V4C4

Translated by Mlzkzr Edited by Mlzkzr

TN: In celebration for being Christmas, I will be releasing double chapters of my works this week!!

—— Inside a dark room, a man was talking to a crystal.

“Nhi nhi nhi…… How’s the plan coming along?”

A voice flows from the crystal to the man who made a strange laugh.

『This way is going according to plan. Rather, what about your way?』

The voice flowing from the crystal, was the voice of an old man. In response to the old man’s question, the man turns his face red and yells.

“It can’t be helped! It was because of that little girl’s unnecessary actions that we had to make major adjustments to our plans!”

『……Ah, you’re talking about her forming an alliance with the Welmburg Kingdom. ……』

“That’s right! With this, my long-cherished wish ……”

『Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s not your only wish. This is our long-cherished wish, isn’t it. 』

“Hmfuh…… Sorry.”

In response to the old man’s voice, the man honestly apologized.

Then the old man, who didn’t look as if he cared, switched the subject.

『Alright. Now, what about your plans? I’m ready whenever you are. 』

“Nhi nhi nhi…… Same here. Even though there was a big deviation in the plan, our goal remains the same…… even if something tragic happens in the process of achieving that goal!”

『Indeed. It was a good idea to collect monsters from all over the regions just in case. …… 』

“Surely…… Speaking of which, have you finished that potion?”

The old man laughed in his throat, and answered the man’s question confidently.

『Kukuku…… I’m done. It’s the best result. 』

“Finally……! It’s the 【Growth medicine】 that forcibly raises the level!”

『Ah. I guarantee its effect. So, what do you want to do? In this plan …… would you like to use it for the monsters? 』

At the old man’s words, the man showed a slight gesture of thinking, and then, he smiled wickedly.

“……No, not yet. We’re not going to use it in this plan yet. If I have to use it …… it would be at the time I erase the little girl.”

『I see…… but, isn’t she the Demon King’s daughter? Is that okay? 』

“I’m a servant of a supreme being, just like you, and the Demon Lord is nothing to us, right? Naturally, the small fries need to disappear …… Well, if it’s worth using, I’d be happy to use it.”

When he said that, the man smiled wickedly.

『Well, I won’t say anything to you. …… Then, do you want to proceed with the plan immediately? 』

“Ah, let’s do that————”

————Everything is for the demon god————

◇◆◇

“Yes……as it is …… in that condition ……”

“Gugugugu ……”

The day after the Charasty Painting Tournament, I was at the royal castle for a training session, which is becoming a habit recently.

…… Now that I think about it, it’s pretty dangerous for an unidentified robed man to be able to move freely around the royal castle, isn’t it…… No, before that, is it really okay for me to be able to get inside the royal castle so easily ……?

As I was twisting my head to the faint question that suddenly crossed my mind, Florio-san pointed out.

“Hey, Seiichi-kun. You’re having some idle thoughts. The magic’s crumbling.”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

Currently, I’m training in magic control, with Florio-san teaching me how to do it.

Most of the training content is relatively safe as magic, like the elementary water-based magic…… like keeping the 『Water ball』 in the size of a basketball.

At first, it was totally out of control, and it became a ridiculously sized water ball that flooded the entire Terviel, but now, as long as I concentrated, I could keep it to a basketball size.

……Seriously, I was flustered at the beginning. Because, though it’s a beginner’s magic, it damaged the entire royal capital, you know?

I don’t understand the meaning of elementary level anymore. Fortunately, I was able to invalidate it with the effect of 『Magic Hole』, which I activated on the spur of the moment, so there was no damage…… However, I guess it goes without saying that for a while, the sudden appearance of a mass of water occupied the rumors in the city.

……No, I think this is where the evolution will come into play, you know.

And yet…… it was not responding at all. It was so quiet that I’m surprised. So, this is the rumored hybrid…… I guess it’s different.

Even though it was announcing inside my brain that I’ve learned so many cheat skills, now, it was unresponsive. Is this a new kind of bullying?

Well, I’ve somehow predicted that, though.

I’m just speculating, but I’m pretty sure that the 『Evolution』 skill just activates in a powered-up direction, so I don’t think that it can be demonstrated in a direction that weakens.

However, if I continue to practice repeatedly like the way I train now, Florio has taught me that I will eventually get the skill 『Measure by Feel』, so I don’t get pessimistic and continue to train steadily.

“Okay, that’s enough. You can break the spell now.”

“Haaaaaaaa! So tireddddddd!”

With Florio-san’s permission, I instantly broke the spell, and lay down on the spot.

This skill of breaking the spell was also something that I had learned by myself since I started training.

Although I wasn’t physically exhausted, I was mentally exhausted because I had to keep concentrating.

Normally, we would have disbanded like this, but today, there was one thing that was different from usual.

That is————

“Seiichi! Look, look~!”

I saw Saria’s appearance manipulating a ball of flame as if it were a magic ball.

On the other side, Al created and was manipulating a five-meter-long ice bird.

Near Al and Saria, Rurune was watching them with interest.

Yes, Saria and the others had also come to this training.

“Oh, amazing, you’re pretty dexterous……”

“I can do this, too!”

In response to my impressed voice, Saria’s smile deepened and she put some flames on her hands and feet.

“Jajan! Isn’t it cool!”

“I’m amazed at the high specs of Saria and the others. ……”

Apparently, Saria and Al had never used magic before, but with the skill I got before …… after activating the 『Guidance』, both of them became able to use magic. And in addition to that, it’s just today.

…… This 『Guidance』 skill, is quite badass.

I found out by activating it for the first time, but if I use this skill, I can bring out the person’s potential in an instant.

However, if they don’t have the potential, as they called, to grow by nature, it cannot be pulled out.

That’s why, Saria had the potential of fire attribute, Al had the potential of ice attribute, but they could not use any of the other attributes at all.

Incidentally, when I’m simply trying to teach something to the other person without trying to bring out their potential, I will have an idea in my mind of how to explain it in a way that is easy to understand.

“Hmm……your skill really is amazing, Seiichi-kun. I, have been called the 【Ice Demon】 until now, but…… I didn’t realize I had an affinity for the earth attribute as well.”

Florio-san, who had been watching the exchange between Saria and me, while laughing, floated a lump of soil and transformed it into various shapes.

As a matter of fact, not only did I learn from Florio and Louise, I also taught them both as much as I could.

In order to do so, I went to the library in the royal castle and read various books to increase my knowledge, and nowadays, I have reached a level which I could explain magic and skills to some extent.

So, just like on Saria and the others, I activated the 『Guidance』 skill on Florio-san, and his talent for earth attribute magic blossomed.

“Now again, I’ve come to see a way to devote myself. Besides, watching Seiichi-kun, made me realize that I still have room for improvement in the ice attribute.”

“Hahaha……”

Florio-san’s words made me float a bitter smile unintentionally.

According to the new knowledge I gained from the books in the library and the stories I heard from Florio-san and the others, the power of magic depends on the status of magic power and magic attack.

And when I robbed the magics from the Acrowolf and Sandman, the magic power consumed by each magic that was input into my brain, and the magic power consumed by other magic that I was able to find out from the library in the royal capital, was in fact, it was the minimum amount of magic power required to activate those magics, and it has no upper limit.

If I put in more than the minimum amount of magic power needed, its power will be doubled in the form of being added.

Therefore, the magic I unleashed that I couldn’t control the magic power, which was created by the excessive doses of magic power, manifested a ridiculous scale and foolish power.

Hence, the training I’m doing right now is more of controlling magic power rather than controlling magic itself.

However, my magic attack is so high that even if I keep my magic power consumption to a minimum, a normal release would cause catastrophe.

Nonetheless, the power of magic that is activated with the minimum amount of magic power, can be changed unrestrictedly. On the other hand, if I put in an excessive amount of magic power, I can no longer control its power, though ……

Suddenly, when I was sorting out such recently learned knowledge in my brain, Al and Rurune came over.

“Fuh…… magic is difficult”

“Aj, good work”

“Oh”

After a responding briefly, Al produced a palm-sized ice and applied it to her neck and began to cool her heating body.

“I made a bird that moves using magic and had a simulated fight with it…… Even though I was the one who created the magic, it was a ridiculously troublesome opponent.”

“……While saying it’s troublesome, I’m astonished that Al is doing something so outrageous smoothly……”

“Do,don’t give me such praise……”

“Shit! She doesn’t understand the sarcasm……!”

I’m jealous of your talent, goddamit!

I’m just a regular guy without the effects of the fruit of the evolution…… No, I’m less than that, I’m a bottom-feeder. Why? I’m starting to feel sad saying that!?

When I was depressed alone like that, Rurune, who had been silent until now, opens her mouth.

“……Ice bird …… it looks delicious ……”

“You really don’t change!”

Or rather, it’s called an ice bird, but it’s a magic created by Al, and more importantly, if you eat that size of ice, your stomach will break…… A’re? I can’t imagine Rurune breaking her stomach!?

The moment when food is involved, Rurune’s unparalleledness isn’t normal.

I later learned the details of the Black wolf that she kicked off during the Royal Capital Cup, but it appears that it was an A-class monster.

Incidentally, I also asked about the relationship between the ranks of monsters and the ranks of the adventurers, and it seems that the ranks of the monsters and the ranks of the adventurers are not the same; for example, to defeat a C-class monster, five C-class adventurers are required, and a B-class adventurer can defeat it alone, so when an adventurer of the same rank as a monster hunts the monster, at least It seems that five people will be needed.

And, just as a B-class adventurer can hunt a C-class monster alone, it seems that even if the rank is different, their ability will be an order of magnitude.

However, it seems that the combat power of monsters jumps up from B-class and A-class, and even if you take five B-class adventurers to hunt a B-class monster, they may be wiped out.

With that in mind, the monsters that Rurune kicked off were monsters that I don’t even know if five Als would have been able to defeat.

And Louise, who easily captured Bahamut, the same A-ranked monster as the one Rurune defeated but said to be more dangerous, is in even more scary. As expected of the strongest knight in the kingdom. Her ability, is probably at the top level among S-class adventurers.

I who fought against such a thing and survived was also a monster enough. I’ve got a complaint somehow!

As I was feeling rough, and somehow in a heavy mood, I saw someone coming towards us from inside the castle.

It was the Louise I had in my head just now.

“Hello, Shishou. Are you finished with your training for today?”

“Ah, just a while ago”

“Is that so. ……Oh? Who are these guys?”

Louise, who had noticed Saria and the others, asked me with a blank look of surprise on her face.

I introduced them to Florio-san when I told him that they would be attending today’s training with the two of us, but I hadn’t introduced them to Louise yet.

Thinking so, when I turned around in order to introduce Saria and the others, Saria and the others had surprised expressions on their faces.

“Wah…… what a beautiful person~!”

“A,ah…… she’s the leader of the 【Sword Saint War Maiden (Valkyrie) 】. Louise-san, who is famous as the 【Sword Knight (Knight Of Sword) 】 ……”

“Milord, that woman looks somewhat like Florio-san.”

“That? Really! Are they brother and sister?”

Apparently, they were surprised by Louise’s good looks. Also, they noticed that Florio-san and Louise looked somewhat alike. As I thought, I wasn’t the only one who felt their resemblance.

I mean, Louise is beautiful enough to say that she’s indeed too well-proportioned, but Saria, Al, and Rurune were not inferior to her, so I was not as surprised as they were, since I had developed a certain tolerance for beautiful girls.

…… Though I was really surprised when she suddenly offered a mock battle to me!

Besides, I suppose there’s nothing wrong with looking good, but as expected, I think people with a beautiful heart are the best. To begin with, I was fat and ugly, though I’ve lost weight now, but I’m not in a position to say anything about others.

Really, Saria and the others are too good for me…….

When I was once again chewing on my happiness, the three of them began to introduce themselves.

“I’m Saria! Seiichi’s wife~!”

“I,I’m Altria Grem. Err …… that’s…… I’m Seiichi’s girlfriend ……”

“I’m Rurune. A knight who protects Milord and his servant.”

“What is that kind of self-introduction!?”

I didn’t expect you guys to drop a bomb when you introduced yourselves, you know!

It may not be wrong that Saria is my wife and Al is my girlfriend, but still, Rurune’s comment about her being my servant wasn’t good!

See, Florio-san and Louise-san both have blank look!

When my face turned pale, wondering how I could make an excuse myself, the two of them somehow had a convinced look.

“As expected of Seiichi-kun…… he’s going way beyond my expectations ……”

“Shishou …… I’m proud to have a mentor like you ……”

“Your impressions of me are almost the same!”

I’m tempted to ask everyone what they think of me once. What the hell am I.

When I saw the look on their faces as they reacted, Louise said to me, as if she suddenly remembered something.

“Ah, that’s right. Shishou, I actually have a special favor to ask you, but……”

“Eh?”

When asked back with a dumb look on my face, Louise kept her voice quiet.

“……It’s about the assassin who attacked His Majesty. On her neck, a magic tool called the 【Collar of Slavery】 is attached, and it is not possible to remove it unskillfully. Therefore, I would like to borrow the power of shishou for help, but ……”

“Collar of Slavery……”

At Louise’s words, I frowned.

I’ve read a lot of books, so I have some knowledge about the 【Collar of Slavery】.

First of all, the 【Collar of Slavery】 is, as the name suggests, a tool that enslaves the wearer. Moreover, it belongs to the category of magic tools, not curse tools.

A curse tool, is not something anyone can control, but the magic tool, the 【Collar of Slavery】, was something that could be used by anyone, allowing the owner to give the one whom he/she equipped with it any command they wanted. Moreover, there was no limit to the number of commands that he/she can give, and the wearer cannot even harm the person who made him wear it.

In addtion, the wearer can’t remove the 【Collar of Slavery】 by himself, and if another human tries to forcibly remove it, it could cause serious damage to the wearer, and it seems that he could die at worst.

Incidentally, there is also a degraded version of this 【Collar of Slavery】, which is called the 【Bracelet of Slavery】, and although it has a limited number of commands, all other effects are the same as the 【Collar of Slavery】.

“For now, we’ve set up a barrier to contain the effects of the collar of slavery, and Lorna is doing the interrogation, but…… the barrier we have in place now is only powerful enough to temporarily deactivate it, and even then, it only cancels the orders of the person who put it on her, and if we try to remove it forcibly, as expected ……”

“Even a barrier has its limits huh……”

“Yes. The collar of slavery is a very powerful magic tool, so a considerable barrier must also be prepared. Still, it’s not as effective as removing the collar.”

“I understand the situation. I too, will do something if I can.”

Over the past month, I had learned not to shy away from using my monster-like powers if it would help others.

That’s because I’ve trained with Florio-san and Louise, and have become somewhat proficient in using my powers.

If I can save that little girl with my stupid-like power, I’ll lend a hand as much as I can.

“Thank you, Shishou. Also, there’s one more thing I want to tell you, but”

“What do you want to tell?”

“Yes. However, I want to finish the little girl’s case first, so let’s head to the interrogation room.”

Such being the case, when I followed Louise and tried to move to the place where Lorna-san was interrogating the young girl, Saria and the others reacted.

“A’re? Seiichi. Where are you going?”

“Eh? Ah, no, I have some errand to do ……”

“……With Louise-san, just the two of you, what errand is it?”

“It’s not like it’s just gonna be the two of us, though……”

“Milord…… can’t you take me with you? Have you gotten tired of me already!?”

“Rurune, you need to stop with that misleading dialogue!”

When the three of them asked me where I was going, I was at a loss as to how to answer.

If I honestly told them that I was going to a place where they were having an interrogation, they wouldn’t know why I needed to go there, and they would know that Ranze-san was attacked.

When I was wondering if there was any reason I could give that would convince them, Louise and Florio-san discussed in hushed voices and came to a consensus, and Louise opened her mouth on behalf of the duo.

“Shishou. If they are related to you, then there is no need to keep it a secret.”

“Eh? But…… is it okay? For you to tell them so easily”

“Yes. I just want the three of them to swear that everything they are about to see and hear will be kept confidential……”

When Louise broke off her words there, Saria and the others looked at each other once and answered quickly.

“Yeah, I understand! I’ll keep it a secret!”

“I,I’m fine with it too……”

“I’m not even interested from the start. Well, I promise.”

“……Thank you very much. Well then, I’ll explain while moving. This way, please.”

Thus, we were taken by Louise to the room where she said that Lorna-san was interrogating the young girl.

◇◆◇

“Such…… the king was targeted, you said……”

On the way to the interrogation room, when Louise briefly explained what happened a month ago, Al had a serious expression.

“But, he was saved thanks to Seiichi, right? As expected of Seiichi! That’s so cool!”

“Ye,yeah. Thanks.”

However, on the contrary, Saria appeared as if she wasn’t worried, and Rurune didn’t seem to be interested from the beginning… ….This donkey really doesn’t show any interest other than food.

I’m both dismayed and respectful of the way she has consistently remained the same. …… When I was feeling complicated, Louise stopped.

“This, is the interrogation room. But, the place where we would enter is the room which we would watch the state of interrogation, and the room where the interrogation is taking place is further back.”

We were briefly told so, but in fact, the interrogation room is similar to the room where other detectives watch someone being interviewed in cop dramas, and there was only one door leading to the room for interrogation.

However, there was only one thing that was different from the interview rooms you see in detective dramas.

Instead of watching the interview from behind a magic mirror or glass, like in the drama, a video being taken from the magic camera used in the Royal Capital Cup was projected into the room and being viewed as is.

“It looks like they’ve just restarted interrogation.”

Louise said so, so when I turned my eyes to the video, Lorna-san and the girl, who seemed to be the black cat beastman I caught, were sitting on chairs while facing each other.

Lorna-san was in the same armor as when we met before, but the girl had changed from her ninja-like attire to a simple outfit.

『…… Ojou-chan, it would be easier if you just spit it out, wouldn’t it? 』

『……』

Lorna-san, I’m not sure about the way you ask that question.

I inwardly quip at the way she lowered her voice to create a certain atmosphere.

『You’re being silent huh…… But you know what? Ojou-chan. The jig is up! 』

Bang! Like that, when I thought that she slammed the desk hard, she, however, just stayed in that position and said something.

『……Katsudon, want to eat? 』 (TN: Katsudon – pork cutlet served on top of a bowl of rice)

You just wanted to say that!?

I wanted to involuntarily shout it out loud, but I desperately suppressed it with reason. I mean, why does Lorna-san know the exchanges like the detective-thing on earth …… No, I guess she’s doing it without knowing it.

As I was watching the two’s interaction with warm eyes, Lorna-san brought out a katsudon.

Then, she placed the katsudon in front of her————

『Thanks for the foo~d! 』

『!?』

“You’re the one who’s gonna eat that!”

I couldn’t stand it in the end, and I quipped. Or rather, that’s cruel!

The young girl, was staring at Lorna-san eating the katsudon deliciously in front of her, while gulping her saliva.

However, Lorna-san didn’t care about the girl’s appearance, and while trying to show off, she continued to chew on the katsudon, which looked delicious.

『Hmm~, delicious! Well, that’s a shame! If only you had told me about it honestly, you could have eaten such a delicious food~!』

『……』

『See, look at this! Just staring at it makes anyone hungry, and more importantly, the smell is …… Mufu! 』

『……』

『Uhoo!? The combination of this gooey egg and the crispy cutlet is irresistible! 』

“You’re a demon!”

I couldn’t stand it so opened the door, and said so. I couldn’t endure it as expected! If anything, I feel sorry for her!

Lorna-san was surprised when I opened the door, and intruded into the room during the interrogation, but Louise didn’t respond to me, and she quietly entered the room and told Lorna-san.

“Lorna”

“Yes? What is it? Louise-sama. Rather, why is Seiichi-san……”

“You’re not having dinner today.”

“Why!?”

Apparently, Louise also thought that Lorna-san’s action was terrible, and she coldly said so.

“That’s right…… even if it’s an interrogation, there should be a better way to do it. Why, are you doing it this way?”

“Err…… it’s the show her you’re eating delicious food while she was hungry, and give us information if she wants to eat the dish -kind of thing! I thought it would be easier for her to tell it to us this way……”

“Your partner is still a young girl, you know? Have a little forethought————”

When I was watching Louise preaching Lorna-san, Rurune says in fear.

“Wha,what a horrible torture……”

“I think you’re overexaggerating.”

How obsessed are you with food, you donkey!

Florio-san was smiling bitterly at such a sight, but Saria and Al looked completely dumbfounded, and puzzled.

“Haa…… Florio-san, could you prepare another katsudon?”

“Nn? That’s fine, but ……”

When I said that, Florio-san called his subordinates and told them to bring a katsudon.

Then, after a while, the katsudon was prepared, so I took it and brought it to the girl.

“I’m sorry that that nee-san was being mean, okay? Here, I’ve got the same thing for you, eat as much as you want.”

“……”

“A’re!? Why am I the bad guy here!?”

“Lorna, we’re still talking”

“Please forgive me! I’m so sorryyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!”

As I ignored Lorna-san’s sorrowful cry and told the young girl kindly, the girl looked up at me with her half-closed eyes full of tears.

I smiled at her and patted her head.

“It’s okay, I won’t do anything. Eat as much as you like”

“!”

The girl who received my words seemed a little hesitant, but eventually, little by little, she began to eat the katsudon.

It could have been any other food, but if you could eat something that looks so good right in front of you, it makes you want to eat Katsudon, doesn’t it. The more people eat it, for some reason, the more delicious it looks.

While I was thinking about such unimportant things, the girl was happily eating her katsudon.

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