2nd Arc, Chapter 39: A Weirdo Entered the Scene
Translated by Soyokaze Translations: soyokazeweb . wordpress . com
3 days after leaving Rahon.
The journey is going exceedingly smoothly.
With the to-do over the bandits, and the wyvern disturbance, we were being vigilant, thinking “what else is going to happen?” but…
At this rate it looks like we’ll arrive at Solkalis the day after tomorrow.
It’s the afternoon break, and I’m sitting on my master’s lap, working on unraveling Fafnir’s tendon
The current Third Eye uses a thick silver wire as its string, reinforced with [Strength] and [Toughness].
If I used typical things for the bow, like string or animal tendons, then it wouldn’t be able to handle the force from it.
Since it needed a magic circle carved in it, the bowstring ended up thick, and it doesn’t feel very elastic, but that was the only problem.
That’s where Fafnir’s tendon comes in.
Rather than this half-baked metal string, the much tougher, supple, and highly elastic tendon is optimal as Third Eye‘s bowstring.
The problem is the work of taking apart this stupidly huge tendon. The work is very complex and requires a lot of patience…
“Ugh, this is tougher than I thought it would be. And [Telekinesis] isn’t suited to fine detail work like this.”
“I think the real question is this: why do you need to do that work on my lap?”
“Because if I take my eyes off you for a second then you’ll start flirting with miss Bella, won’t you?”
“I have no intention of getting in other peoples’ hair!”
“I see your point, you’re having your own hair trouble.”
“Stop talking about that!”
My master holds down the hair on his head in worry. He has been worried about that lately.
Also, please don’t move around too much. Since that time I’ve been pretty conscious of it, you know? That one place that’s touching me…
“Fufu, you’re still quite fine mister Haster. You’re still in top form.”
“Thank you for saying so. My apprentice is merciless.”
I feel like miss Bella is being more extreme in her attacks with my master as part of the Forest Bear escort.
I’m enduring the embarrassment of sitting here while doing my work, because it’s also supposed to be a restraint.
Mister Bhav, please reign her in a bit more!
“Be careful Master, carnivorous girls are dangerous.”
“Aren’t you mainly carnivorous yourself, Yuuri?”
“Well I do love meat—“
“Then I’ll add more ham to your sandwich, Yuuri.”
“Oh, me too! Add some to mine too please!”
“Ah, me too please!”
“Shagya!”
Miss Leche was handling the meal for us, and she added ham on mine.
Seeing that, Jack requested the same for his. Alec and Yig got on board with it too.
“Mister Jack, if you hold Alec dear as your ‘big bro’, then shouldn’t you be giving him your ham sandwich?”
“Well, I uh?! But… ugh!”
Trapped between loyalty and his tastes, mister Jack struggles. Then for some reason, mister Bhav covers for him.
“In that case, shouldn’t little miss Yuuri be giving her sandwich to mister Haster?”
“Huh?! Uh but, I’m still a growing girl!”
“Even though you don’t grow?”
“Master, that’s confidential information.”
“Uh… whoops.”
My careless master easily leaked highly classified information.
Gosh, there’s meow helping this guy.
“Ah, sir Alec, here, have mine!”
“Really? Ah—, but you need to eat properly, Marle, or you won’t get any bigger, like Yuuri.”
“Eh? That would be troubling… but your stomach is more important!”
“Hey! What part of me are you comparing when you say that?!”
The winner in life, Marle, tries to cleverly earn some points. I guess you could call her a beast in life at this point.1
And what do you mean being like me would be troubling?! … Yeah, it really is.
“What’s wrong with being small? Children are the only ones who can sit on laps like this, you know?”
“Please don’t treat me like a child too, Masteeeeer!”
While being bounced on his lap, I state my dissatisfaction.
Master, if you keep treating me like a child, I’ll pull on it again!
~*~
Translated by Soyokaze Translations: soyokazeweb . wordpress . com
I somehow managed to resupply on my master’s essence in the afternoon, so I went on my late night walk feeling satisfied.
“The wind feels really nice tonight, Yig.”
“Ugyu?”
My master also seems to be aware of my night time strolls, but he’s allowing it because I’ve got Yig along with me.
Despite being a child, he’s the offspring of Fafnir. Yig is much stronger than the monsters around here.
“I’m counting on you to guard me tonight, Yig.”
“Agya!”
Without going too deep, I’m taking a light stroll near the entrance to a grove a trees.
The night time breeze is cool, and the surrounding vegetation releases just enough moisture to make the humidity feel nice on my skin.
“Don’t they say this has to do with negative ions?”2
“Ugyu~ Gyagyah”
It looks like my good mood has infected Yig, too.
He flies around me, almost like he’s dancing.
After walking around for about 10 minutes, we found a perfect stone to sit on, so we’ll take a short break.
Taking out Third Eye, with it’s newly remade string, I try giving it a light tug.
“Next, if I use the bone as reinforcement for the bow, I suppose it will be complete?”
Yig makes a strange face, brings his nose close to the bow and gives it a sniff.
I wonder if some of his parent’s scent remains on it? I feel like I’m doing something cruel now.
“Part of this bow was made from your real mother after all, Yig. Though it was a matter of life and death…”
Part of the reason being, Fafnir would need something to feed on, and with a new child, the amount of that feed would increase.
We couldn’t give it Rahon as a feeding ground, but if the people gathered a bunch of fish, then they could have thrown the whole net to it.
Of course, even that way, they were at no obligation to feed it, so they would probably strike back against it.
“I don’t want you to attack people. Because humans are actually the scary on—who’s there?!”
Suddenly, I felt something strong nearby… yeah, I can only describe it as feeling something with a really strong presence.
I pull an iron arrow from the quiver on my back, and point it in the direction of that feeling in threat.
“Wait. If I startled you, then I apologize.”
Saying that, a boy of about 14 or 15 years old stepped out from behind the trees. Like me, he had silver hair and red eyes.
His slender body was like that of an illusion… and yet he gives off a very certain sense of reality.
Seeing his figure, I knit my eyebrows together.
Despite appearing young, he had the ability to come near me without making a sound on the piled up leaves in the area.
—This guy is strong… no, he’s unbelievably so.
With my master’s training, I’m learning a technique to see through my opponent’s abilities.
But even with that, I couldn’t grasp his abilities.
“Please don’t come any closer. If you do, then I will shoot you without mercy, got it?”
“I wouldn’t want that. That bow looks like it’ll hurt.”
As if he doesn’t even feel slightly threatened, he says that in an aloof manner.
Towards something so formidable, without making any sort of threat, Yig dropped to the ground, trembling. He’s scared.
The most frightening thing of all is… “Appraisal” isn’t reacting to him.
When I use “Appraisal” on the ‘space’ around him, all it tells me is “something is there”.
“I will ask again. Who are you?”
“I am… let’s see, could you call me Bart?”
“You aren’t even trying to hide that it’s an alias.”
“Yeah, well I suppose not. I’ve got a reason why I can’t tell you my real name. It’ll be a secret, just like your gifts.”
“Wha?!”
(I like to call him “Baut” but that’s not really much of a name in English)
So he’s saying he even knows about my gifts…?
“Just how much do you know? What did you come here for?”
“I believe I know all about you. And I came here to take a look at the “Dragon Slaying Hero”.”
“In that case, you should head over to that merchant group.”
“I’m not interested in the mock-ups you’ve presented. I believe I said I know all about you.”
“In that case, I hope you’re satisfied. The exit is that way.”
I point in the direction behind the boy.
“How cold. Aren’t we companions in destroying the commandments of the world?”
“… Commandments?”
“Everything that lives, must die… all things born into the world must follow this “unbreakable commandment” decided by God. That’s what I’m talking about.”
In other words, he’s saying that he also…?
“So you are trying to say that you also have eternal youth and immortality?”
“Though it appears the source of it is different from yours. I also comprehend that you defeated Fafnir… and became quite attached to it as well.”
Bart sends a light glance towards Yig. He even knows about Fafnir?
And he even takes a look at Third Eye.
“Well, it would be best not to let its corpse out into the world. At the very least, you do understand that, so I’m relieved.”
“It is securely sealed. Do not worry.”
“Honestly I feel that I also want to retrieve the parts that you’ve distributed to ‘them’ you see. Well, I suppose I’ll leave that within your rights to decide.”
“… You seem awfully demanding with the things someone else acquired. Who the hell do you think you are?”
“Me.” (Boku-sama)
“Don’t screw with me!”
Crying out, I fully drew Third Eye with the same kind of improved arrow that I used to kill Fafnir.
I also fully activated my magic. On top of two types of [Body Reinforcement], I placed two [Lightning] spells in front of me.
I composed them into a long rail exceeding 5 meters, inside of which a strong Lorentz force occurs.
This is the greatest reason to have iron arrows… a [Rail Cannon].
—Before my eyes is an enigma of a being. All I instinctively know is that he is a threat. In which case, I will follow that instinct!
The arrow is fired, faster than the speed of sound, into the rail.
A dry, light bang, like the sound of a firecracker rings out. But that was the sound of the iron arrow reaching 25 times the speed of sound, and busting through a wall of air.
The only other sounds after that were the vibrations dissipating into the surroundings.
The arrow melted down from the friction in the air, and flew while vaporizing. Unlike a [Heat Ray], it has mass to it, which makes it spread destruction.
At the same time, the resulting shock wave blew me away, and I rolled on the ground.
Snap, crack, with every roll comes the sounds of my bones breaking. My left leg, my right arm, the fingers on my left hand…
Even so, I didn’t die, which I suppose you could say was lucky for me.
The scene before me was destruction for 30 meters, and the endless debris of the grove.
30 meters. The melting arrow could only fly that far.
While I can boast about its massive attack strength, the reason it’s not very usable is because of the short range and long preparation time.
However the power of it was huge, and all that remained of Bart were his ankles. He completely disappeared.
“… Was I able… to beat him?”
The moment my tiny voice leaked out—
The regeneration started. From the ankles, bones, meat, and flesh pile up, and like a video playing in reverse, a person’s shape forms.
And it only took tens of seconds.
“No way…”
His regeneration speed far surpasses mine.
After showing ‘that’ hard to believe display, he just lightly twists his neck and—
“That hurt. Well, I suppose I was also in the wrong for scaring you. There really was no need to suddenly shoot me though.”
He took my strongest attack, and his impression was simply “that hurt”? … Don’t screw with me.
“Maybe it was unreasonable to ask you not to be cautious of me? I would probably attack someone so suspicious too.”
“… Ah.”
Right, I attacked him. He didn’t show any clear intention of hostility.
I can’t even complain if he attacks me now.
This… completely unbelievable being, he—
“Well, I’ll let you have your free time for today. Ah, don’t worry. I’m not your enemy right now. So next time I’d like a warmer welcome.”
Saying that, he turned around—and disappeared.
I didn’t intend on taking my eyes off of him, but I’m not sure when he vanished.
What the hell was that…?
~*~
Translated by Soyokaze Translations: soyokazeweb . wordpress . com
“… Is this world some kind of monster hangout spot, Yig?”
By the time I noticed, my back was already drenched in cold sweat, greasy sweat, and who knows what else.
“I kind of feel like taking a bath. Yig, could you go prepare one for me?”
“Ugyu?”
I’m covered in mud from rolling on the ground, and though my bones are healed, I’m still bloody.
The bath was a joke, but if I don’t make some small talk, then I feel like I’ll faint—
“Actually, my legs have given out. I can’t walk.”
“Gyu~”
Neither my waist, nor my legs will listen to me. However, my whole body is trembling now.
I’m exhausted and anxious, and I just want to sleep… I want to get away from this dream-like reality…
“Yuuri! Are you alright?! What happened?!”
From far away, I could hear my master’s voice calling. That puts my mind at ease.
“Thank goodness… I can sleep now.”
Saying that, I collapsed and fell asleep on the ground.
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