite the racket from within the guild. As I listened, I could hear a man yelling.


    "What''s wrong, Toru?" (Esther)


    "Nothing, the guild is just a bit noisy. There might be a fight happening inside." (Toru)


    "Just a fight? Then it''s a daily urrence." (Esther)


    "If you say so." (Toru)


    Is it simr to the Edo period in Japan where fights happen on a daily urrence?


    I, who has lived in modern Japan, never thought that I would ever involve myself even if I witnessed a fight in front of me. I will most likely erase my presence and quickly leave the scene.


    So again this time, I didn''t want to go near the scene and obstinately stood my ground on non-involvement.


    But Esther has already entered the guild before I could have stopped her.


    "¡­¡­It can¡¯t be helped" (Toru)


    I followed Esther, sighing while catching up to her.


    The atmosphere changed once I entered the guild.


    The disturbance was apparently caused by two men who¡¯re wrapped in bandages and causing a ruckus. Both men were at the receptionist''s deskining and shouting.


    I¡¯m curious about what is happening but my desire to be uninvolved was steadfast


    "So, tell me about the kid you recently registered as an adventurer. Tell us where he can be found!" (Drunkard 1)


    "He injured us!!" (Drunkard 2)


    "Sorry, I cannot answer queries regarding an adventurer¡¯s personal information because of the confidentiality rules." (Marie)


    "Isn''t it illegal to injure a fellow adventurer? You mean you¡¯re just going to leave alone a person who breaks the rules of the guild!?" (Drunkard 1)


    "No, I mean...¡± (Marie)


    When I heard the men talking about me, I immediately turned around and began my way towards the exit of the guild.


    But I was a littlete, the receptionist noticed my existence and her eyes widened. The men noticed her reaction and they turned around to see what it was.


    "Basssstaaaarrrrdd!!" (Drunk 1)


    "Grrrrr! You¡¯ll be Sorry!" (Drunk 2)


    "...Toru, do you know those people?" (Esther)


    Esther calmly asks me, in contrast to the men who are screaming.


    My stomach is quite upset.


    "Uh, yeah. Well, were they a friend or someone you''re rted to?¡± (Toru)


    I was previously attacked by them.


    I was attacked and counterattacked in self-defense, but I could not think that they woulde to give a "thank you".


    As she heard my words, Esther¡¯s ponytail waved like a puppy''s tail. [EN: WTF!!!]


    "Toru made friends in Finlis!" (Esther)


    "No, no matter how you look at it, they¡¯re not friendly!!" (Toru)


    "Oh really?" (Esther)


    Why do I have to be a friend to someone who acts violent and has poor hygiene?


    Having such a friend would reflect badly on me.


    "Why are you bothering the receptionist?" (Toru)


    "Because of what you did, we can''t ept any request!" (Drunk 1)


    "Huh..." (Toru)


    ¡°Hey, hey. Maybe you''re just new to being an adventurer and you may not be familiar with it, but it''s prohibited by the guild''s rules for an adventurer to harm another adventurer. At worst, it is possible to be expelled from the guild.¡± (Drunk 2)


    "¡­¡­I see" (Toru)


    When shouted at in a loud voice, the receptionist replied with a look that says, "I can hear you fine."


    "If we sue you, you''ll be expelled." (Drunk 1)


    "No, but in my case, just self-defense--" (Toru)


    "Do you realize we could have you expelled, won¡¯t you be in trouble? You''ll be in trouble!? If you don¡¯t want to get into trouble, pay the treatment fee!!" [2]


    A man screams loudly, blocking Toru''s reply.


    Indeed, they did note to get me expelled, but they used it as a reason to squeeze money out of me.


    "You started-" (Toru)


    "I''m going to sue through the guild if you don¡¯t pay us money!" (Drunk 1)


    "So as I am--" (Toru)


    "So tell me what you¡¯ll do! (Drunk 2)


    "that--" (Toru)


    "I''m telling you to give us an answer!" (Drunk 1)


    "... Shut up." (Toru)


    The men who screamed so that I wouldn''t be able to talk were both smirking. I¡¯m so annoyed I used < Intimidation >.


    Immediately, both of them fell on their asses.


    The other adventurers, who were looking at the situation from far away, paled and stiffened.


    The people at the bar hid their faces behind their mugs as if they were saying, "We¡¯re not here."


    "I was attacked by you guys, so I acted in self-defense. By the guild''s rules, there wasn''t any problem with self-defense right?" (Toru)


    "...Oh, that''s right. Yes, it''s allowed." (Marie)


    The receptionist began shaking and nodded many times.


    "I-it, it''s not self-defense. You have attacked us!" (Drunk 1)


    "Oh, yeah! You were clearly aiming for our lives!" (Drunk 2)


    "No, it was self-defense..." (Toru)


    "Then is there evidence?! We''re the ones injured!" (Drunk 2)


    They are two and I am just one person. Looking only at the number of witnesses, I am at a disadvantage.


    However, since it is said that I injured them, it is impossible to not side with them anymore.


    (I''m tired...) (Toru)


    It has be troublesome to deal with them. Better yet, I want to ignore everything and leave Finlis.


    If I leave the city without disproving their ims, I would be a criminal. I will certainly be banished from the guild, and it may be difficult to live in another city in the future.


    ?Support the trantor onzytrantions.weebly


    (In that case, I could go to another country...) (Toru)


    While I was contemting that idea.


    "You have been making a lot of noise since a while ago!"


    From the back of the aisle next to the counter, a strong-looking man appeared with a pulsing vein on his forehead. The guild member who was in charge of Toru''s ability test.


    "Gr, Graf-san! Here, this guy harmed us!" (Drunk 1) [TN: So Ogre-san is also known as Graf-san. Since the Author changed the name, I will too.] [EN: guys, remember this, so that you don¡¯t have confusionster on]


    "Because of the injury he caused us, I was unable to make money. This guy also took all of my money!" (Drunk 2)


    They came here and even added ims of robbery. It is at a level that is unlikely to be concluded by expulsion from the guild.


    When I was thinking about how I would argue, the man called Graf looked at me.


    He opened his mouth, with eyes that were cunning. [3]


    "Are you guys dumb?" (Ogre ¡ú Graf)


    "¡­¡­eh?" (Drunk 1)


    "...Huh?" (Drunk 2)


    "Toru there is a ¡®Lost¡¯. You guys are almost D-rank. Isn''t it embarrassing to lose to a recently joined ¡®Lost¡¯?" (Graf)


    "This guy is inferior!?" (Drunk 1)


    "That is not true..." (Drunk 2)


    A memory from a few days ago was probably recalled by the two men.


    They did humiliate me in front of the crowd. They might have not remembered what they did since they were extremely drunk


    But they should¡¯ve remembered after hearing that I was an ¡°inferior.¡±


    Although it was an important piece of information, they forgotpletely because of being extremely drunk and their feelings of anger and shame.


    "Gyahahahaha!" "You were beaten up by ¡®inferiors¡¯!" "That''s something!"


    "What, they lost to an ¡®inferior¡¯!? No way!"


    When other adventurers heard that I was a ¡°lost¡± person, the adventurers who were looking at me from a distance began tough.


    The two drunks¡¯ faces turn bright red from shame from being ridiculed by other adventurers.


    Losing to a ¡°lost¡± person is equivalent to proiming to everybody and people who despise ¡°inferiors¡± that he is an even weaker person more incapable than ¡°lost¡± people.


    Now their fighting power and skills as adventurers are doubted.


    "No, no. The man is not an ¡®inferior¡¯!" (Drunk 1)


    "Yes, that''s right. We were beat-up by that guy! He is lying and pretending to be an ¡®inferior¡¯!"


    "Why would you lie pretending to be an ¡®inferior¡¯?" (Graf)


    Graf exhaled deeply and asked the receptionist.


    "Oi Marie. How was the measurement result of Toru''s soul?" (Graf)


    "Yes... He is a ¡®lost¡¯." (Marie)


    "Is that so?" (Graf)


    ¡°What will you do?¡±, Graf asks the men with his eyes.


    "... Ugu" (Drunk 1)


    "Kuh..." (Drunk 2)


    "This time monsters have injured you, so you tried to me the new adventurer right?" (Graf)


    "Chi--" (Drunk 1)


    "Isn¡¯t it so?" (Graf)


    Graf stared at the men with quite the intensity.


    His eyes are telling them, "ept it."


    They are not ¡®lost¡¯ people and their pride will be protected if they lose to monsters.


    But if they keep on insisting Toru beat them up, they would be known as inferior adventurers who lost to an ¡®inferior¡¯ for the rest of their life.


    "...Fine! Let''s go!!" (Drunk 1)


    "We¡¯ll remember this!" (Drunk 2)


    The men quickly ran out of the guild with their faces red with shame, leaving the line of adventurers on the reception desk.


    The other adventurers roared inughter as they watched.


    "Oh, Toru. I''m sorry I had to expose your status." (Graf)


    "You had to." (Toru)


    I shook my head at what he said.


    Graf-san''s remarks were filled with the intention of protecting Toru.


    He helped moderate the adventurers by not letting Toru be a victim and still saving the pride and reputation of the two. It was hitting two birds with one stone, no, three birds.


    It involved less exposure for me plus it was quick at reaching a peaceful solution for all parties.


    "You may be involved in various troubles because I had announced that you are a ¡®lost¡¯ person." (Graf)


    "I¡¯ve already been involved..." (Toru)


    "Well, that''s right. I apologize, but if an adventurer gets involved, feel free to mention my name. It¡¯ll help keep them in check." (Graf)


    "Thank you" (Toru)


    I can only see more merits by being exposed by Graf at this moment. But I swear in my heart that I will make use of his name whenever there is something troublesome in the future.


    When the atmosphere inside the guild began to settle down, we had finally reached the counter.


    (It''s just a report, but I didn''t think the distance from the end of the line until the receptionist desk was so long...)


    "Toru-san. Sorry for what happened earlier." (Marie)


    "No, don''t worry Marie-san" (Toru)


    I shook my head as I replied to what she said.


    "You told Graf-san about my situation. And it''s okay because Marie-san helped me." (Toru)


    "¡­¡­You¡¯re too kind" (Marie)


    She told me where Esther''s whereabouts were very, very discreetly so that it would not vite confidentiality. It was precise because of that information that Toru was able to save Esther.


    It is a mistake toin to her even if he was exposed as a ¡°Lost¡± person.


    With a smile on her face, it lifted the heavyweight on Toru''s shoulder.


    [1]: Original TN was;


    ¡°Perhaps because she had been more rested, we traveled at a faster pace. Her lifeless ponytail also seems to have recovered¡±


    So, the first part with the she had been more part, it didn¡¯t sound quite right. So I changed it.


    [2]: Here, The person speaking was not mentioned. So yeah. Although, it¡¯s probably one of the drunks.


    [3]: Original TN was;


    ¡°He opened his mouth, with and eyes full of cunning.¡±


    I changed it obviously, but yeah.

 Chapter 26: Whose Fault was that Clearing?

    <h4>Chapter 26: Whose Fault was that Clearing?</h4>


    "Toru?" (Esther)


    "Huh!?" (Toru)


    "What did you do to Marie?" (Esther)


    "Something a little bit..." (Toru)


    "A little?" (Esther)


    "Oh, I''ll tell youter." (Toru)


    Frightened by the mysterious pressure from Esther, I vowed to tell her more about my interaction with Marieter.


    "Now, what kind of business do you have today?" (Marie)


    "Ah. I came to report thepletion of the request I receivedst time." (Esther)


    "Okay, let''s move to another ce. Please follow me to the small room over there." (Marie)


    There was a room private room along the corridor towards the training ground. That¡¯s the ce where the reporting will be done. I waved goodbye to Esther.


    But,


    "Toru" (Esther)


    "Hmm?" (Toru)


    Esther turned around and invited me with her eyes. This request was received by Esther alone. I didn¡¯t do anything to help her, and I had nothing to do with the request. I don''t have to be with her during thepletion report.


    But Esther gestures that I have toe.


    Would she like me to be a witness and tell Marie that she had been in distress for three days and that she battled with rock worms?


    (¡­¡­it cannot be helped) (Toru)


    I gave in to her pleading and headed to the small room together.


    The small room was just enough for six adults to fit in. The only thing remarkable inside is a table and a solid sofa.


    When I sat on the sofa, the sofa creaked.


    (Wow. Super noisy...) (Toru)


    There was no effort made of choosing the sofa.


    As I was adjusting my seating position, Esther sat next to me.


    A gentle, sweet scent blew my way. Esther smells good even though she hadn''t washed her body for three days.


    I was getting conscious of Esther''s smell.


    I was a 32-year-old man in Japan. Aftering to Eargard, my body rejuvenated with my soul intact. My body is from a healthy and virile child whose soul I reced with my own and lived with his body.


    Even though I don''t usually pay attention to it, I would react to the good scent of young women.


    "... what''s wrong, Toru?" (Esther)


    "No, nothing." (Trou)


    Esther leaned her head close to me. I can''t see the slightest intent of her trying to ensnare a man. The gesture was innocent.


    I chanted Nembutsu using all parallel thinking and drove out evil feelings from my brain. [T/N- Nembutsu is a Buddhist prayer to drive evil spirits usually apanied by drum beating.]


    "I''m sorry to have kept you waiting... Why is Toru-san also with you?" (Marie)


    "Ah. Toru also holds some information." (Esther)


    "I understand. Please start the report." (Marie)


    "Regarding the frequent appearance of silver wolves--" (Esther)


    Esther provided Marie with the information she had obtained during the investigation.


    That''s exactly what I heard from her on our way back to Finlis.


    Marie moves her pen along the paper while listening to Esther.


    When talking about the appearance of the Queen Rock Worm with the Rock Worm, I was startled by Marie''s reaction, which had remained calm until now.


    "Queen Rock Worm... I''m going to ry the information with the guild right away." (Marie)


    "It''s okay. We''ve already subdued the Queen Rock worm." (Esther)


    "Eh? The Queen Rock Worm? It''s a monster that has a subjugation rank of C and can only be subdued by parties made of C-rank adventurers and above." (Marie)


    "Yeah. Toru. Take out the magic stone." (Esther)


    Esther told me to get the stone out while holding Marie who is about to run from her seat.


    Upon receiving the instruction, I took out the magic stone of the Queen Rock Worm from my < Inventory >.


    "This is the proof. Please confirm." (Toru)


    "I will take care of it. It is certainlyrger than a monster of D-rank. Is there anything else that can be used as subjugation proof?" (Marie)


    "No. I didn''t bring anything because the condition of the monster¡¯s body was bad." (Toru)


    "Is that so" (Marie)


    "Would it pose a problem?" (Toru)


    "No, it''s okay because if you have a magic stone, you can know the monster where it¡¯s from, so it''s ok. May I appraise it?" (Marie)


    "Oh" (Toru)


    "Then, I will appraise itter. So..." (Marie)


    Marie stops the words and turns her eyes to the two.


    "Queen Rock Worm. Were you two the only ones who subjugated it?" (Marie)


    "No, it was killed by Toru alone." (Esther)


    "Eh!?" (Marie)


    Marie was surprised.


    Is it that surprising? I tilt my head in wonder.


    "is that true?" (Marie)


    "Yes, it''s true." (Toru)


    "But the opponent is a C rank monster. It''s also the Queen Rock Worm, which is famous for its hard outer skin. For reference, can you tell me how it was subjugated and anything you noticed like weaknesses?" (Marie)


    "Hmm. Even if I was asked how I did it... I just used my sword and magic to defeat it as usual." (Toru)


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­as usual?¡± (Marie)


    Marie''s expression was stony.


    For me, I fought like how I usually did. Of course, I don''t think it was easy to defeat.


    However, since I didn¡¯t know its weak points, I can''t exin it because I did it as usual.


    "Oh, I scratched the carapace until it was wounded and shot a fireball at the wound." (Toru)


    "Eh, yeah, yes. Using fire magic on its wounds is an effective way to do damage." (Marie)


    Looking at her facial expression, she looks like someone whose soul is about to escape.


    "Marie. This is normal for Toru." (Esther)


    "Yes, that''s... it''s funny, He¡¯s different from the ¡®Lost¡¯ people I know." (Marie)


    "Yeah, it is something I can wholly agree with." (Esther)


    Marie and Estelle hold each other''s hands as if they were sisters, who had been separated for many years and are finally reunited.


    "Uh... sorry, why are you two acting like that?" (Toru)


    "First of all, there are only a few people in the Eargard who can use < sword art > and offensive < magic > in tandem." (Esther)


    "is that so?" (Toru)


    "If you can use attack magic, you are usually a magician. With magic, you can attack safely and one-sidedly from a distance. So nobody is willing to master < sword art > that requires you to jump into the fray in front of a dangerous monster." (Esther)


    "¡­¡­So that''s it" (Toru)


    "Other than that... well, there is no victory in someone who is fighting an opponent whose level is higher than 10 or more anyway. This is a general idea, but it is alsomon knowledge for adventurers. However, depending on the ability andpatibility, although there are exceptions, it will still be a difficult battle.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°By the way, regarding a monster¡¯s level, but the E-rank at the lowest is generally level 5 to 10. It is said that the D-rank is 10 to 20. And 20 to 40 when it came to C-rank monsters." (Esther)


    Esther nced at Marie with a look.


    Upon receiving the look, Marie took over.


    "Yes. If you notice it but the monster level is an estimate calcted based on many years of experience in our guild. The level range of C-rank monsters is highpared to D-rank and below. Please consider that the range of their difficulty is so wide.¡± (Marie)


    ¡°The rock worm that was defeated this time is D-rank at level 15. The queen is estimated to be around level 30." (Marie)


    "Even if a ¡®Lost¡± person carefully fights against a Level 30 queen, Eargard''smon sense is that he ¡®absolutely¡¯ can never reach the foot of the monster¡¯s power.¡± (Esther)


    Esther emphasized the "never" part.


    (I don''t think it''s absolute...) (Toru)


    I leaned back and thought about my level


    If there is too much of a level difference, I can understand the reason why you normally cannot win. This is because the stats will rise as the level gets higher.


    The status cannot be confirmed on the skill board, but the status has certainly risen due to leveling up. I realized that I was able to jump up a cliff after leveling up.


    "Can everyone check their level?" (Toru)


    "Hmm, oh yeah, I didn''t exin that. You can check your current level and skills by going to church." (Esther)


    "Oh, that''s right" (Marie)


    It can be inferred that something simr to the screen on the skill board is also present in the church.


    God gave the skill board to me as a gift who was sent to Eargard.


    It''s no wonder that there are multiple ways to check levels and skills in a world with skill boards.


    "By the way, what is your level, Esther?" (Toru)


    "That''s a secret. Should Toru be asking women for their weight and three sizes?" (Esther)


    "Yeah. I knew that I shouldn''t have asked." (Toru)


    Our level and skills are simr to the weight and three sizes. It seems to be a matter of privacy.


    I feel that it isn''t something I can just hide, but it''s because I grew up in a different environment. Even in Japan, the address of entertainers had been published in weekly magazines for as long as I can remember.


    Even if people are raised in the same environment, levels of privacy will change as the times change. That''s what privacy is all about.


    "The topic is a little derailed. But I''ve never heard that Toru-san is a bit of a joker-" (Marie)


    "Did you have to talk about that!?" (Toru)


    I asked in a hurry, but Marie stopped my words with a smile.


    Her smile had a power that didn¡¯t allow me to refute.


    "I think it''s okay to conclude that the increase in silver wolf appearance is due to rock worms moving. Do you remember seeing anything else suspicious during the investigation?" (Marie)


    "Well... No, there is something. At the edge of Finlis forest, there was a clearing!" (Esther)


    "Has there been someone who has reimed...?" (Marie)


    "Uhuh" (Esther)


    Esther nodded and leaned slightly.


    "There was an open space in the forest where four houses could be built. Trees that had been cut down were piled up in the corners of the clearing. The stumps were smooth and probably not cut by ordinary axes. It didn¡¯t look like it had been cut by arge group.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I suspect that some of the elite troops of some army have secretly cleared it for the construction of a base..." (Esther)


    "If so, it''s going to be difficult to move. Maybe it''s a sign of a military upation on Finlis. I will investigate again with the guild. Please do not say anything about this information to anyone." (Marie)


    "Alright" (Esther)


    I was sweating on profusely while listening to their story.


    (Somehow, the ce where I just cut down some trees to check the sharpness of < Magic Sword > became the source of a terrible misunderstanding!?) (Toru)


    "Toru? What''s wrong? You¡¯re sweating?" (Esther)


    "No, no... nothing, yeah?" (Toru)


    "Is there anything you care to share about that space?" (Marie)


    "Oh, I think it''s normal that a lumberjack might have just chopped it down. I don''t think military operations, secret maneuvers, or anything like that was done at all!" (Toru)


    ((¡­¡­)) (Marie & Esther)


    The eyes of the two who are now focusing on me who is frozen and sweating.


    (¨D¨DAh, is it the work of Toru?) (Esther & Marie)


    "...*cough*. Let''s go back to the previous topic then." (Marie)


    "Let''s go back, let''s go back!" (Toru)


    ((¡­¡­)) (Marie & Esther)


    I weed the quiet talk, was getting pierced by their sharp stares.


    With the silent pressure from the two, I was mping my mouth shut while shaking like a leaf.

 Chapter 27: Activation of Acquired Skill

    <h4>Chapter 27: Activation of Acquired Skill</h4>


    "This is Esther''s mission, but I will consider it aspleted. Are you sure you want to sell the Queen Rock Worm¡¯s magic stone?" (Marie)


    "Ah. There are other Rock Worm magic stones, so I would like you to buy them as well." (Toru)


    "So--" (Marie)


    Before Marie could open her mouth and write down the reply. Suddenly, the door of the private room opened without knocking.


    Toru had sensed the person using <intuition> for some time, but Esther and Mary seemed to be surprised, and their shoulders shook before freezing up in surprise.


    "...Chief Philip, do you need something?" (Marie)


    "Yes. I didn''t hear that Esther-san came back. I came to check the situation." (Phillip)


    "I will give the report of the matterter." (Marie)


    "No, let me confirm it now. I''m the one who asked Esther to ept that request." (Phillip)


    Philip is a man with a forked tongue. He¡¯s in charge of Esther¡¯s previous requests/


    He looks at Esther like she¡¯s an ant under his foot. It was a look that looks at the other person a fool. As if he is thinking, "She shouldn¡¯t have escaped from the forest."


    At some point, Philip looked at Toru, like he¡¯s saying, "What?"


    "What''s that boy doing over there?" (Phillip)


    "Toru is also an adventurer, he yed an important role in this request." (Esther)


    "Hmm, isn¡¯t Toru-san an outsider?" (Philip)


    Outsider, Philip says, he probably means someone who has nothing to do with a party or the request.


    He¡¯s really good at finding faults.


    "Yes, but..." (Marie)


    "Isn''t it okay for him to leave that seat? Ah, yeah, Marie-kun. It''s a breach of confidentiality if he has been here for a while. I''ll have to report this to the management." (Philip)


    "¡­¡­Yes" (Marie)


    Marie bites her lips. She would like to argue, but it seems that she could not stand the weight of his words.


    I was a little annoyed by Philip''s behavior.


    I am also involved. It is something else for someone who suddenly appeared and said that I should leave. No matter how true Philip¡¯s words are, I couldn''tply with it obediently.


    "I''m very sorry, but Esther and I formed a party today." (Toru)


    "--!" (Esther)


    My words were fake and have just been blurted out on the spot.


    Esther, who was next to me, almost yelped loudly and moved a little closer to me.


    The ponytail on the back of her head is making swishing sounds. It''s like a dog''s tail.


    (I''ve been thinking about it for a while... what is with that hair?)


    Esther''s mysterious hair, I leaned back to the sofa.


    "I think if someone is a party member, then he is not an outsider. Isn¡¯t that right?" (Toru)


    "Esther-san. Are Toru-san''s words true?" (Philip)


    "Yes, that''s right! Toru and I had formed a party, so he¡¯s not an outsider!" (Esther)


    "Yes. If that''s the case, there¡¯s no problem with me being here." (Toru)


    Philip shook his head as if he couldn''t help it.


    "Maybe, please the report." (Philip)


    "Yes, Esther-san''s mission was sessful. I haven''t organized it yet, but here is the report." (Marie)


    "Sess?... Please let me see it." (Philip)


    Philip received the report from Mary, and quickly read the contents.


    It was when his gaze was near the end of the transcript.


    His expression, which has always been smiling shifted slightly. The change was quick.


    But I didn''t miss it.


    "...I understand the contents. Congrattions on the sess of your request, Esther-san. Marie-kun. Please escort Esther-san to have her magic stone appraised." (Philip)


    "Okay, sir. Esther-san. Then pleasee with me to the counter." (Marie)


    "OK. Toru let¡¯s go." (Esther)


    When Esther said that I was about to stand up, but Philip called out to me.


    "Wait a minute. Let us have a short chat." (Philip)


    I can''t tell what Philip is thinking based on his expression. However, it was convenient for me.


    "Esther. Go ahead." (Toru)


    "But¡­" (Esther)


    "It''s okay" (Toru)


    I wondered if Phillip would do something. Esther had quite an uneasy expression.


    So I repeatedly said, "It''s okay," waving my hands shooing her. So, Esther left the small room while looking back constantly as if her back hair is getting pulled from behind.


    After they left the small room I faced Philip.


    After all, even if I look at his facial expressions, I do not know what he is thinking. He is quite good at hiding his inner thoughts. Does it mean that he is not just a simple chief of the guild reception?


    "This is a soundproof design. Please be assured that no matter what you talk about it will not leak outside." (Philip)


    "Huh..." (Toru)


    "Then I''ll ask first." (Philip)


    At that time, the color of Philip''s eyes changed.


    A slight glimpse of his true nature, which was hidden quite well.


    "What are you?" (Philip)


    His voice was like a de pressing against my neck. It is neither intimidating nor is his words. His intent is just that sharp.


    "I don¡¯t know why you''re wondering." (Toru)


    "A Lost person is not the kind of person who can defeat a Rock Worm." (Philip)


    "Well, I was careful in fighting a Rock Worm." (Toru)


    "... How can an inferior who can never go up from level 1 defeat a level 30 Queen Rock Worm?" (Philip)


    I see I began wondering.


    This was the reason why Esther is stressed that she could never "defeat" the Queen.


    (Sorry. If you think I¡¯m a ¡°Lost¡± with a level cap of 1. But I think we can normally up... Isn¡¯t it right?) (Toru)


    Then I realized something.


    When I was selecting skills, I didn''t think about anything in particr, and I just thought of taking < Limit Break > just because the name seems like it would help me be strong, but apparently, it was a skill to break my level cap.


    (That is, if I didn''t take it, my level will never rise and so will my stats. I will still remain weak, and I won¡¯t earn any skill points... it was quite dangerous!) (Toru)


    Cold sweat rolled on my spine, at such a possibility.


    Until now, the ¡°Lost¡± who visited Eargard probably did not have a skill board, or did but didn¡¯t put points to < Limit Break >, or did not have enough points to acquire? It is likely to be one of these.


    I was unconsciously avoiding the "dead end."


    If I get stuck since this is reality there¡¯s no reset button.


    To be unable to level up would have been a roadblock to my survival, which could end this life.


    "I''ll ask again. Who are you?" (Philip)


    "My answer remains the same. I''m just a ¡®lost¡¯ person." (Toru)


    I replied sharply to his intense questioning.


    We were at a stare down for a long time.


    But it was Philip who broke with a sigh.


    "That''s all. We¡¯re done." (Philip)


    "Then I''ll ask the next question." (Toru)


    I straightened my posture and asked before Philip close our small chat.


    Beforeing here, I was checking some skills that I have.


    "Why did you try to kill Esther?" (Toru)


    < Condemnation +2 >


    My words were invisible des that threatened Philip his breathing stopped.

 Chapter 28: Denounce and Reap the Soul

    <h4>Chapter 28: Denounce and Reap the Soul</h4>


    "...That''s a terrible usation. I don¡¯t understand. I wouldn¡¯t attempt to kill Esther-san." (Philip)


    ?


    "Okay, I''m asking you this, but all of the requests Esther has received over thest few times have involved Philip-san, right?" (Toru)


    "Yeah. What do you mean? I wonder if you were just calling me a murderer because I was involved in it. Or did I try to kill Esther-san directly? No, you really have some imagination. It''s a bit too much to call a guild employee who is doing his duty in supporting adventurer as a ¡®murderer¡¯." (Philip)


    "...You don¡¯t usually talk this much." (Toru)


    "¡­" (Philip)


    Philip turned around but didn¡¯t say a word.


    Up until now, Philip hasn''t spoken this much.


    He has always stuck to saying as few words he could.


    But when he saw me, he became more talkative, and words came out rapidly.


    Although it is not shown in his facial expression, it is proof that he is upset.


    "There are several reasons why I thought so. First, the request for the subjugation of the goblin that Esther underwent. The request just to defeat a few goblins but she was swarmed by an army of them." (Toru)


    "Goblins are monsters everywhere. That kind of thing happens rarely. I guess she was out of luck." (Philip)


    "I think it would be a for a normal goblin subjugation, but the goblin subjugation Esther received was not a permanent request." (Toru)


    When Esther reported the Goblin subjugation, Mary said, "This time, the special request is considered as a sess."


    In other words, it is clear that the request Esther received was not a permanent one.


    "It wasn''t just any goblin subjugation because it was a request that the guild had issued differently than a permanent request. It was a request that Philip-san was involved in, right?" (Toru)


    "Yes, that''s right, but I never tried to kill Esther with that-" (Philip)


    "Be still" (Toru)


    When Philip tries to talk, I stopped him with <intimidation>.


    "This reconnaissance request is extremely difficult. You could not kill Esther using the Goblin request. So you sent Esther to the forest where Rock Worms are, in the guise of "Silver Wolf Sighting Investigation". If she meets the Rock Worms, you hope she will die.'''' (Toru)


    "That''s just spection too. I didn''t know that Rock Worms were infesting the forest." (Philip)


    "But when you read the record, you weren''t too surprised at the appearance of the Rock Worms. You weren¡¯t surprised because you knew about the Rock Worm right?" (Toru)


    "No, I was surprised. I didn''t think there was any Rock Worm. I didn''t look surprised because I''m trying to be expressionless. If I''m so surprised the adventurers will get upset.''''


    "Yes, it''s true that you were surprised. But what surprised you was not the appearance of the Rock Worm. You were surprised that the Rock Worm was ¡®subdued.¡¯" (Toru)


    When Philip read the transcript, he was slightly surprised at the end of the transcript.


    It wasn''t where the word ¡°Rock Worm¡± appeared, it was the word ¡°subdued¡±, this is based on the report Marie was writing.


    "You were at a loss¡­ I''m not supposed to be the kind of person who can defeat Rock Worms" (Toru)


    He was surprised that I could beat the Rock Worms. That''s why he stopped me.


    This is to identify the person who disturbed his schemes.


    "It''s easy to see if you knew of the existence of Rock Worms by a quick interview. I''m sure you''ll find out: for example, if you ask a guard who is watching people going in and out, what they observe. You''ll see a pattern. You''ll see that the guilds were informed not only about the Rock Worms but about the increase in goblins as well."


    When I came to this world and Esther was the first to reach out.


    Even if she heard that I was a ¡°Lost¡± person, she did not discriminate and taught me someone ignorant about themon sense of Eargard.


    Esther is my benefactor.


    I feel a strong resentment at Philip, who had trapped Esther.


    The <intimidation> naturally leaked from my body.


    Philip, who was exposed to my <intimidation>, opened and closed his mouth like a fish sweat began pouring from his forehead and he begins to pant.


    "Recently, adventurers'' requests have been failing. Is this your fault too?" (Toru)


    "You-you¡¯re wro..." (Philip)


    "What did you want to achieve by failing inexperienced adventurers one after another?" (Toru)


    "I, I am..." (Philip)


    Philip''s eyes suddenly lose focus. The words thate out of his mouth are fragmented. He doesn''t know what he wants to say.


    There was a bad aura emanating from Philip¡¯s body while the sounds from his mouth be more unintelligible.


    It was the same as Clement and others who previously tried to kill Lid and me in a trap.


    I frowned in the dark atmosphere that would quickly pollute anyone with a touch.


    "I don''t know what''s going on, but Esther is my benefactor --- I won''t let her be harmed." (Toru)


    Philip has a position. So Esther will not be able to easily deal with him. I would have silently overlooked him if he left things be.


    It will also be difficult for her to reach out to other adventurers.


    As long as he can oversee her, Philip will not miss his chance at causing violence.


    "Chi... Don''t get in my way! What can an ¡®inferior¡¯ person do as a new adventurer!!" (Philip)


    "Kill!" (Philip¡¯s inner voice 1)


    "Destroy!" (Philip inner voice 2)


    "Twist and crush!!" (Philip inner voice 3)


    Philip screamed, pushed to action by a voice echoing from his chest.


    Then, a feeling of tion that is making him lose himself filled his body all at once.


    While soaking in the strong pleasure, a calmness spread all over Philip.


    (¡­¡­Is the boy in front of you the same person as the one they were talking about?) (Philip)


    ~3rd Person Perspective~


    Oily sweat runs down Philip''s temples.


    Up until a moment ago, Toru had a smirk that made him look like was irritated.


    However, the irritation he felt from Toru changed and something else appeared.


    It feels as if he was being condemned by God or the devil.


    Toru releases pressure that is making it difficult for Philip to breathe even when he is used to rough adventurers projecting bloodlust.


    "I repeat. Do not do anything to Esther in the future." (Toru)


    "...I refuse!" (Philip)


    "It looks like I have-" (Toru)


    The second Philip refused.


    A shiny jet-ck de appeared on Toru''s hand.


    As soon as he saw the de, the voices lurking inside Philip all became frightened.


    ¨”This pressure... is it a sacred weapon?¡± (Philip)


    (It''s stupid!) (Philip¡¯s inner voice 1)


    "Why human beings!" (Philip¡¯s inner voice 2)


    ¡°Go to he---!?¡± (Philip¡¯s inner voice 3)


    Those "voices" creaming loudly in Philip¡¯s chest vanished as soon as Toru stabbed Philip''s chest with the jet-ck de.


    >> Purification of Soul Confirmed


    >> Acquiring 1000 skill points


    >> Level 20¡ú21


    >> The rank has risen to rank II


    ¡ð


    ~Toru¡¯s Perspective


    "It¡¯s confirmed; I think my personality has changed..." (Toru)


    I, left Philip in the small room, was upset by Philip¡¯s bold actions.


    I¡¯m not the kind of person who never gets angry.


    I get angry when there¡¯s something I dislike, and sometimes I even screamed.


    However, I never acted violently while getting dragged by my emotions.


    Even if a human had an unbreakable weapon, it would be unthinkable to wield it filled with murderous intent.


    I felt as if someone had taken over my body.


    I''m not sure if this is because of the [Magic Sword] or because of the atmosphere of the Eargard.


    And if this is my true nature, I¡¯m quite horrifying.


    "I have to learn how to restrain myself." (Toru)


    Shaking my head, I reproach myself.


    Philip, who got stabbed by the [Magic Sword], is calm as if something had been removed from him. It is the same as when Clement and others were shed.


    "Is it fine to sh people with [Magic Sword]?" (Toru)


    If that is the case, then I can calmly deal with another person by wielding the [Magic Sword] every time an opponent gets angry.


    However, I will be nothing more than a dangerous person. Some adventurer who attacks people whenever someone gets angry at me.


    Every time I use the [Magic Sword], I might get a notorious title such as "sher" or "Untouchable".


    "...Yeah. I should only use the [Magic Sword] only against monsters." (Toru)


    That''s what I decided.

 Chapter 29: Aftermath

    <h4>Chapter 29: Aftermath</h4>


    I returned to the reception floor and looked for Esther.


    "Hey, Toru. Here." (Esther)


    Esther waved her hand towards me. She¡¯s standing at the counter.


    "You¡¯re done. Is the assessment over?" (Toru)


    "Ah. By the way, Toru. What did Philip-san say to you?" (Esther)


    "...No. Nothing important." (Toru)


    Toru decided that ¡°nothing¡± is the correct answer.


    If I exin it badly, I might identally admit that I used [Magic Sword] against Philip.


    It wasn''t a problem because Philip was safe, but I didn''t want to have Esther worry about it.


    "That''s right. Toru. The purchase price of the magic stone was amazing. It was 50 silver coins!" (Esther)


    "Oh!" (Toru)


    The price of the magic stone alone is an unbelievable amount of 50 silver coins.


    C-rank and D-rank monsters give quite the loot.


    If Ipare 10 silver coins with a spirit crystal, it seems cheap, but it is like a bonus item.


    It''s not something that you usually aim for.


    "It was a good sale huh." (Toru)


    "Hmm? No, this is Toru''s." (Esther)


    "Huh? No, I wouldn¡¯t know about the magic stone if I didn''t have Esther. I surely would¡¯ve left it, so it''s Esther''s money, right?" (Toru)


    "That''s not right! The rock worm is something you subdued. It''s Toru''s money." (Esther)


    "Well, then take half then." (Toru)


    "No, but I didn¡¯t do anything during the fight against the Rock Worms..." (Esther)


    "If we¡¯re a party, it doesn''t matter what you contribute, right?" (Toru)


    "Huh!? Uh, yeah, of course, eh?" (Esther)


    My words made Esther¡¯s eyes watery, and her cheeks were dyed red like roses.


    "I suddenly decided it but was it okay for Esther to party with me?" (Toru)


    "Of course!" (Esther)


    "If so, please take care of me from now on." (Toru)


    "Oh, dly." (Esther)


    I held out my hand and Esther grabbed it.


    Thus I formed a party with Esther.


    What would the deceased Lid think of when he saw this scene?


    I suddenly thought of that.


    In a ce where ck hair and ck eyes are not disliked and discriminated against. There are people who you¡¯ll meet and help without discrimination, and people who you¡¯ll form parties with.


    Lid''s soul may no longer be in this world,


    (I¡¯ll let your body experience a world you¡¯ve never seen) (Toru)


    That kind of purpose for my second life may not be bad.


    ¡ð


    ~3rd Person Perspective~


    "Oh, oh. You''ve been hurt quite badly."


    Aid back voice can be heard from behind.


    The man called Phillip by the locals¡ªhad a spirit known as Caim split from his body and turned around.


    There was a man in a ck robe emerging from the darkness.


    It could be thought that the person was a woman by the tone of her voice, but you couldn''t see her true face covered by a hood.


    (-was I followed?) (Philip)


    He was alert, but he was unaware of another presence.


    "...Have I changed my body again?" (Caim inside Philip)


    "Oh, you are aware? A little mouse was annoyed, but I tried to bind your soul a little bit. This body is quite good." (Another Caim)


    "I know right?" (Caim inside Philip)


    As if to brag about the new "Body", the other caim possessing a person named Amy spun around.


    A caim¡¯s body can be freely ¡®changed''.


    As if they were clothes and essories...


    They are willing to desecrate the soul and human body created by God.


    There is no doubt. This person is a Caim. [Note: So Philip and Clement and his gang were possessed by these Caims. I will still use the name of the bodies the Caims possess to identify them.]


    "That''s right? Isn''t the spirit of your body broken? If you do overdo it, your body will rot while alive, okay?" (Amy)


    "That''s right." (Philip)


    "What on earth did you do?" (Amy)


    "This guy was about to expose all my actions to the guild. I had to do it." (Philip)


    When the soul bes weakened, Caims can take back control of the body from their host for a moment.


    If they keep silent, everything seems fine and natural... It was unexpected that Philip was actually not inplete control of his actions.


    If they don''t grasp Philip''s spirit, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to secretly raise Rock Worms in the limestone cave deep in the forest these days. The n of weakening the power of the adventurer''s guild, and the ns that followed. It was exposed suddenly.


    "Hah. While saying that Finlis can definitely be crushed if you take time --- does your body still work?" (Amy)


    "I was doing well! No doubt, the n was proceeding as nned! It was all because of that kid that caused the n to go haywire...!!" (Philip)


    "Yeah. The person that stripped your soul... a child? Who the hell are is he?" (Amy)


    "Don''t know! But yeah, he holds a strong blessing of a God. I don''t know which minion of the six gods he is. But when he exerted his strength, I felt that God had descended." (Philip)


    "I see. If we move, God will also move." (Amy)


    After saying that, Amy looked up at the sky.


    Bare white skin was slightly exposed.


    (This body... is it alive?) (Philip)


    Amy is a friend.


    However, the Caim inside Philip was quite hurt.


    "Well, that''s fine. Leave it to me-" (Amy)


    "I¡¯ll get on! I will leave Finlis soon and try to recover my soul." (Philip)


    "I understand." (Amy)


    "So, this is me..." (Philip)


    The Caims disappeared into the darkness of Finlis.


    Looking over his back, Amy pulled out the dagger hidden under the robe and a twisted grin can be seen.


    "I wish I could leave Finlis safely and peacefully." (Amy)

 Chapter 30: Conversation about the Future

    <h4>Chapter 30: Conversation about the Future</h4>


    ~3rd Person Perspective~


    After Toru and Esther left the guild.


    Philip confessed that he sent adventurers on quests that would lead to their failure, leading to their expulsion from the guild.


    He hid important information that he was supposed to convey. And he gave adventurers request that was beyond their capabilities.


    Many of the adventurers died because of Philip, and many newbie adventurers were expelled from the guild.


    If Toru didn¡¯t save Esther, the number of adventurers who would have died due to Philip¡¯s schemes would have just kept on increasing.


    Why did he do that? Philip didn¡¯t answer the question until the end, and Finlis had no way to press him for more information.


    He misused his power as the guild¡¯s chief receptionist, but every adventurer is liable for their own life.


    Adventurers basically have the freedom to receive requests, except for nominated requests issued by guilds and city/town lords during emergencies. It is the adventurer who makes the final decision whether a request fits their abilities or not.


    Legally, Philip cannot be charged.


    However, he still sinned in the eyes of the adventurers.


    Naturally, the adventurers who have been removed from the guild were angry upon hearing this.


    The guild epted their demands and allowed those who are newly disqualified return and reapply to be an adventurer once again.


    Also, they may restart from their previous rank, when they normally restart from F-rank.


    This eliminated some controversies, but nheless, the credibility of Finlis¡¯ Adventurer guild has plummeted.


    Even if special or nominated requests appear in the future, every adventurer would be suspicious of the guild thinking, ¡°Is this request a trap?¡±


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    If thepletion rate of the request declines, the ie of the guild will decline.


    The scheming of one employee put the Finlis adventurer guild in hot water.


    Philip, who was the instigator of the schemes against the adventurers, was soon found dead in the back alley of Finlis the day after he left the guild.


    Philip was stabbed through the heart,ing from behind him.


    His death was veiled in mystery.


    Is the criminal a murderer with a grudge an adventurer, or is the murderer someone who knows about his mysterious behavior?


    In any case, why did Philip act like that? The truth has been buried in darkness.


    The day after he formed a party with Esther. Toru was sparring with Esther in the courtyard of the inn.


    ~Toru¡¯s Perspective~


    ¡°-Huh! Yah!!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°-Take this!¡± (Esther)


    Esther¡¯s wooden sword swung down on towards my head.


    I calmly received the wooden sword nowing towards my side.


    But the wooden sword changed speed on the way.


    The change in speed caused my parry to fail.


    Still, I did not panic and changed my center of gravity.


    The wooden sword approaching me slowed as I evade and it slipped past my side.


    (I see. Esther doesn¡¯t continue to apply < Strength Enhancement > but activates it at appropriate moments. It also bes a feint attack while she is suppressing mana consumed.)


    I deal with Esther¡¯s wooden sword while quickly analyzing her attack, why it suddenly changes speed.


    At first nce, an attack that wide is full of gaps. But the disadvantages disappear due to the timely activation of < Strength Enhancement >, and it turns into an effective attack.


    Even if another attackes again, I could not make a counterattack because I was careful of the wooden sword suddenly elerating.


    With only a little ingenuity from Esther, one of my attacks have been rendered useless.


    It was a really good attack.


    I am currently training in the morning with Esther.


    Until now, I have been training in the morning by himself. I trained every morning without ever skipping.


    When I train, my vision bes clearer, and I am able to incorporate < sword art > into my body¡¯s motor memory. Morning training was a routine I practice in this world.


    Esther wanted to participate in my morning training today.


    It seems to be better than me practicing by myself. Thinking about it, I sparred with Esther using wooden swords. And I found that it exceeded my expectations.


    Skills are just tools. The higher the skill, the more efficient and effective the tools are.


    However, it is through my own will that ultimately unleashes the potential of that tool.


    No matter how high my skills are, I cannot use them at 100% without knowledge and ingenuity.


    If I have a good tool but don¡¯t know how to use it properly, it is just good as jewelry.


    What I could learn from sparring is how to use the tools properly during battles.


    This training session with Esther was effective at teaching me about how fights progress in reality.


    I can¡¯t help but smile at the actual battle experience umting in my mind and body.


    I was euphoric from the feeling of having my skills shine and be bridges towards any goal I have.


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡± (Toru)


    I can¡¯t help butugh while Esther and I sh swords.


    asionally I attack, sometimes a feint, and sometimes a weak blow.


    ¡°What are you doing in the courtyard?!¡±


    Suddenly, the loud voice of thendy can be heard all over the ce. Both me and Esther were surprised our shoulders shook.


    ¡°Oh, um, good morning.¡± (Toru & Esther)


    ¡°Good morning? Not at all! It¡¯s amon area. If you¡¯re training, people can¡¯t use them well!¡± (Landy)


    I can clearly see, there were some other guests at the doorway facing the courtyard. All the guests are frowning already.


    Apparently, Esther and I had disturbed their morning routines.


    ¡°¡­¡­Excuse me¡± (Toru)


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Exactly. If you do it, please do it in another ce. See you again!¡± (Landy)


    I and Esther rushed out of the courtyard to escape the angry gaze of the other guests.


    ¡°I¡¯m annoying the inn guests¡­¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s not a good idea.¡± (Esther)


    In the future, my daily morning training can¡¯t be held in the courtyard. But I didn¡¯t want to quit my morning training.


    During my life in Japan, it would have been quite a surprise to see me working-out early in the morning every day.


    People who are constant morning joggers take a look at me and their eyes filled with contempt are telling me, ¡°The day has just started and you¡¯re already tired?¡±


    Before, my body would move clumsily but now I can do acrobatic movement no sweat.


    Even when I tire out my body, after a night¡¯s sleep I feel no adverse effects from wearing out my body the day before.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it possible to rent a vacant house somewhere?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°¡­! That¡¯s a good idea!¡± (Esther)


    Esther ps loudly with bread in her mouth then talks to me.


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    ¡°If you rent a vacant house, you can train in the morning and you will not bother other people.¡± (Toru)


    Esther¡¯s words are truly a good idea, but having two people, a man and a woman under a roof?


    Are you thinking clearly about this or not? I send her a questioning look. But Esther just nods over and over saying, ¡°This is a good idea!¡±


    ¡­It is likely that she hasn¡¯t thought about it.


    ¡°She¡¯s a little dangerous.¡±


    The uncle-like guard shed in my mind along with those words, suddenly the image raised his thumb for some reason.


    I drove out the image smiling guard from my head with all my might.


    Yes, Esther is a little bit dangerous.


    However, I don¡¯t feel any intent to attack from her. So I decided to just be careful.


    So we have a goal set for the near future.


    ¡°We have to find a house for rent where we can have morning training.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°First of all, we have to work and make a lot of money.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Oh yes.¡± (Esther)


    We head for the guild in search of a new request.


    There, we found a unique request.


    It was a pretty good quest.


    I was a little disappointed in the quest but decided that it was quite a safe request, so we decided to ept the request.


    ¨CI didn¡¯t know that it would lead to another troublesome event.

 Chapter 31: New Magic Sword Power ~Gold Version?~

    <h4>Chapter 31: New Magic Sword Power ~Gold Version?~</h4>


    I waste the time as I erase the < Lighting > that I cast in the futon the night before.


    If it were the usual, it¡¯s time for me to head to the inn courtyard and train early in the morning. But yesterday, thendy has issued a ban on training on the courtyard.


    The sun has just risen and there¡¯s still sometimes before breakfast is served.


    The quest on how to kill free time was born.


    ¡°When I was in Japan, I was killing time with my smartphone orputer.¡± (Toru)


    There is no such convenient device in Eargard.


    I thought and deliberated in my head for a while, but I remembered that I have the skill board.


    ¡°Yeah, I should allocate the skill points that were gained.¡± (Toru)


    The skill tree was disyed on the skill board is packed with the skills avable.


    Like this, It would be hard to find the skill I want and It would be easy to miss the skills I might need.


    I can hide the skills I will never use by using the ¡°hide¡± function I discovered on the skill board.


    As an example, I won¡¯t ever need festival-rted skills such as < Goldfish Scooping > < Disk Throwing >, < Die Tossing >, or cherry rted skills such as < Cherry X¡¯s and Knot > or < Cherry Seed Spitting >.


    There are also a ton of other extraneous skills.


    It¡¯s quite the hassle if I have to reorganize it every time.


    Looking at the A4 size skill board that appeared in front of me, I noticed something strange.


    ¡ð Status


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    Toru Minasuki


    Level: 20¡ú21


    Race: Human Primary Job: Swordsman Secondary Job: Magician


    Rank: I ¡ú II Skill points: 2 ¡ú 1012


    ¡ðPassives


    [Complete Enhancement + 8]


    [Body Enhancement + 5] [Magic Enhancement + 5]


    [Natural Recovery +5] [Enhanced Resistance +5] [Limit Break]


    [Stamina +5] [Magic +5]


    [Strength +5] [Dexterity +5]


    [Agility +5] [Intelligence +5] [Luck +5]


    ¡ðTechniques


    < Sword Art Lv5 > < Magic Art Lv5 >


    < Intuition Lv5 > < Intimidate Lv5 > < Thought eleration Lv5 >


    < Magic Grimoire LV4 >< Chant-less Casting LV4 >


    < Language Comprehension Lv4 > < cksmith Lv4 >


    < Aikido Lv5 > < Condemnation Lv2 >


    < Magic Sword Lv1 >


    ¡°What¡¯s this? Skill points are bugged!¡±


    Previously, when I distributed skills on < Condemnation >, I had only 2 points left.


    My previous level was 20 and the rank was also I.


    I thought that the condition for leveling up was ¡°defeating monsters.¡± However, I haven¡¯t fought monsters since I acquired < Condemnation >.


    All I¡¯ve done so far is using < Condemnation > on Philip and sparring with Esther.


    ¡°¡­Did killing people grant leveling up or arge number of skill points?¡±


    I didn¡¯t want to think that I had to cut down people to improve my level this way.


    Even if the level is simply an indicator of a person¡¯s ability. Murder and injury do not seem to be the actual cause of leveling up.


    Is it peculiar to the Japanese people that they only wish to level up by rooting out evils and not murdering?


    I should consider something first; I have to identify the conditions for leveling upter. I have to focus on this first.


    ¡°Skill points are probably bugged¡­ Why did I get 1,010 skill points all at once?¡±


    I have never earned so many points with just one level up.


    ¡°Is it rted to the fact that my rank has gone up? If the rank goes up, I can probably get 1,000 points¡­?¡±


    I growl in frustration, but I can¡¯t find a reliable answer to this mystery.


    I thought for a while. Then I have stopped worrying about it, it¡¯s useless and pointless.


    Rather, how should I spend the points?


    ¡°1,012 points¡­ It appeared at the right moment, maybe I should raise the level of < Magic Sword >.¡±


    If you don¡¯t have a lot of skills, I need to spend the points right.


    Since the number of points required to raise the level of [Magic Sword] is more than enough, I should level it up.


    ¡°No, maybe I should acquire skills for survival?¡±


    My parallel thoughts collided and conflicted.


    But I decided to spend the points in < Magic Sword >.


    Just focusing on pure survival skills would not fulfill my hopes of adventuring.


    ¡°Appear < Magic Sword >¡±


    The magic sword appears in my hand.


    Gazing at it I memorized its status in my brain.


    ¡°¡­ okay!¡±


    After remembering the status of < Magic Sword >, I tapped the skill board.


    > >Skill points: 1012 ¡ú 12


    > >< Magic Sword Lv1 >, ¡ú< Magic Sword Lv2 >


    ¡°Well¡­ did it change?¡±


    I stare carefully at the < Magic Sword > I¡¯ve just leveled up.


    < Magic Sword > still looks like a ck de with a red line, however, I could not see any change once it changed from Lv1 to Lv2.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. I leveled up my skills, but my appearance hasn¡¯t changed either¡­¡±


    I hoped that there would have been physical changes had my shoulders fall in disappointment


    But the level has risen. I think there have been some changes.


    ¡°When ites to the changes¨C there are three possible improvements.¡±


    ¢Ù The de has be sharper.


    ¢Ú A normal person can be cut.


    ¢Û Ability to change its appearance.


    ¡°I can¡¯t confirm ¢Ù right now, but it has been very sharp from the beginning.¡±


    If it were any sharper, the stats would be more than what I should handle


    For me, an ¡®inferior¡¯ person and a newbie adventurer, I won¡¯t be able to use this sword in a situation where its full potential is used. And I would like to avoid those situations where I have to test the sharpness of the de.


    ¡°I will check ¢Ùter¡­ I would like to refrain from testing ¢Ú.¡±


    For me, that property [Magic Sword] is a kind of safety.


    If I can sh people, I might kill someone like Philip.


    ¢Ú would make me a murderer if such an event urs again.


    Perhaps I would have done something irreversible? If not now when?


    ¡°¡­Yes, I can confirm it right?¡±


    Readying myself from the pain, I touched the de of [Magic Sword] with the tips of my finger.


    Then¨C


    ¡°Oh¡±


    It passed through the de of < Magic Sword >.


    ¡°That¡¯s good then¡­¡±


    Relief fills my heart.


    A sword that cannot hurt people is a defective weapon, but I still gained peace of mind because the sword cannot be used to kill people.


    ¡°If that is the case, the remaining one is¡­¡±


    When I muttered the possibility of transformation, my heart begins to beat in excitement.


    If ¢Û is correct, I would be super happy.


    Reforming, transformation, and merging/splitting are childish dreams.


    But dreams don¡¯t just disappear.


    Getting up of the bed, I shouted in excitement.


    ¡°Come on! Come on! Transform!¡±


    Suddenly, the magic sword in my hand split in the middle.


    With the grip not moving, the split part rotates around and sticks under the handle.


    (Hihihihi, it¡¯s here!! Is this arge sword? Or a double-ded sword!?)


    I excitedly watched the sword.


    When it is stuck under the handle, both ends bent to a slight arc.


    A translucent string is connected from the tip of the top to the bottom.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a bow!¡±


    < Magic Sword > has changed to a bow.


    The sword sort of shimmered and suddenly it was there and the transformation isplete.


    ¡°< Magic Sword >but it is now bow¡­ How is this correct?¡±


    The skill name is still < Magic Sword >. Though it transformed into a bow, it¡¯s still < Magic Sword > on the skill board. It has not changed to < Magic Bow >.


    In the first ce, the transformations that I was imagining was seeing it haverger des. Or it would change to a drill, probably a scythe. I would never have expected it to be a bow.


    ¡°But well¡­ a transformation is a transformation.¡±


    The burning passion that had been overflowing suddenly cooled.


    The fact that [Magic Sword Lv2] was a transformation is something wanted by inner child Toru.


    However, the transformed form is a bit of a letdown.


    ¡°I down even have bow techniques¡­¡±


    If I want to use it well I would have to spend some more skill points.


    Also, there are no arrows.


    ¨CCongrattions, you have the strongest weapon! If you want to use it, please pay-up ?


    Is it a free-to-y mobile game that only eats up money?


    ¡°But I don¡¯t think I can even use it without proper skills.¡±


    I have experience in swordy during my time joining kendo sses, but I have never touched a bow.


    As a test, I held the bow upright with my left hand and my free hand pulled back the string tightly.


    ¡°Ugu¡­ What is this really hard!¡±


    My status is already raised to level 21, but I can¡¯t even draw this properly without an arrow.


    It¡¯s a ridiculously taut bow.


    ¡°Nugugu¡­!¡±


    I managed to pull the string using < Strength Enhancement >.


    However, although the strings have been barely pulled, my fingers felt torn.


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    ¡°Well, that¡¯s enough¡±


    Iughed from the strain in my arms. I identally released it.


    ¨CPushun!


    ¡°Fah!?¡±


    Immediately before The string returned, a jet-ck arrow appeared in the center of the magic bow.


    The arrow was pushed by the translucent string, it prated the wall at such a speed that it could barely be noticed, and disappeared to the other side.


    ¡¸¡­¡­¡­¡­¡¹


    Apparently, this magic bow was can make magic arrows if the string is pulled back.


    If the characteristics of < Magic Sword > is also a property of the magic bow, those arrows cannot kill humans.


    Fortunately, the holes punched by the arrow is small that only a thin rope can pass through.


    Since there are holes in some of the walls of the inn, no one will notice when the number of holes increased by one.


    Wherever the arrow flies, whether it prates a wall or hits a bowl, it cannot harm a person.


    So,


    ¡°¡­Okay, it¡¯s time for breakfast!¡±


    I pretended to have not seen anything.

 Chapter 32: Even After Finding a Good Job…

    <h4>Chapter 32: Even After Finding a Good Job¡­</h4>


    ¡°Let¡¯s finish this request soon¡±


    I said to Ester while she was eating her delicious breakfast.


    Esther, who had just dipped ck bread into the soup, leaned her head in that position.


    Her ponytail sways seem to be asking, ¡°Are you taking breakfast for granted¡±.


    ¡°Our immediate goal is to rent a house where you can work in the morning. You can¡¯t rent a house forever unless you clear the request and earn money. However, it¡¯s an E-rank job. I can¡¯t earn enough to keep a rented house.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°I see. First of all, let us both aim for a rank up!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Exactly.¡± (Toru)


    I don¡¯t know the price of Eargard¡¯s house rental, but I think that if we think about renting a house, we will have to make a lot of money.


    ¡°One goblin subjugation reward is 40 gards. This is going to be a bit tough.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yes, not only rent and living expenses, but money we need money during preparations for requests.¡± (Toru)


    Our best chances of being able to pay for all our daily expenses and rent is to aim for an ie where 30% of it is devoted to rent.


    This was themon sense when I was still living in Japan.


    If this also applies to Eargard, E-rank adventurers¡¯ monthly ie still causes some worries.


    Therefore, it is better to rank up.


    If we reach D-rank, you can undertake a better job than E-rankers.


    Even if we rent a house, we have enough leeway.


    I am not anxious about the increasing difficulty of requests we ept so we could rank up faster.


    However, the Rock Worms I defeated the other day is a D-rank monster.


    I thought that if the difficulty we faced on subjugating Rock Worms is the usual for D-rank monsters, we would be able to subdue them without anyproblems.


    ¡°So, let¡¯s go see the requests.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Okay. By the way, Toru, are you free once we¡¯re done at the guild?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Hmm. I have some free time after we finish epting a quest¡­ Is there somece you need to go to?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s a ce I want to stop by. I want you toe with me there.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Okay. We¡¯ll do it, after looking over the requests in the guild.¡± (Toru)


    I forced ck bread and salt soup into my stomach once again.


    ¡ð


    After breakfast, we went to the guild as soon as we¡¯re done.


    The other day, Philip¡¯s, the chief receptionist, wrong doings were revealed to the whole guild.


    As a result, many Finlis-based adventurers are now distrustful of the guild.


    It was probably the cause of the guild being empty despite most adventurers should have been here like the day before.


    We headed to the E-rank bulletin board after crossing the empty guild hall


    Then,


    ¡°Hm¡­? One gold coinpletion reward?¡±


    A request with apletion reward of one gold coin caught my eye.


    As an E-rank request, it is quite a great start.


    ¡°What happened Toru?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Nothing, this is the request.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°One gold coin!?¡± (Esther)


    As a reward, even Esther, who was used to taking requests had her eyes almost pop.


    ¡°There might be a catch?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Hmm¡± (Toru)


    The guild¡¯s sins have juste to light.


    It¡¯s only natural for Esther who was a victim to doubt E-rank requests giving this much.


    However, on the contrary, I thought that there was no catch to the request.


    ¡°But at the moment, should we just take an easy toplete request?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°What do you mean, Toru?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Surely, if they make low-rank quests give high rewards people would definitely suspicious. you make a low-ranking request and get the rewards so far, anyone will be suspicious. If there is a backside, I think that it is not easy to train like this.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Maybe so.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°For me, I wouldn¡¯t post such an easy to understand request like it¡¯s saying, ¡®I¡¯m a suspicious request!¡¯ setup like a normal quest.¡± (Toru)


    For the time being, I check more requests that are posted.


    _______________________________________________________________


    [Urgent Request] Large cleaning task [E-rank]


    ?Contents: Cleaning task of Neisse Church


    Clean the areas within Neisse Church.


    ?Clearing conditions and period: Until client receives the holy sign


    ?Reward: 1 gold coin


    ?Failure condition: None


    ?Failure penalty: None


    _______________________________________________________________


    There seems to be no room for anything in terms of the content of the request.


    Since it is not a battle request, there is no danger of losing lives on the way. In addition, the condition of failure is limited to the case where the user deres retirement.


    ¡°Ester. What is this holy sign?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°The holy sign is a symbol that represents God. There are a total of six pirs of gods in Eargard, and each has a holy sign.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Really¡± (Toru)


    The holy sign is simr to a family crest and/or a sovereign¡¯s seal.


    ¡°But this clear condition is uneasy¡­¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Sure. We may be made to clean endlessly.¡± (Esther)


    However, the reward is attractive.


    I didn¡¯t want to give it up just because it was suspicious.


    ¡°Let¡¯s ask a little bit more about it.¡± (Toru)


    So I grabbed the request form and walked towards the reception.


    At the reception was Marie, who has taken care of me during my registration as an adventurer.


    She smiled widely as she looked our way.


    ¡°¡­Toru?¡± (Marie)


    ¡°Hi!¡± (Esther)


    Suddenly Esther slipped in front of me while wearing a hard to read expression.


    Somehow I was scared that my heart began to beat faster.


    ¡°Good morning, Toru-san and Esther-san¡± (Marie)


    ¡°Good morning Marie¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Good morning, Marie¡± (Toru)


    ¡°What kind of business do you have today?¡± (Marie)


    ¡°I have something to ask about the request.¡± (Toru)


    I presented the request form.


    Marie, looking at the paper, blinked looking quite surprised.


    ¡°This request, why is the reward so unexpectedly generous?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°¡­I¡¯m sorry, Toru-san. From which board did you find this request?¡± (Marie)


    ¡°It¡¯s from the bulletin board there.¡± (Toru)


    Saying that, I nced at the bulletin board for E-ranker.


    However, it seems that Marie doesn¡¯t know all the requests.


    ¡°Toru, sorry, can you wait for a moment?¡± (Marie)


    ¡°No problem.¡± (Toru)


    Then Marie headed to the shelf behind the counter.


    The shelves contain arge amount of books that may be relevant to the request.


    After pulling out a few books from the shelves, Marie nced back towards the request and returned to the counter again. However, her expression is a little confused.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to have kept you waiting. Regarding the rewards for therge cleaning task, there was no mistake with the amount.¡± (Marie)


    ¡°¡­ what¡¯s wrong then?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ I¡¯m a receptionist, and I¡¯ve received all the requests, but I just don¡¯t remember this request at all.¡± (Marie)


    ¡°Is it a fake request?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Since I don¡¯t have the name of the client, I thought about that possibility. However, there was a contract issued by the guild when request was given by the client, and the reward was already paid in advance.¡± (Marie)


    It was posted on the bulletin board following the formal procedures.


    But Marie says she doesn¡¯t know about it.


    This caused Esther to purse her lips.


    ¡°Toru. Seems like this request is a trap. This may be some of Philip¡¯s work.¡± (Esther)


    (¡­) (Marie)


    Esther¡¯s words made struck Marie hard and she looked quite gloomy.


    There have probably been a string of people backing out of a request simr to Esther.


    But I thought about it more and.


    ¡°No, let¡¯s receive this quest.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Toru. Did you listen to me?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yeah. The guild went through the formal process before posting the request, right?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°It went through all the proper channels, that¡¯s right.¡± (Marie)


    ¡°Huh, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s not suspicious?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°But the rewards are already in the guild, so it¡¯s not fake!¡± (Marie)


    Marie desperately defends the guild amidst Esther¡¯s usations.


    Looking at the two, I have to say something.


    ¡°I am listening to Esther¡¯s opinion, but it seems like the reward is real. And I want to earn as much and as fast as I can.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°¡­Why is Toru so particr about this request? Can we not take other requests?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Because this request seems interesting, right?¡± (Toru)


    Esther¡¯s question was answered by myugh, hopefully easing the tense atmosphere.


    Requests that the receptionist does not know.


    They don¡¯t know the name of the client and when it was posted.


    However, the request passed all the proper channels and the request fee has been paid.


    It¡¯s quite the mystery.


    There¡¯s no doubt that I am very interested this mystery.


    ¡°I would have rejected it if this was a subjugation request, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a life-threatening request. (Toru)


    ¡°Sure, maybe¡­¡± (Esther)


    Esther is still reluctant, but I have already decided to ept this request.


    We can fail without any disadvantage. It¡¯s a waste to not ept.


    ¡°So Esther, Marie. Where is this Neisse Church?¡± (Toru)


    ¡¸¡¸¡­¡­¡­¡­¡¹¡¹


    My questing is greeted by silence from the two.


    It was like, ¡°Are you nning to ept the request without knowing that?¡± Are they saying that to me?.


    ¡°¡­Toru. The Neisse Church is a church somewhere in Finlis.¡± (Marie)


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s said to be somewhere in Finlis.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± (Toru)

 Chapter 33: The Church of Alphas

    <h4>Chapter 33: The Church of Alphas</h4>


    Not only the request, but the building that will be cleaned is also mysterious.


    (Isn¡¯t Esther reluctant because I don¡¯t know if the Nesis Church exists¡­?)


    ¡°Is there a Nesis church?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Yes, there is it, but it is said that it cannot be reached by any normal means.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Normal means?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Nesis is the god of fate. That¡¯s why there is a rumor that unless you are destined to find the church, you cannot visit the church.


    Some people tried to go to church, but some people can¡¯t reach the church even if they journey towards it.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Once in the past, we¡¯ve conducted arge-scale search through the guild, but not all adventurers have arrived, some have not.


    There are those who have reached the church, some who have been there but couldn¡¯t reach it again, those who have never reached the church, and those who have reached the church only during the search.


    Reports on the location of the church were mixed, and even the guild personnel couldn¡¯t tell where the location was within the city.¡± (Marie)


    ¡°What is that amazing¡± (Toru)


    Listening to their story, I became even more interested.


    A church of the god of fate, where people may or may not find.


    (The person who arrives at the church is given the sense of being a chosen one. That¡¯s great!)


    I was quite happy to ept the mysterious request; I didn¡¯t even listen to Esther¡¯s ¡°hunches¡±.


    ¡ð


    Finlis is currently the most prosperous city in the country, with a poption of about 30,000.


    When Finlis was built, it was about 2 kilometers from the northern and southern boundary, but now the poption is ballooning and it has be a huge circr city with a diameter of 5 kilometers.


    The original town area is in the center and is now considered as the aristocratic area.


    With the circr area at the center, a boulevard extends across north and south, east and west.


    Finlis source of water is a river near the northern area.


    The city has great waterways. Besides, wells have been installed all around Finlis, the residents will never have water problems.


    A fountain is set up in the central za that symbolizes Finlis¡¯s abundance of water.


    There are big divisions such as the northeast, southeast, northwest, and southwest, and they became known as craftsmen¡¯s quarters,moner quarters, andmercial districts.


    _______________________________________________________________


    North


    ©°©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©Ð©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©´


    ©¦Craftsmen©°©¤©¤©Ø©¤©¤©´Commoner ©¦


    West ©À©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©È Noble ©À©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©È East


    ©¦Commoner©¸©¤©¤©Ð©¤©¤©¼Commercial©¦


    ©¸©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©Ø©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¼


    South


    _______________________________________________________________


    The ce where we are living is located in the southwestern section facing South Boulevard.


    The Adventurer¡¯s Guild is in the Southeast at themoner¡¯s district.


    Today, I was walking towards the aristocratic district, with Esther walking in front.


    I am walking and I thought of asking,


    ¡°Hey, Esther. Where are you going?¡±


    ¡°For the time being, I¡¯m thinking of gathering information about the Nesis Church. When ites to information about churches, it¡¯s best to ask church officials.¡± (Esther)


    So that¡¯s it.


    Esther was opposed to the request before but seems that she changed her mind.


    ¡°And I think Toru isn¡¯t very familiar with this world¡¯s religions. It¡¯s an opportunity, so why don¡¯t you decide on a religion to belong to?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Hmm. Religion huh.¡±


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    ¡°Was there no religion in your previous world?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not the case.¡±


    I just never believed in religion.


    But, I respect Animism¡¯s values.


    ¡°Everything holds a soul so be caring.¡±


    ¡°Every grain of rice is a blessing, so eat without wasting food.¡±


    ¡°The spirits are always watching. So don¡¯t do bad things.¡±


    However, it was not just animism in general, but the moral codes within.


    I can¡¯t say I believe in any faith.


    Also, I never believed in God in the first ce.


    I think about what I said to the self-proimed God before I came to this world is still true for me.


    However, whether it can be spoken in front of the locals is another matter.


    I should change the subject.


    ¡°Speaking of which, who are the six pir gods of Eargard?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I remember them well. That¡¯s right, there is a tradition that Eargard was created by six pir gods. Forcels the God of Justice, Alphas the God of Technology, Agni the God of War, Ermetia God of Magic, Amanomehito the God of Nature and Nesis the God of Fate¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Which of the pirs does Esther believe in?¡±


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s the war god Agni! When I became an adventurer, I became a believer and received his Blessing!¡± (Esther)


    Esther puffed up her chest with pride.


    And her ponytail is swinging with pride and joy.


    ¡°Blessing¡­ is it like a talisman with a spell?¡± [T/N: ¼Ó×o(Kago) ¨C can mean divine blessing, divine protection, or a talisman]


    ¡°Is it an amulet? No, it¡¯s like a blessing¡­ Maybe divine protection doesn¡¯t exist in Toru¡¯s world?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Hmm. Yeah, I don¡¯t think so¡­ I think so?¡±


    Although the words exist.


    And, ¡°This is the blessing of God!¡±, There was no such thing on Earth.


    Even if there is, it is only due to people¡¯s belief that ¡°this miracle is due to God¡¯s Blessing¡±.


    ¡°It sounds like¡­ a very miserable world.¡± (Esther)


    She looked at me like a cat abandoned during a storm.


    (I don¡¯t know what I said, but I¡¯m sorry!?)


    ¡°It was not a miserable world.¡±


    ¡°Ah? But theck of God¡¯s blessing means that the human beings in your world were abandoned by God, right?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Ugu¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably why the people from your worlde here¡­¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Well¡­ sorry.¡±


    I cannot refute her words I felt I had to apologize.


    ¡°Oh, what is it like to have divine protection in this world?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes. For example, the protection of the war god Agni slightly improves a person¡¯s fighting capability.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Oh? Just a little bit?¡±


    ¡¸¡­¡­¡¹


    Esther looked away.


    Her once-proud ponytail is suddenly dulled. She looked like a person who had barely missed passing a test.


    ¡°Well¡­ When I joined and got baptized, I received a blessing from God and a title appeared in my status. There the strength of the protection depends on the title.¡± (Esther)


    In other words, the title given to Esther wasn¡¯t great.


    I can feel herself mping down on whatever feeling is bursting from her.


    ¡°So, let¡¯s talk about divine protections,¡± Esther wipes her tears. ¡°You can check your status by going to church. You can see it even if you aren¡¯t a believer, but you need to make a donation. Toru have you seen your status yet?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Oh, well, umm.¡±


    ¡°You should look into it, at least once.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Hmm¡±


    I gave her a vague nod.


    I already have a skill board so I can check my status anytime for free though.


    However, no one else knows the existence of my skill board.


    (I don¡¯t have to check my status on the church¡­ But if I don¡¯t check it, I might look suspicious.)


    ¡°Well, I will check my status after the request and blessing is over.¡±


    It seems to be an awkward topic to talk about blessing and status, but we are currently carrying out a cleaning request for the Nesis Church.


    I was a little curious about divine protection, but the request is the highest priority.


    I changed my mindset of enjoying another world tour.


    We have arrived at the Alphas Church, the closest to the guild.


    The Church of Alphas was a t stone building.


    There are no sharp roofs usually seen in modern churches. It looks like the Greek Parthenon. [T/N: The Parthenon is a temple for Athena, constructed at 432 BC can be found in Athens, Greece. Google for more info.]


    At the topmost area of the entrance of the Church, a circr pattern was drawn with the letters ¡°Technical god Alphas¡±.


    (Is that a holy seal¡­)


    In front of the Church, there were rows of shops along the path. It¡¯s like the Nakamise of Sensoji Temple. [T/N: Nakamise is amercial street near Sensoji Temple located at Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan. Google for more info.]


    ¡°Low price! ¡°This is the best meat skewer in the world!¡± ¡°All items are at an affordable price!¡± ¡°This price is low because it¡¯s a defective product! ¡± ¡± It¡¯s only half price! Get it before stocks run out¡±


    The shopkeepers who saw me had a glint in their eyes and started promoting their products all at once.


    I was quite interested in the products but I can¡¯t go shopping since I¡¯m still working. Even though I really want to go and sightsee, I focused on opening the door of the Church of Alphas.


    The inside of the church was made of stone.


    In the center, were a set of chaise lounges where believers may sit are lined up. [T/N: Chaise lounges are upholstered single seat sofa where a person can recline. As if a sofa and a beach recliner had a baby. Google for more info.]


    There was a stained ss portrait at the far end, and the colorful light can be seen shining down on the altar as light passes through.


    As I was looking around the Church, a woman who seems to be a priestess or sister, dressed in a monk¡¯s uniform, rushed towards me as soon as she saw me.


    ¡°Wee! What kind of business do you have today?¡± (Priestess)


    ¡°Uh, um¡­¡±


    Sister is fully in sales-mode her speech is simr to salesclerks that can be found in Osaka.


    I wanted to find out the location of the Nesis Church immediately, but the words of the priestess are firing rapidly it¡¯s so hard to interrupt her.


    (I¡¯m scared of her eyes!)


    ¡°Do you want to donate? Or get a credit card? If you register now, we can issue you a membership card for free!¡± (Priestess)


    ¡°Me-membership card?¡±


    ¡°Yes. If you have a membership card, you will get one point for every 100 garde donation and it can be used at the stores! By the way, this card can be used at most stores in Finlis. It¡¯s a guarantee!¡± (Priestess)


    ¡¸¡­¡­¡­¡­¡¹


    After I came to the Alphas Church. I found out if you go inside you may be talked to getting a membership card. This a department store or something.


    It ispletely different from the church that I know.


    I stared at Esther but she just looked back at me.


    (What¡¯s this?)


    Esther smiled while looking at me.


    Apparently, this kind of urrence seems to be normal when you go to the Church of Alphas.


    (Alphas was the god of technology, so many believers are craftsmen or merchants? But what about this weird mood?)


    While holding a membership card in one hand and a credit card in another. I was holding down the sister pushing the cards towards me, I can¡¯t help but sigh.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯te in today wanting to get a credit card. Actually¨C¡°


    ¡°Okay! When will you get one? Tomorrow? The day after tomorrow?¡± (Priestess)


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant!¡±


    Is there no end to her sales pitch?


    This priestess has quite the guts.


    ¡°Ah, maybe you want to purchase holy water? Alpha¡¯s holy water is just 10 silver coins great for all kinds of diseases, fire extinguishing, warding off monsters, purification, etc. If you are a believer. Then you can get the discounted price of 5 silver coins!!¡± (Priestess)


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t need holy water¡­¡±


    I steeled myself to resist this tenacious Priestess¡¯ sales pitch.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m not interested in receiving credit at all. I¡¯m here today to ask where the Nesis Church is.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see.¡± (Priestess)


    When I told her our actual business, the air around the priestess changed.


    ¡°¡­ tsk¡±


    (Did she just tsk¡¯ed at me!?)


    It is the behavior of God¡¯s pious servant.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for being rude, but I really want to know where the Nesis Church is.¡±


    ¡°If you want to know be a believer first.¡± (Priestess)


    (She¡¯s now a recruiter!)


    ¡°Um¡­ do you really know where the Nesis Church is?¡±


    ¡°¡­ do¡­ I know?¡± (Priestess)


    Her eyes suddenly began swimming fast.


    It¡¯s ridiculous.


    I have no choice but to ask Esther what to do.


    Esther shook her head, saying, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the next church.¡±


    We aplished nothing.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I¡¯m not a believer, so we¡¯re leaving.¡±


    ¡°¡­ what? Bring me some salt!¡± (Priestess)


    She acts like a true merchant.


    I walked away quickly so that we wouldn¡¯t be sprinkled with salt. So we fled and left the Church of Alphas.

 Chapter 34: A Sacred Mission to Waste the People’s Time

    <h4>Chapter 34: A Sacred Mission to Waste the People¡¯s Time</h4>


    ¡°Hey, Esther. Can we find out the location of the Nesis Church using this method?¡±


    ¡°I think we might?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°But asking the location of another church might be making people from that church ufortable¡­¡±


    ¡°What are you anxious about Toru? At the Church of Alphas, she treated you very politely.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°No, they weren¡¯t polite at all! We were thrown salt on the way out!¡±


    ¡°She has cleansed us from evil spirits using salt. Isn¡¯t the priestess of the Church of Alphas kind?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yes, they do use salt for cleansing¡­¡±


    I wanted to face-palm because of Esther¡¯s overly positive mindset.


    ¡°But it¡¯s too much to try recruiting followers by using holy water. Church of Alphas, how scary.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Holy water is the thing the priestess said was effective against all kinds of illnesses. It was very expensive.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°That¡¯s natural. The purification method can only be done by the church. And it seems that to make holy water all the priests be feverish after making it. If the price is only through donation, they will try to do their best on getting some.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Really.¡± (Toru)


    I¡¯m wondering how effective the holy water is, but even if it¡¯s said to be cheap, it costs 5 silver coins-50,000 yen. It wasn¡¯t affordable to buy.


    That¡¯s right ¨C so we have to move on.


    ¡°In the end, even at the Church of Alphas, we couldn¡¯t get the location of the Nesis Church.¡±


    ¡°You couldn¡¯t even get information from the guild right? It really wouldn¡¯t be easy to find the location. Toru, we have no time to feel discouraged. Let¡¯s go to the next lead!¡± (Esther)


    Driven by the energetic Esther, we visited Ermetia Church next.


    This church is also made of stone, but it looks like the usual churches I know unlike the Church of Alphas.


    When I opened the church door, I smelled the sweet scent of the flowers.


    I felt myself getting healed from the gentle scent of the flowers, but I was shocked to see the person lying on the altar at the end of the church.


    ¡°¨CBlood!?¡±


    At the altar, thereid a blood-covered child.


    The child looked so exhausted that he couldn¡¯tin from the pain anymore.


    The priestess beside him whined and sobbed.


    ¡°I believe in the magical god Ermetia! Why should a young child have such fate?! This child is only living with his brothers and sisters. The children cannot even have proper meals.


    He doesn¡¯t want his younger brothers and sisters to worry. He only picked fallen change from the streets to purchase some food from the meat stall.


    He was just on his way home, holding a meat skewer. But he was hit by a horse carriage as he was walking on the street! Oh god! Why should a child who has done so much for his family, thinking only of his brothers and sisters, have such a tragic fate?¡± (Priestess)


    And priestess raised both of her hands high.


    ¡°Please show the mercy of magic god, Ermetia, to this child!¡± (Priestess)


    In that word, a little ball of white light shined a meter away from the Sister¡¯s hand.


    The light gradually fell, touching the child¡¯s chest.


    The next moment, the whole body of the child was wrapped in soft light.


    When the light went out, the child opened his eyelid and touched his body with both hands.


    ¡°Ah¡­ no? It doesn¡¯t hurt. It doesn¡¯t hurt!¡± (Child)


    ¡°Oh, the magic god, Ermetia! He has mercy deeper than the sea and he healed the wound of this child using magic from the heavens¡­. Thank you. Thank you!!¡± (Priestess)


    The priestess was so touched by the urrence she burst into tears.


    As she cried, I felt my eyes get warm and watery.


    I press the bridge of my nose to stop the tears.


    Next to me, Esther put her hands on her mouth and wept.


    ¡°Thank you, God!¡± (Child)


    The child looked up at the sky and put his hands together.


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    The priestess says, stroking the child¡¯s head.


    ¡°I¡¯m d I did. Ermetia-sama performed the miracle because you were a believer of Ermetia.¡± (Priestess)


    ¡°Yup!¡± (Child)


    ¡°Of course, no miracle would have happened if we didn¡¯t pray hard every day.¡± (Priestess)


    ¡°Yup!¡± (Child)


    (Yup?)


    ¡°And don¡¯t forget to donate when you pray!¡± (Priestess)


    ¡°Yeah! I donate one big copper coin every day!¡± (Child)


    ¡°Wait a minute. Didn¡¯t he grow up poor? What is with the plot?¡± [T/N: 1 big copper coin is 1,000 yen approximately $10. I don¡¯t know about you but $10 is a lot when converted in my local currency. That¡¯s daily minimum wage from where I¡¯m from.]


    ¡°¡­¡± (Child & Priestess)


    ¡°¨C!?¡±


    Sister and the child nced at Toru¡¯s tsukkomi at the same time, then the priestess stuck out her tongue.


    However, they immediately returned to their original solemn expression and prayed to heaven.


    ¡°With the blessing of the magic god, Ermetia, lives are saved in this way.¡± (Priestess)


    ¡°Ermetia is amazing!¡± (Child)


    ¡°Yes. What an amazing God of Magic!¡± (Priestess)


    ¡°What if I want to be a follower?¡± (Child)


    ¡°To be one, simply fill out the required information on the sheets of paper near the entrance and give it to the person in charge.¡± (Priestess)


    ¡°Tehehehe¡± (Child)


    ¡°Ufufufufu¡± (Priestess)


    Watching the conversation between the two, I can¡¯t help but think.


    ¨Cwhat¡¯s this?


    If I thought I was watching a person being saved, it was just a skit for the followers.


    If I had kept my calm and observe, the blood on the child¡¯s clothes was too runny.


    Also, there were no tears in the clothes other than the blood and he doesn¡¯t seem to be fatally injured.


    (I want my feelings back¡­)


    Unlike me Esther wasn¡¯t looking at the scene with cold eyes¨C


    ¡°I am d that God helped the child!¡± (Esther)


    Happy with tears dripping from her face.


    ¨CShe didn¡¯t realize that this was all just a farce.


    I exhaled with a sigh and opened my mouth.


    ¡°Excuse me, do you know where the Nesis Church is?¡±


    ¡°Being a follower of Ermetia ¨C¡± (Priestess)


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s fine¡±


    When I immediately cutoff her sales pitch, the priestess¡¯ eyes, which had seemed so emotional before, were pretty dry.


    And the priestess points her finger towards the door.


    ¨D¨DThe exit is over there.


    No luck at Ermetia Church either.


    I, who received salt cleansing two times in a row, walked along the main street.


    In contrast to me, Esther¡¯s gait was light.


    ¡°Oh, I am d to see good things happening!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°No¡­¡­¡±


    Esther¡¯s smile is quite refreshing as if she watched a great drama.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Toru?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Two consecutive fails on getting clues. On the contrary, you seem fine¡­¡±


    ¡°I saw a nice skit!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Oh, you knew it was a skit.¡±


    I thought we were being yed for fools.


    I felt my eyes widen in surprise.


    ¡°It¡¯s no surprise. Churches in Finlis usually hold such skits. Unlike the royal capital, Finlis has fewer ces for entertainment, such as ys and operas. So when you hold a skit in a church, citizens seeking entertainmente to church to watch.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Oh~¡±


    ¡°The schedule is irregr, so if you want to see a skit, you have to go there a lot. That¡¯s how Finlis Churches earns their followers.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that rude to God?¡±


    ¡°What are you saying? If God thinks you¡¯re rude, you¡¯ll be forced to quit right away. That¡¯s because God also enjoys their follower¡¯s skits.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I see.¡±


    I once had a solemn image of religion, was overwhelmed by the religion of this world and the casualness of their God.


    (No, probably only a few of them are serious, and Gods may be an unexpectedly casual existence.)


    I was strangely convinced, remembering the gods that appeared in the myths from Earth.


    ¡°Toru, Toru. Next church, next!¡± (Esther)


    The next ce we visited was the Church of the war god Agni.


    The church structure is simr to that of Alphas.


    The difference is the church¡¯s floor.


    The floor of the Agni church was packed soil.


    Immediately after entering the Church, I saw two men pointing their wooden swords at each other.


    The men gaze at each other, giving off a tense atmosphere.


    ¡°¡­I will end it with the next attack. Secret technique ¡®Senk¨­ Ry¨±jin Kassatsu Ken¡¯!!¡± (Agni Follower 1) [T/N: Well it literally means something like ¡°sh Dragon God Killer Sword¡±. I kinda like it in Romaji though. Sounds cooler.]


    ¡°-Sweet! Mysterious ¡°God of war Agniswordddddd!!¡± (Agni Follower 2)


    The two approach each other quickly.


    After shing each other with their weapons they parted ways.


    A moment of silence filled the Church.


    The man who broke the silence was the man who shouted his technique first.


    ¡°Guh¡­! Why¡­ ¡®Senk¨­ Ry¨±jin Kassatsu Ken¡¯ has hit you fully!¡± (Agni Follower 1)


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you. There is one reason you couldn¡¯t beat me.¡± (Agni Follower 2)


    The man lifted the sword ¡ª his wooden sword in the air.


    (That wooden sword looks familiar¡­)


    ¡°You didn¡¯t have this Agnisword!¡± (Agni Follower 2)


    ¡°What¡­!? Where can I get that Agni Sword!?¡± (Agni Follower 1)


    ¡°If you go to the war god Agni Church and be his believer, you can get one for free!¡± (Agni Follower 2)


    ¡°Free!?¡± (Agni Follower 1)


    ¡°And now, if you get one, you get another one free!¡± (Agni Follower 2)


    ¡°Great deal!!¡± (Agni Follower 1)


    I silently at Esther, while this sweltering and painfully obvious farce of a fight.


    Her cheeks are flushed and she¡¯s cupping her face with both hands.


    ¡°¡­By the way, Esther believes in Agni right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! I also have that Agnisword!¡± (Esther)


    Esther took out two wooden swords from her breastte with her eyes shining brightly.


    The wooden sword was used the other day during our sparring.


    (I thought it was familiar and I was correct¡­)


    ¡°This will also make me stronger!¡± (Agni Follower 1)


    ¡°Uh, yeah. Of course right, right.¡± (Agni Follower 2)


    With such an innocent gaze, it is hard to point out that she is being fooled.


    It doesn¡¯t seem to cause any harm, so I will just leave it alone.


    While holding the Agnisword (wooden sword), Esther sprinted toward the two men who had just finished the ¡°battle¡±.


    ¡°Senior brothers, I have a question!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Oh, aren¡¯t you a sister who also believe in the same god Agni! What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°Who is that unfamiliar guy there?¡±


    ¡°Oh, actually, at the request of the guild, I¡¯m looking for the Nesis Church.¡± (Esther)


    The eyes of the two people who heard that we were searching for Nesis Church looked shook and confused.


    ¡°Nesis Church¡­ Sorry, sister. I can¡¯t help in locating Nesis Church.¡±


    ¡°Because only those who are rted to that church can reach that ce.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right¡­¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Has sister already gone to Forcels Church?¡±


    ¡°No, not yet.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°If so, you should go. If it is a servant of the God of Justice, they might know.¡±


    ¡°I understand!¡± (Esther)


    We couldn¡¯t find any important clues, but we got some hints.


    (The Forcels Church was a building with a triangr roof¡­)


    Toru remembers the Church of Forcels that he saw on the first day he came to Finlis.


    ¡°By the way, sister. Is the boy over there already a follower of another god?¡±


    ¡°No, not yet.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Huh¡­?¡± (Toru)


    Silence suddenly filled the ce.


    Realizing the unnatural silence, I looked at Esther and her friends.


    Esther was staring at me with her eyes filled with a strange light.


    (Hee!?)


    ¡°Toru?¡± (Esther)


    Come here, Esther beckons me.


    I can¡¯t go there while you¡¯re sending me weird signals, I escaped like a rabbit.


    ¡°Hah¡­ huh¡­, Toru, why did you escape?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°No, somehow¡­¡±


    ¡°If Toru epted, you will get the Agnisword you know? And now you will also have two!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t need it.¡±


    The Agnisword from the War God Agni is just a wooden sword that is just inly carved out of wood.


    The only difference from a normal wooden sword is that the handle is stamped with Agni¡¯s holy seal.


    Even if I get two of them, I wouldn¡¯t be happy at all.


    On the contrary, since the holy stamp is printed, it is psychologically difficult to use.


    ¡°So Esther next is the Church of Forcels.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I hope I can get a good clue next¡­¡± (Esther)


    The day has already peaked.


    If we don¡¯t find a ce, we will finish the day just looking for the Church of Nesis.


    I quickly headed to our next destination, the Forcels Church of Justice.


    _______________________________________________________________


    A/N: Additional Content if you¡¯re confused.


    The two in Ermetia are acting and are performing a skit, not to fool people.


    Toru¡¯s tsukkomi destroyed the solemn atmosphere of the skit. So they stuck out their tongue in annoyance.


    From a Japanese perspective, the church is strange, but from a local from Filnis, Toru is a person who doesn¡¯t know how to appreciate the good stuff.


    This is aplete reversal, but ¡°Priestesses throwing salt at you¡± at Finlis has the same meaning as ¡°striking a flintstone¡± in Japan. [T/N: Striking a flint stone as you leave is a wish for good fortune or to dispel bad luck. Throwing salt which is a custom for many cultures as a way of exorcising evil spirits. Google-sensei is ready for more info]


    In fact, they blessed two non-believers who would challenge finding the Church of Nesis, where few have reached.


    Therefore, Esther¡¯s remarks of ¡°cleansing with salt¡± and ¡°kindness¡± were not mistaken.

 Chapter 35: The power of justice

    <h4>Chapter 35: The power of justice</h4>


    It smells like the sun.


    That was the first thing I thought when we entered the Church of Forcels.


    The inner wall of the Church of Forcels has dyed white simr to the outside wall.


    My spine tingled slightly as if I had returned to space where the self-proimed god was.


    Within the innermost part of the Church of Forcels.


    A woman was standing with the light shining through the skylight.


    The moment I saw the woman; my skin was crawled.


    (This person ¡­ she¡¯s very strong)


    Simr to the white space, the priestess robe, and white bare skin.


    The woman gazed at me with her blue eyes and opened her mouth.


    ¡°I will teach children who do not know the God of justice, Forcels, what the power of justice is.¡± (Priestess)


    A solemn voice echoed in the church.


    I felt pressure from her as if God had descended.


    She held her hand up.


    Slowly lift her arm with the palm facing down.


    Then, a piece of paper emerged from the podium ced on the pulpit. [T/N: Pulpit is a raised tform with a podium where Christian priests give their sermons. Google-sensei offers pictures.]


    She hasn¡¯t touched the paper at all.


    When the paper came up to her eyes, she grabbed it and said.


    ¡°This is the power of justice.¡± (Priestess)


    ¡°No, isn¡¯t it!?¡±


    It was the power of sleight of hand.


    Even with the tsukkomi, the woman didn¡¯t deny it.


    While slightly frowning she said as she was drawing a beautiful arc.


    ¡°¡­ You still can¡¯t believe in the power of justice. Then I¡¯ll show you more of the power of justice.¡± (Priestess)


    Then the woman thrust her hand into the pocket of her robe and took out a silver spoon from inside.


    After showing the spoon, she starts rubbing the spoon against her palm.


    ¡°The power of justice is awesome.¡± (Priestess)


    When she rubbed, the spoon gradually got more and more deformed.


    Raising the deformed spoon, the priestess says.


    ¡°It¡¯s the power of justice.¡± (Priestess)


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely something else!?¡±


    Esther ran towards the pulpit, slipping through.


    She looks at the spoon above the podium with a glittering look.


    Her ponytail was swaying frantically.


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s amazing, Toru! The spoon is bent!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Esther somethings can be bent by hand, like a spoon.¡±


    ¡°Mmm? That¡¯s true, but if you ask me¡­¡± (Esther)


    ¡°¡­ You still can¡¯t trust the power of justice. All right. How about this?¡± (Priestess)


    The woman shook the spoon a few times and held it in front of Esther.


    ¡°¡­ Toru! The spoon is now twisted !!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°It¡¯s the power of justice.¡± (Priestess)


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    Is it because there is an audience showing an overwhelmingly positive response in front of her?


    The woman is looking towards me, isn¡¯t she? She can¡¯t help but make a face.


    ¡°Toru, Toru! The power of justice is amazing!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°No, Esther. That¡¯s because when she shook the spoon, she just reced it with another spoon ¡­¡±


    ¡°What ¡­ what !?¡± (Esther)


    Esther had a look of despair because of what I said story.


    (Oh, yeah. This might be Esther¡¯s first time seeing a magic trick?)


    I didn¡¯t react at all when he sees sleight of hand tricks because he has seen it in Japan.


    Esther, on the other hand, is happy because she sees these tricks for the first time.


    It is a little cruel to suddenly burst her bubble.


    As for the person who made the absurd expectations, my expectations on them have hit rock-bottom.


    Her eyes are quivering.


    ¡°This is a test of my power of justice. It¡¯s okay. Then I¡¯ll show you my special power!¡± (Priestess)


    With that said, the woman moved her arms with quite the agile movements.


    She slowly stuck her hands together andughed.


    ¡°Now, take a look at the secret technique ¡®Thumb teleportation¡¯ -¡± (Priestess)


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s fine.¡±


    [T/N: Come on Toru, she¡¯s probably gonna magically detach and reattach her thumbs. That¡¯s super high-level power. ]


    From the name of the technique, the expectations went further down.


    I had to immediately stop her.


    The woman, who stuck out her hands out in front, raised her mouth slightly.


    ¡°Hmm, you were afraid of the power of justice.¡± (Priestess)


    ¡°No ¡­ oh yeah, you¡¯re right.¡±


    ¡°Then, fill out this paper.¡± (Priestess)


    ¡°No thanks.¡±


    When I interrupted her words, this time the woman puffed her cheeks and made a pouty face.


    My [intuition] skill roughly grasped the ability of the woman.


    She is strong. She has the same or better ability than the guild trainer Ogre. [T/N: He¡¯s ogre again? Is he Graf or Ogre? Ugh.]


    When I think about what she will do next, I feel like I¡¯m going to have to sit down.


    Still, I haven¡¯t asked yet.


    ¡°Do you know the location of the Church of Nesis?¡±


    ¡°¡­ Hmm. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t even know the location of the Nesis Church.¡± (Priestess)


    The woman shook her head.


    I can see that she didn¡¯t look like she was lying.


    ¡°¡­ No clue¡±


    After leaving the Church of Forcels, my shoulders sagged.


    I never thought that I would go around all the churches not finding a clue.


    Also, at the Church of Agni, they said, ¡± If it is a servant of the God of Justice, they might know.¡±


    The amount of disappointment is higher the more my hopes go higher.


    ¡°Thest one is the church of the god Amanomehito?¡±


    ¡°No, Amanomehito doesn¡¯t have a church.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Well, why is only one of the gods is exempt from the others?¡±


    ¡°No, he¡¯s not.¡± (Esther)


    Esther smiled at my words.


    ¡°Amanomehito is the god of Nature. He is everywhere as long as there¡¯s nature. The doctrine is to pray to nature as a whole, not to build and worship a church. That¡¯s why Amanomehito doesn¡¯t have a church. ¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Really¡±


    The way of thinking is close to Japanese animism.


    I felt a sense of familiarity with Amanomehito and became interested in the belief.


    (If he has a sacred ce, I would like to visit it once ¡­)


    ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s too early to be disappointed.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I say so ¡­¡±


    ¡°I think we just couldn¡¯t get a clue to the shortcut. It¡¯s not that we failed, so from here on, we¡¯ll just have to look for it properly.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°¡­ Oh, yeah, that¡¯s right.¡±


    I just couldn¡¯t get a clue to the fastest route.


    We haven¡¯t failed yet.


    I was moved by Esther¡¯s positive thoughts; I have regained my motivation.


    At that time, a narrow road suddenly caught my eye.


    ¡°Then, Esther. Let¡¯s start by looking at the alley over there.¡±


    ¡°OK¡± (Esther)


    I haven¡¯t decided on anything.


    First of all, I just want to get closer to that ce. With that feeling, I headed towards the alley.


    As soon as I went down the road, a building appeared.


    It was a gray building surrounded by a fence.


    The building has low ceilings and no luxurious decorations.


    Before visiting Finlis, I would have thought this was just a private residence.


    However, the building was not wooden but stone.


    In other words, it is not just any private home.


    A mark is dug on the entrance door.


    ¡°That is- It is the holy mark of Nesis!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°That means ¡­¡±


    Is this building the church of Nesis?


    I looked at the building.


    ¡°Somehow, I found it quite easily.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, but Nesis is the god of fate. It is fate set by God that brought and guided us here.¡± (Esther)


    What on earth have we been doing so far then?


    I haven¡¯t exerted my body toe this far, but I think I am mentally exhausted.


    If this was fate, I wanted him to lead me to the church earlier.


    ¡°Let us enter for the time being¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. If we don¡¯t finish it today, we might not be able toe again tomorrow ¡­¡± (Esther)


    On the contrary, it is possible that we will not be able to leave the church until cleaning isplete.


    There was only one road, but there were many forked roads on the way back, and no matter which road I took, I feel like we would return here.


    If this is God¡¯s interference, that¡¯s likely to happen.


    ¡°Excuse me.¡±


    When I pulled the door, the door squeaked and creaked.


    There was no one behind the door.


    The umted dust is quite thick.


    There are no human footprints anywhere to be seen.


    No one has visited here for a while.


    The church looked as if it had been forgotten by Finlis itself.


    ¡°The Nesis Church is not maintained, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°It seems like it¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Maybe there are no believers?¡±


    ¡°¡­ There is a possibility¡± (Esther)


    Since you cannot visit a church without fate, the number of believers does not increase as in other churches.


    I headed for the pulpit, leaving footprints on the dustyer.


    The church has only chaise lounges, a pulpit, and a podium.


    There are no stained ss and no decorations.


    It was a fairly simple church.


    The building is filled with the smell of dust. Unlike traditional churches, it wasn¡¯t the air that made me want to take a deep breath.


    ¡°¡­ Who was the one who requested this ce to be cleaned?¡±


    ¡°Maybe God?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°No, stop joking¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a joke? It¡¯s not unusual, but quite rare.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    I titled my head and facepalmed. Esther was good at making me.


    ¡°By the way, the world where Toru came from was abandoned by God.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I don¡¯t agree with that phrase ¡­¡±


    That¡¯s right in the sense that God has never directly interfered with Earth.


    But I nodded reluctantly.


    ¡°Toru in this world God exists.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Eh? ¡­ not just in fairy tales or holy scriptures?¡±


    ¡°Oh. Sometimes they¡¯vee down, and sometimes they talked to priests. Just recently, I¡¯ve heard that the god of justice, Forcels, came down to attend a coronation from the Kingdom of Yuster.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Really!¡±


    It is a phenomenon that is unlikely to happen on earth, like an advent of God.


    (What will happen when theye down? I want to see it once while I¡¯m still alive)


    ¡°Well, Toru. It¡¯s time to start cleaning.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Oh, before that¨C¡°


    I stood in front of the pulpit and prayed.


    I didn¡¯t know the correct way to pray, so I gave a Shinto style of two bows, two ps, and one bow.


    (I will clean this ce with all my heart)


    Something happened after I gave my prayer.


    ¡°First log in Bonus!¡±

 Chapter 36: Gift from God (curse)

    <h4>Chapter 36: Gift from God (curse)</h4>


    My ears heard a strangely familiar voice that was definitely not Esther¡¯s.


    I was astonished at the view my eyes haveid upon.


    ¨D¨DIt was the pure white space.


    ¨D¨DIn front of me was a self-proimed god who is still wearing the same wearing white clothes.


    My breathing stopped for a moment.


    I lostprehension of what was happening. My mindpletely nked for a moment.


    ¡°¡­ Lo, login bonus?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t boys like you enjoy hearing that?¡± (Nesis)


    Were you googling men¡¯s hobbies? This self-proimed god was tapping at the smartphone with her palm as she tells me this.


    She threw the phone away and leaned toward me then said.


    ¡°It¡¯s the first memorable ¡®first login¡¯ since I sent you to Eargard. This time I¡¯ll give you a special gift as my blessing!¡± (Self-proimed god =] Nesis)


    _______________________________________________________________


    >> Obtained the title [Nesis¡¯ Servant].


    _______________________________________________________________


    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine.¡±


    _______________________________________________________________


    >> The title [Nesis¡¯ Servant] is refused.


    _______________________________________________________________


    ¡°Why!??¡± (Nesis)


    ¡°If I have it, I might be a believer or something like that, right?¡±


    ¡°¡­ tsk, so?¡± (Nesis)


    Did this god just click her tongue?


    I looked directly at her eyes.


    ¡°It¡¯s an honor for anyone in this world to receive special blessings from me. It¡¯s a very good blessing, so don¡¯t be shy and take it.¡± (Nesis)


    _______________________________________________________________


    >> You were bestowed with the title [Nesis¡¯ Servant].


    _______________________________________________________________


    ¡°I don¡¯t need it¡±


    _______________________________________________________________


    >> The title [Nesis¡¯ Servant] is refused.


    >> But the title [Nesis¡¯ Servant] is cursed.


    >> The title [Nesis¡¯ Servant] could not be removed.


    _______________________________________________________________


    ¡°¡­ Did you do something strange?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, don¡¯t mind it, don¡¯t mind it.¡± (Nesis)


    The self-proimed godughed at me while looking quite smug.


    I had a lot of questions to ask this god since I came to Eargard.


    But it is quite hard to recall the questions.


    Her sudden appearance caused the inside of my head to turn white.


    ¡°¡­ By the way, why is (the self-proimed) God Here?¡±


    ¡°Why are you full of doubt? I¡¯m Nesis. I¡¯m worshiped as the god of fate in this world!¡± (Nesis)


    The girl who called herself Nesis was really exuding this smugness, ¡°How about that?!¡±


    I can¡¯t help but look at this pitiful Nesis.


    ¡°¡­ Who is worshiped? Even though you have no believers.¡±


    ¡°Ugh!? I don¡¯t have zero believers! There¡¯s one!¡± (Nesis)


    ¡°There is only one person huh. The other gods have many believers¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey, belief on me isn¡¯t something that all humankind can ept! And just because they have many believers doesn¡¯t mean that deity is powerful!¡± (Nesis)


    Nesis¡¯s speech sounds like the excuse of someone extremely socially awkward.


    (¡­ Isn¡¯t that one believer¡­ me?)


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    While Nesis was busy fidgeting and sweating. I remembered that I particrly wanted to hear about one thing.


    ¡°By the way, Nesis¡­ -sama? I have something to ask about [Magic Sword].¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to ask. Oh yeah [Magic Sword]. You¡¯ve already improved it to Lv2? How easy is it to use?¡± (Nesis)


    ¡°It¡¯s not bad, but why can¡¯t it cut humans? Or is it only humans that can¡¯t be cut by it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Only humans can¡¯t be cut, though, the humans you think are a little different from the humans in Eargard.¡± (Nesis)


    ¡°Different?¡±


    ¡°There are quite a few ¡®demons¡¯ in this world, as you might say. Including those, that the [magic sword] can¡¯t cut.¡± (Nesis)


    ¡°Why is there such a specification?¡±


    I believe the specifications of [Magic Sword] are not bad at all. On the contrary, there are many situations where it is better to have that as a safety measure.


    ¡°Murder can be a habit.¡± (Nesis)


    It¡¯s the line of the detective Hercule Poirot in the detective story written by Agatha Christie. [T/N: Hercule Poirot is a character from a series of mystery novels made by Agatha Christie. His first appearance is in her book The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1939). For more info, ask google-sensei]


    I don¡¯t know if someone like me who has never killed a person can be addicted to murder.


    However, if I be addicted to it, I might never be able to be cured of it.


    The restriction on [Magic Sword] was exactly what I wanted.


    ¡°The reason why humans can¡¯t be cut is not that it was made that way, but because it¡¯s not its intended effect. The main purpose of the de is the restoration of a person¡¯s fate.¡± (Nesis)


    ¡°Fate¡­ restoration?¡±


    ¡°If someone twists a person¡¯s original destiny, the power within the [magic sword] can restore that person¡¯s original destiny. An example is a person who had a ¡®manipted soul¡¯.¡± (Nesis)


    Based on Nesis¡¯ words, I remembered the changes from when I shed Clement and his friends and Philip.


    When I shed them with the [Magic Sword], they became sensible as if they hadpletely changed.


    (Where they manipted by someone ¡­)


    While I was wondering, Nesis pped her hands.


    ¡°Oh yeah. By the way, why don¡¯t you try using the skill board properly?¡± (Nesis)


    ¡°Hmm? No, I¡¯m using it properly ¡­¡±


    ¡°Then why haven¡¯t you set your title?¡± (Nesis)


    ¡°¡­¡­title?¡±


    ¡°Ah, you didn¡¯t notice that. It¡¯s okay. Your title can be set at the bottom of the skill board, so check it carefullyter and set one.¡± (Nesis)


    ¡°Oh, okay¡±


    I didn¡¯t notice that the skill board had such a function.


    However, it is not a mystery that I didn¡¯t notice.


    There were so many techniques disyed on the screen that I couldn¡¯t check all the way at the bottom.


    Suddenly, I remembered another one of the questions I should have been asking God.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. Why did Nesis-sama add strange skills like [eye-ball weight estimation] to my avable techniques!?¡±


    ¡°Because it looks interesting¡± (Nesis)


    It was just a whim eh.


    Anyway, it¡¯s a silly reason.


    ¡°No, [eye-ball weight estimation]. If you activate it, you may open up a new path, right?¡± (Nesis).¡±


    ¡°Then, how about [mimicry]? If I imitate the king, I might be famous.¡±


    ¡°Are they really popr?¡± (Nesis)


    Certainly, impersonators that are also singers and entertainers were very popr in Japan.


    So what about here in Eargard?


    Even if I imitate the king, there is a possibility that the existence of the king is too obscure to the public and no one notices the impersonator.


    Or even if I was noticed, the future of being executed for L¨¨se-majest¨¦ seemed clear to me. [T/N: L¨¨se-majest¨¦ a French term meaning ¡°to do wrong to majesty¡±, is an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state ording to Wikipedia-sensei.]


    ¡°The range of skills is the range of possibilities. Even if it doesn¡¯t seem to be usable at first nce, there may actually be effective uses. If you decide that you need [stubbornness] and activated it, your field of vision will narrow. Cool huh.¡± (Nesis)


    ¡°Huh ¡­¡±


    ¡°Then, that¡¯s it for this time.¡± (Nesis)


    ¡°Well, wait a minute. I still have something to ask¨C¡°


    ¡°That¡¯s for the next meeting.¡± (Nesis)


    Nesis smiled and was already waving her hands.


    Her appearance blurred as if there was fog covering the area.


    ¡°Oh yeah, thank you for cleaning the church!¡± (Nesis)


    ¡°How did the guild issue a cleaning request¨C¡°


    ¡°I did, I did. There is a cleaning tool cab in the corner of the church, so you can freely use the tools in it. People wille soon, so make sure every corner is clean!¡± (Nesis)


    At the same time, she finished her words, the white space and Nesis disappeared from my vision.


    ¡ð


    When I blinked, I was back from where I was before the white space.


    Next to me was Esther praying with her hands sped together, perhaps this is the proper etiquette of this world.


    I felt like I had a conversation with the god of fate Nesis for nearly five minutes, but it didn¡¯t seem like much time had passed in this world.


    (Make sure every corner is clean?)


    I looked around and immediately found a cleaning tool cab.


    (It really happened¡­)


    That made me realize that it wasn¡¯t a dream or an illusion.


    ¡°Esther. There is a cleaning tool over there, so let¡¯s use it.¡±


    ¡°Yeah? Why does Toru know that there are cleaning tools in that box?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s, somehow¡­¡±


    Only I know about the cab held cleaning tools.


    I inadvertently said something that Esther did not know, I hurriedly ran towards the cab.


    A deck brush, a broom, and a dustpan were stored in the cleaning tool case.


    (With only these tools and the size of this room¡­?)


    The church pretty huge, about the size of two school ssrooms, joined together.


    It hasn¡¯t been used or cleaned for quite a while, so dust is piled up like a thick carpet inside.


    Also, there are many cobwebs on the ceiling, and dust had also stuck to the spider webs.


    There were several stains on the wall that I didn¡¯t quite understand what they are and where they came from.


    ¡°Okay, Toru. We¡¯ll finish it all at once before the sun goes down!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°¡­ Hmm¡±


    If we don¡¯t start working early, the cleaning will never end.


    However, even after working hard, it didn¡¯t seem that the chore would end by the end of the day.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you Toru?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I have something I want to try, is that okay?¡±


    With that said, I proposed a certain strategy to Esther.

 Chapter 37: Church Cleaning

    <h4>Chapter 37: Church Cleaning</h4>


    Currently, the door of the Nesis Church is open and so are all the windows.


    I stand alone in the church.


    Everything in the church that could be damaged was taken outside the church.


    All that remains is the pulpit made of stone.


    There is nothing that can be ruined.


    After confirming that, I channeled my magical power.


    ¡°[Air Cutter]¡±


    Normally, I activated the magic that creates a wind de that cuts through a target with the smallest amount of mana.


    I imagined the de to be thick and wide. Simr to my failed attempt on the Rock Worm. It got thrown instead of being cut.


    I deployed the [air cutter] inside the church.


    ¨CGooooo !!


    The wind swirls within the church and all the dust soar through the air.


    Somehow I gave the spell directions.


    I took in the air from the windows and expel the dusty air through the door.


    And in approximately a minute.


    All the dust from the church were expelled through my magic.


    ¡°¨CPuha !!¡±


    As soon as the magic was over, I breathed in the clean air.


    I might have overdone the not breathing part? I thought, but as soon as I saw the amount of dust that had been blown out, I knew that breathing in while that much dust circted in the air would¡¯ve been bad.


    If I had inhaled some of those dust particles, I would not be able to breathe easily afterward.


    ¡°Wow, Toru! Dust piled up outside ¡­ bufu!¡± (Esther)


    Esther, who came to tell me about the situation outside, startedughing loudly as soon as she saw me.


    ¡°Ahahahaha! What¡¯s with that face. You¡¯re ck as soot!¡± (Esther)


    ¡¸¡­¡­¡¹


    Simr to a whirlpool in a washing machine, I was continuously rubbed by dust swirling at the center of the church.


    It seems that the dirt has clung deeply to some extent.


    I feel like a grudge is forming as soon as I saw Esther who came from outside and is totally clean.


    ¡°So Toru. What¡¯s next?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°We should use [water supply]¡±


    ¡°I see. It¡¯s finally my turn!¡± (Esther)


    Esther holds the deck brush with both hands.


    But I shook my head.


    ¡°No, I¡¯ll do it alone first.¡±


    With that said, I aimed [water supply] towards the ceiling.


    Magic can be affected by the image in your mind. I have confirmed that fact on the day I first purchased a magic tome.


    So this time I am thinking of a more concrete image for [water supply].


    ¡°Water supply¡± is part of life magic group that produces drinking water.


    The amount of purified water is about as much as a normal faucet.


    But what if you change the image instead of just a faucet?


    ¡°Oh !?¡±


    Esther was surprised to see how my [water supply] looks.


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    The water released from my palm reached the ceiling in a steady stream.


    The water removed dirt that has stuck to the ceiling for a long time.


    ¡°Oh. The ce where the water passed! Toru, are you not really using [water ball]?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°No, it¡¯s just [water supply].¡±


    ¡°Hmm, [water supply]? Why is [water supply] flying and flowing strongly?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°That¡¯s because I changed the image.¡±


    I was imagining the flow from a high-pressure washer.


    If [water supply] has as much water flowing simr to a faucet at normal times. The water can be pressurized if the outlet was smaller.


    Water can now reach ces that are out of reach, and the pressure is enough to scrape off dirt from the surfaces.


    If we were to do this using [water ball], the water pressure generated would have been too high and the church would have holes instead of getting it clean.


    In order not to destroy the church, it was necessary to use [water supply] that could only produce as much water like a faucet.


    However, there is a limit to the range, and if I don¡¯t focus, the water pressure will drop and dirt will not be removed.


    So I was carefully cleaning the ceiling.


    ¡°It¡¯s amazing, it¡¯s fun and beautiful-Hya!?¡± (Esther)


    Esther who watching me work on cleaning the dirt. Screamed and jumped out of the church.


    This is because the dirty water was dripping from the ceiling.


    Also, I am fully soaked.


    It can be reapplied to dusty water; it can keep removing dirt without disturbing my concentration.


    (¡­¡­interesting)


    Using magic to remove dirt was something quite interesting.


    It is good to see the difference between the surfaces where magic is used and the ce where it is not yet used.


    ¡°I¡¯m cleaning all of it!¡± ¡°I will remove all the remaining dirt!¡±, I was quite motivated.


    It took some time, but I was able to remove all the dirt with the high-pressure [water supply] on the ceiling, walls, and floor.


    ¡°¡­ Aren¡¯t you cold?¡± (Esther)


    Esther smiled wryly when she saw me, who looked like a drowned rat.


    She is still pristine and clean.


    When I saw her, I can¡¯t help but want to say, ¡°Want to be a little dirty?¡±, other evil thoughts want to burst out of my chest.


    I dismissed those thoughts and used [water supply] on myself.


    The dirt was washed along with the water, and I dried myself using [drying].


    ¡°Huh. It was refreshing.¡±


    Theck of soap makes my hair stiff, but it¡¯s many times better than when it¡¯s dirty with dust or blood.


    After drying himself, I looked around the entirety of the church.


    The church has be so clean and presentable that it is iparable to when we first saw the ce.


    The fact that the wall was originally white and that the pulpit had a sacred mark on the back can be clearly seen now that the cleaning has beenpleted.


    ¡°Yeah. This ce looks great.¡±


    Esther was looking at me who was happy with my cleaning skills.


    ¡°Hey, Toru. Did you only use [water supply] to clean?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yes, is there a problem?¡±


    ¡°No, but I thought there should be more water that was used to clean the ce¡­¡± (Esther)


    Apparently, there is very little water used.


    Hearing Esther¡¯s words, I looked at my feet.


    There is still a small amount of water on the floor. It¡¯s natural because I also cleaned the floor using [water supply].


    From here on, I was nning to use [drying] to remove water.


    ¡°¡­ Sure, there are few puddles.¡±


    The amount of water produced by me does not match the amount of water that is on the church floor.


    Water flowed out of the church. It was clear from the traces of water that overflowed outside the church.


    ¡°¨COh?¡±


    Looking at the water on the floor, I noticed that the water was flowing somewhere.


    Following the flow, I found a small gap between the pulpit and the alcove. [T/N: An alcove is a cavity or depression on a church wall.]


    It was a square gap, just like underfloor storages in Japanese houses.


    I searched for a handle somewhere, but I couldn¡¯t find one.


    I had no choice but to use the [Magic Sword].


    While praying that it wouldn¡¯t break, I inserted it into the gap and used the [magic sword] as a lever.


    Then, the floor lifted quite easily.


    I put the cover to one side.


    There was a staircase going down.


    It¡¯s a pretty steep staircase too.


    The other side of the stairs ispletely hidden in the darkness.


    The entire staircase was also wet.


    Most of the water from ¡°Water Supply¡± probably flowed down along this staircase.


    ¡°What is this? Maybe a secret treasury!?¡±


    ¡°Sorry Toru. This is probably a shelter. There are underground shelters not only in Nesis Church but also in other churches.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°What ¡­ a shelter?¡±


    I thought it was a secret treasury.


    Esther¡¯s words cooled my excitement.


    ¡°Don¡¯t feel bad. The church is considered a safe house for the general public. In the event of a big fire or disaster, the citizens will gather around the churches and move to an underground shelter.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I see¡±


    Because of Esther¡¯s exnation, I finally realized the reason behind ¡°all churches are made of stone.¡±


    Stone is resistant to temperature changes. Even if Finlis is hit by a big fire, if they escape to the stone churches, they can survive a big fire.


    Also, because it is more robust than wooden structures, stone buildings are less likely to be destroyed in the event of a war or enemy attack.


    It wasn¡¯t for aesthetics or a show of power, but for the protection of the citizens that these churches are made from stronger materials.


    ¡°But if there is a shelter in the Nesis Church, no one can easily reach it, right?¡±


    ¡°That ¡­ maybe it¡¯s not a problem. Maybe.¡± (Esther)


    Esther¡¯s reply was quite vague.


    I would like to say that it¡¯s going to be okay, but I couldn¡¯t say it when I saw the church looked like it hasn¡¯t been visited for quite a long time.


    Aside from that, it is also an underground shelter.


    ¡°We have to clean this shelter, right?¡±


    ¡°Probably.¡± (Esther)


    The cleaning mission is to clean the Nesis Church.


    As long as the basement is part of the Nesis Church, the request will not bepleted unless it is also cleaned.


    I used [Lighting] on my palm and went down the stairs.


    The ceiling was low, but the space was asrge as an average gymnasium.


    This can amodate many citizens that would need evacuation.


    I can¡¯t say anything other than the ce is wide.


    There is no treasure box where treasure can be hidden, and there are no storage spaces.


    I thought, ¡°Is there nothing here?¡±, I sighed disappointed because of the empty basement.


    Unlike the room above, the shelter is not as dusty.


    Instead, moss was growing all over, probably because of the high humidity.


    ¡°In this case, I wonder if it is okay to use [air cutter].¡±


    I cast some more [lighting] and removed the moss and dirt on the ceiling and walls by using a high-pressure [water supply].


    However, a new problem appeared.


    ¡°¡­ Our feet are flooded.¡±


    Since there is no ce for the water to flow out, water has umted up to our ankles.


    There is no ce for water to flow because there is no drainage or ditch.


    ¡°This ce is vulnerable to water-rted disasters¡­ If the church is blown away, the rainwater flowing down may be life-threatening.¡±


    The shelter is not fully thought through.


    However, if a disaster like a flood really happens, the people under the shelters will be doomed.


    It is useless to think about how to they would survive at that moment.


    Aside from that, I still have to be cleaning right now.


    I was pondering for a while with my arms crossed, so I decided to try something. I ced my hand in the water


    ¡°Get in!¡±


    Then,


    ¡°¨COh!?¡±


    The dirty water was flowing towards my hand.


    The water was getting stored in my [inventory].


    After being warned by Marie, I tried to not use [inventory] as much as possible. But I am impressed by how useful it is.


    All the water collected in the shelter was getting stored in my [inventory].


    Even as I store the water, I still don¡¯t feel that I¡¯m close to its limit.


    ¡°Howrge is [Inventory Lv4]? I make ns if I knew exactly how much space [inventory] has¡­ Well, I have to find a way to check the size then.¡±


    After storing all the water, I immediately begin cleaning the floor.


    I remove the moss on the floor and store the remaining water simultaneously.


    After that, [drying] was used for the entire basement.


    It was at that time.


    ¨C*crumble*.


    ¡°What the!?¡±

 Chapter 38: I want to go to the Armor Shop!

    <h4>Chapter 38: I want to go to the Armor Shop!</h4>


    It couldn¡¯t withstand the rapid drying? A part of the wall of the basement fell off with a loud noise.


    I nearly jumped at the loud noise.


    (No, no, what should I do!? I broke the church !!)


    But I¡¯m still grateful.


    Only a part of the wall has crumbled. The other parts are not even cracked, let alone damaged.


    I slowly approached the crumbled area.


    The pieces crumbling off is a part of the wall about 50 cm square.


    The wall is as thin as about 5 cm. On the other side of the wall, wooden boards were stretched in a grid pattern.


    ¡°¡­ Hmm? There is something in the back¡±


    Carefully, I looked into the other side of the wooden board.


    Beyond the wall was a pitch-ck space.


    The sound of flowing water reached my ears.


    I turned the ¡°lighting¡± lit in the palm of mine? Head to the back of the wall.


    ¡°Hmm, sewer?¡±


    Beyond the wall, there was a path for water to flow.


    It is hard to say that the flowing water is clean. Besides the water, there was a road that each person could pass through.


    Slowly, a smoky smell is wafting into the basement.


    If nothing is done, the basement that has just been cleaned will be smelly.


    I returned the stones that had fallen off. Before hurriedly outing it back to its original position and then I filled the gap with earth magic.


    ¡°It¡¯s very good repair work, but ¡­ is it strong enough?¡±


    I knocked on it using my fist as a test. There are no longer signs of the wall crumbling.


    ¡°Toru. I¡¯m finished. What about you?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I¡¯m done here too.¡±


    ¡°Then, it¡¯s about to pack up. The day is almost done.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I understand¡±


    I hurriedly went up, because of Esther¡¯s words.


    I pray that the wall will not crumble again¡­


    ¡ð


    As I leave the basement, I noticed that the chaise lounge and a reading table had returned to the empty church.


    They were carefully dusted and cleaned and polished cleanly.


    ¡°How about it Toru? Isn¡¯t my work pretty good?¡±(Esther)


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s really beautiful. I think Nesis-sama will like it too.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. By the way ¡­¡± (Esther)


    Esther looked embarrassed and couldn¡¯t finish her statement. She then took out a piece of paper from her breastte.


    ¡°The request is cleared. But who should I ask to get the signature?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°¡­¡­Ah¡±


    I also noticed the problem.


    If the request is fulfilled, the client must sign it.


    But there is no one in the Nesis Church.


    Even though we¡¯ve worked hard, we wouldn¡¯t be able to clear the request.


    We were in trouble, but suddenly I noticed something wrong with Esther¡¯s paper.


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    ¡°Hey, Esther. Did you put that mark?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, mark? ¨CThis is a sacred seal!¡± (Esther)


    Space where the client writes the signature should be nk.


    But now, the Holy Seal, which is the mark of the Nesis religion, has emerged.


    ¡°Mysterious ¡­¡±


    ¡°This is amazing Toru! After all, this request was a made by God!¡± (Esther)


    Esther jumped.


    She was buzzing with joy and her ponytail sways happily.


    ¡°Then, this means the request is clear?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± (Esther)


    I and Esther nodded to each other and gave a high five.


    One gold coin in one day.


    There was various trouble along the road, but with this, the request has been sessfully cleared.


    I prayed to Nesis with Esther.


    (Excuse me. Nice to see you again.)


    I prayed again to that god, hoping that I¡¯m doing it right.


    (Please, may we live in peace and safety¡­)


    Whether the wish was answered.


    I don¡¯t know if that god will hear or answer my prayer.


    But I felt that making that prayer brought a little peace to my heart.


    On the way back to the guild. I suddenly remembered something about this morning and asked.


    ¡°By the way, Esther. You were talking about something you want to do this morning. What was it?¡±


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right.¡± (Esther)


    Esther said bashfully, scratching her cheeks with her fingertips.


    ¡°Actually, I want to go to an armor shop.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Oh, then I want to go see one too.¡±


    I¡¯ve put it off for a long time, but I was thinking about getting armor for some time now.


    I already have a sharp weapon, [Magic Sword].


    However, I have no armor.


    As a result, I was sometimes questioned by Esther and the guards.


    If I want to live as an adventurer, I need to dress like an adventurer.


    Like a sryman wearing a suit and tie.


    ¡°It¡¯s a good time, let¡¯s go to the armory shop right now¡±


    ¡°No, but what about reporting the request?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it okay to do it tomorrow? If we don¡¯t report it right away, we won¡¯t fail.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡± (Esther)


    So both of us agreed to change our destination from the guild to the armory store.


    Esther led me to a small shop.


    A signboard was disyed at the top of the store entrance.


    Only the symbol for an ¡°armory¡± and ¡°Simon¡± is written.


    When I opened the door, armors were lined up in the shop.


    ¡°Oh!!¡±


    (I¡¯ve always wanted to see something like this, this is it!!)


    Seeing the many armors lined up, my blood was boiling in excitement.


    Boys like armor.


    Even when people go on school trips, some people will buy wooden swords that are not rted to the destination and essories that look like ¡°legendary weapons¡±.


    Even in Japan, me 32 years old ¡°fine adult¡±, cannot resist the charm of the store, which is lined with armor.


    I walked into the store quickly and take a closer look at the armors lining up the store.


    The weapon corner was on the right side of the entrance. Large swords, small swords, axes, and bows are disyed neatly.


    On the other side is the armor corner. A variety of armor is lined up, from full tes and half tes to leather to iron.


    While looking at the armors, ¡°This is!¡± I picked up what I think was interesting but looking at the price tag, I immediately put it back on the shelf with a bitter smile, ¡°It¡¯s quite expensive.¡±


    I am doing the same thing I do at the department store, but the items arepletely different.


    Suddenly, a low voice reached my ears, looking at the armor as if to bite into it.


    ¡ð


    ¡°Who is this time?¡± (Voice)


    ¡°Oh Simon-san. I¡¯m sorry I entered the store without permission. Today I came to look for an armor.¡± (Esther)


    A short man named Simon snorted and sat down in a chair next to the counter.


    The man was more than 30cm shorter than Toru. [T/N: 30cm is about 12¡¯ 1¡±]


    However, despite his short stature, the muscles on his arms are likely to be more than three timesrger than mine.


    A bushy beard covers his face marked by many wrinkles.


    (Is this person a dwarf?)


    While I was staring at Simon,


    ¡°Is something on my face?¡± (Simon)


    ¡°No, no, I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Simon red at me, and I shrank in shame.


    His voice is low and heavy, like the rumble of faraway thunder.


    Also, the deep wrinkles between his eyebrows look like I might have offended him. I feel quite uneasy.


    Little did I know what Simon is thinking¡­


    ~Simon¡¯s Perspective~


    (What is this guy ¡­ such a ridiculous presence!?) (Simon)


    He¡¯s terribly frightening.


    I have been devoted to crafting armor for about 100 years as a cksmith.


    Since we¡¯re the second longest-lived, dwarves, and first the elves, there was a lot of time for me to master crafting armors.


    My shop was famously dubbed ¡°Finlis¡¯ Highest Quality Armory¡±.


    However, I am not interested in beingpared to other stores.


    I have no intention ofpeting with other stores for sales, and I have never thought of selling a lot of my own armor.


    (Because of that, I often suffered fromck of funds in the past ¡­)


    All I¡¯m interested in is making the best armor I can think of.


    As a result of my pursuit for the best, the fame of ¡°Finlis Highest Quality Armor¡± came on its own.


    Still, for the past few years, the feeling that I had when I was young, ¡°Make the best armor!¡± began to cool down. My fiery passion has gradually died.


    I began to think, ¡°Okay, just male armors as a cksmith, get enough money to live, and have my bones buried in Finlis.¡±


    Is it because of my age? Maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯ve been stagnating in Finlis for a long time.


    The young Simon would never have seen me as his future.


    Though, various customerse to my armory in search of good quality armor.


    If one looks closely at the customers, they will be able to understand their general ability, just as I can analyze armor.


    For example, this girl with a swishing ponytail.


    Observing her, she is now better than average adventurers.


    And she has something that makes the craftsman in me squirm in excitement. She¡¯s like a famous sword that gets sharper when polished with a whetstone.


    She has the talent to be a first-ss product if polished.


    So what about the boy in front of me?


    (I don¡¯t know what he is, but anyway, damn¡­!)


    I want to ask the boy implicitly, but I can¡¯t even ask him about the reach of his ability.


    I can only surmise he is someone horribly strong.


    His body is so thin that he looks like a breeze can lift him, but his center of gravity is stable like a stake stuck in the ground.


    And the more I look at him, the more I am dragged in as if I am leaning into a deep valley. I am sick with vertigo just looking at the boy.


    Or maybe the boy is a dragon masquerading as a human¡­


    The blood on my veins waspletely cold I couldn¡¯t even fully see the boy¡¯s depth.

 Chapter 39: Looking for a Weapon for Esther

    <h4>Chapter 39: Looking for a Weapon for Esther</h4>


    I was looking over three-piece armor and a weapon for myself just in case.


    I was looking for a breastte, ted gloves, and shin guards. And an iron dagger for a weapon.


    I chose the lightest dagger.


    It¡¯s just a show weapon, so I don¡¯t need a high-performance weapon. The price is also reasonable.


    I thought iron would be a good choice for the breastte, but when I tried it on, I found that the iron breastte hindered my movements.


    Every time I move, a part of it presses hard on my body.


    When I jump lightly, the breastte moves up and down rubbing against the skin. And the rubbed part hurts.


    ¡°Ester why do you often wear an iron breastte?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m used to it. I became used to it. After that, I adjust it myself so that it fits my body. I¡¯m used to putting it on.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°So that¡¯s it¡±


    In that way, do people personalize mass-produced products?


    I was impressed with Esther¡¯s efforts.


    Still, I didn¡¯t want an iron breastte that much.


    (I¡¯m an ¡°inferior¡±, and as long as the armor fits my height is the best choice.)


    I¡¯m not being self-degrading.


    If the older adventurers see me wearing an expensive armor while I¡¯m just a newbie and Lost, I would just be made fun of.


    (If someone has expensive armor, they are probably adventurers with great material collecting skills.)


    Aside from that, even after I bought the armor, Esther was still focused while looking at the sword.


    ¡°Are you done, Esther?¡±


    ¡°Toru, so you¡¯ve already decided.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve been looking at the sword all the time, but is there anything I¡¯m looking for?¡±


    ¡°¡­ Ah, yeah that¡¯s right.¡±


    Ester is being evasive in answering my question.


    So Esther draw out his sword and I looked at it closely


    ¡°Actually, my sword is broken.¡± (Esther)


    The de of the sword has be quite disfigured


    I have the [cksmith] skill and it helps me understand how severe the damage was.


    It¡¯s not enough damage to shatter the sword, but it¡¯s impossible to sharpen it.


    Even if it is sharpened again, the de bes so much thinner and it bes quite fragile.


    It is safer to buy a new one than to subject it to sharpening and reforming where it¡¯s just gonna be less durable


    But Esther has a difficult expression on her face.


    It¡¯s just a matter of buying a new sword, but why is Esther having a hard time deciding.


    ¡°Ester. Maybe you don¡¯t have money for buying a new one?¡±


    ¡°No, I have the funds.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Hmm? Then why are you looking quite sad?¡±


    ¡°Breaking a sword is shameful for any swordsman.¡± (Simon)


    My question was answered by Simon, who was sitting silently at the counter.


    ¡°Swords usually break due tock of ability. So you broke my sword before you be a well-known swordsman. Well, you should feel ashamed of showing your face.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m sorry ¡­¡±


    Simon¡¯s veins on his head were bulging in anger.


    Esther, who was red at by Simon dropped her shoulders in shame.


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    The sword is damaged because of Ester¡¯sck of ability. I have an inkling of the idea of such a theory.


    Japanese swords only show their true value when used by expert swordsmen.


    However, if an immature swordsman is wielded it, the sharpness will be dulled and the sharpness of the sword won¡¯t fully shine through.


    The same is probably true for Esther¡¯s sword.


    ¡°Tsk¡­. So what kind of monster did you hit?¡± (Simon)


    ¡°I used it to fight Rock Worms¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Rock worms!?¡± (Simon)


    Simon¡¯s reaction to Esther¡¯s words was a bit too much.


    He immediately rose from his chairs and his eyes we about to pop out.


    ¡°So, were you able to cut the rock worm?¡± (Simon)


    ¡°No, I couldn¡¯t cut it at all ¡­¡± (Esther)


    ¡°¡­ I see.¡± (Simon)


    Simon lost his steam and copsed on the chair.


    ¡°Even if you try your best to sh a Rock Worm with that sword, you can¡¯t cut it. Well, even if it doesn¡¯t break, it¡¯s going to get ruined. Look at what happened to your favorite sword.¡± (Simon)


    ¡°¡­ You¡¯re not mad?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Hmm. But there better not be a second time.¡± (Simon)


    ¡°Thank you!¡± (Esther)


    Simon¡¯s words filled Esther with relief.


    With that cleared, we searched for a good sword from the shelves.


    Even if we find a product that seems to say ¡°this is it!¡±. But after we look at the price tag we silently return it to the shelf.


    After doing this repeatedly, we could not find any longswords.


    ¡°¡­ As expected, a budget of one gold coin is too restricting.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°I wish I had a little more money.¡± (Esther)


    There were many good products.


    However, all of them are very expensive, all of them starting at 5 gold coins.


    It¡¯s not very expensive, but it can¡¯t be purchased with ourck of financial leeway.


    However, a longsword that can be purchased with a single gold coin had the same quality as Esther¡¯s previous sword.


    But it¡¯ll be useless when fighting the same opponent.


    Esther couldn¡¯t beat rock worms because she couldn¡¯t prate its hard exoskeleton.


    Since her loss is due to her weapon¡¯s performance and not her ability, it is meaningless unless the weapon we purchase is at Esther¡¯s level.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you buy something else in the meantime. Then we buy a good weapon again after you have umted money?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to change weapons if possible.¡± (Esther)


    Esther shook her head at my suggestion.


    ¡°If you change weapons often, you have to adjust your senses when using one. It¡¯s good when you¡¯re a neer, but when you¡¯re a skilled adventurer, a slight error can be fatal. So, when you¡¯ve be a skilled adventurer, you¡¯ll have a weapon you prefer. If you have a weapon you fight well with, you¡¯ll want to keep using it forever.


    I¡¯m not saying I¡¯m skilled, but I want to choose something that can be used for a long time. ¡± (Esther)


    ¡°So that¡¯s it¡­¡­¡±


    Weapons are like allies to who you entrust your lives.


    If it is too weak, it will break easily, and if it is too strong, you will be swayed instead.


    (So I¡¯m pretty much swayed¡­)


    Finding the right partner is simr to choosing the right weapon.


    Then I saw a barrel.


    It was just a barrel ced near the entrance.


    Weapons were randomly ced inside it. It was like an umbre stand filled with umbres and other things.


    ¡°¡­¡­this is?¡±


    ¡°Those defective products. 10 silver coins each¡± (Simon)


    ¡°So cheap!¡±


    Are these ¡°outlet¡± products? [Note: Outlet goods are cheap goods that are usually slightly damaged goods or defective products.]


    I immediately checked the contents of the barrelpletely hooked by the cheap price.


    But,


    ¡°Hmm¡±


    All of them are inferior quality goods.


    There is only one weapon with a passable and can be used as a weapon.


    There is a reason why cheap things are cheap.


    ¡°Hmm, this is ¡­¡±


    Still, I focused on searching for a bargain product, and a dagger caught my eye.


    It was a half-finished dull dagger.


    The grip that is just wrapped with leather and it¡¯s quite deformed. There is also no guard.


    It was a dagger that was barely finished just to be considered a bad product, but my eyes were totally glued to it.


    Somewhere, I felt that it was different from ordinary iron.


    ¡°¡­ Simon, what is the material used for this dagger?¡±


    ¡°Mithril¡± (Simon)


    ¡°Mithril!¡±


    My heart soared after hearing it, in my mind, ¡°Fantasy metal!!¡±.


    Mithril is a ssic Japanese fantasy material and is a high-grade material that is said to have the property of conducting magic.


    (Is this the same with Mithril in this world?)


    Let¡¯s try putting magic in the dagger.


    Then, the dagger epted my magic without any resistance.


    ¡°Oh, this is amazing.¡±


    ¡°I know it¡¯s amazing, but that¡¯s no good. I can¡¯t process the metal properly.¡± (Simon)


    ¡°You can¡¯t process it?¡±


    ¡°Oh. The temperature of the furnace is too low for Mithril to melt properly.¡± (Simon)


    When I heard Simon¡¯s words, I can¡¯t help but believe him.


    The de is dull and deformed because he couldn¡¯t form it properly.


    While I was staring at the ugly dagger. Somewhere in my heart, I thought, ¡°I think I can do this.¡±


    I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s a conviction due to the [cksmith] skill or my faulty assessment as a greenhorn.


    (I¡¯m sorry, I want to check the [cksmith] skill)


    Is it possible to use [cksmith] while it has not been tested yet?


    I was thinking hand and I immediately negotiated with Simon.


    ¡°Simon!¡±


    ¡°What, what!?¡± (Simon)


    ~Simon¡¯s Perspective~


    The boy (named Toru) suddenly turned to me with a serious look.


    He has quite the presence, and he¡¯s a swordsman.


    (What are you going to do to me!?)


    Like a goblin red at by a dragon, I can¡¯t help but quiver on my knees.


    Do you want to take my life ¡­?


    If he rampages here, it will instantly turn to a bloodbath.


    Does a person with such power care about such small matters?


    If so, is it because the prices are too expensive?


    Yeah, but it¡¯s cheaper than my own life! I¡¯ll let you get as much as you want!


    No matter what he demands, at least my life and this shop must be protected at all costs! Yes, I am already determined even if my knees are shaking uncontrobly.


    ¡°Can you lend me your furnace?¡±


    ¡°Huh? ¡­¡­¡­¡­ Ah, oh, okay.¡± (Simon)


    Oh just that, it¡¯s cheaper than the future where my life and store are both lost.


    I was a little relieved so I allowed Toru to borrow the furnace.


    ~Toru¡¯s Perspective~


    I was quite surprised.


    (Oh, I was able to borrow something easily ¡­)


    I was imagining that Simon would shake his head.


    A furnace is an important tool for cksmiths. It won¡¯t be something easy to borrow ¡­


    However, for some reason, I got an OK.


    (Hmm.)


    Even though I think about it, I can¡¯t answer why it was borrowed easily.


    I headed to the workshop with Simon. Simon was quite a generous person.

 Chapter 40: Making a weapon from Mithril

    <h4>Chapter 40: Making a weapon from Mithril</h4>


    ¡°Well, Toru. What on earth are you nning on doing?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Maybe I can make a sword with this¡­¡±


    ¡°Toru were you a craftsman in your original world?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Hmm, well, somehow?¡±


    I answered Esther¡¯s question as vaguely as I can.


    I was just a sryman from Japan, but Esther is will only be confused when she hears the truth.


    Also, I cannot tell her that I have the [cksmith] skill.


    Why does someone who just came to Eargard and have the [cksmith] skill? This will force me to exin the skill board.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s for Esther¡¯s new weapon, but why not try shing with it and why not use it if it works?¡±


    ¡°Oh, will Toru make me one! That¡¯s good.¡± (Esther)


    Esther smiled at my offer.


    She doesn¡¯t seem to think that I would be one to produce bad quality goods.


    ¡°I am thrilled to be a swordsman and have a custom-made sword while it¡¯s still just my second sword.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°You¡¯re overestimating me. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s not that great.¡±


    There is almost no leeway for Esther whether it¡¯s the materials or weapon.


    I have to put a damper on her enthusiasm just in case. She would be quite disappointed when she expects too much.


    ¡°Oh¡±


    As we entered the smithy, I can¡¯t help but sigh in admiration for the ¡°likeness¡± of the room to my imagination.


    The first thing that caught my eyes when he entered the stone smithy was a small furnace by the wall. It¡¯s small for a furnace, but it¡¯s probably not an issue for cksmithing weapons and armor.


    The sacred seal of the god of Technology Alphas is engraved on the furnace.


    In front of the furnace is a bellow, and an anvil. And a hammer is neatly hung on the wall near the furnace. [T/N: Bellows are instruments to blow air into a furnace]


    In addition to tongs and levers, tools whose names arepletely out of my knowledge were organized and lined neatly.


    ¡°¡­ So what are you doing?¡± (Simon)


    ¡°Oh, yes¡±


    Asked by Simon, I go near the furnace.


    There was still fire in the furnace. The heat quickly warms my body.


    The heat from the fire is enough to make my forehead sweat.


    ¡°Simon-san. I will buy this dagger, so can I put it in the furnace?¡±


    ¡°Do what you want.¡± (Simon)


    ¡°Thank you¡±


    Using the tongs holding the deformed dagger, I thrust it into the furnace.


    I began raising the temperature of the furnace by pumping air using the bellows.


    However, the dagger did not turn red at all.


    ~Simon¡¯s Perspective~


    (As expected) (Simon)


    I thought as I watch Toru.


    This Mithril dagger is my many attempts at forging and failing at it.


    This dagger did not melt no matter how much the temperature of the furnace was raised.


    Even at temperatures that would melt Mithril normally.


    I¡¯ve never heard or seen this kind of Mithril.


    I tried to shape this Mithril with various methods, but at most, I could only make it into the shape of a distorted dagger.


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    (I think the cksmithing he can do at most is ¡°so-so¡±, but it¡¯s probably impossible) (Simon)


    I knew from Toru¡¯s hand motion as he works with the dagger in the furnace that he was ¡°quite good¡±.


    Still, as I expected he wouldn¡¯t be able to melt this special Mithril.


    But,


    ¡°¡­ Oh, I see. What should I do?¡±


    That was when Toru slightly moved his hand.


    The mithril, which shouldn¡¯t turn red, turned red!


    ¡°How!?¡± (Simon)


    I didn¡¯t take my eyes off, but what¡¯s with the sudden change


    It¡¯s been over 100 years since I became a cksmith. And I have made several weapons.


    I believe I¡¯ve done every job perfectly.


    The special Mithril processing that I gave up on is now being processed by the hands of some unknown boy!


    When Mithril turned bright red, Toru took out Mithril and started hitting it with the hammer.


    Khan, Khan, Khan.


    The rhythmic sound is proof that he has the arm for cksmithing.


    Khan, Khan, Khan.


    The boy¡¯s hand transforms the dagger.


    The sight has awoken a passion I¡¯ve thought I¡¯ve lost.


    ¡°Sonny, how on earth are you processing it!?¡± (Simon)


    ¡°How¡­¡±


    ~Toru¡¯s Perspective~


    When I put the dagger back in the furnace, Simon ran up to me like he was about to attack me.


    But just stared at my hands before answering him.


    ¡°Mithril conducts magic easily, so I wonder if I can do something by using magic.¡±


    I heated the dagger with [ignition] while it is maintained by the heat from the me of the furnace.


    If the transmission of magical power is good, the heat of [ignition] may also be easily transmitted. And as I thought,


    The idea was correct.


    As soon as I used ¡°Ignition¡±, the Mithril dagger was dyed red.


    Of course, it¡¯s not just because of ¡°ignition¡±.


    While I used [ignition] I was manipting a weak [air cutter] and I keep on rotating the air in the furnace to keep the heat from trying to escape.


    ¡°Where did you hear that Mithril is good at conducting magic?¡± (Simon)


    ¡°Well, where ¡­¡±


    ¡°Mithril is a versatile material that is good at blocking magic. If it is good at conducting magic, elemental monsters will not be cut by a mithril weapon, and when it¡¯s armor, the person who wears when hit by a fireball will be charcoaled.¡± (Simon)


    ¡°¡­ Um?¡±


    I nced at Esther hoping for some help.


    Esther nods deeply in response to my gaze.


    Apparently, the ssic description that ¡°Mithril conducts magical power easily¡± was different from themon knowledge of Eargard.


    It was exactly what Simon says.


    If Mithril is easy to conduct magical power. People wearing armor that is vulnerable to magical attacks will be killed instantly.


    No one will want to wear such dangerous armor.


    ¡°Then, why is this Mithril good at conducting magic¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm, this Mithril conducts magic easily!?¡± (Simon)


    ¡°Well, yes. The magical power flowed fairly smoothly.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Does that mean that this Mithril has spirit crystal!?¡± (Simon)


    ¡°This is a spirit crystal?¡±


    ¡°Oh ¡­ hey, sonny, your hands are stopped moving!¡± (Simon)


    ¡°Oh, yes¡±


    I was reminded by Simon so I hurriedly took out the dagger from the furnace and form it on the anvil.


    ¡°Mithril is a rare material, but over the years, the power of the spirits can be absorbed by the ore, making it more conductive to magic.¡± (Simon)


    As Simon continued to talk, I focused on finishing the dagger.


    The dagger was very thick. Slowly I bend and stretch the de.


    How thin can I make it? The feeling while hitting it with a hammer tells me how much.


    I listened to the sound of the mallet and believed in my aesthetic sense and [cksmith] skill.


    I start folding the Mithril 10 times.


    The 1024yered Mithril de was stretched to the thinnest it can be while still being at its hardest.


    I imagined making the legendary Excalibur sword as I made this.


    The cross-section was shaped to be a hexagon instead of the rhombus, which is simr to a western sword.


    I was finished after adding a groove for the guard and a hole for attaching a handle.


    Done, I¡¯ve finished working on the sword.


    ¡°¡­ Fu¡±


    I stared at the longsword I had formed and stretched to its maximum.


    The longsword was would receive a 100-point mark.


    Considering that I made this for the first time and I made it as I imagined, I think that 200 points would be better.


    ¡°The rest is sharpening, attaching a guard and handle¡­¡±


    If I get used to it, I can make several des a day, but this was my limit for now.


    That should be it. I have been walking around Finlis since the morning, cleaning the Nesis Church. Time to stop overworking.


    ¡°Toru is amazing. To make that dagger into a longsword in no time.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°No, isn¡¯t this normal?¡±


    ~3rd Person Perspective~


    This is the job of an ¡°inferior¡± who has just acquired the [cksmith] skill. Toru thinks that an ordinary Eargard local with [cksmithing] skill could do it better.


    Simon, on the other hand, heard Toru¡¯s remark. And the sound of something breaking reverberated inside of him.


    Toru¡¯s work was someone who is an expert in Simon¡¯s eyes.


    His hammer skills seem to be the same or better than Simon¡¯s, who has a ¡°high level¡± skill called [cksmith Lv5], which he has reached after 100 years of cksmithing.


    This is normal¡­


    If other craftsmen hear those words, their mouths will foam and get mad, or quit being a craftsman.


    (From a boy who hasn¡¯t lived half of my life, I¡¯m pissed!) (Simon)


    Simon bit those words hard he is grinding his mrs.


    Simon couldn¡¯t keep his silence after hearing those words.


    ¡°Oh, sonny. Leave that sword to me!¡± (Simon)


    ¡°eh?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to take on the rest of the work. Make a brim, a grip, and a scabbard. Also, let me sharpen it!¡± (Simon)


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    ~Toru¡¯s Perspective~


    Pressed by a strong fighting spirit, I nodded without thinking about it.


    Besides, the other party is a professional craftsman.


    I¡¯m worried that if the rest of the work is left to him, there will be some additional charges.


    ¡°Uh, how much is will it cost?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay I¡¯ll do it for free¡± (Simon)


    ¡°No, but¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it for free!¡± (Simon)


    ¡°Uh¡±


    ¡°Does sonny want money!? If so, I¡¯ll give you one or two gold coins!¡± (Simon)


    ¡°No, no, it¡¯s fine. Excuse me! Please do the rest of the work!!¡±


    Instead of paying for the rest of the work, I was the one about to be paid. I hurriedly declined the offer.


    (What happened?)


    I felt a little uneasy while Simon was staring at the former dagger, which had be a longsword.


    However, Esther says Simon is a top-notch cksmith.


    It must be better to leave the rest to him than to finish the work.


    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll leave the rest to Simon-san. When will it be finished?¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow¡± (Simon)


    ¡°Wow, so fast!?¡±


    ¡°Oh, rest assured. I¡¯ll do my best to finish this. My craftsman¡¯s soul is fired-up thanks to you, sonny.¡± (Simon)


    ¡°Yes! Thank you.¡±


    I was touched by Simon¡¯s passionate words.


    I bowed deeply, and we left Simon¡¯s shop.


    How will it be once it¡¯s finished?


    I can¡¯t help but be excited.

 Chapter 41: Setting a Title

    <h4>Chapter 41: Setting a Title</h4>


    ¡±I was worried that it took a long time, it has be quitete ¡­¡±


    After returning to my room at the inn, I summoned the skill board.


    The self-proimed god Nesis told me to check the Title option on my skill board.


    I wanted to confirm it immediately after being told by Nesis. But I had to dy exploring the titles because Esther was with me the whole time.


    I opened the skill board. However, the end of the avable skill selection cannot be seen.


    I¡¯m getting tired of swiping, then I remembered, ¡°The trees could be copsed,¡± and so I went to the top and copsed the tree.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t I realize that the tree is copsible¡­¡±


    I wasted a lot of time because of my stupidity.


    _______________________________________________________________


    ¡ð Status


    Toru Minasuki


    Level: 21


    Race: Human Primary Job: Swordsman ¨C Secondary Job: Mage


    Rank: II Skill points: 12


    ¡ðPassives


    ¡ðTechniques


    ¡ðTitle []


    _______________________________________________________________


    I tapped the nk field on the title option that I found.


    Then, the selection of titles that can be equipped emerged in a separate window.


    ¡°There are quite a lot ¡­ What the hell are these!?¡±


    _______________________________________________________________


    ? Soul Reaper ? Lost ? Inferior


    ? Tomato Bastard ? Dog Guardian ?Giant Killer


    ? Master Herb Collector ? Rock Worm Killer


    ?Blessed by Forcels


    ?Blessed by Alphas


    ?Blessed by Agni


    ?Blessed by Hermetia


    ?Blessed by Amanomehito


    ?Nesis¡¯ Servant


    _______________________________________________________________


    I looked at the list of titles that emerged and pondered for a while.


    ¡¸¡­¡­¡­¡­¡¹


    I pour water into the wooden cup provided in the room using [water supply] and drank it all at once.


    After drinking water and calming myself, I looked at the skill board again.


    First, the soul reaper. It¡¯s a title I don¡¯t remember getting at all. However, in a conversation with Nesis, it became clear that my [Magic Sword] had a special effect on humans.


    Perhaps it¡¯s the title obtained from that connection? I can guess, but I don¡¯t have a lot of information.


    Next are Lost and Inferior. These ones are obvious. I have been called by these names many times since I came to Finlis, and that¡¯s why those are on the title list.


    ¡°Tomato bastard ¡­ well, have I been called that many?¡±


    To be included in the title list after being called only a few instances¡­


    The conditions for obtaining the title are quite loose.


    Dog Guardian. This is also a mystery, but Toru has a section thates to mind.


    After entering the Finlis Forest, I encountered Silver Wolves many times. However, I have never killed one and just drove them away.


    Perhaps that is the condition for getting this title.


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    The Master Herb Collector is as the name suggests.


    There is no doubt that it was obtained by collecting a lot of medicinal herbs.


    ¡°Is Giant Killer defeating opponents with a level difference of 10 or more? Rock Worm Killer is acquired after killing a lot of Rock Worms.¡±


    I defeated a considerable number of rock worms, including the ones in the limestone cave.


    There is no doubt that this led to the acquisition of the title.


    However, I have also defeated arge number of goblins.


    However, the title of Goblin Killer has not yet been unlocked.


    ¡°The difference is¡­ not just the number?¡±


    In the future, I decided to check if the title will appear while defeating goblins.


    So far good. Some of them were not convincing, but they are not beyond my scope of understanding.


    However, the problem is these titles.


    ¡°Why have I been blessed by so many gods?¡±


    Forcels, Alphas, Agni, Hermetia, Amanomehito, and Nesis.


    I was blessed by all six pirs involved in the creation of Eargard.


    ¡°Blessings ¡­ Me going to church, probably? Amanomehito didn¡¯t have a church though.¡±


    If so, maybe it was because I moved to Eargard.


    In any case, what I got from all the gods is a great haul of blessings.


    ¡°Maybe these are just minor blessings, not enough to be considered as empowering.¡±


    Is the blessing of the gods in this world about the red stamp that I can get if one goes to a shrine or temple?


    I am not a local Eargard person, could not judge the value of the blessing.


    Aside from that, there is only one strange title from the gods.


    ¡°Only Nesis gave me the title of a servant ¡­ Does she treat me differently than the other gods!?¡±


    A servant (¤·¤â¤Ù) can mean a menial servant (ÕÙʹ¤¤¤ä) or a manservant (σW). [T/N: The difference between the two servants: a menial servant is the lowest of the low servant can be a serf or peasant, a manservant (retainer) has a sry and oftenes from a branch family or a lower-ranked family. Ask google sensei for more info.]


    I¡¯m about to cry with the difference in the treatment of the god who normally should give me a blessing.


    (After I¡¯ve cleaned the church so well. How terrible¡­)


    In the first ce, I have no intention of bing a Servant of Nesis.


    As if it was said that cleaning the church was a servant¡¯s job¡­


    ¡°Is this is the first login bonus?¡±


    If so, it¡¯s a nuisance and not a bonus.


    ¡°Is there a way to remove this title¡­¡±


    I can¡¯t help but want to grind my teeth. However, I¡¯m not a god so I could not think of a way to return the title given by God.


    After looking at the titles for a while.


    I wonder which of the titles to set.


    Lost, Inferior, and tomato bastard are out of the question. Needless to say, I¡¯m excluding those from the options.


    Next is Dog Guardian and a Master Herb Collector. Those sound good, but it seems that the benefits when setting either title are small, so I will exclude those too.


    ¡°Is there really a status up if I set a title in the first ce?¡±


    I regretted not asking Nesis about it.


    No answer wille out even if I worry about such things.


    Titles in games that I have yed usually have additional effects.


    Also, Nesis told me to set it up. Since she took the trouble to tell me I think that it has some effect.


    ¡°The Soul Reaper is ¡­ well. There seems to be a special effect, but it seems that the effect is something special.¡±


    From a middle schooler standpoint, it feels like a strong title.


    However, I feel that some special effect might be added instead of improving my status.


    The effect of the title cannot be confirmed using the skill board though.


    It would be scary if the soul reaper had a fatal effect on human beings.


    It is dangerous to just set it without thinking.


    ¡°Giant Killer probably improves status when facing against a stronger enemy. Is Rock Worm Killer going to improve my status against Rock Worms? I wonder, Rock Worm Killer is already good, but Giant Killer is a little bit more attractive.¡±


    I will include Giant Killer as an option.


    All that remains are the blessed by the gods¡¯ series and Nesis¡¯ servant¡­ the retainer of God.


    I drink the water and used [water supply] on the empty cup.


    ¡°First, servant is out of the question¨C¡°


    When I tried to remove it from my options, the ss of water on the table spilled on its own.


    ¡°Oh my god. I wonder if I snagged it or something.¡±


    It soaked the table from top to bottom.


    I dried wet table and floors with [drying].


    I picked up the cup and fill it with water again.


    ¡°Well, servant should be excluded¨C¡°


    The cup fell down again.


    I stared at the cup.


    ¡°¡­ Because it¡¯s out of the question to be a servant¨C¡°


    The cup fell off the table and made a ttering noise.


    ¡°Are you watching!?¡±


    I shouted while staring at the ceiling.


    However, there is no reaction.


    I looked up at the ceiling for a while before fixing myposure.


    (If anyone else sees this scene, they¡¯ll think I¡¯m some crazy person ¡­)


    I blushed at my weird behavior, quickly used [drying] on the wet table and floor again.


    Then I held the cup in my hand and squeeze it firmly.


    Nesis¡¯ servant is out of the question. There is no room for that.


    It¡¯s a blessing title that will be put aside.


    Forcels is justice. Alphas is technology.


    Agni fighting. Hermetia is magic.


    Amanomehito controls nature.


    ¡°The best thing is, after all, I am an adventurer. So probably Agni.¡±


    As I muttered, the cup began to rattle and roll.


    I can hear Nesis screaming ¡°Why !?¡±


    The servant of Nesis receives an image closer to a God rather than a simple blessing.


    As it is closer to God, it will also have the effect of increasing stats.


    However, I feel that I will likely be forced into difficult tasks from Nesis.


    A manservant is just¡­


    ¡°I wish it had some effect just by unlocking it, even if I don¡¯t set it.¡±


    But there are no such gifts in the world.


    I gave up and decided to set [Blessed by Agni] since it seems to be the most beneficial to adventurers.


    Will my bad luck end?


    When I tapped the title with my finger, the cup shook extremely violently.


    The shaking caused my aim to go awry.


    ¡°Ah¡±


    _______________________________________________________________


    >> ¡ð Title [] ¡ú [Nesis servant]


    _______________________________________________________________


    ¡¸¡­¡­¡­¡­¡¹


    I have this extreme urge to throw the cup in my hand with all my might.


    I repeatedly breathed many times, suppressing the urge to go ballistic.


    ¡°¡­ It¡¯s okay. The title can be changed anyway¨C¡°


    _______________________________________________________________


    >> The title [Nesis Servant] cannot be changed.


    _______________________________________________________________


    No matter how many times I tap, the title selection screen does not appear.


    ¡°¡­ Gugigi !!¡±


    I barely bite the curses behind my teeth.


    And the cup shook as if to ridicule me.


    ¨CPan !!


    The cup burst into pieces while in the palm of my hand.


    ¡°The next time we meet; I will remember¡­¡±


    Tears of blood-filled heart and I will make Nesis feel the full extent of my grudge with all my might.


    With my failure to set my title, I tried to sleep.


    However, I suddenly think again and sit down on my bed.


    Even if I¡¯m angry, sleeping like this is unproductive.


    So I decided to turn my unfocused anger into pre-sleep magic training.


    ¡°[Lighting] [Lighting] [Lighting]¡­¡­ Ku, my eyes!¡±


    I cast the spell on the futon more than usual, and I had to close my eyes.


    I erased the excessive [Lighting] that was cast hastily.


    ¡°Hmm. If there is any good way ¡­ That¡¯s right. There¡¯s [blind]!¡±


    [Blind] is a dark magic that has the effect of blinding the opponent¡¯s eyes.


    As a test, I used [blind] on myself.


    ¡°It¡¯s dark ¡­ or am I just blinded?¡±


    I don¡¯t know if my optic nerve is blocked and I can¡¯t see it, or if my eyes are covered with ck mist and I can¡¯t see through it.


    I cast [lighting] in front of me.


    ¡°Hmm? Does it look like there¡¯s a little light shining through? Okay, this is¨C!¡±


    I put [Lighting] in the futon one after another on the other side where no one might notice.

 Chapter 42: Lighting trap

    <h4>Chapter 42: Lighting trap</h4>


    Support the trantor onzytrantion


    ~3rd Person Perspective~


    ¡±Toru, are you still awake?¡± (Esther)


    She knocked twice but Toru was still absorbed in [Lighting].


    However, Toru is absorbed in the sight in front of him and does not notice anything.


    ¡°Toru? Somehow your window was shining ridiculously, thendy told me¡­¡± (Esther)


    Toru didn¡¯t even notice the repeated calls to him,


    ¡°Gyaaaaaaa !!¡± (Esther)


    ~Toru¡¯s Perspective~


    Hearing Esther¡¯s scream, I became aware of my surroundings.


    ¡°What, Esther!?¡±


    ¡°My eyes, my eyes!¡± (Esther)


    I hurriedly erased the [Lighting].


    Looking back, Esther was rolling around on the floor, hiding her eyes behind her hands.


    It took a while for Esther to settle down.


    She was able to see, but she was tearing up, perhaps because of the impact of the strong light.


    ¡°Toru. My eyes are tearing up¡­¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I never thought that people woulde into the room ¡­¡±


    I know it¡¯s just a sh of light, and Esther is the one troubled she¡¯s tearing up continuously.


    ¡°Why are you using a [blinding sh] in the room?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Me, I¡¯m not using a [blinding sh]. I used [lighting].¡±


    ¡°Your joke is too much Toru. You can¡¯t blind people¡¯s eyes with [lighting].¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Ah ¡­ yeah. No, it¡¯s really not [blinding sh]¨C¡°


    With that said, I pointed to the futon.


    ¡°I always put [lighting] on the back of the futon before going to sleep.¡±


    ¡°Why are you doing such a pointless thing? Don¡¯t you know [lighting] is used to illuminate dark ces, not to apply it on a futon.¡± (Esther)


    ¡¸¡­¡­¡­¡­¡¹


    I was forced to swallow my words after being cut by Esther.


    I can¡¯t even feel the urge to object.


    ¡°I see. In Toru¡¯s old world, do you all sleep with lights on your futon?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°No, we don¡¯t.¡±


    People of Earth don¡¯t sleep on shining futons.


    I immediately corrected Esther¡¯s misunderstanding.


    ¡°I used [lighting] to train my magic indoors. And one more thing. Esther, look at this.¡±


    ¡°Mmm?¡± (Esther)


    With that said, I used [blind] on me and Esther.


    Esther raised her voice slightly in response to the [blind] but soon regained herposure, probably because the caster was me.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to start; I¡¯m going to cast [lighting] on the futon ¡­¡±


    I cast [lighting] on the futon one after another.


    Then, when the [lighting] exceeded 100 simultaneous casts, the futon gently lifted into the air.


    ¡°eh!?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what the reason is, but when I put [lighting] on top of each other multiple times, the futon floats.¡±


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    Through the [blind], the futon can be seen floating in the air with the bottom side is shining.


    When I discovered this phenomenon, I began wondering how far I could make it fly, and I became quite absorbed in it.


    Thanks to that, Esther¡¯s eyes were almost blinded¡­


    ¡°If you make a slight change in the cing of [lighting]¡±


    When I put some [lighting] on the side of the futon, the futon floating in the air began to rotate sideways.


    A shining futon that floats in the air and spins around.


    Esther watched the scene unfold.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t really understand.¡±


    Light has no mass.


    No matter how strong the light is, there should be no force to make it move anything.


    However, the floating spinning futon moved only using [lighting].


    In other words, unlike natural light, some kind of force on the light is created by magic.


    However, I am not a magician and could not understand what the force was.


    When she saw the futon floating in the air, Esther was initially disappointed, but after that, she cleared her throat and opened her mouth and my tension cooled.


    ¡°¡­ well, that¡¯s amazing, Toru. But ¡­ well, if you just want to make the futon float, wouldn¡¯t it be easier using wind magic?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Ugu¡±


    Esther¡¯s theory pierces my chest.


    Certainly, what she said is correct.


    The futon can be easily lifted using wind magic.


    Furthermore, wind magic is overwhelmingly more efficient than using hundreds of [lighting]


    But!


    I didn¡¯t just want to make the futon float.


    I wanted to float the futon using the power of light.


    It is a man¡¯s romance that brings together things that seem impossible and makes the impossible possible.


    ¡°Well, I understand the passion, and I know it¡¯s amazing that the futon floated using [lighting]¡­ But it¡¯s midnight now. And it seems that other guests areining about the light leaking out, so it¡¯s a little too much. Please do it in the morning. ¡°


    Even if I waved his fist and emphasized the romance to Esther, my passion was not transmitted to Esther.


    ¡ð


    The next day. I was told off by thendy about the [lighting] party at midnight. I was about to head towards the guild with Esther.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you do things like a normal person!?¡±


    The proprietress was annoyed because other guestsined about [lighting].


    However, I intend to stay and act normal.


    [lighting] is not prohibited by the inn¡¯s regtions, and it does not make any noise.


    The only thing I shouldn¡¯t do is that my room is too dazzling.


    (Let¡¯s practice after blocking the windows properly so that noints wille out this time!)


    ~3rd Person Perspective~


    Toru is someone who wouldn¡¯t just noticemon sense once he¡¯s set his mind to it though.


    Toru and Esther went to the guild and immediately heads towards the counter.


    ~Toru¡¯s Perspective~


    ¡°Good morning, Toru-san! ¡­ and Esther-san. What kind of business do you have today?¡± (Marie)


    ¡°¡­ Toru-san?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I don¡¯t know, don¡¯t look at me.¡±


    Esther¡¯s eyes looked a bit gloomy because of the different ranks of Marie¡¯s response.


    I can¡¯t help but shake my head as she looks at me with grudge-filled eyes.


    I have no idea about the difference in Marie¡¯s response.


    ¡°¡­ I received the request yesterday, but I came to report it because it waspleted.¡±


    I handed Marie a piece of paper with the Holy Seal stamped on it.


    Staring at the stamped seal seriously Marie said,


    ¡°¡­ No doubt. This is the Holy Mark of Nesis. I didn¡¯t think it would be cleared in just a day. How did you find the Nesis Church?¡± (Marie)


    ¡°Hmm. We don¡¯t even know how we did it.¡± (Toru)


    All I know is we just walked hoping to reach Nesis Church.


    However, Toru must be wondering if he could not reach the church even if he used the road again.


    ¡°After all, it¡¯s just a god of fate, so I guess I can¡¯t reach it unless the ties are connected. I¡¯ve confirmed the sacred seal, so I¡¯llplete the request. Mr. Thor, Mr. Esther, and the guild card. I will keep it. ¡°


    After Marieputed the points forpleting the request to the guild card. She handed a hemp bag about the size of a purse to me.


    When I looked inside, there was definitely a gold coin in it.


    It¡¯s a lot of money that doesn¡¯t match the size of the bag.


    ¡°Ester. I¡¯ll give you your halfter.¡±


    ¡°OK¡± (Esther)


    I put it in the [inventory]-pretending to just pocket the money.


    ¡°Thispletes the request. Is there anything else?¡± (Marie)


    ¡°No. Thank you.¡±


    Leaving Marie¡¯s table, this time we¡¯re heading to the request bulletin board.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Toru. Why don¡¯t we go to Simon¡¯s shop?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I¡¯m going to the store, but I¡¯m thinking of epting a request first.¡±


    I continued browsing the E-rank bulletin board.


    ¡°Look, when you get a new weapon, you need to give it an actual check, right?¡±


    ¡°¡­ I see. That¡¯s why we should get a good request to test the weapon.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Exactly¡±


    The good and bad characteristics of a weapon can be fully known after using it.


    So it was just the right step, I am not saying it¡¯s life-threatening if we don¡¯t though, so we scan the requests.


    ¡°Toru. Isn¡¯t this request just right?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I see, that¡¯s quite right.¡±


    I looking for a request and then Esther pointed to one request.


    Seeing the request, she pointed at, I was satisfied with her choice and nodded to her.


    Support the trantor onzytrantions

 Chapter 43: Aiming to Clear the Permanent Request

    <h4>Chapter 43: Aiming to Clear the Permanent Request</h4>


    There is no need to ept permanent requests.


    So Esther and I went straight to Simon¡¯s shop.


    ¡°Excuse me¡±


    ¡°¡­ Is it done?¡±


    When I entered the store, Simon, who was sitting in a chair next to the counter with arms crossed, opened only one eye and stared at me. (Oy!)


    His gaze was like a ghost¡¯s.


    His eyes are bloodshot, probably because he hasn¡¯t slept.


    ¡°Ah, about the sword I left yesterday-¡°


    ¡°Oh, I finished it. Check it out.¡±


    (Simon)


    Simon put the sword on the counter silently.


    His attitude was like being with a caged tiger. He was cautious and silent as he ced the weapon on the counter.


    I can understand how much he values his weapons.


    I immediately observe and analyze the sword on the counter.


    The brim is the same as that of a general longsword, which is straight and long.


    in and simple but sturdy. It is more reliable than the other borately decorated swords.


    The grip is carefully wrapped with rough leather.


    With this, even if the sword is wet the sword will not slip off your hand.


    ¡°Ester, try using it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, me?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°It¡¯s Ester¡¯s weapon, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± (Esther)


    Esther¡¯s cheeks are slightly flushed as she slowly pulled out the longsword that I made for her.


    ¡°Oh!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Um, this is amazing ¡­¡± (Esther)


    The de shined like silver or freshly fallen snow.


    Though most of the sword is a matte silver-white color, and only the cutting part of the de reflects the light like a mirror.


    ¡°It¡¯s much lighter than I imagined ¡­¡± (Esther)


    ¡°How about the center of gravity?¡±


    ¡°¡­ I think it is okay, but I can¡¯t tell until I use it.¡± (Esther)


    Esther looks at the longsword with a stern look.


    I hurriedly poked Esther¡¯s shoulder, she looks way too was fascinated by the sword.


    ¡°Esther, Esther!¡±


    ¡°Hmm, what¡¯s wrong with Toru?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the request and give the sword a test run.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right.¡± (Esther)


    Esther reluctantly put the sword back in its scabbard and put it on her belt.


    ¡°About the sword fee, how much is it?¡±


    ¡°10 silver coins are fine.¡± (Simon)


    ¡°Well, but-¡°


    ¡°Sonny bought a dagger of 10 silver coins. You remade it in my furnace. That¡¯s it, right?¡± (Simon)


    ¡°That¡¯s right, but please let me pay for the guard, the grip, and the scabbard.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s something I made for practice. Sonny, I can¡¯t give a sword without those.¡± (Simon)


    ¡°¡­ Well then, at least the usage fee for the furnace¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re saying I don¡¯t need it! Just put 10 silver coins out!¡± (Simon)


    ¡°¡­¡­Thank you!¡±


    Simon¡¯s words are very rude, but he¡¯s pretty much a good guy.


    I bend to his wishes.


    We went outside Finlis and arrived at the forest and immediately started searching for monsters.


    I received the standard ¡°Goblin Extermination¡± that was considered a permanent request.


    This opponent for this time is just right to test the performance of the sword.


    We entered the forest looking like we¡¯re just walking a dog, but we¡¯re hunting goblins. We¡¯ve been walking for a while, but we haven¡¯t encountered a single goblin.


    ¡°Hey, Esther. Goblins have a high encounter rate, right?¡±


    ¡°Is that¡­ a knowledge from your old world, Toru?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yeah, I guess so¡±


    Of course, there are no goblins in Japan. If so, such terrifying monsters would have been eradicated using modern weapons.


    Aside from that, my knowledge is more from games rather than Japanese general knowledge.


    Weak monsters should have a high encounter rate.


    Also, when I first encountered goblins, they were in a horde, so I thought we would find it easily once we entered the forest.


    However, it is difficult to encounter goblins.


    With this, far from testing the performance of the new weapon, the permanent request won¡¯t be cleared.


    ¡°Goblins are indeed monsters that you often encounter. If you¡¯re unlucky, you¡¯ll even meet a horde.¡± (Esther)


    Esther smiled bitterly while saying that.


    She probably doesn¡¯t want to remember the memory of when she was about to be killed.


    And at that moment. The sound of the grass rustling reached my ears.


    So I focused on the source of the sound.


    ¡°That¡¯s not a goblin¡­ what is that?¡±


    It wasn¡¯t the goblins that shook the grass, but a bouncy, transparent creature.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s slime.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Oh! So this is a slime.¡±


    It is the most famous genderless creature in Japan, familiar from ¡°Puru Puru, I am, Good Slime¡±. [Note: No idea what this reference is.]


    I carefully observe the slime.


    It has an oval shape like a Mizu Manju and a small core that can be seen in the center. [Note: Mizu Manju is those raindrop cakes that became a fad some time ago. Google-sensei has tons of images.]


    Its movement speed is slow. Sometimes slime bounces.


    (cute¡­¡­)


    ¡¸¡­¡­¡¹


    ¡°No, Thor. Pets are not allowed at the inn.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Ku!¡±


    Esther probably noticed my reactions and immediately stopped me.


    If she didn¡¯t stop me, I will absolutely return to the city with slime in hiding in my chest.


    ¡°¡­ Can slime be a pet?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Many citizens keep it because it¡¯s a monster that is beneficial to humans. Putting it in an aquarium to keep the water clean, and put it in a pond to purify sewage.


    Even Finlis has a lot of slime in the water supply, sewerage, and wells. The guild will is usually asked by the city to replenish the dead slimes.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Hmm. Slime is sort of a familiar.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. When poison flows into the river, slimes that hate that ande out of the water all at once, which is useful for early warning.¡± (Esther)


    It cleans water like a sea cucumber and reacts to poisons like a canary. [Note: Fun fact canaries are used in ancient times to detect poison in the air. Google-sensei has more info about that.]


    Slimes in Eargard are quite capable.


    Inspiring my cute animal-loving heart, I am quite motivated to protect and shelter the slime.


    However, Esther¡¯s eyes are unexpectedly harsh.


    I can¡¯t help but be sad and give up capturing this slime.


    I vow that someday, I will have a slime as a pet.


    ¡°By the way, Toru. I¡¯d like to hear an exnation¡­¡± (Esther)


    ¡°About what?¡±


    ¡°You see, that¡¯s ¡­ what is with the multiple


    [fireball] floating on your head!?¡± (Esther)


    Above Toru, there are currently 10 [fireballs] moving in a row above my head.


    Previously, the limit was 5, but thanks to my daily training, I can now control up to 10 simultaneous [fireballs].


    ¡°What the hell are we going to fight ¡­¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Those are for goblins.¡±


    But the goblins are nowhere to be found.


    Realizing that I feel a weight on my shoulder.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m almost perfect with the instant casting of [water ball], so you don¡¯t have to worry about a forest fire.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what worries me!¡± (Esther)


    Esther¡¯s shoulders rise like an angry cat.


    ~3rd Person Perspective~


    Unbeknownst to Toru, no one wants to approach a person or ce where a [fireball] is filled with magic power flying all over the ce.


    Goblins aren¡¯t a rare enemy, but is it because of him that they haven¡¯t been encountered for such a long time.


    Such a problem should have raised the issue.


    Unlike Esther, who is seriously thinking about whether to stop Toru¡¯s entricity,


    Toru was now thinking of a way to lure the goblins.


    ~Toru¡¯s Perspective~


    (Whistling is the standard action for attracting monsters, isn¡¯t it? But is whistling effective in this world?)


    ¡°Ester. Is there any way to lure goblins?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothingplicated. You can burn a special herb to attract monsters, but it¡¯s difficult to lure goblins only.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I see¡±


    ¡°Although it is not for goblins, there is a dog whistle that calls a specific dog breed and a dragon whistle that calls a specific dragon breed.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Hmm¡±


    I have been worried for a while, so I am leaving Esther for a while and is about to enter the bushes.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong Toru?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Just picking flowers¡±


    ¡°-!? I understand. Call me when you¡¯re done.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Thank you for understanding¡±


    After confirming that Esther has turned around, I hid behind the bush and summoned the skill board.


    I open the technique tree.


    (After all, it should have the skill of calling monsters ¡­ Then, I should find one?)


    If I don¡¯t get it, I won¡¯t know the effect. When I get a skill, it may not have the desired effect though.


    Nevertheless, I never intended to acquire that skill easily [whistling].


    _______________________________________________________________


    >> Skill points 11 ¡ú 1


    >> [Whistling] ¡ú [Whistling Lv4]


    _______________________________________________________________


    I¡¯ve returned to Esther while whistling lightly to check the skill.


    -Pee!


    Pee!


    -Hohokekyo!


    The whistling was in the tune of my favorite song.


    ¡°Huh. Toru, you¡¯re good at whistling.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Well, yeah¡±


    ¡°So why are you whistling?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I wondered if I could call a goblin with this.¡±


    ¡°Sure, you might be able to call something if you make a noise, but calling goblins seem farfetched.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll just try it.¡±


    The thought of using a whistle to call a goblin, it¡¯s not a great idea.


    The result is what can happen with [whistling Lv4].


    (At least I wish I knew in advance what I could do¡­)


    With that in mind, I whistled, imagining a sound suitable for calling goblins.

 Chapter 44: Wholesale Goblin Hunting

    <h4>Chapter 44: Wholesale Goblin Hunting</h4>


    I whistled, imagining a sound suitable for calling goblins.


    ¡°Gegage Gagega!¡±


    ¡°To-To-Toru!? Those sound like goblins talking!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s a whistle though.¡±


    ¡°Is there such a whistle!¡± (Esther)


    Like Esther, I was upset though I¡¯m not showing it on my face.


    I just imagined the voice of a goblin, and I never thought that a simr sound would be yed through my lips.


    (Whistling skill ¡­ scary!)


    The goblin-like sound is produced by the quivering sound of my lips.


    By skillfully adjusting the firmness and opening of my lips, it is changed into ¡°ge¡± and ¡°ga¡±.


    When I imitate the goblin¡¯s voice with a whistle, my lips vibrate and feel weird.


    So I whistled many times, like a child ying with a brand new toy I¡¯ve never seen before.


    ¡°Gegagegagegagega!¡±


    As I continued to whistle, my [intuition] sensed the signs of arge number of creaturesing towards us.


    ¡°Oh, they came.¡±


    ¡°Hey, Toru. It looks like something amazing is happening!?¡± (Esther)


    Unlike me, who summoned [Magic Sword] and entered battle mode, Esther is a little too rxed.


    ¡°Ester you¡¯re pretty calm. Like nothings about to happen.¡±


    Goblins appeared one after another from the depths of the forest.


    We are now surrounded by hordes of goblins.


    However, I wasn¡¯t scared at all.


    I¡¯ve never been surrounded by goblins butpared to when I was in front of the Queen Rock Worm.


    There is an overwhelming difference between C-rank and E-rank monsters that cannot be ovee in quantity.


    Seeing that we are surrounded on all sides, I shot the [Fireball]s over my head.


    I annihted one sidepletely.


    After confirming that the [fireball] hadnded, I immediately cooled the area with [water ball].


    ¡°Ester, over here!¡±


    ¡°Ah, ah!¡± (Esther)


    I pulled Esther¡¯s hand and ran in the direction that was wiped off by the spells.


    There are no goblins there. What remained is empty charred earth.


    I also made a wall with [Rock Needle] and raises some more behind me.


    ¡°Okay, then Esther, let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°What now!?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this a trial run for your sword?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need such arge amount of goblins even if I do a trial run!?¡± (Esther)


    Esther screams pretty loud.


    However, perhaps because she felt danger, she pulled out the longsword and held it in front of her.


    ¡°I have a great idea. I¡¯m thinking of clearing the request and leveling-up at the same time.¡±


    ¡°Even so, this is too many¡­¡± (Esther)


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll fight with you and I¡¯ll do something about it.¡±


    It didn¡¯t seem much at all and I started subduing the goblins approaching us.


    ¡ð


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    ~Esther¡¯s Perspective~


    I am fighting alongside Toru who is cut down the approaching goblins in half.


    In the beginning, I counted one and two, but when they exceeded 10, I stopped counting.


    The new sword was veryfortable to use.


    The sharpness is terrifyingly sharp. I was able to split the goblin¡¯s body in two without using any force.


    Also, the sword was very light.


    I won¡¯t be swung around by the sword¡¯s weight even without using [Strength Enhancement], and no matter how much I swing, I feel like I¡¯m not getting fatigued.


    Before, I¡¯ve used 80% of my body strength to kill a goblin.


    However, now I can defeat goblins at about 40% of my strength.


    I am now able to fight for a longer period.


    I¡¯m getting goosebumps because the performance of the sword waspletely different from the swords I¡¯ve used before.


    I wondered how one weapon could make a battle so easy.


    However, the repeated action of cutting down the goblins attacking one after another began to wear out not my body but my mind.


    ¡°Gobu Gobu! Gegaga !!¡±


    When the number of goblins has reduced significantly, Toru immediately whistles for more goblins.


    The total number of goblins does not change like you¡¯re taking water from the ocean using a pail.


    ¡°Gobu Gobu Gobu Gobu ?¡±


    Also, Toru was pleased to learn he can whistle new goblin voices.


    ¡°Well, Toru. Aren¡¯t the number of goblins enough?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°A little more. Just a little more ¡­¡±


    I have already heard that line so many times.


    How much is his ¡°a little more¡±¡­


    (How long should I fight) (Esther)


    I feel myself losing my will as the endless goblin subjugation took ce.


    ¡ð


    ~Toru¡¯s Perspective~


    The forest is filled with goblin corpses.


    I was moving through the tall pile of goblin corpses.


    I was so absorbed in subduing the goblins in front of me I just continuously whistled.


    Of course, this is a life-threatening battle.


    I wasn¡¯t ying, and I was aware that I was killing goblins.


    However, I couldn¡¯t stop my desire for leveling-up because I felt my body bing lighter and my movements quicker as long as I continue fighting.


    This is the same as when I was ying games in Japan.


    When I find an efficient leveling method, Even if I was drowsy I kept on fighting until I fall asleep.


    Especially in Eargard, I am called an ¡°Inferior¡± person.


    If I find an efficient leveling-up method, I should improve myself as much as possible.


    It wasn¡¯t fatigue or drowsiness that stopped me from leveling-up though.


    Even if I whistled, there are very few goblinsing.


    I¡¯ve probably hunted most of the goblins nearby.


    I was forced to stop subduing the goblins because of inefficiency.


    I made a hole in the ground using earth magic, and goblins with cut ears are thrown one after another.


    Next to me, Esther with fish eyes was sitting on the ground and leaning against a tree.


    (We¡¯ve hunted quite a bit and I wonder if she¡¯s tired)


    I left Esther alone because she didn¡¯t respond after I talked to her several times.


    After collecting the ears, I piled up several logs on top of the goblins with the holes and burned them with using [fireball].


    The smell of burning goblins was so bad that I continued to blow air towards the sky with wind magic.


    When there was nothing to burn in the hole, Esther, who had regained some light in her eyes, finally stood up.


    Esther walked up to me and ¡°tapped¡± me on the shoulder.


    ¡°It hurts!? What? Why did you hit me?¡±


    ¡°¡­ No, somehow. I didn¡¯t have a word to describe what I¡¯m feeling.¡± (Esther)


    (???)


    I can¡¯t help but rub my shoulders think about Esther¡¯s iprehensible behavior.


    ¡°They¡¯re all burned to ashes.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Well, so we won¡¯t attract Rock Worms like before.¡±


    Rock Worm appeared in a shallow forest, probably because we left the goblin corpses after we killed the whole horde.


    Few monsters like to eat goblins.


    Still, so that there won¡¯t be a repeat ofst time, it is better to turn the corpses to ashes.


    ¡°Well then, I fill the hole ¡­ yeah?¡±


    After confirming that the goblins have beenpletely burned down, I am slightly fascinated by the objects remaining in it.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong Toru?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°No, I thought that thing looks familiar¡­¡±


    A pale yellow solid object remained in the hole.


    As expected, I don¡¯t want to get it right away, so I tried to pick up the object using a tree branch that had fallen nearby.


    ¡°Hmm. It¡¯s hard, but what is it?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it just goblin fat?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Eh.¡±


    I frowned at Esther¡¯s words.


    Looking at the goblin¡¯s remains, I wasn¡¯t convinced.


    However, for some reason, when I imagined that it was ¡°***** (forbidden object X)¡±, the disgust that I should feel when I saw the remains didn¡¯te. [Note: I don¡¯t know what this forbidden object X is.]


    ¡°Fat is really ¡­ Hmm, fat?¡±


    Then [Thought eleration] began to work at a high speed.


    My body was shaken to the conclusion drawn by .


    (Maybe this ¨D¨D¨D¨D !?)

 Chapter 45: Monster Soap

    <h4>Chapter 45: Monster Soap</h4>


    (-Maybe this is soap !?)


    I did bake the goblins.


    When I baked the goblins, I used logs to make the fire more intense.


    The minimum required materials to make soap is wood ash and animal fat.


    ¨D¨DI did have everything I need to make soap.


    But¡­


    A small part of me is sounding a warning bell.


    ¡°Is it really beautiful? ¡°


    On the contrary, if it is an evil soap that spreads the smell of goblins, it is just in harmful. It shouldn¡¯t see the light of day and be buried immediately.


    ¡°Hey, Esther. Do you sell soap in Finlis?¡±


    ¡°Soap ¡­ Oh, that product is just for aristocrats.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Hey ¡­ Is it really such a high-ss product?¡±


    ¡°I think it was sold for 5 silver coins.¡± (Esther)


    (¡­)


    Five silver coins ¡ª in soap is priced at 50,000 yen¡­


    ¡­¡­ It¡¯s a waste to bury it without checking!


    I showed the spirit of Mottainai peculiar to Japanese people, quickly fished the soap from inside the hole. [T/N: No direct trantion I think. But it just means ¡°what a waste¡±. It¡¯s sort of simr to being frugal but more. I think as an Asian we all have this trait. Like every penny counts and another man¡¯s trash is another man¡¯s treasure. So on and so forth. Google sensei might be able to give better examples.]


    I poked it with a stick and smelled it.


    ¡°¡­ Hmm, it smells like unscented soap.¡±


    The scent is slightly oxidized and oily.


    The quality is poorpared to the ones used in Japan.


    However, the raw material is goblins.


    It is enough for it to not smell like goblins.


    ¡°I wonder how much dirt will be removed using this.¡±


    I cut the soap to pieces with [magic sword] and threw it into the [inventory].


    After that, I filled the hole and offered a small prayer. Then I looked at Esther.


    She is moist with sweat, since we¡¯ve just finished fighting, but she sttered with blood.


    I, on the other hand, am drenched with blood. Likest time, there is also stuff other than blood that I don¡¯t really know and don¡¯t want to know.


    ¡°¡­ Hey, why is Esther so beautiful?¡±


    ¡°What!? Toru, you I-idiot. What are you suddenly saying!!¡± (Esther)


    After listening to me, Esther¡¯s ponytail jumped straight up like a cat¡¯s tail.


    She blushed and her gaze wandered sideways.


    ¡°Because you¡¯re not sttered by goblin blood and all that. What kind of skill did you use?¡±


    ¡°¡­ Eh? Ah, what the hell do you mean¡­ huh?¡± (Esther)


    Esther suddenly looked tired and sighed.


    ¡°The reason I don¡¯t get sttered by blood is because I¡¯m thinking about how I sh and where I am. Rather, I wonder why Toru¡¯s swordsmanship is so bloody.¡± (Esther)


    Esther is probably right to wonder about that.


    I did not have this ability from the beginning. I acquired it and quickly raised the skill level using the skill board.


    The experience and knowledge that should have been with someone with my skill level are missing.


    ¡°I just thought that if I defeat a lot of monsters, I would get sttered with blood, but apparently, that¡¯s not the case.¡±


    ¡°If you get drenched in blood, your hands will be slippery, and if you get it in your eyes, your vision will be impaired. You shouldn¡¯t get drenched on the battlefield. But you¡­¡± (Esther)


    Esther made a difficult expression while stopping mid-way


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    ¡°There is one senior adventurer in Finlis who doesn¡¯t bother getting blood-soaked. That adventurer¡¯s specialty is a mace though. Since their way of fighting is different from Toru you do not have to be like them, getting blood-soaked all the time.¡± (Esther)


    A mace is a blunt weapon simr to a club.


    Certainly, when using it to bludgeon a monster to death it is difficult to avoid stters.


    This is because the stronger the force, the more the smashed area will ¡°explode¡±.


    ¡°It¡¯s an area for improvement.¡±


    As expected, if I get bloody every time I fight a monster, I won¡¯t have enough clothes.


    Also, I am by no means the type that can tolerate being dirty. Ever since I lived in Japan, I have been conscious of my personal hygiene and cleanliness as a functioning member of society.


    I thought that it was unavoidable to get bloody when fighting with monsters. But it¡¯s avoidable, so I shouldn¡¯t always have to be bloody.


    From now on, I vowed to think more and more about my performance during battle.


    ¡ð


    ~3rd Person Perspective~


    An adventurer was drinking ale at the guild¡¯s bar. Then two adventurers appeared from the guild entrance.


    One is a very beautiful young woman. The adventurer at the bar wanted to get closer to the pretty adventurer.


    But the other adventurer with the girl was a boy.


    ¡°¡ªWhat?!¡± (Adventurer from the bar)


    As soon as he saw the boy, the man downed his ale immediately.


    The boy is smeared with blood all over making him look like an overly ripe tomato.


    Other adventurers who were also drinking at the bar noticed his strange appearance.


    The murmuring among the adventurers spreads.


    ¡°That kid was fromst time¨C¡± (Random Adventurer)


    ¡± Yeah, he was on a roll¨C¡± (Random Adventurer)


    ¡°I¡¯m sure he was an Inferior.¡± (Random Adventurer)


    He¡¯s an Inferior


    The man smiled distortedly at the words of the adventurers he heard.


    The man clearly remembered the ¡°bloody¡± adventurer and imagined that boy was quite the ridiculous creature.


    But if the boy was an Inferior, he doesn¡¯t have to be afraid.


    Inferior people are a group of people with very low fighting power.


    If he¡¯s an adventurer, it¡¯s probably because of the support of the woman next to him.


    Leaving his mug of ale, the adventurer quickly stood up.


    He is a man who is more suitable to that beauty than some unknown Inferior.


    I don¡¯t know why that beautiful adventurer is with the boy, but I¡¯m sure she¡¯s just being nice to him.


    Then, she should know.


    How wonderful it is to team up with a strong adventurer¡­


    ¡°Hey, boy.¡± (Adventurer from the bar)


    The adventurer called out to the tomato-boy.


    But the boy doesn¡¯t nce at him. He gotpletely ignored.


    The boy¡¯s attitude causes the adventurer¡¯s blood to rise to his head.


    No matter how low-ranked, the adventurer is an E-ranker ¡ª he¡¯s a great adventurer.


    It is quite annoying that he was being ignored by an Inferior.


    (After all, it seems that I have to do my best to show you your position!) (Adventurer from the bar)


    The man clenched his jaw and swung his fist from behind the boy with all his might.


    The next moment


    ¡°¨CHuh?¡± (Adventurer from the bar)


    *Bitaan*, the adventurer had his back on the floor. [T/N: Bitaan another sound effect for falling stuff]


    The pain gradually spreads to across his back.


    It is hard to imagine that his attack was evaded by an Inferior.


    Then¡­


    The adventurer had no idea what had happened to him.


    The adventurer was stunned for a while.


    ¡°What are you doing in the guild?¡± (Voice)


    Then he heard a deep gut-wrenching voice.


    This is the voice of Graf, a former C-rank adventurer, a trainer belonging to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.


    As soon as the voice is heard, the adventurer stands up quickly.


    Fortunately, he wasn¡¯t seriously injured, with only a slight backache.


    Graf red at the man who stood up.


    ¡°¡­I hate dealing with bastards.¡± (Graf)


    ¡°What? No, I¡¯m not¨C¡± (Adventurer from the bar)


    ¡°Is it an excuse to attack other adventurers in the guild? Hmm, I have to crush that hubris at the root.¡± (Graf)


    ¡°No, eh, hey, wait¨C¡± (Adventurer from the bar)


    ¡°Shut up! Follow me quietly!!¡± (Graf)


    Graf, who had a demon-like appearance, couldn¡¯t let him spout excuses, and the adventurer was dragged.

 Chapter 46: Crush the Bright Red Tomatoes!

    <h4>Chapter 46: Crush the Bright Red Tomatoes!</h4>


    Immediately after entering the guild, I got entangled with a strange adventurer.


    For some reason, an adventurer suddenly attacked from behind me with his fists.


    Fortunately, the man wasn¡¯t ¡°serious¡±.


    Once the other party started to move, I responded just in time.


    It¡¯s probably thanks to me having acquired [Aikido], I was able to neutralize the other party without hurting him.


    If I injured the other party, I would be reported again.


    I stroked my chest in relief, d that I acquired [Aikido].


    ¡°¡­ Toru, what¡¯s with that guy?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Can we just go?¡±


    Esther asked, but I don¡¯t know what to say.


    As I was thinking about what to do, the man was immediately taken to the training ground by Graf-san, who appeared and grabbed the guy by the neck.


    Looking at Graf-san, who looks like a Hannya, I felt quite sad on behalf of the adventurer, I will pray for him to leave the training ground peacefully. [T/N: A Hannya is one of those demon masks on Japanese anime and manga. Google-sensei has it covered.]


    I noticed that I was standing in the guild, so I went to the guild reception counter.


    ¡°Hey!?¡± (Marie)


    When I put a bag full of ears on the counter, Marie¡®s face suddenly changed into surprise.


    ¡°Ah, what is this?¡± (Marie)


    ¡°Goblin ears. We took the goblin subjugation request.¡±


    ¡°Well, I see ¡­¡± (Marie)


    Little did I know, Marie, who received the proof of subjugation from me, was screaming inwardly.


    ~Marie¡¯s Perspective~


    (Why is the proof of goblin subjugation in such a huge sack!?) (Marie)


    The jute bag that was handed over wasrge enough I could fit inside it.


    And the bag is inted like a meat bun.


    Some parts of the bag were leaking blood and some have ears trying to poke out.


    I¡¯m having trouble opening the sack. There are probably goblin corpses inside and not just ears.


    And above all, Toru himself is drenched in blood like some terrifying creature.


    (My belief in his ability is to the extent that he would probably never receive any injury, no matter how blood-soaked he is.) (Marie)


    I¡¯ve prepared myself, so I opened the mouth of the jute bag.


    (¡­)


    A lot of bloody ears, ears, ears ¡­ never-ending ears inside the bag.


    I silently closed the mouth of the sack.


    ¡°Fu ¡­¡± (Marie)


    I took a deep breath to calm my heart that is about to fly off my chest.


    I took in everything.


    No doubt this scene will visit meter in my dream!


    Since bing a receptionist, I have experienced some ¡°events that I never want to experience again¡±.


    Purchase of corpses of monsters that have been torn apart, and magic stones that are slimy with blood.


    The worst thing was the appraisal of a ¡°material¡± (ording to adventurers) that waspletely infested by insects. It was certified garbage and incinerated grudgingly.


    I have experienced such events thought to myself.


    (Congrattions Toru. Starting this moment, this ear bag is number one¡­) (Marie)


    Oh well, business is business.


    Toru has never harassed me (if he ever harasses me, please forgive me for a p or two), but he¡¯s doing what he¡¯s just doing what an adventurer should do.


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    I reluctantly scrutinized the ears.


    ~Toru¡¯s Perspective~


    I watched Marie¡¯s work over the counter until she was done analyzing the subjugation proofs.


    Suddenly in the middle of the analysis, Marie, who was counting ears, began to tear up for some reason.


    What is happening to her? The thought was puzzling me.


    There must be some deep meaning with her tears.


    ¡°Thank you very much for your patience.¡± (Marie)


    After the analysis, Marie, whose eyes were now bright red, presented a piece of paper with the results to me.


    There were 136 goblins subdued goblins on the paper.


    ¡°Oh, I hunted quite a bit.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right ¡­¡± (Esther)


    In contrast to me, who is rejoicing, Esther seems to be quite dull today.


    For a permanent request on subduing goblins, you can get 4rge bronze coins (40 gardes) for every 5 hunted.


    Since there are 136 animals this time, the number is rounded down to 27 units. The total was 1080 Gard.


    ¡°I made a lot of money in one day. It¡¯s a very profitable request to subdue goblins!¡±


    ¡°Disagreeable¡­¡­¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Truly¡­¡­¡± (Marie)


    Esther and Marie are mumbling something at myment.


    Unbeknownst to me, the inner thoughts of the two women seem to be in agreement.


    (Because there is no other person who hunts like this!!) (Marie & Esther)


    The number of my achievements were abnormal in the eyes of people.


    I left the guild after receiving a jute bag containing 10 silver coins and 8rge bronze coins.


    I went to the public well.


    Then I took out the soap from my <inventory> and washed-off the blood of the goblins on my clothes.


    Goblin blood flows into the sewage ditch along with the soap bubbles.


    ¡°Oh, a lot of it is getting removed! This is quite effective.¡±


    I didn¡¯t aim for this at all, but I was whistling while washing my body. This due to the joy of getting a usable soap for free by chance.


    ¡°Gobu Gobu Gobu Gobu ?¡±


    ¡°Toru, please have mercy and don¡¯t use that whistle in the city¡­¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Oh, does Esther also want to use this soap?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yeah? It probably seems dirty¡­¡±


    The original material is goblins, no matter how much dirt is removed you stillthered yourself with goblin fat.


    Even Esther, who is ustomed to adventure, doesn¡¯t feel like going out.


    While imitating a goblin¡¯s voice, I wash away the goblin¡¯s blood using the soap made from goblins.


    Seeing such a profane scene, Esther sighed deeper and deeper.


    ¡ð


    I continued to subdue goblins the next day.


    The reason was simple, the experience gained was a lot.


    >> Level 21 ¡ú 25


    >> Skill points 1 ¡ú 41


    Currently, no matter how much I am surrounded by goblins, I cannot feel any threat.


    Of course, I still have to be alert and careful, but I can subdue it much easierpared to rock worms.


    Besides, if I use a whistle, I can summon goblins as much as I want.


    Just standing quietly (although not truly quiet) I raise my level. It is just me alone who continues with this method.


    I am also learning about the proper way to fight without blood sttering back while dealing with goblins.


    Leveling is important, but fighting without being bloodsoaked is also important.


    It¡¯s good now, but eventually, the blood stters during the battle may backfire.


    Also, some monsters may have strong acidic blood or diseased blood that causes illness just by being exposed to it.


    There was no reason not to train stter-free swordsmanship.


    While subduing the goblins, I stand while avoiding getting blood sttered back.


    This is the first time I¡¯ve had trouble on the battlefield since I came to this world


    Even though I was quite good at RPGs. I was not good at shooting games from the first-person perspective monly known as FPS), so I was not good at moving around.


    Day after day, I returned to Finlis, looking like a bright red tomato.


    ¡ð


    ~Luka¡¯s Perspective~


    Luka, who appeared in the guild, enjoyed drinking again after a long while at the bar attached to the guild.


    For some time now, I haven¡¯t been able to act as an adventurer because I¡¯ve been focusing on my activities in the service of the church.


    My main profession is still an adventurer.


    But the church is important, still working with the guild is equally important.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s been a long time since I saw you Big Sis!¡± (Voice)


    As I was drinking, a strange friendly male adventurer approached me.


    One of the best ales I¡¯ve ever experienced is ruined.


    From the attitude of the other person, I can see that they must have met me once somewhere.


    But I didn¡¯t recognize the male adventurer¡¯s face.


    ¡°Where did you go until now? I haven¡¯t seen you for quite some time.¡± (Overly friendly adventurer)


    ¡°I was doing a long request.¡± (Luka)


    ¡°Hey, I was worried that my Big Sis disappeared!¡± (Overly friendly adventurer)


    Other adventurers also noticed my existence because the man speaks quite loudly.


    ¡°Big sister! Big Sister!¡±, they alle calling to Luka one after another.


    I am a well-known adventurer here in Finlis.


    Perhaps because of that, a lot of adventurers talk to me that I can¡¯t enjoy the taste of ale.


    ¡°Luka-san, in fact, a neer has recently joined the guild.¡± ¡°Oh yeah, that tomato guy!¡± ¡°I feel a little good¨C¡± ¡°He¡¯s been violent against other adventurers!¡±


    ¡°Something he did the other day¨C¡± ¡°He¡¯s bad news!¡± ¡°He was squeezed by Graf!¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± ¡°How was Graf¡¯s loving guidance?¡± ¡°Die?¡± Then, let¡¯s go! ¡°


    ¡°He seems great even though he¡¯s an Inferior¨C¡± ¡°He kept hogging Marie and goes on a rampage!¡± ¡°By the way, he likes sds.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t listen to that story!¡± ¡°Luka-san please do something!¡±


    Words that I don¡¯t understand, whether it¡¯s all resentment, jealousy, or both, surround me.


    I drank a little more ale, but I was more than half drunk.


    I know I¡¯m weak to alcohol!


    ¡°-Oh, Luka-san, it¡¯s that tomato!¡± (Overly friendly adventurer)


    When I looked at where the adventurer was pointing, I could see a boy dyed in bright red.


    I remembered the boy¡¯s face.


    ¡°That boy is ¡­¡± (Luka)


    As soon as I remembered, I stood up quickly.


    Overwhelmed by my momentum, several adventurers tumbled about.


    ¡°Luka-san moved!!¡± (Overly friendly adventurer)


    ¡°This is a neer, I¡¯ll meet him.¡± (Luka)


    I start walking towards the adventurerughing quite loud.


    I swear in the name of Forcels, the god of justice, I will drop the hammer of justice on that boy!

 Chapter 47: Bloody Saint Luka

    <h4>Chapter 47: Bloody Saint Luka</h4>


    I entered the guild and sensed a strange presence from the bar.


    It was a strong presence that I had never felt before.


    ¡°¡­ No, I think I know this presence?¡±


    Where did Ist felt this¡­


    A woman with a strong presence came to me while I was thinking.


    ¡°You there!¡± (Luka)


    It was the sister I met at the Forcels Church the one who is quite rough and got way too close.


    She is still wearing her robe, but a magnificent mace hangs down her waist.


    (Wow, she smells like alcohol!)


    From her breath, as she approached, I smelled an alcoholic odor that would have gotten her in so much trouble with Earth¡¯s trafficw.


    Her face is also quite red. She¡¯s that drunk.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard stories from other adventurers. A sneaky man who dyed his body bright red and worked violently towards adventurers! I¡¯ll remind you of the power of justice in the name of God Forcels!¡± (Luka)


    ¡°¡­ !?¡±


    The woman points her finger straight at me.


    I was taken back by the strength of her presence.


    ¡°The evil tomato from the inferior sd!¡± (Luka)


    ¡°Who!?¡±


    After the woman said those mysterious collections of words ¡ª the adventurers who were watching us from the bar copsed all at once.


    They began to mutter, ¡°Damn, isn¡¯t Finlis¡¯s ultimate weapon useless?¡± Or ¡°She¡¯s too vulnerable to liquor.¡±


    What the hell is this¡­


    My shoulders slump in confusion and dismay.


    The woman looked even closer to me.


    Esther¡¯s eyes were switching between me and thedy quite rapidly.


    ¡°By the way, you. You visited the Forcels Church before, didn¡¯t you?¡± (Luka)


    ¡°Yes, yeah, that¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°It seems that you don¡¯t have enough power of justice! Here, I will show off the secret technique [thumb teleportation].¡± (Luka)


    ¡°No, thank you¡±


    I immediately withdrew, and the woman sadly dropped her shoulders.


    Next to us


    ¡°I think I¡¯ve seen it somewhere, that mace ¡­ Maybe you¡¯re the blood-soaked Luka?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m called that after being an adventurer.¡± (Luka)


    ¡°Oh! This might seem like the first time¡­ but we¡¯ve met once before, but let me introduce myself again. I¡¯m Esther. I¡¯m an E-rank adventurer.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Thank you very much. I¡¯m Luka, a C-rank adventurer.¡± (Luka)


    Esther bowed her head, put out her hand towards Luka.


    I tilted my head in confusion at what¡¯s happening beside me.


    ¡°Blood-soaked?¡±


    ¡°Oh, this person is a great adventurer who has risen to C rank while using a single mace. She only used that mace, and because of her fighting style, she was given the alias, ¡°Blood-soaked¡±.¡±


    It seems that Luka was the adventurer, Esther mentioned before, who didn¡¯t mind the blood stter.


    She is also C-ranker. Amazingly, she was a top-notch adventurer.


    Even if we¡¯re both blood-soaked, our positions are vastly different from each other.


    Having the real thing in front of me made me embarrassed that I was drenched with blood.


    ¡°I¡¯m Toru. I¡¯m an E-rank adventurer. Nice to meet you.¡±


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    ¡°Ah, you too? Oops, me too.¡± (Luka)


    Then she noticed our hands so Luka reached back.


    After shaking hands and exchanging greetings, Luka returned to the bar.


    ¡°Eh? ¡­ That¡¯s it?¡±


    What the hell was that?


    I was stunned while looking at Luka¡¯s back.


    There was something aboutints that¡¯s why she came to us¡­


    It seems that she forgot what she had to do because she was drunk.


    I have learned from my experience as a member of society that I will not be able to do things properly once I be extremely drunk.


    So I didn¡¯t snoop on why she approached us, but quickly got the request processed.


    ¡ð


    ~3rd Person Perspective~


    After the Blood-Soaked Luka withdrew.


    An adventurer is grinding his mrs.


    ¡°Even Luka-san didn¡¯t hurt him ¡­!?¡± (Overly friendly adventurer)


    The man is the adventurer who was previously thrown by Toru and tortured by guild staff Graf under the guise of ¡°Training.¡±


    To relieve the humiliation at that time, the man urged Luka, who was drunk, to put Toru in his ce.


    If he¡¯s dealing with a far superior adventurer, Toru would be nothing against them.


    He thought so, but unfortunately, the n didn¡¯t work.


    ¡°Damn! I¡¯ll hurt that Inferior somehow¡­!!¡± (Overly friendly adventurer)


    -I¡¯ll use every method. No matter what¡­


    Without being discouraged by failure, the man nned a new strategy.


    ¡ð


    ~Toru¡¯s Perspective~


    It took me a week to finish the Goblin subjugation until I was no longer blood-soaked.


    After all, techniques are not something that can be acquired overnight. [T/N: Unless you have a skill board.]


    During that time, my level gradually became more difficult to rise, and in the end, it did not rise at all.


    >> Level 25 ¡ú 30


    >> Skill points 41 ¡ú 91

 Chapter 48: The First Dungeon

    <h4>Chapter 48: The First Dungeon</h4>


    The next day, Esther and I departed from the east gate of Finlis along with the sunrise.


    Our destination is [re Light Dungeon].


    ¡°Nevertheless, Esther knew a lot about [ir Light Dungeon].¡±


    ¡°I was enthusiastic that I would eventually reach D-rank. I was preparing to be given a rank promotion quest at any time.¡± (Esther)


    Esther knew quite a bit about the details regarding [re Light Dungeon].


    She had gathered information in advance on all four types of quests that change each season, from the location of the dungeon, internal structure, and the boss that appears.


    I was just enthusiastic about being a D-rank adventurer this early.


    ¡°When did you collect the information?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s around the time I registered for the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Huh, it¡¯s a whole lot earlier¡­¡±


    ¡°Information is the best weapon for adventurers. Besides, senior adventurers are interesting. Just listening to them is a learning experience. Maybe because I was a new adventurer, the senior adventurers were kind enough to teach me!¡± (Esther)


    (¡­)


    Isn¡¯t it because Esther was a woman rather than because she was a neer?


    If a male adventurer is a neer and a female adventurer says, ¡°I want to know you,¡± everyone would be very confused.


    Anyway¡­¡­. I put my hand on my chin and start to ponder.


    If our party started collecting information for the first time yesterday, would the information be collected easily?


    First, the number of adventurers in D-rank is overwhelmingly smaller than that in E-rank or F-rank.


    Also, adventurers are pretty much self-employed. Other adventurers are peers, rivals at work.


    As our party moves up to D-rank, our rivals will increase ordingly.


    How many people would be willing to give the information they have to possible future rivals ¡°free¡±¡­


    Especially for a quest like this, information is very important.


    If our party starts collecting information, the D-rank adventurers would have priced the cleared quest information.


    And if we had no choice but to purchase the information, the probability of gaining information was 25% at most.


    It¡¯s probably the reason why the quest that just requires going through the dungeon has a one-week grace period.


    (Maybe we cleared most of the quest without knowing it?)


    I am deeply grateful to Esther, who had gathered information in advance.


    [re Light Dungeon] was a two-hour walk from Finlis.


    At the foot of the hill, my jaw dropped, there was the entrance to [re Light Dungeon].


    It looks like a crack in the earth that was born naturally, but there was a staircase just after entering the crack.


    It can never be a naturally urring hole.


    The walls, ceilings, and floors inside were also covered with a hard material that didn¡¯t look like normal soil.


    ¡°Toru. Again, just in case, fire is strictly prohibited in the dungeon. Never use fire magic, okay?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I know¡±


    Esther carefully cautioned me.


    Of course, that is one of Esther¡¯s priorities apparently.


    [re Light Dungeon]¡¯s Ignition agent [re Light] can be obtained here.


    When you use fire magic here, you will be able to witness a scene like a big explosion at a fireworks factory in a special front-row seat. In exchange for your own life¡­


    So Esther is meticulously calling attention.


    Of course, I also don¡¯t want to suffer from a dungeon explosion.


    So, even if I use magic this time, I will make it so that there will be no danger of ignition.


    ¡°By the way, there are monsters in the dungeon, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. A dungeon produces monsters. In such a small dungeon, it will only produce a certain number of monsters, it will not increase anymore. And monsters do not go out of the dungeon.


    On the other hand, if it is arge dungeon, monsters will continue to be produced, and a phenomenon where monsters escape called a stampede will ur. In cities nearrge dungeons, sometimesrge subjugation units are formed to curb a stampede.¡± (Esther)


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    Immediately after entering the dungeon, Esther stopped.


    ¡°Toru. Can you see the trap over there?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Hmm? Ah, there is something there.¡±


    Esther pointed to the floor.


    At first nce, I don¡¯t know what she¡¯s pointing at, but when I observed it closely, the color of the floor was slightly different in only that ce.


    ¡°That¡¯s a trap.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Unlike the outside, there are traps in the dungeon, so be careful.¡± (Esther)


    Dungeons are not natural.


    It has a dungeon core with properties simr to magic stones, and it is a creature with an ecology simr to ¡°mushrooms¡± that has eroded the earth around it.


    Eargard¡¯s general view of the dungeon is that it is a structural creature that targets humans and devises ways to prey on them once they¡¯re inside.


    Aside from that, this trap wasn¡¯t created by anyone, but by a dungeon.


    When you go through a dungeon, you have to pay attention to such traps at the same time as a monster¡¯s attack.


    We avoid the trap we first discovered and proceeded to go deeper.


    Immediately discover a new trap and avoid it, but there is also another new trap¡­


    ¡°Hey, why are there so many traps?¡±


    I was quickly fed up with the number of traps that could be found just by walking after a few meters.


    I¡¯m wondering what¡¯s up ahead, but I can¡¯t proceed at all because of the traps. I wanted to go further faster.


    ¡°But this is what a dungeon is like.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°It¡¯s too much ¡­¡±


    ¡± As far as dungeons go, I guess it¡¯s just a matter of getting caught in one of them.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡±


    ¡°Usually, scoutse forward and disable the traps, but we have no scouts at our party.¡± (Esther)


    At our party, there are only two people, a swordsman and a swordsman who can use magic.


    Since there are no scouts, it is unavoidable that our walking pace not increase.


    Still, I am quite bothered.


    Is there a way to go faster?


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it good Toru? This is also part of the real thrill of capturing a dungeon. It¡¯s my first time exploring the dungeon, so let¡¯s enjoy avoiding traps!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Hmm ¡­ Hey Esther. How do scouts nullify traps?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. It seems that you can invalidate it by activating a trap, but I don¡¯t know the specific method.¡± (Esther)


    Ways for activating can be, in the case of a pit, by deliberately stepping through the lid, the scout knows the difference from other floors clearly.


    (¡­ Yes. Then I might be able to do it!)


    I came up with an idea so I immediately knead the magical power inside my body.


    ¡°And Toru. What on earth are you going to do? Fire magic¡­ why are you using it here!?¡± (Esther)

 Chapter 49: Proceed safely and comfortably in the dungeon!

    <h4>Chapter 49: Proceed safely andfortably in the dungeon!</h4>


    ¡°And Toru. What on earth are you going to do? Fire magic¡­ why are you using it here!?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I don¡¯t n on using fire.¡±


    After reassuring Esther in a quick, I held her hand and braced ourselves.


    The next moment


    ¨D¨DGarigarigarigari!! [Note: Garigarigari is an onomatopoeic word for crunching, scratching, and/or grinding sounds.]


    [Air Cutter] which I have expanded the range of effect, goes down the corridor while scraping the surface of the dungeon.


    After that, in the passage where the surface was scraped, the miserable appearance of the destroyed traps was revealed.


    ¡°What, what ¡­ what was that!?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°When I heard that scouts neutralize traps, I wondered if I could do the same using magic.¡±


    ¡°How is it the same!? It¡¯spletely different!!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°But didn¡¯t I disarmed the trap properly?¡±


    ¡°Is there anyone who destroys an entire passage just to destroy the traps?¡± (Esther)


    The scout aims at the trap and nullifies it.


    However, I am not a scout, so I cannot do delicate work.


    Since I have magic.


    Carpet bombing, if I scrape the surface of the passage cleanly, so won¡¯t all the traps be destroyed? That¡¯s what I thought.


    And as we can see, it was a great sess.


    ¡°This will go smoothly!¡±


    ¡°Oh ¡­ the real thrill of dungeon diving¡­¡± (Esther)


    Unlike me, who was excited when I was almost worshiping the entrance of the dungeon, Esther looked like her eyes rolled back and she became lifeless.


    As we proceeded while destroying the traps, my [Intuition] sensed the signs of a monster.


    Nodding with Esther¡¯s eyes, I summoned my [Magic Sword].


    Several monsters appeared from behind the corridor along with scratching footsteps.


    A flock of silver wolves.


    I saw those figures and


    ¡°¡­¡­doggy¡±


    I unsummoned the [Magic Sword] and used [Intimidation].


    suddenly,


    ¡°Hyaun?! ¡± (Silver Wolves)


    Silver Wolves suddenly stopped.


    Their tails tucked and ran away to the back of the corridor in a blink of an eye.


    ¡°¡­ Toru. Why did you let the Silver Wolves escape?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°No, because ¡­ isn¡¯t it pitiful?¡±


    Goblins can be defeated easily, but Silver Wolves are different.


    I like small animals, so I was reluctant to take their life.


    If I don¡¯t take their lives, it¡¯s better for me.


    ¡°Your opponent is a monster; you know?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°But ¡­ I can¡¯t help but think of Shiro who I used to keep!!¡±


    My eyes began to water.


    Shiro is a white fluffy dog that I picked up on the riverbed when I was young.


    Shiro was a very smart and friendly dog.


    I cherished Shiro and we grew up together.


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    However, it was on a very cold snowy day in Tokyo.


    I returned home from school and found the dead body of Shiro who had already died.


    When I remember the coldness of Shiro that I hugged, I can¡¯t help but cry.


    ¡°Oh, I understand. Don¡¯t cry because I understand.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m not crying!¡±


    With that said, I quickly wiped my eyes.


    ¡°But, Toru. Even if you drive it away, it will not be enough. Remember that you will pay for it in the future.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°¡­¡­all right¡±


    For the time being, Esther seems to allow my selfish actions.


    Regaining my focus, we went deeper into the dungeon, while shaving the passage.


    ¡°¡­ See?¡±


    (¡­¡­) (Esther)


    We reached the entrance of the dungeon boss while continuously destroying the trap. But I was pierced by Esther¡¯s gaze.


    In front of us, there is a ck door that seems to be made of iron.


    The item [re Light], which is the target item this time, is probably behind the door.


    However, we were stranded in front of the door.


    In front of that door


    ¡°¡± ¡°¡± Kuun ¡°¡± ¡°¡±


    A horde of silver wolves was lying on the ground.


    The Silver Wolves, who continued to be under the effects of my [intimidation], lost the ce to escape and was literally cornered to the far end of the corridor.


    The number was so high that there was no space to walk around the Silver Wolves.


    The silver wolves were looking up at me while ttening their ears.


    Seeing that figure, I imagine a fluffy scene where they escape one after the other. As my mind tries to escape from reality.


    ¡°Toru. Toru!¡± (Esther)


    But Esther doesn¡¯t allow it.


    Looking at reality, it strongly pierced my side.


    ¡°This is what resulted from Toru¡¯s actions. Toru should handle it responsibly.¡± (Esther)


    Esther¡¯s words are ruthless, but Silver Wolves are monsters ¡ª a creature that attacks and eats humans.


    As a result of scaring them away, they have been grouped in this area, so all the responsibility lies with me.


    It¡¯s good because we¡¯re in the dungeon now.


    However, if this is on the ground, the silver wolf that I had let to escape may be gathering and attacking the town without me.


    I summoned the [Magic Sword] and took a step forward.


    With that alone, the Silver Wolves whined as if to say, ¡°No more!¡±


    I bent over to look at a silver wolf.


    ¡°Who is the leader among you?¡±


    ¡¸¡¸¡¸¡­¡­¡¹¡¹¡¹


    ¡°The leader!¡±


    ¡°Hyaun !!¡± (Silver Wolf Chief)


    When Toru shouted, a silver wolf stood up vigorously.


    It stood up, but its waist waspletely weak.


    It was so scary that it became incontinent.


    I can¡¯t stand seeing it.


    So I looked at the leader who puts the group together and said while using [intimidation].


    ¡°Get everyone together and stand in a row by the wall.¡±


    ¡¸¡­¡­¡­¡­¡¹


    ¡°Now!!¡±


    ¡°kyan!!¡±


    All in all, a group of silver wolves, including the leader, began lining up on the walls of the corridor, with an agility that I would have been surprised in seeing.


    They are moving their front legs quickly, but their hips are stiff.


    It¡¯s an agile but stiff movement.


    Despite its despair, the silver wolvesplied with my orders.


    If they don¡¯t keep at it, certain death is waiting.


    It was the result of sessful survival instincts.


    Thanks to the silver wolf lined up along the aisle, the obstacles to our path disappeared.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s move on!¡±


    ¡°¡­ No, Toru. This is weird.¡± (Esther)


    Esther hung her head down as Toru energetically proceeded to the innermost room.


    ¡°I¡¯ve eliminated the obstacles, right?¡±


    ¡°No, it didn¡¯t mean it that way. I meant subjugating the Silver Wolves¡­¡± (Esther)


    Esther nced sideways at the Silver Wolf, who were hiding by the wall.


    The seen Silver Wolf reacts with ¡°Kyaun !?¡±.


    ¡°Well, will I die? Is it dead!?¡±, as if this was the monster¡¯s thoughts, their bodies shake in fear.


    ¡°Esther said. A dungeon basically produces a certain number of monsters, but unless it bes a big dungeon, it will not discharge monsters to the outside. Then, the silver wolves can be spared. I think it¡¯s a good monster.¡±


    As long as this monster is trapped in the dungeon, it won¡¯t bother anyone.


    Adventurers will appear from time to time, but unlike the townspeople and vigers who normally live on the outside. I¡¯m in the dungeon with the idea of possibly getting injured or dying, so I can¡¯tin if the Silver Wolves attack me.


    ¡°Uh ~~~ mu¡± (Esther)


    In response to my answer, Esther folded her arms and made a difficult expression.


    She¡¯s probably wondering how to argue.


    However, my argument is hard to contradict.


    It is possible to argue that ¡°you have to kill the monsters¡±, but that seems to treat life lightly, and Esther¡¯s personality may be suspect.


    However, it is also an uneptable idea in Eargard.


    Monsters are the enemy of mankind. They are an existence that is always ipatible.


    That is themon understanding of humans who grew up in Eargard.


    However, there are a certain number of monsters that can coexist with humans.


    For example, the slime.


    A monster that is by no means a human being should not be killed indiscriminately.


    Esther, who understands the reasoning, gave up arguing against me.

 Chapter 50: Flare Light

    <h4>Chapter 50: re Light</h4>


    When I opened the door, I found tworge dogs in the room.


    The dog was about twice as big as a Silver Wolf.


    ¡°Parents of the Silver Wolves?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the Wolf Chief.¡± (Esther)


    Esther answered my questions while readying her sword.


    ¡°It¡¯s a D-rank monster.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    Understand the strength of monsters in just a few short words.


    The opponents are D-rank. Both have the ability of a rock worm.


    I was cautious, but I still stepped into the room at the usual speed.


    ¡°Gurururururu! ¡°


    ¡°Toru¡­¡± (Esther)


    The wolf chiefs bared their fangs and attacked Toru all at once.


    Then the next moment


    ¡°¨Ceh¡± (Esther)


    Esther let out a surprised voice.


    Then, the sound of a wet bag echoed all over the room.


    The Wolf Chiefs who attacked that I had already been torn in halves and were dead.


    At the same time as I was being attacked, I had shed both of them apart.


    ¡°Toru. Weren¡¯t you unable to kill them?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°That¡¯s only for non-hostile dogs. It would be dangerous to leave such murderous dogs alive and lying around.¡±


    ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t understand your standards.¡± (Esther)


    Esther suddenly held her head between her hands.


    I thought my view is clear. I decide whether or not they have murderous intent towards me.


    However, the opponent who abandons his murderous intent due to [intimidation] will be left alone.


    Anything that has a murderous intent even when it is [intimidated] is an enemy.


    This is not limited to Silver Wolves.


    Goblins, if they were only affected by [intimidation] and forget about their murderous intent, I wouldn¡¯t have to kill them that much.


    The goblins were defeated and the wolf chiefs were defeated because they did not abandon their murderous intentions even if when I used [intimidation].


    Of course, small animals are to be cared for, but that¡¯s it.


    Whether or not there is a murderous intent, that standard is absolute.


    There is no salvation if you are killed as a result of kindness.


    Aside from that, I defeated two monsters that seemed to be dungeon bosses.


    All that remains is to find re Light.


    ¡°Hey, Esther, what kind of substance is re Light?¡±


    ¡°Since it was described as an undiluted solution before processing, isn¡¯t it simr to a liquid?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°When ites to that, is that all of it?¡±


    I found a liquid that slowly flowed down the wall.


    It had overflowed from the wall like sap and was slightly amber in color.


    When I approached it and sniffed it, the liquid smelled like gasoline.


    ¡°This is probably the right one.¡± (Esther)


    Esther took out a leather bag from her [inventory].


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    At the time of this request, it was a leather bag for a water bottle that was purchased in advance on the market.


    Pressing the mouth against the wall we collect the liquid.


    ¡°Now, I¡¯m finally a D-rank adventurer ¡­¡± (Esther)


    ¡°It¡¯s still early Esther. It will only be cleared once we reported it at the guild.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I know.¡± (Esther)


    We collected re Light until the leather bag was full, then we left the dungeon and quickly returned to Finlis.


    But at this point, we hadn¡¯t imagined that something wrong was happening in Finlis.


    ¡ð


    ~3rd Person Perspective~


    Lily, the shop owner of the magic book shop Lily, sensed something wrong even while she¡¯s inside her store.


    Her intuition has been sharpened by many years of studying. Had her sense the abnormality within Finlis.


    ¨D¨DWhat happened?


    Usually the apathetic person, Lily molded her magical power and performed a non-attribute magic.


    ¡°[Search ¨C Enemy] [Range Enhancement] ¡­!?¡± (Lily)


    At that moment, Lily couldn¡¯t utter a single word.


    The non-attribute magic used is [Search] that focuses on [enemy] and [Enhancement] that expands the spell¡¯s range of effect.


    Immediately after activating [Search], Lily felt a great deal of hostility.


    It¡¯s not just part of the city. It is within the entirety of Finlis!


    ¡°What is this?¡± (Lily)


    It was a moment when she waspletely stunned.


    Even with this, Lily has lived for many yearspared to humans.


    Before opening the store, Lily was working as an adventurer to improve her magic skills. Thanks to this, her [magic] skill has reached Lv6, which is called a special level, and she has be an unrivaled magic-user in Finlis.


    No matter what kind of opponent it was, she had the pride that she could defeat them by using magic.


    ¡°¡­ I won¡¯t let even one of your fingers touch my shop.¡± (Lily)


    Lily calmed down and took out her cane from under the counter.


    She went out of the store, with her in cane with novish decorations just enormous magical power.


    There was a picture of hell.


    It was a sight that Lily had never seen before.


    Arge number of silver wolves are running around the city of Finlis.


    The people who run away are hunted down by Silver Wolves one after another and are killed.


    The cobblestones of Finlis was already dyed bright red.


    She was quite surprised by the scene. Still, Lily uses the Wind Cutter to cut through the visible silver wolf one after another.


    Doing her best not injure anyone being chased or attacked.


    Defeating only the silver wolves with unrivaled spell control.


    But,


    ¡°¡­¡± (Lily)


    With Lily¡¯s power alone, it is like dropping water on a burning stone.


    The Silver Wolves that are inside Finlis is too outrageous to count.


    It beginner magic would barely make any difference if you use them


    Naturally, Lily has the ability to wipe out arge number of Silver Wolves at once.


    However, if she does that, the city and people will not be safe from her spell.


    Defeating the Silver Wolves while destroying the city and killing its inhabitants is the worst ending.


    Of course, she can also userge-scale magic that only targets the Silver Wolves.


    However, it takes a considerable amount of time to cast and mold her mana to activate it.


    The intelligence of demons is lower than that of humans, but they are not stupid.


    They are sensitive to those who are nning on doing harm to them. If Lily tries to userge-scale magic, there will always be monsters that would interfere while she chants.


    Large-scale magic cannot be used without someone guarding Lily.


    For Lily, the current situation was like fighting with her hands tied.


    At worst, she would only be able to save her store.


    So, Lily stands in front of her store and defeats all the Silver Wolfs with the determination to make sure none would pass.


    Meanwhile, she heard a loud voice.


    ¡°Good luck everyone! The power of adventurers is what is needed for this very day!¡± (Luka)


    The cheerful voice belonged to the C-rank adventurer Luka.


    Lily knows Luka very well.


    She is a talented mace user who has three attributes: light, water, and non-attribute.


    She was at a party around the city well.


    The group of adventurers is grouped together each has a sword drawn.


    ¡°We will protect your loved ones and your precious city with our power! In the name of Forcels, the god of justice, let¡¯s drop an iron gavel to these evil monsters!!¡± (Luka)


    ¡°Oh-oh!!¡± (Finlis¡¯ Adventurers)


    When Luka activated the Intermediate Judgement Technique [Judgement ¨C Call to Arms], the adventurers¡¯ fighting spirit rose all at once.


    Adventurers began to defeat Silver Wolves without minding the risks.


    That should be fine, Silver Wolves are E-rank monsters.


    If their status and fighting spirit are raised, it is an opponent who can be defeated even by F-rankers.


    But there is a boundary where quantity can ovee quality.


    The extraordinary numbers of monsters made the adventurer¡¯s counterattack not as effective as they hoped.


    Luka is watching the battles¡¯ situation by the well.


    While often shouting out instructions, she is simultaneously subduing monsters and rescuing citizens.


    She was showing the heights of being a C-rank adventurer.


    ¡°Hmm ¡­ it¡¯s working out better. I¡¯m relieved.¡± (Lily)


    The tide is changing due to the strenuous battle with Luka and the adventurers.


    At this rate, Finlis will not fall.


    Lily was convinced at that moment, but when she saw a Silver Wolf that had been cut using [Air Cutter], she noticed something.


    An amber liquid spilled out of the Silver Wolf¡¯s stomach.


    Seeing the color, Lily suddenly had a bad feeling.


    (That is from¡­ No way ¡­) (Lily)


    An answer appeared from Lily¡¯s memory, before that¨C,


    ¨D¨DDoon!! [Note: Explosion]


    The air around Finlis howled and shook.

 Chapter 51: Miracle of Finlis

    <h4>Chapter 51: Miracle of Finlis</h4>


    ~3rd Person Perspective~


    The air around Finlis howled and shook.


    The air vibrated, and at the same time, a bright red me appeared.


    ¨CDoo!


    ¨CDododo!!


    The mes exploded one after another, eventually igniting the buildings.


    It was only a moment when a fire broke out in the surrounding buildings.


    It was an unusual fire.


    ¡°re light !?¡± (Lily)


    Lily spat out while looking at the ¡°Silver Wolf¡¯s corpse¡± where the mes came.


    re Light which was extremely mmable filled the stomach of the Silver Wolves.


    When the number of Silver Wolves were defeated at a certain number, the fire magic used by someone ignited the re light.


    The result is as she can see.


    The surrounding area was surrounded by a sea of fire.


    Not only the buildings but even the cobblestones sttered by red lights are burning.


    No one can escape with this.


    ¡°Oh no, my ¡­ shop¡­!¡± (Lily)


    Lily¡¯s shop also couldn¡¯t escape the monster¡¯s mes.


    The mes that burned very strongly would turn Lily¡¯s shop into charcoal in no time.


    Lily¡¯s store was faster to burn than other ces.


    This is because the store¡¯s product was paper magic tomes.


    Lily tried to use water magic, but most of the products in the store had already burned.


    It¡¯s already toote.


    ¡°My¡­ items¡­¡±


    Many of the magic tomes that she has been working hard on collecting are easily burned down.


    Lily could only watch over such a scene without any means to solve it.


    ¡°Everyone, use the water from the well! Use the water to put out the fires!!¡± (Luka)


    Meanwhile, Luka¡¯s desperate shouts echoed.


    Hearing that voice, an adventurer who was confronting the monsters joins the firefighting activity one after another.


    A bucket ry extending from the well soon became a long line.


    Lily watched the scene in disbelief.


    Under Luka¡¯smand, an adventurer takes water from the well. In one corner of the well, a bouncing creature had started to weaken.


    The creature is shaking its body wildly.


    It stretched out its tentacles as if it was asking for help.


    Lily¡¯s thoughts, when her store was burnt were vague, but seeing the creature¡¯s actions caught her attention.


    (Is that the slime from the well? Why is it outside the well? And it¡¯s dying¡­) (Lily)


    ¡°¨C!¡± (Lily)


    Lily was looking at it seriously, but she realized a certain possibility and she gasped.


    Multiple scenarios and possibilities are spinning wildly in her mind.


    Even if it was possible to happen, is it possible that ¡°that kind of scenario¡± is happening right this moment? She¡¯s filled with an overwhelming feeling of dread.


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    But who would go that far?


    However, the more she thinks about it, the more she thinks it is possible.


    In the first ce, it is strange that a horde of silver wolves suddenly attacked Finlis.


    re Light in the stomach of monsters started to invade a city that should not be easily entered by suck=h monsters.


    If such scenarios are connected and the possible causes and the movement of people are considered.


    ¨CWhat is the possibility of the worst situation to happen?


    Convinced, Lily shouted in a hurry.


    ¡°Well, don¡¯t use that well water! That¡¯s ¡­ ku!¡± (Lily)


    However, the timing when Lily raised her voice was far toote.


    Lily suddenly became numb and she couldn¡¯t even make a sound.


    At the same time, people copsed on their knees.


    Well, water is pumped up and firefighting is being carried out on a bucket ry.


    The water thrown into the burning house evaporates due to the mes.


    The evaporated water vapor is breathed in by the people of Finlis.


    ¨D¨DWhat if poison was thrown into the well water?


    The inhabitants of Finlis are now copsing due to the vapors.


    Those who have lost their mobility are gradually killed by fire and the monsters.


    Whether they die by burning in mes or by being eaten by monsters, there is only one future.


    What a devilish scheme!


    Realizing the possibility of poison, Lily quickly refined her magical power in her body and increased her resistance.


    However, it is not getting neutralized at all she is continuously getting poisoned just by breathing.


    In front of the shadow of death who appeared, Lily could only clench her jaw in frustration.


    (I can¡¯t die like this¡­) (Lily)


    A B-rank adventurer who could defeat even a low-ranking dragon if she prepared properly would die helplessly from being eaten by silver wolves and getting burned by fire.


    What a pity.


    A drop of water suddenly fell on Lily¡¯s cheeks.


    ¡°¡­¡­Hmm?¡± (Lily)


    The bucket ry has already ended due to the poisoned vapors spreading.


    No one should be carrying water.


    ¡°Rain?¡± (Lily)


    The sky is covered by this terrible ck smoke is clear. There are no signs of rain.


    So what about these water droplets?


    The answer was reflected in Lily¡¯s eyes, which was filled with doubts.


    A boy who suddenly appeared before she knew it was pouring water from his palm toward the buildings where the fires were rising.


    When the water is being released, the burnt buildings are extinguished in a blink of an eye.


    ¡°Ah ¡­ I can¡¯t.¡± (Lily)


    Most of Finlis¡¯s buildings are made of wood.


    When a fire breaks out, it cannot be extinguished immediately even if it is doused with water.


    However, the boy¡¯s water quickly extinguishes the fires in the buildings.


    ¡°What is¡­ happening?¡± (Lily)


    There, Lily noticed that she was able to move.


    The numbness has disappeared from her body that couldn¡¯t move before!


    Raising her body and checking her body¡¯s senses.


    There is no doubt. Her body is cured.


    But how?


    Lily looked at her hand and her finger touches her cheek where the drops had fallen.


    ¡°¡­ No way, God¡¯s holy water!?¡± (Lily)


    Water blessed by God has various effects.


    However, using holy water does not mean that a powerful skill would work.


    The effect is only to support and improve any disadvantageous situation.


    However, the use of holy water in this scene was just at the perfect moment.


    The water¡¯s fire extinguishing power has been raised by the effect of holy water. One by one the fires are gone.


    Also, the spreading vapors of holy water neutralized the poisonous air that covered Finlis at the same time.


    Lily¡¯s neutralizing power overcame the poison, thanks to the clean poison-free air.


    Lily stands up and hits the stone pavement using her cane


    And the next moment.


    Dirty air was sent to the sky, and fresh air flowed into Finlis.


    ¡°¡­ clean¡± (Lily)


    Taking a deep breath of the clean air made her feel much better.


    Lily is no longerpletely giving in to the despair of her near-death encounter.


    Now, on the contrary, she was full of spirit, ¡°I will survive no matter what¡±.


    That should be it.


    But seeing a young boy who is sprinkling so much expensive holy water in front of her, she can watch silently as a person who lived for so long and as an adventurer


    (That boy¡¯s name is surely ¡­) (Lily)


    Lily immediately remembered and once again deeply imprinted his name on her chest.


    The only ¡°N¡± boy in the world.


    ¨Cnamed Toru.

 Chapter 52: Finlis Saved!

    <h4>Chapter 52: Finlis Saved!</h4>


    We were leaving the re light dungeon and heading for Finlis, noticed that ck smoke was rising in front of us.


    ¡°Hey, Esther. Does Finlis use smoke signals?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if the city uses smoke signals, and I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a smoke signal.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s too much smoke for a smoke signal.¡± (Esther)


    As Esther points out, there is too much smoke rising in the sky.


    When ites to smoke signals, the smoke most likely came from a fire.


    (Finlis has many wooden houses and it may be difficult to put out because it is quite crowded.)


    While thinking about such things, they walked toward Finlis without feeling any tension.


    I am an adventurer, not a firefighter.


    Mochies from a mochi shop. [Note: Mochi are delicious glutinous rice treats with fillings inside. From sweetened bean paste to ice-cream. Google-sensei has images that would make you crave one]


    Finlis should also have firefighters, and if there is a fire, it¡¯s best to leave it to the professionals.


    However, I changed my mind when I saw the outer wall of Finlis.


    The number of inhabitants outside the outer wall of Finlis is unusuallyrge.


    Besides, the atmosphere of the people outside was simr to wartime refugees.


    Some were lying down stained with blood, and others were crying on the chests of those who are nowying on the ground.


    Some are staring at the wall, and others are holding hands and praying towards the sky.


    This is not just any small matter.


    I thought and began to run towards Finlis with Esther in tow.


    ¡°What has happened?¡±


    I approached the outer wall of Finlis and asked the residents nearby.


    ¡°Its monsters. Monsters suddenly appeared in Finlis!¡± (Citizen)


    ¡± Monsters!?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s stupid! What was the gatekeeper doing when the monsters got in?!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s not the case. Maybe the monsters aren¡¯ting from outside.¡± (Citizen)


    ¡°Then where did theye from? If a monster enters, it¡¯s probably through Finlis Gate.¡± (Esther)


    Esther threw a suspicious gaze at the citizens.


    Finlis is surrounded by a thick and high wall to prevent monster attacks.


    If a monster tries to attack, it cannot enter because of the wall.


    Esther, who thinks that a monster has to go through the gate to get inside Finlis, is totally right.


    However, I looked at her.


    ¡°Maybe, but I don¡¯t think this person is wrong.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°That¡¯s because a lot of people are outside of the gate.¡±


    If a monster invades from the outside, it is dangerous to escape using the gate.


    Because monsters that can¡¯t fit through the gate may be waiting outside.


    Also, if a monster invades using the gate, they would be attacked by the monsters when they escape through the gate.


    However, many residents do not seem to be watching their surroundings.


    From this, it can be considered that there are no monsters outside, or that the monsters did note in through the gate.


    ¡°If so, where did the monstere from¡­?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Esther. It doesn¡¯t matter at this moment.¡±


    ¡°¨C! That¡¯s right. Let¡¯s go, Toru!¡± (Esther)


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    ¡°Yup!¡±


    We passed through the Finlis Gate at full speed with Esther pulling out her sword.


    Beyond the gate was just a picture of hell.


    People who have been bitten by their throats, people who have lost their limbs, people who have been burnt ck, lots of people, and many pitiful people¡­


    Perhaps they werete to escape, and when he saw a person dying while stretching his hand forward, I naturally felt the strength in my hand now holding my [magic sword].


    At that time,


    ¡°Toru¡­!¡± (Esther)


    Esther, who discovered a Silver Wolf, called out.


    The Silver Wolf was devouring a fallen corpse.


    In response to Esther¡¯s voice, I raised my sword with my face dyed red.


    It was at the next moment.


    The silver wolf¡¯s neck fell silently.


    ~Esther¡¯s Perspective~


    ¡°¡­ Toru¡± (Esther)


    Before I noticed, Toru left me and the head of Silver Wolf fell.


    I couldn¡¯t follow his movement.


    I am now at level 30 thanks to Toru¡¯s aggressive leveling.


    Also, as I continued swinging my sword against the goblins, my [sword art] reached Lv3, which is between an intermediate and advanced level.


    If it¡¯s just my status, it¡¯s a level where I can be ranked as a C-rank adventurer.


    Despite this, Toru¡¯s movement was so fast that I lost sight of him.


    My spine tingled at such an overwhelming movement.


    Is this really Toru?


    He knelt and bowed to the man who was devoured by the Silver Wolf.


    I saw his profile is and it definitely is Toru.


    However, he is totally different from the usual.


    It was an expression that I had never seen before.


    ¡°Esther¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°We may not be strong enough, but let¡¯s save this city ¡­ Finlis.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­Ah!¡± (Esther)


    While I was scared of the atmosphere around Toru, I thought, ¡°Toru that will cut a silver wolf,¡± is not normal.


    Esther finally understood the opponent Toru shed at.


    He is not defeating monsters with hate or madness.


    ¡°Whether or not his opponent has murderous intent¡± (Esther)


    The line is drawn clearly.


    ¡°It looks like there are quite a few monsters in Finlis.¡±


    ¡°Are the monsters onlyposed of silver wolves?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s better to move apart than to move together with their number.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± (Esther)


    Silver Wolves may be an overwhelming opponent for me.


    But in this situation, can I really do my best?


    Such anxiety is rushing through my mind.


    But Toru smiled as if he could even see beyond.


    ¡°Esther will be okay¡±


    Toru¡¯s words permeated into the doubt in my heart that had just opened.


    The words generate warmth andforted me.


    I was full of energy in an instant, nodded with all my might.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s go!¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Oh, it looks like the fire is raging, so I¡¯ll use magic.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, magic?¡± (Esther)


    When he lightly waved his finger, I felt a soft breeze.


    The wind circtes around me.


    I could only smell burning buildings before, but as soon as Toru used magic, the smell of smoke disappeared.


    ¡°This is ¡­ a wind barrier!?¡± (Esther)


    Some intermediate wind magic can interfere with arrows and magic.


    It is magic that the wind turns around the target person for a certain period of time and repels the attack.


    Did Toru use it?


    I opened my eyes in astonishment.


    Toru only bought beginner¡¯s magic tomes at Lily¡¯s store.


    I haven¡¯t heard that he has bought an intermediate magic book since then.


    Normally, new magic cannot be used without a magic tome.


    However, he used what seemed to be intermediate magic.


    ¡°Toru, that magic is¨C¡± (Esther)


    ¡°So Esther. See youter!¡±


    ¡°Oh, hey!¡±


    Before I even asked, Toru ran away at a terrifying speed inside the city of Finlis.

 Chapter 53: Dirty Water

    <h4>Chapter 53: Dirty Water</h4>


    After using wind magic to deflect smoke on me and Esther, I ran with all my might to a point where the enemy seemed to be crowding.


    The wind magic that I applied was a spur of the moment idea at that moment.


    It is smoke, and not fire, that kills people in most fire-rted disasters.


    It is dangerous to walk into the smoke-filled Finlis without taking any counter-measures.


    Then, I thought that if there was magic simr to the ¡°air curtain¡± installed in Japanese buildings, it would be possible to avoid inhaling smoke to an extent.


    The method of setting a target was taken from the spell [lighting]


    All I have to do is imagine the wind moving around and activate the spell properly.


    The result is a one-shot sess.


    If I imagine modern Japanese systems, magic seems to be quite sessful.


    Along the way, I shed at the Silver Wolves I found like they¡¯re scrap paper.


    There is no fragment of the warmth that I showed in the [re Light Dungeon].


    That¡¯s natural though.


    [re Light Dungeon]¡¯s situation is totally different at this moment.


    The opponent attacked humans and killed humans.


    There is nothing to overlook anymore.


    As I cut the Silver Wolves, I reached the center of the city where the fire was extremely fierce.


    It was the za with the city well that I had visited many times before.


    ¡°Wow, this is ¡­ what should I do?¡±


    The signs of Silver Wolves that I used to feel has almost disappeared.


    Even the Silver Wolves were consumed by the strong zing fire.


    What the hell is happening, not only the buildings but also the stone pavement is on fire.


    The strength of the heat is intense, and even though I am far from the fire, my skin hurts like I¡¯m burning.


    At first, I was thinking of releasing the [water ball] with the image of a fire engine hose.


    However, the zing fire is so strong that I cannot expect to extinguish the fire by me.


    Of course, I can produce arge amount of water with [water ball].


    However, if I try to produce arge amount of water, it will inevitably gain momentum.


    I am still uneasy about my control of the strength of my magic.


    I could imagine that I made an ident using [water ball] and wash of a huge area.


    ¡°What should I do ¡­ What should I do!?¡±


    I just want to avoid such a pitiful joke like a scenario that I can¡¯t do anything just by running wildly.


    Thinking, thinking, and thinking over and over, I remembered something.


    ¡°By the way, there was a lot of water that I didn¡¯t know where to dispose stored in my [inventory]¡­¡± [T/N: Coincidence?]


    When cleaning the Church of Nesis, I stored the umted water from the shelter inside my [Inventory].


    I was thinking of throwing it away somewhere, but Ipletely forgot.


    If you release it properly, I can extinguish the fire and reduce the volume in my [inventory].


    It¡¯s two birds with one stone!


    As soon as I thought of it, I immediately started to discharge water from my [Inventory].


    When I opened my [inventory], water flowed from inside.


    At first, it seemed that water wasing out of a faucet, but when I imagined the shape of the opening of [inventory] changing, the momentum of watering out increased and it spread far and wide.


    ¡°The effect is too weak if it¡¯s like this, so let¡¯s use wind magic to make the water droplets spread far away ¡­¡±


    Using [Air Cutter] with a dull de, the dirty water collected at the Church of Nesis ¨C the dirty water was spread out.


    Controlling it was difficult at first but it can now be manipted at will.


    The dirty water extinguishes the fire in no time.


    I didn¡¯t know what the reason was, but anything is fine as long as the fire goes out.


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    ¡°Gobu Gobu Gobu ?¡±


    While whistling, I kept on releasing the dirty water.


    Even a building with a raging fire can be extinguished easily by pouring water on it, so I was having quite a fun time.


    ¡°Oh, you are ¡­¡± (Voice)


    A memorable voice caught my ear as I was releasing arge amount of dirty water.


    As I turned around while extinguishing the fire, Luka, a C-rank adventurer, was near the well.


    ¡°Why are you here!?¡± (Luka)


    ¡°Why ¡­¡±


    Is it so surprising? I tilted my head in confusion.


    But I pondered again.


    I¡¯m sure that inferiors are usually thinking about saving themselves because they are weak and rarely at the forefront.


    (I¡¯m a kind person¡­)


    ¡°If Finlis is in trouble, I can¡¯t keep my silence, because I¡¯m an adventurer.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± (Luka)


    When the dirty water disappeared from my [inventory] and the firefighting activity waspleted, a voice was suddenly called from behind me.


    ¡°Toru!¡± (Lily)


    ¡°¡­ Lily-san?¡±


    Behind me stood Lily with arge cane that was a bit disproportionate to her small stature.


    It¡¯s like someone¡¯s child who is ying with her parents¡¯ weapons.


    ¡°Toru, how did you get that water?¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Uh!? Ah, that is ¡­¡±


    When Lily asked about the identity of the dirty water, cold sweat ran down my spine.


    ¨CDisgusting. This is very bad!!


    Maybe Lily is aware that I was using dirty water?


    Is it terrible to use dirty water for firefighting if you¡¯re about to dispose of any way in a near-death and dangerous situation?


    ¡°She might think I¡¯m making an excuse to dispose of dirty water¡±, and while cold sweat beads on my back, I wonder how to answer.


    ¡°Are you okay with using a lot of it?¡± (Lily)


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I didn¡¯t need it.¡±


    ¡°eh?¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


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    My answer made Lily stiff.


    (After all, Lily knows that I was disposing of dirty water¡­)


    I thought about it and decided to speak honestly.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Actually, there were so many of it, I was wondering where to throw them away.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a waste!¡± (Lily)


    ¡°eh?¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± (Lily)


    Something isn¡¯t right.


    However, I don¡¯t know what is going on.


    For the time being, it turned out that Lily doesn¡¯t know about my disposal of dirty water.


    So I decided to deceive her with all my might.


    (Maybe it¡¯s okay now. It¡¯s still at the right moment!)


    ¡°What are you doing Lily in such a ce?¡±


    ¡°¨CYes, the monsters. Toru, help me.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°If I can do it with my abilities¡±


    I replied to Lily¡¯s serious look without any hesitation.


    I am an Inferior. I know people don¡¯t usually rely on me.


    But if I am seriously asked for help, I can¡¯t help but answer their wishes.


    ¡°I will busy chanting okay.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    I gave my affirmative to Lily¡¯s words.


    I summon my [Magic Sword] and prepared for the attack of Silver Wolves.


    The eyes of the two who saw the [magic sword] were surprised.


    And in the next moment, Luka held her iron mace and watched her surroundings, and Lily held her cane in front of her.


    ¡°I wish¨C.


    From beyond time and eternity, illuminate the dark, uncover and pierce the darkness.


    The foolish ones who are dyed in evil and do evil. And the beings who fell into the abyss.


    With the power of your grand radiance, drop the hammer of vengeance from the heavens! ¡°


    Lily¡¯s wand, which she held up in front, began to float due to the saturated magical power.


    The cane gradually radiates white light.


    The light that falls from the tip of the wand draws a magic square under Lily¡¯s feet.


    When the magic square waspleted, Lily shouted loud.


    ¡°[Endless Bullets of Light ¨C Holy Rain]¡± (Lily)


    From Lily¡¯s wand, the strong light concentrated at the tip of the cane and shot towards the heavens.


    When the light has reached a certain height, it stopped.


    Then the light burst instantly, forming many bullets that rained on the ground.

 Chapter 54: Status Check

    <h4>Chapter 54: Status Check</h4>


    ¨CDododododo!!


    Light falls on the ground as if it were raining.


    The light avoided people, avoided buildings, and fell only on the monsters.


    The silver wolf who was targeted by the spell didn¡¯t have the time to scream, but it became a stain on the cobblestone road one after another.


    ¡°This is¡­ Limitless Lily. The power of a super high-ss magician, isn¡¯t it?¡± (Luka)


    Luka muttered while looking at the spell that was activated.


    The magic used by Lily is the highest level of magic that can be activated at Magic Art level 5.


    From there, Lily used multiple spells.


    [Search ¨C Enemy Monsters] [Range Enhancement ¨C City of Finlis].


    Defeating all the monsters she has grasped with pinpoint uracy.


    It¡¯s magic that can destroy an army by itself in a war.


    It was the ultimate magic that could only be done by a super high-ss magician.


    This was Lily¡¯s strongest trump card.


    Lily was so angry that she could easily stop the use of her trump card.


    Her store was burned and all its contents were burned.


    Lily lost almost everything she got in the demon attack.


    The anger seemed unlikely to subside unless all the Silver Wolfs that attacked Finlis were erased with her own hands.


    There is probably no monster that can avoid the light bullets that fall at the speed of light.


    After the end of [Holy Rain], the signs of monsters suddenly disappeared from Finlis.


    ¡°¡­ Wow¡±


    I was watching the whole performance of the spell, could only mutter in disbelief and awe.


    Lily¡¯s magic was so fierce that I thought the magic I was using was child¡¯s y.


    At the same time, I began to think.


    (I want to use this magic!!)


    From the magical power and techniques used, I don¡¯t think I can use it overnight.


    However, I want to be able to use this magic eventually.


    ¡°Because I¡¯m an Inferior, it may not be possible¡­¡±


    The farther the goal is, the better.


    The magic used by Lily would be my goal for the future.


    ¡°Toru. Thanks.¡± (Lily)


    Lily fell to the ground.


    ¡°What happened, Lily!?¡±


    ¡°Magic power, I¡¯ve used too much¡­. I can¡¯t move.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Ah, uh, I see.¡±


    If I used that kind ofrge-scale magic.


    It is not a normal human being¡¯s ability to just use it consequence-free.


    ¡°Toru-san. Were all the monsters defeated by Lily-san?¡± (Luka)


    ¡°The signs of monsters disappeared all at once, so maybe that¡¯s the case.¡±


    ¡°Then, can I leave you here?¡± (Luka)


    ¡°It¡¯s good, but what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°I want to see the Temple of Forcels.¡± (Luka)


    The churches in Finlis also acts as a shelter in case of an enemy attack.


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    Luka is a follower of Forcels. She will probably go to confirm the safety of the residents who have evacuated to the underground shelter of the Church of Forcels.


    ¡°I see, I understand.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Luka)


    I nodded and said goodbye to Luka.


    ¡°¡­¡­Now¡±


    I used magic while seeing off Luka¡¯s back.


    [Muscle Enhancement] [Auditory Enhancement] [Olfactory Enhancement].


    The fire has been extinguished, and the sign of Silver Wolves have disappeared.


    However, there may still be some danger.


    I¡¯m fine, but there is Lily who can¡¯t move from here.


    I wanted to avoid the situation where Lily was injured because she waste in responding to the situation.


    Anytime, anything,e on!


    I sharpened my consciousness by enhancing my senses.


    ¡°Hmm? This smell is ¡­ Silver Wolf?¡±


    Toru¡¯s keen sense of smell caught a slight change.


    However, he immediately concludes that it is my fault.


    There are too many types of smells in this ce.


    I¡¯m sure it¡¯s just ¡°mixed¡±.


    ¡°So Lily, can you tell me what happened at Finlis from the beginning?¡±


    ¡°U ¡­¡± (Lily)


    Propping Lily up, who is exhausted due tock of magical power, I asked her to give me the gist of the incident.


    ¡°Toru, you¡¯re safe!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Esther, you too¡±


    Shortly after Luka left, Esther joined me.


    She has no dirt on her. It seems that the wind magic used by me protected her exactly as I hoped.


    ¡°Is the magic just before Lily¡¯s?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yup¡±


    ¡°Anyway, I was surprised because it was sudden. I was prepared to die because a silver wolf that was hit by the spell flew away.¡± (Esther)


    Lily¡¯s targeting was urate so that she wouldn¡¯t hit humans.


    But for those who don¡¯t know it, the situation must have made them scared for their lives.


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    Of course, I was also surprised at first, but it was the elf Lily who used magic.


    I did not doubt my survival because of the trust and belief that she was a great elven magician.


    ¡°By the way, Toru. Why is Lily lying down? Did she get hurt?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°No, I can¡¯t move because I use too much magical power.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Oh, I see. With that kind of magic, Lily can¡¯t move. I know it¡¯s painful, but why is Lily crying?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Ah, yeah, that¡¯s because of theck of magical power is tough.¡± (Lily)


    Haha, I smiled released a dryugh.


    No matter how much I was worried about the situation at the time of the incident, I saw an overwhelmed Lily, who was exhausted.


    Oh, God of salvation ¡­, Lily is crying and clinging to Esther¡¯s leg.


    Seeing Lily in such a state, Esther turns her cold gaze at me.


    ¡°¡­ Toru. What did you do to Lily?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I did not do anything. I really did not do anything, right?¡±


    I shook my head in a hurry to dispel the muddy, pitch-ck atmosphere.


    ¨CThe immediate crisis is over.


    Next is the time to think about the answer to the question we both dyed.


    ¡°By the way, Esther, did you find out what the monster¡¯s invasion route was?¡±


    ¡°No, as far as I can see, there was nothing wrong with the outer wall.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Then, there is no entrance thates in from the outside.¡±


    ¡°But I haven¡¯t looked around everything. Maybe there¡¯s a hole somewhere in the wall.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Hmm¡±


    The outer wall of Finlis is more than 5 meters wide.


    It is unlikely they were defeated by a monster like Silver Wolf.


    First, if the monster is going to dig a hole, you¡¯ll notice someone who looks around.


    ¡°Someone may have made a hole and invited the Silver Wolf.¡±


    ¡°Still, there is a possibility that someone will find out while making a hole.¡±


    A flock of silver wolves suddenly appeared in Finlis.


    If you wait outside the wall, no one will have been unaware.


    ¡°Speaking of Lily, it seems that Silver Wolf suddenly appeared.¡±


    I also passed on the information I heard from Lily to Esther.


    Esther snorts in disbelief with her arms folded.


    ¡°It seems that the point is that it suddenly appeared.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I¡¯m also worried that the silver wolf¡¯s stomach was filled with re light.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s hard to believe, but this doesn¡¯t seem to be just any monster raid.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°What is it then¡­¡±


    [Thought eleration], which speeds up mental processes at high speed, derived a certain answer from the pieces of information.


    Considering the answer, I didn¡¯t think it wasn¡¯t wrong.


    ¡°Hey, Tor. Where are you going?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m a little worried. Later Esther and Lily.¡±


    ¡°Oh, oh. Toru. There may still be monsters in the city. Be careful.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Thank you. You too, be careful.¡±


    I raised his hand and waved to Esther before I rushed to my destination.

 Chapter 55: Conquer the Sewer

    <h4>Chapter 55: Conquer the Sewer</h4>


    I went to the Church of Nesis.


    ¡°No way to get here in one try¡­¡±


    Compared to thest time it took almost half a day to get here, I arrived quite easily.


    Something like the blessing of misdirection that covered this church has stopped for now.


    I felt many signs of life from inside the church.


    I slowly walked up to the church.


    When I gently opened the door, I saw the same interior asst time.


    However, unlike thest time, there are many footprints on the floor.


    There are many footprints, but no human figure.


    ¡°Oh, right¡­¡±


    Seeing the footprint, I was convinced.


    ¡°Everyone will use it soon, so keep every corner clean!¡± (Nesis)


    Nesis is the god of fate.


    Knowing this future, she made a ¡°request¡± to me and mypanions.


    In anticipation that the inhabitants of Finlis will use this temple when Finlis is in trouble¡­


    ¡°If you knew it, you could¡¯ve told me from the beginning.¡±


    However, it is possible that the future would change if she told me.


    That¡¯s why Nesis didn¡¯t tell me.


    Convinced by that, I opened the lid on the floor using the [magic sword].


    ¡°Excuse me. Are you all okay?¡±


    I could see the depths of the shelter, thanks to the light from [lighting] that someone might have used.


    Many people were huddling close to the underground shelter.


    The people were scared when I opened the lid, but when they found out that it was a human being who opened it, they took a sigh of relief.


    When I went down the stairs, one of the evacuees, a middle-aged man, approached.


    ¡°You are uh ¡­¡± (Oji-san)


    ¡°I¡¯m an adventurer, Toru.¡±


    ¡°Toru-kun. What happened outside?¡± (Oji-san)


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s over. We¡¯ve put out the fire and killed most of the monsters. All we have to do is check if any surviving monsters are lurking.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good!¡± (Evacuees)


    When I told the outside situation, a voice of joy suddenly rose inside the shelter.


    Some are hugging each other and weeping.


    I headed to a certain wall, moving between the evacuated people.


    It¡¯s an ordinary wall. However, I can see a few lines on the wall.


    This wall was previously destroyed when I was cleaning.


    ¡°Excuse me, everyone. Can you go up to the surface?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, what do you mean? Isn¡¯t itpletely safe yet?¡± (Evacuee)


    ¡°Yes, but I think it¡¯s okay if you don¡¯t leave the church premises.¡±


    ¡°But ¡­¡± (Evacuee)


    ¡°This is the Church of Nesis. As long as you stay in the church, the god of fate Nesis will prevent the demons from attacking you.¡±


    In particr, this church is a ce that most people could not reach before the turmoil.


    If she fiddles with destiny, it shouldn¡¯t be so hard for monsters to get lost and not reach the church.


    While I persuaded them, I felt a faint thought saying, ¡°What are you saying?¡±


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    In that white space, Nesis may have some of theints, but I didn¡¯t know about that.


    Since she forced the title of [Nesis¡¯ servant] to me, I would like to receive at least the pensation¡± to deceive using the will of God.


    Following my persuasion, the evacuated residents began to move to the ground.


    I closed the lid to confirm that all the inhabitants have headed to the ground.


    ¡°Now¨C¡°


    I summoned the [Magic Sword] and held it in front of the wall.


    (Sorry, Nesis-san. I¡¯ll have to break the wall.)


    ¡°Yes, yes, that¡¯s fine. Please fix itter.¡± (Nesis probably)


    I felt that such a thought creeps into my mind.


    For some reason, I could imagine her waving her hands while snacking at the potato chips, but it was probably because of my impression.


    I immediately swung the [Magic Sword] down toward the wall because I received the approval of God.


    ¨CSoo. [T/N: Sound of wind blowing]


    The magic sword cut through the wall without sound.


    I quickly put my hand on the wall and gentlyid it on the floor so it wouldn¡¯t break.


    Beyond the wall is the same underground waterway asst time.


    Touching the air in it, I was convinced.


    ¡°After all, Silver Wolves probably came in from here.¡±


    I felt sensed the smell of silver wolves mixed in the air.


    I wouldn¡¯t have noticed it in normal times. However, I am currently using [Olfactory Enhancement]


    Even the slightest odor does not miss my enhanced senses.


    But,


    ¡°Oh¡±


    Because of [Olfactory Enhancement] I also got quite the whiff of sewage, and I was in agony for a while.


    The smell was so terrible. My nose is about to fall off.


    I endured it until my nose finally got used to it.


    I look around the waterways, tearful, searching left and right, and focusing on my sense of smell.


    The smell of silver wolf drifts along with the terrible smell of sewage.


    ¡°This the one¡±


    The strongest odor was in the downstream direction of the sewage.


    In that direction, I started walking.


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    For sewage, there is a passage in the waterway where sewage flows, where people who may be doing maintenance can walk.


    I cast [Lighting] on my palm and move forward quickly.


    As I proceeded through the sewer, where only the sound of flowing water echoed, I found a person wearing a white habit.


    ¡°Um, Luka-san?¡±


    ¡°Oh, is it Toru?¡± (Luka)


    The woman who looked back was Luka, a C-rank adventurer.


    A white habit engraved with the Holy Mark of Forcels and a dagger on her waist.


    ¡°Why is Luka here?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s my line. Why is Toru here?¡± (Luka)


    ¡°I thought the sewer was the most probable route for Silver Wolves to enter, so I came in from the basement of the Church of Nesis.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Actually ¡­ when I returned to the Forcels Church, all the evacuated residents were killed by Silver Wolves.¡± (Luka)


    As I remembered the situation at that time, Luka looked up and held herself with both hands.


    As a result, the shape of her body is exposed.


    It was a fascinating curve that would be eye-catching for any normal man, but I was only looking at Luka¡¯s face.


    ¡°When I examined the church, I noticed that there was a big hole in the basement. I thought it might be the invasion route of Silver Wolf, so I came to explore it.¡± (Luka)


    ¡°Is that so.¡±


    Imagining the tragedy in the church, my brow wrinkled in frustration.


    If I had not repaired the walls during the cleaning, the same could have happened at the Church of Nesis.


    ¡°By the way, Luka-san, I have one question to ask.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± (Luka)


    ¡°Why does Luka smell like Silver Wolf?¡±


    From the time I was in themon well, I felt the smell of silver wolf from Luka.


    I have always been interested in it.


    Did the smelle from during the battle?


    From Lily¡¯s story, I heard that Luka was always giving instructions to adventurers.


    Also, she is not currently wet with the blood of the monsters.


    She has a title, Bloody Saint.


    That means she wasn¡¯t fighting monsters directly.


    She should not have the smell of Silver Wolf sticking to her body.


    ¡°It¡¯s terrible to smell a woman. It¡¯s wartime now. I don¡¯t know where and what kind of smell you smelled.¡± (Luka)


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Let¡¯s change the topic.¡±


    I asked with my body lowered so that I could move at any time.


    ¡°Why does Luka wear a dagger?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­eh?¡± (Luka)


    ¡°Your specialty, called Bloody Saint Luka, should have been a mace.¡±


    Adventurers value their weapons.


    Because it is a tool you entrusted your life to.


    Whether or not you have that weapon can make a difference between life and death in battle.


    I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s normal, or if it¡¯s unusual. But you can¡¯t just easily change your favorite weapon.


    However, Luka has a dagger on her waist instead of her favorite weapon, a Mace.


    The enemy would have invaded through this area, even though she was stepping into the sewer.


    It was strange to think that an adventurer who had been using a single mace up to now suddenly changed her weapon.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±

 Chapter 56: Against a Werewolf

    <h4>Chapter 56: Against a Werewolf</h4>


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­Ah¡± (Luka Impostor)


    In response to my question, the person pretending to be Luka-san uttered dumbly at me.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I just made a mistake in picking my main weapon. What I did was just a small mistake.¡± (Luka Impostor)


    Unlike the tone of a frivolous youngdy from before, the current tone of this person is nervous and suspicious.


    Not only the tone but also the atmosphere around her has changed.


    If you listen only to her voice, you¡¯re only going to hear a bubbly young woman.


    However, I felt the pressure and my body stiffened.


    ¡°Well, Toru-san. I have a question. Why did youe back to Finlis so quickly-? The re Light Dungeon capture-should have taken more time-. There are many traps. Did you turn back without capturing it?¡± (Luka Impostor)


    ¡°No, if it¡¯s those traps, I proceeded while destroying it using wind magic.¡±


    ¡°¡­ hahaha. You¡¯ve performed beyond and above expectations.¡± (Luka Impostor)


    Luka-san¡¯s expression was extremely serious.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting you to rush here so quickly, and I wasn¡¯t expecting you to have a lot of holy water. No, I thought you had something, but no way did I think you could do the things you¡¯ve done.¡± (Luka Impostor)


    ¡°So who are you? What happened to the real Luka-san?¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s the real Luka, she¡¯s here!¡± (Luka Impostor)


    Luka put her hand on her chest and smiled eerily.


    She, like Philip, she¡¯s probably been ¡°possessed by someone or something¡±.


    I became more alert and summoned the [Magic Sword].


    ¡°Oops, that sword is scary. I¡¯m scared, so I¡¯ll be leaving now.¡± (Luka Impostor)


    ¡°Do you think I will let you?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯ll leave even if I have to go through you.¡± (Luka Impostor)


    From her muttering, I felt strong killing intent and then something flew past me.


    Suddenly.


    -Gat!! [Note: Sound effect of something hitting a wall.]


    w marks were deeply carved in the ce where I stood before.


    The thing that made those w marks was a monster that was taller than me.


    It was a bipedal monster with ears on its head, a dog-like mouth, and silver hair all over its body.


    ¡°Then Werewolf-san, thank you for the rest.¡± (Luka Impostor)


    ¡°Ah, hey !!¡±


    A monster that Luka-san¡¯s impostor called was a werewolf that is now standing in front of me.


    (This monster is strong ¡­!)


    The werewolf is the most unbelievable opponent I¡¯ve faced so far.


    I applied some [Lighting] on the ceiling and devoted all my focus to battling the werewolf in front of me.


    As I get ready for battle and held the [Magic Sword], the werewolf grinned.


    And the next moment


    Werewolf ws were swung down from overhead.


    I reacted to the attack that can barely be seen.


    I used the [Magic Sword] counter the blow.


    But there is an immediate follow-up.


    The werewolf was quick and relentless


    I avoided the werewolf¡¯s roundhouse kick by taking a step back.


    I made a somersault.


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    I shed the [Magic Sword] from below.


    ~3rd Person Perspective~


    [Note: It is in the 3rd person but it seems to be from a monster/creature¡¯s perspective.]


    The werewolf calmly responded to Toru¡¯s counterattack.


    It was quite fast, but it¡¯s slow enough to be followed by its eyes.


    The battle experience umted by the king of wolf-type demons drives the werewolf in battle.


    This swordsman is quite strong. It can be said that the werewolf sees this person strongest human being ever encountered.


    Perhaps it has higher physical performance than the previous ¡°little girl¡±. [Note: The little girl pertains to Lily because she looks like one.]


    Still, the werewolf didn¡¯t feel like losing.


    The swordsman is swayed by its power.


    It is a ¡°forced movement¡± peculiar to those who have a tough body by nature and are unaware of it.


    No matter how strongly they move, the werewolf won¡¯t lose, the swordsman won¡¯t hone its skills without working on it.


    The werewolf, on the other hand, was a creature who wed its way to the top.


    After being born as a Silver Wolf, I just continued to aim for the top.


    There are countless times when humans were about to kill it.


    However, each time it devised a n and performed at its peak performance, it survived the near-death battles.


    Even after gaining power and evolving, its thirst for power never stopped.


    For it, a human being who is just strong is not just scary.


    Its ws be tense in anticipation of the iing attacks while sending continuous attacks back.


    ¡°Gut !!¡±


    An attack that had never hit before caught the swordsman easily.


    If it is hit with the swordsman¡¯s attack, it will die.


    But if it doesn¡¯t get hit, those attacks are nothing.


    The werewolf continued tough and evade the deadly attacks.


    The swordsman was alsoughing.


    (Well, are you the same kind of warrior as me?) (Werewolf)


    (The finale of every battle, the burning excitement of your heart, it is so much fun. It can¡¯t be helped.) (Werewolf)


    Werewolf and swordsmanughed and continued to attack each other as if they were dancing with each other.


    ¡°-Ugh!¡±


    In the swordsman¡¯s thirtieth attack, the werewolf¡¯s fist made a clean hit with the swordsman.


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    The swordsman was blown into the darkness where light couldn¡¯t reach.


    Is this the end?


    Will he continue to attack with the same attacks again?


    It was a time when the werewolf is excited about the swordsman¡¯s next attack.


    Feeling something wrong and it shifts its center of gravity.


    The next moment, a ck arrow is stuck on its shoulder.


    ¡°¡­ !?¡± (Werewolf)


    The werewolf didn¡¯t notice that an arrow was fired.


    The color of the arrow was hidden by the darkness of the passage.


    But in normal well-lit ces, it was not an unavoidable attack.


    The reason why the werewolf couldn¡¯t avoid it is that he thought his opponent was a ¡°swordsman¡±.


    The werewolf grabbed the arrow then pulled it out in anger.


    There was pain, but its anger prevailed.


    (¨D¨DA werewolf can¡¯t deal with this kind of attack!!) (Werewolf)


    It waspletely caught off guard.


    The pain disappeared from its consciousness, and the werewolf regained its calmness.


    It will never be hit by a bow and arrow again!


    The boy, reappeared from the darkness, was holding that terrifying sword instead of a bow.


    (Are you going to fight using a sword again?) (Werewolf)


    That boy¡¯s sword technique is not made for fighting werewolves.


    It has been proven in their exchange from before.


    Shooting an arrow from a distance would increase the swordsman¡¯s chances to win.


    However, the werewolf was confident that it could avoid all the arrows that could be fired towards it¡­


    The boy held his sword.


    He is just repeating his mistakes.


    However, for some reason, the werewolf¡¯s fur stood from its spine until the ends of its tail.


    The boy hasn¡¯t changed since a while ago.


    However, his presence is different.


    The werewolf, who was struck by the swordsman¡¯s gaze, jumped forward to attack,cking its calm from the previous attacks.


    The werewolf¡¯s first move does not reach.


    That was simr to before.


    So it kept on attacking without rushing.


    With thest move, it aimed to stab the boy¡¯s chest.


    The attack, however¡­


    ¡°I¡¯ve already seen that attack.¡±


    The boy reacted to the attack.


    _______________________________________________________________


    >> [Mimicry Lv5] activated


    _______________________________________________________________


    No, it wasn¡¯t just an instinctive reaction.


    The boy cut off its right wrist using the sword.


    The werewolf never had the chance to evade.


    Because the boy¡¯s counterattack was faster than it anticipated.


    As if the boy knew how the werewolf would attack.


    (¨D¨DHow beautiful¡­) (Werewolf)


    Werewolf saw the skill of the swordsman¡¯s attack.


    The werewolf was surprised by the ¡°attack mirroring its own¡±.


    The window for the counterattack was so short, but that was enough for the boy.


    ¡°Is it over? Goodbye¡±


    At the same time as that word hit the werewolf, the werewolf¡¯s consciousness disappeared.


    _______________________________________________________________


    >>Lvl 30 ¡ú 31


    >> Skill points 61 ¡ú 71


    >>Rank ¢ò¡ú¢ó


    _______________________________________________________________


    When he was about to perform a secret technique in the guild, Luka¡¯s ¡°inside¡± blurted out a different tone of voice.


    It¡¯s amazing how people can realize that ¡°inside¡± might be a different person.

 Chapter 57: Return from Sewers

    <h4>Chapter 57: Return from Sewers</h4>


    (Well, the werewolf was quite strong)


    I was blown away earlier, I aimed at its heart using the [Magic Sword]¡¯s second form from a distance, but the arrow hit the shoulder instead.


    Just a few moments before the arrow escaped the darkness. The werewolf was extremely skillful to avoid fatal injuries.


    In addition to that my attacks were continuously avoided.


    Every move has a purpose and the attacks were carefully calcted.


    Werewolves, who make sophisticated attacks that go beyond just turning around with force, were overwhelmed by the short two-week period of being in battle.


    It is poor as it is.


    Immediately after being blown backward, Toru immediately acquired a new [impersonation] skill.


    [Mimicry] is a skill that imitates a target object.


    With this, I can copy the movement of my target.


    What is currentlycking in me is the ability to execute my pastbat experience during another fight.


    I thought that the execution of my ns would be supplemented by the [impersonation] skill.


    ¡°Look and steal.¡±


    I was executing the martial arts knowledge that has been passed down from ancient times using the skills and confronted the werewolf again.


    From there, I fought with monsters and des several times, felt that I had umted an enormous amount ofbat experience unlike never before.


    [Mimicry] stole the opponent¡¯s movement, and I immediately used the stolen movement to enhance my movement.


    ¡°Even if it doesn¡¯t seem to be usable at first nce, there may actually have effective uses.¡±


    (Wow. That was exactly what Nesis said)


    After acquiring [impersonation], the difference between mine and the Werewolf¡¯s experience fills up in a blink of an eye.


    I suddenly overtook the werewolf in an attack that shed its wrist.


    ¡°Eargard is a scary ce having such a type of monster wandering¡­¡±


    While I lived in Japan. I would have never seen the opponent¡¯s attack and would be torn into eight pieces.


    Such monsters live, but some humans can defeat such monsters.


    With that in mind, I lose my confidence in the chance of living a ¡°normal life¡± in Eargard.


    ¡°I was wondering if I was a little stronger, but I¡¯m still not¡­ I have to work harder!¡±


    Be an ordinary person that can defeat a werewolf normally! I balled my fists in determination.


    ¡°¡ªthat isn¡¯t what I came here for! I have to chase after Luka !!¡±


    I remembered my original purpose and rushed to the exit of the sewer where Luka-san had left.


    ¡ð


    ¡°Esther, I¡¯m back¡±


    ¡°Oh, Toru, wee back-what is that!?¡± (Esther)


    I returned by passing through the well. And Esther looked scared when she saw me.


    I was led here by the sewers when I followed Luka-san


    The sewer was connected to a sewage purification pond outside Finlis.


    From the purification pond, the only thing that could be felt was the countless signs of slimes floating in the po-yon pond. [Note: Poyon is the name of the pond probably named after the sounds associated with slimes bouncing around.]


    While fighting the werewolf, Luka-san was able to escape and cover more distance.


    The entrance to the sewer had iron bars to prevent monsters from entering and people from going through.


    However, the iron bars were distorted by force, and there was a gap that a small human could pass through.


    Arge number of Silver Wolfs came in through here.


    Turning back the way I had no choice but to return, I returned to the surface, dragging the corpse of the werewolf.


    ¡°It seems that this is a werewolf, but I thought that the material would sell well, so I brought it with me.¡±


    ¡°Wow, wow ¡­ werewolf!? That¡¯s right ¡­¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Hmm, definitely a werewolf.¡± (Lily)


    In contrast to the astonished Esther, Lily just inspected and confirmed it.


    ¡°Oh, Lily, is it okay for you to be standing up?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. That¡¯s right, he did kill it just now.¡± (Lily)


    What Lily refers to as ¡°just now¡± is that I asked her for the details of the incident.


    Even if I had to shake Lily to get information out of her, I would still be unable to track down Luka.


    It was a necessary sacrifice if you will.


    ¨Ceven though I ended up missing Luka.


    In return, Lily hit my upper arm with her cane.


    It hurts.


    ¡°Well, both of you. Why are you both so calm? It¡¯s a werewolf, a werewolf!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a werewolf.¡±


    ¡°Werewolf. No doubt.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°¨CIt¡¯s not! Werewolves are a C-ranked monster! How did Toru defeat it!?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Um ¡­ normally?¡±


    I replied to Esther, who was overreacting.


    I thought about it for a moment, but I could only say that I defeated it normally.


    Upon hearing my answer, Esther¡¯s shoulders slumped.


    ¡°What are you surprised at? A werewolf can be one shot from a distance with using [re]¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right, yeah ¡­ it¡¯s amazing, it¡¯s amazing.¡±


    Esther¡¯s eyes are bing more dead fish-like.


    (Ah no, these people. They are truly out of the standard.) (Esther)


    ¡°Aside from that, the fact that there is a werewolf here means that this is the mastermind that controlled the silver wolves.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°Oh. Because demons have a habit of following the instructions of strong individuals. You can be sure that the werewolf gathered the silver wolves and attacked Finlis. But I don¡¯t know why the werewolf did that ¡­ ¡­.


    For now, take a werewolf and report to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. You may know something there.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right.¡±


    I also wanted to report to the guild.


    Following Esther¡¯s suggestion, we headed for the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.


    ~Marie¡¯s Perspective~


    The Adventurer¡¯s Guild was crowded with fleeing civilians and adventurers reporting.


    Under the pressure of people who seemed ready to leap over the counter, the receptionists are pale and grey, with fatigue written on their faces.


    Under such circumstances, I don¡¯t let go of my normal business smile and handle each person carefully.


    No matter how difficult the situation, it is the adventurers and the victims of the general public who are really having it really hard.


    Therefore, it is my personal belief that we receptionists who just stand in the safest ce should not make anyints.


    Then suddenly, the crowd parted way from the entrance to the reception while I was working.


    The hustle and bustle that made me want to close my ears were silenced. That¡¯s when I noticed.


    ¡°¡­ Well, it¡¯s Toru and Esther?¡± (Marie)


    The other end of the split crowd. Standing at the entrance were the new adventurers Toru and Esther.


    Toru was taking a rank-up test the other day.


    Did theye to the report? I thought.


    However, that alone cannot make the guild quiet.


    I stared at them and noticed the cause of the silence.


    ¡°That is ¡­ a werewolf !?¡± (Marie)


    The moment I saw the monster¡¯s corpse, I left the counter and the on-going work on hand.


    It¡¯s unclear why they brought a werewolf¡¯s corpse here.


    But my receptionist¡¯s intuition is telling me that they must have brought the source of the turmoil.


    Then there is only one thing to do.


    ¡°Toru-san, Esther-san,e with me!¡± (Marie)


    I immediately opened a private room and arranged an area for them to make a report.

 Chapter 68: Training for the First Time in a Long Time

    <h4>Chapter 68: Training for the First Time in a Long Time</h4>


    After returning to Finlis, we reported the events leading to the present to Marie and then took out the re Light in the leather bag.


    ¡°Marie-san, this is the requested item for the rank-up test. Please check it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes¡­¡± (Marie)


    At first, Marie seems enthusiastic about writing my words on paper, but the movement of the pen scribbling on the paper from the middle of the report slowed down, and it stoppedpletely after the end of the werewolf subjugation.


    (Marie, are you tired?) (Toru)


    I was thinking about how Marie was, but I couldn¡¯t read what she was thinking.


    Marie opens the mouth of the water bottle lightly and sniffs the inside.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s definitely a normal re Light solution.¡± (Marie)


    ¡°Okay, this is it you¡¯re a D-ranker, Esther!¡±


    ¡°Ah, by the way, Toru-san was just an E-ranker. I forgot because you could defeat a Queen Rock worm and Werewolf ¡­¡± (Marie)


    ¡°I understand that feeling painfully!¡± (Esther)


    Esther squeezed Marie¡¯s hand, who seemed to be white as a sheet, with tears in her eyes.


    ¡°Regarding promotion to D-rank, the reception work is currently flooded, so is it okay to promote you at ater date?¡± (Marie)


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Thank you. By the way, as you said earlier¨C¡± (Marie)


    There, Marie corrected her posture and turned to face us.


    ¡°Are you certain about the information that Luka is the culprit?¡± (Marie)


    ¡°She also admitted it, so I think there is no doubt.¡±


    ¡°I see. I¡¯m overwhelmed with this matter. I¡¯ll report it to the Guild Master at once. May I keep the body of the werewolf you brought here for the time being?¡± (Marie)


    ¡°Sure. Go ahead¡±


    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ve talked about it here, but please don¡¯t say anything outside.¡± (Marie)


    Marie bowed deeply.


    There is a reason she does it this way.


    Luka¡¯s actions do more than just discredit her standing as an adventurer.


    This is an incident that led to another issue on the reliability of the guild, which promoted Luka to C-rank.


    The guild¡¯s credibility has been severely damaged, especially in the case of Philip.


    Even if Luka was manipted by someone, the people wouldn¡¯t let go of their pursuit of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.


    Until a response is decided, it is not an option to reveal that Luka is the culprit.


    ¡ð


    The reconstruction of Finlis began the day after the remnants of the monsters were processed and the fire was confirmed to bepletely extinguished.


    ¡°Even if it breaks, you can fix it! As long as you¡¯re alive.¡±


    The residents of Finlis were singing songs and cheerfully cleaning up the rubble.


    We joined the residents and helped with the removal of the debris.


    At first, it was carried by hand, but it became annoying after a while, and I stored the rubble in the [Inventory].


    If you find out that I have [Inventory], I may encounter some troubles.


    However, I couldn¡¯t care about keeping [Inventory] hidden in front of the people who were looking forward and working hard even though their houses were messed up.


    Thanks to my use of [Inventory], the debris removal work waspleted in no time.


    Residents hit my back with gratitude.


    ¡°I was saved¡± ¡°You¡¯re quite capable for someone young¡± ¡°Thanks to you, my house will be rebuilt sooner¡±


    Thank you, thank you, thank you¡­¡­.


    I was probably weeping at the heartfelt words of gratitude.


    It was really good to take the risk and use the [Inventory].


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    After the rubble was removed, my party was summoned by the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, in quite a timely manner.


    _______________________________________________________________


    We were taken upstairs in the guild.


    This is my first experience since I came to the guild.


    I was excited and ¡°oohing¡± as we passed through the door that was off-limits to anyone other than the people involved.


    ¡°I¡¯m nervous¡±


    ¡°Even Toru can get nervous.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    A normal citizen.


    When I meet a person in power, I feel more nervous than confronting a monster.


    Marie took us to the front of a door with a geometric pattern.


    Just by the looks of it, you can see that it is not just any normal person inside. It was a pretty amazing looking door.


    ¡ª*knock* * knock * * knock *.


    Marie banged a dragon-shaped knocker attached to the door.


    ¡°I¡¯m Marie at the reception. May we enter?¡± (Marie)


    ¡°Sure go ahead¡± (Voice)


    From the other side of the door, I heard a clear male voice.


    Contrary to the person¡¯s voice quality, I felt an unusual feeling of intimidation, and my spine quivered.


    It seems that Esther was also intimidated. She is stuck with a strong presence.


    ¡°Then, Toru-san and Esther-san. Please in the room.¡± (Voice)


    ¡°Ah, yes.¡±


    The inside of the room was a quaint room like a principal¡¯s room.


    There are cabs, sofas, and tables, and the walls are decorated with framed figures.


    The innermost part of the room.


    There was a slim man across the big table.


    A young man with a graceful appearance.


    However, contrary to his appearance, the power stirring inside was quite vicious.


    ¡°Toru-kun, Esther-kun. Nice to meet you. I¡¯m Aaron Dilmut, the guild master of Finlis. Nice to meet you.¡± (Aaron)


    The guy ¨C Aaron smiled with a friendly smile.


    The reason why I can feel the power behind that smile is probably that the other party is the guild master.


    His green eyes seem to be looking through everything I am.


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    I regained myself before being swallowed by the presence of the other party.


    ¡°Nice to meet you. I¡¯m currently an E-ranker, Toru.¡±


    ¡°Wow, I¡¯m Esther ¡­ I¡¯m also an E-ranker.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll make this quick. I¡¯ve got a job to do and you¡¯ve got a job to do. Now, the city isn¡¯t exactly hospitable in the best of times, but we need to have a good time and talk long enough for the guild to throw stones at us for working too hard. In fact, we¡¯re doing our best to live our lives every day, so a little sabotage is eptable.¡± (Aaron)


    ¡°Ahem! Master?¡± (Marie)


    While saying those words briefly, he went off-topic.


    Aaron smiled bitterly at Marie clearing her throat.


    ¡°Oops, excuse me. It¡¯s my habit.¡± (Aaron)


    It took about a few tens of seconds of us just meeting each other, but I feel that I could understand his character.


    ¡°Now, let¡¯s get down to business. First, let¡¯s talk about Luka¡¯s case. I¡¯ve told the Lord of Finlis about her in private. It¡¯s just that it is an incident after another incident. If this gets out, Finlis¡¯ Adventurer¡¯s Guild will fall apart. That would not be good for Finlis. Therefore, I will have the information sealed for now.¡± (Aaron)


    ¡°Sealed?¡±


    ¡°Yes. You guys haven¡¯t seen anything and you don¡¯t know anything. Okay?¡± (Aaron)


    Aaron said a word asking for confirmation, but it was pretty much an order.


    Indescribable pressure can be felt from his eyes.


    ¡°Well, I can understand why you don¡¯t agree. Luka¡¯s problem is the guild¡¯s problem. The guild should be responsible for it, there is no need for you guys to be in this situation. I want you to think of it as just a forgettable matter. Just think about it.¡± (Aaron)


    ¡°¡­¡­understood¡±


    ¡°Good for you to be honest. In fact, I¡¯d just like to put this whole thing behind me. After what happened to Philip, right? I cursed all six of the gods in Eargard for being the guild master at this moment.¡± (Aaron)


    ¡°Ahem!¡± (Marie)


    Aaron¡¯s shoulders slumped at Marie who once again cleared her throat.


    (What do you think of the guild master being reprimanded by the receptionist?) (Aaron)


    Yes, his eyes are asking me that.


    However, I pretended not to notice the question.


    ¡°Then next. This is a topic that is directly rted to you.¡± (Aaron)

 Chapter 59: People do not Move with Strength

    <h4>Chapter 59: People do not Move with Strength</h4>


    ¡°You guys have defeated the werewolf, who seems to have been the leader involved in the attack on Finlis. It¡¯s a big bonus considering your rank. The city of Finlis can¡¯t ignore such achievements. So you¡¯ve been called to the lord¡¯s residence. Of course, non-participation is not allowed by the guild.¡± (Aaron)


    So Aaron took out a letter from the drawer.


    ¡°Here¡¯s the invitation. If you don¡¯t have the invitation, you¡¯ll be rejected at the door even if you go to the lord¡¯s residence, so be careful. With this achievement, the guild would like to give you a rank-up, but there are strict rules for rank-ups. Even as the guild master I have no authority to break these rules.


    Instead, I¡¯ve increased the purchase price of the werewolf. Marie-kun.¡± (Aaron)


    ¡°Yes, Toru-san, here.¡± (Marie)


    I was given arge jute bag by Marie.


    It is quite heavy. It¡¯s a weight I¡¯ve never experienced before.


    I peeked at the contents of the jute bag.


    ¡°¡­ !?¡±


    The inside was all silver.


    The bag was full of silver coins.


    My eyes were only seeing silver coins, which would number to at least in the hundreds.


    ¡°This is quite a lot!?¡±


    ¡°If I put gold coins, it will feel like it¡¯s nothing with five coins, so I exchanged them for silver coins and to make them bulkier. How about it? I feel like you¡¯ve got a lot right.¡± (Aaron)


    Five gold coins are a lot of money. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s ¡°nothing¡± like Aaron.


    But I could understand what he was saying.


    When I was working in Japan, I didn¡¯t really get much of a feel if I got a piece of paper from my paycheck.


    Holding a tangible and heavy jute bag, I felt that ¡°the more weight it has, the more you can feel and the more thankful you will be.¡±


    ¡°Can I get this much?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s more important to make people think, ¡®The guild pays well and recognizes the achievements properly¡¯, rather than worrying about the budget and letting the valuablebor force, the adventurers, leave.¡± (Aaron)


    Is it okay to tell it to an adventurer?


    I just smiled wryly when I saw Aaronughing.


    ¡°That¡¯s all there is to talk about from me. Normally, I would like to enjoy a little more leisurely chit-chat over a cup of tea, gossip, and other trivial matters, but¡­¡­¡± (Aaron)


    Aaron, who cut his words, slumped his shoulder when he saw Marie.


    (If I do that, she¡¯ll get angry.) (Aaron)


    It was such a yful gesture that made me think I heard him say it.


    ¡°Well then, Toru-kun, Esther-kun. I¡¯m looking forward to seeing you again, Toru-kun, Esther-kun. Marie-kun. Don¡¯t forget to raise their adventurer ranks, because they will be looked down on if they go to the lord¡¯s residence while being E-rankers.¡± (Aaron)


    ¡°I understand. Toru-san, Esther-san. This way.¡± (Marie)


    Prompted by Marie, we bowed deeply and left the guild master¡¯s room.


    ¡ð


    ~3rd Person Perspective~


    Seeing off the two up-anding adventurers, Aaron sat deeper in his chair.


    He was once an adventurer.


    He is a former A-ranked adventurer called ¡°God¡¯s Eye Aaron¡±.


    Aaron was called ¡°God¡¯s Eye¡± because he was born with special skills.


    It is a [Appraisal Eye] that allows him to see through the ability of the other party.


    Aaron used the [Appraisal Eye] skill when the two adventurers entered the room.


    This is because he wanted to urately grasp the ability of the adventurer who defeated the C-rank werewolf despite being an E-ranker.


    Of the two who were looked into by [Appraisal Eye], Esther had a level of 29, which was quite good.


    At level 29, you areparable to C-rank adventurers.


    It¡¯s surprising because she¡¯s still D-rank.


    In addition to the level, he was able to confirm 4 skills.


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    First of all, three basic skills raise the level of physical ability and increase by leveling up.


    [Stamina] and [Strength]. And another higher level skill [Body Enhancement].


    And one technique. [Sword Art Lv3].


    Compared to her level, the technique¡¯s level is a little low. But that will be irrelevant in the future.


    What is important is her basic skills.


    Skills that improve the increase in status when leveling up are the most important skills for an adventurer.


    In that aspect, Esther had a perfect score.


    As a swordfighter, she has the qualities that promise great sess.


    Next is Toru.


    Aaron re-used the Appraisal Eye several times, but couldn¡¯t confirm his skills at all.


    This kind of phenomenon is extremely rare.


    In such cases, even if he can¡¯t see everything, he should be able to see something.


    Aaron thinks that Toru probably has some skills.


    The skills are good.


    The problem was his level.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t he a ¡®Lost¡¯?¡± (Aaron)


    After confirming Toru¡¯s level, Aaron thought he saw a hallucination that broke hismon sense.


    he was dying to observe it carefully with [Appraisal Eye]. However, the result did not change.


    The level of Toru seen by the [Appraisal Eye] was 31.


    A lost person ¡°never rises from level 1¡±!


    ¡°¡­ What is with that boy?¡± (Aaron)


    At the time of adventurer registration, the wavelength of Toru¡¯s soul indicated he¡¯s a ¡°Lost¡±. Aaron had received the information from Marie in advance.


    The soul measuring instrument is a magical tool that works like a Divine tool. There is little room for misdiagnosis to ur where the power of a god works.


    So Aaron suspected his own appraising error.


    However, if Toru is level 1, the credibility of the statement ¡°Toru has defeated the werewolf¡± in the report written by Marie would be lost at immediately.


    Toru¡¯s level of 31 is more in line with the report.


    However, if the information match up, the diagnosis of him being a ¡°Lost¡± will be doubtful.


    ¡°What the hell does this mean¡­¡± (Aaron)


    If by any chance both are correct.


    Aaron assumed that.


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    A lost person who increases his level saved Finlis¡¯ in a predicament.


    I heard that he was involved in some of the cases involving Philip.


    Both are major incidents that shook the Finlis Adventurer¡¯s Guild.


    As soon as Toru was involved, the case was going to be resolved.


    It¡¯s too good to be true.


    Aaron never thought that the series of events had nothing to do with the God of Fate.


    (Will the future of the Finlis Adventurer¡¯s Guild be greatly affected depending on how we evaluate his existence ¡­?) (Aaron)


    If God¡¯s will is at work, Aaron cannot ignore Toru.


    If Toru wanders away from Finlis, he can¡¯t predict what will happen (which could mean divine punishment).


    So Aaron needs to ensure that Toru never leaves Finlis ¨C and thus the Kingdom of Yuster.


    Money or women, honor or power?


    I have to find out what he wants, and I must do it quickly.


    ¡°I used to defeat a dragon, but ¡­ I think it¡¯s easier to subdue a dragon.¡± (Aaron)


    The human heart cannot be moved by the strength of your arms alone.


    Aron, who had risen to prominence with the strength of his arms alone so far, let out a deep, deep sigh as he thought about running a guild where arm strength was almost the only way to use.

 Chapter 60: Meeting with the Butler

    <h4>Chapter 60: Meeting with the Butler</h4>


    The day after being promoted to D rank, Toru and his party came to the aristocratic district in the center of Finlis.


    The destination is the Marquis of Finlis¡¯ mansion, in the middle of Finlis.


    I had been able to see it from the moment I entered the aristocratic district. As I approached it, I could clearly see how huge the Marquis¡¯ Mansion was.


    At first nce, it looks like a castle, but this mansion has no watchtowers or archers.


    It wasn¡¯t designed with defense in mind like a European castle from Earth.


    At the entrance of the Marquis Mansion, there was a guard on standby.


    I gave that person the invitation I received from the guild.


    ¡°I will confirm it, please wait for a moment.¡± (Gatekeeper)


    Gatekeepers everywhere seem to be polite when dealing withmoners.


    They are well-educated to show courtesy to any guest thates.


    That alone tells us what kind of person this Marquis Finlis is.


    When I was waiting in front of the gate for a while, the gatekeeper and another older man dressed in fine clothes, appeared from the mansion.


    The man walked up to me and bowed slightly.


    ¡°Thank you very much for your patience. My name is Thomas and I am the head butler. Am I correct to assume you¡¯re both Toru-sama and Esther-sama?¡± (Thomas)


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Then, pleasee in.¡± (Thomas)


    Thomas, the head butler, lead us around the mansion.


    This was my first to visit a real aristocratic mansion, and I wasn¡¯t disappointed because I had already visited Western-style mansions built during the Taisho and Meiji era in Japan.


    (What kind of person is the Lord? I wonder if he is a dignified person.)


    I could even afford to enjoy this special situation.


    ¡°Hawaawa¡­¡± (Esther)


    On the contrary, Esther tends to tense up.


    The ponytail, which usually sways freely, was frozen in ce as if it had been exposed to a blizzard.


    The room where we were guided to was a parlor about 10 tatami mats wide.


    Thomas, Esther, and I sat on the couch.


    ¡°First of all, I would like to thank you on behalf of Lord Gaius Finlis for your great efforts in defending Finlis.¡± (Thomas)


    ¡°It was our pleasure.¡±


    ¡°W-wee.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I hear that Toru-dono and Esther-dono are up-anding adventurers. If the two of you have the skills to subdue a far superior werewolf, Finlis¡¯ defense is probably of no concern¨C¡± (Thomas)


    While listening to Thomas¡¯ words, I was sweating cold bullets.


    His words were notpliments.


    ¡°Of course, even if something happens again, you will protect Finlis, right? You have that much strength, you wouldn¡¯t fail on helping with the defense?¡±, They sound more like threats.


    Even in thepany where I used to work, such words were often heard.


    ¡°Minasuki is okay because you have the talent! (You know what to do if there is a problem, right?)¡± (Voice from Toru¡¯s Past)


    Each time it happened, I would grind my nerves to ensure that no mistakes would ever be made, and I would stay up all night to check¡­¡­ Oh, my stomach was already starting to hurt.


    I forcibly shut out old memories.


    ¡°¨CNow, we would like to thank Toru-dono and Esther-dono with a reward from Lord Gaius. Regarding the content of the reward, Gaius-sama has strongly advised me to fulfill your wishes. Please tell me anything.¡± (Thomas)


    ¡°¡­ Um, do we have to?¡±


    ¡°Sure. Go ahead.¡± (Thomas)


    I fixed my posture and expression and then opened my mouth, careful not to sound rude.


    ¡°Will, the lord not meet with us?¡±


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    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. Toru-dono and Esther-dono cannot meet with Gaius-sama.¡± (Thomas)


    ¡°eh¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°In the world of aristocrats, it is basic to meet with a person of equal rank. For example, the head of the family meets only with the head of the family and the butler meets with another butler. The same is true for the guest. Therefore, I was in charge as the head butler since you are both D-ranked adventurers.¡± (Thomas)


    With those words from Thomas, I finally understood the meaning of Aaron¡¯s words, ¡°If you go to the lord¡¯s residence as E-rankers, you will be looked down on.¡±


    Thomas was hospitable because we were D-rank adventurers.


    What if we remained E-rankers¡­?


    That may have been ¡°humiliating¡± as Aaron said.


    ¡°Actually, Gaius-sama was saying that such a ritual was unnecessary, and it was difficult for me to put a stop to that thought.¡± (Thomas)


    ¡°¡­ I see. I understand.¡±


    The thought that Thomas was ¡°an amazing person¡± escaped from my mouth with an inaudible whisper.


    Formoners, dealing with rules when visiting nobles is iprehensible.


    I wish I could meet them normally regardless of status. Yes, everymoner would have thought that.


    There is a fear that we might be dissatisfied if Lord Gaius does not meet with us.


    Thomas said, ¡°Actually Gaius-sama wanted to meet, but I stopped him. I¡¯m the one who¡¯s bad,¡± he said it that way, making himself a viin while lifting the Lord.


    To be honest, I was disappointed to know that I couldn¡¯t meet the lord.


    But the greatness of his response easily counteracted my disappointment.


    He was quite loyal to his lord.


    Indeed, he is deserving to be the head butler.


    ¡°I understand that you may be disappointed about not being able to meet Gaius-sama. I would appreciate it if you would trust me on his behalf.¡± (Thomas)


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    ¡°Then, what do you wish for? Please don¡¯t hesitate, sir.¡± (Thomas)


    ¡°Then I won¡¯t.¡±


    I nced at Esther.


    Esther is still like a deer in the headlights, and her brain does not appear to be working.


    (Hmm. It¡¯s something they both wanted, so why don¡¯t I just say it?)


    Thinking so, I took the plunge and opened my mouth.


    ¡°I want a house.¡±


    It has long been the goal of us to have a base of our own as adventurers.


    The cost to maintain a base is hard if we were still E-rankers but now that we are D-rankers we can do something about it.


    All we have to do is get a house that is suitable as a base for adventurers.


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    ¡°A house is it?¡± (Thomas)


    ¡°Yes. I want to make it a base for future operations, so if possible, a house with a courtyard where we can train our swordsmanship would be good.¡±


    ¡°Toru¡­¡± (Esther)


    It seems that Esther¡¯s thoughts have finally rebooted with my words.


    She nodded her head quickly as if to say, ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±


    ¡°Is there anything else?¡± (Thomas)


    ¡°No. Nothing¡±


    ¡°Toru-dono and Esther-dono are adventurers. How about a better weapon?¡± (Thomas)


    ¡°I don¡¯t really want it.¡±


    ¡°Then what about the bounty?¡± (Thomas)


    ¡°No.¡±


    A good weapon is already on hand.


    Also, if it is the bounty, the guild has given us a considerable amount of money in the form of buying the materials from the werewolf.


    I didn¡¯t want any of those things.


    ¡°Hmm. How about Esther-dono?¡± (Thomas)


    ¡°I also like a house. Can Toru and I use it for a single wish?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°¡­ I understand. Then, I would like to convey to Gaius-sama the wishes of Toru-dono and Esther-dono. There is no guarantee that this wish will be granted. Please note that changes may be made at the discretion of Gaius-sama.¡±


    Then our visit with the butler, not the lord, ended without a hitch.


    ¡ð


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t meet Gaius-sama.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yeah, but Thomas-san seemed to be a good guy.¡±


    After the visit. We were now walking out of the mansion towards the gate.


    ¡°Will our wishes be granted?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s just luck, huh? After all, a house isn¡¯t cheap enough to just say you want one and get it¡­ huh?¡±


    Suddenly, my [Intuition] caught a memorable sign.


    What was that sign?


    Beforeing up with the answer, I summoned my [Magic Sword].

 Chapter 61: Conspiracy, Assassination

    <h4>Chapter 61: Conspiracy, Assassination</h4>


    ¡°¡­Toru!?¡± (Esther)


    Immediately I switched to its bow form.


    Without even pausing, my body moved and quickly pulled the strings and released it.


    ¨CGat!!


    A transparent ck arrow pierced the stone wall of the Marquis¡¯s mansion.


    ¡°Toru! what the heck are you doing? This is the Marquis¡¯ mansion!!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Esther, let¡¯s go.¡±


    I now knew who this presence is so I urged Esther, my voice low and serious.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°To the ce where the enemy is.¡±


    ¡ð


    ~3rd Person Perspective~


    After meeting with the adventurers. Thomas walked towards the office.


    The adventurer he met earlier said something ridiculous as a reward.


    ¡°A house¡­ out of al the things, he wants a house ¡­¡± (Thomas)


    Finlis is presently short of vacant houses, partly because it was just after a monster stampede and arge fire.


    As a result, the merchants raised the price of the houses.


    Previously ¡°the most basic house¡± could be bought with 10 gold coins.


    With that price, they can pretty much readily give one.


    However, the current basic price has jumped to at least 40 gold coins.


    What sly, opportunistic creatures merchants are!


    Also, Finlis needs a lot of money at present.


    Money is just pouring out of the coffers, used as alms to the bereaved family, loans to those who have just lost their homes, tax exemptions, and repairs are needed to fix public roads.


    As the head butler, I wanted to avoid spending 40 gold coins.


    And-this is the most important.


    Thomas¡¯ investigations found that Toru was an ¡°inferior.¡±


    He has no intention of doubting the guild¡¯s information, but Thomas never thought that an ¡°inferior¡± could defeat a werewolf.


    Thomas suspects that he was lucky enough to find a werewolf¡¯s corpse amid the turmoil.


    He can¡¯t give an unreasonable reward to some ¡°looter¡±.


    ¡°Even if I advise Gaius-sama against it, he probably won¡¯t listen.¡± (Thomas)


    Gaius is too soft to the people.


    He is especially nice to those who have achieved results.


    Even if the other person is an ¡°inferior.¡±


    That is both his lord¡¯s good and bad points.


    He is probably one of the best lords in this lifetime, but he¡¯s quite the source of headaches when ites to the city¡¯s finances.


    ¡°¡­ I can¡¯t help it. I should start scrounging some options, I guess?¡± (Thomas)


    They both said they wanted a house, but it was too much for an ¡°inferior.¡±


    Let¡¯s make it seem that we can¡¯t go through with his wishes.


    (Well, what kind of alternative should they receive¡­?) (Thomas)


    It was when Thomas entered the office.


    Just as Thomas was approaching the office desk, a woman was already sitting on it.


    The woman wore white clothes and a small dagger hung from her waist.


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    This is the first time she saw her face, but Thomas knew the woman¡¯s name.


    ¡°¨CLuka the Traitor!?¡± (Thomas)


    ¡°Oh, was I that obvious?¡± (Luka)


    Details of the stampede and fire were only known by the top of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, the lord, and a handful of people.


    Luka controlled a monster and had it attack Finlis.


    She is currently on the run ¡­


    Thomas knows about her and her abilities.


    Luka is a C-rank adventurer and has the title, ¡°Bloody Saint¡±.


    Alone with Luka in a closed room. This doesn¡¯t bode well¡­


    Thomas tried to act calm but cold sweat is running down his back.


    ¡°¡­ How did you get inside?¡± (Thomas)


    ¡°There are many ways to enter. For example, I asked a person from this ce to guide me.¡± (Luka)


    ¡°¨C!?¡± (Thomas)


    (That¡¯s impossible. There is a servant within the Marquis¡¯ residence that has a connection to Luka!?) (Thomas)


    The staff working at the Marquis House are regrly investigated.


    Even Thomas is no exception.


    It was unthinkable for anyone to have passed the investigation and still was able tomunicate with Luka.


    ¡°Oh. Are you confused? Surprised? It was a lie that I had a servant guide me. It¡¯s a lie. I wouldn¡¯t teach you the tricks of how I got in.¡± (Luka)


    Luka swung her legs as she sat on the desk like she¡¯s making a fool of Thomas.


    Thomas, trembling with anger, made a heartfelt promise. Once she¡¯s caught he¡¯ll have the desk reced.


    ¡°¡­ Huh. I¡¯m not the fool who doesn¡¯t know where they are. The Marquis¡¯ residence is always guarded by elite soldiers. There will be no escape for you.¡± (Thomas)


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not sure about that?¡±


    Luka touched her dagger, still looking quite distracted by something.


    The next moment, Thomas ran towards the door.


    All he has to do is open the door. As long as he makes a loud sound.


    Someone will get here.


    He believed it was the end for Luka!


    He¡¯s only a meter away from the door.


    It was only 1 meter.


    Still,


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    ¡°Goodbye.¡± (Luka)


    Thomas wasn¡¯t able to grab the doorknob.


    Luka moved towards him at a terrible speed grabs his shoulder and is forced back.


    ¨CStab!


    Thomas had foreseen that pain would soon radiate from his back, but the next moment.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± (Luka)


    A groan came from Luka, suddenly Thomas was released.


    (What the heck, what¡¯s going on!?) (Thomas)


    Originally, Thomas should have called a guard immediately.


    But he was extremely interested in what happened to Luka.


    She could have stabbed Thomas to death a while ago.


    Why did she miss that chance?


    Looking back, Thomas saw a jet-ck arrow stuck in Luka¡¯s shoulder.


    There was no such object there a while ago.


    In the current situation, it is reasonable to think that an arrow stabbed her when Thomas was attacked.


    But where did the arrowe from?


    ¨D¨DThey were in a closed room. The ss wasn¡¯t broken, but it seemed like it was shot from just outside the room.


    And also who shot the arrow?


    ¨CThere were no guards that use bows or arrows in the mansion.


    Thomas has no idea what the answers to those questions were.


    ¡°Ah. Did he feel my bloodthirst at this distance? No, this seems to be more like the instinct of a wild animal. I¡¯ve failed, I¡¯m a failure.¡± (Luka)


    (¡­?) (Thomas)


    Luka pulled out the arrow, then held her shoulders, and her face morphed into a smirk.


    Thomas tilted his head unsure of the meaning of the words she just said.


    ¡°Well, he¡¯s getting in the way again, so I¡¯ll be retreating for today.¡± (Luka)


    ¡°Wait a minute! You are¨C¡± (Thomas)


    ¡°I¡¯ll let you go for today, okay?¡± (Luka)


    ¡°¨C!¡± (Thomas)


    Suddenly as she saw Thomas her eerie smile disappeared.


    Her eyes werepletely void of emotion.


    Thomas¡¯ spine shook; it was as if he was peering into a bottomless abyss.


    His knees were wobbling and he can fall anytime, but Thomas holds on with his pride as the head butler.


    ¡°Well then, see you. Though I¡¯ll probably never see you again.¡± (Luka)


    With a smirk on her face again, Luka jumped out of the office window.


    The windows of the office are connected to the courtyard. Even if she runs away from here, she¡¯s pretty much a trapped mouse.


    But when Thomas looked out the window and searched for Luka¡¯s back, she suddenly disappeared as if it were just an apparition.

 Chapter 62: Afterword 1

    <h4>Chapter 62: Afterword 1</h4>


    ~3rd Person Perspective~


    ¡°Luka!¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Oh, hey Toru, it¡¯s not good to just barge in without permission!¡± (Esther)


    After Luka left, the sound of the door opening and two familiar voices reached Thomas¡¯ ears.


    As he looked behind him, there was the figure of Toru and Esther who had just left a few moments ago.


    Esther came looking the same as before, but Toru was holding a jet-ck bow in his hand.


    (No way, that ck arrow was from this boy ¡­?) (Thomas)


    ¡°T-Tho-Thomas-san!?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Oh, Thomas-san. Was Luka here just now?¡±


    ¡°¡­ Yes, she was here.¡± (Thomas)


    ¡°I knew it.¡±


    ¡°You were right¡­¡± (Esther)


    Esther just had her eyes open up, while Toru looked at her wordlessly saying, ¡°Well?¡±


    ¡°Thomas-san, did get injured anywhere?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, I¡¯m fine, everything is fine. Thank you.¡± (Thomas)


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s good.¡±


    ¡°By the way, Toru-dono. I would like to inquire something to satiate my curiosity. But how did you know Luka was here?¡± (Thomas)


    ¡°That¡¯s because my [Intuition] pointed me where Luka¡¯s bloodlust wasing from.¡±


    ¡°¡­I assume that at the time of Luka¡¯s movement towards harming me, Toru-dono might have been at the gate of the mansion, but if so, how are you here in the building??¡± (Thomas)


    ¡°No. I was walking towards the gate. But suddenly ording to my [intuition] Luka was about to murder someone.¡±


    Toru was confidently nodding.


    He feels neither grace nor bluntness, vanity or lie that usually emanates from most adventurers.


    Toru was only stating facts.


    Thomas, the head butler who continued to observe the insatiable aristocrats of other territories face to face, can easily detect such traits.


    (Well¡­) (Thomas)


    Thomas, who is not an adventurer, cannot even fathom how much skill Toru has in detecting enemies while he was outside the building.


    However, he can only be sure that it is some ¡°special skill¡±.


    Suddenly, Thomas noticed a tiny hole in the wall.


    The hole was just around Thomas¡¯ chest.


    When Thomas lowered his head slightly, he saw light from the other side.


    A tiny hole leads from this room to the outside of the mansion.


    The hole is just big enough for an arrow to pierce Luka¡¯s shoulder.


    (¡­ I was saved at the right moment.) (Thomas)


    Luka at that time was serious about killing him.


    If she was not hit, Thomas would definitely have been killed.


    And if Thomas had been killed -this fact was quite important- Luka would have sowed seeds of problems longsting and far-reaching over Finlis.


    Toru put a halt to Luka¡¯s ¡°mysterious n.¡±


    (Both Finlis and I have been saved quite a lot o times¡­) (Thomas)


    Thomas no longer sees Toru as an ¡°inferior¡±.


    On the contrary, he felt that he was one of the indispensable piece for the peace and well-being of Finlis.


    Thomas, who had previously thought, ¡°I¡¯ll find a cheaper alternative,¡± is now working his utmost thinking, ¡°I¡¯ll surely find a house for him.¡±


    ¡ð


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    ~Luka¡¯s Perspective~


    Luka, wearing a jet-ck robe, stands alone in the shadows of Finlis.


    ¡°Ahaha. I have lost three souls.¡± (Luka)


    By receiving the arrow shot by Toru, the souls of three humans that Luka had taken in her body disappeared.


    The souls became substitutes.


    I was prepared for when I was going to be fighting an opponent who could potentially kill me.


    However, I never thought that three souls would disappear with just one shot on my shoulder.


    ¡°Who is that inferior?¡± (Luka)


    On behalf of thete Philip, I seriously tried to destroy Finlis this time.


    I was nning on not getting my n disturbed, unlike Philip.


    So I set up a strategy considering Toru as someone who is most detrimental to the n, this was an opponent who cut Philip¡¯s soul.


    The obstacle I consider is not Lily, who is the ex-B-ranker Infinite, much less Aaron, who is ex-A-rank and the guild master and God¡¯s Eye.


    It was Toru who could reap my soul.


    I had a powerful sense of smell and knew that Toru was the most dangerous person in Finlis.


    That¡¯s why I decided to operate at the time of Toru¡¯s capture of ¡°re Light Dungeon¡±, where he left the city and wouldn¡¯te back for a certain period.


    First, I gave the monsters some stocked solution of ¡°re Light¡± and then released the Silver Wolf to Finlis.


    Silver wolves will kill people, and even if a silver wolf is killed, the re light in their bellies will burn the buildings and people.


    Even if the fire rm is raised and they start extinguishing the fire if the water in the well is mixed with a fire-resistant paralyzing poison, the vaporized poison will be inhaled and the people will fall.


    Unable to resist, they will either be chewed by a silver wolf or burned to death.


    The operation went so well that it was looking quite well halfway.


    Also, by possessing the body of a C-rank adventurer, it was easy to guide people to follow my n.


    However, the situation changed after Toru appeared.


    Originally, Finlis should have fallen by the time Toru returned.


    But he already came back.


    It¡¯s not because he failed to capture the dungeon.


    It¡¯s just that his dungeon capture speed was more than double that of a normal adventurer.


    However, I still did not think the n hadpletely failed.


    There was already arge ze in the center of the city.


    In addition to that, the air was already saturated with the paralyzing poison.


    ¡°Inferiors¡± will never be able to manage to ovee both.


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    However, Toru managed to sprinkle ¡°an excessive amount of holy water¡± and solved both fire and poison in one swoop!


    It waspletely unexpected.


    I seriously cursed the god who bound such a fate.


    ¡°Do you want to protect thisnd so much!¡± (Luka)


    However, it is natural that, that God is desperate.


    The Great Father sleeps underneath Finlis.


    The seventh pir, the King of Gods, who the Six Pir Gods have banded together to seal and erase from history¡­


    I don¡¯t know what Toru is to God.


    But he will probably continue to disturb my ns many times in the future.


    Therefore, I decided to erase Toru.


    But he has a sword that is coated in divinity. It¡¯s a weapon that reaped Philip¡¯s soul.


    If I am cut by that sword, my soul will not be safe.


    It is dangerous to approach him directly.


    So I aimed at Thomas.


    If Thomas dies, Toru, who he had just met, will be suspected first.


    On top of that, if I hijack the body of one of the maids who work for the Marquis¡¯ residence and testified that ¡°I saw Toru enter the office,¡± it is certain that Toru will be hung on the gallows.


    I was careful, and when Toru¡¯s presence went out of the mansion, and even if he noticed my murderous intention, I carried out the n at ¡°the perfect moment that might nevere again¡±


    Despite this, Toru has even prevented the scheme!


    My miscalction is that I assumed that Toru had only one terrifying weapon, a sword.


    ¡°If I knew that he has a bow and arrow¡­ No, I wouldn¡¯t expect it to be powerful enough to pass through multiple stone walls. Haha.¡± (Luka)


    That arrow pierced Thomas¡¯s chest.


    If my current body didn¡¯t belong to a C-rank adventurer, the annihtion of my soul would have been inevitable.


    Thomas, who had his chest pierced, had received neither a scratch nor bruise.


    After all, it must be a divine weapon whose main purpose was to exorcise souls.


    It¡¯ll probably hard to know more about it.


    ¡°It seems that there is no choice but to destroy Finlis all at once with [Earth Quake] that I prepared in advance.¡± (Luka)


    If I were to deal with Toru, I would have no choice but to blow away the city with an attack from a ce he wouldn¡¯t predict.


    I had prepared in the wall of Finlis in advance an [Earth Quake] spell, which is the highest level spell within the earth magics.


    It took several years to prepare. It is such an advanced technique. It¡¯s quite the masterpiece I made.


    If such a technique is activated [Earth Quake], Finlis will surely be destroyed.


    However, I didn¡¯t want to use this magic if possible.


    This is because the city of Finlis itself has a safeguard for the barrier that seals the King of the Gods.


    Destroying the city and slowly reviving the king of the Gods. The other pirs put a failsafe on the seal to prevent such an event.


    It is a system that temporarily strengthens the seal if such a scenario urs.


    If I activate [Earth Quake], it is certain that the failsafe will be activated.


    Once this is activated, I expect that the seal will be enhanced for more than a hundred years.


    For me, who wanted to revive the King of God as soon as possible, the massive destruction of the city was an act I would not want to do if possible.


    However, there was no other way to defeat Toru with my current body.


    There is also a way to retreat for and gain more power.


    But Toru is still young. It is wise to crush him before he grows and bes unmanageable.


    ¡°Well, today is the day to say goodbye to Finlis.¡± (Luka)


    If I activate [Earth Quake], Finlis will be lost.


    As some people would say, goodbye forever.


    Upon arriving at the wall where the [Earth Quake] spell was installed, I felt something was wrong with the spell.


    ¡°The spell is ¡­ broken? That¡¯s impossible!¡± (Luka)


    The spell was perfect. I wrote it carefully so that it wouldn¡¯t break even if I left it alone for many years, and I also concealed it so that it wouldn¡¯t be seen from the outside.


    However, the spell was broken.


    I¡¯m sure I can find out more about the problem.


    ¡°¡­ That is !!¡± (Luka)


    Then I found it.


    An arrow was stuck in the core of the spell.


    An arrow with a color that blends into the darkness has pierced the wall deeply.


    The arrow destroyed the core of the spell, leaving it useless.


    There is no doubt about who the arrow is from.


    Toru¡¯s arrow!


    ¡°¡­ Hahaha. Did you have aplete view of my actions?¡± (Luka)


    It¡¯s like finding a grain of wheat dropped in the desert, an act of God ¡­¡­.


    Unknown to me was that this arrow was a ¡°misfire¡± from Toru ying with the [Magic Sword], I was terrified of his insight and power. [Note: So there you were. The ¡°misfire¡± from the fully charged arrow coincidentally hit the spell. Talk about fate.]


    ¡°Toru ¡­ I¡¯ll definitely kill you next time we meet.¡± (Luka)


    My curse quietly disappeared with Finlis¡¯ breeze, as the city truly began to regain peace, for now.

 Chapter 63: Afterword 2

    <h4>Chapter 63: Afterword 2</h4>


    My desire for a house was passed on to Gaius Finlis.


    Aaron the guild master said that Thomas had taken a lot of effort to get permission from Gaius.


    ¡°I never really thought I could get a house. I can¡¯t thank Thomas enough.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. If we have a chance to meet next time, we should thank him a lot.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yup.¡±


    I got the key from Aaron and headed to the designated ce.


    The city of Finlis is being rebuilt but it was still a mess.


    But it is not going to be back to normal anytime soon. It will still be some time before the city returns to its beautiful cityscape filled with red-roofed, white-walled houses.


    We passed around a corner within the residential area a short distance from the guild.


    As I hoped, it is a two-story house with a garden.


    ¡°This is our party¡¯s house¡­¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s a nice house with a lot of tasteful features.¡± (Toru)


    The exterior walls of the house are covered with ivy and the roof and walls are showing their age.


    But it¡¯s the type of aging that doesn¡¯t feel worn down.


    There are no broken or misaligned features.


    There will be no problem living here.


    (And what about the kitchen?)


    I had a dissatisfaction that I had been burying deep from within.


    The food at the inn was bad.


    Esther has never said that the food at the inn is unpleasant.


    From that situation, I wondered if the food in this world was at that level.


    However, I being a former Japanese, couldn¡¯t stand the nd food that had no soup stock and was in salty.


    However, I have neverined to thendy. That¡¯s because I am grateful for the food she cooked for us.


    I also didn¡¯t rent the kitchen.


    If I used the kitchen frequently, it¡¯s like indirectly saying, ¡°I can¡¯t eat thendy¡¯s food.¡±


    So I put up with it as long as I could.


    At least until I have my own house, I¡¯ll keep quiet¡­


    And today, I was released from the shackled meal.


    (What shall I cook first? Let¡¯s go around the marketter! Oh, I¡¯ll have to buy some kitchen utensils too.)


    Although I hadn¡¯t even checked the kitchen yet, I was upied with the thoughts about cooking and eating.


    I unlocked the door and entered the house, but


    ¡°¡­¡­Hmm?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­eh!?¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Why is Lily here¡­?¡±


    My eyes met with Lily¡¯s, who was sitting in a chair in the living room in a daze, and my mind went nk.

 Chapter 64: Prologue: Miscommunication?

    <h4>Chapter 64: Prologue: Mimunication?</h4>


    Note: Starting today, it is the beginning of the 3rd Arc.


    ¡°Why is Lily here ¡­?¡±


    It was a situation I would have never imagined, so my mind went nk.


    What Esther and I entered was a house given to us by the lord.


    After our aplishments from the recent disturbance, I was asked by the lord what I wanted.


    It¡¯s a good thing that we were allowed to say what we really wish for.


    I have been staying at the inn until a while ago, but I couldn¡¯t practice in the morning because the inn¡¯s guests would be disturbed.


    Also, my nightly magic training was forbidden too.


    No matter how many skill boards I have, I need to train to be able to effectively use the power I have acquired.


    Unlike Japan, Eargard is a world filled with monsters.


    If you¡¯re not easy, you will lose your life easily.


    In such a world, creating an environment where I should train was an urgent task.


    This is where the housees in.


    Once I have a house, I can train freely.


    I thought this was a rather unreasonable wish, but surprisingly our wish was readily epted.


    Good thing my achievement was a big deal for Finlis.


    The timing was right, the Lord had given us a house, and now it was time for me to get started.


    When I entered the house that was given to us, for some reason I found Lily, the owner of the magic shop.


    (What does this mean ¡­?)


    Lily opened her sleepy eyes slightly and pointed her hand towards me, while I waspletely nked-out.


    I feel some signs of magical power moving from the tip of her hand.


    ¡°Intruders.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°No, no. No! This is the house I got from the lord.¡±


    ¡°No excuses.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Wai¨C¡°


    When I opened my mouth to try to exin, Lily released the magical power that she had been channeling.


    I hurriedly hold out my hand in front of me.


    The magic released by Lily shed with my hands.


    It was at that moment.


    ¨D¨D¡£


    There came a void of sound.


    Silence saturates the room and white noise filled the air.


    Before sound came back again.


    ¡°Oh, my goodness¡­¡±


    I almost copsed on the floor with relief.


    I was able to counter her magic.


    The magic that I released shed with the exact same magic.


    I couldn¡¯t guess the magic that Lily released just by looking at it.


    But ¨C fire magic would burn the house down, and water magic and earth magic would be hard to clean up after release. If she wants to use a spell inside the house, wind magic is the most likely candidate.


    ¨CYes, I got it right.


    Then, in an attempt to counter the magic that she released, I deployed a spell with the same power and scale.


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    The canceling technique used by me is the same principle as active sound muffling. [T/N: Active sound muffling is the technology used by some modern headphones. Google-sensei has lots of headphone brands and models using this technology. It isn¡¯t cheap though.]


    Active sound muffling is a technology that can cancel out noise by using opposing frequency.


    It is used for noise canceling in Japan. It is a technique familiar to me.


    However, I didn¡¯t know if the same thing could be done with magic.


    (It might have gone the opposite, but I¡¯m d I seeded¡­)


    In front of me who has just been relieved, Lily is channeling her magical power again.


    ¡°Wa-Wait, wait!¡±


    ¡°¡­ Why do I have to wait?¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Talk! Let¡¯s talk!!¡±


    At this point, they would only be attacked unterally and the situation would not progress at all.


    I desperately asked Lily to talk before fighting.


    I managed to get the aggressive Lily to sit around the table for a discussion.


    I immediately exined my side (about the reward we received from the lord).


    But Lily shook her head.


    ¡°¡­ funny. I bought this house, so this is my house.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°But we got this house from the lord.¡±


    ¡°It was probably a different house?¡± (Lily)


    ¡°No, no, no, I used this key to get in, so I¡¯m sure of it.¡±


    With that said, I showed Lily the key to the house.


    ¡°Keys can be duplicated.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. But I don¡¯t think the lord gave us a duplicate key.¡±


    If an adventurer, who has been rewarded for his work, were to receive a duplicate of someone else¡¯s house key, it would affect the reputation of the lord.


    A decent aristocrat would never allow themselves to do such a thing.


    Simr to me, Lily also owned a real key.


    She had bought a new house after her house was burned down in an earlier disturbance.


    ¡°But this is my house. No doubt.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Hmm¡±


    Now that there are few houses left, the amount of money to buy a house has jumped significantly.


    There are tons of buyers for the goods, so the merchants are driving up the price.


    Lily was stubborn because she was forced to buy an overpriced house.


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    But that doesn¡¯t mean I was going to give it away either, saying, ¡°Yes, I see.¡±


    This house is a reward given by the lord. It¡¯s a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what has happened.


    Even though we are speaking to each other, we are not connecting at all.


    So I proposed.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the guild for the time being.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­guild?¡± (Lily)


    ¡°This time around, we have the guild as the intermediary when we receive the award from the lord. If we go to the guild, you¡¯ll know that we got this house legally.¡±


    I decided to reinforce our own im for now.


    Whether Lily was convinced or not, if she went to the guild, we would have a witness.


    Besides, I was curious about the cause of this situation.


    It¡¯s only after the cause is determined that the house may be owned by either party.


    Otherwise, there would be a lot of trouble left unresolved.


    We arrived at the guild and immediately exined the situation to the receptionist, Marie.


    ¡°Such a thing¡­¡± (Marie)


    ¡°Is the key you gave Toru wrong?¡± (Lily)


    ¡°No. This is definitely the key given by the lord.¡± (Marie)


    Marie answered Lily¡¯s question.


    This proved that the key was not given by mistake.


    ¡°Then why ¡­?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. In this case, would it be okay to have a guild step in?¡± (Marie)


    ¡°Ummm¡­¡­¡±


    I thought about Marie¡¯s offer.


    It¡¯s a different story if the guild prepared the house, but it was the Lord who prepared it.


    The guild is not directly involved in this case.


    Just because you visit awyer¡¯s office for a free consultation does not mean that they will ept the job for free. There is always amission fee.


    In the same way, does having the guilde in between cost us a fee?


    I felt uneasy, but Marie shook her head softly and winked at me.


    ¡°This time it is a service.¡± (Marie)


    ¡°Toruuu?¡± (Esther)


    A slimy, ck object stroked my neck.


    Esther, who was releasing a poisonous aura at the edge of my field of vision, is ring at me.


    (I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t know anything!!)


    Toru muttered in his chest many times, ¡°I don¡¯t know, I don¡¯t know,¡± as if he was chanting a Nembutsu to a ghost. [Note: Nembutsu/Nenbutsu is a Buddhist prayer used in many rituals. Probably to save him from the green-eyed demon possessing Esther. But he¡¯s pretty dense so it might be to save his soul.]

 Chapter 65: Unscrupulous Merchant

    <h4>Chapter 65: Unscrupulous Merchant</h4>


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the merchant who sold the house to Lily-san.¡± (Marie)


    Marie joins our group, and we head to the property tradingpany.


    I walked behind Marie. Behind me is Esther, who is still covered with a menacing air, and a grumpy Lily.


    All the men on the road had ck expressions when they saw Marie, looking at me and said, ¡°He¡¯s walking with three women!¡± ¡°Normies explode!¡± People might¡¯ve clicked their tongue. So I quickly looked away only to see Esther and Lily behind me.


    ¡°Do your best.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Don¡¯t die!¡± (Esther)


    For some reason, the men who passed by sent me a silent cheer.


    Our group arrived at the property tradingpany and rang the bell ced at the counter.


    Until the clerk appears, I was looking at the paper hanging over the wall.


    (Simr to a house rentalpany, do they post good properties?)


    Rental rooms are apartment-style and start from 10 silver coins.


    Houses for sale start from 40 gold coins.


    If themoners live modestly, they can live on five silver coins a month.


    With that in mind, 10 silver coins for renting a room is too expensive.


    (The demand is increasing because there was a fire, but isn¡¯t it a little too expensive¡­?)


    At that time, a balding man appeared from the back of the store, who appeared to be the owner.


    The shopkeeper smiled a grimy, slightly oily smile and rubbed his hands together.


    ¡°Wee. What are you looking for?¡± (Shopkeeper)


    ¡°I have something to check about the property we rmended to the lord the other day.¡± (Marie)


    Marie asked with a different expression, not quite the usual receptionist expression she wore.


    It¡¯s like an inspector or something.


    Perhaps he noticed the tension within the atmosphere, the shopkeeper sat down and gave a questioning look.


    ¡°Excuse me, but who are you?¡± (Shopkeeper)


    ¡°I¡¯m Marie, the Deputy Chief of the Reception Department of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡± (Marie)


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for this. I didn¡¯t think the deputy chief of the reception department is such a beautiful person¡ª¡± (Shopkeeper)


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to tter. Can you just answer what I was inquiring on?¡± (Marie)


    The shopkeeper, whose words are blocked by Marie, raised an eyebrow sullenly.


    However, the expression disappeared immediately and is instead reced by a ttering smile.


    ¡°Yes. yes. That was a second-hand house. What happened to the property?¡± (Shopkeeper)


    ¡°Actually, you said that the property purchased by the lord was also purchased by Lily, a ¡®B-rank adventurer¡¯. I came to check if there was something wrong with the sale.¡± (Marie)


    Marie deliberately emphasized the part ¡°B-rank adventurer¡±.


    Perhaps because of that, the shopkeeper¡¯s shoulders shook as if he was quite frightened.


    The bald head, which should have been dry before, is shiny with a light sweat.


    The shopkeeper stroked his head andughed probably thinking of a way to deceive us.


    ¡°I¡¯m happy to say that our store is currently in great demand. The number of contracts signed is more than ten times the usual number. So, I may have handed you the wrong key by ident. Oh, hahahaha!¡± (Shopkeeper)


    ~3rd Person Perspective~


    Marie, who was observing the shopkeeper, wondered, ¡°I see.¡±


    The fact that the lord (to be precise, the head butler) has entrusted Marie with the task of ascertaining the reality of the market, which is why Marie is now getting involved with Toru andpany¡¯s dispute and even escaping from her reception duties to show up at the property tradingpany.


    The reality is that Marie¡¯s job is to understand the real state of the market and if the prices of properties are excessively rising.


    It is up to the merchant to price his or her products. It doesn¡¯t matter what kind of price they put on a product, if it is too expensive, it won¡¯t sell.


    If it¡¯s too expensive, it won¡¯t sell and if it¡¯s too cheap, it won¡¯t make a profit.


    If they don¡¯t price their products properly, it will all just lead to the merchant struggling.


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    However, Finlis is different now that the fire has happened.


    The demand for housing has risen significantly, so they can price properties even at eye-popping prices.


    Naturally, the lord doesn¡¯t believe that merchants¡¯ profits should be curtailed.


    The more money the merchants make; the more tax revenue he would receive.


    But as a lord, he would not overlook price hikes that take advantage of people¡¯s misfortune and weakness.


    Because the lord is now working towards getting the citizens to live the same life as before the fire as soon as possible.


    The drastic hike in the selling price of the merchants¡¯ properties is an obstruction to the lord¡¯s n on helping his citizens¡¯ recovery.


    Investigating the veracity of unjustified price hikes.


    The guild had received a request from the lord, of course.


    However, when Marie actually visited the Chamber of Commerce, she felt somewhat ufortable.


    ¡°Investigate the veracity of unjustified price increases¡±


    Yes, the guild was tasked by the lord.


    However, Marie who actually visited thepany sensed something seemed fishy.


    (It seems that it¡¯s not just about raising the price. There seems to be something else happening underneath)


    The sense of being a receptionist cultivated over many years makes her realize that this shopkeeper is hiding something.


    So how should she approach?


    As Marie was worrying, Toru appeared from the side with a piece of paper.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s this property.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡­¡± (Marie)


    When I saw the paper, the shopkeeper¡¯s face said, ¡°I¡¯m a goner!¡±


    Marie hurries to see the paper. However, it is property information and that is not unusual.


    What on earth did the man react to?


    As Marie leaned her head, Toru came forward.


    ¡°This property is exactly the same as the one we got from the lord, but why is it still posted on the ¡®For Sale¡¯ bulletin board?¡±


    ¡°No, I just forgot to take it down after I sold it! I didn¡¯t actually sell it!¡± (Shopkeeper)


    The shopkeeper shook his head when asked by Toru.


    Then he hurriedly snatched the paper and tore it to pieces.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I was so busy that I forgot to take it down.¡± (Shopkeeper)


    ¡°Is that so? By the way, where can I make a duplicate key by the way?¡±


    (¡­¡­.) (Shopkeeper)


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    He didn¡¯t answer Toru¡¯s question this time.


    ¨D¨DNo, he can¡¯t answer.


    The shopkeeper¡¯s face is pretty pale.


    Arge amount of sweat was flowing down his forehead.


    ¡°Marie-san. Do you know of a ce where you can make a duplicate key?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I have some ideas.¡± (Marie)


    ¡°Oh, I see.¡±


    With that said, Toru got even closer to the shopkeeper.


    He spoke near the shopkeeper¡¯s ear as if to reveal a secret.


    ¡°How often did you make a duplicate key? If I look it up, I¡¯ll know right away. Still, do you want to wait before telling us?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ *Gulp*¡± (Shopkeeper)


    ¡°The ones asking are the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, a B-rank Adventurer, and the Lord. You should think carefully about what to do next.¡±


    Toru¡¯s voice was so cold that even Marie, who should have been investigating, had her spine chilled.


    If his gaze pointed at her, even Marie wouldn¡¯t be willing to resist.


    (The results are already out¡­) (Marie)


    As Marie had expected, the shopkeeper confessed to her his crimes one after another.


    Not only did this store raise the price, but it was also involved in multiple sales of a single property to multiple people.


    The criminals said they were selling their properties that way¡­¡­ because it was a fun way to make money.


    The shopkeeper was grabbed by military police called by Marie and taken him to jail.


    Marie thought while looking at the shopkeeper who is being carted away.


    ¨D¨DSince Toru-san started talking, he¡¯s been cornered easily.


    There isn¡¯t much evidence at this point, so the shopkeeper should have been able to deceive us if he wanted to.


    After Marie and the others left, the worst thing that could happen is that the locksmith used to hold arge amount of money to disguise the multiple sales.


    However, the shopkeeper confessed easily.


    It was as if he was using the confession technique used by the priests.


    ¡°I wonder if he lost due to the intimidation of Toru-san.¡± (Marie)


    She doesn¡¯t know why the man confessed so easily, but it gave her important information.


    If she collects this information and conveys it to the lord, it will be considered as a guild¡¯s sess.


    (I couldn¡¯t do anything during the Finlis raid, so I have to do something somehow¡­) (Marie)


    In Finlis, the credibility of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild remained rock-bottom.


    The guild must work as one to do everything in its power to earn even the slightest credit.


    (Thanks to Toru-san, I think I can make a report soon. Maybe I should invite him to a meal next time? Ufufu) (Marie)


    Marie walking towards the guild was already manic about how to persuade a promising adventurer to a meal with her.

 Chapter 66: A Devoted Servant of Greed!

    <h4>Chapter 66: A Devoted Servant of Greed!</h4>


    ~3rd Person Perspective~


    The shenanigans of the property tradingpany were quickly exposed


    By honestly confessing his guilt, the head of the association, the owner of the store just barely escaped from the hangman¡¯s neck.


    However, all the assets of thepany were confiscated. The store owner was sentenced to five years ofbor.


    The confiscated assets were used to rebuild Finlis.


    Although the prices of all the houses could not be restored to normalcy, they were settled to a price that even amoner could afford.


    ¡ð


    ~Toru¡¯s Perspective~


    Toru and his friends returned to their new house and gathered in the living room.


    With this one case, the lord and Lily were able to recover all the funds for the purchase of this house.


    However, the rights of who owns the house are still binding.


    Which party will use this house?


    We¡¯re still discussing who will live here but both parties are not willing topromise.


    ¡°This house is a gift from the lord, you know? How can you disrespect the feelings of the Lord?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°But I bought it too. This house is mine.¡± (Lily)


    Esther and Lily are shing with each other without either backing down.


    The reason for theck of conclusion in the discussion is simple. It¡¯s because they only argue with each other and don¡¯t try to find any point ofpromise.


    (Hmmm. I wonder if we can do something soon. I¡¯m getting hungry. ¡­¡­)


    The time is already around noon.


    It¡¯s not even half a day since I had a ¡°spar¡± with Lily in this house first thing in the morning.


    Well, it¡¯s good how quickly that the merchant¡¯s scam was resolved.


    [Condemnation] was a useful skill.


    Thanks to this, the merchant pretty much confessed all on his own.


    The power of that skill was so strong that even I was taken aback.


    (I have to be careful not to let this skill be a catalyst for something¡­¡­)


    ¡°Mumumu¡­¡­¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Mu ¡­¡± (Lily)


    Have they said all they have to say to each other?


    Esther and Lily are now ring at each other with their lips pinched.


    Thinking it¡¯s about time, I spoke for the first time from the sidelines.


    ¡°If it¡¯s the right to this house, but I don¡¯t mind if you have the right to own it, Lily-san.¡±


    ¡°What? What do you think you¡¯re doing, Toru?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Well, Esther, calm down.¡±


    I calmed Esther who sprang up angrily before continuing


    ¡°However, this house is too big for Lily alone, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Hmm ¡­ Certainly.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°If so, let¡¯s share¡±


    ¡°¡±¡­¡­share?¡±¡± (Lily & Esther)


    ¡°Yes. We share this house. Of course, we don¡¯t share everything, we set rules simr to an inn.¡±


    I presented them with the concept of shared living spaces that were simr in Japan.


    Fortunately, this house is too big for one or two people to live in.


    If we make the bedrooms into private spaces and the living room and kitchen intomunal spaces, we can live here with no problems.


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    Fortunately, the money Lily paid for the house will be returned.


    Then there¡¯s no need to worry about who owns it.


    We can just use this house as a shared house.


    This is thepromise that I think they should both end up in.


    The two who listened to my story were pondering with serious faces.


    There was never any bad blood between them.


    (Now it¡¯s up to them toe to a conclusion.)


    Judging that, I left my seat.


    ¡°Toru. Are you going somewhere?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s almost noon, so I thought I¡¯d go shopping.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go with you.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°No, that¡¯s okay. I have some things I want to buy. Stay here and think about what I said.¡±


    While waving goodbye, I left the living room.


    After checking the kitchen, I quickly skipped to the market.


    (Cooking! Cooking ?)


    In Toru¡¯s mind, there is already one thing filling it up: cooking.


    That should be it. Since visiting Eargard, I had only eaten soup meals.


    Even if it wasn¡¯t delicious, I wouldn¡¯t say it was unpleasant, since I faithfully put up with it.


    But now that I have a house, I don¡¯t have to put up with nd food anymore.


    (¡­ I¡¯m going all out. I¡¯m going to cook with everything I¡¯ve got!)


    ¡°Kukkukku ¡­¡±


    At my own will, I bought all the ingredients in the market.


    It doesn¡¯t matter how much I can carry. It doesn¡¯t matter how much I have, because I have [Inventory].


    I¡¯m going to have to go to the store where the kitchen equipment is located.


    I have a kitchen in my house, but no kitchen utensils.


    In order to cook, I have to buy a certain amount of utensils.


    ¡°Frying pan, pot, kitchen knife, cutting board ¡­ Kufufu¡±


    My eyes sparkle as I gaze at the many kitchen types of equipment.


    I should not just base on the looks.


    Whatever it is, I want to use the best tool.


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    I received arge bounty from the guild when I helped in Finlis¡¯ crisis.


    With that money, I bought all sorts of small andrge first-ss kitchen equipment.


    ¡°Fuha ¡­!¡±


    This is also an amount that can never be carried by one person, but I have [inventroy].


    I¡¯m going to have to go back to the house in a hurry after stuffing my dream ingredients and utensils into the [Inventory], now full of ingredients and kitchen equipment.

 Chapter 67: Cooking Makes Everyone Feel Better

    <h4>Chapter 67: Cooking Makes Everyone Feel Better</h4>


    After returning home, I immediately headed to the kitchen.


    The entire kitchen was washed once with [water supply], and the kitchen utensils stored in the [Inventory] were taken out.


    ¡°Yeah ¡­ I¡¯ll do it!!¡±


    With a spirited voice, I immediately brought out my skill board.


    This time, it was not only my first time in this house but also my first time cooking since I came to Eargard.


    After a month or so of waiting, I had no intention of just waiting by.


    ¨CTa-tat-tat-tat! [Note: Tapping sounds]


    I tapped the screen so quickly that my fingers got blurry.


    ¡ð Status


    Toru Minasuki


    Level: 30¡ú31


    Race: Human Primary Job: Swordsman ¨C Secondary Job: Mage


    Rank: II ¡ú III ¨C Skill points: 71 ¡ú 571


    >> Skill points: 571 ¡ú 516


    >> [Cooking] Obtained


    >> [Cooking Lv1] ¡ú [Cooking LvMAX]


    There were a few items that had changed since thest time I checked the skill board.


    Also, when I raised my level to 10, my skill level teaued.


    Apparently, the upper limit of techniques is 10.


    Of all my other skills, this is the one I first maxed out


    It¡¯s important information, but for today, my only focus is concentrated on cooking.


    ¡°Well ¡­ what should I make ¡­¡±


    Iughed giddily as I takeout ingredients from my inventory


    ¡ð


    ~Esther¡¯s Perspective~


    Both mine and Lily¡¯s opinions about who had the right to own the house were exhausted.


    To me, Toru¡¯s proposal didn¡¯t seem so bad.


    I had no objection to having Lily live with us if the house bes a sort of base for their adventuring.


    Rather, Lily is a B-rank adventurer and a good senior adventurer.


    Living in the same house can be beneficial for their adventuring.


    However, Lily has not yet agreed with the shared living space proposal.


    Although the murderous air from the past has disappeared, Lily still seems to be far from epting.


    (What on earth is Lily¡¯s problem?) (Esther)


    It was then while I was under deep thought.


    That the living room was suddenly flooded by an appetizing smell.


    Toru then appeared in the living room, pulling a serving trolley.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you both have dinner for now?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, oh, oh. Is that time already?¡± (Esther)


    On the trolley that Toru brought in, there were steaks and soup for all of them on it.


    Toru carefullyid the food out on the table.


    The steak and soup in front of me smell more wonderful than anything I had ever smelled before.


    It was a wonderful smell that stirred my appetite just from the aroma.


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    ¡°Could it be that Toru brought all this?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yes, but I only bought the ingredients and kitchen utensils. I made this dish.¡±


    ¡°Oh, really?¡± (Esther)


    They had everything they needed to eat, such as tes, knives, and forks.


    ¡°It must have cost a lot of money to buy all that stuff. Let me pay for the halfter.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. I only bought the dishes and the kitchen equipment because I wanted them.¡±


    ¡°No, but ¡­¡­¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Just eat. Let¡¯s just eat it while it¡¯s hot.¡±


    I tried to pay him back but was overwhelmed by Toru bulldozing the conversation.


    I am very grateful that I don¡¯t have to spend money, but I¡¯m guilty that this is too one-sided.


    (Someday, I have to return it properly¡­) (Esther)


    ¡°Yes,¡± I decided on my mind.


    ¡°Then, dig in!¡±


    At Toru¡¯s invitation, I pressed the knife against the steak.


    Then


    ¡°What?¡¡What¡¯s this, it¡¯s so soft!¡± (Esther)


    I just pressed the knife to the meat and it was easily cut.


    And it¡¯s not because the knife was sharp.


    This is something that I realized the moment I put the steak in my mouth.


    ¡°~~~~~~~ !?¡± (Esther)


    The meat was superbly tender.


    Even if I don¡¯t chew, the meat just melts on my tongue!


    I have never eaten such tender meat.


    It¡¯s not just softness.


    The taste is also exceptional.


    I have eaten a variety of meals.


    But among them, this steak was by far the best.


    Even the dishes prepared by the top chefs at the royal capital are iparable ¡­


    ¡°¡­ The steaks I¡¯ve eaten so far seem like they¡¯re just soles of shoes.¡± (Esther)


    Such an impression leaked from my mouth.


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    Lily, who ate Toru¡¯s food in front of me, is silently eating the steak.


    It¡¯s not that she doesn¡¯t feel that it¡¯s not delicious.


    The proof of this is that when I looked at Lily


    ¡°¨CKi!¡± (Lily) [T/N: This is like Lily making a hissing sound.]


    It¡¯s like, ¡°This is mine. I will not give it to anyone! I¡¯m not going to give it to you,¡± she said, ring at me with a sharp look in her eyes.


    ¡°You know, Toru. I¡¯m not sure what kind of meat this is.¡± (Esther)


    After the second slice, I blurted it out.


    I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s because Toru might have stocked up on super high-quality meat.


    If that was the case, it was indeed hard to let Toru to keep quiet about having the foot the bill all by himself.


    ¡°This is the chicken that was sold on the market.¡±


    ¡°Chicken? ¡­ This is a chicken!?¡± (Esther)


    I sat up slightly in surprise.


    There is indeed a chicken meat-like vor to it.


    But it¡¯s clearly different from any other chicken meat I¡¯ve ever eaten.


    ¡°Is it a fairly top-ss chicken?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Nope. It¡¯s normal chicken that was sold for 20 copper coins.¡±


    ¡°That ¡­ why does it taste like this?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I think it¡¯s because I treated the ingredients carefully.¡±


    I was totally bewildered.


    Toru¡¯s words were unbelievable.


    Does it taste like this just by treating the ingredients carefully?


    Once I put down the knife, I took a sip of the soup.


    It tasted astonishing, too.


    ¡°¡­ What is this?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°It¡¯s salt soup¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s stupid! Salt alone can¡¯t make it taste like this !!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. This is a soup made by adding extra bird bones and vegetable stalks and boiling it to make soup stock.¡±


    All of Toru¡¯s food was excellent.


    I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the meal about to be served to the king was brought to this house by some mistake.


    Without a doubt, it was one of the best dishes in the country.


    I devoured my steak and soup in a frenzy.


    The next thing I knew, all the dishes that should have been in front of me were inside my stomach.


    ¡°Fuh¡­¡± (Esther)


    A satisfied sigh leaked from my mouth.


    (Could it be that I¡¯m dying tomorrow¡­¡­?) (Esther)


    The food put me in quite a blissful mood.


    Like me, Lily, who was crazy about the food, stared at the ceiling.


    ¡°¡­ Toru¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Yes¡±


    Lily opened her mouth.


    ¡°If you were in this house, would Toru cook?¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Of course. Leave the cooking to me!¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s fine. I ept the shared living space n.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Oh, thank you.¡±


    So we decided to share the house with Lily.


    I knew that Lily had epted to share because Toru grabbed her by the stomach.


    (I¡¯m totally captivated by it, too¡­) (Esther)

 Chapter 68: Training for the First Time in a Long Time

    <h4>Chapter 68: Training for the First Time in a Long Time</h4>


    The fact that I can cook the food I have been waiting for so long has made me feel quite relieved.


    While cleaning up after the meal, I looked back at my own experiences and reflect on them.


    ¡°Oh ¡­ I have to temper myself a little.¡±


    I do not regret maxing my [Cooking] skill


    Rather, I have no regrets. I was eager to continue making delicious food with all my might.


    It is not about cooking, but about my current situation.


    I was so absorbed in my cooking that I missed some important information.


    If this had been a battlefield, I would have made an irreparable mistake.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if techniques can really be maxed at level 10. So if an average person¡¯s technique is level 5? Hmmm. I wonder if I should develop my skills a bit more.¡±


    Currently, my average technique level is at 5.


    If level 5 is the average of Eargard¡¯s people. I, an ¡°inferior¡± should improve my skills a little more.


    If I am inferior to the average person in Eargard, I should raise my skills¡¯ level to ensure my survival.


    ¡°Fortunately, I had a lot more skill points ¡­¡­. I mean, why are they increasing so much?¡¡I¡¯ve only gone up one level.¡±


    I pondered while looking at the skill board.


    The monster that I defeated a while ago was a werewolf.


    The level has probably increased by 1 because I defeated the werewolf.


    However, the increase in skill points of about 500 for a level was a little strange.


    ¡°There was a sudden increase in points before. I¡¯m sure there¡¯s some condition that makes sense. But¡­¡­ I don¡¯t know about it at all¡±


    While thinking, I dried the dishes and stacked them on the shelves.


    I thought about it for a while,


    ¡°Well, I mean. If I gain a lot more, I¡¯m grateful.¡±


    Even if I don¡¯t know the conditions, I can use the points.


    I ignored my doubts and devoted my focus to cleaning up.


    ***


    Lily epted my n.


    From now on, we¡¯ll be living in this house instead of the inn.


    I can freely do the things I wanted to do but were forbidden to do there.


    I immediately visited the garden of our house along with Esther.


    First is sword training with Esther.


    When we went out into the garden, our faces were amazed by the view.


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s amazing¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Oh. It¡¯s just that no one has ever lived in it, and as expected, the garden is in shambles.¡±


    The vegetation is overgrown and the garden looks like a jungle.


    If only one side was trimmed, it will look like the forest of Finlis.


    Here in the garden, nts and trees were rustling even though there was no wind.


    I couldn¡¯t see it, but I was sure of it. Something is lurking.


    The vegetation is overgrown, but it isrge enough for training.


    However, I didn¡¯t feel like training as it was.


    ¡°For now, let¡¯s just do a quick cleanup.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Oh, wait a minute¡±


    Did she try to do the pruning? I held Esther back as she stepped forward with her sword drawn.


    ¡°First of all, I will roughly trim it with wind magic.¡±


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    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. I understand.¡± (Esther)


    After confirming that Esther had stepped back, I cast the [Air Cutter].


    I used wind magic to cut off only the overgrown weeds.


    I carefully adjusted the power so that it would not reach the hedge or the neighbors¡¯ house even if I made a mistake.


    ¡°[Air cutter]¡±


    Five des of wind, deployed over time, mowed down the overgrown weeds in the garden in an instant.


    From a bare tree, a small bird fled to the sky in a hurry.


    And a rough ck something fled from the grass, darting to the shadow.


    The mowed weeds soared in the wind, fluttering slowly before falling to the ground.


    The transparent [Air Cutter] pruned the weeds in the garden.


    Since it wasn¡¯t thewn of an aristocrat¡¯s mansion, and even if there were some rough patches after pruning.


    It would be no problem for everyday use.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s quite wonderful.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Thank you. Then, let¡¯s collect the yard trimmings.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± (Esther)


    We gathered the branches and grass that had fallen to the ground in one ce.


    As she was clearing the grass, Esther encountered a ck something that waste to escape, and Esther screamed, ¡°Hiii!¡±


    (Esther, I guess bugs aren¡¯t your thing.)


    I didn¡¯t have an image of Esther as someone having a weakness for anything, so such a side to her was new to me.


    The number of weeds and branches that were trimmed off was considerable.


    A dense pile of trimmings was in the center of the garden.


    ¡°Does Finlis have a ban on burning trash within the city?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to get arrested for burning trash.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I see.¡±


    In Japan, due to environmental issues, burning garden waste ispletely prohibited by thew.


    When I was a young boy, I used to collect fallen leaves and bake potatoes, but this is no longer possible in present Japan.


    However, Eargard does not have environmental problems from emissions caused by burning.


    Therefore, there is now prohibiting burning.


    If I burn the mountain of trash with [Fireball], the entire pile will be burned in an instant.


    But Esther shook her head.


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    ¡°I think it¡¯s best not to burn as much trash as possible right now.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because there was just a big fire recently.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right.¡±


    In Finlis, during the monster stampede, a huge fire broke out.


    Many citizens lost their lives and homes to the great fire.


    The fire has already been extinguished and Finlis is starting to rebuild it¡¯s way to recovery.


    But that does not mean that the wounds of the citizens have all been healed.


    A wildfire could cause residents to panic if they saw the smoke.


    Also, it is dangerous for me to use fire magic in the city.


    I have only been using magic for about a month.


    If the sparks fly and cause a fire somewhere, I don¡¯t want to be responsible for such an act.


    ¡°Let¡¯s stop with the burning.¡±


    ¡°It will be helpful if you do so¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Well, what should I do? I wonder if I can just put it in the corner.¡±


    The pile of nts and trees is quite a bit, but if you pull it to the corner of the garden, it won¡¯t get in the way.


    However, it may be a breeding ground for creatures that are going to be pests.


    (There were even some insects I¡¯ve never seen before.)


    And if they are ck, with lots of legs, and they run away fast and sometimes fly. If such a loathsome fellow were to breed here, I would be quite horrified.


    Also, some insects have poison.


    It would be better to have nothing that would be a breeding ground for insects.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll put it in my [Inventory] for the time being, and if I go out of Finlis, I¡¯ll burn it there.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a good idea.¡± (Esther)


    If that is the n, all that is left is to store it in the [Inventory].


    I put my hand on top of the pile and stored the mountain of weeds in my [Inventory].


    ¡°Now, let¡¯s do it!¡±


    When I finished storing everything, Esther held out a wooden sword to me.


    It¡¯s an Agnisword tomemorate our training.


    Apparently, Esther has no intention of taking a break.


    So I received the Agnisword with a wry smile.


    We sparred with each other in the rugged garden that we have just mowed.


    I stepped on the ground to get used to it.


    My footwork was sure and the Agnisword was held squarely in front of me.


    At about the same time, Esther also got in position.


    ¡°Well, are you ready, Toru?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Anytime!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± (Esther)


    The spirited voice sent a shiver down my spine.


    Finally, the day hade.


    We thought it would take a little longer, but we got the house sooner than we expected.


    From now on, we¡¯re free.


    Free to train.


    I don¡¯t have to care about anyone, and I don¡¯t have to worry about anyone getting angry with me.


    I can do what I want, how I want when I want.


    I can train as hard as I want.


    That¡¯s why I greeted Esther¡¯s attack with a smile.

 Chapter 69: Lily’s Doubts

    <h4>Chapter 69: Lily¡¯s Doubts</h4>


    ~Lily¡¯s Perspective~


    I was smiling on the sofa in the living room after the meal


    The dish I just ate was the most delicious in my 100 plus years of living.


    I have had many different dishes in my life.


    I am still in my early years, but even so, I have gained more experience than most of my kind.


    It is not just a matter of how many times I have tried it; it is also a matter of how many times I wanted to try it.


    I would be a fool to miss out on such a great meal.


    I am not going to be the only one who would do that.


    ¡­ Phew.


    I never thought that I would be so gripped by food.


    In my life so far, my interest has only been in my quest for magic.


    Other than magic, everything was only was second or third ce in my priorities.


    I might still be wearing raggedy clothes if I had not been ¡°trained¡± by the adventurer party I traveled with in the past.


    ¨D¨DIt is a good thing that I was able to get the most out of my own body because until then, I had no interest in my own appearance.


    ¡°Lily is so beautiful! What a waste!¡± (Voice from Lily¡¯s past)


    Because of the dailyints of the female adventurer, I have developed a habit of keeping myself well groomed.


    Aside from that, I was not even interested in my own personal grooming.


    It is the first time for me to be moved by something other than magic.


    ¡°¡­ Huh¡± (Lily)


    ¨D¨DI never thought I would be so moved by a meal.


    ¡°¡­ Mmmm.¡± (Lily)


    ¨D¨DIs it time for the next meal.


    I was already looking forward to the next meal.


    I could sense a faint magical spell from outside the house.


    A short timeter, I heard a thumping sound of something crashing.


    ¡°¡­Noisy¡±


    Recalling the memory of the delicious meal, me, who was about to doze off, sat up with my eyes opened.


    This is not a pleasant atmosphere for a nap.


    Walking around the house, I listened closely.


    The sound seemed to being from the Garden behind the house.


    I puff out my cheeks and head into the Garden.


    When I got into the Garden, the anger I had been building up was instantly cooled.


    ¡°¡­eh?¡± (Lily)


    In the yard, Toru and Esther were sparring with wooden swords in their hands.


    Toru and Esther¡¯s swordsmanship is amazing.


    I, who has no interest in anything other than magic, has no eyes to evaluate their skillfulness in detail. Still, I can roughly gauge their level.


    The two swordsmen are definitely C-rank adventurers.


    What surprised me was not their high level of swordsmanship. (Rather, I lost interest in their swordsmanship in an instant)


    What surprised me was Toru.


    He is just a fledgling magician who came to buy magic just a week or two ago.


    Him as a quintet. He has a talent I cannot understand. [Note: What? He is a n, right? Is this like ¡°Ogre/Graf¡±? Did the author just change it in some chapters without editing the rest? I do not know about this.]


    (That was absolutely the measurement jewel was already broken. Yeah. It must be.)


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    Toru bought only the most basic magic spells.


    That is why I thought that he would just gradually improve his magic skills.


    However, what about the sight that is right in front of me?


    Toru always activates [Strength Enhancement].


    He should take at least a month before he can move while simultaneously activating [Strength Enhancement].


    Despite this, Toru was at the same level as Esther-no, he is using the spell in a more efficient way


    That is not all.


    Toru also has five simultaneous [water ball] floating overhead and spinning around!


    Is he going to use those [water ball] to attack?


    I thought so, but Toru would not use it to attack no matter how long I have waited.


    What is he doing with attack magic floating over his head?


    ¡°¡­I do not understand what he is doing.¡± (Lily)


    After watching the training for a while, Esther¡¯s tip was pressed against Toru¡¯s neck.


    In swordsmanship, they were evenly matched or Toru might even be a bit higher.


    However, it seems that Esther has a more refined battle sense.


    ¡°Oh, I have lost again huh?¡±


    ¡°It cannot be helped, because Toru has not had much time since you came to Eargard.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Hmm¡±


    ¡°I would be depressed if I lost to Toru, who has been holding a sword for less than a month. You can still keep losing to me!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°No. No.¡±


    Lily¡¯s ears perked up at the end of the sparring match and the conversation between the two fighters while taking a break.


    ¡°Since you came to Eargard?¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Hmm, Oh Lily, you are here. I am sorry I did not notice.¡±


    ¡°Okay, more than that, since you came to Eargard?¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Um ¡­ that is ¡­¡±


    Esther made a face as she looked at Toru¡¯s reaction.


    Toru opens his mouth to continue.


    ¡°I am a ¡®lost¡¯ person¡±


    ¡°Eh¡± (Lily)


    When I was told that he was a ¡°Lost¡±, I was shocked as I have never been before.


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    Naturally, having lived for a long time, I am well aware of what a ¡°Lost¡± is like.


    I have seen many ¡°lost¡± people, but all of them deserved to be called ¡°inferior¡±.


    Moreover, there was no exception.


    (A lost person and a quintet? Therefore, proficient with less than a month of practice¡­!?) (Lily)


    ¡°Impossible.¡± (Lily)


    A guttural sound came out of my mouth.


    Then, only a single word followed out of my mouth.


    I have lived for more than a century.


    I have never heard of a human being who has mastered magic and has mastered it to a practical level in just a month.


    The only thing I can say is that that kind person could not be an ¡°inferior¡± person.


    ¡°Is Toru really a ¡®lost¡¯ person?¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Yes, that is what they say.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± (Lily)


    If he is lying and pretending to be ¡°Lost¡±, a little research will soon debunk it.


    Nevertheless, an adventurer will not be the one who calls himself a ¡°Lost¡±.


    Because that is the same as saying, ¡®I am not capable of doing any work at all.¡±


    The probability of Toru being a ¡°lost¡± person is very high.


    So how is it that he has mastered the swordsmanship at a C-ranked adventurer¡¯s level and he has mastered the magic at an astonishing rate?


    Moreover, he is a skilled cook who can make incredibly delicious food.


    ¨D¨DWho is Toru.


    No matter how much I thought about that question, I just could not find an answer.

 Chapter 70: Thank You Lessons from Lily

    <h4>Chapter 70: Thank You Lessons from Lily</h4>


    Lily, who suddenly appeared in the Garden, was frozen in ce.


    I wave my hand in front of her eyes, but she does not react at all.


    ¡°What is wrong with her?¡±


    I think back to the match earlier while pondering about Lily¡¯s condition.


    I already have [Sword Arts lvl5] and [Aikido lvl5], after supplementing my skills using the skill board.


    However, it was as if I still could not match up with Esther.


    After all, the problem lies in myck of experience.


    Esther is much better at timing and nning on when to use [Strength Enhancement].


    The technique itself is by no means losing.


    Rather, there were many instances where I was the one with the upper hand.


    However, I could notpletely defeat Esther.


    I was so absorbed in attacking that I found myself stuck in Esther¡¯s tactics and had her sword pressed against my neck.


    (Pulling back can also be part of a battle strategy¡­ Mmm, it is so hard!)


    When I enhance my abilities on the skill board, I am inevitably ending up pushing much harder.


    That is what happened with my moves.


    Esther is skillful in fighting an opponent with a higher ability than her.


    Until now, I had only had one experience in fighting opponents who are more capable than I am.


    ¨COnly the werewolf at the time of the monster stampede.


    Esther, on the other hand, has an abundance of experience.


    She does not have a skill board, so she has no choice but to steadily improve her technique.


    As long as you are weak, all the monsters around you are considered powerful enemies.


    Moreover, she has to defeat them while standing her ground and avoiding losing her life and being injured.


    The result of that experience is clearly evident in the form of Esther¡¯s victory.


    (I have to work harder!)


    I am called an ¡°inferior¡± person but I cannot help but want to survive in Eargard.


    I immediately focus my magical power and cast a small magic bullet.


    There are three magic bullets. Fire, water, and earth, respectively.


    All of them spinning overhead.


    This is training while controlling multi-attribute magic that the previous me was unable to do.


    Even in the present, a great deal of focus is used to control the magic.


    Nevertheless, my [Magic Art] is at level five. It is not as if I cannot do it.


    It is not because I do not have the technique. This just because this body is not yet ustomed to controlling magic.


    If this can be done normally, then my control of magic will be raised another notch.


    While I was desperately, controlling multi-attribute spells,


    ¡°¡­what is that?¡± (Lily)


    Lily, who has seeded in restarting her thoughts, asked me.


    She looks over my head and has bewilderment written all over her face.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡±


    ¡°They were spinning all the time while you were fighting.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Oh, yeah. This is a bullet-shaped version of the spells. As I said earlier, I am a ¡®Lost¡¯ person, so I am not good at controlling magic.¡±


    ¡°What¡­ Really?¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Yes. There was no magic in my original world. This is how I use magic to get used to it as quickly as possible.¡±


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    (¡­) (Lily)


    I do not know why. I am not sure why, but Lily¡¯s gaze is bing stonier and stonier.


    So I continued on talking hoping to give a clearer exnation.


    ¡°What I am doing now is using the three attributes of fire, water, and earth simultaneously. I thought if I trained while constantly using them like this, I would be able to activate my magic freely even while I am fighting.¡±


    ¡°I see. That is why Toru¡¯s movements were so simple.¡± (Esther)


    Esther¡¯s words made my eyes widen.


    ¡°Well, so?¡±


    ¡°Oh. I guess you were too preupied with using magic. If you had not used magic simultaneously, I might have lost.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I see. Hmm, I think I was moving normally. I just need more practice¨C¡°


    ¡°Wait a minute.¡± (Lily)


    Lily suddenly interrupted our conversation.


    Her eyes are quite agitated.


    Did I say something to make her angry?


    I waited for her next words with bated breath.


    ¡°First, Esther¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Yes?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°This is not normal.¡± (Lily)


    At this point, she was pointing a finger at me.


    -I cannot understand.


    ¡°Well, is that so?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°This is not normal.¡± (Lily)


    Lily¡¯s words pierced my heart.


    ¡°Do not you think this is not normal?¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Well, yeah. I did not know much about magic, so I thought ¡®this¡¯ was normal.¡± (Esther)


    Not only Lily but also Esther is calling me weird.


    -Both of them are terrible!


    ¡°Usually, you cannot activate magic while fighting. Remember that?¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Oh, oh ¡­¡± (Esther)


    (Hey¡­ It is not usually possible. That means [Magic Lv5] is already pretty powerful.)


    I was just thinking about that.


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    ¡°And Toru¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Yeah!?¡±


    Being red at by Lily seems like she is mastered a few skills, I reflexively straightened my back.


    After all, she is a B-rank adventurer.


    The pressure from her gaze is great.


    Arge bead of sweat appeared on my forehead as it drips down.


    ¡°Toru is weird.¡± (Lily)


    (¡­)


    The person that looks like a young girl has hit me with such words.


    The impact was so strong I was almost brought to my knees.


    ¡°Normally, you do not do that training out of the blue. Failure is normal.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°¡­ What did you say?¡±


    ¡°This level should be about right.¡± (Lily)


    With that said Lily faced her palm forward and stretched her arms forward.


    As I was looking at her palm, mana gradually gathered in the center of her palm, and magic was activated.


    The magic that was activated were bullets with the same three attributes as mine.


    What is different from me is that the bullets are near Lily¡¯s body.


    ¡°It gets harder when you move them away from your body. It is better to have them near you at first.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°I see. But will not you receive a burn?¡±


    ¡°It is okay. Damage is diverted away from your body.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Really!¡±


    As a test, I activated [Fireball] on my palm.


    It was a terrifying burning [Fireball] so it could be released at any time, but I never felt the heat.


    Wow, that is exactly what Lily said.


    [Fireball] is not hot.


    ¡°Why did not you notice such an easy thing?¡± (Lily)


    Recalling the past instances, I have always released magic from the side once it is activated.


    That is because there is a belief that [Fireball] was hot.


    It is probably a negative effect of learning Physics from Earth.


    Magic is a phenomenon different from physics.


    In physics, a me can burn, but with magic, it does not get hot even if it is on top of your palm.


    ¡°Thank you for teaching me!¡±


    ¡°Hmm, good. The dinner was delicious.¡± (Lily)


    Apparently, Lily gave me some magic lessons as a thank you for lunch.


    The lunch was something that I wanted to make, so I took the liberty of making it.


    I was not expecting to be thanked.


    (You are quite the polite person, are not you?)


    I followed Lily¡¯s teaching and activated a magic bullet again.


    This time, it is not a wait-and-see, but at full power.


    Then the next moment¨C.

 Chapter 71: Eargard’s Sacred Treasures

    <h4>Chapter 71: Eargard¡¯s Sacred Treasures</h4>


    I followed Lily¡¯s teachings and activated magic bullet again.


    This time, he did not take a wait-and-see approach but went all out.


    A momentter,


    ¡°¡±¡­-tsu!¡±¡± (Esther & Lily)


    Esther and Lily took one-step away from me.


    ¡°So? I think I did fine.¡±


    ¡°¡± ¡­¡­¡±¡± (Esther & Lily)


    When I asked them what they thought, they both looked away this time.


    I was confused thinking that there might be something wrong with them.


    There is definitely something wrong.


    ¡°Well, what happened?¡±


    When I move one-step closer,


    ¡°¡±¡­-tsu!¡±¡± (Esther & Lily)


    Quickly, this time they went back three steps.


    ¡°Toru. Um¡­ that¡­¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°¡ªcreepy¡± (Lily)


    I copsed on my hands and knees, after hearing such a straightforward verbal punch.


    Apparently, the reason why they distanced themselves was that I activated an unnatural number of magic as if it were normal.


    Colorful magic bullets were stuck all over my body like colorful lights.


    I became a human Christmas tree. I was crushed by the creeped-out expression on Esther and Lily¡¯s faces. I was sulking in the corner of the Garden.


    I have already voluntarily reduced the number of lights ¨C or magic bullets ¨C to just three.


    Still, the facial expression on both of them was still stiff.


    Unlike their earlier expression of disgust before, they were now holding back giggles instead.


    ¡°¡­ *snort*¡±


    While they were teasing me, I summoned my [Magic Sword] and cut the irregrly cut grass in various ways.


    ¡°Toru. I want to know more about that.¡±


    Lily approached me as I was messing around.


    However, her steps were cautious.


    (I wonder if I am acting differently¡­)


    I am not sure what is happening


    ¡°Is that weapon some kind of sacred treasure?¡±


    ¡°A sacred treasure¡­¡±


    I became confused because of the unfamiliar words that came out of Lily¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°What is a sacred treasure?¡±


    ¡°It is abination of sword and magic. It is said to have been created by the gods to defeat devils.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Really?¡±


    For a moment, I believed that this [Magic Sword] was a sacred treasure. I do not believe it.


    However, the name on the skill board is [Magic Sword]. [Sacred treasure] is not disyed.


    ¡°I do not think it is a sacred treasure.¡±


    ¡°Where did you get it?¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Uh¡­¡±


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    I was a little unsure whether I should be honest or not.


    However, speaking of how I obtained the [Magic Sword], I must also disclose information on my skill board.


    I still do not know the whole truth about skill boards.


    I decided to avoid disclosing the truth because the exnation can lead to something troublesome.


    ¡°I just had it when I came to this world.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Yes, then it is not a sacred treasure. You can get a sacred treasure by defeating the devil.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Oh, that is right. -Hmm?¡±


    A sacred treasure trove is a weapon that defeats devils.


    Nevertheless, you have to defeat the devil to get the sacred treasure tool.


    -Devils?


    ¡°By the way, a devil¡¯s subjugation rank is S. Their level is estimated to be around 70.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°That is scary¡±


    My current level is just 31.


    In Eargard, it is said that if the level difference between an adventurer and monster is 10 or more, there is absolutely no chance of winning.


    I can boost my skills, so any monster with a level difference of about 15 can be defeated.


    (Actually, I have defeated Rock Worms and Queen Rock Worms with a level difference of 15 or more)


    However, the level difference of about 40 is probably out of the question.


    There is absolutely be no chance of winning.


    I need a sacred treasure to defeat such an opponent, but I need to defeat a devil to get a sacred treasure.


    It is like a game that is impossible to win.


    ¡°¡­ Hmm? By the way, knowing that you can get a sacred treasure by defeating devils means that you have defeated one before?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Um, is it something that can be defeated without a sacred treasure?¡±


    ¡°No. The hero defeated one.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°It is the Hero of Eargard!¡± (Esther)


    Esther, who had been watching from the sidelines, enthusiastically joined the conversation.


    Her eyes are shining brightly as she leans forward.


    ¡°Is the hero¡¯s deeds famous?¡±


    ¡°Oh. The story of the heroes who unified the continent of Eargard for humanity is the most famous story in the Kingdom of Yuster!¡± (Esther)


    ording to her, Eargard was once a world where devils have overrun thend.


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    In that world, there appeared heroes chosen by the gods from among the human race.


    The heroes joined forces to defeat the devils and obtain the sacred treasures.


    From that point on, humanity¡¯s rapid progress began.


    ¡°¨CIt is a story. Some people long for the hero and be adventurers.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Hey. Is it the same with Esther?¡±


    ¡°No, I am ¡­ not.¡± (Esther)


    Esther had a slightly lonely look on her face.


    Nevertheless, it was soon hidden under a smile.


    ¡°Well, that is why the treasures that the heroes obtained by defeating the devil have been passed down to the present day. If a devil appears, use a sacred treasure to fight it off.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°So that is it.¡±


    ¡°In the Kingdom of Yuster, a devil descended 70 or 80 years ago, but it was subdued with a sacred treasure. The new sacred treasure obtained at that time was given to a knight who showed valor when they subdued the devil. That is the story.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°That is nice.¡±


    Listening to Esther¡¯s story, I became fascinated by the sacred treasures.


    (What kind of weapon is it? I want to see one! I want to get one!)


    Perhaps I was jealous of the sacred treasure, or an unpleasant aura is emanating from the [Magic Sword].


    ¡°By the way, all the sacred treasures have special powers, and it seems that if you release their powers, you will get enough power to overturn any battle. The power is so enormous, but there are disadvantages. For example, the one that the kingdom of Yuster obtained it in the previous battle. Their sacred treasure can kill the user if they use it.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°What!?¡±


    It is a high risk, high reward item.


    Even if I get one, I might never think of using it.


    (I might have longed for having one, but I do not like the huge disadvantages included¡­)


    My longing for sacred treasures immediately cooled.


    Then, the unpleasant aura that [Magic Sword] was emitting disappeared.


    ¡°One more thing. I am worried about Toru¡¯s skillposition.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°That is something I care about too!¡± (Esther)


    Esther backed up Lily¡¯sment.


    Why are you interested in the skillposition of Inferior people?


    I got a bit confused.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes. Toru has not yet had his skills measured in the temple, has he?¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Yeah, yeah. That is right.¡± (Esther)


    I have been thinking about it


    I exhaled a sigh of relief in my mind.


    If Esther did not say something, I might have inadvertently mentioned my skillposition.


    I should be unaware of my own skills.


    However, if I talked about my skillposition, it was going to sound strange to those who would hear it.


    ¡°¡­ Yes, unfortunately.¡±


    ¡°I am sure Toru has a lot of skills that ¡°grew¡±.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°¡¯Got lucky¡¯¡­?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that is a good ce to start.¡± (Esther)


    Esther smiled and put her hand on her forehead as if she said something so obvious

 Chapter 72: A New Friend

    <h4>Chapter 72: A New Friend</h4>


    ¡°There are generally two types of skills. Passive skills and Techniques. Passives are something that you have by nature and you cannot ¡°grow¡± them. Nevertheless, Techniques can grow through training. Anyone can grow if they trained.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Wow!¡±


    What Esther means by ¡°grow¡± is that the Technique can sprout like a seed.


    So it became themon term for ¡°grow¡±. [Note: So they are discussing the terms and meaning of Éú¤¨¤ë/haeru/ ¡°grow¡± it is the first one it can be used to things that develop like animals undergoing metamorphosis or seeds germinating. The second one Ñ¿¤¬³ö¤ë/megaderu can mean grow like the first one or getting lucky.]


    Anyway, I just said, ¡°That sounds good!¡±, and I made a mental guts pose.


    ¡°Anyone can grow if they continue training.¡± (Esther)


    In other words, there is a possibility that you can acquire skills without allocating skill points.


    If you can grow skills consciously, you can save on skill points.


    ¡°By the way, how long does it take until a skill grows?¡±


    ¡°It depends on whether or not you have ¡®talent¡¯, but it is said that it is about a year on average.¡± (Esther)


    ¨CI take back my previous statement.


    It is faster to acquire new skills by leveling.


    Toru quickly gave up how to ¡°grow¡± new skills intentionally.


    ¡°By the way, it takes a lot of time to raise the skill level. Generally, it takes a year for levels 1 to 2. 2 years for levels 2 to 3. It is said that level 3 to 4 takes at least 3 years.¡±


    My honest impression was that it was just like kendo.


    In kendo, there is a rule that you have to train more than one year to reach second dan from first dan.


    It seems that skills do not increase overnight.


    ¡°Well, that does not mean there is no way to quickly develop skills or raise skill levels.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Oh! How do you do that?¡±


    ¡°If it isbat skills, warriors who fight against far superior enemies grow faster.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Really.¡±


    Hearing Esther¡¯s method, I froze.


    ¡°That is all?¡±


    ¡°Hmm. It is just like what Esther said. If you fight a strong opponent, it is easier to grow. Nevertheless, you will die most of the time. So it is better to quit before you begin.¡± (Lily)


    Lily neatly popped my hopes and dreams.


    (Well, that is right, is not it?)


    In this world, there is always a return for every risk.


    There is no such thing as an easy way.


    After finishing the special training with Esther, I went out of the walls of Finlis and went to a pond.


    Now that I have a house, I can do the three things I wanted to do.


    ¡°Well, is that ¡­?¡±


    As I stared at the pond, I found ripples on the shore of the pond that was different from the natural ones.


    ¡°Oh, there you are!¡±


    I immediately approached the ripples.


    On the shore of the pond, a transparent creature shaped like a steamed bun floated.


    -It is a slime.


    ¡°Nufufufufu ¡­¡±


    I picked up the slime as if I was scooping it.


    The third thing I wanted to do was to find a pet.


    I have always loved small animals.


    Even in Japan, I had experience raising small dogs.


    Small animals are a source of healing.


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    They make your life better.


    Therefore, I wanted to raise a pet when I got a house.


    ¡°I thought a Silver Wolf would be good, but it would be dangerous to leave one in town.¡±


    Silver Wolves have just attacked Finlis.


    Even if I find a Silver Wolf that does not attack humans, the inhabitants will feel uneasy seeing one.


    Therefore, a slime it is.


    Slimes are one of the few monsters that can coexist with humans.


    With a slime, there is no problem even if I keep one at home.


    I put the slime in my bag.


    ¡°Hmm~ Hmm~ Hmm~¡±


    I quickly returned to my house, while humming excitedly.


    I entered my room, took out the slime from my bag.


    ¡°This is your home from today onwards!¡±


    Can the slime see that this is not the ce where he used to live? The slime was moving somewhat hesitantly.


    I took out the surplus chicken steak that I had put in the [Inventory].


    I ced it in front of the slime.


    The slime shook as if it was surprised by the appearance of the meat.


    ¡°You can eat it.¡±


    I said, Slime touched the steak gingerly.


    Pikun!


    The whole body of slime trembled. Then the next moment.


    ¡°Oh!¡±


    The slime spread out and swallowed the steak that was twice as big as its own size.


    The steak swallowed by slime is gradually being dissolved in its body.


    ¡°Oh, this is ¡­ interesting.¡±


    The steak loses its shape like iron melting on an acidic solution.


    I watched the steak until it disappearedpletely.


    At Finlis, a slime is in charge of water purification and garbage disposal.


    Esther said that some households keep slimes for garbage disposal.


    Originally, it is a creature that dposes kitchen waste.


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    However, I did not feel like giving my slime garbage.


    No matter how used this slime is in eating leftover food, it is already family as long as it is my pet.


    I think that I should feed him the same food as my family.


    When the steak was fully dissolved, I gave it some steak again.


    Perhaps he would not be full; Slime had finished the steaks that I had put in my [Inventory].


    After finishing the meal, the slime flew with a Poyon and got on myp.


    I guess giving him the steak made him think that ¡°He is a good guy who going to give me good food¡±.


    I pat the slime¡¯s top, which is a little cool; I cannot help but smilepletely due to the slimes cuteness.


    ¡°You are Pino from today. Nice to meet you, Pino.¡±


    ¡°(Nyon!)¡± (Pino)


    Pino stretched its body vertically in response to my words.


    I was watching its movements and noticed a slight change in Pino.


    ¡°Hmm ¡­ has the color of your nucleus change?¡±


    When I caught the Pino, its nucleus had a bluish color.


    Now it is a little purple.


    ¡°Is it because of the meat? I wonder if the color changes depending on their food.¡±


    Pino lived in the pond. It was light blue because it was absorbing the water from the pond, and it turned purple because it ate meat. It seems to make sense when you think about it.


    Nevertheless, why did the meat cause it to turn purple?


    ¡°Meat ¡­ Oh, if you mix blue and red, it will turn purple, right?¡±


    The color of blood mixed in the meatbined with the original light blue nucleus made it light purple.


    ¡°That means, if I feed it various kinds of food in the future, the color will change and it might turn ck?¡±


    A slime with a ck nucleus.


    It seemed to be strong.


    Moreover, it looks very Chuuni.


    I made the skill board appear while thinking about Pino¡¯s future.

 Chapter 73: Food is always the Best Thing

    <h4>Chapter 73: Food is always the Best Thing</h4>


    ¡ð Status


    Toru Minasuki


    Level: 31


    Race: Human Primary Job: Swordsman ¨C Secondary Job: Mage


    Rank: III ¨C Skill points: 516


    My level and skill points increased before and after I saved Finlis. My rank has also increased ordingly.


    This is the second time the rank has risen, including when it changed from level 20 to level 21.


    ¡°Somehow, I can see the rules of ranking up.¡±


    Rank I is level 1-20.


    Rank II is 21-30.


    Rank III is 31 ~.


    ¡°Is the rank rted to the upper limit of one¡¯s level?¡±


    In my case, I acquired [Limit Break], so my rank rose.


    However, ordinary people do not have a [Limit Break].


    This is the reason why ¡°Lost¡± people have not been able to increase their levels.


    In the same way, Eargard locals also have a level cap, and the limit for each individual may differ depending on their rank.


    ¡°Their rank is a parameter that indicates the upper limit of one¡¯s level.¡±


    I concluded it based on the information avable to me.


    Therefore, I checked each skill.


    ¡ðPassives


    [Complete Enhancement + 8]


    [Body Enhancement + 5] [Magic Enhancement + 5]


    [Natural Recovery +5] [Enhanced Resistance +5] [Limit Break¡ï]


    [Stamina +5] [Magic +5]


    [Strength +5] [Dexterity +5]


    [Agility +5] [Intelligence +5] [Luck +5]


    ¡ðTechniques


    [Sword Art Lv5] [Magic Art Lv5]


    [Intuition Lv5] [Intimidate Lv5] [Thought eleration Lv5]


    [Magic Grimoire LV4] [Chant-less Casting LV4]


    [Language Comprehension Lv4] [cksmith Lv4]


    [Aikido Lv5] [Condemnation Lv2]


    [Magic Sword Lv2] [Cooking ¡ï] [Whistling Lv4] [Mimicry Lv5]


    [Taming Lv1]


    ¡ð Title [Nesis servant]


    ¡°Oh! I grew!¡±


    A skill that I had never acquired before [Taming] had suddenly be active.


    ¡°No way, skills can grow so quickly¡­¡±


    Esther and Lily said it would take a long time for skills to grow, so I did not expect much.


    However, I acquired [Taming].


    ¡°Does that mean I have some talent?¡±


    They had also said that it would be different if I had a talent, so it probably means I have a talent for taming.


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    As I, recall taming Pino was not my first attempt at taming.


    In the Forest of Finlis, I halted the Silver Wolves with just my eyes.


    In addition, in the dungeon that I went to in the rank-up request, I made the Silver Wolves follow mymands using [Intimidation].


    When I lived in Japan, I also had a dog as a pet.


    These experiences must have influenced my acquisition of [Taming].


    ¡°The other skills are ¡­ well, nothing has changed.¡±


    The only new skill is [Taming].


    I carefully checked the skill board to see if there are any unexpected changes.


    <Feint> <Reversal> <Tough Love>


    <Cushion throwing> <Sumo Step> <Sumo Entrance> <Bow Twirling Ceremony> ¡­


    [T/N: The skills sumo rted BTW.]


    ¡°-I mean, this sumo skill series. I wonder if this was also put in by Nesis-sama. If so, that person is too familiar with sumo¡­ There is even a bow twirling ceremony.¡±


    How can this skill be useful?


    I cannot think of anything to acquire.


    After that, I checked the skills from top to bottom, but I could not find any skills that grew naturally.


    I think I have trained a lot, and I have grown to some extent based on the skill board.


    Based onmon knowledge the higher the level of the skill, the harder it is to raise.


    [Sword Arts] and [Magic Arts] are already Lv5 and already at the middle level. [A/N: Because the counter maxes out at level 10.] [Note: The author left a note, nice.]


    Unless you live in a world where all of your skills are already maxed-out, it is not going to be easy to raise the skill level.


    In Kendo, it took me 31 years of training to go from the first to the eighth dan.


    As Esther said, it takes a lot of training time to improve your skills.


    However, I can easily raise my skills.


    I realize once again how amazing the skill board was.


    By the time I finished checking my skills, the sun was starting to set.


    Seeing that, I head to the kitchen and started preparing dinner.


    Lunch was only steak and soup that I could quickly cook.


    For dinner, I wanted to try a dish that would take a little longer to cook.


    As for the [Cooking] skill that has maxed out, I am now able to cook and season meat to a godly level.


    However, improving my skills does not automatically give me knowledge.


    It is only my techniques that can be raised through skill.


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    I had many dishes I want to try though.


    However, the seasonings were overwhelmingly insufficient for my purpose.


    ¡°I have never made seasonings from scratch.¡±


    Miso, soy sauce, mirin, sauces, ketchup, mayonnaise, etc¡­


    To recreate the dishes, I had eaten in Japan; I needed to make the seasonings first.


    ¡°It would have been nice if the market sold them, but they did not¡­¡±


    When I went to the market for lunch, I also secured some seasonings.


    Nevertheless, the market did not have most of the seasonings I was looking for.


    All I could find was salt, pepper, vinegar, and chili.


    I found some other unique seasonings, but no miso or soy sauce.


    ¡°If I have soy sauce, you can make Japanese Simmered Fish!¡±


    I was hungry for some Japanese food.


    I do not miss Japan, but I miss Japanese food.


    Unfortunately, even the ingredients for seasonings are not avable in Eargard.


    There is no Jiuqu to make miso and soy sauce, which are essential for Japanese food. [T/N: Jiuqu is the starter agent for fermenting miso and soy sauce.]


    No matter how much you boil and mash the beans and add salt, you end up with salted beans.


    Therefore, it cannot be helped.


    I left the Japanese food for a while and decided to make some from the seasonings that I could make.


    First, I will make mayonnaise.


    I have never actually made mayonnaise before, but fortunately, I know the ingredients.


    Oil, eggs, salt, and vinegar.


    Therefore, I took out the ingredients from the [Inventory] and left the rest to my skills to make the mayonnaise.


    ¡°Oh!¡±


    As expected, [Cooking ¡ï].


    In less than thirty minutes, a bowl of mayonnaise was finished.


    ¡°¡­ Is this a little too much?¡±


    There is no refrigerator in Eargard, and unpasteurized mayonnaise is quick to spoil.


    If left at room temperature, it will be spoiled tomorrow morning.


    ¡°The next time I make some, I will try to restrain myself¡­¡±


    Now that the mayonnaise isplete, I continued making tartar sauce.


    Tartar sauce is easy as long as I have mayonnaise.


    Boil the eggs and add the onions, vinegar, and salt.


    Originally, I wanted sugar, but I gave up because it was so expensive.


    ¡°Kukkukku ¡­¡±


    While I was making the tartar sauce, I also made the main dish and the side dishes for tonight.


    I was cooking the food I have been craving for so long, that I became so concentrated during the cooking process. I forgot about everything else.


    ¡°Fuhaha!¡±


    As the sun began to set, the kitchen was filled with the sound of ingredients being fried in oil and the sound of myughter.

 Chapter 74: Nostalgic Flavors

    <h4>Chapter 74: Nostalgic vors</h4>


    When it was time for dinner, Esther and Lily gathered in the living room without anyone calling them.


    They had been lured by the smelling from the kitchen and had gathered there as if moths attracted to a light bulb.


    When Toru entered the living room, he was immediately met with a strong look of expectation from the two women.


    They waited in silence.


    Nevertheless, Toru could clearly hear the words they are not saying.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been waiting for you!¡±


    ¡°Hurry up and serve the food.¡±


    If they asked me, I would not fail to respond.


    Therefore, I confidently pushed the cart and ced three tes on each seat.


    ¡°¡­Hmm?¡± (Lily)


    ¡°What is this ¡­¡± (Esther)


    Esther and Lily looked disappointed in the dinner he lined up in front of them.


    I was unsure about what to do.


    (Wow, I was hoping for a reaction like, ¡°Wow, that is amazing!¡±)


    Nevertheless, I made Japanese food.


    It was a dish that the Eargard locals had never seen before, so of course, they are expected to make such a reaction.


    Another reason for their reaction was the color of the soup, which is not found in the food of Eargard.


    ¡°The soup is ck¡­¡± (Lily)


    ¡°What is this whitish stuff?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I will exin.¡±


    As if I was a waiter in a first-ss restaurant, I bowed politely.


    Today¡¯s dinner will consist of Chicken Nanban with Tartar Sauce, Aasa Jiru, and Fresh Sd with Mayonnaise. [Note: Aasa Jiru is a soup made with sea lettuce ¡°Aosa¡±. A broth with tofu and sea lettuce.]


    The dishes that I made are Japanese, except for the sd.


    Deep-frying the leftover chicken from the lunchtime shopping and topping it with tartar saucepleted the famous Japanese dish, Chicken Nanban.


    Aasa Jiru is a ssic Okinawan soup.


    When I went to the market, he discovered that sea lettuce was sold at the spice store.


    In Eargard, sea lettuce was used as a seasoning.


    Using the sea lettuce, I made Aasa Jiru.


    Since there is no tofu or soy sauce, it is almost simr to salt soup.


    However, just by adding sea lettuce, it bes something like a Japanese soup.


    Sd is the only food that I have appreciated for its potential since arriving in Eargard.


    To bring out its potential, I served it with mayonnaise.


    ¡°The color is disturbing, is this okay? Oh, no, I do not doubt Toru¡¯s skill¡­ but this is a color I have never seen in food.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± (Lily)


    It cannot be helped that Esther and Lily are afraid.


    Different countries have different colors that increase or decrease appetite.


    The blue cakes often seen in foreign countries stimtes the appetite of foreigners, but it does the opposite on Japanese people.


    Even on the same, the colors that people think look good change when the country changes.


    This is even more so when the world changes.


    ¡°Well, just think you have been tricked and try it.¡±


    I urged the two of them to bring the food to their mouths, even if their expressions are filled with doubt and fear.


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    The next moment.


    ¡°¡± ¡ª !? ¡°¡± (Esther & Lily)


    The eyes of both Esther and Lily widen.


    ¡°¡­good¡± (Esther)


    ¡°¡­delicious¡± (Lily)


    ¡°What is this white sauce!? Ku! I cannot stop eating!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I like the sauce¡± (Lily)


    ¡°The scent of ck soup is wonderful!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Meat is delicious¡± (Lily)


    The two of them eximed as they devour their meals.


    Perhaps it was because they were so excited that their cheeks had be flushed.


    As I watched them, I also took a bite of my food.


    ¡°¡­ Yeah. Nostalgic.¡±


    The Chicken Nanban and Aasa Jiru had a nostalgic Japanese taste.


    Of course, there is no problem with the dishes made with [Cooking ¡ï].


    Nevertheless, as Toru continued to eat, he could feel the food slowly turning a bit saltier.


    ¡°It is delicious ¡­ It is delicious ¡­¡±


    Toru had grown up with the taste of Japan.


    No matter how much he had no desire to return to Japan, food was different.


    Japanese food entered the gap in Toru¡¯s heart and warmed his heart.


    ¡°¡­ By the way, Toru. What is that?¡± (Esther)


    Esther asked while looking at something beside me.


    Pino is floating on the soup bowl next to me, as I season my food with tears.


    ¡°I got a house and wanted a pet. So I brought it.¡±


    ¡°I brought it ¡­ Well, there are usually houses that keep slimes, but it is mostly for garbage disposal? Why are you feeding it with such a delicious dish?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°What a waste.¡± (Lily)


    Their eyes are on Pino.


    Did it sense some sort of crisis?


    Pino hurriedly swallowed the Chicken Nanban.


    ¡°Pets are my family. Pino is my family. It is normal for families to eat the same food, right?¡±


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    ¡°Yes ¡­ no, I understand.¡± (Esther)


    Esther tried to argue, but closed her mouth and shook her head instead.


    ¡°What a waste¡­¡± (Lily)


    Lily keeps staring at the Pino with her spoon in her mouth.


    I gave her an extra chicken Nanban.


    Then Lily threw a sneak peek at Pino as she became obsessed with Chicken Nanban.

 Chapter 75: D-Rank Quest

    <h4>Chapter 75: D-Rank Quest</h4>


    The next day. I woke up and practiced in the courtyard with Esther.


    When the practice was over, I made our breakfast.


    Lily did note down to the living room when breakfast time came.


    Apparently, she is not a morning person.


    After breakfast, each of us got ready for the day ahead.


    Starting today, we will go on our first adventure after getting a house.


    ¡°Oh, good morning Lily.¡±


    ¡°¡­Hmm¡± (Lily)


    Before leaving the house, I came across Lily.


    She looked like she had just woken up and she has bed hair.


    She was just wearing a in robe. The material was so thin that you could almost see through it.


    I turned my eyes away, thinking that it would be rude to see too much of her.


    ¡°Good morning, Lily. I am about to go on an adventure, but what about Lily?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­ ¡®M fine.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Lily is a B-rank adventurer.


    It has been amon urrence that adventurers who had just be D rank usually are invited or declined.


    Do I just wait for it, or do I just ask?


    Esther just nodded her head without any sign of reluctance.


    Soon we arrive at the guild and immediately head to the bulletin board.


    From today, we are browsing the D-rank bulletin board.


    I am so excited to check the requests.


    ? Goblin Leader Subjugation 1 silver coin


    ? Kobold Chief Subjugation 1 silver coin


    ? Sunlight Flower Collection 5 silver coins


    ¡°Oh, as expected, D-rank. The reward ispletely different from E-rank.¡±


    The rewards are all over one silver coin. [A/N: Around 10,000 Japanese yen]


    ¡°That is right, it is D-rank. The fee forpleting a request is this price, but it does not include the fee for selling materials. If you include material sales, it will be a considerable amount of money.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I see¡±


    Themission fee is indeed inexpensive when you consider that you are putting your life on the scale.


    However, if you include the price of selling the materials, the reward is more than worth the risk.


    However, the collection request is different.


    There is no additional charge for Sunlight Flower requests other than the request fee.


    Since the price includes the sales fee, they are giving at a higher reward than subjugation requests.


    While listening to Esther, I look at every corner of the bulletin board.


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    Then, I became interested in a certain request.


    ¡°How about this orc subjugation?¡±


    ¡°Mmm? Orc¡­¡± (Esther)


    Esther had a slightly reluctant look on her face.


    ? Subdue 10 Orcs 1 silver coin


    I am a little worried about the reward of 10 bronze coins per animal, but I was more interested in the orcs themselves.


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    ¡°Do orcs taste good?¡±


    ¡°Taste ¡­. Certainly, orc meat is delicious.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Hmm¡±, Esther crossed her arms with her index finger on her chin.


    ¡°But orcs are mostly covered in fat and have few edible parts. In addition to being a hassle to dismantle at the site of the killing, the orcs themselves are so heavy that we can only bring back one per killing. Perhaps that is why orc meat fetches such a high price in the market.


    As an adventurer, orcs are famous for the small amount of material they can be sold for. It is not that you cannot make money from selling meat, but it is not enough to force you to take it back.


    The difficulty of defeating them is high among the D ranks. The difficulty of killing orcs is high, which is why no adventurer will take on an orc if they have other requests.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    ¡°I see¡±, I thought.


    Adventurers earn their living daily.


    Among the D-rank requests, orc seems to be unpopr because it has very few benefits.


    That is why Esther made a bitter expression.


    However, I was quite curious.


    I wondered how good orc meat is, it was a staple in fantasy stories!


    (If I want to take an orc home, there is no problem)


    I have [Inventory]. No matter how much I hunt, I do not have to worry about our return trip.


    I also think that our fighting power can match orcs.


    I have already defeated the C-rank Queen Rock Worm and the C-rank Werewolf.


    I was confident that if it were just a D-rank oak, it would be okay as long as arge number of them did not surround us.


    If that was the case, then it was time to get moving.


    I lined up at the reception desk with a request form on Orcs.


    ¡°Oh, so we are going with Orcs after all.¡± (Esther)


    Esther¡¯s shoulders sagged in defeat.


    Apparently, she does not want requests that have low rewards.


    ¡°Yes, I do. I am sure you will love dinner.¡±


    ¡°That is¡­¡­¡­¡­¡± (Esther)


    When I said that, Esther¡¯s face warped in confusion.


    However, gradually her eyes began to shine.


    Apparently, she could not resist the temptation of food.


    After the reception, we passed through the east gate and headed for the northern part of the Finlis Forest.


    However, at that time, Esther must not have thought that she would be in an unexpected situation.


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    Today was my first visit to the northern part of Finlis Forest.


    I used to go to the Finlis Forest itself, but we have only visited the forest beyond the South Gate.


    The forest of Finlis is separated from the south and north by a river.


    It is a small river, only about a meter wide, but the monsters that appear at the border between the two rivers vary greatly.


    In the shallow southern part, goblins and Silver Wolves appear.


    On the north side of the river,rge creatures such as orcs and trolls appear.


    It is still unclear why the monsters that appear just beyond the river are different.


    However, thanks to this boundary, novice adventurers are lucky enough not to encounter strong enemies.


    While listening to Esther¡¯s lecture, we are now entering the northern part of Finlis Forest.


    The appearance of the forest is the same as on the south side.


    The visibility is poor and it is difficult to walk.


    I am always on the lookout for surprises, but so far my [Intuition] has not picked up any signs of monsters.


    ¡°I think I walked quite a bit, but how often do orcs appear?¡±


    ¡°I heard that theye out even on the shallow areas of the forest.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Huh, I did not know that. ¡­¡­ Hmm, should we try going a little deeper?¡±


    ¡°If you go too deep, you will get lost, and more importantly, there is a chance that strong monsters will appear. And besides, this forest is in the demon¡¯s territory¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Demon territory!?¡±


    Demons.


    This is the first time I have heard the word ¡°demon¡± and it intrigued me.


    A demon is a ssic race that appears in the fantasy genre. As a fantasy race, they are often equated with Evil.


    In addition, most of the time, they do not get along with humans.


    ¡°Demons are one of the races that live in Eargard. They have developed control organs to suppress their extremely amounts of magic power.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Control organs?¡±


    ¡°The mostmon are horns. Others have crests on their bodies.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Wow. So they are in conflict with humans?¡±


    ¡°Hmm? No, I do not think so. I would not say we get along well, but we are not bad. It is just that we are from different countries. There is just a certain sense of separation between us.¡± (Esther)


    I wondered if that was the case.


    If you ask a Japanese person if they like the Commonwealth of St. Kitts and Nevis, the majority of their opinion will be that they neither like nor dislike it.


    It is the same here.


    ¡°It takes a few days to get to the border if you walk, but be careful. If you cross the border without being screened, you will be detained without question. You cannot make an excuse and say you did not know.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    Toru reminded himself not to go too deep into the forest of Finlis.


    However, I suddenly thought.


    (Come to think of it, what country did that vige where Lid lived belong to?)


    Lid, the original owner of the body, lived in an unnamed vige in the depths of the forest.


    Esther said, ¡°It will take several days to reach the border if we walk,¡± but what if we run?


    After leaving the vige, I ran through the woods with all my might to get used to my body.


    As expected, even then, it was highly unlikely that I would have reached the border.


    However, it might have been a vige along the border.


    Also, the vige is located in the middle of a forest where monsters live.


    (Why would anyone live in a ce like that¡­?)


    As I recall, there were many strange things about the vige.


    As he was thinking about it, my [Intuition] caught a hint of a monster.


    ¡°Esther. I have got somethinging from up ahead.¡±


    ¡°Roger that.¡± (Esther)


    As soon as she said that, Esther drew her sword.


    A de that looked as if it was glistening appeared.


    It is a special mithril sword made by me.


    (It is always beautiful to look at.)


    Despite admiring the sword, I summon my own [magic sword].


    Around the time I was ready, a monster appeared, with sounds footstepsing from the depths of the forest.

 Chapter 76: Bumomo! Bumomo! Buhi! Bummo! Bummo!

    <h4>Chapter 76: Bumomo! Bumomo! Buhi! Bummo! Bummo!</h4>


    ¡°Huge!¡±


    My honest impression leaked out from my mouth.


    What appeared was a bipedal monster that was probably two meters (6.5 ft.) long.


    Its body was thick and covered with hair all over.


    At first nce, it looked might have looked like a brown bear, but its face was closer to that of a pig.


    ¡°¨CBumo!?¡± (Orc)


    The monster noticed us and raised its voice.


    The squeal was exactly the same as that of a pig.


    ¡°Toru. That is an orc.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°No, no, is not it too big!?¡±


    Rock Worms of the same D-rank subjugation were smaller. I am sure they are considered huge as well, though¡­


    ¡°Is the orc really a D-rank subjugation target?¡±


    ¡°That is right¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Is that it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Orcs are not much of a threat if they are normal individuals. However, if a higher-ranked Orc is mixed in, the difficulty level jumps all the way up.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Even if it looks like this ¡­ it is not considered a threat.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you are scared?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Mu¡­¡±


    As Esther said, I was certainly afraid.


    It is not the face of the orc, but the body of the orc looks just like a thick brown bear.


    I have never had the urge to fight one.


    However, Esther¡¯s provocation inspired me.


    Fortunately, my [Intuition] is saying that it is weaker than the Queen Rock Worm is.


    (I will give it my best shot and if that does not work, I will attack cautiously.)


    I am not going to wait and see.


    As soon as I readied myself, I silently held my sword in front of me.


    Perhaps it noticed my killing intent, the orc stopped walking.


    ¡°Fu ¡­¡±


    I took a deep breath.


    Then I used [Muscle Enhancement].


    The orc stood its ground.


    The next moment.


    ¡°¨CHuh!¡±


    I made contact with the enemy.


    I swung the [magic sword] toward the side of the orc.


    The enemy does not react.


    As it is, it is done.


    ~Esther¡¯s Perspective~


    (He is not responding¡­?) (Esther)


    Did Toru make a mistake?


    I thought but he did not stop.


    Sweep in, three [Magic Sword] shes, and dash out.


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    ¡°¡­ Is it done!?¡± (Esther)


    The next moment after Toru retreated.


    The orc fell to the ground in pieces, spewing red blood.


    When I saw the dismembered orc. I felt my face tensed up.


    ~Toru¡¯s Perspective~


    ¡°Umm Toru. Is not it overkill?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yeah maybe, haha ¡­¡±


    Iugh wryly.


    Indeed, as Esther says. It is probably overkill.


    However, a monster with a body like a brown bear appeared.


    I overestimated the power of the orcs because I remember the fact ¡°brown bears are the strongestnd beast in Japan¡±.


    I currently do not yet have the power to urately measure the ability of the other party.


    It is foolish to underestimate your opponent and receive a counterattack, but it is just as foolish to overestimate your opponent and do an overkill.


    If I trash the monsters with overkill moves, I will not be able to get the materials I want.


    urately measuring an opponent¡¯s ability and killing them efficiently.


    This is a necessary ability for any adventurer.


    (I should adjust properly¡­)


    After that, we found another orc again.


    Since I defeated thest orc, Esther will fight this one.


    ¡°Sei!¡± (Esther)


    With a shout, Esther sliced off the orc¡¯s head with a single stroke and it flew away.


    Blood spurted from the neck, but Esther has already withdrawn.


    A single drop of blood has not sshed her.


    Moreover, she made only the minimum number of attacks.


    ¡°Esther is truly impressive.¡±


    She is a D-ranker like me, but Esther has more experience and wisdom.


    The difference in experience is clearly shown in our subjugating method


    shed to pieces versus a single sh and barely damaged prey.


    It is easy for anyone to see which one is more experienced.


    At my second attempt, I am now able to hunt one that can be used for cooking


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    The snouts are cut used as proof of subjugation. Then I store the bodies in my [Inventory]


    (The first one was so mangled I did not want to bring it back.)


    ¡°So orcs, they are pretty safe to hunt.¡±


    ¡°That said, it is still a D-ranked monster, is not it? But it is certainly an opponent that can be defeated without using [Enhancement].¡± (Esther)


    ¡°If so, it is okay then.¡±


    ¡°¡­Hmm?¡± (Esther)


    Esther looked at me in confusion.


    Nevertheless, I just shrugged before continuing.


    ¡°No, wait, Toru. No way, what are you nning to do¡­?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Bumobumo! Bumobumobumo!¡±


    I learned the orcs sound and I reproduced it using [Whistling] skill.


    Immediately, Esther¡¯s face turns pale.


    ¡°Ah! Toru, you! You! You¡­ ah!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Guue¡±


    Esther pale in the face suddenly grabbed me before shaking me back and forth.


    She seems to be seriously shaking me.


    I cannot breathe due to her grip, but I cannot get out.


    ¡°Toru did forget what happened with the goblin!?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Well, you were able to level up safely and efficiently¡­ right?¡±


    ¡°That is true¡­ but um¡­¡± (Esther)


    Esther suddenly looked weak and her legs gave out.


    Apparently, leveling using [Whistling] was quite traumatic for her.


    Nevertheless, I do not get it.


    For me, I was able to level up quickly and learn how to sh and not get drenched in blood.


    What does she hate it so much?


    However, while I was pondering.


    ¡°¡± ¡°¡± ¡°¡± ¡°¡± ¡°¡± Bumoo ¡­ ¡°¡± ¡°¡± ¡°¡± (Orcs)


    ¡°Hiii!?¡± (Esther)


    All over the forest, the cries of orcs echoed.


    Esther¡¯s shoulder has tensed and she is starting to get in the proper mindset.


    Esther from there on was quick.


    Immediately standing up and getting ready for battle.


    She also began chanting [Muscle Enhancement] so that it can be activated immediately.


    Nevertheless, her face still looked like she is crying.


    ¡°Bumobumobumo ~ ?¡±


    As I whistled relentlessly, 10 orcs appeared from the depths of the forest.


    The orcs that appeared had all of their fangs removed.


    They looked like young yakuza who had been mocked by their boss.


    (Maybe I am saying something that sounds offensive in orc.)


    ¡°Bumo ~ ?¡±


    ¡°Bumo!¡± ¡°Bumo Mo!¡± ¡°Buhi!¡± ¡°Bumo! Bumo!¡± (Orcs)


    Do orcs have anguage, unlike goblins? The orcs are responding to my whistle all at once.


    The expression on their faces was truly menacing and angry. They were in a state of rage.


    As for me who was oblivious to the re of the orcs,


    (Oh, I did it! I got a new orc call!)


    I was delighted to hear the new orc call.


    ¡°Toru. You will be in trouble if they get behind you!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°That is right. Then¨C¡°


    I channeled my magic power and immediately activated an earth magic spell.


    ¨D¨DDon!


    The ground roared all at once from every direction.


    The cause of the sound is the earth magic [Rock Needle].


    Thirty centimeters in diameter. It was a simple but effective way to make sure that orcs could not get through.


    It is simple, but a barricade isplete.


    It would take time to break this barricade, and even if it was broken, it could be repaired by using the [Rock Needle] right away.


    In addition, the barricade was ced to lure the orcs from the front, but even if they were cornered, Esther and I would be able to slip through the barricade.


    Unless we are surrounded by arge horde, can attack or flee as we please.


    ¡°Then Esther, let¡¯s go!¡±


    ¡°After all that, this is what happens ¡­¡±


    Esther seemed to be upset, but I just cannot get why.


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 Chapter 77: The Ultimate Meat

    <h4>Chapter 77: The Ultimate Meat</h4>


    ~3rd Person Perspective~


    At the counter of the less than popr Adventurer¡¯s Guild.


    Marie, the receptionist, was sighing and organizing the documents.


    Recently, the adventurer¡¯s guild has been hit very hard.


    It is also because of the scheming guild staff.


    The fact that the Adventurers¡¯ Guild had been unable to make any kind of presence in the crisis in Finlis was also a major factor.


    The adventurer¡¯s guild used to be so busy. People used topete for requests every day, but now all we hear are the echoing of a deserted guild.


    ¡°I am free ¡­¡± (Marie)


    Marie voluntarily began organizing the documents. However, she has been organizing the document shelves twice in the past week.


    This is the third time.


    Other than doing that, there is nothing else for her to do.


    ¡°Huh¡­¡± (Marie)


    She began to sigh again.


    Then the door of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild opened with a bang.


    An adventurer rushed inside the guild towards Marie.


    ¡°That is hard! An Orc¡­ an Orc King came!¡± (Adventurer)


    ¡°What was that!?¡± (Marie)


    Marie was so surprised she immediately stood up.


    Almost at the same time, the staff members who were also free started to move all at once.


    The Orc King is a monster that reigns at the top of the Orc species.


    Its subjugation level is very high, ¡°Conditional B-rank¡±.


    If it is the Orc King alone, the subjugation level will drop to C-rank.


    However, the scariest thing about Orc Kings is that they lead an army of lower rank orcs.


    By the time an adventureres to blow with an Orc King, they would have to fight at least 100 lesser orcs.


    Number is power.


    No matter how elite the team is, it will be overwhelmed by the violence of numbers.


    Its body has a thickyer of fat, making it difficult for attacks to reach vulnerable areas.


    In addition, the King is inmand of the army.


    The D-ranked monsters, organized by the King, rush in with nned assault.


    This is the reason for the subjugation level of the ¡°Conditional B-rank¡±.


    ¡°Then, please tell us the position and situation with the King.¡± (Marie)


    ¡°Oh, oh. They are currently in the northern part of Finlis Forest. The scale is¨C¡± (Adventurer)


    Guild officials were already poised to subdue the Orc King.


    After that, Marie began to wonder if there would be enough adventurers to subdue the Orc King¡­


    (This seems like it is going to be a pain.) (Marie)


    Looking around inside the guild, where there are few adventurers, Marie gently sighed.


    (¨CI almost forgot.) (Marie)


    Marie remembered something and she gasped for breath.


    This morning, there was a party of adventurers who epted the request to subdue orcs.


    The party is¨C.


    (Toru¡­ They are in danger!) (Marie)


    ¡ð


    ~Toru¡¯s Perspective~


    ¡°Bumobumo, buhibuhi ?¡±


    When I whistle, the orcs gather in an interesting fashion.


    Is my whistling imitating their calls a very unpleasant word to Orcs? The Orcs that gathered all came at me with bloodshot eyes.


    I carefully disposed of the orcs one by one.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    In the beginning, Esther was wielding her sword while screaming andining, but now she has be very quiet.


    She was like an artisan putting a tter of sashimi on a conveyor belt, shing away at the orcs with a dead-eyed look in her eyes.


    She was able to defeat the orcs with the minimum of force, without making wasteful moves.


    I am also now able to defeat the orcs with almost no effort.


    At first, he totally botched in killing the first five orcs, but now they are reaping their lives in an instant without damaging the orcs.


    At first, they often failed to instantly kill the mixed in fairly muscr individuals.


    Now, however, I am able to make slight adjustments, and no longer fail to kill due to individual differences.


    The reason for my improvement in killing Orcs is that I learned how to get around them by ¡°mimicking¡± Esther while observing her fighting style.


    Moreover, my movements became lighter.


    (I think I leveled up a lot.)


    My lighter movement is probably due to me leveling up.


    However, at present, I do not have time to check the skill board.


    (I am looking forward to seeing how much it went upter)


    ¡°Boohee, buhibuhibuhi ?¡±


    ¡°Bumoo!¡± ¡°Buhhh! Buhhhhh!¡± (Orcs)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Esther)


    The orcs went wild as soon as I whistle.


    Esther looks at me with apathy, but I do not care.


    Right now, leveling up is my priority.


    ¨CAnd meat!


    Defeat the orcs and store the copses in the [Inventory].


    I can store them once they are dead, but I cannot store the living ones.


    [Inventory] was effective in confirming if the orcs were dead or not.


    (How many days¡¯ worth of meat is this?)


    When Toru was defeating the orcs with excitement, [Intuition] suddenly caught a strong presence.


    ¡°Esther!¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± (Esther)


    Did Esther feel that presence?


    Her dead-fish eyes were now ring at the depths of the forest. Her eyes were now sharp and focused.


    Still, our bodies keep moving.


    If we do not move, we are going to be crushed by orcs.


    After defeating the orcs, a huge orc appeared from the depths of the forest.


    ¡°The leader? Do you know about it, Esther?¡±


    ¡°No, I do not know about it either.¡± (Esther)


    If Esther does not know it, then it is a rare variant.


    -Rare and strong variants are a treasure trove of experience points!


    My spine shivered.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s beat that!¡±


    ¡°No. Toru, I understand how you feel, but first, we should do something about the orcs in front of it.¡± (Esther)


    In front of the huge orc, ordinary orcs are in front defending it.


    Even if we are continuously defeating them, there is no sign that they are decreasing.


    ¡°Oh, that is fine¡±


    Therefore, I changed the form of [Magic Sword].


    Pulling the string of the magic bow and release it.


    Half a secondter.


    An arrow flew from the bow.


    The next moment.


    ¨C*saku~tsu*! [T/N: A piercing/cracking sound.]


    An arrow is now piercing the huge orc¡¯s forehead.


    Next to the huge orc, an ordinary orc looked at the huge orc and stared at it.


    The huge orc slowly falls back.


    *Zuuun*.


    The sound of arge orc falling echoes in the woods.


    Not a single orc was moving, even though all were inbat position.


    It was as if we were in the eye of a storm.


    ¡°Okay, we have more meat!¡±


    My joyful cry broke the silence.


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 Chapter 78: Team Recruitment & Disbanding

    <h4>Chapter 78: Team Recruitment & Disbanding</h4>


    ~3rd Person Perspective~


    Before nightfall, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild was filled with an uneasy atmosphere.


    Inside the building, many adventurers had gathered for the first time in a long time.


    The adventurers who had gathered there were not there to ept requests or to report on thepletion of their quests.


    They were called together by the guild staff through theirwork.


    Thirty-one adventurers have gathered.


    An Orc King Subjugation unit consisting of seven parties have been established.


    When the sun goes down, the Finlis gate will be closed off.


    Therefore, tomorrow will be the start of the subjugation quest.


    However, before that, a proper strategy meeting must be held.


    As long as there is a king, the orcs will cooperate. If a n cannot be finalized, the adventurers will suffer the consequences.


    (I wonder if the Orc King will be in the same ce tomorrow¡­)


    Marie was worried about that fact.


    Of course, she is worried that the adventurer will be hurt during the battle with the Orc King.


    The adventurers who are capable of defeating the Orc King are an important part of the Finlis Adventurers Guild.


    They are an asset that they do not want to lose.


    The gathered adventurers may get hurt and retire from being an adventurer.


    The adventurers alone should be able to defeat normal orcs, but they may not be able to defeat the King in singlebat.


    (¡­ but maybe, maybe.) (Marie)


    In Marie¡¯s mind, thoughts are brewing.


    (I did not realize how painful deciding would be¡­) (Marie)


    Marie currently has no direct boss.


    The receptionist chief has been vacant since his former boss, Philip, retired.


    Currently, Marie is acting as the deputy chief, and it is the first time for her tomand people.


    Originally, the guild master should have dealt with this situation.


    However, the Guild Master is absent since he is heading towards the royal capital.


    There is no guild master.


    There is no chief with authority and practical experience.


    Currently, only Marie has the authority to move people in the guild.


    There was also the option of not making a move and wait until the guild master returns.


    However, after hearing the news of an Orc King¡¯s appearance, Marie could not help but soldier on.


    The Adventurer¡¯s Guild is an organization that deals with situations where knights and guards cannot move.


    They are an independent force that quickly responds to situations where it takes time for other public and private forces to move.


    If there is a disaster-ss monster, the Orc King in front of them, and no one can immediately respond, it is the duty of the adventurer¡¯s guild.


    (If something goes wrong, I have to take responsibility. Oh, I wonder if there is a rich and kind man who would hire me somewhere and pamper me¡­) (Marie)


    It was at this moment that Marie, unable to bear the stress of leading thirty-one adventurers, retreated into her delusions.


    Then two adventurers entered the guild¡¯s entrance.


    (¨CToru-san!) (Marie)


    The adventurers who entered were Toru and Esther, both had headed out to subjugate orcs since morning.


    (I am d ¡­ he is alive.) (Marie)


    Marie is relieved.


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    Toru walked towards the counter with a cheerful stride.


    Esther following behind him, have dead-fish-eyes.


    Marie guessed what could have happened.


    ¨CToru did something outrageous again.


    Previously, Toru andpany. For a week, they continued to subjugate a huge number of goblins.


    They hunted 100 to 150 monsters a day, which is far from an ordinary adventurer who hunts 1-2 monsters a day.


    It is about 100 times more than normal.


    It is no wonder Esther¡¯s spirit has departed from her body.


    ¡°You are pretty busy.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your hard work, Toru-san and Esther-san. Yes. We are going through a problematic situation.¡± (Marie)


    ¡°Problem¡­?¡±


    Toru began to look uneasy.


    ¡°Maybe I should report thepletion of the requestter?¡±


    ¡°No, we will confirm it. I am sorry; can another staff member take charge for a bit?¡± (Marie)


    Originally, Marie wanted to be the one confirming the request.


    Confirmation of requests is the only opportunity to engage with an adventurer. What was the point of working as a receptionist if she was going to miss out on thepany of promising adventurers?


    Now Marie has to exin the situation to the adventurers of the Orc King Subjugation team.


    Unfortunately, she did not have the time to talk to Toru.


    ¡°Well, do you buy orc meat in the guild?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we do. I have heard that orc meat is very tasty. However, orc meat is famous for its limited edible parts. If you need meat, it would be better to just dismantle it.¡± (Marie)


    ¡°Oh, that is okay. We have secured a lot.¡±


    Toruughed so carefreely; it seemed that he was truly happy.


    Marie¡¯s heart is enamored by his smile.


    However, a thought immediately dawned on her.


    ¡°¡­a lot?¡± (Marie)


    It is a line that if it came out from an ordinary adventurer nobody would think it is strange.


    However, Toru has a horrible record.


    (That sack of ears still appears in my dreams¡­)


    Marie¡¯s spine crawled as she remembered the bag of goblin ears stted with blood all over.


    If he had defeated ¡°a lot¡± of orcs¡­


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    ¡°Marie, where should I get this confirmed?¡±


    ¡°I will do it!¡± (Marie)


    ¡°¡­eh?¡±


    ¡°I will do it! Please, all subjugation parties wait a moment!¡± (Marie)


    Marie is getting a bad feeling from this.


    Marie followed her intuition and invited Toru to the counter.


    ¡°Is this okay?¡±


    ¡°¨C!!¡± (Marie)


    The ear sack all over again.


    This time, not the ears, but snouts. It was a terrifying jute bag that looked exactly the same as before was ced on the counter.


    The jute bag was bulging like a meat bun.


    Marie was reluctant just looking at the sack, but she knew she had to look inside.


    ¡°He-hey!?¡± (Marie)


    Snouts, snouts and many snouts.


    The jute bag was packed with countless orc snouts.


    At the top of it is a huge snout, which is clearly different from themon snouts.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± (Marie)


    The moment she saw it, Marie froze.


    (This is an Orc King¡¯s snout¡­) (Marie)


    At a nce, Marie realized that it was an Orc King¡¯s snout.


    However Marie¡­


    (I gathered a subjugation unit¡­ what should I do¡­?) (Marie)


    She was tearfully holding back her tears.

 Chapter 79: Meat Get!

    <h4>Chapter 79: Meat Get!</h4>


    ~3rd Person Perspective~


    As it turned out during the assessment of the snouts, it seems that Toru and his party had unknowingly defeated a B-rank monster.


    However, Toru does not really feel that he has defeated a strong monster.


    It was the same with Esther.


    ¡°Did Esther-san know about Orc Kings?¡± (Marie)


    ¡°I knew about them, but I have not seen one, so I do not think that one was could be in the middle of our hunting.¡± (Esther)


    A thickyer of fat protects Orcs.


    Like a Rock Worm, it is a monster with high defense.


    When Orc Kings are leading a group of orcs.


    They will block escape routes or enclose them with imprable meat shields.


    For any normal adventurer, they will be killed if they do not receive any help.


    This is because innately, orcs have a high defense and cannot be defeated unless multiple adventurers attack them.


    Many adventurers will be needed to deal with a horde of orcs.


    However, Toru and Esther. Both had extremely sharp weapons.


    Two swords that slice through the thick fat of orcs.


    [Magic sword] and Esther¡¯s special mithril sword.


    Both weapons are able to slice through an orc¡¯s strength.


    Toru can even shoot an arrow that pierces the thick skull of an Orc King.


    Toru was also capable of barricading them with [Rock Needle].


    They barricaded their surroundings so they would not be attacked from all directions. They just focus on attacking from a single entrance.


    Because of that, the Orc King¡¯s strategies are rendered useless.


    Toru was the natural enemy to the orcs.


    It must have been a nightmare, to monsters who could not even use their armor of fat and renders their strategy useless.


    However, for Toru, the orcs were good prey.


    The appearance of this orc and the orc king caused an uproar in the guild. Toru learned about this from Marie.


    After thepletion report, Marie was in tears.


    (I am so happy the Orc King is subdued.) (Marie)


    After leaving her crying, Toru and his party visited the Dismantling Room.


    This was the first guild facility they had entered since bing adventurers.


    ~Toru¡¯s Perspective~


    ¡°This is where they dismantle your monsters, and this is also where they buy the materials from you after they dismantle them.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Really!¡±


    I curiously looked at the room of the dismantling division.


    Huge saws, chisel, and mallets are hanging on the wall.


    If I did not know anything, I would have thought this is a carpenter¡¯s workroom.


    Others may mistake it for a torture room because of the faint smell of blood lingering.


    ¡°Oh, you need dismantling?¡± (Guild Staff)


    As I was looking at the room, a middle-aged guild staff wearing an apron appeared.


    The guild staff looks strong. He has thick arms that look like he could kill people by strangling them.


    ¡°Yes, please dismantle some orcs.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­. Where is the orc?¡± (Guild Staff)


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    ¡°Oh, can I take it out?¡±


    ¡°Take it out¡­ oh; you are the one with [Inventory]!¡± (Guild Staff)


    The staff, who had wrinkles between his eyebrows before, suddenly his expression brightened.


    ¡°I was really saved at that time. I cannot speak for everybody in Finlis but I am an example of the people who are grateful to you.¡± (Guild Staff)


    ¡°No. When people are in trouble, we have to help each other.¡±


    The staff said ¡°that time¡± was after the attack on Finlis.


    The day after the attack, the reconstruction of Finlis began.


    The first step is to remove the debris.


    Anyone can help in this job.


    Whether you are craftsmen, tradesmen, adventurers, or merchants, all of them were soot-covered and worked hard to remove the debris.


    Meanwhile, I quickly removed the debris using [Inventory].


    Originally, I did not want to use [Inventory] in public.


    However, seeing everyone sweating and covered with soot, I did not feel like hiding [Inventory] anymore.


    If I kept hiding my skill, an essential part of my humanity would be lost.


    Therefore, I used [Inventory] to remove the debris.


    Thanks to that


    ¡°If you need anything, tell me right away. I will help you no matter what since you might not be physically strong.¡± (Guild Staff)


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¨CThe number of people who are looking at me in a positive light has increased.


    I came to Eargard and felt gratitude from the people I have met. Something that did not happen to me in Tokyo.


    (Lid. The number of people who will be on our side has increased by a lot¡­)


    I felt a bit sad, but then I remembered what I had to do.


    ¡°Then, please dismantle the orcs.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± (Guild Staff)


    With that said, I took out the orcs from my [Inventory] one after another.


    ¡°Oh, hey ¡­ how many of you hunted!?¡± (Guild Staff)


    ¡°Um, 217 in total?¡±


    ¡°Huh!?¡± (Guild Staff)


    My words seem to have surprised the guild staff.


    There is no doubt that the number of hunted monsters is equal to the number of snouts that Marie checked in the sack.


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    ¡°Toru. To be exact, we hunted two hundred and twenty orcs. But around three orcs got mangled.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Oh, that is right ¡­¡±


    I am now able to defeat the orcs efficiently, but at first, it was a series of overkills.


    As long as I have a snout that can serve as proof, the guild can then count the number of subjugated monsters. However, some orc¡¯s carcasses werepletely destroyed that even their snouts could not be taken.


    -That amounted to three.


    ¡°What the¡­ How many did you bring?¡± (Guild Staff)


    ¡°I hunted 220 orcs, but some of them have been ruined, so it is already less than 220. Um¡­ about 150 can be used for meat, I guess?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.¡± (Guild Staff)


    The expression disappeared from the staff¡¯s face.


    His gaze became unfocused. He began to stare at an empty space.


    ¡°Somehow, you can protect yourself enough even if I do not offer you my help.¡± (Guild Staff)


    ¡°No, there are things I cannot do.¡±


    ¡°After all you have done for me, what can I do for you¡­¡± (Guild Staff)


    ¡°¡­well?¡±


    I contemted for a while.


    I did not know what I could and could not do, even though I have lived for 32 years.


    Even if I think I am not good at it, sometimes things work out unexpectedly when I try somethings.


    Moreover, so is the reverse.


    I cannot really know anything without trying it.


    ¡°So, is it okay to put take out all the orcs?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Yeah, I think we can just about make it. I will gather the other bastards and dismantle it with them, but it will not be done today. You can pick up the magic stones and meat the day after tomorrow.¡± (Guild Staff)


    ¡°Okay, but can you give me a chunk of meat for now?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± (Guild Staff)


    The staff were dismantling the orc.


    His handiwork was nothing short of brilliant. I blinked once, the skin was already peeled off, and the meat was immediately being removed from the bones.


    Watching the dismantling was enough to kill time.


    While watching, the staff brought out a chunk of meat wrapped in paper.


    It is been less than 5 minutes. It is a pretty quick job.


    However, not all have been dismantled.


    He dismantled only the ¡°chunk of meat¡± that I asked for.


    ¡°I kept you waiting.¡± (Guild Staff)


    ¡°No problem, thank you. See you tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± (Guild Staff)


    I took the meat, threw it into my [Inventory], and headed home with Esther.

 Chapter 80: Compensation for Good Food

    <h4>Chapter 80: Compensation for Good Food</h4>


    When we got home, I froze when I saw the changes in the living room.


    ¡°¡­Wee back¡± (Lily)


    ¡°I am home?¡±


    Lily was sitting on a chair in the middle of the living room.


    A lot of paper was scattered around her.


    I am not sure what to do. There is no ce to step on.


    Of course, Lily was the cause.


    While I was looking on in amazement, Lily was drawing something on the paper with her brush.


    When it was finished, Lily dropped the paper on the floor.


    ¡°¡­ What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°I am making a magic scroll.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Ah.¡±


    I see I thought.


    Lily is the manager of a magic scroll store.


    All her merchandise at her magic scroll store was lost in the big fire the other day.


    Lily is currently making new scrolls to stock up her store.


    I felt a small amount of magical power in Lily¡¯s hand.


    By drawing symbols and patterns with magical power, it bes a magic scroll like Toru used.


    As I watched her work for a short while, Lily suddenly sank to the table.


    At the same time, a sound echoed from Lily¡¯s stomach.


    ¡°¡­ I am hungry.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Have you not have any lunch yet?¡±


    ¡°I ate¡­ a little.¡± (Lily)


    Lily nces at the sofa.


    A half-eaten meat skewer was precariously ced there.


    It is a meat skewer sold in one of the food stalls in the city.


    ¡°¡­ It was not delicious.¡± (Lily)


    When she said that, she red at me.


    I do not remember doing anything wrong.


    I am innocent. I raises my hand and shook my head.


    ¡°I now have an extravagant pte¡­¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Ah, haha¡±


    Apparently, the food yesterday and this morning made Lily¡¯s taste a little extravagant.


    Certainly, if you have an extravagant pte, you cannot eat this meat skewer.


    I strongly agreed with Lily.


    ¡°Lily. We all share this house. People should be able to walk around.¡±


    ¡°Mu¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Lily, if you eat rice there, it will get dirty. Please clean it up while I am cooking food.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, since you asked.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Yes, I asked.¡±


    I asked, and I nodded smiling at Lily, who looks like a petnt child.


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    Esther¡¯s cheeks slightly swelled while I was talking to Lily.


    Was something bothering her?


    I pondered, but I cannot think of anything.


    For the time being, I shelved the question in the back of my mind, and I went to the kitchen to make us supper.


    By the time I finished cooking and preparing the food, the living room had returned to the same tidy state as this morning.


    Esther and Lily, who were waiting for dinner, directed shining eyes towards me.


    Next to that, Pino jumps over and over as if he were saying, ¡°I am here too!¡±


    Pino like a dog weed him back home and found out that I was cooking, so he also went to the living room. Smart.


    I ced a te in front of each of them, smiling brilliantly at Pino¡¯s cuteness.


    ¡°Today¡¯s dish is steak.¡±


    ¡°¡±Oh!¡±¡± (Esther & Lily)


    ¡°(Poyonpoyon!)¡± (Pino)


    I grilled the orc meat with finesse.


    The seasoning is simply salt and pepper.


    It is like an A5 rank, Chateaubriand. [Note: So A5 Chateaubriand is simr to a Filet Mignon. The A5 ranking means that it is high ss and cannot be found in ordinary stores but in special high-ss stores.]


    Because of the high-fat content of the meat, it was heavily seasoned to make it taste best.


    I took a seat and put my hands together.


    ¡°Itadaki¨C¡± [Note: Itadakimasu literally meaning, ¡°I humbly receive¡± is like a prayer or a saying Japanese people say before meals. Like thanks or blessing for the meal. Simr to bon a petit or thanks for the food.]


    ¡°Wait a moment.¡± (Esther)


    Esther interrupted my words with a serious tone.


    She got up from her seat and picked up Lily¡¯s te.


    Lily, who was about to eat steak, raised her eyes.


    ¡°¡­fight?¡± (Lily)


    Lily¡¯s whole body became filled with magical power.


    Due to her strong magical power, the knife and fork began to deform.


    ¡°Why did Lily think she could eat steak?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°¡­What do you mean?¡± (Lily)


    ¡°This is the orc that I and Toru hunted. I think Lily, who has not hunted orc with me and has not helped, can have steak for free at no cost.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Esther. I am not¨C¡°


    ¡°Shut up Toru¡± (Esther)


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    ¡°Huh, right.¡± (Lily)


    For me, I am willing to offer Lily food without a cost.


    However, Esther red at me, and I hurriedly conceded.


    It is not a very peaceful atmosphere.


    ¡°The house we promised to share, but not the meals.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Lily)


    ¡°And Lily-san is an adventurer. I think you know how important the idea of price is to an adventurer.¡± (Esther)


    Adventurers are neither doing charity nor working for their citizens as public servants.


    There is always a price and every adventurer works due to that.


    If they start working withoutpensation, it will bemonce for them to work withoutpensation.


    Because of such a small number of individuals, ¡°all legitimate adventurers¡± who move for a price will be seen as ¡°greedy adventurers¡±.


    To prevent that, adventurers value the price of work.


    They do not demand money, but they demandpensation.


    Lily¡¯s gaze went to the floor.


    There were a few tears in her eyes.


    ¡°Lily-san. That¨C¡±


    ¡°¡­!¡± (Lily)


    I wanted to say something, but before I could, Lily stood up vigorously and ran out of the living room.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Did she get angry?


    My heart grew cold due to the horrible atmosphere.


    ¡°Toru. Did you understand what I was saying?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°¡­ No. Esther is not wrong.¡±


    Lily is not family. Not even apanion.


    She is just a housemate in a shared living space.


    It is only natural that I give her food and asks forpensation.


    ¡°If we do not solve this first, it will be a bigger problemter.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±


    That is true.


    The more you put up with it, the more resentment could pile up.


    As much as I do not want to, I will ask forpensation.


    It is normal for every person living here.


    That said, I still did not like this kind of atmosphere.


    I want to live without hurting anyone if possible.


    For that reason, I just have to put up with it. On the other hand, I might suffer a disadvantage in the long run.


    It is many times better than facing the consequence.


    (Would she want to eat steak? No ¡­ in this state, she will not be able to eat it with gusto¡­ huh¡­)


    As soon as my shoulders dropped in resignation, footsteps approached from the outside of the living room.


    The door opened, and Lily, who had a slightly teary face, appeared.


    She was holding a ck cloth between her hands.


    As she approached me, Lily offered the cloth.


    ¡°This¡­¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    ¡°I will give this¡­. I get a meal.¡± (Lily)


    Apparently, Lily brought thepensation Esther said because she wanted to eat the steak.


    I received it and spread it.


    ¡°¡­a coat?¡±


    It looks like a trench coat.


    However, the fabric is thinner than a coat.


    ¡°Sage¡¯s robe. Excellent defense.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Oh!¡±


    ¡°While wearing it, it will be familiar with the magical power of the owner. The more you use it, the stronger it will be.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Wow! Did Lily make this?¡±


    ¡°Hmm. I got it from my master. Wear it as your magic grows.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Well, is not it bad if you give it away?¡±


    I do not know who Lily¡¯s master is.


    However, I do not think it is a good idea to casually give it away.


    ¡°It is fine. It does not suit me.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°¡­¡±


    So I checked and I realized she was telling the truth.


    For Lily, who looks like a girl, the green robe she is currently wearing looks better than the ck one.


    Also, this robe is too big for Lily¡¯s body.


    It is light and it is also the perfect size for me.


    Unfortunately, Lily did not seem to be growing much.


    ¡°So can I eat?¡± (Lily)


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Lily¡¯s voice was terribly soft.


    She sounds afraid that she would be turned down.


    (Do you want to eat my food so much ¡­?)


    I nced at Esther, a little confused by Lily¡¯s attitude.


    I got nothing. Esther did not give anything away.


    ¡°I was imagining how much meal I would give aspensation. Well, if this okay with you, it is okay with me.¡±


    ¡°I have not given anything to Esther, is that okay?¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Oh. It is Toru who cooks.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I see.¡± (Lily)


    However, I felt it was a little too much.


    ¡°I will use this robe properly. Lily-san, you can eat all the dishes I make for free.¡±


    ¡°Really!?¡± (Lily)


    Lily¡¯s expression became brighter.


    Esther screamed a little, ¡°Hey,¡± but immediately shook her head.


    She probably also realized that the robe was worth it.


    When everyone sat down in the chair, I took the lead again and started on my steak.


    Everyone ate the steak and silently ate.


    We all wanted to eat steak rather than say a word.


    The taste of meat was better than I thought.

 Chapter 81: Aaron’s Return

    <h4>Chapter 81: Aaron¡¯s Return</h4>


    ~3rd Person Perspective~


    Dilmut, the guild master of the Finlis Adventurer¡¯s Guild, returns to his office with a bitter smile at Marie, who keeps bowing in front of him.


    ¡°Master. I am very sorry.¡± (Marie)


    ¡°No, it is okay,e on raise your head.¡± (Aaron)


    The reason why Marie is bowing is because of the way she handled things while Aron was away.


    Aaron was on a business trip to the royal capital.


    Meanwhile, an Orc King was discovered in the northern part of the Finlis Forest.


    An Orc King is a B-rank monster.


    The Orc King¡¯s high defensive power andmanding ability can make it difficult for even the Silver Wing Knights to protect the royal capital.


    If the orcs left the forest and approached the city of Finlis, an unimaginable amount of damage was to be expected.


    Therefore, Marie, who moved in anticipation of an emergency, is not wrong.


    Rather, the quickness of her decision ismendable.


    To defend the city, in the absence of a Guild Master, Aaron. It is not possible for an average employee to make such a hard decision.


    Knights under the umbre of national and local aristocrats are properly armed. However, it will take time to move once the incident urs.


    On the other hand, the adventurer¡¯s guild has a different fighting force including their hierarchy, but their initial action is usually quick.


    Therefore, regarding the defense of Finlis, the adventurer¡¯s guild is required to y the role of defenders until the Knights can move.


    In other words, as a staff member of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, Marie fulfilled her role perfectly.


    Even if the Orc King had been subdued before the subjugation unit moved.


    ¡°I am just out of luck this time, and you did not do anything wrong. Rather you should be proud.¡± (Aaron)


    ¡°But I have spent the guild¡¯s money at my own discretion.¡± (Marie)


    In the end, she did not deploy the adventurers she gathered, but she still paid some rewards when she dispersed them.


    However, that is also a necessary expense, Aaron thought.


    ¡°No problem. Rather, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild is an organization dedicated to defending Finlis, so I think it makes sense to let them know.¡± (Aaron)


    What you should never do when you are on the defense is to assume a future where nothing will happen.


    Defense is not about keeping damage small.


    It is for ¡°not receiving any damage¡±.


    A future where there was no damage is the best form of defense they should aim for.


    In that respect, Marie¡¯s actions are perfectly in line.


    Perhaps it was just after the Finlis attack that these actions were taken despite the absence of Guild Master Aaron.


    On the contrary, it was Aaron¡¯s responsibility.


    The Reception Department Chief was left vacant.


    The chief of the reception department has practically the same power as the sub-guild master.


    This is because the Chief Receptionist manages and undertakes all administrative procedures.


    (The guild system should be stabilized immediately) (Aaron)


    Fortunately, Philip¡¯s sessor has been decided.


    Marie is the person who showed a glimpse of his talent in an emergency.


    He is still a little worried about her practical experience, but that wille naturally to her if she works for the guild. The important thing is to have a good eye for information and the courage to make important decisions.


    The Finlis guild still has talented people.


    Just knowing that Aaron believed he could run the guild with confidence.


    ¡°I have been having a tough time myself, you know. I was squeezed hard at the guild headquarters in the Royal Capital. I have been berated at the guild headquarters in King¡¯s Landing for not managing the guild well enough, for not being aware enough despite being a master. I was scolded endlessly. I am not sure what to do anymore.¡± (Aaron)


    ¡°Huh ¡­¡± (Marie)


    ¡°Oh yeah. I bought a souvenir from the royal capital, so give it to everyone.¡± (Aaron)


    ¡°¡­ haa¡± (Marie)


    Marie looked confused when she was given sweets sold in the royal capital.


    What kind of face should she make while giving out souvenirs from someone who was not in the guild during an emergency? This is what Marie should be thinking, Aaron thought.


    However, it is the responsibility of the boss to work for everyone and to be resented by everyone.


    Aaron pushed the cookies against Marie with a smile.


    ¡°After a long sermon at the guild, I got a request. Next week, the order of session to the throne will finally be announced.¡± (Aaron)


    ¡°¨C!¡± (Marie)


    It sounded so casual to Marie as if she is receiving a request.


    The announcement of the sessor to the throne is a major event for the Kingdom of Yuster.


    There are currently three princes in the kingdom.


    Since the king is still young, there is a possibility that the number of princes will still continue to increase.


    Announcement of the sessor to the throne at this time does not simply decide on which prince will seed. It is also a deration that any prince born after will not be chosen as a sessor.


    It is an announcement that will determine the future of the kingdom.


    It will be a big one, raising the country.


    ¡°It is a request from the Silver Wing Knights, who are in charge of guarding the royal capital, but they want adventurers to be in charge of patrolling the royal capital.¡± (Aaron)


    ¡°In other words, we will send people from Finlis guild.¡± (Marie)


    ¡°Exactly.¡± (Aaron)


    ¡°How many people do we need?¡± (Marie)


    As fast as Aaron snapping his finger, he decided.


    It is a good thing both of them are quick thinkers, because of that, they can n faster.


    ¡°Just two.¡± (Marie)


    Aaron did not miss Marie¡¯s sigh of relief.


    The current Finlis Guild is overwhelmingly understaffed.


    Many adventurers have been taking requests to help in Finlis recovery.


    The Guild is currently silent not just because of trust issues.


    But also, many adventurers are involved in requests with long-term contracts.


    Escorting materials, construction, and maintenance.


    Now the guild is in dire need of helping hands.


    If many adventurers are sent to the royal capital, the guild will have trouble supplementing the requests needed for the recovery of Finlis.


    Marie was relieved that they did not have to dispatch a lot of people.


    In fact, the Guild Headquarters told Aaron to send out many adventurers.


    However, He exined that Finlis in quite a dire situation and negotiated on sending only a small number of adventurers.


    The result is two people.


    Suddenly, Marie opened her mouth.


    ¡°¡­ Have those two adventurers already been decided?¡± (Marie)


    It looks as if she noticed something.


    She does have sharp senses.


    Aaron pulled out a piece of paper from the drawer, smiling with satisfaction.


    ¡°It is a nomination request from the guild. Give this to the two of them.¡± (Aaron)


    ¡°¡­ Is it okay? There are many other talented people.¡± (Marie)


    ¡°Of course.¡± (Aaron)


    By the time he heard this request, Aaron had already decided on his candidates.


    So far, the duo has solved many situations.


    All of these problems would have led Finlis on a road to destruction if left unsolved.


    Then there is the Orc King¡¯s subjugation.


    It is as if they have received God¡¯s blessing.


    (¨D¨DNo, he has probably already received it ¡­ God¡¯s blessing.) (Aaron)


    Then, the answer has been decided.


    With God¡¯s blessing, any problem can be solved.


    Because they were chosen by God¡­


    However, this time it is an escort mission in the royal capital.


    Besides, the Silver Wing Knights also provide strict security.


    ¡°Ability is not really important. Since there are the Silver Wing Knights. It is unlikely that a big event will happen. The guild is not required to send a hero ss adventurer.¡± (Aaron)

 Chapter 82: Nominated Request

    <h4>Chapter 82: Nominated Request</h4>


    The next day. After training in the morning and having breakfast, Esther and I visited the guild.


    The dismantling of the orcs will bepleted tomorrow.


    I visited the guild today to receive a new request.


    ¡°We made a bit of a mistake yesterday, so we will have to be a bit more efficient today.¡±


    I hunted 220 orcs the other day, but only five were needed toplete the request.


    Beyond that, the others were irrelevant to the fulfillment of a request.


    Unlike a permanent request, a normal request is finished once it ispleted.


    If the requirement is to kill five targets, it does not matter if you hunt ten or a hundred, it only counts as one.


    ¡°Are you thinking of putting just enough effort for subjugation requests?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Nope!¡±


    I am an ¡°Inferior¡± person.


    As long as I am an ¡°Inferior¡±, I must umte more experience points than others must.


    Furthermore, I have a theory that ¡°leveling should be done with high efficiency.¡±


    Fortunately, the battle against the Orcs is one in which idents such as injury or loss of life do not ur.


    If there is no danger of death, I would like to aim to level up with the highest efficiency.


    By leveling yesterday when he defeated 220 animals, my level increased by two.


    ********************


    ¡ð Status


    Toru Minasuki


    Level: 33


    Race: Human Primary Job: Swordsman ¨C Secondary Job: Mage


    Rank: III Skill Points: 516 ¡ú 536


    ********************


    I was pleased with this result because it was difficult to raise my level even when I defeated many goblins.


    (If we do our best leveling up for a week, I will probably be able to reach level 40.)


    The higher my level, the lower my risk of dying.


    In addition, since the skill points increase, it bes easier to acquire skills to keep my life safer.


    They should level up as much as they can whenever they can.


    It was a shame that most of the orcs I defeated became pointless in clearing the quest.


    If possible, I want to clear multiple requests while leveling up.


    While I was looking at the bulletin board looking for such a request,


    ¡°Toru-san, Esther-san. Good morning.¡±


    Marie, the receptionist, called out to us.


    ¡°Marie-san. Good morning.¡±


    ¡°Good morning, Marie¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Do you two, do both of you have some time to talk?¡± (Marie)


    ¡°¡±???¡±¡± (Esther & Toru)


    (¨D¨DWhat is going on.)


    Esther and I looked at each other.


    ¡°Actually, I have a request for both of you.¡± (Marie)


    ¡°A nominated request!¡± (Esther)


    Esther suddenly smiles.


    ¡°A nominated request?¡±


    ¡°A nominated request is a request for a specific adventurer. I have heard that nominated requests are only given to the best, but I never thought I¡¯d get one so soon!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Wow!¡±


    Seeing Esther rejoicing, I think it might be simr to ¡°getting recruited for professional baseball.¡±


    If it is simr, it is no wonder that she is happy to be nominated.


    ¡°Is not Toru happy? We were both nominated you know?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±


    If I say I am not happy, I would be lying.


    However, I had something else to worry about.


    ¡°What is the content of the request?¡±


    If a nominated request is only given to strong individuals, can we handle the request?


    I am an ¡°inferior¡± person.


    Would not an ¡°inferior¡± person becking ability?


    I became anxious.


    ¡°This is what the nominated request contains; it is a patrol mission at the royal capital, Yuster.¡± (Marie)


    ¡°Oh, the royal capital!¡±


    ¡°At the royal capital¡­¡± (Esther)


    Sinceing to Eargard, I have only seen Finlis so far.


    If Finlis is considered a big and developed city, what kind of city will the royal capital be? First and foremost, I can already expect it to berger than Finlis.


    (I have to go sightseeing!)


    I was delighted.


    However, unlike me, enthusiasm drained from Esther.


    ¡°This request is from the Silver Wing Knights. The ceremony to announce the session to the throne will be held, and the adventurer¡¯s guild has requested that we send someone to patrol.


    As for the security content, it is confidential in nature. I am sorry; it is not something that can be easily divulged to the guild.¡± (Marie)


    ¡°Silver Wing Knights?¡±


    ¡°The Order of the Silver Wings is a knight unit that protects the royal capital of Yuster. It is a different size, but think of them as the guardians of Finlis.¡± (Marie)


    ¡°I see. So, is the patrol mission a job that can be performed by D-rank adventurers?¡±


    That is what I care the most about.


    I am d that we were nominated. However, if it is not a job suitable for us, even if we ept it, we will just fail.


    ¡°Please be assured. Being a patrolman can be done by D-rank adventurers.¡± (Marie)


    ¡°Then, everything looks okay¡­ Esther?¡±


    Esther puts her hand on her chin and seems to be thinking about something¡­


    ¡°Is there something to worry about?¡± I asked Esther.


    ¡°We can ept this request, right?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°¡­ D-rankers are already considered as veterans, so yes.¡± (Marie)


    After muttering, Esther raised her face as if she had discarded a weight off her shoulders.


    ¡°Let¡¯s ept the request.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Marie)


    Therefore, it was decided that we would head to the royal capital.


    A horse-drawn carriage can reach the royal capital, Yuster, after two days. It is for four days when on foot.


    The patrol mission is on a fairly tight schedule, it will start after four days.


    The guild suggested us to travel in a carriage, but I declined and decided to walk.


    The reason was simply that the carriage was very expensive.


    For me, five silver coins just to reach the royal capital seemed very expensive.


    Five silver coins ¨C If I have 50,000 yen, I can have an enjoyable trip when going to Okinawa.


    50,000 yen is too expensive for a one-way ticket to the royal capital.


    ¡°Toru. What if we do not make it in time¡­?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°It is okay. We will be on time.¡±


    The moving speed of the carriage is said to be about 6 to 11 km/h.


    Faster than walking, but slower than marathon runners.


    If our physical ability improved by us leveling up, we will not have any trouble in continuously running at an average of 11 km/h.


    Therefore, we get ready for our trip to the royal capital and greeted Lily.


    £¨When Lily found out that her personal chef, me, would be out of town for a while, she held us back for a while with a teary-eyed expression.)


    Early morning the next day after epting the nominated request.


    Esther and I passed through the north gate towards the royal capital.


    ¡°If we go straight on this road, we will eventually reach the royal capital.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s go.¡±


    After passing through the gate, we began to walk outside.


    Fortunately, we both have [Inventory].


    We have all the necessary items for camping, but all of them can be stored in our [Inventory].


    Thanks to that, we were able to run without any baggage weighing us down.


    At first, we check your physical conditions.


    Soon we began elerating.


    ¡°Esther, can you still go faster?¡±


    ¡°Of course! But can Toru catch up to me?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Oh, is that so?¡±


    Whileughing, we dashed over the road to the royal capital, as if we were racing against each other.


    Compared to when we first met, our physical abilities have improved dramatically.


    Even if I run with all my might, I do not feel short of breath.


    After running at top speed for a while, the two of us eventually settled at a speed that could be maintained for a longer time.


    As long as we are running at this speed, we can continuously keep running.


    It is not painful, but it is still not that easy because we are still running.


    (To just do this for hours¡­)


    I do not know how many kilometers per hour we are currently running, but we will be running for more than a day.


    Moreover, I am tired of looking at the endless fields.


    (What do marathon runners think about while they are running? Is not it quite boring to run for a long time?)


    If I had a smartphone with me, I could be running while browsing the inte.


    I had that much time to waste.


    Simr to the ancient Greeks, when the body has some leeway, one works his mind.


    Because of working my mind, I came up with an idea.


    ¨D¨DA method that will allow me to move more easily and train efficiently.

 Chapter 83: Traveling to the Royal Capital (Freestyle)

    <h4>Chapter 83: Traveling to the Royal Capital (Freestyle)</h4>


    ¡°¡ª[Earth Shrink]! Hyafu!¡± [Note: Shukuchi ¡°¿sµØ¡± is a skill/technique used in anime or manga simr to short-distance teleportation. It literally means, ¡°Shrink earth technique¡±.]


    ¡°¡­ Toru. Just run normally.¡± (Esther)


    Esther¡¯s disgruntled voice reaches my ears.


    However, I barely registered Esther¡¯s voice.


    I am doing my best with magical control.


    This is my n while running.


    ¡°Is there any way that I can run while doing some special training?¡±


    Then I came up with the idea to elerate using [Air Cutter].


    When I kick against the ground, I simultaneously fire a dull [Air Cutter] on my back.


    Then, like beingunched by a catapult, my body elerates instantaneously.


    Just like the moves used by top Japanese swordsmen, this allows me to close the gap between my opponent in an instant.


    I will use the name ¡°Earth Shrink¡± to familiarize my own body by repeating it multiple times.


    However, this movement technique is not easy.


    It puts a lot of strain on my feet when I jump andnd.


    I think it can be activated several times during battles, but it does not seem suitable for continuous long-distance travel.


    So while I had been practicing [Earth Shrink] for quite some time, I thought further.


    (Can I improve my movement?)


    (Can I train my magic further?)


    As I keep on thinking about what to do, an Idea shed.


    (Justbine it!)


    Use [Rock Needle] to evenly tten out the bumps on the road.


    Then spray water on it with a [Water Ball].


    [Fireball] was enchanted on the back of my shoes, and I catapult myself using [Air Cutter].


    [Fireball] does not conduct heat to the caster¡¯s body.


    However, there is a catch-I knew this from the training while Lily was teaching me.


    When I bring a [Fireball] close to the ground sshed by [Water Ball], the water boils in an instant.


    The steam expands the space between my shoe and the ground.


    -The body floats.


    In that state, what happens if I hit myself with [Air cutter]?


    Like hovercraft, my body moves forward.


    This is what I came up with while using my ¡°free-time¡± from running, ¡°A movement technique that also includes magic control training at the same time!¡±


    However, this movement technique has a fatal drawback.


    It is very difficult to bnce.


    I have to keep my arms wide to bnce, and I do not spread my feet too far apart. [T/N: How does he move with his feet together?]


    This was the most stable posture.


    If I change my posture even a little bit, I will most likely face nt due to the incredible momentum.


    I concentrate on training my magic while maintaining a posture simr to the Titanic pose. [T/N:???]


    ~Esther¡¯s Perspective~


    Seeing Toru like that, I earnestly wished, ¡°I beg you please run like a normal person.¡±


    Toru¡¯s entricity was not born just today or yesterday.


    For a long time, Toru had enchanted multiple [Lighting] into his futon and made it float and spin by just continuously enchanting it with [Lighting].


    He insists that it is magic training, but for me, it did not seem like training at all.


    Moreover, this is his most entric moment.


    Toru was sliding forward at an incredible speed without moving up or down, maintaining his posture as if he were a god who hade down to save the people.


    However, Toru does not seem godly at all, but something evil. Especially, as he moves at an explosive speed with steam rising, making a sizzling sound beneath his feet.


    In addition to that, Toru is wearing the ck Sage Robe given by Lily, so he looks like a dangerous individual with who you should get involved.


    I want Toru to be conscious of what he looks like as he runs with me.


    ¡°¡­ Gods. Please make Toru run like a normal person.¡± (Esther)


    I kept praying to the gods.


    I hope that Toru, who devised this terrifying way of moving, will not be seen by anyone (and notice me running alongside Toru).


    ¡ð


    ~Toru¡¯s Perspective~


    As the sun was going down.


    Beyond the horizon, I saw a faint image of a huge city.


    ¨CThe capital, Yuster.


    Neither Esther nor I expected it, but apparently, we were running quite fast.


    (The fact that the carriage arrived at 10 km/h in two days, us doing so in one day means that we were running at 20 km/h.)


    Speaking of 20 kilometers per hour, it is on par with Earth¡¯s world record holder for a full marathon run. [T/N: Eliud Kipchoge is the world record holder for the marathon. His speed is approximately 13mph or 20.9 km/h. All ording to Google-sensei]


    That is a full day of running at the full speed of a marathon runner.


    Moreover, we are not that tired yet.


    Even if monsters sometime from now attack us, we still have enough strength to fight several monsters.


    The benefits of leveling up were greater than I had imagined.


    Fortunately, there was nothing to stop us.


    I thought monsters would attack us at least once, but I was surprised that we were never attacked not even once.


    ¡°Not a monster came out¡­¡±


    I also wanted to get some experience points.


    I felt sad and my shoulders sagged.


    ¡°They are probably¡­¡±


    Toru does not understand that with such a dangerous-looking movement, even monsters, would not approach.


    Only Toru himself does not realize this.


    Esther¡¯s shoulders even sagged in defeat.


    Toru wanted to run full force until he reached Yuster.


    However, Esther cries and begs of, ¡°Stop it!¡± made him run normally during the middle of the travel.


    Toru never understood why Esther wanted to stop him with his magic training.


    (Is it because if I use magic near the royal capital, the guards will be wary of us?)


    ¡°Yes¡±, I told myself.


    ¡°¡­ Hmm, what is it?¡± (Esther)

 Chapter 84: What I Want in the Royal Capital

    <h4>Chapter 84: What I Want in the Royal Capital</h4>


    ¡°¡­ Hmm, what is it?¡±


    I felt a little ufortable when I passed through the gates of the royal capital.


    It was like breaking through a thin film.


    ¡°What is wrong, Toru?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Nothing. When I entered the capital, I felt a strange sensation.¡±


    ¡°Oh ¡­ it must be the royal capital¡¯s barrier.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Barrier?¡±


    I was confused by Esther¡¯s words.


    ¡°There are several barriers that surround the capital and it protects the royal castle. Perhaps Toru felt one of them, the Magic Stone Poison Barrier. When a strong monster enters, it gets affected. Poison umtes in the magic stone of the monster, and their movements be limited.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Hmm. There is such a barrier. Oh, but how does Esther know the barrier of the royal capital?¡±


    Would not that information require a very high-security clearance especially about a barrier that protects the royal capital?


    Esther shakes her head to my question.


    ¡°Only this barrier is within the public¡¯s knowledge because some races have magic stones in them.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I see.¡±


    If the information is not disclosed, races with magic stones who came to sightsee might die without knowing the reason.


    ¡°Also, it does not react to the magic stones of weak monsters.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Why? Would not it be bad if a monster like a Silver Wolf gets in?¡±


    ¡°Yes, But slimes are bred in the royal capital.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Oh, when you say that¡­ I see.¡±


    Slimes are useful for human life.


    That is why, if slimes are affected by the Monster Stone Poison Barrier, they will not be able to treat sewage and leftover food in the royal capital.


    ¡°I think it is well thought out¡­¡±


    While muttering, we stepped into the royal capital.


    Yuster, the capital of the Kingdom of Yuster, was a huge city that surpassed Finlis in everything.


    Yuster is aplex city consisting of five towns.


    It has more than 200,000 inhabitants and is over 10 kilometers in size and diameter.


    As I passed through the city gates, I could see a huge structure in the distance.


    It was the Royal Castle, the symbol of the Kingdom of Yuster.


    ¡°Wow!¡±


    I sighed in admiration when I saw the huge royal castle.


    It looks big even from a distance. If we approach, we would be reduced to the size of a grain of rice rtive to the castle¡¯s size.


    The streets of the royal capital were more magnificent than Finlis.


    Every visible part of the main street was made of stone.


    Even the white walls and red roofs fascinated me, who was used to living in Finlis.


    ¡°The wooden houses are nice and tasteful, but the stone houses are also nice.¡±


    I walked along, careful not to be left behind by Esther.


    This feeling of awe is the same as the day I first visited Eargard.


    It has only been less than a month, but it feels like a long time ago.


    That is how much time I had spent in the city of Finlis.


    ¡°Esther, where are we heading now?¡±


    ¡°First of all, I am thinking of securing an inn.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Esther walks along the road of the royal capital without hesitation.


    Her steps are very certain.


    After walking for a while, we arrived at an inn.


    It was a fairlyrge and fine inn.


    ¡°Excuse me. Is there any vacant room?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Wee. We will check it now, so please be patient.¡± (Inn Receptionist)


    The reception is quite amodating.


    It seems to be a very high-ss inn.


    Will the money be enough?


    I was quite worried.


    Contrary to my worries, the amodation fee was one silver coin per night.


    It is expensivepared to the inn that I used I he got the house, but it is not expensive for an inn in the royal capital.


    Securing two single rooms and we both head to our own rooms immediately.


    Entering the room, I took out my luggage from my [Inventory].


    It was at that time.


    ¡°¡­Hmm?¡±


    The pocket on my waist vibrated slightly.


    Strangely, I turn it upside down.


    Then


    ¡°¡­ Pino?!¡±


    Pino with his purple core popped out of my pocket.


    I should have left Pino in our house in Finlis.


    I remember seeing Pino swaying in my room, it looks sad, ¡°Are you going to be fine?¡± It made me a bit lonely.


    Pino should be in my room back in Finlis.


    After I confirmed that, we left home.


    Nothing should havee out, but for some reason, Pino came out of the pocket.


    ¡°What the heck ¡­¡±


    ¡°(Puru Puru)¡± (Pino)


    My chest constricted after I realize that Pino followed me.


    I already wanted to forgive him and hug him, but things are different.


    ¡°I told you to wait in the room, and you cannot follow me, right?¡±


    ¡°(Furu Furu)¡± (Pino)


    ¡°Hmm, were you lonely?


    When it acted cutely, it had already be difficult for me to be mad.


    I was worried for a while, but in the end, I forgave and epted everything in the name of the lovely swaying figure of Pino.


    At dinnertime, we went to the dining room at one time.


    Meeting with Esther and we had a meal together.


    The food is about the same as the Finlis inn where I was staying previously. It is edible.


    Has our pte be extravagant in thest few days? Esther just ate half of the steak and poked it around, and there is no sign of her nning to finish it.


    I also ate half of the steak and drank only water.


    As for Pino, he swallowed the whole steak but escaped into my pocket as if it had eaten something rotten.


    ¨CIt seems that it was not delicious for the slime either.


    ¡°I never thought that Pino woulde with you.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yeah¡­ I will try not to let him interfere with the request; can I take him with us?¡±


    We cannot really leave Pino in the inn.


    If the inn staff find him, he might be taken away.


    (Pino may be thrown into the waste bin of the inn¡­!)


    It is unclear if he can really be sent in the kitchen waste bin, but he might be thrown outside or crushed like a bug. Either way, there does not seem to be any good scenarios.


    ¡°Is not it okay? This time it is not a subjugation request, but a patrol request. If it does not attack people, it is okay to have it stay with us.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Oh, thank you.¡±


    Esther epts Pino as apanion, and I am immediately relieved.


    ¡°By the way, what are we nning on doing tomorrow? Is there any ce you want to go?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Hmm? We are going to the headquarters of the Silver Wing Knights, right?¡±


    ¡°I am going to go, but the promised date is the day after tomorrow. We arrived earlier than I expected, and we still have a day left.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Why do not we go there first and take care of the registration?¡±


    ¡°The Silver Wing Knights do not have time to waste. It is just a nuisance if you ask at an unscheduled time.¡± (Esther)


    I think that it is highly probable.


    Suddenly looking at my feet, she then looks at me.


    ¡°Then, do you want to look for shoes?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Shoes?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. It seems that they have finally been quite worn down.¡± (Esther)


    With that said, I smiled bitterly.


    The shoes that I am wearing have already been used by Lid for quite some time.


    As he was a hunter, Lid¡¯s shoes were solid, unlike his clothes.


    Even so, the soles of his shoes had begun to peel off, unable to withstand the abuse I might have dealt it.


    The toes of his shoes were so thin that it is a miracle that there are no holes.


    It was also because of the repeated hit and run battles with monsters.


    It is not that I was using them badly (I would like to think so).


    ¡°Are Toru¡¯s shoes made forbat?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°No, I do not think¡­¡±


    ¡°Then it is no wonder they are ruined.¡± (Esther)


    Esther smiled wryly.


    Apparently, the way I used shoes was not bad.


    I felt quite the relief.


    ¡°My own is forbat use, but it has been three years since I bought it. It is time to rece it with a better one¡­¡± (Esther)


    Esther crossed her arms and tightened her expression as if she had made up her mind.


    ¡°That is right¡­ That is probably just what I need?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°What is wrong?¡±


    ¡°No, it is nothing. I ¡°happen¡± to know a store that sellsbat shoes. I am going to pay them a visit tomorrow.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yeah, see you tomorrow.¡±


    With that said, we went to our separate rooms.


    On the tes left on the table, lonely steaks that were half-eaten were left all alone.

 Chapter 85: One of the Largest Stores in the Royal Capital

    <h4>Chapter 85: One of the Largest Stores in the Royal Capital</h4>


    The next day.


    Esther took me to an armor store called ¡°Regulus Trading Company¡±


    Weapons store, armor store, kitchen equipment store, carpentry tool store, magic scroll store, woodwork store, stonework store¡­


    The street where the store is located is in a district with specialized stores, there a variety of specialized supply stores line up the street.


    Among them, thergest was Regulus Trading Company.


    This shop does not produce armor but distributes and sells armor made by contracted artisans.


    ¡°Regulus Trading Company handles high-quality armor that other stores cannot offer due to our exclusive contracts with skilled craftsmen.¡±


    Such a bold statement was posted next to the entrance.


    Even though it was just after opening, there were already many adventurers in the store.


    This alone indicates the poprity of the Regulus Trading Company in Yuster.


    ¡°Toru. This is the shoe rack.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡±


    Esther pulled me and we head for the shoe rack while moving through therge number of armors ced within the store.


    On the way


    ¡°¨C!?¡± (Clerk)


    A female clerk who passed by saw us and was slightly startled.


    (Hmm, what is it?)


    I became anxious and confused.


    (It is a pretty big store, maybe we have to be qualified to enter it simr to a brand-name store.)


    The store was asrge as a home improvement store in Japan.


    There is also a wide selection of products.


    It seems that it will take all day to just look at the insides of the store.


    ¡°From here to there are the shoe racks.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Oh¡±


    After walking for a while, I finally arrived in the shoe area.


    Shoes of various shapes are neatly disyed on the shelves.


    All shoes were forbat professionals such as adventurers and knights.


    All are solidly made.


    I check the products one by one starting from the edge of the shelf.


    ¡°Wow ¡­ it is amazing. It is quite solid. What kind of leather is it?¡±


    ¡°It is Rock Worm leather.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Oh, that is the one they are talking about.¡±


    It is a material that Esther tried to peel off before, but it could not be peeled off because I tore them apart.


    The texture is a little rugged, and even if I push my finger against it, it does not deform. The defense power is outstanding.


    ¡°Will Toru be choosing the Rock Worm leather shoe?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°¡­No¡±


    I shook my head. I did not think I would buy it because I knew where it originally came from.


    (No matter how good the material is, it is originally from a worm¡­)


    It was when we were choosing shoes.


    ¡°Excuse me. Esther-sama?¡± (Clerk)


    A clerk called to us.


    It was the clerk who got startled a little while ago.


    (Esther¡­ sama?)


    I was dumbfounded by the words of the clerk.


    For as long as I was in Eargard, this is only the second time I have heard the title of ¡°sama¡±.


    The first when Finlis¡¯s chief butler addressed his lord.


    Other than that, I have never heard the title of sama.


    Marie, the receptionist, also added ¡°san¡± when calling me.


    That is why I was strongly caught up in the fact that the clerk added a ¡°sama¡± in addressing Esther


    Esther who was called while she was looking at the swords nodded slightly.


    ¡°¡­ uh-huh.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Thank God! We have been waiting for you for a long time, Esther-sama; Dana-sama has been waiting for you. Come on in.¡± (Clerk)


    ¡°No, I just came as a guest¡­¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Come on,e on!¡± (Clerk)


    The clerk does not listen to Esther¡¯s words, and grabs her arm and pulls her.


    If Esther were serious, it would have been easy to pull away from the clerk.


    The reason she did not resist the clerk is that she did not really want to.


    ¡°Toru¡­¡±


    I heard a sorrowful voice from Esther as she was taken away.


    I, who was intending to see her off, sighed, ¡°There is no helping it,¡± and followed Esther.


    Esther was brought to a back room for employees behind the counter.


    The inventory of armors is lined up there.


    Most of the inventory was of items that were avable in the store.


    However, there might be some items that are not in the storefront.


    These special items are probably only offered when their customers ask for them.


    (Is there any rare equipment here?)


    I looked around the back room.


    If time and the shop would allow it, I wanted to check everything here as well.


    After walking around the back room for a while, we arrived at the office at the back of the store.


    ¡°Excuse me. Dana-sama. I brought Esther-sama.¡± (Clerk)


    ¡°Um. Pass through.¡± (Store Owner)


    A profound voice echoed from the office.


    Upon hearing the voice, I went on alert by reflex.


    It was a voice with a strong amount of dominance.


    When we entered the office, a slightly overweight middle-aged man was sitting in the chair at the back.


    This man is the owner of the voice I heard earlier.


    Laughter lines are deeply engraved around his eyes and mouth.


    Looking at that alone, I feel that he could be a good person.


    However, unlike his facial expression, his eyes are sharp.


    This man. He is no ordinary person.


    The man stands up from his chair.


    Immediately, my spine tensed.


    (What. What will happen!?)


    The man opened his mouth while I ready myself.


    ¡°E-Esther-chuwaaaaan!!!¡± (Store Owner)

 Chapter 86: Esther’s Father

    <h4>Chapter 86: Esther¡¯s Father</h4>


    ¡°You are alive, I have missed you, I have miss¨CBugera Bogura!¡± (Store Owner)


    The man opened his arms and charged at Esther.


    Esther, who was about to be hugged, shifted slightly,


    Avoiding the man¡¯s hug, Esther tripped the man¡¯s foot.


    The man fell brilliantly and face nted.


    In just a second.


    I was so stunned by the suddenness of everything.


    I could not keep up with the situation at all.


    ¡°Oh, Esther-chan¡¯s love is heavy¡­ even after a long time¡­¡± (Store Owner)


    ¡°What love?¡± (Esther)


    Esther bowed to me.


    ¡°Um¡­ Esther?¡±


    ¡°Oh, sorry Toru. This is¡­ my dad.¡± (Esther)


    Esther made a terribly disgusted face and pointed to the man at the man who was face down, squirming, while holding his face.


    It is not the face that looks at their own father.


    ¡°Toru¡­? Who is this bastard?¡± (Esther¡¯s Dad)


    Suddenly Esther¡¯s father stood up and red at me.


    His eyes are so sharp that I cannot think of anyone who would say ¡°Esther-chuwan¡±.


    ¡°Nice to meet you. My name is Toru Minasuki.¡±


    ¡°What? I did not ask for this bastard here.¡±


    The man gets closer and aggressively but dismissively points at me.


    He is like a delinquent.


    ¡°Why is there a milk sucking bastard here, Aan!?¡± (Esther¡¯s Dad)


    ¡°Father, stop threatening mypanion¡­¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Huh!? The fact that this bastard appeared with Esther-chan, no way with Esther-chan¡­!?¡± (Esther¡¯s Dad)


    ¡°Do not get me wrong. Toru is mypanion!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I cannot allow you to take my beloved daughter away from me! Somebody! Get me a sword!¡± (Esther¡¯s Dad)


    ¡°Listen to people talking!¡± (Esther)


    *m!* Esther smacked her father in the head.


    (¡­what is this?)


    I could not keep up with the interaction between father and daughter and just stared at them ck-jawed.


    ¡ð


    Esther exined to her outraged father what had happened so far.


    The story began when Esther aspired to be an adventurer.


    She learned that even merchants have political marriages.


    She was about to marry into a noble family that she did not even know.


    She did not like it and so Esther left the house.


    Growing up while listening to heroic stories from ancient times, Esther aspired to be an adventurer.


    Once she decided to be an adventurer, she would not return home until she became a proper adventurer, no matter what.


    Even if it were painful, she would not raise her voice.


    She will never regret the path she has chosen.


    With that determination, Esther left home.


    It has been three years since then.


    Esther has be a D-rank adventurer.


    D-ranked adventurers are considered as veteran adventurers.


    She has finally done something worthy of the dreams she had started with.


    It was with this in mind that Esther stepped over the threshold of the Regulus Trading Company for the first time in three years.


    ***


    I was very surprised to hear Esther¡¯s story.


    At times, I felt that Esther¡¯s gestures were well mannered, but I never thought that her parents¡¯ family was so well off that she would be asked to marry for political gain.


    ¡°I will introduce him again. This is my fellow adventurer Toru.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°My name is Toru. I am indebted to your daughter.¡±


    ¡°Ke! Bastard do not you just address her as ¡®my daughter¡¯-that is it!¡± (Esther¡¯s Dad)


    ¡°I said we are friends. Do not antagonize him.¡± (Esther)


    Esther hit her father¡¯s head without any warning.


    It is not the attitude someone directs towards their own father.


    However, this shows the closeness between Esther¡¯s parents and her.


    ¡°I am Jack, the president of the Regulus Trading Company.¡± (Esther¡¯s Dad => Jack)


    Jack tries to intimidate me up close.


    The nuance of his greeting is somewhat like a biker gang member.


    Jack reached his hand out to me.


    Therefore, I take it and shook hands.


    That moment,


    ¡°Nugooooo!¡± (Jack)


    Jack ground his teeth and his face turned bright red.


    He is breathing as if he is enduring severe pain.


    (Well, what is this?)


    I was shocked by Jack¡¯s sudden change.


    Meanwhile,


    ¡°Che! It looks like you are training your grip strength¡­ Hmm! You have to do this much.¡± (Jack)


    ¡°Stupid! Stop trying to intimidate him.¡± (Esther)


    Esther hit Jack¡¯s head with a loud smack.


    ¡°Sorry, Toru. My dad has always been like this¡­¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Uh, yeah. Well, is not he a good father?¡±


    The values a father has is different for each person and each family.


    Jack is (probably) a good father to Esther.


    Regulus Trading Company has been given the status of a government merchant.


    The king of that time permitted them to use the name of the founder, Regulus, as their family name.


    Jack was one of the highest-ranked merchants in the kingdom.


    There was no way that a merchant would be dumb as to not know where his runaway daughter was.


    Information is the lifeblood of any merchant.


    Merchants¡¯ own informationworks are spread all over the country.


    With that informationwork, it would have been easy to know that her daughter was in Finlis.


    Despite this, Jack did not try to bring his daughter back.


    This was despite the fact that he had pulled out of a political marriage that would have affected his future as a merchant.


    That is how much Jack loves Esther.


    To the extent that Esther¡¯s future is prioritized over his own and the future of Regulus.


    I understand that feeling.


    I do not have a daughter, but I could imagine a father¡¯s feelings about his daughter¡¯s happiness.


    (Because originally I was 32 years old.)


    ¡°So Esther-chan. What happened today?¡± (Jack)


    ¡°I am 20 years old already. Stop adding ¡°chan¡±¡­ I came with Toru today to look forbat shoes.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°¡­ Chi¡± (Jack)


    Jack, who has smiling with his eyes directed to Esther, quickly turned into a re when he looked at me.


    (This is where it gets interesting.)


    For Jack, I am not someone that he could consider as someone useful to him. It is quite the contrary; he thinks I am a pest buzzing around his beloved daughter.


    It is no wonder that he treats me roughly.


    This is the reason why I could trust Jack, who was treating me terribly.


    It is easier to understand a merchant has a rude attitude rather than a smiling face.


    ¡°Well then, father. We are going back to the store to look for shoes.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Wait a minute!¡± (Jack)


    Jack calls to Esther aloud.


    He ran out of the office.


    A few momentster, he came back into the office carrying an expensive-looking wooden box.


    ¡°Hah ¡­ huh ¡­ If it is shoes, I think this suit Esther-chan!¡± (Jack)


    ¡°I told you to quit adding chan¨C¡± (Esther)


    Esther took a breath as Jack opened the box.


    From the inside, a pair of shoes embroidered with beautiful silver and young grass-colored threads appeared.


    (¡­ Wow, I feel magical power)


    I could feel the magic in the shoes, though it was faint.


    It cannot be just any shoes.


    ¡°This is a shoe made of unicorn fur and mithril. The embroidery in some ces is made of dyed threads made from crushed wind spirit crystals. Theybat shoes with outstanding durability.


    In addition, these are magic tools. If you put magic power into these shoes, they will float for a short while. The soles of the shoes emit wind magic. How you use its ability to levitate will be a testament to your skill as an adventurer.¡± (Jack)


    Jack, who was exining the products, had apletely different merchant look on his face.


    This was his public face.


    He had a soft smile on his face, but his words were strong.


    You can feel his absolute confidence in his products.


    You cannot go wrong buying products from this guy.


    That is how I feel.


    ¡°¡­ It looks like a very good product, but how much is it?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I do not need any money.¡± (Jack)


    ¡°But I am here as a customer. I want to pay.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°No, I do not need it. If Esther-chan does not get hurt, that is enough.¡± (Jack)


    ¡°¡­ stubborn old man.¡± (Esther)


    With this, she is not even going to be able to argue.


    Esther sighed and tried to argue, but ended up just sighing in defeat.


    Maybe I can buy something too.


    I asked Jack while fidgeting.


    ¡°Um ¡­ my shoes¡±

 Chapter 87: A Father’s Thoughts

    <h4>Chapter 87: A Father¡¯s Thoughts</h4>


    ¡°Um ¡­ my shoes¡±


    ¡°Look on your own around the store, bastard! You are not some spoiled¡­!¡± (Jack)


    When I asked him, He made a harsh instantaneous rejection. Scary.


    ¡°It is only normal for strangers to choose on their own equipment to protect their own lives-Ah!¡± (Jack)


    ¡°Do not do it sloppily. Toru is mypanion. Please do not start a fight.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Gunu¡­¡± (Jack)


    Jack, whose head was hit by Esther, red grudgingly at me.


    His attitude is pretty obvious, no wonder he was hit.


    I opened my mouth while snickering a little at Jack¡¯s actions.


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s look for my shoes-whaa!?¡±


    ¨Csuddenly.


    Jack threw a wooden box at me.


    I hurriedly caught it.


    ¡°I will sell it to you for cheap. It is enough for a bastard.¡± (Jack)


    ¡°Huh¡­¡±


    The box is one of the ones he brought to the office earlier.


    The box shows its age.


    The color has changed so much that the original color is unidentifiable.


    (I am sure there is nothing weird in there, right.)


    I opened the box with extreme caution.


    Inside, contrary to my expectations, were normal-looking shoes.


    (I thought it had some material equipment, but it was Matomo)


    From his attitude towards me, I thought that Jack brought in ¡°a weird equipment that no one would buy.¡±


    However, even though he is a doting parent, he is still a merchant.


    It seems that he brought me some decent equipment.


    ¡°It is a devil¡¯s skin, from a Giant Cyclops These shoes are made from their tanned guts. The material got cursed for a bit during the production process, but it is okay because it was purified in the temple for five years. ¡°


    ¨Ccorrection. Jack really did bring me a piece of weird equipment.


    ¡°Purified over five years¡±, in other words, ¡°it took five years to purify.¡±


    The fact that the curse was so powerful is already giving me quite the scare.


    (Is it really fine¡­?)


    ¡°Devil¡¯s leather? How did you manage to get hold of such a rare material?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yeah, it is a very rare product that you can only get once in a hundred years. I thought it would sell well¡­¡± (Jack)


    Jack tilted his head and wondered why it did not sell, but no one in their right mind would buy it.


    ¡°The material may be a bit unpleasant, to say the least, but the durability is far superior to any other product in the store.¡± (Jack)


    I smiled bitterly. It seems that he was aware that it was not a piece of normal equipment.


    The curse can be scary, but the extremely high durability is attractive.


    ¡°You can get a discount of one hundred gold coins from being my daughter¡¯s acquaintance, so just one gold coin as the price. What do you say?¡± (Jack)


    Jack asks me, but I have already decided on my answer.


    ¡ð


    ~Jack¡¯s Perspective~


    The daughter I have not met for a long time looked more energetic than I have ever seen her.


    As soon as I was reacquainted with my beloved daughter Esther, I am quite relieved to see her healthy appearance.


    After leaving our house, I med myself.


    I med myself for pushing Esther so hard that she decided to run away from her home.


    After Esther ran away.


    I immediately used my informationwork as a merchant to follow Esther¡¯s whereabouts.


    It was not long before I heard that Esther had be an adventurer at Finlis.


    More than anything else, she is chosen to be an adventurer.


    It is a job that you do not know when you will die.


    I did not mind.


    However, I had never thought that my daughter would go for such a dangerous profession.


    I wanted to bring Esther back as soon as possible.


    Nevertheless, if Esther were brought back, she would be married to another family.


    For us merchants, aristocratic marriages cannot be refused unless there is a good enough cause.


    For example, the other man is infertile, is about to lose their nobility, or is involved in criminal activities.


    If Esther is too weak to leave a child, or if she is dying of an illness, we can decline the marriage.


    However, he was a partner who did not fall under any of those categories.


    Although I received the surname of ¡°Regulus¡± from the king and rock-solid in my position as a merchant, I still could not refuse marriage proposals from aristocrats.


    However, which is better for Esther?


    I pondered and decided that Esther had already died.


    If Esther is dead, the marriage proposal can be canceled.


    She will be nothing but a stranger to me, but she would be happier than marrying a nobleman.


    Therefore, I sorrowfully made up my mind.


    Still, was not it better to bring her back? There was no day when I did not think about it.


    Adventurers do not know when they will die. It is a dangerous profession.


    The lower the rank, the less money they earn, and the poorer you are. Some adventurers could only drink muddy water.


    However the higher the rank, the more often they will fight strong monsters. No matter how strong an adventurer is, a little carelessness can easily lead them to their death.


    No parent is not worried about a daughter in such a profession.


    However, I had already informed the aristocrats of Esther¡¯s unexpected death.


    I could have supported Esther from behind the scenes so that she would not be troubled when she became an adventurer. Nevertheless, if I did that and the information got out to the nobility, it would be bad¡­


    For someone like me who made a false report, I would surely be hanged after having mypany crushed.


    I could not let the store that had been in business for generationse to an end in my own generation.


    Therefore, I could only watch and wait.


    Even if Esther was about to be killed by a horde of goblins, and even if she got lost in the Finlis forest for three days and three nights, I could only endure it.


    Oh, it was quite painful¡­


    (I chose the wrong path, did not I? Maybe it was better for Esther if I brought her back even if I had to¡­) (Jack)


    However, when I finally saw Esther again, I truly felt that this path was the right choice.


    Just before running away from our house, Esther stoppedughing.


    Our rtionship had started to crumble.


    Now she wasughing naturally.


    She also treated me like before.


    (I am ¡­ sure, I did not choose wrongly¡­) (Jack)


    Being an adventurer is a dangerous profession.


    Nevertheless, for Esther Regulus, this was the right path.


    Therefore, I saw Esther off in her new shoes, and my chest tightened slightly.


    After leaving the store, Esther was no longer my daughter.


    She was just a stranger.


    Even if she came to the store again, I would have to treat her as a mere customer.


    However, this time it is special.


    This time was special because it was the one and only time that the god of fate had given him a chance to say goodbye to his daughter¡­


    Jack prays for his daughter as she walks down the path of happiness.


    He prays that she will be happy in her future¡­


    In addition, Jack prays.


    (Do not let her go for that person! He is no good!) (Jack)


    Whether it is because of his observation as a merchant or his jealousy as a father?


    Unfortunately, Jack¡¯s wish did not reach any god.

 Chapter 88: Vice Commander of the Silver Wing Knights

    <h4>Chapter 88: Vice Commander of the Silver Wing Knights</h4>


    The day after I bought a pair of shoes at Regulus Trading Company.


    Esther and I went to the headquarters of the Silver Wing Knights.


    My new shoe¡¯s grip on the stone pavement is solid.


    I walk around while enjoying the feeling of new shoes.


    The shoes that Jack brought out had some problems in how it was made, but their performance was outstanding.


    They gently wrapped around my feet as if they were cradling them, yet they were impervious to attacks from the outside.


    Although the entire shoe is as hard as steel-toed work boots are, it bends flexibly depending on my movement.


    Above all, the grip of the sole is better than normal shoes.


    The effort used during braking suddenly is extremely small.


    This is one gold coin.


    ¡°I found a good product.¡±


    Compared to ordinary shoes, the price is outrageous, but I think it is a reasonable price forbat shoes.


    ¡°By the way, Esther should not you have talked with your dad more? It is been a long time since you havest seen him again, has not it?¡±


    ¡°There is indeed a lot to talk about, but I left because I did not want to be engaged to a nobleman. If I am seen with him for too long, I will be a nuisance to father.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°That is the way it is, is not it?¡±


    ¡°That it is.¡± (Esther)


    You can choose freely for marriages in Japan.


    Whether you are married or divorced, Japan is far from an era where people worry about what the world thinks of them. It does not even affect your career.


    Maybe that is why I could not really understand how important it was to marry a nobleman.


    ¡°I was born into a merchant family, but now I am just Esther.¡±


    Esther¡¯s ponytail was swaying more energetically than usual as she dered.


    ***


    The Silver Wing Knights¡¯ headquarters is built in front of the Royal Castle.


    The building is twice asrge as the Finlis Adventurer¡¯s Guild.


    Adventurers who were asked to do the same as us had already lined up at the entrance to the headquarters.


    A considerable number of adventurers have already been gathered.


    The sheer number of adventurers in the line showed how important the ceremony was for the country to announce the order of session to the throne.


    We stood at the back of the line for a while.


    Finally, it was our turn.


    ¡°What guild do you belong to and what is your name.¡± (Receptionist)


    ¡°Toru and Esther from the Finlis Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡±


    ¡°Finlis, right? ¡­¡­ Yes, we have checked. Please take a seat over there and wait a moment.¡± (Receptionist)


    At the reception, we sat on a bench that is a few steps away.


    ¡°¡­ That is a different response.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°That is right¡±


    Esther and I tilt our heads and pondered.


    The adventurers who had been epted immediately left the headquarters with one knight member with them.


    The knights guiding the adventurers are lined up next to the reception desk.


    I thought that we were likely to pair with one of them after the reception.


    In front of us, the registration of other adventurers is proceeding smoothly.


    However, we were the only ones sitting in the chairs and waiting.


    ¡°Thank you for waiting. You are Toru-san and Esther-san, right?¡± (Knight)


    ¡°Oh, yes.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    A male knight in his mid-twenties to early thirties was the one who called out to us.


    The knight wears a half te with the coat of arms of the Silver Wing Knights.


    A well-used longsword, which is clearly decorative, is hanging on his waist.


    Maybe because they are the Silver Wing Knights, it is mostly made of silver.


    The only thing that was different among the silver equipment was the reddish-ck small shield attached to his left hand.


    (This person is pretty strong.)


    Based on his appearance, that is my impression.


    Even if he suddenly shes at us, there is no chance to prevent it.


    ¡°I am Themis, Vice Commander of the Silver Wing Knights. I will be with you from today until the session to the Yuster throne is announced.¡± (Knight => Themis)


    ¡°Thank you very much. I am Toru, a D-rank adventurer. Nice to meet you.¡±


    ¡°Simrly, Esther. Nice to meet you.¡± (Esther)


    After finishing our greetings, we left the headquarters of the Silver Wing Knights under the guidance of Themis.


    Themis is kind and has a friendly atmosphere.


    ¡°I will tell you about the patrol mission as we walk. This mission is quite simple. We will be walking around the city like this, checking for anything unusual. D-rank adventurers should not be in too much danger, but please do not let your guard down.¡± (Themis)


    ¡°Themis. Is there any rule about the patrol route?¡±


    ¡°I cannot answer about the patrol route because it is a confidential matter. That is why there is one member of the Silver Wing Knights with the adventurer party.¡± (Themis)


    I see I thought.


    No matter how talented adventurers gathered are, after all, they are still unfamiliar with the city.


    They cannot move as well as the knights who train in this city regrly.


    Then, it is the policy of the Silver Wings Knights to add one knight member to the adventurer party as the leader.


    A member of the Knights, who are familiar with the patrol routes and precautions, will lead the adventurers as a team leader.


    This way, there is no need to disclose secrets to the adventurers, and the possibility of leaking secrets can be reduced.


    Also, if the members of the Order directly monitor the adventurers, there will be no one who can move undetected or skip their duties.


    It was the quickest and most effective method.


    ¡°So, we are just going to follow Themis-san around?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°That is right.¡± (Themis)


    ¡°Hmm. It is prettyx.¡± (Esther)


    Themis smiled at Esther¡¯s honest impression.


    Nevertheless, I also agree with Esther.


    As a job, it is less dangerous and easier, but I am not sure if I should be paid for it.


    However, if we change our way of thinking, we can say that this is a job where we can be paid just for sightseeing.


    This was my first trip to the royal capital of Yuster.


    It was a good chance to enjoy the royal capital to some extent without forgetting about my job.


    S


    CANCEL

 Chapter 89: Patrol Mission

    <h4>Chapter 89: Patrol Mission</h4>


    ~Themis¡¯ Perspective~


    ¡°This is why the announcement of the sessors to the throne is so important for the kingdom. You may not get a lot of excitement in this job, but I thank you for your cooperation.¡± (Themis)


    For me, the patrol mission is a routine task.


    It was not interesting when the patrolmen called it x¡±.


    This is the most important thing for the people in the city to live in peace.


    When I was told that patrol work was x¡±, I felt like talking about how our patrolling was contributing to Yuster.


    Nevertheless, I swallowed that feeling.


    They were the ones that the adventurer¡¯s guild master in Finlis had described as ¡°promising¡±.


    (The guild master of Finlis is a man of great talent.) (Themis)


    Speaking of Finlis Guild Master, he is a famous person and a former A-rank adventurer.


    He is an adventurer suitably named ¡°God¡¯s Eye¡±.


    I expected that they would not be just any other people.


    In fact, I was surprised to see them.


    First of all, there was Esther, the female adventurer, whose demeanor gave him a strong impression of her abilities.


    The way she moved her feet, the way she shifted her center of gravity, her gaze. Everything was polished as a swordsman.


    Amon knight would be no match for her.


    A squad leader should be able topete with her though.


    I certainly felt the possibility of her seeding well in the future.


    The problem was the other, a boy named Toru.


    He looks like a teenager in hister years, but his face still has some innocence.


    Perhaps it is his first time toe to the royal capital, he looks around while his eyes are shining with interest.


    In making this request, the Silver Wing Knights had the guild prepare a brief background report on the adventurer for this request.


    The purpose of this is to check if the adventurer is working with any suspicious groups.


    In the background report, Toru was described as a ¡°lost¡± person.


    No way, was he a ¡°lost¡± person.


    Themis had heard rumors of ¡°lost¡± people many times before.


    I also know that their existence deserves to be called an ¡°inferior person¡±.


    Being in a party with Esther, I was wondering, ¡°Is he a baggage carrier?¡±


    This is because even ¡°inferior people¡± can y such a role.


    However, he is a monster.


    The way he shifts his center of gravity is that of a swordsman with a fairly high level of skill, but techniques that even I do not know are emanating from him.


    Besides, despite his swordsman-like demeanor, Toru always exudes a strong amount of magic power.


    (Is he really an inferior person?)


    I cannot see the bottom of Toru¡¯s abilities.


    I did not know which to believe, the report, or my intuition.


    I had fulfilled my duties for many years in the Silver Wing Knights that protected the royal capital.


    I had been appointed as the vicemander of the order because of my abilities.


    Still, I could not even measure Toru¡¯s ability.


    If this was my misunderstanding on the report, how strong is he¡­


    As a test, I tried to release a small amount of killing intent.


    The more it blended in with the crowd, the thinner it was.


    However,


    ¡°¨CHmm? Did something happen? Themis-san¡±


    He noticed the killing intent that was released from his blind spot, and knew that it came from me!


    ¡°No, no. Toru-san, I was wondering if this was your first time in the royal capital.¡± (Themis)


    ¡°Yes. I came here for the first time. It is a very good city.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Themis)


    I was frightened inside, while I fixed my expression.


    Moreover, I resented Aaron Dilmut who sent this ¡°thing¡± to the royal capital.


    ¡°The corresponding person should be more than strong enough for the vicemander. He is an important adventurer in the Finlis Adventurer¡¯s Guild, after all.¡± (Aaron)


    It is indeed too much for amon knight to handle Toru and Esther.


    If amon soldier had handled them, the knight¡¯s hair would have turned white by the end of the request.


    I wanted to scream.


    (How could such a monstere from ¡°Inferior¡± people?) (Themis)


    I felt as if I was being punished for stroking a dragon that I did not know where its scales were.


    The thought of it biting me at any moment made all the hair on my head felt ready to fall out.


    If possible, I wanted someone to take over.


    However, without revealing such a raging inner turmoil, I lead them through the patrol mission.


    I could not help but pray that the mission would go off without a hitch.


    ¡ð


    ~Toru¡¯s Perspective~


    On the first day of the mission, we spent about an hour walking around the city while learning about the patrol procedures.


    The main event was the next day¡¯s ceremony to announce the order of session to the throne.


    On the day of the ceremony, the king himself would appear in front of the masses.


    That said, it is just on the balcony of the royal castle.


    He would not step out of the royal castle, andmoners cannot even enter the royal castle grounds.


    Even if they look at the nearest ce, they can only see the king as a grain of rice.


    Still, the magically enhanced voice would reach all over the royal capital, Themis-san said.


    I was interested in what kind of ceremony it was.


    However, there is a patrol mission on that day.


    It seems that there is no choice but to imagine the ceremony while listening to the king¡¯s voice that can be heard from a distance.


    ***


    The next day, we met Themis-san at the designated ce.


    As it was the day of the ceremony to announce the order of session to the throne, the city was very crowded.


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    In contrast to the previous day, the streets were lined with stalls, and there were many people dressed in traveling costumes.


    It was as if the whole country was celebrating.


    I walked towards Themis-san while looking at the stalls with interest.


    ¡°It is an amazing crowd. Is there ever a festival with this many people?¡±


    ¡°It happens once every few years or so. The coronation is going to be even bigger. It goes on like this for about a week.¡± (Themis)


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°Our country is under the grace of Forcels, the God of Justice. At the coronation ceremony, the god Forcels will descend on the bodies of the high priests and bless them. Peoplee from all over the country just to see that.¡± (Themis)


    ¡°Wow!¡±


    I have heard that story from Esther before.


    I also want to see at a nce the advent of a god.


    (Unlike ¡°that¡±, I wonder if he is a decent god.)


    I began to think of Nesis, with who I had shared several conversations.


    He must be stronger than her because he is justice.


    As I walk down the road, I often pass by knights with adventurers.


    It is unclear how many adventurers have been called in this time, but with all this, it is hard tomit a crime.


    The patrol was uneventful, except for a dispute between a stall owner and a customer.


    The patrol mission was going smoothly.


    While doing so, I heard the sound of musical instruments from a distance.


    ¡°Woah!¡±


    ¡°I can hear the music.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°It looks like it is started.¡± (Themis)


    Themis-san turned in the direction of the royal castle.


    The music came from there.


    It is quite a distance from the royal castle, but the music is so loud that it seems to be ying right here.


    They are apparently using magic to transmit sound far away.


    When the music was over, the Chancellor began his speech.


    It was a long, brilliantly written speech.


    After that, I heard the king¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Everyone. We have gathered here today. My name is Felipe Samson Yuster.¡± (King)


    As soon as I heard that voice, the hustle and bustle disappeared.


    As if by magic, all the people in Yuster were listening to the king¡¯s voice.


    (It is a very dignified voice¡­)


    It is no wonder they fell silent when they heard his voice.


    That is how powerful the king¡¯s voice was.


    I am not sure if it is a skill like the king¡¯s dignity.


    The voice of the king was so great that I wanted to prostrate.


    ¡°At this time, I will announce the order of session to the throne. The first in line of session to the throne will inherit our kingdom of Yuster is¡ª¡± (King)


    It was at that time.


    When suddenly, the royal capital, Yuster, roared.

 Chapter 90: Choose now so there is no Regret

    <h4>Chapter 90: Choose now so there is no Regret</h4>


    ¡°¡± ¡ª !?¡±¡± (Toru & Company)


    The roaring sound was enough to shake my body.


    I lowered my body slightly so that I would not lose my posture due to the shockwaves.


    Then, immediately I look at the creature who made the sound.


    ck smoke is rising from the center of the royal capital of Yuster.


    After the shockwaves from the explosion disappeared, the citizens who filled the street screamed.


    Escaping all at once in the opposite direction to the source of the sound.


    I was swept away by the wave of people moving.


    I cannot even go to the center in this situation.


    ¡°Esther!¡±


    ¡°¡ª?!¡± (Esther)


    I sent Esther a signal through my eyes.


    The next moment, I jump.


    Soaring high, Inded on top of the roof of a private house.


    Later, Esther got on next to me.


    ¡°What happened!?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°¡­ I do not know, but it does not seem like a fire.¡±


    The way the smoke rises is different from that of a fire.


    The sound of the explosion echoed again.


    At the same time as the sound came, the houses in the center copse.


    ¡°Toru-san, Esther-san. Let¡¯s go to the area of the source immediately.¡± (Themis)


    Themis, who had climbed the roof before we knew it, told this to us in a serious voice.


    ¡°It is an emergency. As Vice Commander of the Silver Wing Knights, I will allow you to pull out your swords. Please look at the situation and pull out your sword at your own discretion.¡± (Themis)


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± (Esther)


    The three of us ran down the roof to the center of the city.


    I felt the magical power in the air is gradually increasing as we approached the center.


    The adventurers and knights who had decided that they could not take the lower roads were heading for the center along the roofs, just like us.


    However, as we approached a certain distance, everyone stopped in their tracks.


    (Why do not they get down to the source right away?)


    I wondered.


    I realize the reason when I was 50 meters from the source.


    ¡°¨CUh!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°¡ªWhat?¡±


    Esther and I stopped at the same time.


    The amount of magical power that began to drift from the center was terrifying as soon as we came.


    That is not all.


    The man who was probably the owner of the magic power was standing in the destroyed city.


    The moment I saw him, I felt a tremendous sense of fear.


    My < Intuition> skill is saying, ¡°Do note near!¡±


    The magic power and murderous intent that drifted through the air pierced the back of my neck.


    The smell of blood drifted along with the dust from the copsed houses.


    The bodies of those involved were scattered in the center.


    None of them retaining their original shape.


    One person who waste to escape is transformed into a corpse by the hand of a single man.


    This was the kill zone.


    If you step into it carelessly, you will die.


    Moreover, because they know that, none of the people gathered here can get any closer.


    ¡°¡­terrible¡± (Esther)


    Esther whispered.


    Her voice was quivering.


    ¡°Is that a devil¡­?¡± (Esther)


    I was horrified by Esther¡¯s next words.


    Devil ¡ª Lily says it is at least a level 70 creature.


    From a distance, the man in the center does not look much different from a human.


    However, the magical power he has is clearly not from an ordinary human being.


    So is his physical abilities.


    It is a person that tears a human apart with his bare hands.


    I did not think it was even human at all.


    ¡°¡­ If both of you can move, please save the citizens who arete to escape.¡± (Themis)


    ¡°Themis-san¡±


    ¡°I am the Vice Commander of the Silver Wing Knights, who protect the royal capital of Yuster.¡± (Themis)


    If you want to protect the city, you cannot waste your life.


    Themis-san¡¯s eyes said to us.


    Without waiting for our reply, Themis-san jumped into the kill zone.


    I looks at Themis¡¯s back and looked at Esther.


    Esther was sitting down.


    Her skin is pale.


    About a tenth of a second.


    After some hesitation, I took out my skill board


    **********


    >> Skill points: 536 ¡ú 45


    >> [Complete Enhancement + 8] ¡ú [Complete Enhancement ¡ï]


    >> [Body Enhancement + 5] ¡ú [Body Enhancement ¡ï]


    >> [Magic Enhancement + 5] ¡ú [Magic Enhancement ¡ï]


    >> [Natural Recovery£«5] ¡ú [Natural Recovery ¡ï]


    >> [Enhanced Resistance + 5] ¡ú [Enhanced Resistance ¡ï]


    >> [Stamina +5] ¡ú [Stamina +7]


    >> [Magic +5] ¡ú [Magic+7]


    >> [Strength +5] ¡ú [Strength+7]


    >> [Dexterity +5] ¡ú [Dexterity +7]


    >> [Agility +5] ¡ú [Agility +7]


    >> [Intelligence +5] ¡ú [Intelligence +7]


    >> [Luck +5] ¡ú [Luck +7]


    **********


    Use points until the veryst moment to raise your basic skills.


    Leave the extra points to make up for what youck in the actual fight.


    ¡°Esther. Do not overdo it, evacuate to a safe ce as soon as possible!¡±


    ¡°Umm Toru!? Well, wait¨C¡± (Esther)


    Without listening to Esther¡¯s words, I leaped as fast as I can towards the man who seems to be a devil.


    In a moment.


    (Oh!?)


    The roof tiles were blown off after I jumped.


    The maximum value of my strength is different from before.


    Previously, when I focused on passive skills, I could not feel such a big difference.


    The only difference from before is my level.


    (So, this passive skill has a positive correction based on the value of my level.)


    After a few moments of reflection on my passive skills, I quickly changed my mind.


    This is the best that I can do right now.


    If this does not work, nothing else will work.


    Originally, it would have been better for me to evacuate as well.


    Because I am an adventurer, not a member of the Knights.


    I am what people called an ¡°inferior person.¡±


    (Even if I go, it may not be of any use.)


    Still, I moved.


    If an acquaintance like Themis-san might die, and I did not do anything.


    If I do not do what I can to save his life, I am sure I will not be able to forgive myself for that.

 Chapter 91: Pride of the Vice Commander of the Silver Wing Knights

    <h4>Chapter 91: Pride of the Vice Commander of the Silver Wing Knights</h4>


    ~Themis¡¯ Perspective~


    Themis, who had reached the center of the city, almost cowered under the tremendous magical power.


    The man who had caused thismotion was definitely an unusual one.


    The word ¡°devil¡± kept popping up in Themis¡¯ mind.


    He carefully drew his sword and readied it.


    ¡°¨CWas it you?¡± (Devil)


    ¡°¡­What?¡± (Themis)


    The man¡¯s words made me shudder.


    The first time I heard the man¡¯s voice, it was raspy and croaky.


    It was not that his voice had always been that way, but it sounded painful as if he had been screaming for three days and three nights.


    ¡°Did you kill him?!¡±


    ¡°¨C!?¡±


    Suddenly, the man shouted and attacked me.


    The next thing I knew, the man was right in front of me.


    (Fast¨C!) (Themis)


    I readied my shield amidst my panic.


    The small shield was just in time to meet the man¡¯s attack.


    The next moment.


    ¡°¨CKu!¡± (Themis)


    Themis was blown backward by the force as if a huge boulder had hit him.


    If I take a straightforward attack with this shield, my body will easily get injured.


    This shield is not for receiving those kinds of attacks, but for parrying.


    Themis used his shield skills, which he improved in his daily training, to parry the man¡¯s attack.


    Still, the man¡¯s attack was powerful enough for Themis to blow backward.


    (Ku¡­ My arm is getting battered¡­) (Themis)


    My left forearm is numb and hurting.


    It seems that the attack could not be parried in time and my bone is now broken.


    (I cannot even see and react to his attacks¡­) (Themis)


    The difference in strength is too great.


    Themis is sure he cannot even hurt the devil, let alone incapacitate them.


    Even if he is here, Themis, who cannot attack or defend, is just a punching bag.


    Themis smiles slightly.


    Enduring the pain of the fracture, Themis held a small shield.


    My mission is to protect the Royal Capital, Yuster.


    The Silver Wing knights are the shield of the people.


    It is time for me to prepare.


    To be a ¡°shield¡±.


    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you all!¡± (Devil)


    ¡°Sacred treasure Release! [Rebellion against Inevitable Death ¨C Might Liberta].¡±


    Before the man¡¯s attack arrives.


    Themis¡¯s shield glowed faintly.


    Light brimming with magic spread from the shield covering Themispletely.


    The next moment


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    ¨D¨Dkin!!


    The Themis¡¯ shieldpletely blocked the man¡¯s fist.


    ¡°¨D¨D!?¡± (Devil)


    Themis, who had just blown away with a single blow before, was just slightly pushed back.


    Are you surprised at this change? The devil paused as his eyes widen in surprise.


    ¡°Hmm. A single-arm might be enough?¡± (Themis)


    I analyze my situation calmly.


    I have finally used the Sacred treasure ¡°Shield of Rebellion¡± that has been passed down from generation to generation.


    I have unleashed the Sacred treasure using themand [Might Liberta].


    The Shield of Rebellion is a Sacred treasure taken from the devil that was subdued in the Kingdom of Yuster about 70 years ago.


    The Meitstaf family, who greatly contributed to the subjugation of the devil, received this small shield from the king.


    From there, the Maeitstaf family has inherited this sacred treasure from generation to generation.


    The reason why he is the Vice Commander of the Silver Wing Knights at the young age of 27 is, of course, Themis¡¯ high ability, but it isrgely due to this sacred treasure.


    The Small Shield of Rebellion, which releases the power [Might Liberta], develops an inescapable barrier within a radius of 50 meters.


    In addition, if the user suffers damage, the user¡¯s defense is raised by the amount of damage.


    The more the user is attacked, the harder he or she bes, until finally, he or she can never be hurt.


    The shield¡¯s power was perfect for a Silver Wing Knight, a shield that protects the people.


    Of course, such power cannot be used freely without anypensation.


    From the moment he deploys [Might Liberta], Themis has been pouring his life into the shield.


    (If I live a normal life, it is 50 or 60 years¡­ I wonder how old I could live now?) (Themis)


    I imagine a future I could have live in, but then I am quickly brought back to reality.


    Without the present, the future will nevere.


    (It is more important to get rid of this guy!) (Themis)


    I slowly approached the man.


    The man thought that I was going to be difficult to deal with. He looks like he is nning to move away.


    But,


    ¡°Guh!?¡± (Devil)


    That barrier will prevent you from escaping.


    He kept on hitting the barrier. However, the barrier does even move.


    ¡°Give up. You cannot escape from here. You will die here. By Magic Stone Poison Barrier.¡± (Themis)


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    ¡°Shut up!¡± (Devil)


    The man raised his voice filled with trepidation.


    In fact, when the man stepped into the royal capital. The multiple barriers covering the Royal Capital of Yuster had already affected him.


    It does not react to the magic stones of weak monsters, but if it is someone as strong as this man, the barrier will never miss him.


    Although invisible to the eye, the Poison Barrier is eroding the magic stone of the man.


    Eventually, the man¡¯s magic stone will be shattered by poison.


    It was a definite future when he entered the Royal Capital of Yuster.


    The question is whether I will have enough life until the man¡¯s magic stone breaks.


    But what if¨C.


    (If this man had no magic stones ¡­) (Themis)


    ¡°Uhhhhh!¡± (Themis)


    Distracted by anxiety, I was suddenly hit by the man as he shouts hoarsely.


    Unlike the previous attacks, each blow was heavy.


    The killing intent put into every punch ispletely different.


    This man¡¯s attacks are now serious.


    As soon as I mentioned Poison Barrier, the man is no longer wasting time.


    I am convinced.


    (Okay¡­ This guy has a magic stone in his body!) (Themis)


    If he has a magic stone in his body, I just have to endure.


    However, Themis could not cope with the attack from the man at all.


    The attack is so quick that he cannot even read the trajectory.


    Level, status, skill.


    The man is overwhelmingly above me.


    However, with a punch then another, the pain gradually decreased with each attack.


    The sacred treasure has boosted Themis¡¯ defenses at a terrifying rate.


    ¡°What¡­ what are you¡­!?¡± (Devil)


    ¡°My name is Themis Meitstaf, Vice Commander of the Silver Wing Knights. The one who protects the people and vanquishes evil on behalf of the King! Be silent and rust on my sword!¡± (Themis)

 Chapter 92: Difference in Raw Power

    <h4>Chapter 92: Difference in Raw Power</h4>


    ~Themis¡¯ Perspective~


    ¡°Gunu¡­¡­!!¡± (Themis)


    My sword approached the man.


    However, it never reached.


    My attacks were avoided easily.


    It is no wonder. The only thing that Themis has against the man is his defensive power.


    He cannot raise his attack power or speed with the sacred treasure.


    In addition, the damage has umted on Themis¡¯ body.


    The damage is so serious that the effect of the sacred treasure canpletely nullify the man¡¯s attack.


    With so much damage, I could not make a decent attack.


    ¡°Who are you calling evil? You guys killed my son!¡± (Devil)


    ¡°What?¡± (Themis)


    ¡°The one who brutally killed my innocent son is evil!¡± (Devil)


    ¡°Wait, what are you talking about?¡± (Themis)


    ¡°Questioning is useless!!¡± (Devil)


    ¡°Ku!¡±


    I was stuck on the man¡¯s words, but I lost the opportunity to ask.


    From there on, the devil continued his barrage.


    I am receiving no damage. The sacred treasure has fully increased my defense.


    However, even if I can withstand the attack, I do not have the power to stop the attacks.


    Perhaps because he realized that his bare hands would not do any damage to me, the man took out his sword from an empty space.


    (He has [Inventory]!) (Themis)


    The sword was huge, as tall as a child.


    The tip of the sword approached me.


    (Does this not looks bad?) (Themis)


    I barely react to it.


    However, I was toote.


    A dull de touched Themis¡¯ neck.


    ¡°¨C!¡± (Themis)


    ¡°Nu?¡± (Devil)


    The man¡¯s sword, however, only hurt Themis¡¯ neck by a millimeter.


    (¡­ Huh. As expected, but that chilled me to the core.) (Themis)


    Themis is relieved from his luck.


    Today is the first time he used sacred treasure.


    This is the first time I have used a sacred treasure in my life, so I do not really know how far the sacred treasure can repel an attack.


    I panicked, thinking that weapons would be unaffected, but it seems that the sacred treasure can ward off all kinds of attacks.


    The man then summoned [re] on his palm.


    Advanced magic that could burn the vige to the ground was unleashed on me.


    But even that did not affect me.


    ¡°Ku¡­ Uoooooo!¡± (Themis)


    From there, I continued to be attacked by all kinds of spells.


    100 or 200 shots?


    Themis, who continued to be attacked, suddenly noticed that the attack had stopped.


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    ¡°Huh¡­ Huh¡­¡± (Devil)


    The man¡¯s breath has bebored.


    Still, the man continued to me me.


    Despite this, I received no new injuries.


    As expected, sacred treasures that can defeat devils.


    (¡­ Not enough.) (Themis)


    I am no longer receiving any damage.


    However, I cannot stop worrying.


    (Is the poison still working!?) (Themis)


    (How long will my life power the sacred treasure?) (Themis)


    (How long do I have to endure before the man dies !?) (Themis)


    Themis felt like he had been fighting for a long time.


    In reality, only a short time has passed.


    However, if nothing is done, Themis may fall first.


    The signs had already appeared.


    *cough*!! (Themis)


    When Themis coughed, a huge amount of blood spilled out.


    I do not know if this is due to the umted damage or has my life been reduced too much.


    However, I can only conclude one thing.


    I do not have enough time¡­


    How about the other guy?


    The man grinned.


    ¡°If you keep quiet, you¡¯re going to die soon.¡± (Devil)


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that. I think the Poison Barrier is starting to affect you too.¡± (Themis)


    ¡°Would you like to know?¡± (Devil)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Themis)


    The manughed confidently.


    Well, what do I do now¡­?


    While I was thinking.


    ¡°Waa!¡±


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    A familiar boy wielded a longsword and shed at the man.


    That boy ¨C Toru.


    Themis was stunned by the sudden appearance of Toru.


    (Did he not run away¡­ why?) (Themis)


    To Themis, it looked as if Toru was pressured by the man¡¯s aura.


    It was understandable.


    All the other adventurers and members of the Silver Wing Knights were so pressured that they were paralyzed.


    When a truly strong enemy appears, it does not matter how powerful you think you are.


    Thest thing that pushes your body forward is the strength of your heart.


    He just is a boy under the age of 20.


    It would be unreasonable to expect a boy to have the strength of mind that surpasses that of an ordinary adult.


    The reason why I am still able to move was because I spent everyday training. Building up my determination to use my sacred treasure to burn up my life at any time.


    (Does he have that determination too?) (Themis)


    Soon Toru is no longer affected by the man¡¯s atmosphere.


    He was attacking the man, skillfully manipting his ck long sword.


    His skill in swordsmanship is higher than mine.


    I could barely follow the trajectory of his sword.


    The man who has been attacked by Toru is also someone terrifying.


    (Will this be enough!?) (Themis)


    It was then that I found hope.


    ¡°Yarakuseeee!!¡± (Devil) [T/N: I think this is his son¡¯s name.]


    ¡°¨C!?¡± (Toru)


    The man wielded a great sword by with just his strenght.


    Toru receives the attack with his sword.


    ¡°Avoid¨C¡± (Themis)


    Avoid it.


    Before I could say those words, the sword came.


    Toru¡¯s body was blown like a pebble.


    Toru, who was blown away by force, crashed towards a house.


    ¨CZun!!


    The house that Toru crashed into copsed on top of him.

 Chapter 93: Missing Clues

    <h4>Chapter 93: Missing Clues</h4>


    ~Themis¡¯ Perspective~


    ¡°Wha¡­¡±


    The sight left me speechless.


    In the my eyes, crashing into a house was fatal.


    (Even if he is alive, he can¡¯t go back to fight¡­) (Themis)


    Themis grabbed his back teeth.


    You should never directly ept such a powerful attack.


    It is the fundamental rule to parry such attacks


    Especially with the recent attack, I could see that the man was trying to apply more ¡°force¡±.


    However, Toru received a direct attack.


    Toru, who was technically on the offensive on the man, should have been able to parry.


    This was a spur of the moment choice mistake.


    People with littlebat experience often make this kind of mistake.


    (If he had a little morebat experience¡­) (Themis)


    I couldn¡¯t help but curse the fate of a promising boy who met a strong enemy at this time.


    ~Toru¡¯s Perspective~


    Toru, who was thrown by that man, was crawling out of the copsed house.


    ¡°Hey¡­ That was dangerous¡­¡±


    I am covered in dust, but I am not injured.


    I was blown away with a pretty strong attack, but all of that force was passed on to the house¡¯s wall by using [Aikido].


    That is why the house copsedpletely.


    If I had not been able to do this, I would have been seriously injured.


    The difference in [Aikido]¡¯s level was significant.


    ¡°You can¡¯t make up the difference in the basic level, after all?¡±


    I foolishly received the attack in order to see how far I canpete with my opponent¡¯s strength.


    The moment I was attacked by that man, I felt a dull impact on my arm.


    If I endure it, my arm will surely break.


    After making a quick decision, I kicked the ground and flew backward on my own volition.


    In that way, the burden on my body was reduced. [T/N: But the bricks? The impact?]


    What I learned from this blow is that the physical ability of that man is overwhelming.


    And if I don¡¯t have good movement, I can get crushed by his strength.


    I used the skill board to greatly enhance my skills.


    However, it should not be a brute force approach such as raising the level of my physical attacks.


    It was possible if my opponent was some half-baked fighter.


    However, my opponent is not in the slightest.


    ¡°OK!¡±


    I regained my fighting spirit and jumped out of the copsed house.


    The strategy has been decided.


    The only thing left to do was to defeat the man without taking too much time.


    Themis-san, who had sealed the man, was covered in blood all over.


    I had seen him vomiting blood from his mouth earlier too.


    It is not clear how he, who is full of wounds, has prevented that man¡¯s attack this far.


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    But I understand this.


    Themis-san has no time to spare.


    I used my [Magic Sword]¡¯s bow form and shot an arrow.


    Three arrows were shot. It all headed straight to the man.


    But the man parried the arrow quite easily.


    ¡°I can¡¯t use arrows, huh.¡±


    I can¡¯t imagine a scenario of an arrow piercing that man.


    It should be no wonder. A bow and arrow¡¯s attack only travels in a straight line. [T/N: Arrows actually follow a parabolic path. Just saying.]


    I can¡¯t get through to a person with this level of ability without using a surprise attack.


    I immediately changed my n.


    [Magic sword] is back in sword form, so I approached the man.


    ¡°Uoooooo !!¡±


    I swung the [Magic Sword] while activating [Intimidation].


    Cut, thrust, evade, parry.


    I attack while adding feints.


    But my attacks are easily received.


    This man can really fight back.


    I avoid his wide shes.


    However, my movement was too wide.


    I showed him an opening.


    ¡°Ku¡­¡±


    ¡°Oraoraoraora!!¡± (Devil)


    The man wielding a great sword shed at me continuously.


    It was a great sword that is two or more timesrger than my [Magic Sword] is swung so quickly that it does not look heavy.


    It will be bad if I receive a single attack.


    I desperately avoid the shes.


    The opponent¡¯s attack are too fast for me to make a counterattack.


    There was too much waste in my evasive maneuvers.


    (I have to avoid it morepactly)


    Analyzing, adjusting, and applying; making full use of [Thought eleration].


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    My body gradually performs the ideal movement.


    >> [Evasion Lv1] acquired


    (Is it a little too easy?)


    I can¡¯t let my guard down.


    However, I was able to keep up with the man¡¯s attack even by a little at a time.


    (More¡­ more!!)


    >> [Evasion Lv1] ¡ú [Evasion Lv2]


    There are signs that I can make counterattacks.


    I wielded my [magic sword] in time with my opponent¡¯s attack.


    >> [Counterattack Lv1] acquired


    ¡°¨CShhh!!¡± (Devil)


    ¡°Ku!¡±


    My attack was swung at the right moment.


    However, it was just a close call.


    The man avoided my attack.


    (OK, how about now¨C)


    Now I began to get on the offensive.


    ¡°Die!!¡± (Devil)


    The man casts fire magic with [Chant-less Casting].


    (This is bad !!)


    I immediately halted my attack.


    I took a step back quickly.


    If I had continued my attacks, I would have been burned by plunging into the fire magic that the man casted.


    ¡°Disappear as ashes- [re]!!¡± (Devil)


    The man held his hand and fired [re] at me.


    (How do I prevent this? What should I do!?)


    I thought about countering [re] with [Water Ball].


    But this is the city center.


    Although heavily destroyed, the buildings still remain.


    If I use [Water Ball], I won¡¯t be burned with [re].


    However, there is a possibility that the magic will collide with each other and cause a steam explosion instead.


    If an explosion urs, the buildings around this area will disappear.


    I didn¡¯t want the damage to spread anymore.


    Within a fraction of a second.


    Using by maximizing [Thought eleration], a scene from the past emerged.


    (This is it!!)

 Chapter 94: When Things You Didn’t Use Back Then See the Light of Day

    <h4>Chapter 94: When Things You Didn¡¯t Use Back Then See the Light of Day</h4>


    I poured magic power into my hand and shot it towards the iing [re].


    In the blink of an eye,


    ¨CFsssh!!


    A cracking sound, like stic crumpling, echoed through the air..


    At the same time, the iing [re] disappeared.


    >> [Anti-Magic Lv1] acquired


    ¡°What the!?¡± (Devil)


    When I countered the magic, that the man casted on the fly.


    I never thought that magic would bepletely neutralized.


    [re] disappeared from my eyes, and I felt relieved.


    I used the same amount of magic power to offset the spell.


    Before, I used this technique once when Lily released a spell.


    It was a sess, and it went better than Toru imagined.


    What made it sessful at the first time was the high level of Toru¡¯s [Magic Art] skill.


    Also, thanks to his daily magic training.


    ¡°Well, how about this!!¡± (Devil)


    The man casted [re] again.


    This time three at the same time.


    If I received this, I would have gotten totally disintegrated including my bones, also this entire area will be a sea of fire.


    Even stones should melt in such a high temperatures.


    I calmly, used [Anti-Magic].


    >> [Anti-magic Lv1] ¡ú [Anti-magic Lv2]


    I immediately approached the man as I neutralized his magic.


    Swinging the [Magic Sword] swiftly, I will not allow any openings.


    ¡°Shhh!!¡±


    ¡°Nugu!!¡± (Devil)


    For a while, our exchange on offensive and defensive movements continued.


    However, I can now see clearly.


    The attack pattern he learned from that werewolf.


    It was as if Toru was now cornering this man in a game of chess, blocking his choices one move at a time.


    After ten or twenty moves, he finally found an opening.


    Finally, the man had a huge gap in his defense.


    Toru thoroughly repelled that man¡¯s unreasonable attack with all his might.


    ¨D¨DIin!!


    The man¡¯s great sword was flung over his head.


    ¨Ca chance!


    I swung the [Magic Sword] at the man¡¯s neck.


    [Magic Sword] definitely tore the man¡¯s throat.


    -Well it should have been torn.


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    However, the man is not even hurt.


    (No way¨C)


    A man swings his great sword down from above.


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    I have no time to be surprised.


    I immediately moved back.


    At the same time, I opened my [Inventory].


    ~Sarnus¡¯ Perspective~


    The man who attacked the royal capital of Yuster ¡ª Sarnus was suddenly surprised by the green color that covered his sight.


    I thought the boy who had been fighting had unleashed a spell I had never seen before.


    However, I immediately realized that this is not a magic spell.


    I do not feel any magical power from the green.


    It also smelled like dead leaves.


    If I look closely, I can see that the green is grass.


    (Tsk, you even have [Inventory].) (Sarnus)


    The boy released the yard trimmings that he had been keeping in his [Inventory] toward Sarnus.


    Sarnus does not know why he put the vegetation in his [Inventory].


    When people store unnecessary items, it just takes precious storage space.


    (Did he have it as an emergency smoke screen?) (Sarnus)


    If so, He is not some easy-to-read opponent.


    In fact, I was having trouble with this boy.


    I am a skilled warrior who has reached level 60.


    I am confident that if my opponent was a human being, they would be ground to dust even if I am unarmed.


    In fact, the humans in the royal capital of Yuster could be destroyed just by being beaten by my fists.


    But this boy and the other man were different.


    ¡°I can¡¯t keep standing in a ce like this.¡± (Sarnus)


    Arge amount of poison magic is still pouring into the magic stone on my chest.


    One hour or two hours?


    Soon, I will die.


    I knew that there was such a barrier in Yuster.


    I predicted that once inside the city, I will never be able to get out alive.


    Still, I had to enter the royal capital of Yuster.


    To kill all humans in Yuster.


    A few seconds have passed since the boy left the vegetation.


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    Still, the vegetation is still floating around Sarnus.


    ¡°¡­ Is it wind magic?¡± (Sarnus)


    The boy continues to make the vegetation float using wind magic.


    -Should I burn it all with [re]?


    Such an idea goes through my head.


    However, when aiming at a target close to the caster, magic can also affect the caster.


    Burning the surrounding vegetation will also cause some burns to Sarnus.


    I hesitated, wondering what I should do.


    At that moment, I sensed killing intent from beyond the nt debris.


    (It ising!) (Sarnus)


    I held my great sword in front of me.


    The next moment, three jet-ck arrows flew out from behind the trees that covered his vision.


    If it were a normal person, the arrows would have definitely pierced him.


    However, he was dealing with Sarnus, an experienced warrior.


    It¡¯s not like he¡¯s going to be slowed down unless he¡¯s bombarded continuously.


    ¡°Hah!!¡± (Sarnus)


    I casually deflected an arrow with my great sword.


    It was at that moment.


    ¡°Gaha!?¡± (Sarnus)


    I was attacked from ¡°behind¡±.


    ¡°Nonsense!¡± (Sarnus)


    He had no idea that he was going to be attacked from behind at the same time as he had been shot by an arrow from the front.


    The only person in the room who could hurt Sarnus was the boy.


    The shield wielder was badly injured.


    ¨CWho else?


    Turning my head, I looked behind.


    There was a girl there.


    A girl with a beautiful blonde hair flowing from her back while equipped with an iron breastte.


    I have never seen the girl.


    (Someone new!!) (Sarnus)


    Readying his sword, Sarnus swung his sword.


    Fortunately, the scratches are shallow.


    It¡¯s not enough to put a deep hand on Sarnus who is level 60.


    Did the girl put her whole weight on the attack?


    Her body is floating mid-air.


    In that state, my great sword will not miss.


    I was convinced that I had killed the girl.


    But


    ¡°What!?¡± (Sarnus)


    The girl ¡°jumped¡± backwards in midair, when she should have been struck by my attack.

 Chapter 95: Love is Burning Quietly and Passionately in the Depths of the Mind

    <h4>Chapter 95: Love is Burning Quietly and Passionately in the Depths of the Mind</h4>


    ~Esther¡¯s Perspective~


    After Toru chases after Themis, Esther slumps down on the roof alone.


    The moment she saw the monster that appeared in the center of the room, Esther lost all control of her body.


    There had been many times when I had felt that the enemy was terrifying.


    I had already been surrounded by hordes of goblins. There had been a time when I had been attacked by rock worms, and that time when I had witnessed seen a Queen Rock Worm for the first time.


    Especially when I saw the Queen Rock Worm, I fell into despair.


    I even thought I would never go home alive.


    But this time around, even the Queen Rock Worm feels weak.


    Death.


    That creature seemed to be death itself, swallowing all life.


    Would the slightest movement make me a target?


    Thinking about this, I could not even move my body.


    My body trembled and I can¡¯t even breathe properly.


    Esther isn¡¯t the only one who¡¯s scared.


    Adventurers approaching the center along the roof and all members of the Silver Wing Knights are frozen just like Esther.


    This is normal.


    Human beings in the face of overwhelming power can be suppressed by despair.


    (Even if I can¡¯t move, nothing can be done¡­) (Esther)


    ¨D¨DSo why is Toru moving?


    The question came to Esther¡¯s mind, while on the verge of giving up.


    It is no wonder Themis-san is able to move in this situation.


    He is the vicemander of the elite knights protecting the royal capital.


    His birth, upbringing, and abilities are different from mine.


    So what about Toru?


    Toru is a lost person who recently came from another world.


    Toru¡¯s world was neither a war-torn world, nor was it overrun by monsters.


    I heard that it was quite peaceful. [T/N: Well for the developed countries I guess.]


    However, Toru was moving.


    (How can Toru move¡­?) (Esther)


    Toru is moving, but I can¡¯t.


    I ground my teeth in frustration.


    ¡°Move. Move!¡± (Esther)


    Esther pounds on her thighs.


    However, her legs do not move. She can¡¯t even stand up.


    She was so frustrated and miserable, and tears began to flow.


    It was when Esther was desperately beating her thigh.


    ¨CZoon!!


    One of the buildings in the center of the city copsed.


    ¡°Toru!?¡± (Esther)


    Toru was blown away by the devil.


    He¡¯s dead, isn¡¯t he?


    Anxiety fills my chest.


    Then I saw a store.


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    It was a store next to the copsed building. The one that copsed when Toru crashed into it.


    It was the biggest armor store in the royal capital of Yuster, one Esther knew very well.


    (At this rate, that shop will also¡­) (Esther)


    Imagining the future of destruction, Esther found herself on her feet.


    Her legs, which had been unable to lift her no matter how much she pounded on them, moved by themselves.


    This is Esther, no longer Esther Regulus, just an adventurer.


    On paper, the parent-child rtionship had disappeared.


    But her heart that cares for the memories remains unchanged.


    It was her feelings for his father that pushed Esther to act.


    I pulled out my longsword and ran on the roof.


    (I will not let youy one finger on my father¡¯s store!!) (Esther)


    As I was running, and Toru jumped out of the copsed building.


    (Toru! You are alive¡­ Thank the gods!) (Esther)


    Esther was inwardly relieved.


    The Toru and the enemy was evenly matched.


    At first, the man seemed to dominate, but Toru quickly responded to the man¡¯s movements.


    In this state, even if Esther assisted, she would only get in the way.


    ¡°Something¡­ There should be something I can do¡­!?¡± (Esther)


    As I was thinking, Toru swung his sword and tore through the man¡¯s neck.


    ¨C It looked to Esther as if he had shed the man¡¯s neck.


    But in reality the man was unharmed.


    The winning blow missed, leaving Thor defenseless.


    Then, the man struck a blow.


    Instantly.


    ¨CBoom!


    nt debris appeared around the man.


    I was familiar with those nts.


    ¡°¡­ Is that the yard trimmings after he cleaned thewn at home?¡±


    I wondered why he still had it.


    You should just throw those away¡­


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    However, at the same time, she beats pped her knees, saying, ¡°That¡¯s some quick thinking.¡± [T/N: Well ain¡¯t that a coincidence, or it could be fate. On the other hand, a really good cover for plot armor but it¡¯s good enough for me.]


    The opponent is a fire magician.


    Blinding him with mmable materials not only obstructs his view, but also stops him from casting magic.


    As I watched, I suddenly saw Toru holding a bow.


    Looking at Toru for just a second.


    I nodded.


    Esther jumped at once, casting [Muscle Enhancement] all over her body.


    She raised her longsword high in the air.


    As Esther began to fall, Toru fired three arrows from his bow.


    The man deflected the arrows that Toru shot at her.


    On the man¡¯s back, Esther delivered an all-out attack.


    ¡°Gaha!!¡± (Sarnus)


    (I did it !!) (Esther)


    I gave myself a mental pat on the shoulder.


    My cooperation with Toru worked better than I had imagined.


    However, I immediately focused my mind.


    My attack from the roof that gained momentum using [Muscle Enhancement] was not fatal.


    The level of this man and his skill in enhancement magic quite high.


    The man noticed Esther¡¯s the attacked so he swung his great sword.


    Esther is in midair, which made her unable to dodge.


    However, Esther did not panic and poured magical power into her shoes.


    Esther¡¯s shoes are a magical tool that she received from Regulus Trading Company the other day.


    ¡°How you use its ability to levitate will be a testament to your skill as an adventurer.¡± (Jack)


    I stepped through the lump of wind created by the shoes.


    I jumped backwards in the air.


    Thanks to that, I was able to avoid the great sword.


    He would not have expected his current attack to be dodged.


    The man¡¯s posture copsed.


    That moment,


    ¡°¨CToru!!¡± (Esther)


    I shouted.


    Behind the man who lost his bnce.


    Toru, with the jet-ck sword and mes, pierced the ground.

 Chapter 96: Prayer for Life

    <h4>Chapter 96: Prayer for Life</h4>


    I covered his vision with grass and leaves and fired arrows, but the man brushed them all off with his sword.


    ¡°¡­¡­No¡±


    I shook my head.


    Even if the arrow pierces, the man will not be damaged.


    That is clear from the fact that the [Magic Sword] slipped through the man before.


    That man cannot be defeated using [Magic Sword].


    ¨D¨DWhat should I do?


    Thought¡¯s spin rapidly in that moment.


    [Magic Sword] does not deal damage.


    However, I do not want to use magic because it can destroy the city.


    ¨D¨DSo why notbine the two?


    As soon as I came up with it, I casted [Fireball] on my [Magic Sword].


    The [Magic Sword] epted [Fireball], surprisingly without resistance.


    As if this was the way it should be used¡­


    > > [Magic Sword Arts Lv1] Acquired


    I¡¯m ready.


    I held the sword.


    I saw Esther hit the man.


    The man makes a counterattack, but Esther kicks the air and flew back.


    The line of sight matches with Esther.


    ¡°Toru!!¡±


    The moment she screamed


    ¡°¡ª[Earth Shrink]!¡±


    I kicked the ground.


    My body elerates rapidly in response to the huge mass of wind magic.


    I shot out like a catapult, holding the [Magic Sword] on my side.


    The distance of 20 meters bes zero in the blink of an eye.


    Perhaps he noticed my killing intent, the man turned his head.


    ¡°Uh, ohhhhh!!¡± (Sarnus)


    The man twists his body by forcibly moving his vulnerable stance.


    However, I calmly predicted his movement.


    ¡°Hahhh!!¡±


    Along with a shout, I thrust the [Magic Sword] into the man¡¯s chest.


    In a moment.


    Go! The me swallowed his body.


    I hurriedly stepped back as I was about to be burned by my own me.


    The man red at me while pure white smoke spewed from his mouth and chest.


    His eyes are still filled with unquenchable thirst for death and hatred.


    (Is this still not enough¡­?)


    In front of me,pletely on alert, the man slowly kneeled and copsed.


    I can¡¯t feel the man standing up.


    Counting slowly for thirty seconds, I released my stance.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ Haa.¡±


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    I let out a sigh of relief,


    Suddenly, a scene I don¡¯t remember happening flowed into my mind.


    A bloody room.


    A young child is lying down in front of him.


    Gnashing and chewing sounds.


    ¡°Fathe-er¡­¡± (Child)


    The child made a soft voice.


    The father was eating his child¡¯s body without flinching and without recoil.


    The father was this man that I had defeated.


    But my his are different.


    The man¡¯s eyes were hollow as if he was being manipted by someone.


    ¡°¨C!?¡±


    I suddenly inhaled sharply, My consciousness soon returned to reality.


    ¡°What was that¡­?¡±


    ¡°Toru. You did it!¡± (Esther)


    Esther rushed towards me, and she was looking at me.


    Her ponytail is swaying vigorously.


    ¡°Thank you, Esther.¡±


    ¡°Good work. By the way, Toru. Was he a devil?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I doubt it¡­¡­¡±


    I shook my head.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think he is a devil.¡±


    [Magic Sword] is a weapon that he got in Eargard and it can never damage humans.


    If this man was a demon, my [Magic Sword] would not pass through him.


    ¡°If that is true, there is something happening with demons.¡±


    ¡°Themis-san!? Are you okay¡­?¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your concern, Toru-san, and Esther-san. You were quite helpful in this battle.¡± (Themis)


    ¡°No¡­ Is that a person from the demon tribe from the eastern country?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± (Themis)


    Themis nodded.


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    Earlier, when entering the Finlis Forest, I had heard from Esther about the demon territory.


    ¡°¡ªHe did not deny that he was affected by the barrier. Only the barrier affects those who have magic stones in their bodies. If he is not a devil, then he can only be a demon.¡± (Themis)


    ¡°I see.¡±


    I nodded to Themis-san¡¯s exnation.


    ¡°Kuh¡ªKuuhff!!¡± (Themis)


    ¡°Themis-san!?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Themis-san, hold on!¡±


    Suddenly, Themis-san coughed out arge amount of blood from his mouth.


    I hurriedly supported Themis-san¡¯s body, as he suddenly copses.


    ¡°No way, the wounds of the battle¡­¡±


    ¡°No¡­ it¡¯s not because of the wounds during the battle. This is the price of using a Sacred Treasure.¡±


    Themis-san briefly talked about the abilities of his treasure and the price.


    And told us not to be sad.


    ¡°Because I will die as a shield for the royal capital. There is no greater honor.¡± (Themis)


    ¡°That¡­¡±


    He has already used a tremendous amount of his life in exchange for tremendous power.


    Isn¡¯t it possible for me, a mortal, to save this?


    ¨CI won¡¯t let this be.


    I made my decision and summoned the skill board.


    A person who sacrificed his life and protected the royal capital will not face such a tragic ending.


    (I won¡¯t ever give up!!)


    *** Skill points 45 ¡ú 0


    *** < Magic Law Lv9 > acquisition


    ording to Lily, recovery is a field of Magic Law.


    It is a power to call down miracles by praying to God.


    (Please¡­ God. Please help Themis-san!!)


    Toru felt something leaving his body.


    At the same time, Themis¡¯ body glows softly and faintly.


    ¡°Th-This is¨C!?¡± (Esther)

 Chapter 97: Shadow of Plot

    <h4>Chapter 97: Shadow of Plot</h4>


    I covered his vision with grass and leaves and fired arrows, but the man brushed them all off with his sword.


    ¡°¡­¡­No¡±


    I shook my head.


    Even if the arrow pierces, the man will not be damaged.


    That is clear from the fact that the [Magic Sword] slipped through the man before.


    That man cannot be defeated using [Magic Sword].


    ¨D¨DWhat should I do?


    Thought¡¯s spin rapidly in that moment.


    [Magic Sword] does not deal damage.


    However, I do not want to use magic because it can destroy the city.


    ¨D¨DSo why notbine the two?


    As soon as I came up with it, I casted [Fireball] on my [Magic Sword].


    The [Magic Sword] epted [Fireball], surprisingly without resistance.


    As if this was the way it should be used¡­


    >> [Magic Sword Arts Lv1] Acquired


    I¡¯m ready.


    I held the sword.


    I saw Esther hit the man.


    The man makes a counterattack, but Esther kicks the air and flew back.


    The line of sight matches with Esther.


    ¡°Toru!!¡±


    The moment she screamed


    ¡°¡ª[Earth Shrink]!¡±


    I kicked the ground.


    My body elerates rapidly in response to the huge mass of wind magic.


    I shot out like a catapult, holding the [Magic Sword] on my side.


    The distance of 20 meters bes zero in the blink of an eye.


    Perhaps he noticed my killing intent, the man turned his head.


    ¡°Uh, ohhhhh!!¡± (Sarnus)


    The man twists his body by forcibly moving his vulnerable stance.


    However, I calmly predicted his movement.


    ¡°Hahhh!!¡±


    Along with a shout, I thrust the [Magic Sword] into the man¡¯s chest.


    In a moment.


    Go! The me swallowed his body.


    I hurriedly stepped back as I was about to be burned by my own me.


    The man red at me while pure white smoke spewed from his mouth and chest.


    His eyes are still filled with unquenchable thirst for death and hatred.


    (Is this still not enough¡­?)


    In front of me,pletely on alert, the man slowly kneeled and copsed.


    I can¡¯t feel the man standing up.


    Counting slowly for thirty seconds, I released my stance.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ Haa.¡±


    I let out a sigh of relief,


    Suddenly, a scene I don¡¯t remember happening flowed into my mind.


    A bloody room.


    A young child is lying down in front of him.


    Gnashing and chewing sounds.


    ¡°Fathe-er¡­¡± (Child)


    The child made a soft voice.


    The father was eating his child¡¯s body without flinching and without recoil.


    The father was this man that I had defeated.


    But my his are different.


    The man¡¯s eyes were hollow as if he was being manipted by someone.


    ¡°¨C!?¡±


    I suddenly inhaled sharply, My consciousness soon returned to reality.


    ¡°What was that¡­?¡±


    ¡°Toru. You did it!¡± (Esther)


    Esther rushed towards me, and she was looking at me.


    Her ponytail is swaying vigorously.


    ¡°Thank you, Esther.¡±


    ¡°Good work. By the way, Toru. Was he a devil?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I doubt it¡­¡­¡±


    I shook my head.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think he is a devil.¡±


    [Magic Sword] is a weapon that he got in Eargard and it can never damage humans.


    If this man was a demon, my [Magic Sword] would not pass through him.


    ¡°If that is true, there is something happening with demons.¡±


    ¡°Themis-san!? Are you okay¡­?¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your concern, Toru-san, and Esther-san. You were quite helpful in this battle.¡± (Themis)


    ¡°No¡­ Is that a person from the demon tribe from the eastern country?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± (Themis)


    Themis nodded.


    Earlier, when entering the Finlis Forest, I had heard from Esther about the demon territory.


    ¡°¡ªHe did not deny that he was affected by the barrier. Only the barrier affects those who have magic stones in their bodies. If he is not a devil, then he can only be a demon.¡± (Themis)


    ¡°I see.¡±


    I nodded to Themis-san¡¯s exnation.


    ¡°Kuh¡ªKuuhff!!¡± (Themis)


    ¡°Themis-san!?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Themis-san, hold on!¡±


    Suddenly, Themis-san coughed out arge amount of blood from his mouth.


    I hurriedly supported Themis-san¡¯s body, as he suddenly copses.


    ¡°No way, the wounds of the battle¡­¡±


    ¡°No¡­ it¡¯s not because of the wounds during the battle. This is the price of using a Sacred Treasure.¡±


    Themis-san briefly talked about the abilities of his treasure and the price.


    And told us not to be sad.


    ¡°Because I will die as a shield for the royal capital. There is no greater honor.¡± (Themis)


    ¡°That¡­¡±


    He has already used a tremendous amount of his life in exchange for tremendous power.


    Isn¡¯t it possible for me, a mortal, to save this?


    ¨CI won¡¯t let this be.


    I made my decision and summoned the skill board.


    A person who sacrificed his life and protected the royal capital will not face such a tragic ending.


    (I won¡¯t ever give up!!)


    >> Skill points 45 ¡ú 0


    >> [Magic Law Lv9] acquisition


    ording to Lily, recovery is a field of Magic Law.


    It is a power to call down miracles by praying to God.


    (Please¡­ God. Please help Themis-san!!)


    Toru felt something leaving his body.


    At the same time, Themis¡¯ body glows softly and faintly.


    ¡°Th-This is¨C!?¡± (Esther)

 Chapter 98: Meeting of Higher-ups

    <h4>Chapter 98: Meeting of Higher-ups</h4>


    ~Themis¡¯ Perspective~


    In the small conference room of the royal castle, all the officials except the king were gathered.


    There was a bitter air on everyone¡¯s face.


    Three days have passed since the royal capital was attacked by the demon.


    Although it had not yet been fully restored, the people of the capital were getting back to their normal lives.


    Thanks to the Vice Commander of the Silver Wing Knights, the damage was kept to a minimum.


    However, this attack smeared the king¡¯s face with mud.


    The ceremony to announce the line of session to the throne is a ceremony that will determine the future of Yuster.


    The prestige of the Kingdom of Yuster is tattered in wounds, as they were forced to cancel because of a single demon.


    ¡°Now, we should retaliate against the demons!¡± (Official)


    ¡°But the demons have sent a letter saying that it has nothing to do with their country?¡± (Official)


    ¡°Even if the war starts, we must first get the word out to the other country¡­¡± (Official)


    ¡°Who will pay for the war?¡± (Official)


    ¡°The question is, how do we get to the end of the war.¡± (Official)


    ¡°In the first ce, isn¡¯t it the problem that the Silver Wing Knights were not able to properly protect the royal capital in this case?¡± (Official)


    ¡°Okay ¡­ The deputy leader used the Treasure to protect us, so more than that¨C¡± (Official)


    Opinions collide.


    The number of people who wished for war was still small.


    The king¡¯s face was smeared with mud, but the nobles were unscathed.


    In the event of a war, it was the local nobility who would pay the expenses and provide the men.


    The nobles are loyal to the king, but they will not act unless it is in their interest to do so.


    Local nobles are, so to speak, the owners of the city.


    If they put too much priority on appearances and run their businesses at a loss, their fiefdoms will easily copse.


    That¡¯s why there are few people who want to start a war.


    The debate continued for a while, but in the end, the moderates prevailed and the discussion came to a close.


    ¡°¡­ And about the hero who saved the royal capital, is the reward decided?¡± (Official)


    ¡°Well, then I will proceed with the report.¡± (Themis)


    It¡¯s finally my turn.


    On behalf of the Silver Wing Knights, Vice Commander Themis came forward.


    ¡°The Silver Wing Knights evaluated the two adventurers who made this achievement. Please see page 5 of the report.¡±


    The dry sound of paper rustling echoed in the conference room.


    After confirming that everyone had opened to the fifth page, I told the heavyweights about the assessment.


    The attacker was Sarnus.


    He was the strongest warrior in the demon tribe and was a person who was good at fighting.


    The person was subdued by three people including me.


    Without me and the two others, the royal capital would have been more severely damaged.


    Moreover, I alone could not stop Sarnus.


    This is because Toru-san and Esther-san aggressively attacked.


    In addition, Toru-san used some kind of power to heal my wounds.


    (When I asked him about this power, he wouldn¡¯t answer me)


    My life was absorbed by the treasure, was supposed to die like that.


    However, I am still alive today.


    I don¡¯t know how long I can live.


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    But I thought,


    (God saved me to convey Toru-san¡¯s achievements correctly! Then, the remainder of my life is for Toru-san¡­) (Themis) [T/N: Is this a g?]


    This time, I took the role of the reporter at the meeting on behalf of the Commander.


    It was easy to foresee that there would be someone who would argue with him.


    ¡°But are Toru is an Inferior? The one who is defeated by him is the strongest warrior of the demon race. Isn¡¯t that a little over the top?¡± (Official)


    I was right, I thought.


    In order to formally determine the achievements of Toru-san and Esther-san as a nation, we must deal with the fact he is an Inferior.


    Even I, who actually met Toru, could hardly believe that he was an Inferior.


    Those who haven¡¯t even met Toru-san would have a hard time admitting that he was an Inferior and that he made a great achievement.


    That¡¯s why I enthusiastically replied.


    How good a warrior Toru-san was¡­


    However, the more I speak, the more stubborn the country¡¯s officials be.


    And it¡¯s not just Toru-san. Even the Silver Wing Knights are being called upon to step up, saying that they are a ¡°unit that can only be helped by inferior people.¡±


    Is the stigma of being Inferior this strong?


    (What a stubborn crowd!) (Themis)


    I internally spit out venom.


    No matter how much I exin, I cannot persuade the officials.


    It was when I was about to give up.


    The door of the small meeting room was opened.


    The moment I saw the man standing on the other side, I quickly kneeled on the floor.


    The same is true for others. While sitting in their chair, they bow deeply.


    ¡°Good. Make yourselvesfortable.¡± (King)


    It was King Yuster himself who appeared.


    ¡°Your Majesty. Why are you here¡­?¡± (Official)


    ¡°When I passed by, I can hear your voices.¡± (King)


    The King walked majestically and took a seat at the far end of the room.


    ¡°Is it about the reward for those who have made achievements?¡± (King)


    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± (Official)


    ¡°Um, then do what Themis says.¡± (King)


    ¡°¨CBut Your Majesty. In my words, this person is and Inferior. It is too much to reward an Inferior. It may have a bad influence on the people of the country.¡± (Chancellor)


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    The Chancellor told His Majesty.


    ¡°But he¡¯s the hero who saved the royal capital of Yuster. Even if he¡¯s an Inferior, we can¡¯t save face unless we reward him for what he¡¯s done.¡± (King)


    ¡°¡­ but.¡± (Chancellor)


    ¡°Chancellor. I understand your feelings. If so, let¡¯s do this instead.¡± (King)


    What was proposed there was unprecedented in the kingdom.

 Chapter 99: Afterword 3

    <h4>Chapter 99: Afterword 3</h4>


    Rumors of the attack on the Kingdom of Yuster quickly spread throughout Eargard.


    Due to this attack, the announcement of the line of session to the throne has been postponed indefinitely for the time being.


    First of all, if they do not restore the center of the Royal Capital, Yuster, they will not be in the mood to celebrate the birth of the crown prince.


    And because there is also a possibility of war with the demon country.


    Of course, few local aristocrats want to start the war.


    However, depending on the situation in the future, there is a possibility that the number of war-openers will increase.


    For a while, the kingdom of Yuster would be in a state of tension not seen in normal times.


    Toru and Esther left the royal capital, Yuster, two days after the incident.


    The patrol mission undertaken by Toru had ended immediately after the incident ended, but he was unable to escape from the royal capital immediately after being questioned by the Silver Wing Knights.


    After receiving 50 silver coins as a reward for the patrol mission, Toru and Esther return to Finlis.


    ¡°Fifty silver coins in one week is good.¡±


    ¡°Oh, there aren¡¯t many D-rank adventurers who can make this much money.¡± (Esther)


    It is equivalent to 500,000 yen.


    It¡¯s an amount I¡¯ve never seen before, even as a bonus when I was working for a Japanesepany.


    I felt a little rich.


    Having returned to Finlis after a long absence, we headed for the guild.


    This is to confirm the dismantled orcs.


    The meat wasn¡¯t fresh, so the staff was careful to sell it to us.


    ¡°Sorry.¡± (Guild Staff)


    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine! Thank you for your concern.¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a magic stone, can we buy this too?¡± (Guild Staff)


    ¡°Yes, please.¡±


    The price of selling magic stones has reached 100 silver coins.


    As expected, it is good to bring 217 orcs.


    ¡°This is quite the reward!¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is. But don¡¯t overspend, because you never know when something might happen!¡± (Guild Staff)


    That being said, Esther was hoping for my cooking for the first time after a while.


    We made a few purchases at the market and returned to our home.


    However, we were shocked to see the state of our home.

 Chapter 100:: Prologue

    <h4>Chapter 100:: Prologue</h4>


    Volume 4 starts today. I will be here nonstop until the very end!


    ~3rd Person Perspective~


    A boy was lying at the bottom of a cliff in a huge cave.


    Blood does not stop from flowing from his head which was broken by the impact of his fall. The ground is now dyed red.


    The boy no longer had the strength to stand up. Blood poured out, and his body became colder and colder.


    Tears began to well up in the boy¡¯s eyes.


    The parents who gave birth to the boy probably never imagined that their son would die like this in the future. However, those parents are no longer with him. The three men who pushed him down the cliff have killed them as well.


    ¡ªsomebody help me, please.


    The boy¡¯s mouth moved slightly. But that was all. No sound of a cry for help.


    ¡ªI do not want to die.


    ¡ªI don¡¯t want to die yet!


    He wished to experience more things. He wanted to see more of the world. He wanted to know what possibilities he had.


    ¡ªI wanted to have friends. I want a warm home.


    ¡ªI want to eat until I¡¯m full¡­


    But there was no more time left for him.


    His wish will nevere true.


    ¡ªJust a little more. I wanted to live just a little longer.


    The boy shed a single tear.


    The next moment.


    ¡°I will make you wish wille true.¡± (Nesis)


    A girl suddenly appeared before the boy¡¯s eyes. She had white hair and was dressed in a white robe.


    ¡°In exchange, will you lend me your body?¡± (Nesis)


    ¡ªMy body?


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± (Nesis)


    ¡ªWill I live?


    ¡°I can¡¯t do that. Because you¡¯re already dead.¡± (Nesis)


    ¡ªIs that so¡­


    ¡°Don¡¯t be discouraged. You can¡¯te back to life as you are, but your body will live on.¡± (Nesis)


    ¡ªWhat do you mean?


    ¡°Another soul will use your body.¡±


    ¡ªIn other words, I will have no consciousness, only my body¡­?


    ¡°Yes, but don¡¯t worry. But don¡¯t worry. Your body remembers your thoughts. Your wishes will remain in this world.¡± (Nesis)


    The girl gently lowered the boy¡¯s eyelids.


    ¡°Do not worry. I¡¯m sure that serious child will take good care of your body. So, go on and rest.¡± (Nesis)


    With these words, the soul of the boy, Lid, left his body.


    ~Toru¡¯s Perspective~


    ¡°Woah¡­¡± (Toru)


    Toru, who returned home from the royal city of Yuster, was speechless at the disastrous scene before his eyes.


    The living room, which had been clean and tidy before he left for Yuster, now had no ce to step.


    upying the living room floor was arge quantity of paper.


    ¡°Wee back.¡± (Lily)


    The culprit¡¯s tone of voice is extremely carefree as if she has no awareness of what she¡¯s doing.


    ¡°Lily-dono, this is a shared space. We can¡¯t have you making such a mess!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Hmm. I¡¯ll clean it upter.¡± (Lily)


    Lily answered without looking at us.


    Her eyes never left the paper in front of her. The paper had the same pattern on it as the ones scattered on the floor.


    ¡°Lily-san, what is that?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Grimoire.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Oh, I see.¡± (Toru)


    Lily used to run a magic bookstore. The recent monster attack caused her to lose both her store and her magic books.


    It is difficult to restore the store immediately. The demand for building houses in Finlis is increasing, and there are no craftsmen avable wherever she looks.


    Therefore, Lily seems to have started with the production of goods-grimoires.


    ¡°Did you just make grimoires the whole time we were in the Royal Capital?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Hmm.¡± (Lily)


    During that time, it seems she never tidied up.


    I¡¯ve had a simr experience. I was so absorbed in my work that I left the tools I had used to do the work all over the ce.


    When I lost concentration and returned to my normal state, I was almost heartbroken at the disastrous state of my room.


    ¡°Toru you should tell her to clean up her room. We can¡¯t eat dinner with this.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Food!?¡± (Lily)


    *Kyu-pin!* Lily¡¯s eyes changed color. She immediately picks up the magic books scattered all over the ce.


    In no time at all, nine stacks of papers were piled up on the table.


    ¡°Toru. Food.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Oh, sure. I¡¯ll make it now.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Make it extra delicious, please.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    Laughing at Lily¡¯s quick change of pace, Toru headed for the kitchen.


    He had just returned from the Royal Capital and there was almost no food in the house except for meat. It is now past sunset and the usual stores are already closed.


    If he looked around a little, he might be able to find a ce that is still open. However, Toru ran all the way back to Finlis from the Royal Capital. He didn¡¯t have enough energy left to bother.


    ¡°I feel sorry for Lily¡­¡± (Toru)


    Toru decided to cook dinner with only orc meat and the ingredients left at home. Still, he did not want to disappoint Lily, who was looking forward to a delicious meal, so he started cooking with all his might.


    The result is an orc steak. It was ced on a hot griddle and served.


    In addition to the meat, he also arranges cooked potatoes, carrots, and onions on the griddle. The sauce is a secret salty sauce.


    ¡°¡±Wow¡­!¡±¡± (Esther & Lilly)


    Estelle and Lily¡¯s eyes lit up at the dish Toru had prepared.


    Lily¡¯s body is shaking like she¡¯s just barely able to contain herself from eating the food in front of her.


    ¡°Well then-¡± (Toru)


    When all the food had been served, Toru sped his hands together.


    ¡°¡±¡±Thank you for the food!¡±¡±¡± (Everyone)


    When I ced the steak in my mouth, the juices flooded my mouth. Once I started chewing, the meat just melted away.


    Lily was chewing on the steak while crying, probably because she missed my cooking so much.


    Perhaps it was because she had been stingy with her lodging expenses, but the food in the Royal Capital of Yuster was not very good. So, I missed good food as well.


    Everyone proceeded with their meals in silence. In the midst of it all, Lily pushes the carrots to the edge of the griddle.


    ¡°Huh? Lily-dono, you can¡¯t just like or dislike something.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°This is a root. It¡¯s not food.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°No, it¡¯s food¡­¡± (Esther)


    Esther¡¯s shoulders drop at Lily¡¯s adorable sophistry.


    While holding back hisughter at the funny scene, I open my mouth.


    ¡°Lily-san, carrots contain a lot of nutrition. You won¡¯t grow up if you don¡¯t eat it, you know?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Muu¡­¡± (Lily)


    Lily¡¯s lips pouted, but she seemed to have made up her mind and threw the carrot into her mouth. She must have hated it so much that she swallowed it without chewing most of it.


    With tears in her eyes, she looked at me as if to say, ¡°Are we good?¡±


    ¡°¡­I ate it. I am already good.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°There are still two left.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Monster!¡± (Lily)


    Lily res at Toru.


    But her gaze changed to something gentler.


    ¡°I have told the same thing a long time ago, that I should eat carrots.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Heh. Is it your parents, by any chance?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Hmm, my friends. Adventurers¡¯ party.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Oh, members of Lily-dono¡¯s party. Who were they?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°They were people who taught me something important.¡± (Lily)

 Chapter 101: Lily’s Past 1

    <h4>Chapter 101: Lily¡¯s Past 1</h4>


    ~Lily¡¯s Perspective~


    Lily focuses, feeling the gaze of Toru and Esther.


    As she focuses and closes her eyes, she can clearly remember even now. Her party members¡¯ faces, their unique voices, smiles,


    And¡ªeven the way they died.


    Aftering out of the elven forest, Lily had been moving from ce to ce by herself.


    The reason she left the forest was that her master told her to ¡°Observe the outside world.¡± She was taught that traveling was also a form of training.


    She registered as an adventurer with the guild and received quests to defeat various monsters.


    The requests from the guild were all tedious. This was because Lily¡¯s skills were already around B-rank or higher.


    No matter how good people are, a newly registered adventurer would start at the F-rank. For adventurers of B or higher ranks, it is understandable that defeating F- and E-ranked monsters would be extremely tedious.


    I registered to broaden my knowledge, but it didn¡¯t add up to anything. Just as I was thinking about giving up on being an adventurer and moving to another town.


    I was invited to a party.


    The party¡¯s name was ¡°Cat¡¯s Paws¡±.


    It was a party formed to help those in need.


    There were three members. The leader was the swordsman Tucker, the sub-leader was the shield-bearer Liger, and the priestess Mina.


    I decided to join Cat¡¯s Paws on a whim.


    I thought it would be a good idea to stop being an adventurer after I had experienced being in a party.


    At first, I had put up a wall between the three and me. I had already made up my mind to quit being an adventurer, so I thought there was no point in getting along with them.


    It doesn¡¯t matter to Mina, the priestess, who kept approaching me.


    ¡°Lily, you¡¯re so cute, but you need to dress up!¡± (Mina)


    ¡°You have to change your clothes when you go to bed, or you¡¯ll make the bedding dirty!¡± (Mina)


    ¡°Here, this is a hair clip. I¡¯m sure it will look good on you!¡± (Mina)


    ¡°Mmm, Lily. You need to eat your carrots properly or you won¡¯t grow up!¡± (Mina)


    (¡­¡­noisy) (Lily)


    No matter how much I ignored them, they persisted in getting involved with me. Mina also called out to me many times.


    At first, I felt annoyed with Mina.


    However, when I was alone at the inn, I realized that I was ufortable with the silence that I had never experienced before.


    The party members were about two levels lower than me. However, I learned many things from the three members of Cat¡¯s Paws.


    They taught me how to recognize safe roads and how not to get ripped off by merchants. How to pack for a trip, how to doundry, and so on.


    Before meeting them, I had only magic in my mind. Other than reaching the depths of magic, I thought it was trivial and not necessary for me to learn other things.


    Meeting them turned me, from a beast into a person. That¡¯s howcking I was. I realized that I was ignorant.


    ¡°What do you want to aplish in the future, Lily?¡± (Mina)


    ¡°Reach the abyss of magic.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°What will you do when you reach it?¡± (Mina)


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± (Lily)


    I had not thought about what I would do after reaching the abyss of magic.


    I pondered for a moment and then answered.


    ¡°Open at a Magic Bookstore.¡± (Lily)


    If I open a magic bookstore, I will be able to pass on the secrets of magic I have learned to others.


    It will not end with me alone. The power you have mastered will be passed on for generations toe.


    The words came out of her mouth like a joke, but Lily thought that spending quiet time in a bookstore was not a bad idea.


    There are three people whoe to the bookstore as usual and take care of Lily. And as a matter of course, they pull the owner¡¯s hand and force him to take her out on an adventure.


    She had such a vision in her mind.


    However, the future that Lily dreamed of was suddenly robbed a few yearster.


    It was during the time of a rank-up quest.


    The members of Cat¡¯s Paws had risen to B-rank, and if we could only move up one more rank, we would be among the world¡¯s best adventurers.


    With the exception of me, the three of them were by no means A-ranked. At the very least, they are above the C-rank, and at the highest, they are below B-rank.


    Their individual abilities may have been C-rank, but their ability to execute as a party was A-rank. This is because I was making up for what theycked in strength.


    At that time, I already had the ability to easily exceed the A-rank. My level had caught up with the skills I had umted up to that point.


    But that did not mean that I believe that I could solve everything on my own anymore.


    If it were me from a few years ago, I would have thought that one person was enough. However, I could only fully disy my abilities when I had a shield-bearer to protect me during my chant, a swordsman to dispel the aggression from my ranged attacks, and a priestess to support me with her Laws.


    It was thanks to the members of Cat¡¯s Paws that I was able to think this way¡ªbecause of them my heart had matured.


    ***


    The rank-up quest was to gather ¡°Persimo¡± berries, which are the raw material for some secret medicines.


    My teammates and I desperately made our way forward, despite being blocked by strong monsters and the Evesting Fires.


    It was about the time they were approaching the ¡°Persimo¡± tree.


    Suddenly, a human wearing a ck cloak appeared in front of them.


    It was very suspicious to see a lone figure in such a ce. As I readied my wand, Mina stepped forward.


    ¡°What are you doing in this ce?¡± (Mina)

 Chapter 102: Lily’s Past 2

    <h4>Chapter 102: Lily¡¯s Past 2</h4>


    ~Lily¡¯s Perspective~


    ¡°¡­¡± (Stranger)


    ¡°I am Mina, an adventurer belonging to the Finlis Guild. Are you alone?¡± (Mina)


    ¡°¡­ Eh¡± (Stranger)


    ¡°Where are yourpanions?¡± (Mina)


    This is a dangerous ce that only adventurers are allowed to enter.


    Since he hade to such a ce, he must be an adventurer and must havepanions. There is no question of this in Mina¡¯s idea.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Stranger)


    ¡°Is that so.¡± (Mina)


    The man shook his head, and Mina¡¯s expression sank somberly.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t youe with us?¡± (Mina)


    ¡°Hey Mina¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re acting selfishly again¡­¡± (Tucker)


    ¡°Then what are you going to do? He can¡¯t go home alone, can he?¡± (Mina)


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s true¡­¡± (Tucker)


    Tucker¡¯s face shows his dissatisfaction. However, no counterargument came out of his mouth.


    He has given up that it is impossible to stop Mina who is in her ¡°meddling auntie¡± mode.


    Helping those in need.


    Her behavior was quite natural for her, as that was the reason for the existence of the Cat¡¯s Paws.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you go with us?¡±


    Mina then grabbed the man¡¯s hand.


    It was that moment. At that moment, the man¡¯s aura changed drastically.


    My whole body was covered in goosebumps.


    (What is this feeling¡­!) (Lily)


    Lily was not the only one who noticed the change.


    All the members of the Cat¡¯s Paws took a battle stance at the same time. Tucker pulled Mina to distance her from the man.


    Liger, who stood in front of the man, asked in a low voice.


    ¡°Who are you? Tell me the real reason why you are alone in a ce like this.¡± (Liger)


    ¡°Do you need to know that?¡±


    -as a human who will die soon.


    The man¡¯s words echoed dreadfully.


    Tucker and Liger immediately drew their weapons. They are B-rank adventurers who have been through a lot of rough patches. If they were to be beaten by an ordinary opponent, it was because they were slow.


    However, the other party was not ¡°normal¡±.


    When I noticed, I lost sight of the other person.


    ¡°-!?¡± (Tucker)


    ¡°Where did he go!¡± (Liger)


    Before we could get into a fighting stance, the opponent either used a skill or magic to erase his presence.


    It was a frighteningly quick move.


    My alert level was raised to the maximum by this familiar skill.


    I immediately chanted, invoking the ¡°All-Seeing Eyes - [Detection]¡± to cancel out [Hide].


    However, I was a step too slow.


    ¡°Where are you looking?¡± (Stanger)


    ¡°-*Cough*!!¡± (Liger)


    ¡°Tucker!?¡± (Mina)


    ¡°Chaa!!¡± (Tucker)


    The man who hade up behind Liger pierced his chest with the knife in his hand


    ¡°You¡¯re not very strong, aren¡¯t you? Since you came here, I was wondering if you had the ability of an A-ranker. How about you swordsman?¡±


    ¡°Guh! This guy is strong!¡± (Tucker)


    ¡°Lily!-san¡± (Mina)


    ¡°Hmm!¡± (Lily)


    ¡°I won¡¯t let you¡± (Tucker)


    ¡°Kuh!¡± (Lily)


    I stepped back after evading to block the dagger. Moving my cane at a distance.


    ¡°Oh dear. Apparently, the strongest one among you is that elf. That¡¯s just right. This body isn¡¯t very strong, you see.¡± (Stranger)


    The man shook the blood on his dagger with a ¡°whoosh¡± and raised the dagger in front of him.


    ¡°That body is attractive, you know? I want to steal it!¡± (Stranger)


    Now is not the time to be fighting. My emotions are a mess.


    Mina is healing Liger¡¯s wounds with her healing skill. However, the bleeding doesn¡¯t stop. At this rate, Liger will probably die.


    In front of me, Tucker desperately stops the man from moving forward.


    The man appears to have, at best, only a D to C rank physical ability. However, Tucker¡¯s long sword never reaches the man.


    Compared to his physical ability, his skills are unusually high. It is the same as an elf like me, who spent most of my long years training and never engaged in actualbat.


    ¡°Liger! Please wake up, hey, Liger!¡± (Mina)


    Blood is still flowing from Liger¡¯s body. His heart should be beating, too. But the wound is not closing.


    - ¡ªThere is no soul left in his body.


    My mrs grinding be audible.


    I then channel mana in my wand quickly drawing up magic.


    I then struck the person who had killed our kind-hearted party leader mercilessly.


    ¡°Holy Ray.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a bad move.¡± (Stranger)


    The white light emitted from the tip of the wand vaporizes the man¡¯s head in an instant.


    The headless man slowly fell to the ground.


    Lily is a magician who has be the country¡¯s number one adventurer (B-rank).


    If only in terms of ability, she is on par with the A ranks. Once that power is directed at a human being, not even a shadow will remain.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Lily)


    I looked down at the ck cloak, biting my lips.


    I killed him because of my emotions, but killing this human doesn¡¯t mean that Liger wille back to life.


    (It was a useless death¡­) (Lily)


    We don¡¯t need to kill them if we are just protecting ourselves. Just take away their limbs. Not long ago, I would have done that.


    No matter how many nearby people were killed, I wouldn¡¯t be affected.


    (¡­Liger.) (Lily)


    But why is my heart a mess?


    Why is my chest in pain?


    Why can¡¯t I stop the tears?


    I was confused as my first strong emotions rushed all at once. But the situation will not wait for me to calm down.


    We are now in a danger zone overrun by B-rank monsters. Having lost Liger our shield-bearer, we should quickly evacuate to the safe zone.


    I wiped my tears with my sleeves and turned around.


    ¡°Tucker, Mina. Let¡¯s return to the city immediately¡ª¡± (Lily)


    ¡°and go back.¡± I, who tried to tell them, lost my ability to talk when I saw them.


    Tucker sheds arge amount of blood from his chest.


    Mina thrust a dagger deep into his chest.

 Chapter 103: Letter of Trial

    <h4>Chapter 103: Letter of Trial</h4>


    ~Lily¡¯s Perspective~


    ¡°¡­what-at¡­?¡± (Lily)


    I can¡¯t understand what was happening. I can only stand there with my mouth agape.


    A dagger in Tucker¡¯s chest, as Mina opened her mouth.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I said, ¡®that¡¯s a bad move.¡¯¡± (Mina?)


    My spine went ice cold at the sultry tone of Mina¡¯s voice.


    Mina¡¯s tone made me realize that it was that man inside, even though he looked like Mina.


    ¡°How¡­¡­¡± (Lily)


    ¡°I used [Soul-Change - Central Dogma]. I can transfer to another body, but not without repercussions.¡± (Mina?)


    ¡°No way¡­¡± (Lily)


    I shook my head in disbelief.


    I didn¡¯t want to believe that the man¡¯s soul got into the party because I destroyed the man¡¯s body¡ªthus helping him.


    ¡°Hmm, this body is not good enough. I thought it would be better because you came here. However, it might be impossible to clear the conditions to enter an elf. Well, this should be fine for the time being.¡± (Mina)


    ¡°Who¡­ Who are you¡­¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Amy. I¡¯m a soul in service of the King of Gods.¡± (Mina =] Amy)


    ¡°King of¡­ Gods¡­?¡± (Lily)


    I can¡¯t understand what the other person is saying.


    But I understand only this.


    The person in front of me is not Mina.


    ¡ªIt¡¯s an enemy.


    I quickly held my cane.


    ¡°As expected, this body isn¡¯t strong enough to rival you, so I¡¯ll run away.¡± (Amy)


    Amy turned on her heel and started running toward the city.


    She was not going very fast.


    I can surely kill her now.


    I poured mana into my wand and began to cast my magic spell.


    (That thing killed Liger and Tucker!) (Lily)


    I know that. It¡¯s an undeniable truth-


    ¡°¡­ Kuh!¡± (Lily)


    Blood drips from my lips as I bite hard. The memory of my friend is interfering with my magic.


    I know I should kill that thing right now.


    But, but, but¡­


    While I was at a loss, Amy vanished.


    What was left behind were the memories of the friends I had had and the two dead bodies of those friends.


    Lily copsed to her knees and was unable to move for a while.


    The B-rank party [Cat¡¯s Paws] was thus destroyed.


    ***


    ~Aaron¡¯s Perspective~


    In a room in the guild, The ¡°God¡¯s Eye¡±, Aaron Dilmut had a difficult expression on his face. The reason for this expression was a letter that had arrived from the Royal Capital.


    A letter from King Felipe of Yuster.


    ¡°I never thought I would receive a letter from His Majesty the King. That¡¯s too-¡± (Aaron)


    As someone, who had quickly read through the contents of the letter, I can¡¯t help but press my fingertips hard against my brows.


    The contents of the letter were to make me take responsibility for the attack on Finlis and the loss of trust in the Adventurers¡¯ Guild and to dismiss me from my position as guild master. Well, that was not the contents of the letter.


    Surprisingly, the letter was addressed to two adventurers active in Finlis, and it was an order to make special arrangements for them.


    The two adventurers had recently traveled to the capital to fulfill their assignment.


    They received this special letter because of their outstanding performance there.


    I had heard the details of what had happened in the capital. A strong warrior of the demon tribe went on a rampage, many people died, and countless buildings were destroyed.


    With the help of the Vice Commander of the Silver Wing Knights, who was on patrol, the two individuals fought off the demon. Thus the damage to the Royal Capital was minimized.


    In addition to the damage, the timing of the incident was the worst.


    On the day of the incident, a ceremony was being held to announce the session to the throne. The graveness of the incident urring amidst the high-security situation was enormous.


    Thus the kingdom could not avoid being criticized by other countries, who may say, ¡°Can¡¯t the Kingdom of Yuster immediately put down even a single criminal? The kingdom¡¯s face would bepletely destroyed.


    The two adventurers who had been summoned to the kingdom quickly staved off the worst of the situation.


    ¡°I don¡¯t me them for wanting to present them a reward and test them at the same time.¡± (Aaron)


    It was a special treatment opportunity granted by the king.


    However, it is not an unconditional reward.


    ¡°The conditions are the worst. I don¡¯t know if he wants me to move up in rank or not.¡± (Aaron)


    The letter (probably written by the guild master at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild headquarters) was apanied by the conditions of the quest.


    It is not so easy to find a quest that meets these conditions.


    -If only it were normal.


    For whatever reason, there was, by chance, one quest that met the conditions written in the letter.


    It was a quest that was once attempted by a party of adventurers aiming for A-rank but failed with the deaths of three of the four members. Since then, no one has taken up the challenge, and the quest has been kept away for a hundred years.


    Perhaps the conditions were such that the master at the headquarters had chosen the most difficult one from our list of quests.


    Or maybe¡ª


    ¡°Did the God of Fate¡¯s magic have a hand on this?¡± (Aaron)


    I muttered under my breath.


    In fact, that God of Fate must have blessed them both.


    ¡ªBut what kind of fate is ced on them?


    God does not give only rewards. He always prepares trials.


    (If those two are receiving special treatment from God, then¡­) (Aaron)


    I can¡¯t help but feel anxious about what kind of trials await them in the future.


    *Knock**knock**knock*.


    The door of the room was knocked on three times.


    That knock was done by Marie.


    She brought those two people.


    ¡°¡­Well.¡± (Aaron)


    After a long but short pondering, I weed the two adventurers.

 Chapter 104: A Bad Feeling When Forced to Work

    <h4>Chapter 104: A Bad Feeling When Forced to Work</h4>


    After receiving an invitation, Toru and the others were taken by Marie to the Guild Master¡¯s office.


    It had been a week since they had seen Aaron Dilmut, the head of the Finlis Guild.


    The Adventurers¡¯ Guild is a private organization that exists throughout the world. If we were to use Earth as a metaphor, it would be a global corporation.


    Toru is still a neer to the guild.


    In Japan, it would have been unthinkable for Toru to have multiple meetings with the head of a branch.


    (This is very huge¡­) (Toru)


    Considering what kind of things he might have to say to me, I am not too frankly pleased.


    I was quite afraid that he might push me to do a ridiculous request. It actually happened in Japan.


    In Japan, I was actually forced to do dangerous work by being told something like, ¡°This is the kind of work we are asking you to do because you are Mizuki-kun.¡±


    Be especially careful when the person you are talking to lifts you up.


    A great person will always impose unreasonable demands on you, regardless of your situation.


    (Ugh¡­ My stomach hurts¡­) (Toru)


    Recalling the past, I felt gloomy.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for calling you so early in the morning. I called you here today to talk about something else. It is about something rted to your futures starting now.¡± (Aaron)


    ¡°Starting now?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°By the way, I¡¯m d you were able toplete that nominated request I asked you to do.¡± (Aaron)


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s unbelievable.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°I heard that you had great sess in the Royal Capital. The actual a lot more the better. That¡¯s amazing. As Finlis Guild Master, I am very proud of all of you. You are indispensable adventurers of Finlis!¡± (Aaron)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Toru)


    Aaron-san is lifting the others and me up.


    (Wow, this smells really fishy.) (Toru)


    Should I escape now? As I raised from my seat at that moment, at that time.


    Aaron-san presented us with a tube. There was a small amount of red wax on the tube. It was a trace of sealing wax.


    ¡°What is this?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°A letter from the King.¡± (Aaron)


    ¡°This is from the King!?¡± (Esther)


    Esther¡¯splexion changed rapidly, standing up in surprise.


    ¡°Aaron-dono is it really a letter from His Majesty the King!?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yes, it was. I received proof that it was from the King at the same time. It even had the seals of the Prime Minister and themanders of the Kingdom¡¯s Knight Orders.¡±


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s amazing¡­¡± (Toru)


    ¡°This was sent to me. Can you understand my feelings as I read the letter? I was already sweating profusely and it was very hard. I want to live in peace if possible, but it¡¯s hard to keep that up with this. Somewhere out there, there¡¯s a good person who would be a guild master in my ce.¡± (Aaron)


    ¡°*Cough**cough*!¡± (Marie)


    Marie cleared her throat as if to refocus the derailed of the conversation.


    Aaron-san shrugs his shoulders (it didn¡¯t seem that bad) before opening his mouth again.


    ¡°Now, let¡¯s get back to the story so as the excellent chief of the receptionist department does not get miffed with me. Let me summarize the contents of this letter. His Majesty would like to express his condolences for the recent disturbance in Finlis and the attack on the Royal Capital. He also thanked the Finlis Guild for dispatching your party to the city and offered you a reward.¡± (Aaron)


    ¡°Reward?¡± (Toru)


    I tilted my head in confusion.


    I thought it was going to be an unreasonable segue for a dangerous request, but it seems that it is something different.


    (I wonder if my intuition was dulled aftering to this world.) (Toru)


    It¡¯s been about a month since I left my (ck)pany in Japan. My previously sensitive sixth sense regarding dangerous work may have been dulled by my activities in the new world


    ¡°This time, you have been given the right to take a special rank-up quest.¡± (Aaron)


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s amazing!¡± (Esther)


    Esther cried in delight.


    In order to raise their ranks, adventurers of E-rank or higher must take rank-up quests given by the guild.


    The quests usually cannot be done consecutively within a short period.


    Once a person¡¯s rank has been raised, he or she must wait a certain period of time before being given a rank-up quest.


    My party and I had just been promoted to rank D a short while ago. Therefore, we should not be able to receive rank-up quests for a while yet.


    (What? The reward isn¡¯t that great¡­) (Toru)


    My shoulders dropped as soon as he said it.


    (I wanted money and rare items more than ranking up or titles.) (Toru)


    Regaining my attention, I asked just in case.


    ¡°If you mean rank-up¡­ So, it is a quest to move up to C-rank?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Of course. You are now D-rank adventurers. If you are good enough, I¡¯d like to move you up in rank right away. It looks like I¡¯ll be able to do it.


    But the master of a local guild is a half-baked position because I only have a title but I have no authority. Even though I¡¯m a master, it¡¯s terrible being caught between the people above and beneath me.¡± (Aaron)


    ¡°*Cough**cough*! Master, please proceed with the main topic.¡± (Marie)


    ¡°Oh, right¡­¡­¡± (Aaron)


    Marie has a scary expression on her face, and Aaron-san was getting bad vibes from her expression.


    He nced at me, winked, and said, ¡°Well, she¡¯s a bit too strict, right?¡±


    ¡°*Cough* Back to the subject, this is a rank-up quest permitted by the king. Considering your aplishments, I think a rank-up would have been fine, but, well, I guess my conservative superiors were vehemently opposed to it.¡± (Aaron)


    Aaron-san gave a knowing gaze.

 Chapter 105: Learning More About the Rank Up Quest

    <h4>Chapter 105: Learning More About the Rank Up Quest</h4>


    (I see, maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯m an Inferior.) (Toru)


    True, my party and my achievement were enough to earn them a C-rank evaluation and the right to move up to C-rank without having to take the quest.


    However, they were probably met with fierce resistance from those who opposed us there.


    I can imagine that they said things like, ¡°Inferiors can¡¯t be strong,¡± or ¡°They just happened to be there at the right time.¡±


    So, now we have the right to challenge a rank-up quest.


    Perhaps this must have been the point ofpromise for those in favor and those against.


    ¡°Toru. If we clear this, we will be first-ss adventurers!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Calm down, Esther, we haven¡¯t learned anything about the quest yet.¡± (Toru)


    I calmed down Esther who was extremely manic and feels like she¡¯s already cleared the quest.


    ¡ªYes, the problem is the content of the quest.


    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s move on to the contents¡­?¡± (Aaron)


    The feeling of some unreasonable work that I felt earlier has be even stronger here.


    There is no doubt about it. The troublesome part starts here.


    ¡°The contents of the rank-up quest are simple. I want you guys to go out and gather some Persimo berries.¡± (Aaron)


    ¡°Persimo, do you know them, Esther?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t know.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Eh¡­¡± (Toru)


    At those words, my eyes widened.


    Esther is a daughter from a merchant family, and she has excellent information-gathering skills. The information she had obtained had actually helped me many times before. It never urred to me that there was anything she didn¡¯t know.


    ¡°Master, what is Persimo?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡± (Aaron)


    I asked, but Aron just smiled a big smile and did not answer. Apparently, just like the quest to rank up to D rank, the quest begins with getting information about Persimo.


    ¡°So, is there a time limit on how long I have toplete the quest?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°About a month.¡± (Aaron)


    ¡°I see.¡± (Toru)


    I think we can do it in a month.


    ¡°For the time being, I guess I have to collect information immediately, right?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Yes. We¡¯ll start by looking in the guild archives.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yes, I guess so.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Oh, one thing about that. There is no information on Persimo in the guild library.¡± (Aaron)


    ¡°What!?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°In Finlis Guild, I¡¯m probably the only one who knows about Persimo. ¡ªOh, did I inadvertently give you a hint?¡± (Aaron)


    Aaron-san stuck his tongue out a bit as if to say, ¡°Tee~hee~!¡±.


    The frivolous attitude made it difficult to grasp the truth of what he said.


    I turned around and looked at Marie.


    She nodded with an apologetic expression on her face. Apparently, Aaron-san¡¯s words were true.


    ¡°This might be a dead end.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Yes¡­¡± (Esther)


    ¡°How do you feel about that, do you want to stop?¡± (Aaron)


    ¡°I¡¯m not one to give up without a challenge!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°That¡¯s what an adventurer would say. But is there really any need to rush? If you persevere for just a few years, you will surely be able to take the rank-up quests. At this point in time, you already have enough ability to be ranked C. If you are able to ept quests in the future, you will be able to do so. You will also be able to move up to C-rank without risking your life. ¡­are you sure you don¡¯t want to wait until then?¡± (Aaron)


    (Don¡¯t be so eager to keep me on the back burner.) (Toru)


    If you are a C-rank adventurer, you are the most talented person in town. To reach such a rank is no longer for an individual.


    The more high-ranked adventurers there are, the safer thend is, and the more they be the guild¡¯s banner.


    They can even gain the trust of their clients.


    Aron would be happy to see more high-ranked adventurers. But what is holding him back?


    ¡°The difficulty level of this rank-up quest, is it equivalent to rank C?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡± (Aaron)


    In response to my question, Aaron-san fell silent with his eyes downcast.


    The difficulty level of this quest seems to be quite high. It might not even be one rank or two ranks. Even for me, who defeated the demon, is so difficult that he hesitates to send me out.


    ¡°Esther, I think it would be better for us to forgo the rank up this time, don¡¯t you think?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°What are you saying? This is a great opportunity!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°But it could be dangerous, you know?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°If you think it¡¯s not a good idea, why don¡¯t you just turn around then?¡± (Esther)


    Esther is quite eager to take the rank-up quest.


    And that¡¯s as it should be. The reason is that few adventurers of Toru¡¯s or Esther¡¯s age can reach the C-rank.


    ¡°¡­I understand. If Estelle says so, we¡¯ll give it a try.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°I did it!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°However, if we can¡¯t gather information or think it¡¯s much too dangerous, we¡¯ll give up.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Oh, of course.¡± (Esther)


    Aron sighed deeply at the conclusion that Esther and I had reached.


    ¡°¡­Well, I thought you might say that. You guys are adventurers. As long as you are an adventurer, you can¡¯t shy away from the possibilities. I used to be one of you.¡± (Aaron)


    ¡°So, Aaron-san was an adventurer too.¡±


    ¡°That was a long time ago.¡±


    Aaron-san smiled wryly.


    ¡°¡­Now, Toru and Esther are both gone, and Marie isn¡¯t here. I¡¯m the only one in this room right now, so this is just a soliloquy of mine.¡±


    Aaron-san stood up and showed his back to me and the others.


    ¡°Aaron-dono, what the hell are you saying¡ª¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Shhhh¡­ Esther!¡± (Toru)


    I hurriedly covered Esther¡¯s mouth.


    He was about to give us a hint, calling it a soliloquy. It would be a great loss to interrupt him.


    ¡°¡­The quest to gather Persimo berries was attempted by a party once, nearly a hundred years ago. Unfortunately, that party failed the quest.


    There, something happened that no one expected. In light of what happened, the guild decided to take the quest and leave it alone.


    ¡ªAnd it was forgotten.


    I might be the only one who remembers this quest now. Or someone who has lived as long as I am.¡± (Aaron)


    Hearing those words, I immediately thought of my housemate, a long-eared, fair-skinned individual, who always does things at her own pace.


    Aaron nced at us and continued.


    ¡°The opposing faction in the castle thought, ¡®We can¡¯t give privileges to Inferiors. Let¡¯s give them a quest that is absolutely impossible toplete and make them fail.¡¯ As a result, in exchange for agreeing to the conditions, the opponents put in ce conditions that favored them. Without the slightest consideration for the lives of adventurers¡­


    That condition is¡ª¡± (Aaron)

 Chapter 106: Preparing for the Quest

    <h4>Chapter 106: Preparing for the Quest</h4>


    ¡°The condition is-The difficulty level of the rank-up quest is equivalent to A-rank.¡± (Aaron)


    ¡°¡°¡­¡­¡­¡±¡± (Toru & Esther)


    At Aaron¡¯s words, Esther and Marie gasped simultaneously.


    I wasn¡¯t too surprised because I was already bracing for it. And I¡¯m used to being forced to do difficult work.


    I then thought, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s the same everywhere.¡±


    ¡°Do you still wish to continue?¡± (Aaron)


    I didn¡¯t need to nod.


    The answer is obvious.


    The less you are expected to do your job, the more you are motivated to do it.


    Is this Aron¡¯s trickery, or is he just a natural instigator of motivation?


    Either way, I was very motivated.


    ¡°¡­ I see. You adventurers are idiots, aren¡¯t you? But I love adventurers like that. I don¡¯t want to lose any of you. Pleasee back safe and sound.¡± (Aaron)


    ¡°¡°Yes sir!¡±¡± (Esther & Toru)


    Thus, Esther and I epted our Rank Up Quest.


    After leaving the guild, Esther and I immediately decided to contact someone who might have an idea about Persimo.


    We returned home and entered the living room.


    ¡°Lily, there¡¯s something I want to ask you.¡± (Toru)


    Lily is a long-lived elf, and although she still looks like an innocent girl, her actual age is quite high.


    The ¡°someone who has lived as long as I am¡± that Aaron mentions is Lily.


    (If she didn¡¯t know this, I¡¯d be back to square one¡­) (Toru)


    ¡°Do you know about Persimos?¡± (Toru)


    Toru¡¯s anxiety fizzled out with the dramatic change in Lily¡¯s expression.


    ¡°¡­what for!?¡± (Lily)


    ¡°In our Rank Up Quest, we were ordered to collect some.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°¡­Toru?¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Yes.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°¡­What rank are you now?¡± (Lily)


    ¡°D.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡± (Lily)


    Lily is shaking her head in disbelief.


    I know what she¡¯s thinking.


    Giving a D-rank adventurer an A-rank equivalent quest is tantamount to saying, ¡°go get die.¡± Anyone would think that the guild would never make such a foolish decision.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your head?¡± (Lily)


    (Wow, that brings back memories.) (Toru)


    When I was working for a ckpany, I used to hear the same line when Iined to my few friends about the reckless behavior of my boss.


    My heart ached as I recalled the painful memories of those days.


    ¡°No way, are you insane?¡± (Lily)


    ¡°No. You see¡ª¡± (Toru)


    I exined the situation in summary to Lily, who does not understand what was going on.


    Then, with a small sigh, she said,


    ¡°You¡¯d better stop now, you¡¯re just going to die.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Tell me why Lily-dono!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Are you willing to die?¡± (Lily)


    ¡°I¡¯ll make sure there¡¯s a safety margin. So, can you tell me?¡± (Toru)


    I stared straight into Lily¡¯s eyes.


    After a few moments of silence, Lily gave a small sigh and dropped her shoulders.


    ¡°¡­¡­Get out the map.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Thank you!¡± (Esther)


    Esther took out a map from her own [Inventory] and quickly unfolded it in front of Lily.


    (The most important thing to remember is that you can find a lot of different types of maps. Wow¡­ So, this is what the area around Finlis is like.) (Toru)


    Lily¡¯s slender finger headed northeast from the point marked ¡°Finlis¡± and stopped at a certain mountain.


    ¡°A mountain?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Yes, it is in the heart of Mount Rheitis.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°What kind of fruit is persimo?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Orange. There is no other tree that bears fruit there, so you know it when you see it.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Lily-dono, tell me what I need to watch out for on the way.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°The monsters are B-rank and above. The path is rough.¡± (Lily)


    If you have to fight B-rank or higher-ranked monsters on a bad road, you will not be able to fight them at your best first.


    With my current state, even B-rank demons can be defeated if they are one by one.


    However, with multiple monsters, who knows what will happen?


    ¡°And then there¡¯s the Eternal mes.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Eternal mes?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°mes that has been burning since the time of the gods. You need to go past it.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°I see, how do we get past it?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Some quick magic.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Quick¡­¡± (Toru)


    ¡°¡­¡­?¡± (Lily)


    Lily shook her head. It¡¯s like, ¡°I don¡¯t understand why you don¡¯t know.¡± In every world, it seems that geniuses cannot understand the questions of mediocre people.


    (The Eternal mes¡­ Well, how do we deal with that?¡± (Toru)


    Toru had a memory of a phenomenon simr to the eternal me.


    It was the ¡°Door to Hell ¡± in the vige of Darvaza, Turkmenistan.


    The Door to Hell is a gas crater that was set on fire to prevent the spread of methane gas leaking from the gas field and has been burning for more than 50 years since then.


    (If the Eternal me is the same as the ¡°Door to Hell¡±, then there must be a way to get through it.) (Toru)


    Esther and I then asked Lily for information essential to our quest.


    When the questions were over, Esther and I got up to go shopping.


    ¡°Toru, if you¡¯re going to go harvest persimo¡­¡± (Lily)


    On Lily¡¯s face, there is a bottomless hatred that seemed to grow bigger with the years.


    And there was a slight hint of regret.


    ¡°Watch out for Amy.¡± (Lily)


    ¡°Amy?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Yes. If you meet someone who calls herself Amie on the road to Persimo, even if she is an acquaintance¡ª¡± (Lily)


    A low, deadpan voice echoed quietly.


    ¡°¡ªKill them and don¡¯t hesitate.¡± (Lily)

 Chapter 107: Infinite Loops Are Scary, Aren’t They?

    <h4>Chapter 107: Infinite Loops Are Scary, Aren¡¯t They?</h4>


    The next day after getting information from Lily and making purchases.


    Esther and I were moving toward the Persimo collection quest.


    The destination this time was a dangerous ce, unlike the royal capital.


    Toru checked his bag carefully to make sure that Pino had not snuck in before leaving home. [Note: Pino is Toru¡¯s pet slime.]


    ¡°Even so, Lily-dono¡¯s spirit as she said Amy¡¯s name was dark.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yeah. What could have happened?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°I was curious, but I didn¡¯t have the courage to ask.¡± (Esther)


    Esther smiled bitterly.


    Yesterday, after Lily said, ¡± Kill them and don¡¯t hesitate¡± Esther and I were so shocked we couldn¡¯t move for a while. It was as if we had been put under the spell of mental magic. Her words were filled with such strong emotions.


    ¡°It was as if she had the intimidating presence of a B-rank adventurer.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Oh¡­ By the way, Lily-dono was said to have the ability equivalent to A-rank.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Oh, is that so.¡± (Toru)


    Certainly, Lily¡¯s intimidating aura at that time was simr to the devil that stealthily appeared in the Royal Capital. There is no doubt her ability is equivalent to an A-ranker.


    ¡°Then why is Lily still at B-rank? Was it because she couldn¡¯t take the rank-up quest or something?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°I don¡¯t really know, but rumors say she had quite a few chances.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Then, did she fail the quests?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Apparently, she declined to be promoted.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Huh.¡± (Toru)


    It is said that adventurers who reach C-rank are said to have a much richer life.


    The rewards for the quests are also unparalleled.


    Even I, a D-rank, am getting a reward that gives me no problem with my living expenses.


    Even B-rank adventurers can earn enough money tost a year without having to work, just bypleting a single quest.


    ¡°If she had reached A-rank, she would have had enough money tost a lifetime, and she could have been a hero of this country. What a waste.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Maybe Lily-san wasn¡¯t interested in money or the title of A-rank.¡± (Toru)


    Lily¡¯s interest is focused on magic.


    Recently, there is a slight interruption due to my ¡°home cooking¡±. Still, she doesn¡¯t look like she¡¯s interested in money or titles.


    It was when we were walking toward the east gate. I suddenly felt something strange and I stopped. Esther stopped at the same time.


    ¡°Hey Toru. We were walking towards the east gate, right?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yeah.¡± (Toru)


    ¡° When did we take a wrong turn?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°¡­¡­let¡¯s go.¡± (Toru)


    When we noticed, Esther and I were walking again in a familiar alley.


    To get to the east gate, all you have to do is walk straight down the main street. We don¡¯t have to go back all the way. However, now we are standing in the back alley.


    The reason why they took the back road was obvious.


    ¡ªWe are called by the God of Fate.


    We started walking again and soon came to a familiar building.


    ¡°So, we really got here, huh?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yeah, we are at the Church of Nesis.¡± (Toru)


    You can¡¯t reach this ce if it is not fated.


    In fact, I hadn¡¯t been here since I chased out the attackers of Finlis.


    ¡°Anyway, why am I a believer of Agni being called here?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Well, since we¡¯re here, let¡¯s pray for safety along the way.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Of course.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be back here anyway even if we turn around¡­¡± (Toru)


    (Infinite loops are scary, aren¡¯t they?) (Nesis)


    What kind of god would mumble a line like that and let it loop endlessly without showing any guilt?


    It took me some time, but it¡¯s no use because if I don¡¯t greet her, I can¡¯t move on.


    I sighed and opened the door of the Church of Nesis.


    Kneeling in front of the altar and putting both hands together.


    (Please, I pray that we can return safely from this trip.) (Toru)


    It was at that moment that I made my prayer.


    ¡°It¡¯s a very special thing for you to pray to me.¡± (Nesis)


    When I opened my eyes, I found myself standing in a nk space. The culprit who had forced us toe in was standing in front of me, looking quite arrogant.


    ¡°¡­Did you stop giving the login bonus?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Well, do you want that? It can¡¯t be helped. So, this time, I¡¯m going to give you a special Nesis-chan doll.¡± (Nesis)


    ¡°Oh, no thanks.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Why!? This is a very special charm!?¡± (Nesis)


    The day I receive this amulet of the God of Fate, it may save my life, but I will surely suffer a terrible fate.


    If you look closely, the doll was made of straw.


    (What is that? Do I have to hammer a nail into it? Maybe I want one.) (Toru)


    Perhaps seeing through my thoughts, Nesis hurriedly tucked the doll into her pocket and sat down on what looked like a sofa that would bring a human being into ruin.


    ¡°The reason I called you here is to give you a present from a certain individual.¡± (Nesis)


    ¡°A present?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Yes. I refused at first, but they insisted, so I couldn¡¯t say no.¡± (Nesis)


    Relying on Nesis was like relying on a bad credit card. You never know what kind of price you will be asked to payter on.


    The ¡°person¡± must have had apelling reason.


    ¡°Are you thinking something bad?¡± (Nesis)


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not thinking about anything.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°It was their fault in the first ce, you know? I¡¯ve lost the timing to lend a hand because they¡¯ve been watching for a long time. I refused to help him because I didn¡¯t want my servant to be touched by others. Then they asked, ¡®Then why didn¡¯t you let the other ¡®people¡¯ go through with it?¡¯ I was just too embarrassed to say anything.¡± (Nesis)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Well, that aside, I¡¯ll give you this.¡± (Nesis)


    Nesis took out a silver bracelet from her pocket.

 Chapter 108: A Human’s Potential is Boundless

    <h4>Chapter 108: A Human¡¯s Potential is Boundless</h4>


    I stared at the yellow decoration


    (I don¡¯t think it¡¯s under some strange curse¡­) (Toru)


    ¡°What¡¯s with the gaze? That¡¯s not something I made, it¡¯s something from by another god.¡± (Nesis)


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. I¡¯m relieved.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Why are you relieved!?¡± (Nesis)


    Nesis raises her eyes up to me, but that¡¯s all she did.


    (Are all the gods in this world like her?) (Toru)


    Pushing that thought aside, I put on the bracelet I received.


    The bracelet fits my arm perfectly. It is also very light and not ufortable to wear.


    ¡°Now all the pieces fit.¡± (Nesis)


    ¡°Eh?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s nothing. By the way, the bracelet has ¡®almost no¡¯ special effects like the [Magic Sword]. Take good care of it.¡± (Nesis)


    ¡°I understand. Thank you very much.¡± (Toru)


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    ¡°Okay. See youter.¡± (Nesis)


    Nesis waved her hand, and the white world gradually faded away.


    But then, she pped her hands.


    ¡°Oh, I forgot.¡± (Nesis)


    The fading white world stopped as if the movie had been paused.


    (Oh, you can stop that.) (Toru)


    ¡°You¡¯ve been spending less and less time looking at the skill boardtely. Why is that?¡± (Nesis)


    ¡°Um, I don¡¯t have a lot of time¡­¡± (Toru)


    The skill board still has 50,000 inactive skills.


    It¡¯s interesting to examine the skills and sort them out, but it takes too much time to sort out the necessary and unnecessary skills.


    And what skills should I acquire? It is also difficult to decide what kind of skills to acquire and what kind of skills to build.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just take whatever skills you fancy.¡± (Nesis)


    ¡°I know, but¡­¡± (Toru)


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand it, Japanese people really have that type of personality.¡± (Nesis)


    ¡°Type of personality?¡± (Toru)


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    ¡°You don¡¯t enjoy the freedom that much.¡± (Nesis)


    ¡°Oh, yeah.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°And you¡¯re extremely fearful of failing.¡± (Nesis)


    ¡°Ugh.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°It¡¯s also a problem your sense of cost-benefits is too high.¡± (Nesis)


    ¡°*Groan*¡­¡± (Toru)


    That¡¯s very true. The words of Nesis pierced the very center of my heart.


    When I choose to do something, I first rule out anything that is likely to fail, and I am always conscious of the cost and benefits.


    So, when I am told to do something freely, I am at a loss as to what to do.


    I be timid, assuming that because I am taking on a challenge, I must seed.


    ¡°Your diligence didn¡¯t help at all in Japan¡ª¡± (Nesis)


    ¡°Kuh¡­¡± (Toru)


    Critical hit to the heart.


    How and why is this goding to attack my heart? Is it a grudge?


    ¡°You¡¯re more than useful enough now.¡± (Nesis)


    ¡°Yes, and?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Yes, it is. And you¡¯ve been in Eargard for only a month and you¡¯ve got a lot of people around you.¡± (Nesis)


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    ¡°¡­¡± (Toru)


    I was surprised when she pointed it out.


    Inferiors are the target of contempt in Eargard.


    I, who have been transferred here am an Inferior, still, I have connections to many people despite being an Inferior.


    Esther, Marie, Lily, Graf, Simon, Jack, Aaron, Themis¡­


    Just off the top of my head, I have interacted with more people than when I lived in Japan.


    I realize now that I have made connections with that many people in just one month.


    ¡°As the world changes, so do the personality and skills that are needed. Even if they are useless now, there is a possibility that the skills wille in handy sooner orter. But we humans can¡¯t predict when our skills wille in handy, can we?¡± (Nesis)


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Then don¡¯t even think about it. Instead of thinking about how your skills wille to be, think about how you will use those skills.¡± (Nesis)


    Nesis puts her hands on her hips and puffs up her chest.


    Her attitude is not godly at all, but at this moment I can feel her godliness like never before.


    I shook my body out of the overwhelming feeling.


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    ¡°A human¡¯s potential is boundless. It is a loss not to think about this and not growing one¡¯s potential. Don¡¯t think about failure, just acquire as many skills as you can.¡± (Nesis)


    ¡°¡­¡­Yes.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Good to know you¡¯re honest and open.¡± (Nesis)


    Nesis charmingly smiled.


    ¡°See you soon [3!¡± (Nesis)


    With a wave of her hand, the fading of the world started again.


    After being released from Nesis, we went out through the east gate and headed for the mountain where the Persimo is located.


    On the way, I checked my skill board after looking for an opening away from Esther.


    ¡ð Status


    Toru Minasuki


    Level: 33


    Race: Human Primary Job: Swordsman Secondary Job: Magician


    Rank: II Skill points: 0


    ¡ðPassives


    [Complete Enhancement+]


    [Body Enhancement+] [Magic Enhancement+]


    [Natural Recovery+] [Enhanced Resistance+] [Limit Break+]


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    [Stamina +7] [Magic +7]


    [Strength +7] [Dexterity +7]


    [Agility +7] [Intelligence +7] [Luck +7]


    ¡ðTechniques


    [Sword Art Lv5] [Magic Sword Art Lv1] [Magic Art Lv5] [Magic Law Lv9] [Archery Lv5]


    [Aikido Lv5]


    [Counterattack Lv1] [Anti-Magic Lv2] [Evasion Lv2] [Intuition Lv5] [Intimidate Lv5] [Thought eleration Lv5]


    [Inventory Lv4] [Chant-less Casting Lv4] [Language Comprehension Lv4]


    [cksmith Lv4] [Cooking+] [Training Lv1]


    [Condemnation Lv2] [Whistling Lv4] [Mimicry Lv5]


    [Magic Sword Lv2]


    ¡ð Title [Nesis servant]

 Chapter 109: Mountain Hiking

    <h4>Chapter 109: Mountain Hiking</h4>


    I was told by Nesis that I should get the skills I wanted, but after getting the skills in the Royal Capital, my points were still zero. I can¡¯t acquire skills with zero.


    However, the destination is a mountain where strong enemies will fix that. I would easily be able to increase my level. I had already set my sights on the skills I wanted to acquire so that I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about them when I had more points.


    [nking] [Sawing] [Nailing] [Chiseling]¡­


    I swipe past the list of carpentry skills.


    [Singing] [Death Call] [Make up] [Adlibbing] [Fast Pickup] [Guitar]¡­


    Skipping further down the list of artistic skills.


    (¡­it¡¯s no good. I can¡¯t find anything that looks good at all!) (Toru)


    Nesis said, ¡°just acquire as many skills as you can¡±, but as expected, I can¡¯t afford to acquire anything without thinking.


    I can¡¯t imagine a future in which a [Guitar] and [Bass] skill would be useful for adventuring.


    I tried to imagine some way to make use of the skills, but all I could think of was a heavy metal front man with a face painted white, screaming a Death Call, and beating his enemies to a pulp with his guitar.


    Human potential is limitless. Such a path is avable to us if we want it.


    But it is too steep. Not because I am inferior, and in another way, I would be kept at a distance.


    While looking for other good skills,


    ¡°Toru, it looks like we¡¯re here.¡± (Esther)


    We had reached our destination, the foot of Mount Rheitis.


    Mount Rheitis is the name of the easternmost peak of a mountain range stretching from east to west.


    The peak is so high that it pierces the clouds. It would take at least a week to reach the summit.


    Fortunately, our destination is arge volcanic depression in the middle of the mountain¡ªa caldera. It would take less time than going to the summit.


    -If we just climbed up, that is.


    Since the evening of the first day was spent just moving around, we decided to carry over the attack to the middle part of the mountain to the next day.


    The next day. As soon as the sun rose, we packed up our tents and made careful preparations.


    ¡°Esther, are you ready?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m okay.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Well then-¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Wa-wait just a minute!¡± (Esther)


    Esther pulled me to a halt with a serious look on her face.


    ¡°Hmm, what¡¯s the matter?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Toru, just to make sure, you won¡¯t use your whistling?¡± (Esther)


    The [Whistling] that Esther mentioned was a skill that I used to lure monsters in the past. As its level increases, it is an excellent skill that can reproduce the cries of monsters (although I do not understand their meaning at all).


    However, that was a skill I learned to attract demons. I don¡¯t n to use it here.


    ¡°Of course. I mean, if I use it here, we¡¯ll find trouble, so I won¡¯t do it.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°¡­Really? You¡¯re not going to use it by ident, are you?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°You don¡¯t trust me.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Put your hand on your chest and think about why I am being suspicious.¡± (Esther)


    I put my hand on my chest and thinks back.


    The first time I used [Whistling] before, we hunted (a lot) of demons, but I never acted unprecedentedly (in my opinion).


    ¡°¡­I don¡¯t understand why Esther is so wary.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Haa¡­¡­ thought so. So anyway, this ce is crawling with B-ranked monsters. I want to avoid the trouble. So don¡¯t use your [Whistling].¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I understand.¡± (Toru)


    Even for me, I don¡¯t want to imitate the calls of arge number of B-rank monsters. Safety first. As Esther had said, I consciously sealed my [Whistling] and began to climb Mount Rheitis.


    As soon as we advanced further, I caught the presence of monsters. There were two of them. They were walking in the bushes a little ways from the path Esther and I were taking.


    Their movements were slow. So it seemed that they had not noticed us yet.


    I alerted Esther with a hand sign. At the same time, I summoned my [Magic Sword].


    ¡°(Do you want to strike from here?)¡± (Toru)


    I asked Esther in a whisper. Now, there is a possibility of a sessful surprise attack with the Magic Bow. However, the area is surrounded by vegetation and the visibility is quite poor. The hit rate is not so high, even if I rely on [Intuition].


    ¡°(Is there a path to use to avoid them?)¡± (Toru)


    ¡°(There is, but it might be difficult.)¡± (Esther)


    Now our party is on a grass-covered animal trail. If we go off this path, they might hear a noise as we move through the grass. The sound may make the monsters aware of our presence.


    ¡°(What are the chances that they would leave?)¡± (Toru)


    ¡°(I am more afraid of the possibility that another monster wille while we are waiting.)¡± (Esther)


    ¡°(¡­it can¡¯t be helped.)¡± (Toru)


    Esther gave up avoidingbat and drew her sword. At about the same time, I transformed the [Magic Sword] into its other form. It takes the form of a bow, and I pulled the string.


    Badum, Badum, Badum. My heartbeat echoes behind my ears.


    The tension builds as we fight a monster with a far superior rank.


    I take a deep breath once, holding it before exhaling.


    Toward the presence caught by [Intuition], I released an arrow.


    -Woosh!


    Immediately I pulled the string and fire the second shot.


    ¡ª Woosh!


    I returned the [Magic Sword]¡¯s bow form to its sword form, and I moved forward immediately.


    Because of the tension, my hands are sweaty.


    Putting my strength into my hands holding my sword.


    (A B-rank monster¡­ I wonder how strong they are.) (Toru)


    Just in case, I d the [Magic Sword] with [Fireball].


    Before the opponent¡¯s stance is ready, I strike with maximum firepower.


    The distance from the monster¡ªroughly 10 meters.


    Nine, eight, seven¡ª.


    Hold the [Magic Sword] up,


    Five, four¡ª.


    My sight opens up past the bushes.


    There are two monsters¨D¨D

 Chapter 110: Ogre Subjugation

    <h4>Chapter 110: Ogre Subjugation</h4>


    There are two monsters¨D¨D


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± (Esther)


    ¡°¡­Oh, Huh?¡± (Toru)


    ¡ªboth were already lying down.


    Both monsters had been cleanly pierced through the head and had died. With this, they would not have even realized that they had been attacked.


    As a surprise attack, it was a perfect result.


    (I only thought it might hit if I was lucky, but¡­) (Toru)


    Even I myself, who fired the arrow, was bewildered by the result, which far exceeded my expectations.


    ¡°¡­ Well, it didn¡¯t turn into a battle, so I know it¡¯s going to be fine. But, after all the effort I put into preparing, I can¡¯t help but feel a bit saddened.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°¡­Shall I call them?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Stop it!¡± (Esther)


    As soon as I pursed my lips, Esther turned pale.


    Of course, I was joking. I wasn¡¯t daring enough to summon monsters in a ce like this.


    As soon as her breathing calmed down, we began to observe the monsters.


    The monster was an ogre, simr in shape to a human.


    It is said to be so powerful that once you are caught, it can tear you apart with its grip alone.


    It was definitely a formidable foe, with a ¡°B¡± rank in defeating it.


    As if to confirm this, My level had increased by three points just by defeating two ogres.


    ]]Level: 33 =] 36


    ]]Skill Points: 0 =] 30


    I wonder how many of the same humanoid monsters, goblins, I had to defeat. I was lucky to defeat such an opponent with a surprise attack with my bow. Maybe I can do the same thing next time.


    (Now that I have more points, I should get a skill as soon as possible.)


    Nesis just told me to ¡°get skills¡±. Since that one is still a god, it would be better to follow her advice.


    However, I haven¡¯t found a skill that I¡¯m interested in yet.


    (Hmmm. Does this mean it¡¯s no good?) (Toru)


    If I start thinking about it, I¡¯m going to get stuck here. So, I took the plunge and acquired a skill that looks decent.


    ]] Skill Points: 30 =] 5


    ]] [Ad Lib Lv5] NEW


    Now if I get music skills, I would be able to y a nice improvised melody.


    I don¡¯t think it would make sense against monsters, but improvisation has a wide meaning. If I am lucky, I will be able to do something unexpected.


    After finishing pulling out the ogre¡¯s magic stone, Esther stood up with a shrug.


    ¡°Oh, are you sure you don¡¯t want me to strip off the material?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Oh. Ogres don¡¯t have parts that can be used.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I see.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Let us leave the corpse as it is and proceed with our quest swiftly.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Eh, uh, yeah.¡± (Toru)


    If there are no usable parts, there¡¯s nothing we can do.


    However¡­


    (Is it safe to leave it like that?) (Toru)


    Because I had previously left arge number of goblins as they were, I had attracted Rock Worms that did not originally inhabit the area.


    Since then, I had decided to dispose of the dead bodies of monsters properly. However, if he disposed of the ogre now, other demons might notice it.


    (I can¡¯t process it now, so maybe I¡¯ll store it.) (Toru)


    While Esther was not looking, I secretly retrieved the corpse of the Ogre in the [Inventory].


    (I can¡¯t deal with it now. ¡­Well, I guess I can just throw it into the Eternal mes.) (Toru)


    While thinking about such things, I chased after Esther.


    From then on, my party climbed up the mountain, defeating B-rank monsters.


    The B-rank monsters were very strong, but it turned out that they were not impossible to defeat.


    ¡°The ogre is over fifty, while I am thirty-two. ording to thew of level difference, I¡¯m no match for it.¡± (Esther)


    After the first of several battles with Ogres, Esther smiled bitterly.


    ¡°But it is strange. After fighting with that demon, I don¡¯t think the ogre is that strong.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Oh, yeah.¡± (Toru)


    Ogres are strong. It is an unquestionable fact.


    However, whenpared to an extraordinary opponent, the ogre is inevitably inferior. Thanks to this, its body is dominated by fear, and it cannot defend itself and just stiffen.


    What enables us to win over the ogre despite the difference in level is that we are able to maintain ourposure. Besides, the high performance of the armor is also significant


    Esther¡¯s boots kick in the air. She can soar to a ce where the ogre¡¯s attack can never reach.


    If she pulls them away, I will attack the ogre. The [Magic Sword] could cut the ogre as easily as cutting butter.


    Also, even though my level was inferior, my physical ability exceeded that of the ogre.


    My Basic Skills greatly enhanced my physical abilities.


    Not only me, but Esther was also unbeatable.


    Her upper sh, which elerates in mid-air, failed to defeat the devil that appeared in the capital but was very effective against the ogres.


    The two of them were able to defeat the B-ranked demons one after another while maneuvering skillfully.

 Chapter 111: Subterfuge Under the Dense Shadows

    <h4>Chapter 111: Subterfuge Under the Dense Shadows</h4>


    ~3rd Person Perspective~


    After seeing Toru and his party leaving the city from a distance.


    After some more time, a woman came to the south gate of Finlis.


    The woman is currently wanted at home and abroad. Once the guards spotted her, all hell would break loose. However, the gatekeeper let her pass through.


    It was not because the gatekeeper was unwilling.


    It was because she was blocked from recognition by the [Law] she used.


    ¡°Well then, shall we gather information quickly?¡± (Unknown)


    The woman headed straight for the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. For her, it was the most daunting of all. But she still went to the guild because she needed certain information, no matter what it took.


    After applying severalyers of perception blocking techniques and even setting up an ¡°Emergency Transfer Escape¡±, the woman went to the counter.


    ¡°There¡¯s something I want to ask.¡± (Unknown)


    ¡°Good morning. What is your business today?¡± (Receptionist)


    A woman with a lovely face and a good amount of hair smiled broadly.


    (I see, your name is Marie, huh?) (Unknown)


    ¡°Where did Toru Minasuki go?¡± (Unknown)


    The receptionist is obliged to maintain confidentiality.


    If she tried to ask her by the correct method, she would never tell her the information.


    Then, what if it is the evil way?


    The woman¡¯s words were filled with Law. The light rapidly disappeared from Marie¡¯s eyes when she received it.


    ¡°Toru-san, huh¡­ They went to collect Persimo.¡± (Marie)


    ¡°Persimo?¡± (Unknown)


    Mari is currently in a hypnotic state of hypnosis.


    The words that came out of her mouth were not false. However, the woman could not believe what she was hearing.


    ¡°I wonder. Why would a D-rank adventurer go to a B-rank or higher hunting ground?¡± (Unknown)


    Maybe Marie must have been given false information. The woman raised her eyebrows.


    ¡°Rank-up quest¡­ Well, the opponents of Lost, here, the high difficulty¡­ The king¡¯s imperial order¡­ A reward was given. ¡­¡­ C-C-C to rank C¡­¡± (Marie)


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± (Unknown)


    Perhaps she has bound her mind a little too tightly, Marie¡¯s speech is not running smoothly.


    It¡¯s a sign of a mental breakdown.


    (For defending the capital city, the king offered a reward, but the opposition was pushed aside and it became a difficult rank-up quest¡­ So now it seems that the ritual magic will be ready in time.) (Unknown)


    Toru will note back to this city for a while.


    It is not impossible that he maye back and conquer the quest quickly, as he did before. The thing is because Persimo is in a ce that takes three days to get there and back, no matter how hard he tries.


    In contrast, the ritual magic that the woman is about to perform will take two days to activate. One day would be enough to make Finlis disappear.


    However, this is only an estimate if the opponent is not Toru.


    (No matter how much time I have, I can never be too careful.) (Unknown)


    Toru is loved by the God of Fate. When thepulsion of fatees into y, a difference in a day can easily be overturned. The woman knows this firsthand.


    Perhaps this information is fake bait from the God of Fate. The God of Fate has waited for them to jump on this opportunity.


    (First of all, it would be better to be fully prepared, and then move in the direction of making sure Toru stops their actions.) (Unknown)


    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Unknown)


    The woman snaps her fingers. With that sound, the magic on Marie disappeared in an instant.


    If the magic had bound her a little longer, her mind would have definitely copsed and her daily life would have ceased.


    It was not to save her life that the magic was released. In the first ce, the woman did not care what happened to the receptionist.


    If she dies here, they will surely search for the cause of her death, and the fact that she came here will be exposed.


    That would only alert the enemy.


    Don¡¯t leave a trail on where the bird flew. It is better not to reveal your existence until just before you do something.


    ¡°Oh, that¡­ me, how¡­¡± (Marie)


    The woman headed for the exit of the guild, staring at Marie, who held her head down.


    (Now then. Should I start the ritual first?)


    Activating [Stealth] and [Silent Steps], and reapplying the Recognition Inhibition spell just in case.


    It was at that time. She suddenly caught sight of a semi-transparent creature moving under her feet.


    It was a slime with a purple core.


    ¡°-!¡± (Unknown)


    Backstep immediately.


    The woman reaches for the knife at her waist.


    This slime is a minion of the god who interfered with the soul retrieval in the Royal Capital before.


    She must crush it now!


    Before the woman could pull out the knife, the slime shot out magic power.


    ¡°Wh¡­¡± (Unknown)


    A Law erased the female¡¯s spell in an instant.


    The woman¡¯s thinking slowed down for a tenth of a second due to the unexpected situation.


    Just a little more until her wish is fulfilled.


    Soon the King of Gods will be resurrected.


    ¡ªAnd yet!


    At that moment, someone grabbed her shoulder.


    ¡°Yo Luka, how have you been?¡± (Voice)


    The woman was startled by his words.


    She immediately evaded.


    But she was toote.


    ¡°Grit your teeth!¡± (Voice)


    The man¡¯s fist suddenly appeared, and with an explosive sound, it pierced the woman¡¯s temple.

 Chapter 112: The Man Who was Called the Strongest in the City

    <h4>Chapter 112: The Man Who was Called the Strongest in the City</h4>


    ~3rd Person Perspective~


    It was no mere coincidence that Graf noticed a suspicious presence.


    His Intuition skill as an adventurer, honed over many years, sensed a bad presence.


    ¡°What is it, is there a fight?¡± (Graf)


    Not long ago, adventurers fought with each other on a daily basis, but today the guild has long since fallen out of favor. It is hard to imagine that there are adventurers who would start a fight.


    But Graf is not a man to overlook warnings thate from his intuition.


    If he were to overlook them, he would have been left as a corpse in the wilderness before he could be a C-rank adventurer.


    Just to be sure, he hobbles over to the guild¡¯s reception desk.


    On the reception floor, there was Marie, who was holding her head down, and another person who had a shadow of a presence.


    (That person¡¯s center of gravity is tilted to the left by a lot.) (Graf)


    When a weapon is hung on one side of the body on a regr basis, the leg on one side bes shorter than the other.


    It is normal for adventurers to have legs that are not of uniform length.


    The shadowy figure, however, had arge difference.


    They must have been the wielder of a rather heavy weapon¡ªa mace, for example.


    ¡°Was there such a person in our guild?¡± (Graf)


    I took a step forward to call out just in case.


    Suddenly, the figure I could only vaguely see became clearly visible.


    ¡°-!!¡± (Graf)


    Seeing that figure, Graf¡¯s blood instantly heated up to boiling temperature.


    Immediately, he put all his strength into his legs and moved forward.


    A C-rank adventurer was no joke. The 10-meter gap between them instantly became zero.


    ¡°Yo Luka, how have you been?¡± (Graf)


    When I called out, the person¡¯s body stiffened slightly.


    -Bingo.


    Graf clenched his right fist with all his might and injected a lot of his magic power.


    ¡°Grit your teeth!¡± (Graf)


    The muscles of his entire body leap to life.


    His fist strikes Luka directly in the face.


    Instantly, a small explosion urs in front of his fist.


    ¡ªBoom!!


    A shockwave shattered the window ss. It also shook the building.


    It is one of Graf¡¯s trump card skills [Magic Fist Technique], [me Impact].


    Even monsters of the same rank can be crushed to death by this skill. It is a skill that boasts of its fearsome power.


    On the other hand, its fuel efficiency is so low that it can only be used to cast two shots even when in perfect condition.


    If he misses even one shot, he will fall into a tight spot. Graf¡¯s idea is that ¡°if it hits them, they¡¯re dead, so it doesn¡¯t matter¡±.


    Luka, who received such a [me Impact], broke through the guild door with the force of the blow.


    ¡°It would be nice if you died from that.¡± (Graf)


    Shaking his fist, Graf strode out. He immediately looked around, but there was no sign of anyone resembling Luka anywhere.


    Continuing to sharpen his senses, he searches for a presence.


    There is no sign of Luka. But a slight residue of magic could be felt.


    ¡°Tsk! Did she run away with a magic tool of [Emergency Transfer Escape]?!¡± (Graf)


    [Emergency Transfer Escape] magic tool is very expensive. It is said that you can buy a house in exchange for one. Even the highest-earning A-rank adventurers don¡¯t use it unless it¡¯s a good sale.


    (¡­Well, I guess she used it because it was an important act.) (Graf)


    ¡°That¡¯s how serious they are, huh?¡± (Graf)


    (What it was? -I do not know.) (Graf)


    But I can say this. Not being able to neutralize Luka with my attack just now is not good.


    ¡°I hope she¡¯s at the very least severely injured¡­¡± (Graf)


    ¡°G-G-Graf-san, what happened!?¡± (Marie)


    A pale Marie rushed over, probably not understanding what just happened.


    Even though she¡¯s a normal person who suddenly received a shock wave of that magnitude unprepared, it was amazing she was able to act immediately.


    As expected of the chief of the reception department.


    (I guess Toru must have trained her well, too.) (Graf)


    The memory of being beaten up by Toru was instantly awakened.


    Thanks to that, Graf¡¯s pride was shattered. But at the same time, it also gave him a chance to retrain himself.


    He is not sure how hepares to his prime, but he is proud that he is at least far stronger than he was a few months ago.


    Marie must have been trained by Toru in the same way (although I don¡¯t know what she went through).


    Otherwise, she would have been stretched out on the floor like the other receptionists.


    ¡°Marie, we have an emergency. Raise the alert level.¡± (Graf)


    ¡°Eh?¡± (Marie)


    ¡°Luka was here!¡± (Graf)


    ¡°-!? I understand!! I¡¯ll report this to the master-¡± (Marie)


    ¡°I will be the one to report.¡± (Graf)


    Saying this, Graf walked out to Aaron¡¯s office.

 Chapter 113: Ogre Okashira

    <h4>Chapter 113: Ogre Okashira</h4>


    ~3rd Person Perspective~


    Okashira the Ogre saw something.


    ¡ªTwo humans fighting.


    ¡ªOne of the two, a boy, was making godlike actions.


    ¡°Hey! Come on everyone!¡± (Okashira)


    The ogre tells his followers to attack the humans all at once.


    The one who jumped at them now was the second most powerful ogre in the vige. Once he gets a hold of someone, he will not let go until their torso is separated.


    ¡°Did he do it!?¡± (Okashira)


    Okashira eximed. However, the powerful ogre was dead before he had time to grapple with him, having been hit in the brain with an arrow.


    A frighteningly quick move. Even Okashira, the ogre, could only see the afterimage of the boy holding up his bow and firing.


    ¡°Can¡¯t someone do something about him!?¡± (Okashira)


    Okashira asked, but none of his subordinates could answer. None of them coulde up with a way to stop the boy.


    Humans are by far inferior to ogres. They are very easy to hunt, and yet they have many excellent tools that the ogres cannot even think of.


    They are easy to hunt, and they always have treasure. If they are found, you can¡¯t help but hunt.


    So, it was only natural that some of the ogres attacked the humans when they saw them from the vige.


    However, no one had expected that they would be attacked by humans to this extent.


    This ce was a perfect ce to settle down. The reason was that small, cute birds would gather to rest their wings on the branches of a tree nearby.


    The Ogre tribes¡¯ purpose in life was to secretly admire these small birds.


    ¡°If we give them this ce, we won¡¯t be able to admire the little birds anymore!¡± (Okashira)


    ¡°¡°¡°Yeah!¡±¡±¡± (Ogres)


    ¡°You guys have to leave the little birds right!?¡± (Okashira)


    ¡°¡°¡°We hate it!¡±¡±¡± (Ogres)


    ¡°Then defend them to the death! If you¡¯re an ogre, you¡¯d better risk your lives, you bastards!¡± (Okashira)


    ¡°¡°¡°YEAH!¡±¡±¡± (Ogres)


    ¡°Kill the humans!¡± (Okashira)


    ¡°¡±¡±Kill them! Kill them! Kill them!¡±¡±¡± (Ogres)


    There was a battle that could never be lost. To admire the little birds, they could never be allowed to retreat. However, the more they fight back, the more damage they receive.


    Okashira came up with a desperate n.


    ¡°¡ªthe little girl!¡± (Okashira)


    Compared to the little boy, the little girl¡¯s physical ability is inferior.


    Moreover, she keeps on crying nonstop!


    ¡°That little girl must be truly frightened by our tribes¡¯ prowess!¡± (Okashira)


    If that¡¯s the case, she can be easily overpowered if they all surround her.


    ¡°Take care of the girl first!¡± (Okashira)


    ¡°We can¡¯t!¡± (Ogre)


    ¡°Why can¡¯t you!?¡± (Okashira)


    ¡°Because we can¡¯t!¡± (Ogre)


    If you look, it is true that his subordinates are desperately attacking the little girl.


    But the little girl was evading the attacks of the ogres¡ªkicking in the air, gliding, and dodging in all directions.


    ¡°What, the hell, is that¡­¡± (Okashira)


    It was a behavior he had never seen before. It is not possible for a human being to move like that. While Okashira was stunned, the little girl was flying through the air, and the little boy was cutting up his subordinates.


    ¨D¨DThey will be annihted at this rate.


    (Why did this happen¡­) (Okashira)


    There are two reasons.


    One was that he had messed with the humans out of curiosity.


    The other is that they counter-attacked when they fought back.


    If they had not touched the humans at that time. Or if they had run away instead of fighting back desperately. ¡­Okashira¡¯s face is distorted in shame. But it is toote to regret it now.


    The only thing he can do now is to be prepared to risk his life.


    ¡°¡­I am going.¡± (Okashira)


    ¡°Okashira will go!? Then I must also go!¡± (Ogre)


    ¡°Hahaha! If the heades out, the humans will be finished!¡± (Ogre)


    ¡°I¡¯m going to watch over the little birds for the whole day after this battle is over!¡± (Ogre)


    Everyone¡¯s morale was suddenly lifted by the head¡¯s entry into the battle.


    ¡°Gaaaa!¡± (Okashira)


    With an enthusiastic shout, Okashira threw a huge log.


    The log is approaching the boy at a speedparable to that of volcanic rock.


    Even an ogre can¡¯t block this. However, it is not a speed that can easily be dodged.


    ¡°You¡¯re done for!¡± (Okashira)


    The next moment, he was sure of it.


    Then the kid swung his sword with blinding speed.


    -Woosh.


    The huge log was sent flying back in the wrong direction!


    The log plunged into the little birds¡¯ nest¡ªand explodes.


    ¡ªTweet-tweet-tweet-tweet.


    The little birds, having escaped from the disaster, flew away from the spot all at once.


    A perch, which had turned into a miserable sight, remained behind. No more little birds will visit this ce¡­


    ¡°Grrrr¡­ Boy, you made a terrible mistake!¡± (Okashira)


    ¡°Eh, it¡¯s Okashira¡¯s fault just now¡ª¡° (Ogre)


    ¡°Huh!?¡± (Okashira)


    ¡°No, no, nothing.¡± (Ogre)


    His subordinate¡¯s words were silenced with a terrifying re.


    It¡¯s not Okashira¡¯s fault. It was the boy¡¯s fault for not taking the log and knocking it back!


    Okashira¡¯s whole body was filled with anger, and he approached the boy.


    ¡°Well done little boy and little girl¡± (Okashira)


    ¡°Hmm? I feel like he¡¯s talking to me.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°To-to-Toru. Isn¡¯t that an Ogre Elite!? It¡¯s a monster close to A-rank!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Really?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Runaway now!¡± (Esther)


    Okashira did not understand the human¡¯s words, but he sensed an atmosphere of agitation.


    (Kukuku. You¡¯re frightened after seeing me¡­!) (Okashira)


    Okashira¡¯s lips curved as he put strength into his fist and said in a loud voice,


    ¡°Take a good look at my power! Regret that you destroyed the little birds¡¯ home! And die¡ª¡± (Okashira)


    ¡°Good one.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Huh?¡± (Okashira)


    He thought he saw the afterimage of the little boy.


    The next moment, his vision shifted to the side.


    ¡°Little¡­ birds¡­ please¡­ be safe¡­¡± (Okashira)


    His vision moved closer to the ground, and Okashira¡¯s consciousness disappeared into the dark abyss.

 Chapter 114: Appearance of Difficult Enemies

    <h4>Chapter 114: Appearance of Difficult Enemies</h4>


    ¡°I thought I heard a sad voice.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Huh?¡± (Esther)


    After we had finished defeating dozens of ogres, I shook the blood and unsummoned my [Magic Sword].


    It seems that we were unwittingly lured into the ogre vige.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think that even an Ogre Elite would show up. I thought I was going to die¡­¡± (Esther)


    ¡°But we were fine, weren¡¯t we?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°I (my heart) wasn¡¯t okay at all!!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°That hurts!¡± (Toru)


    Esther, with tear marks on her cheeks, kept hitting my arm.


    ¡°Really, Toru is always like this. Whether it¡¯s goblins or orcs, he ignores my abilities and attracts a horde¡­ I wish you would put yourself in my ce a little.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Sorry, really sorry.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°It was the same at the time with the Queen Rock Worm, and again when the Demon Tribe man showed up, but Toru just rushed too far ahead anyway. Toru may be worried about failing this quest, but failure won¡¯t cost you your life.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°¡­Certainly.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Adventurers are creatures that move with life. The most important part of the mission is to save your life by retreating. If you are alive, you can try again. So, from now on, keep in mind that if you are in danger, you must run.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I understand.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Do you really¡­?¡± (Esther)


    Esther¡¯s lips twitched in suspicion.


    Certainly, as she said, I never thought of ¡°retreat¡± in my mind. Now that I think about it, I should have avoided this battle.


    However, I didn¡¯t run away and fought because I felt like I could somehow get through it, or that although I wasn¡¯t sure, it felt like I wouldn¡¯t die.


    As a result, my choice was not wrong, but I might lose my life in the future. Thinking of this, I reflected on my decisions.


    It had been half a day since he started climbing up Rheitis, and I had already had more than a dozen battles with B-rank monsters.


    None of them were easy fights. However, with each battle, the monsters became easier to defeat. That¡¯s because I can gain a lot of experience when I fight a superior opponent.


    My level, which had been 33 at the foot of the mountain, had now risen to 41.


    ]] Level: 36 =] 41


    ¡°I guess because I¡¯ve fought so many battles, I¡¯m able to defeat ogres easier than I did at first!¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Haa, haa¡­ it¡¯s really not easy at all¡­¡± (Esther)


    Unlike Toru, who is somewhat rxed, Esther is breathing so hard that her shoulders are heaving.


    The difference in level shouldn¡¯t be that big, so the biggest difference would be the difference in skills.


    [[kill Points 55 =] 30


    [[Climbing Lv5 (NEW)


    The mountain path in Rheitis was harder to walk than I had imagined. Large stones would catch my feet, and if I stepped on the loose slopes, they would soon cave in.


    If I continued to fight here, a serious ident would ur someday. Thinking of this, I found out from among the vast number of skills and allocated points to [Climbing].


    The difference brought by this skill is the change in the degree of fatigue between the levels.


    ¡°Would you like to take a break?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°¡­ah, no, I¡¯m fine. It looks like we¡¯re getting close to our destination.¡± (Esther)


    A burning smell had been wafting around the area for a little while now. A short walk and we would see the Eternal mes. Beyond that, there is the persimo tree.


    The goal is almost there.


    After moving forward for a while, the view suddenly opened up. The slope ttened, and beyond it was arge depression on the surface. It appears that the Eternal mes are below.


    I was curious to know what was going on below, but even at a distance, I could feel the heat. It would be better not to approach it carelessly.


    There is a way to avoid the fire. However, the slopes there are severe, and it is more like Rock Climbing than Hiking.


    Even I, as expected, would not dare to climb in this world where monsters appear.


    It is easy to imagine flying monsters appearing in the sky and gnawing at our backs.


    We are more likely to break through if we go straight through the depression where the Eternal mes are located.


    (Well, I wonder what the Eternal mes look like¡­ hmm?) (Toru)


    That¡¯s when I approached the depression. Suddenly, a ck shadow appeared in front of me. The shadow changes into the shape of a person.


    ¡°Toru, get back!¡± (Esther)


    Almost at the same time as Esther¡¯s warning, I stepped back.


    The next moment.


    In the space where I had been a tenth of a second before, a pitch-ck long sword swung down.


    If I had been even a littlete in my evasive maneuver, I would have been cut in half from the head down by now.


    A bead of sweat trickled down my temple.


    Normally, when a person, animal, or monster attacks, there is always a sign of an attack.


    My [Intuition] is at a very high level, and even the slightest sign of an attack can be caught with high uracy. Despite this, there was not the slightest sign of an attack.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. But I can tell you this¡ª¡± (Esther)


    As Esther drew her sword, she said.


    ¡°That¡¯s an enemy.¡± (Esther)


    I summoned my [Magic Sword] into a bow and quickly plucked its strings.


    The arrow fired from the bow is in a straight line and approaches the ck shadow.


    A direct hit.


    Just when I thought so, the arrow hit the ck shadow.


    ¡ªPing!


    A new shadow suddenly intervened and deflected the arrow with the shield in its hand.


    ¡°Huh?!¡± (Toru)


    I was startled by the unexpected sight.


    My Magic Bow had never once failed to prate an object. It even smashed through several stone walls of the Finlis lord¡¯s mansion. I had never thought that a bow with that much prating power would be repelled by a shield.


    With this, the number of unidentified shadows increased to two.


    One has a long sword and the other has a shield.


    ¡°¡­They are like a party.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Certainly.¡± (Toru)


    Attacker and shield bearer. The position of the attacker and the Shieldbearer is also exquisite.


    The attacker is in a position to attack at any time, while the shield bearer is in a position to protect the attacker at any time.


    The posture, the standing position, and the behavior. These shadows are not ordinary people.


    ¡°Is this also another trial?¡± (Toru)

 Chapter 115: Reasons to Stay

    <h4>Chapter 115: Reasons to Stay</h4>


    ¡°Well. What do you say, Toru? You want to run away?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°We¡¯ll do what we can, and if not, we¡¯ll go back.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°I understand.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Well then-¡± (Toru)


    I conjured a [Fireball] in the palm of my hand. I then fired it at Shieldbearer.


    The other party held up their shield without hesitation. The other party seems to be confident in their magic resistance. Even if you attack from the front, it would be difficult to inflict damage.


    Then, I would have to y


    ¡°[Fireball]-¡± (Toru)


    I send a signal to my magic, timing it when it makes contact with the shield.


    ¡°¡ªExplode¡± (Toru)


    The next moment, the [Fireball] bursts. The directional explosion swallowed the two shadows as well.


    ¡°You did it!?¡± (Esther)


    Esther let out a cry of relief. But it was too early to tell.


    ¡°Esther, get ready!¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Huh?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°They are still responding!¡± (Toru)


    The attacker appears from beyond the explosion and quickly approaches us.


    Their body shows little sign of damage.


    The impact of the explosion was deflected by using their shield as a wall, and the heat generated seemed to be contained by their own resistance.


    They are frighteningly quick to see things through. It was like an adventurer with a long history ofbat. Their judgment is too good for a mere monster.


    A shadow approaches with light steps.


    ¡ªPing!!


    I just barely caught the sword of the attacker who tried to sh at Esther


    (Heavy!) (Toru)


    The sword was extremely heavy. However, it was not as strong as a monster. If they had the same physical strength, I would have been blown backward.


    The attacker pushed the sword further in. While enduring the pressure, I was checking the Shieldbearer with a sideways nce, and that¡¯s when I saw it.


    -Help. Help me.


    I heard a voice.


    It was a very sad voice.


    ¡°¡­¡­eh?¡± (Toru)


    The sword tip of the attacker pierces my side, and I was dumbfounded by the voice.


    Immediately, I backstepped.


    I was just in time to minimize the damage.


    ¡°Toru, are you okay!?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Uh, yeah. I¡¯m okay.¡± (Toru)


    So, I observed the two shadows again.


    (What was that voice?) (Toru)


    There was no time to look for the owner of the voice. The attacker attacked again and again, and the shieldbearer was in the perfect position to attract my attention.


    Perhaps it was the difference in experience, but I was easily revealing gaps.


    The two are like fellow adventurers who have been together for years. Their coordination would be impossible without them trusting each other¡¯s abilities. I couldn¡¯t find a single opportunity to take advantage of them.


    ¡°Toru, let¡¯s leave!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I know it would be better to do so¡­¡± (Toru)


    I agree with Esther¡¯s opinion. But something caught my eye.


    What¡¯s stuck is something in the information I¡¯ve gotten so far. I feel that if I unravel the tangles a little more, I will be able to understand what this shadow really is.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Esther. I¡¯ll fight with it one more time.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Hey, wait!¡± (Esther)


    Ignoring Esther¡¯s attempts to stop me, I lunged at the pair of shadows.


    Seeing my attacking stance, the shadows moved immediately.


    The Shieldbearer was holding his shield and the attacker was behind him, looking for an opening.


    If I even slightly show a gap, they will immediately move to the side and the shadows will cut me with their sword.


    I can see the movements of the shadows, but I cannot respond to them at all. This is because their fighting tactics are very sophisticated. I felt like an amateur against a skilled aikido or judo martial artist.


    (-If only.) (Toru)


    Forcefully pushing through with strength to outmatch technique!


    I d my [Magic Sword] with [re] and shed at the Shieldbearer with all my might.


    ¡ªGooong!!


    The sound of the shield and sword shing violently resounded.


    At the same time, the attacker moves from behind me.


    With a single blink of an eye, I would receive a counterattack.


    Before that happens,


    ¡°-ooooooooooh!¡± (Toru)


    I shouted and put all my strength into my sword.


    That was the moment.


    ¡ªGooong!!


    With a violent metallic sound, the sword was split in half right down the middle.


    ((?!?!?!)) (Shadows)


    They must not have thought even in the smallest chance that their weapons would be cut down.


    The two shadows stopped moving as if in a panic.


    The [Magic Sword] slipped through the shield and made contact between Shieldbearer¡¯s eyebrows.


    I cut their body in half.


    I immediately spun.


    I lifted the tip of the sword, which had dropped close to the ground, and swung it sideways.


    The attacker was at the receiving end of it.


    Without mistaking my aim, I cut the attacker¡¯s neck with my [Magic Sword].


    The next moment.


    ¡°-eh?¡± (Toru)


    A strange feeling flowed into me.


    This is the same mass of memory from when I cut down the devil before.


    A party of four people visited this ce.


    The members were a vanguard, a swordsman, a priest, and a magician.


    It was a well-bnced party.


    But it was destroyed.


    It was a person d in darkness who destroyed them.


    ¡ªI couldn¡¯t protect them.


    Without knowing why, the vanguard died, and so did the swordsman.


    And the priest¡¯s body was taken over.


    -how shameful!!


    Inside my chest, the rage was ignited and exploded.


    ¡ªAh, but¡­


    It soon subsides, and this time I was filled with sadness.


    ¡ªWe left that elf girl alone.


    ¡ªI wonder if she is alive and well. Will she be able to live on her own?


    ¡ªI¡¯m worried.


    ¡ªI beg you, please be happy.


    ¡ªBe happy for us.


    ¡°Toru!¡± (Esther)

 Chapter 116: Worrying About Those Who Survive

    <h4>Chapter 116: Worrying About Those Who Survive</h4>


    ¡°-!¡± (Toru)


    Esther shook my shoulder and I was back to myself.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Are you okay Toru!?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yeah, thank you, Esther.¡± (Toru)


    I am now tense and in an attacking stance, but the ck shadows are lying on the ground.


    If the shadows had been alive, I might have fought back. That is if the opponent still has hostile intent¡­


    ¡°It seems they no longer have the strength to get up.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°What is this? Even though you fatally shed them, I can still feel their vitality.¡± (Esther)


    I cut the Shieldbearer in half from above their head, and the attacker had their neck severed. Despite this, both shadows¡¯ body was not split, and the ce where they should have been cut off remained attached to the body.


    In addition, just as Esther said, I could feel their vitality.


    The shadows were still alive.


    However, there was no sign of making a counterattack.


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    (Could they possibly be humans?) (Toru)


    The [Magic Sword] can cut through all things, but the only thing it can¡¯t cut through are humans.


    So, I wondered if the shadows were human, but no matter how I observed them, they did not look human.


    ¡°It seems that these people (?) were originally adventurers.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Ah, they certainly looked like adventurers during battle. So, they must be wraiths, right?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Wraith, are they like ghosts?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Yes, [Wraith] are ghosts. When an adventurer dies, they sometimes be a wraith.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I see.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°It is rumored that if there was a strong thought during death, or if the mana around them is dense, they are more likely to be a Wraith. The priests perform purification rituals to prevent this from happening, but as you would expect, the priests can¡¯t travel to this ce without passing through trouble.¡± (Esther)


    Esther shook her head, saying that there was no way to turn them into another race.


    The wraiths who fell down did not even move a twitch, as if they had lost their venom or used up most of their life force in the fight earlier.


    They may have be wraiths partly because of the thick mana of the ce.


    But now that their emotions have flowed in, we can understand how strong their thoughts were.


    (Adventurers¡­ quest failed¡­ Ah, so that¡¯s how it is.) (Toru)


    Finally, the string of information is connected.


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    ¡°Purification is something that priests do, right?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right¡­ No, wait Toru, don¡¯t be brash.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Why?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°You¡¯re going to purify this wraith anyway, aren¡¯t you?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Eh, how did you know!?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°I¡¯ve only known you for a little over a month, but I know what you¡¯re thinking¡­ most of the time.¡± (Esther)


    Esther¡¯s shoulders shook as if she was afraid of something.


    ¡°(Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have survived.)¡± (Esther)


    ¡°¡­¡­Uh-what?¡± (Toru)


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    She mumbled something at the end, but I couldn¡¯t make out what she said.


    ¡°The priests purify the wraiths, but the purification techniques used by the priests use a lot of mana. It is dangerous to use arge amount of mana when you haven¡¯t taken the persimo fruit.¡± (Esther)


    ~3rd Person Perspective~


    Esther tried to persuade Toru, but her shoulders slumped when she saw the strong light in Toru¡¯s eyes. He has already made up his mind to use [Magic Law]. No matter what she says to him, she won¡¯t be able to persuade him anymore.


    In a mountain popted by B-rank monsters, using up all the mana is suicide.


    A normal party would have stopped him even by knocking him down.


    However, Esther does not try to stop Toru¡¯s foolishness. Because he always performs beyond Esther¡¯s imagination.


    Goblin hordes, Queen Rock Worms, Ogre hordes. She was prepared to die many times. But Esther is alive.


    In addition, she is now within reach of bing a C-rank adventurer. All of this is possible because of Toru¡¯s existence and his unprecedented behavior.


    Therefore, Esther respects his choice.


    Finally, in front of her eyes, Toru casts his purification technique. A particle of light appears around him, gradually enveloping the shadows.


    ¡°¡­ oh¡­ this¡­ thank you.¡± (Shadow)


    ¡°eh?¡± (Esther)


    Suddenly Esther heard a human voice.


    It¡¯s not Toru¡¯s, much less hers.


    ¡ªIt was the shadow.


    The shadow spoke for the first time.


    ¡°¡­please¡­ that naive¡­¡± (Shadow)


    From Esther¡¯s position, the words were inaudible. But Toru seemed to hear them and nodded with a serious face.


    The next moment, a strong killing swirled through him. It was not targeting Esther or the others. It was a grudge against someone who was not here.


    *Gulp*, Esther¡¯s throat was dry.


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    Her breathing becamebored due to the strong resentment.


    ¡°Be careful of Amy.¡±


    With that warning, the two shadows dissolved into the air and vanished.


    Even after the shadows disappeared, Esther could not move.


    The negative feelings they left behind were that strong. After a while, Esther felt a terrible thirst. She took a bottle of water from the [Inventory] and moistened her lips.


    ¡°Who is Amy?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s the same person, I think.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yes, huh. In the end, I never did find out what that shadow was, did I?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Perhaps they are adventurers who challenged this quest and failed.¡± (Esther)


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    ¡°The Guild Master mentioned something like that. Then, did they remain here for a hundred years? ¡­I can¡¯t help but feel sorry for them.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°I agree.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°¡­the way, didn¡¯t that shadow say something to Toru?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yes. They said, ¡®Take care of this naive magic idiot¡¯.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Magic idiot? What do they mean¡ª¡± (Esther)


    ¡°By the way, the Persimo is near. Let¡¯s do our best!¡± (Toru)


    Toru raised his fist in the air. At first nce, he looks happy, but his eyes are filled with the same color that he had shown for a moment in the capital before.


    Rage.


    He hides his anger with his cheerfulness which frightens Esther.


    But that doesn¡¯t mean he is in any mood to talk about it. Esther could only silently follow Toru.


    ¡°So, Toru. How do you n to tackle the Eternal mes?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°That¡¯s right, this is how we¡¯ll do it.¡± (Toru)

 Chapter 117: Persimo Fruit

    <h4>Chapter 117: Persimo Fruit</h4>


    ~3rd Person Perspective~


    Toru kneads mana with his whole body. The amount of mana was so great that it was hard to believe that he had just used a purification technique.


    What on earth is he trying to do?


    When Esther tilted her head, Toru put his hand on Esther¡¯s waist.


    ¡°Huh, hey, Toru, what the hell are you doing!?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯ll be over soon.¡± (Toru)


    Esther¡¯s face heats up at the unusually straightforward Toru. Her heart is pounding against her chest, and her breathing sped up.


    She can¡¯t look directly at his face at that moment.


    ¡°*Blush-shock*!? Wait, wait, Toru! There are a lot of dangerous monsters here, and this ce is kind of scandalous! In the first ce, I¡¯m not ready for this¡ª¡± (Esther)


    ¡°But I¡¯m already ready.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Well, you¡¯ll have to get my parent¡¯s permission before you do anything like that¡ª¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Then let¡¯s go.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°No, well, I¡¯m happy, but I didn¡¯t think Toru would be this aggressive, especially in a ce like this¡ª¡± (Esther)


    Toru firmly grabbed Esther¡¯s waist.


    The next moment,


    ¡°¡ªWhat the-aaaaah!¡± (Esther)


    They flew overhead.


    The two of them rose rapidly at a speed that could have been achieved with a catapult. Esther just kept screaming, not understanding what was going on.


    The two ascending humans gradually tilted forward. Below them, they could see the Eternal mes, which are said to have been burning since the age of the gods.


    The mes were flickering and still burning fiercely. Despite this, Esther¡¯s body, which was directly above them, did not feel the heat at all.


    The two of them fell in a parabolic trajectory to the other side of the river. Just before the collision, the momentum of the two¡¯s footsteps silently drops to the ground.


    ~Toru¡¯s Perspective~


    ¡°I-I thought I-I was going to die!!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Sorry, my bad.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me what you were going to do first!?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Oh, yeah, sorry. I forgot about it.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Don¡¯t go forgetting such things!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°That hurts!¡± (Toru)


    Esther cries and kept beating my chest with her fists.


    The method Toru was thinking of for getting out of the fountain me was simple.


    A ¡°Vacuum¡± will protect us from the Eternal mes, and the ¡°Tornado¡± will drive away the heat from the sky above. I thenunched us up with an ¡°Air Cannon¡±.


    The speed of our fall is also gradually slowed down by a weak ¡°Air Cannon¡±. Then an ¡°Air Cushion¡± is ced on the ground, and wended safely.


    ¡°Is there no other way!?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yes, I think that¡¯s probably the right answer.¡± (Toru)


    Since it was called the Eternal mes, it would not be extinguished by a little bit of water.


    However, if arge amount of water is thrown, it may cause a steam explosion (since the identity of what is burning is not known).


    If there was arge amount of holy water, which is effective in extinguishing fires, it would be different, but I do not have holy water.


    So, the only safe way left for me was to take flight.


    ¡°Absolutely useless. My heart was pounding for nothing!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Oh, Esther, are you bad at heights?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant!¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Ugh!¡± (Toru)


    For some reason, Esther was outraged, punching me hard in the arm.


    (¡­I don¡¯t understand.) (Toru)


    After regaining ourposure, Esther and I continued onward.


    Within half a minute, we found a tree with a lot of fruit on it.


    ¡°Oh, could that be?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°It must be the Persimo tree!¡± (Esther)


    The tree was full of fruit, just like a flower in full bloom.


    The fruit was palm-sized and oval-shaped. The colors ranged from blue to orange.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a Persimo before, but they look pretty tasty, don¡¯t they?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yeah, they are delicious.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Huh? Did Toru know about this fruit?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°I know about this¡­¡± (Toru)


    The Persimo fruit was, for all intents and purposes, a persimmon.


    Reuniting with a very nostalgic fruit gradually warms Toru¡¯s heart.


    If even Esther says she¡¯s ¡°never seen one¡±, Persimo¡­ Persimmon is probably a very rare fruit in Eargard.


    Perhaps it was secretly nted by a Lost who visited Eargard before me.


    Persimmons do not grow innds that are too cold.


    Mount Rheitis is so high that it is covered with snow in winter.


    However, in this particr location, the nearby Eternal mes constantly warm the surrounding area, making it an ideal environment for persimmons to grow.


    I lightly jumped up and secured four persimmons that were close at hand.


    I handed one to Esther and wiped another on my cuff.


    ¡°Let¡¯s eat!¡± (Toru)


    When I took a bite, The mellow aroma and sweetness instantly spread in his mouth.


    ¡°Sweet!¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Wow, it¡¯s delicious!¡± (Esther)


    Esther¡¯s cheeks flushed red upon tasting. It seemed that the persimmon had captured her heart in an instant.


    After enjoying the sweet fruit to our heart¡¯s content, I stored the persimmons in my [Inventory].


    ¡°They just need a single Persimo right.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Come to think of it, they didn¡¯t say how many pieces¡­ How many I can take home.¡± (Esther)


    Esther¡¯s eyes were shining brightly. She wants to enjoy the persimmons more.


    I, however, do not intend to harvest more than I need.


    Persimmon trees are very fragile. If I identally broke one while harvesting, it would be a disaster. This is proof that someone from Earth has lived in Eargard. If I could, I would leave it alone.


    ¡°If you feel like eating, you cane back again.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Yes, I will. I must be strong enough toe back freely.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Yeah.¡± (Toru)


    Just as Esther and I were about to return.


    ¡°¡±-!?¡±¡± (Esther & Toru)


    Suddenly, from the sky above, they felt a force more powerful than anything they had ever felt before.


    The force was approaching us at a frightening speed.


    ¡°What-what is that¡­¡± (Esther)


    ¡°¡­ Esther, run away!¡± (Toru)


    ¡°It¡¯s already toote.¡± (Esther)


    It was approaching faster than we had imagined.


    A strong force appeared directly in front of us.


    ¡°D-Dragon¡­¡± (Esther)

 Chapter 118: The Gift That Sparked A Desperate Situation

    <h4>Chapter 118: The Gift That Sparked A Desperate Situation</h4>


    ¡°D-Dragon¡­¡± (Esther)


    Esther murmured in a hoarse voice.


    Reptilian eyes and scales covering the body. A gigantic physique. A four-legged creature with wings on its back.


    There is no doubt that this creature contains power that cannot be captured by [Intuition]. It was a dragon, the most powerful creature in this world.


    ¡°Toru, run away.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Esther, run!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t. I can¡¯t get past the eternal me! Besides, look¡­¡± (Esther)


    Esther¡¯s wide eyes nced down at her feet.


    ¡°My legs are shaking so hard, I can¡¯t move.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Toru)


    After fighting with monsters, the two of us have been quite collected. Even against the ogres who were far above us, fear didn¡¯t slow us down.


    But dragons are different. They are on a different dimension.


    The primal fear instilled in all living creatures is not something that can be rationalized away.


    ¡°Can Toru move?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Uh, yeah. Sort of.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°So, Toru should escape.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± (Toru)


    There was no way I could abandon my precious friend and run away. I am desperately trying to think of a way.


    (If Esther can¡¯t move then¡­) (Toru)


    I will distance myself from Esther. If I gain hatred, the possibility of Esther being targeted will decrease.


    ¡ªAt least, as long as I¡¯m alive.


    *Gaze*. The dragon¡¯s eyes focused on me. Just that one look is enough to make my heart freeze. But I grit my teeth and resists the overwhelming fear.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to die without getting a payback.¡± (Toru)


    Animals are sensitive to the difference between themselves and others. If they see that you are weak, they wille and take your life in a sh. But even if they are weak, if they think, ¡°This is more trouble than its worth¡±.


    Ibined [re] with [Magic Sword] and released my mana. I made myself look as big as possible.


    This is first time I did this, I am now waiting to see what the dragon would do.


    ¡°¡­¡­Hmm?¡± (Toru)


    The dragon¡¯s gaze was curious. I remained alert and moved little by little. Then the dragon¡¯s eyes followed me. It moved to the right, then to the left, and then I turned my hand.


    (Hey, that dragon, is it looking at my bracelet?) (Toru)


    As a test, I swung wide my left arm with the bracelet. The dragon¡¯s eyes moved just as wide.


    There was no doubt. The dragon is looking at the bracelet I am wearing.


    ¡°You, useless god! You told me there was no special effect!¡± (Toru)


    To be precise, it¡¯s like they said, ¡°the bracelet has ¡®almost no¡¯ special effects like the [Magic Sword]¡±.


    If there is a disimer near the ¡°almost nothing¡± part with ¡°but attracts dragons,¡± it makes it a scam.


    It is not a God¡¯s blessing. It is the curse of the demon god.


    I seriously think about throwing the bracelet at it with all my might. However, I wondered if the other party would allow me that chance¡­?


    It was at that time.


    ¡ª*Grumble*.


    The dragon¡¯s stomach rumbled. If I look closely, I can see a trace of saliva in its mouth.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s going to eat us. We are going to be eaten here!¡± (Esther)


    The sound upsets Esther. It¡¯s no mystery.


    The world¡¯s most powerful creature had appeared in front of us, hungry. Our fate was now hanging in the bnce.


    (Speaking of which¡ª) (Toru)


    I suddenly remembered something.


    Immediately, my body began to move autonomously. It was the effect of my [Ad Lib] skill.


    I opened my [Inventory] and took out the contents all at once.


    ¡ªThump!


    The objects I had collected appeared with a thump in front of the dragon.


    ¡°Grr?¡± (Dragon)


    It was the ogres that I had defeated since entering the mountain.


    The dragon seemed to have been taken aback by the sudden appearance of arge number of ogres in front of them.


    It tilts its head high in a pose to say, ¡°What about now?¡±


    ¡°Toru. You picked it all up.¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Uh, yeah. Ahaha¡­¡± (Toru)


    I thought I should just dump it in the crater of the Eternal me, but I didn¡¯t think it would have such a use.


    ¡°You¡¯re hungry, aren¡¯t you? You can have that instead.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°Grrr?¡± (Dragon)


    ¡°Really. Go ahead.¡± (Toru)


    Thanks to my [Training] skill, the dragon¡¯s words are somehow conveyed.


    The n is to literally use the ogres as bait and overlook my life and Esther¡¯s.


    If I fail in this negotiation, we will die. Knowing that, I sharpened my resolve with every move the dragon makes.


    ]] [Training Lv1] ¡ú [Training Lv2]


    As I gasped, the dragon opened its mouth wide and bit into the ogres.


    (This is where the real work begins.) (Toru)


    I focused my attention.


    The dragon¡¯s way of eating was so terrifying that Esther, who had turned blue, lifted her feet. I desperately held her back with my eyes alone.


    Wild animals reveal their most aggressive instincts while raising their young and while eating. I had learned this from the dogs I had owned when I was living in Japan.


    Never touch a dog while it is eating, even if it is your own dog.


    This is because if you touch them while they are eating, they will mistakenly (from their wild instinct) think that you will take their food away.


    No matter how friendly they are, that¡¯s why they get angry and try to bite.


    Whether or not dragons are like my domesticated dogs is unknown, but it is best to be extremely careful.


    The ogres disappear in a sh. After eating all of them, the dragon suddenly raised its head and looked at me.


    ¡°-!¡± (Toru)


    Am I next?


    I was thinking about whether I should finally resist by force or not.


    In front of me, the dragon¡¯s eyes lit up.


    ¡°Krr, Kyuu!¡± (Dragon)


    It raised a cry thatcks any hostility.


    ¡°Eh?¡± (Esther)


    A dumbfounded voice leaked Esther¡¯s lips at the sight of the dragon¡¯s transformation. When my body seemed to reflexively lose all strength, I held it back with willpower.


    I never thought that a dragon would raise such a cry.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening? Toru, do you know what happened?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Uh, yeah. Maybe, it liked the food¡­?¡± (Toru)


    ¡°What? What did you say?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°It looks like the dragon has taken a liking to me.¡± (Toru)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Esther)


    ¡°You gave it ogres, and it like them?¡± (Esther)


    ¡°Uhuh¡­?¡± (Toru)


    It has ¡°almost¡± no special effects


    That certain goddess, ¡°You weren¡¯t lying, right?¡±


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