Volume 1, Chapter 17

Volume 1, Chapter 17

Translator: Reflet

Editor: Weasalopes

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「Sorry for calling you over here, my friend.」

「Well, I pretty much figured you’d come, so don’t worry ‘bout it.」

After finishing their lunch on a seriously ominous note due to Haruna’s report, they had just begun figuring out their plans for the afternoon to take a breather when they were all called over by the king and Layotte.

「But what with this strange room here ‘n all, this is really quite the atmosphere for a castle.」

「Once again, I can never tire of all your unique observations.」

As if intending to soften the atmosphere, Hiroshi had gone for a full turn of the conversation, and Layotte couldn’t help but remark on that.

「Anyhow, there’s a strong magical barrier here, so there shouldn’t be an issue with getting somewhat reckless. Of course, to enter or exit requires either the king, one of his future successors, or the Priest Princess, so it is impossible to even think of setting up eavesdropping equipment on the inside.」

「What are you implying?」

「What I mean is that even if Haruna were to use the special magic that she inherited from Alfemina-sama here, there shouldn’t be any general issue. Plus I have Ernest and Julius here to observe in case anything goes wrong.」

Haruna couldn’t help but grimace at just how predictable this was. Even assuming that Douga and Julius were there, if you realized that there were tiers of magic that could blow away this entire castle regardless, she doubted their readiness and preparation for this situation. That was her honest opinion.

「So with that being said, could you teach us directly and precisely how to use the magic that you learned, Haruna-dono?」

「Yes.」

Urged by the king, she opened her mouth after lightly sorting out her thoughts.

「Although unfortunately, the majority of them are regular Healing Magic, Support Magic, Movement Magic, or Obstruction Magic. If you take out the quantity of the user, you generally do not need to fulfill any special requirements. It’s all magic that you can learn by training.」

「Could you be more specific?」

「Goddess’s Protection, Skanda, Goddess’s Healing, Long-Distance Teleportation, and the like are the majority. There were also some spells that I couldn’t use, but the users were all people who knew how to acquire it.」

Hearing some specifics, the king and Layotte nodded in understanding. It was true that Skanda and the like were major skills that were even used in the Knight’s Order a lot. Just as the name implied, Skanda made you quick, so in order to raise the army’s speed or strengthen their expansion ability, they would make sure to teach these types of magic to those who had even the slightest affinity with magic. They would acquire the spells as per their magical affinity.

When it came to Goddess’s Protection or Goddess’s Healing, that was when its learners became more rare. With that being said, even though they had the word “goddess” attached to their names, that only meant that they were spells used to borrow the power of one of the three goddesses: Time-Space Goddess Alfemina, Earth Mother Goddess Elza, or Ocean Goddess Lefia. It wasn’t like they wanted any sort of devotion. Therefore, even those who weren’t priests could acquire these skills, and at the center of any country were several people who could already use them. As far as Long Distance Teleportation was concerned, for advanced adventurer parties or teams, there was always someone mixed in who could use it. In fact, even Tatsuya in the Japanese team was able to use it.

The goddess-affiliated support and healing magic was certainly the best of the best, but such magic was not as rare as Hiroshi’s mere existence. To elaborate further, Healing of the Goddesses could go well over Level 3 potions at its peak, but would still not be able to heal broken parts.

「When you said “the majority”, that means that there were a few special ones in there as well, yes?」

「Yes. There were only four spells that I didn’t know about. More precisely, it’s like one spell was split into four different functions. One of them, I know how to use, but cannot currently activate it, while the remaining two are for healing and cannot be properly experienced here.」

「Hm. So then, does that mean the last remaining one is useable?」

When the king asked that question, Haruna’s blue eyes grew troubled as she fretted over how to explain it to him. Judging by that, the king figured that it must be fairly troublesome.

「Can you even use it?」

「If you mean whether I can activate it or not, yes I can. It’s just that I’m not sure if it has any practical use. If I were to use it right now, my body would probably be instantly destroyed.」

Haruna casually said something terrifying with a very troubled face. As soon as she said that, an indescribable silence filled the room.

Haruna’s body had enough specs to more than hold her own against one of the knights of this country. While she still wouldn’t be able to win in a pure fight against Julius, Douga, or Rayna, as long as she had no limitations for the abilities she could use, she could actually clench out a likely victory against someone like Rayna. This magic was enough to make even her instantly self-destruct. No matter whether that was an attack or something else, this particular magic was definitely not something anyone should play around with.

「But what does it do specifically?」

「It increases the target’s thought process speed as well as physical speed to an extreme level.」

「How much are we talking?」

「If we were to use my current power level, everything would accelerate by 100. That doesn’t seem to imply that you age quickly as well, but it also doesn’t lighten the burden on the flesh, so if you aren’t prepared to the max, I think you would self-destruct the moment you used the spell and tried to move.」

This magic was definitely nothing good, but such was to be expected of an extra skill. Further, Haruna had not normally had the opportunity to ride on grounded vehicles like bikes or roller coasters that enabled you to feel the air pressure and resistance, so she was mistaken in one aspect.

More precisely, this was not magic that accelerated. This extra skill would raise speed over 100 times while allowing the user to move in a non-accelerated manner. Therefore, any air resistance, friction heat, or the emergence of shockwaves could be entirely suppressed, but upon separation it was as if it deteriorated, and the damage that emerged in the body from moving as well as the side-effects from coming into contact with solid matter could not be reduced.

However, as Haruna had not yet considered the element of air resistance, she had made the mistake of assuming that the knockback from the damage and impact to the body not being reduced was the same thing as not reducing the burden on the flesh in the slightest.

「…Yeah, something tells me that it would be cruel to even try that…」

「Yes, it is after all the type of magic that would be guaranteed to destroy you and wouldn’t even seem like a fun idea to use against someone else…」

That being said, there was no mistake that it was powerful magic for whoever used it. That was even more worrisome.

「Oh yeah, you said that the remaining two were of the healing variety, but what precisely do they accomplish?」

「Both of them directly focus on intervening with wounds, poison, illness and the like, controlling time in order to heal. One of them is magic that accelerates time in order to make such things disappear, and the other one rewinds time to before receiving such negative effects, basically acting as if one’s body had never been altered in the first place.」

「…So would they also work on loss of parts or handicaps?」

「If I were better at it, I think that they can heal nearly anything. However, we can’t revive the dead, as their souls will have gone out of their bodies.」

The king nodded in comprehension. When it came to the revival of the dead, not just the king, but any decent person in the world regarded it as the highest taboo. There had been three examples up till now of success, but every time, a terrible amount of miasma would envelope the world, and at a minimum one country would be destroyed.

As a memento of that in the present day, the places where these people had been revived had become underworld dungeons. The worst of them all was the dungeon known as Purgatory.

Incidentally, in the case of the game, death was more like being incapacitated, and anyone who fell down would be taken into protection by the gods right before death. Any revival method other than taking them back to a safe area would involve something far more involved, such as Healing of the Goddesses or Level 3 potions and above or Yggdrasil potions, which were all unique, so for most players, it was customary to immediately return to a safe zone upon being rendered incapable of battling.

It should also be mentioned that the potions and Healing of the Goddesses could only be used outside of battle, and the Yggdrasil potion was dropped a rare amount—only about once per month in real time in Great Spirit Cavern. Recovering from battle was in general not a very realistic option in this game.

「Hm.」

After hearing Haruna’s answer, he pondered this for a bit. Haruna could only feel a bad premonition from such silence.

「Would you happen to be able to cast that healing magic on yourself?」

「It isn’t impossible, but you have to at minimum be able to move.」

「We have Level 3 potions here. Would this amount be enough?」

The king asked, and she became deep in thought. Level 3 potions in-game—in other words, Level 6 potions had a 30% chance success rate to revive people on the battlefield. After revival from such potions, the target would come back with 1 HP and would become poisoned if they drank another potion. Thinking about it now, it was only reasonable for potions as advanced as these that could repair body parts.

Healing of the Goddesses was similar in its success rate for revival, except it didn’t have any particular penalty for continuous use.

「Tatsuya-san, what about Healing of the Goddesses?」

「I’ve barely trained with it, but I can somewhat use it.」

「Then might you be willing to use your own body as a test subject…?」

「Wait a sec! C’mon, rethink this!」

After wryly smiling at the panicking Tatsuya, they took out a small stone the size of a BB bullet—more like a broken piece of something—to be used after the activation process in the experiment, and as an extra precaution cast support magic for strengthening one’s resistance before constructing the aforementioned magic. As expected of extra skill magic, the mana depleted during the process was above the normal toll. Still, as it didn’t take off as much as Elemental Dance, there shouldn’t have been much of an issue with activating it.

「Time to give it a go! Over-Accelerate!」

Ending about ten seconds of recitation, she activated the aforementioned magic on herself. The next moment, all movement around her ceased.

（Was it a success?）

Concentrating on the result, she flicked a fragment as a test. The next moment, tremendous pain emerged in her fingertips, spreading through her entire body and causing her to reel over. At almost the same exact time, the small stone that had been flung made a terrifying sound as it dug into the wall, creating a flashy fissure. Unable to bear the pain any longer, she immediately dissolved the magic and soon found someone supporting her body and one moment later, the smell of a liquid potion coming into contact with her head. The chemical spread throughout her golden hair, absorbed by her body before it even reached the ground.

「Haruna!?」

Makoto was apparently the one who had been supporting her body. The potion that had been poured over her head was of the Level 3 variety, and Hiroshi was responsible for that. Hiroshi had reacted quicker, but since he had more to do and she was faster, Makoto had ended up acting first. Furthermore, the act of covering someone’s head was yet another way to use a potion. In actuality, it didn’t have to specifically be the head as long as it was somewhere on the skin. The healing itself was a grade lower than the more conventional method, but it was the quickest way to heal someone in an emergency. Even when reviving someone from the brink of death, this would be the method used, so Level 3 potions probably wouldn’t be able to have anything past a 30% success rate.

「Haruna-san, can you move alright?」

Hiroshi asked worriedly after putting the emptied bottle back into the bag and keeping his distance. Haruna couldn’t help but feel exasperated that even in this situation he stepped back as soon as he was no longer needed. All that being said, she was still happy that he was caring for her in his own way.

「It still hurts here and there, but it should be fine…」

「Then ya better drink a mana potion ‘n heal up quickly. From that explanation earlier, healin’ became more difficult the more that time passes.」

「…Right…」

「We only got Level 5 here. Is that fine?」

Nodding at Hiroshi’s question, she took out a mana potion from their luggage and gulped it down, immediately beginning the preparations for the healing magic. Judging from the sensation, she would barely be able to make it in time without any lingering effects with her current strength.

「Return Heal!」

Her head went faint for an instant with the hefty amount of mana that was again demanded of her. When using Elemental Dance, the strain on the body was tougher so it hadn’t made much of an impression, but exhausting a large amount of mana was also pretty taxing on the body. That being said, the magic seemed to have made it in time, and the pain throughout her body disappeared in the blink of an eye. Moving her body around for a bit to check for any irregularities, she breathed a sigh of relief when she confirmed that nothing major had happened to her. She had readied herself for potential impairments, so she was truly thankful that nothing had happened at all.

With everyone relieved that nothing major happened to Haruna’s body, the entire party decided to temporarily suspend the process in order to take a breather.

「What did ye even do back there?」

As they were on break, Douga examined the particulars on the wall as he asked Haruna with a very grave face. The fragment that had surely collided with the wall was nowhere to be seen, and the only record of something actually happening was just the large fissure. As it was but a mere fragment, it had apparently been ground into dust with the impact of the crash.

「All I did was flick some shard with my finger.」

She said, taking out a shard of similar shape and size and showing it to Douga. As to why she had such a thing in the first place, it was because she had picked it up in the inner courtyard in anticipation of actually using magic.

「So that is what brought this on…」

「By the way, this is what it’s like if you flick it like normal.」

She said, flicking it at a different point than the previous. The launched shard let out a dry, light whooshing sound as it hit the wall, rebounding off of it and falling to the floor. She didn’t even put much effort into it, and yet there was still quite the force exerted. It would likely hurt a bit if it were to directly hit the skin. Be as that may, as long as it didn’t directly hit the eyes, it certainly wasn’t enough power to lead to any big injuries.

「So that’s what happens to these things…」

「Yeah, pretty terrifying to think that the speed is 100 times the usual amount. I didn’t even know that she had these in the first place.」

Julius chimed in with an awed tone when Douga groaned.

「It was a lot flashier than I expected, so I was surprised, but thinking about it, they increase in speed by 100, so that would apply to being thrown as well. Pretty simple logic.」

「Leavin’ aside whether it’s simple logic or not, even at 50 times more in the air, the kinetic energy’d be at 2,500 times more. With its power amplified that much, it’d probably sink into the wall.」

Haruna nodded at what Hiroshi said. If all of the conditions besides speed were the same, the kinetic energy would become proportionately raised to the second power. Even with a small stone being flung and increasing things a hundred times in terms of the theory of relativity, it would probably be harmless in terms of pure Newton physics.

With just that amount of speed, if you flicked a stone it would of course significantly impact your fingers, so if she did not strengthen your body prior to the impact, it probably would have crushed Haruna’s fingers into a fine powder. Therefore, it was preposterous to even think of someone raising the speed so high while not lightening the knockback at all on the body.

「Yeah, I think all I got from that was that it isn’t feasible to use this.」

「Mhm. And as expected, it only lasted about 3 seconds in real-time.」

「Of course there’s the body, but if you also aren’t extremely quick-witted or skilled with close-combat weapons, the weapon itself could break as soon as you even hit them once with it.」

Everyone found themselves nodding at Tatsuya’s observation. No one could deny that she was strong, but they also couldn’t deny that it might not even be worth it.

「Well, weapons are generally metallic, so other than the weapons like the rapier that originally had durability issues, I’m pretty sure that a hundred times more wouldn’t be nothin’. They ain’t gonna break that easily as long as nothing more crazy than that happens.」

「So doesn’t that basically mean a side-effect emerges from that fission?」

「Well, yeah, ya got me there…」

Hiroshi found himself groaning in response to Makoto’s comment. The whole thing was just difficult to use in every way.

「Haru, can I ask you something?」

「What?」

「How does it feel when you use it?」

「Everything around me moves so slowly, as if halting all movement, while I can move as per usual. Although it kind of all ends when I move…」

Mio nodded in comprehension at Haruna’s answer. If someone were to have a good idea of how to use it, it would be powerful, but this spell was just so full of hazards.

「I just had a thought, if you want to hear.」

「What might that be?」

「If it were Hiroshi, maybe he could last about ten seconds in real time?」

Layotte’s said something rather scary, but everyone other than Hiroshi was surprisingly agreeable with this statement.

「Now just hold yer horses! We just saw how dangerous this whole thing is now yer just jumpin’ to the next guinea pig?!」

「But hey, if you use that then your issue with inadequate firepower will be resolved just like that!」

「But if I’m gonna go into hypermode like that I need to last at least 3 minutes or else it’s pretty useless!」

Even when he frantically tried to reject this idea, he was outnumbered and shut down by everyone there other than Haruna. In a sense, Haruna may have been even more opposed to the idea than Hiroshi, having experienced it herself, but before she could say anything they had made their verdict and left her unable to really argue against that logic.

「We’ll start out by solidifying the space and changing the color, so use that for the target.」

「Yeah, target. Not vague at all…」

Hiroshi made a puzzled face as he looked at the “target” that Layotte had identified. Suddenly, there was an odd black mass about the size of a human enshrined in the area that Layotte directed him to.

「Flexibility and firmness are just right. I’d say it works well.」

「Yeah, but is that really the issue…?」

Mio had touched the target prepared by Layotte all over, expressing her odd impressions.

「But wait, are ya gonna be okay with your current mana, Haruna-san?」

「It’s been replenished a good amount. Honestly, I don’t even think I needed to heal right now in the first place.」

「Is that right…」

Hiroshi began to quickly clear away obstacles from their objective. Unlike some types of offensive magic, the healing, support, obstacle, and day-to-day magic had rigid magic consumption that matched their skill level. In regards to the magic that she had learned this time, other than the already overall taxing support skill Over Accelerate, the regenerative Return Heal had worse cost performance than Healing of the Goddesses, so it didn’t seem like even a Level 5 mana potion would pose a threat with its amount of regeneration. The reason why the amount of mana that Haruna had was inflating each time she learned new magic was probably because she was still quite good to go.

「Yeah, I really don’t think I want to use that on other people.」

There was also the fact that Hiroshi didn’t want to, and Haruna herself even displayed a reluctance to use such dangerous magic. Like Hiroshi, she was stubborn too, but Hiroshi was more of running to his own safety whereas Haruna was rejecting the idea because she was thinking of other people, so Hiroshi ended up looking a bit lousy as a result.

「But we’ve already come this far.」

「Haruna, the fact that sort of magic exists means that eventually there will be someone who you need to use it against. I know that you don’t feel right about this, but sometimes there are things that have to be done ahead of time.」

Haruna simply would not bring herself to go through with this, so Layotte and Makoto chided her. Makoto’s words held weight, as she had fought in the front lines with numerous throngs of enemies, even when they were playing the game. After all, Makoto knew what kinds of people needed to have Hiroshi and his arguably extreme defense and resistance. More precisely, one of the reasons why their capture of Purgatory had ended abruptly in the middle was that they lacked the proper endurance of a tank. Of course it was near impossible to think of a partner who needed this much support magic, but even if it had nothing to do with the main quests, Purgatory had still yet to be explored all the way to the end, despite allowing people to enter and exit as they pleased. Who even knew what was liable to come out at them?

To add to that, even the second main quest’s mid-boss was far stronger than the boss of your average dungeon. Even Purgatory, which was classified as a regular dungeon, was constantly causing even the most dedicated shut-ins of the highest caliber to repeatedly run out of time or get all wiped out due to a lack of resources, so you really could not be ready enough for what kind of fiends the bosses past the fourth main quest were like. So when they thought of the possibility that they very well might have to end up facing such opponents in real life, there was no reason to abandon the magic that they had gone to such lengths to obtain.

「Hiro, hurry up and ready yourself.」

「Yeah whatever, don’t act like ya wouldn’t try ‘n get out of it too…」

Everyone uncomfortably looked the other way when Hiroshi desperately retorted. True, they could never bring themselves to say that they wouldn’t feel scared about becoming experimental subjects after seeing ruptured blood vessels all over Haruna after moving but an inch. While it was true that she hadn’t yet known what it was going to be like, the fact that Haruna had stepped forward despite recognizing the potential risk truly impressed them on how gallant and gutsy of a woman she was.

「Anyhow, I gotta do it too so hurry up and prepare yourselves, you two.」

「What!? We’re still doing it!?」

Haruna let out a loud voice when Makoto said that. It was way too unbelievable for her to suddenly say that despite having averted her eyes from Hiroshi.

「Well yeah, of course. Mio and I are about the same in terms of endurance, so I gotta confirm how we’d do at this line. Even if she has to experience it in the future, I definitely can’t just force such a dangerous thing on Mio all of a sudden.」

「Mako, you’re so cool…」

「…Wow, so this is what it feels like to be left out…」

When Makoto suddenly said something manly, Mio gave her a gaze of admiration while Hiroshi felt a strange sense of defeat. People of the female persuasion can truly make decisions when they have to.

「Hiro, before you show any more of your lousy side, it would be best to just get on it dude.」

「Hey Bro, just cuz I’m outta the loop doesn’t mean whatever ya say goes…」

Fed up with Tatsuya’s words, especially since he wasn’t even participating in this experiment, Hiroshi cut in. That being said, he couldn’t deny that Tatsuya had said something very true. It was impossible for a Japanese who had no air resistance to complain any further.

「Alright…Haruna-san, let’s just get this over…」

「A-Are you sure…?」

「I can’t keep throwin’ some tantrum here…」

Not exactly ready, but resigned to his fate, Hiroshi readied his newly-acquired pole axe and powerlessly answered Haruna. After hearing that, Haruna made a mildly apologetic face as she cast Increase Endurance before activating the long-awaited technique.

「Over-Accelerate!」

At the same time as the activation of the magic, Hiroshi’s form grew hazy and the gaudy sound of something being crushed continued without ceasing. The target they had set up had been beaten up in the first second, pulverized in precisely five seconds.

「Welp, this is as far as I go…」

Hiroshi grumbled with a tired demeanor, releasing the spell right after the target was crushed to bits. Having said that, unlike Haruna, there was no indication that his body was worn out. He was standing firmly on his own feet and had an exasperating amount of firmness.

「But really tho, I’m super lucky that the person enchanted has a release switch too…」

「You couldn’t hold out a bit longer?」

「Well hey, this is pretty much whatcha get in actual usage…」

Hiroshi gave a supplemental explanation to Makoto, who still couldn’t get her head around what had just happened.

「Honestly, if ya mean up till I end up falling then yeah, a mite more, but usin’ potions ‘n return heals everyday ain’t gonna work well in the long run. I mean c’mon, continuin’ battle like this even now is pretty sketchy.」

「…I see. It certainly would be silly to not leave some remaining energy.」

「You got the picture, yup.」

He replied, examining the pole axe that had been thoroughly pulverized in an instant. As the target had been fairly hard, it was a little too much for a weapon that had not had any sort of enchantment cast on it.

「Welp, gotta hammer this sucker back in.」

Looking at the strangely twisted hilt of his specialized weapon, he grumbled in a dejected manner. He said hammer back in, but maybe it was actually better to just melt it and make it all over again. Although it would be inferior to something he personally made himself, this story of an arguably first-rate item being turned into scrap metal within just one day would probably live on in infamy.

「And that’s not even anything close to a bad weapon, but wow, it had a short lifespan.」

「Yeah, I think there should’ve been a better way…」

Hiroshi replied to Julius’s impressions while slightly holding his head. In all honesty, it was very possible that if the weapon were not a highly prized specialty (even the hilt was metal) that had been used by one of Douga’s contemporaries (retiring last year), it would have bent out of shape with the first hit.

「Lay, the target’s a mite too hard. It’d be a drag to have another one go plunk, so do me a favor ‘n make it thirty percent softer.」

「Okay.」

Responding to Hiroshi’s request, he left the resistance as it was while dropping the hardness by 30% on the newly made target.

「Hiroshi-kun, are you sure you’ll be fine without healing?」

「I made sure to halt the spell before it went too far, so takin’ a little break is all I need.」

「Mm, okay.」

Haruna was truly relieved once she confirmed that unlike her, he had not had any issues.

「So, Haruna. Mana count?」

「Wait a bit longer. It’ll still be a bit difficult for Return Heal.」

「Understood.」

Makoto waited a bit longer for the charge after hearing Haruna’s personal report. It was best to have as much insurance as possible.

「Well, just waiting isn’t any use, so Hiroshi, any other impressions?」

「This is just the sensation I felt, but for the peeps that are on the receiving end of an attack like that, I think it would really vary.」

True, just being able to move as per usual after maintaining the spell for five whole seconds was no easy feat. Haruna hadn’t been able to understand any of this at all, but Hiroshi conveyed the information quite easily.

「Is that so?」

「This is just what I think though. If ya adjust yer body to it after dealin’ with it several times, ya’d get to where ya can do basic movement without gettin’ any repercussions.」

「And how many times do you think that would take?」

「I dunno that, but well, prolly at least a hundred or so.」

Hiroshi revealed this overwhelming estimation so nonchalantly, and Haruna and Makoto found themselves holding their heads. It was easy for him to say several hundred times, but Haruna couldn’t even move two steps without having to get out of there, and even Makoto wasn’t guaranteed to last long either. Also, before they even discussed that issue, Haruna’s current max magic count would force her to drag this out for days and days if she wanted to reach even a hundred tries. And yet this guy just said it all so casually. As to be expected of a top-class masochist from the crafting geek squad.

「Other thing we gotta examine is how much knockback would decrease once Haruna-san polishes her skill with this technique.」

「You sure it even decreases…?」

「Well that’s what we’re gonna test out in the process, yeah?」

Hiroshi began to say more and more troublesome things. Perhaps he was doing this in retaliation for them using him as a guinea pig.

「I hope you know that you’ll have to do these things as well for the inspection.」

「Ha! I already figured out that it ain’t nothin’ if I try ‘n stay like that for 300 seconds. Bring it on!」

「…You sure like to puff out your chest whenever the topic of the conversation comes to your ability…」

Exasperated, Makoto had no hesitation in commentating on Hiroshi’s two-faced nature. This was just another aspect of his incompetent nature.

「So Haruna-san, how ‘bout that mana?」

「I’d say it’s about ready.」

「Ya ready, Makoto-san?」

「Ready at any time.」

「Ya sure ‘bout this? Ya ready to beg for yer life while coughin’ up blood? Ya ready to endure the impact of yer entire body being crushed to—hey, that hurt!」

「That’s cause you won’t stop trying to scare them.」

As Hiroshi was firing line after line of scary imagery at her, Tatsuya prodded him with his beloved staff in order to silence him.

「But I’m not sayin’ it as a joke, y’know?」

「It’s unsettling, but I guess it’s not far off…」

Makoto felt herself recoil inwardly at what Hiroshi and Haruna were saying, thinking she may have been too hasty. But if she wussed out here than she would be the real incompetent one. Nodding at them as they tried to warn her again, she braced herself for the impact that would no doubt come and assail her.

Makoto was able to keep her body up for about 100 seconds before going down.

「Princess, did you perhaps hear that conversation?」

「Yes. Honestly, how long does that girl intend to provoke me?」

These people were talking at a tea party in the evening. They had made sure to prohibit anyone from entering the room in addition to ensuring that no one eavesdropped. After Katrina, several other people began to assemble, but she didn’t even try to hide her expression of anger and impatience, cursing the adventurers who had brought Aearis back. More precisely, she was cursing that little songstress, the most pesky out of them all.

「It does seem that the rumor about Alfemina-sama falling to the Dark God wasn’t necessarily a lie after all.」

「Yes, didn’t I tell you that numerous times? If that weren’t true, then there would be no way that a twisted, tenacious, tainted girl like Aearis would be chosen. And then she goes so far as to entrust her with some nobody adventurers and give them secret techniques that I even don’t know about. This just cannot be.」

「I wholeheartedly agree.」

Anyone listening to these colorful descriptive words would normally find it difficult to associate them with Katrina upon first glance, but she couldn’t help but spit out her resentment. Her flunky, Barold, nodded in agreement.

「All things considered, things are getting quite troublesome, haven’t they.」

「Those filthy songs of hers are vexing enough as it is, but on top of it, now she has some strange protection…」

「We really must end this somehow…」

As soon as the phrase “end this” came up, silence filled the entire room. It needn’t be said that this was not because they had any hesitation in killing Haruna. They were only quiet because the difficulty was much too high to do anything as of the current time and no one wanted to say anything careless.

In actuality, there was the fact that the information about Haruna gaining some secret technique had yet to be confirmed, as well as the fact that many of the people there feared that they might be stirring up a hornet’s nest, not very eager to act. There were even some among them who suspected this easy leaking of information that was supposed to be top-secret was a trap.

It goes without saying that such caution was accurate. After all, the king’s side intentionally leaked the information about the secret technique. Upon understanding the contents of the spell, they got Haruna’s and everyone’s permission before controlling the information so that it spread as effectively as possible to the people in the shadows, so normally everyone should have been cautious.

「It sounds easy when you say you wish to end them, but…」

「That wench seems to lack the capabilities of an adventurer, but she seems to be quite the manipulator.」

「Indeed. Superficial warriors like that cannot win by fighting fair and square.」

As much as it vexed them, the men had to acknowledge that much. After that evening party, they had boldly set out to investigate these adventurers, but they could only find troubling information. A berserker bear right from the outset, followed by piaranorks and a brigade of thieves, and even a former Level 5 adventurer going for broke failing at a quest. These were truly phenomenal battle results that made them question if these people were actually Level 9 adventurers. Especially in the case of the piaranorks, the monsters encountered in these parts were all the cream of the crop in their strength. Sure, it wasn’t like she defeated them alone, but it didn’t change the fact that she had managed to bring them down. This was the opponent they were dealing with.

In addition, the guard of the thief brigade that she had defeated one-on-one actually had a Level 2 bounty on his head and was quite formidable in combat. Although his attacks were simple and monotone, you couldn’t just laugh at his club that had enough power to smash a cave wall to bits. Sure, his attacks had long intervals between them, but with practically limitless stamina that enabled him to unleash that many attacks and a defense that reduced regular attacks to slight scratches, and even his life force that allowed him to take numerous hits without showing any signs of weakening, his threat level was far above that of some small fry monster.

If they had lived on after attacking people like that, the only way to fight them head-on and win would be with the power of Douga or Julius. If they had that many chess pieces, of course they wouldn’t hide in the shadows.

「Perhaps they made it look like an accident?」

「Unfortunately, they don’t seem to be careless enough to provide an opening…」

This was the king’s palace, with eyes everywhere. Only a fool would try and carelessly set up that sort of trap. There was an interval a bit earlier with the whole Elena and Aearis thing, unexpectedly enough, but…

「Poison? No, probably not going to work…」

「As long as that potion maker brat is with them, it won’t be easy to slip anything in.」

After said person had taken back their idea, Barold supplemented them with words of actual experience. Hiroshi had legitimately foiled Elena’s assassination as well as at the evening party, both times regarding poison. There still hadn’t been any public word of the attempt at the evening party, but of course it wasn’t like no one had realized just because it was prevented. With him being able to identify and purify minor poison like emilrad, there was no way that they could slip in any poison that had a scent to it without him realizing it. They were probably only covering it up because there was no actual evidence left over and they didn’t want anyone to suspect them for forging the evidence and risk causing an uproar.

「Then we should start with that brat…」

「Without ingredients, he is but a mere human. We don’t even need to worry about going so far as to poison him. All we need do is creep up slowly and deliberately.」

They had managed to catch the drift of his gynophobia. However, that only meant that they would be even more cautious and on-edge to make sure that Hiroshi didn’t go alone and interact with some unknown woman. He lacked in the intimidation department, but the difficulty level for targeting him was far too high. Even if he was an opponent to be put down eventually, there was no reason to prioritize him.

「At this point, we may as well just send an assassin as per usual.」

「Be as it may, their guard is like iron right now. We have to isolate them in the courtyard first.」

At the moment, it would be difficult to lay a hand on these Japanese guests of the king. First they would isolate them in an information war and eliminate them in the imperial court. It might be difficult to eliminate the accomplished potion masker Hiroshi and his disciple, Mio, but all they had to do was separate them and everything would fall into play.

「I believe that I know what we can do about assassins.」

One nobleman boasting the title of marquis said that unsettling statement as if it were nothing. Every other participant in the room blinked their eyes as they focused on him.

「Really, now?」

「We can leave the matter to you, then?」

「Indeed. Therefore, I would like to have everyone assist me in successfully luring them into isolation.」

「Understood.」

「It just so happens that the royal family is secretly split.」

「Let us show those country folk how one fights in the court.」

Embracing the marquis’s words, the masses began to stir. The darkness of the great country had begun to forment.

「Yep, that gaze is as fierce as ever…」

Afternoon of the next day. Having finished Elena’s examination, Hiroshi found himself grumbling. Haruna and Mio, who had tagged along with him as assistants, stared at him with worried eyes. They were only doing this in the afternoon for Elena and company’s convenience, unlike yesterday.

「You did very well today.」

「Sensei, you’re hated more than ever.」

「Well yeah, after some random guy nabs her master ‘n does as he pleases all in the name of treatment, and taking her out whenever she doesn’t notice? I get why she’s glarin’ at me now…」

While nodding in sympathy at Hiroshi’s grievance, Haruna searched her mind to see if there was any way to deal with this growing threat. Yesterday, with all these guests in the room, the most Elena got was a scolding and a reminder, but today she was rebuking her quite harshly regardless of Hiroshi’s group being in there.

Focusing on nearly all the members yesterday, she had seemed to cool down or at least didn’t seem to outright hate them. However, just one of the leaders keeping them together had stopped hiding their unpleasant feelings, loathing, and the like. Honestly, compared to the reputation or things they had said, the way they acted toward Hiroshi made him seriously uncomfortable. It had already leaped into a dimension past merely not being compatible physically, personality-wise, etc, and the malice was now just pouring out. This was all very unnatural.

Even more unnatural was the fact that the old retainer who had boldly asked them to get out yesterday had done nothing more than give them a brief, cordial greeting as they passed by each other today. The only difference from yesterday was perhaps that no one was there, but if that was the reason then they still didn’t really get what was going on.

「Hey, Hiroshi-kun, Mio-chan.」

「What?」

「What’s wrong, Haru?」

「I’m thinking of going to the kitchen now. Mind helping me for a bit?」

After thinking about various things, she seemed to have finally come up with an idea, suddenly proposing that.

「Kitchen? Sure, but whatcha gonna make?」

「Some sweets, I guess you could say? I figure this is the perfect timing, seeing as how the Maiden’s Lover still doesn’t exist in this country.」

Looking at Haruna and her mischievous smile, Hiroshi felt slightly anxious about just what she was planning to make. Meanwhile, on the opposite end, Mio felt no anxiety about what Haruna was making and readily agreed.

「If it’s just makin’ sweets, ain’tcha fine by yerself, Haruna-san? Why do I gotta help?」

「I intend to make more than just a few things, so it wouldn’t be good if my job never ended, plus I was thinking that it might be good to have some decent-looking containers.」

「Sure I can make containers, but how many do you intend to make?」

「Roughly a thousand?」

「Hold yer horses! Why the hell ya tryna make that much!?」

Haruna had said something terrifying, and Hiroshi retorted, desiring a time-out. Considering the current combination of people, it would usually be Haruna or Mio butting in whenever he did something unnatural, so this was arguably a very rare sight.

「Who do you think is the one handling the practical business in this castle?」

Not bothering to reply to Hiroshi’s interjection, Haruna suddenly changed the topic. Although he was befuddled by the sudden change in topic, he decided to come up with a sensible answer regarding the organization of this lodging facility.

「Well, if we’re talkin’ practical affairs, then some bureaucrats ‘n servants, I’d say. Everything’d stop functioning if there weren’t no one to issue orders, but practicum wouldn’t progress if those people weren’t there either.」

「Then what’s the male/female ratio of bureaucrats and servants all together?」

「There’re a lotta women who’re servants, so ultimately it’d be geared toward women?」

「Exactly what I’m doing.」

That seemed to be Haruna’s answer. Hiroshi found himself shaking his head at this half-understandable half-incomprehensible line.

「There are hardly any girls out there who dislike love stories or sweet things, so I was thinking of starting by getting ahold of their stomachs as per usual.」

「As per usual? Aren’t ya just fixated on fillin’ yer own tummy as opposed to makin’ things for others?」

「That’s true, but this time around I did factor this into part of the strategy.」

The reason Haruna thought this kind of thing up in the first place was because of a sense of danger. They were quite honestly not welcomed at this moment. Sure, the king’s retainers and closely affiliated civil officials were taking care in how they treated them, but other than that, there was nothing in their actions that proved they were anywhere near amicable. Especially in the case of the officials who were close to the princes or the servants who saw Hiroshi and the others as taking away their masters, they were burning with a considerable amount of enmity, and the only ones who didn’t necessarily mind in that regard were the ones close to Aearis. Judging solely from what had happened up to the present, it was unavoidable that they only looked to other people like they were outsiders who had merely sucked up to the royal family to be accepted by them and were strutting about in a lordly manner, but leaving things as they were would definitely make the situation turn sour. There was no telling what would come their way to hinder them.

Thinking also about the fact that Haruna was currently volunteering to be the bait, there would be a big difference between having allies directly from the practicum versus not having any. In particular, it would become a matter of life and death in being able to use the female gossip network. In addition, if they were to bring lots of maids and servants over to their side, they could be secretly accomodated in many ways. In order to do that, they needed to not rely on monetary bribery, but instead show them that making them their allies would clearly benefit them. Hence the distribution of sweets plan.

「’N ya think they’re gonna bite just like that?」

「Sensei, your awareness needs some work.」

「I think we should remind ourselves that this place is not the country of gourmet and gluttony that is Japan, Hiroshi-kun.」

Recoiling at Mio and Haruna’s words, Hiroshi eventually lost to their force and nodded his head. At this point, at least in regards to the discomfort he felt around the maids, he had no choice but to push it to the back of his head. Later on they would end up regretting not investigating more about her and take measures into their own hands, but of course Haruna and the others had no way of knowing this, instead feeling a bit, making merry over Haruna’s idea.

「So what’re we makin’ again?」

「Pudding ala Mode, or perhaps Pudding Parfait.」

「Ah, gotcha. It sure would make this flawless if it were kept in containers that have some charm to ‘em.」

When Hiroshi displayed his understanding, they charged into the kitchen in high spirits. And this was how the flames of the food reformation at Wulls Castle were kindled.

「You seem pretty out of it. What’s up?」

This was around the same time that Hiroshi and the others had gone to make some pudding. Unable to just watch Aearis, who didn’t seem to be into the training, Makoto questioned Aearis. Furthermore, Tatsuya was continuing his work, confined to the library. Rayna was, as per usual, standing watch a bit farther away, surveying the surroundings.

「I haven’t heard many good things that people are saying and I just feel a lot of concern…」

Aearis answered Makoto’s query with a bit of a sigh mixed in.

「I just feel really bad about inconveniencing everyone, all because of us…」

「You’re a kid. You don’t hafta care about things like that.」

Makoto couldn’t help but wryly smile at how dejected Aearis was acting.

「But it isn’t just Katrina and her followers. There are others as well who do not think very highly of all of you, are there not?」

「Pffft, it’d be weird if there weren’t. No matter how much the royal palace said they’d protect guests from the Unknown Continent, nobody knows where we’re from and all we really seem like is an unknown, suspicious group.」

Aearis had no choice but to experience the harshness of reality through Makoto’s unfiltered opinion. However indebted they might be to Hiroshi and company, there was no way that sentiment could extend throughout all of Farlane. Aearis wasn’t so clueless that she didn’t understand that.

「And besides, the top of the organization is a monolith. No matter how unreasonable the demands, their word is law. Wouldn’t you be scared of involving yourself with an organization whose members question nothing and never change their stances?」

「As long as there don’t be any entirely brainwashed folks within the organization, then I doubt that such a thing exists.」

「That’s why we don’t want to get involved with them.」

「I don’t blame you, lass.」

Douga interjected at what Makoto had said, holding some documents in his hands.

「So at the moment, I do think there was something wrong with that old man yesterday, but I would also feel strange about an organization that had no gripes with our existence whatsoever.」

「Well, I don’t think that ye need worry about them. They be all talk.」

「I get that feeling, but I’ll have you know that isn’t pleasant at all to hear that stuff either. And what about how they purposefully chose to complain about us at specific times?」

「Be that not because increasing their numbers leaves a bigger impression?」

Their opinions didn’t seem to quite match. Perhaps the premise itself was different to the both of them.

「Did ye not think it strange before?」

「…Well, sure I did, but…」

「It would be giving you youngsters a foregone conclusion, and I do not exactly have confirmation meself so I cannot say more, but I should warn ye that they are not as simplistic as they seem outwardly.」

Makoto seemed to get a better idea of what Douga was trying to say.

「Well, putting aside their reasoning, their real objective is probably to get ye youngsters out of here as soon as possible.」

「Why did you just get my hopes up only to crush them…」

Makoto grimaced at Douga’s sudden statement.

「However, I do believe that I must be leaving the royal palace as soon as possible.」

「I agree with Her Majesty.」

「Indeed. This sort of place is not the kind of area that regular people can stay in for too long.」

When Aearis said something surprising, Rayna and Douga agreed with earnest faces. Makoto had thought these three to be on the side that was in agreement about letting them enter the palace, so she was understandably perplexed.

「So you don’t have an issue with us leaving?」

「To be quite honest, it will be lonely and sad without all of you, but since I have already returned here, I am prepared to face the prospect of us not being able to meet as much anymore. The end result would be the same being here and being in the castle town workshop. Therefore, I would be most happy if all of you lived wherever is pleasing to you.」

「Okay, I see…」

「Also, there’s always the possibility that if you stay here a long time, you would begin to dislike me. I am very scared of that.」

When Aearis confessed that with a miserable expression and a sigh, Makoto found herself unable to really say anything.

「Is that because you won’t be able to eat any more delicious food if we dislike you?」

Unable to endure the awkward silence any longer, Makoto forced in a joke.

「Makoto-sama! Not even I am that much of a glutton!」

Aearis, who had been making a heartrending face up until that moment, become considerably cross as her face lit up with red. That being said, this implied that she was sort of aware.

「Is it really all that strange to be sad about possibly being disliked by everyone who I have grown fond of?」

「Not at all. More like spot-on.」

As Aearis spoke with enough anger to the point of almost crying, Makoto repented from the bottom of her heart for the admittedly poor joke. That being said…

「But it’s still bothersome, all things considered. I don’t think that good-natured man who hate Elle over small matters, but that gynophobia of his is quite impressive.」

She found herself once again giving in to her desire to poke fun whenever she could.

「Even without his gynophobia, I am at most like a little sister to Hiroshi-sama. It’s heartrending and painful, but I have firmly faced that reality. So even if he will never look at me that way, I want to at least put in the effort to become a woman who can support Hiroshi-sama.」

「…Ahh, but you really don’t have to reply to that with such a serious expression…」

「Was it not you who brought up such a conversation, Makoto-sama? And certainly, it would be a problem for someone of my position to bring up such a matter in public, but I do not really see it as a problem to bring up these topics in private, like right now. Speaking about romantic feelings or what kind of person I want to become for that sake does of course make me blush, but I do not consider it to be embarrassing.」

Seeing how Aearis was still flushing but firm in what she had said, Makoto realized how much of a landmine she had just stomped on with all her might. Now she knew all too well how deep Aearis’s feelings ran. The future for the natural airhead and tsundere girls from the Japanese female side of things gave her anxiety from the bottom of her heart.

「I have heard the story from His Highness. Please tell me if there are any ingredients you ever might need.」

When they greeted the master chef in the main kitchen, he greeted them back in a rough, but friendly voice.

「I notice that we seem to be well-received here, but do you really not mind some outsiders making a mess in your workplace?」

「Well aren’t you going to make some rare stuff? This might not befit me as a chef, but the meals we make are stuck in a rut.」

Somewhat understanding what the head chef was saying, for the time being they ordered eggs, fresh cream, sugar, and then many fruits. As they were desperately trying to stock up on those things, they heard a voice from the back that could either be interpreted as a scream or an angry voice.

「Tsk! There’s a whole barrel of laas that just got rotten!」

The three of them looked at each other when they heard that. Laas was a type of alcohol fermented from wheat in this world, but unlike beer, it didn’t have any foam. It was more reminiscent of non-distilled whiskey. It was quite odd to hear about this rotting.

「Sensei, does alcohol even go bad?」

「Depends on the product. Seems like sake has protein inside of it and does go bad on occasion.」

「But wouldn’t rotting just make it into vinegar?」

In this world, anything sour that was not of the fruit variety tended to be seen as poison, or otherwise as rotting. Especially in the Farlane region, there tended to be a lot of people who didn’t do well with sour tastes. This went without saying, but making vinegar via brewing alcohol would make the result far more sour than a ripened fruit. Therefore, the laas being rotten was…

「Hold yer horses. That ain’t rotten.」

「What? When it’s this sour, I’m pretty damn sure it’s rotten.」

The head chef immediately objected to what Hiroshi said. In actuality, this laas vinegar was sour to the point where just licking it made you feel faint.

「Ya can use that for seasoning. S’long as ya get the right amount in, it’s good for yer body.」

When the people in the kitchen all had doubtful expressions, Hiroshi brought up the example of using mayonnaise from the beginning and showed how to use ponzu in the proper way as evidence to back it up. He was also making black vinegar on a regular basis, but as this land wasn’t well-suited to brew it, he was using alchemy to produce the results and couldn’t make too much.

「What the heck is that?」

「This white thing is called mayonnaise, which I use to make seasoning. Put it on a cucumber or somethin’ ‘n try a bite.」

He said, putting some on a cucumber and biting into it. He could taste the usual superior sour taste.

「…So it’s really not rotten?」

「If it was really that rotten, then I guarantee that ya’d be in a quite the pinch with just one taste test.」

Groaning at Hiroshi’s words, he gave it a bit of thought and taste-tested the mayonnaise.

「Strange taste there.」

「But it ain’t bad, right?」

「…That’s, true.」

While still slightly in distrust, the master chef nodded his head. Happy at his reaction, Hiroshi next showed him his personal favorite way of using ponzu. Seeing Hiroshi attempting to change the chef’s viewpoint on vinegar, Haruna left that to him as she began focusing intently on making pudding.

「We just so happen to have some half-preserved wyvern tatsutaage, so try it by itself ‘n then try it with this poured on it.」

He said, grating a vegetable akin to a daikon radish and combining it with something else. Furthermore, this wyvern tatsutaage was not something that Haruna had prepared before, but a half-ass block of meat remnant that he had fried. He had kept it preserved in storage in all of its heat, so it hadn’t deteriorated in quality in the slightest.

「…Nothing wrong with eating it as is, but when I put this on, it’s more tasty and refreshing.」

It was to be expected that an executive chef would comprehend the flavor of grated ponzu.

「Right? Just between you ‘n me, Princess Aearis loves eatin’ meals with this kinda seasonin’.」

「…Is that true?」

「Sure is.」

As expected, whenever the princess liking food was brought up, no one could entirely ignore that. Furthermore, although he hadn’t presented this fact, not only did Aearis like ponzu or mayonnaise; she also loved ketchup, mustard, every kind of sauce, soy sauce, miso, and just about every kind of flavor. Heck, she even enjoyed eating regular pickled wakame and cucumber and loved the taste of sweet and oily things, and even on the other side of things, she never hesitated to put a suitable amount of wasabi in the zarusoba juice. She truly had a remarkable strike zone in terms of how broad her taste was for her age of ten years. With that being said, seeing as how she would reject flavoring that had too much thickness or extremeness, in actuality her palate might be comparable to that of a Japanese adult.

「Bein’ a head chef, I bet ya got some ideas as to how to use this sorta seasonin’, eh?」

「…Sure do. I just got a lot of inspiration. Sorry, but I’d appreciate it if you taught me how to make this so-called mayonnaise.」

「Gotcha. I can even teach ya how to pickle things.」

He said, proceeding to merrily lecture him on the proper use of vinegar, starting with mayonnaise. After they had more or less finished up, Haruna started steaming the first batch of pudding. Of course she could have baked them, but she was apparently doing it in order to teach them the art of steaming. Also, Haruna herself had mentioned that she just simply preferred steaming it anyway. Furthermore, in order to get the pudding more easily out of the containers later, Mio was tampering with the containers off-the-cuff. She was also quite feminine in that she didn’t mind working for the sake of sweets.

「Hiroshi-kun, good job over there.」

「Ah, sorry. I din’t git to help ya.」

「Mio-chan is here, so it worked out fine. When it comes to pudding, it doesn’t make a huge difference with how many people help.」

She said, putting the first batch (approximately 300) in cold storage.

「The heck was that earlier?」

「Come to think of it, you were cooking it in a strange way, weren’t you?」

Looking at a new, unknown recipe, the cooks all came gathering.

「That’s called “pudding”, and it’s eaten by many the average citizen. The method I used just now is called “steaming”, and I apply heat to it via steam.」

She said, displaying the structure of the steamer and the rest of the tools.

「So we can’t just directly heat things or stew them or boil them like we’ve always done?」

「The flavor and sensation are quite different, after all. Perhaps we could also cook some steamed things together tomorrow.」

「Sure thing. Plus I did hear that because of you guys, Aearis’s palate has become richer and it’s been difficult to handle. I’d like you to take responsibility and help me figure out everything I can do in this situation.」

The three of them grimaced at what the head chef said. And that was how Hiroshi and Haruna ended up actually getting the highest chef as an ally attracted to their food in their plan right from the get-go.