CH 14-15

TLN: Hey guys, Reigokai here! 

I will try to make it the last time I write about this. Basically, the reason why I chose this story in more detail.

You can skip this if you are not interested, but for the ones who are truly wondering why, then stay with me here.

I can understand how people are not liking this, the reason being that the selling point of this story is completely different from any story I have done so far. That is, this is heavily leaning to the game aspect and abusing it. 

Because of its nature, there’s a lot of background about games that must be set up. It is currently still in the phase where it is molding the world. 

That said, what I like about the story is that it shows how a lack of care from developers and their hate to their demographic can create one mess of a game; how in just a few patches of fixing, they just outright gave up; how the playerbase still found its fun in breaking that game and taking advantage of it. 

Seeing that interaction between players and developers may look ridiculous at first, but it paints a pretty accurate picture, especially in these times. But now that the world is made into a real one, you also see how the residents of the world react to those abnormal actions gamers take for efficiency that would look ridiculous when translated into real life.

However, the most important point is…it is fun for me. Fun is a subjective thing. This could be considered a niche story with its theme. There’s jargon that’s pretty hard to translate. Yet I still find it fun translating. 

I have stated it many times before already, I translate because I find it fun and bring it to you guys to share that fun. 

TL;DR it scratches an itch of mine so I have fun translating it despite the difficulty.

That’s basically it. The setting up of the world will still continue for a good couple of chapters more, if you are still on the fence, maybe wait for a bit more chapters, if you don’t dislike it outright, that’s okay, novels are varied and you read them with the intention to entertain you. WM, DCFM, and Tsuki are still ongoing, and the new schedule was made in a way so that you can tell when are the days I will begin translating them.

Anyways, it was a long one. I at least wanted to illustrate my decision here. 

For the ones reading, enjoy the ride along!

——

“W-Why…?” (Souma)

When I asked her this while looking up from the hole, a clear answer came back. 

“After separating from Souma-san, I went to the place of Reinhardt-san.” (Train)

Summarizing her story, this is apparently how it is.

After separating from me, she really wanted to properly thank me, so she immediately began to look for me…no, for the merchant called Reinhardt. 

I thought that it wouldn’t be easy to find people with that level of information, that was my understanding as a modern person, but this is a town that exists in fantasy. 

There aren’t that many people residing here, so when she made use of her footwork, she managed to find him pretty soon.

But that was of course the merchant Reinhardt and not me. 

I thought that’s where the information would die off, but…

When Train-chan explained the traits of her benefactor to Reinhardt himself. The capable Reinhardt immediately saw through the fact that that was me, and told her about the inn where I am staying at.

She tilted her head while heading to the inn and, this time around, was told that that person was eating just a few moments ago, but he went off somewhere with a shovel. 

If that had been me, I would have waited until they returned, but as expected of Train-chan with her light footwork, this time around she began asking the people, searching for an adventurer carrying a shovel. 

The result was that she heard from the gatekeepers that there was a guy who went out with a shovel, and then she thought that maybe I had returned to the place where we met for the first time. 

“It is my turn to ask.” (Train)

Train-chan readied her knife again, and asked me with a grim expression.

(…This is bad.) (Souma)

Right now both of my legs are sunk into the hole. 

Even if my character’s level is low, I have the confidence I would be able to get out of this by using my skill combos. 

But Step is a skill that is weak on upper body movements. 

Even if it is only around 1 meter deep, my combo using Step has been completely sealed with me being inside the hole. 

I would not lose if I were to fight with Shiranui, but I can’t hold back when using it. 

I would end up injuring her. 

I want to avoid that.

I must resolve this with a talk…

“Even I have heard about it. Talk that there’s a fearsome Evil God sealed deep underground in the Sealed Lands.” (Train)

Train-chan opens up with this as if keeping me in check.

I didn’t answer with anything. 

“That relief has the Evil God drawn in it, right? And you clearly said just now ‘fragment of the Evil God’. Y-You are…” (Train)

She glared at me with tears in the corner of her eyes.

“…You are a cultist wishing for the resurrection of the Evil God, right?” (Train)

Yikes. 

…Eh, what’s with that misunderstanding?

Now that she mentions it, I feel like I have indeed fought with enemies that worship the Evil God.

Does that mean I am being misunderstood as being part of their group?

“You saving me from the monsters and you saying some weird stuff to deceive me…they were all for the sake of not bringing attention to this place and yourself… Am I right?” (Train)

No, you are completely wrong, you know.

I saved you because I couldn’t stand letting you be killed, and I said some weird stuff to deceive you simply because you were annoying! 

But to think that lie would hit me like a boomerang here! 

I really shouldn’t be throwing lies all thoughtlessly. 

“Even if you lied to me, I wanted to believe in you, Souma-san. But the truth is, I might have thought you were suspicious at that time.” (Train)

“At that time…?” (Souma)

But I soon got the answer from the person herself.

“Yes, at the time when you ran away from me in the town…that perverted movement you did…can’t be explained as anything but being related to the cultists in some way.” (Train)

“Perverted…movements?” (Souma)

I really don’t know what she is talking about. 

Is what I thought, but when I think back on it, I noticed there’s something that fits that. 

(Perverted movements, she said… Is she talking about the Godstep Cancel?!) (Souma)

That’s a technique only the best of the Nekomimi Neko players can pull off. It is by no means perverted…

But leaving that aside…

“It is a misunderstanding. I have no intention of reviving the Evil God.” (Souma)

“T-That’s a lie! Then, what’s that hole…?” (Train)

I shook my head exaggeratedly. 

“If you want to know the truth, come with me.” (Souma)

Saying this, I peek at the hole.

The inside is dark, but if it is the same as the game, there should be light deep in. 

“W-Wait…!” (Train)

I ignore Train-chan and let myself sink into the hole. 

“…In we go!” (Souma)

The hole was deeper than I thought. 

I was surprised by the floating sensation, but it is not something that I can’t deal with using my game body. 

I landed without any troubles, advanced for a bit, and waited for her. 

Eventually…

“…Kyah!” (Train)

Train-chan fell from above. 

It may be hard to believe, but she is an adventurer. She regained her balance in midair, landed splendidly on both legs, and…

“Hya?!” (Train)

Slipped on the ground, falling on her butt.

“…….”

“…….”

Awkward silence. 

“I-I have come! Now, please explain!” (Train)

Looks like she has decided to wash it off as if nothing happened.

She said this with a strong attitude. 

But I didn’t answer her question. 

I turned my back on her and walked deeper into the cave. 

“Wait! You promised you would explain! Why aren’t you telling me anything?!” (Train)

Why, you ask? 

Good grief. You fool. 

Why would there be the need to answer? 

Because…

(Now then, I am in, but…what should I do from here on?) (Souma)

I haven’t thought one bit about how to explain to her yet! 

“…Cold.” (Train)

Train-chan hugged her shoulders and muttered this. 

I get her. 

I don’t know about the temperature of this place, but there’s something here that makes normal people tremble. 

Of course, there was no such feeling in the game, but here, it is palpable. 

“We are going deeper.” (Souma)

Even when understanding this, I didn’t have the leeway to worry about Train-chan. 

I was piecing up several patterns of excuses in my head. 

But my mind was all scattered here. 

(If push comes to shove, should I try running away with skills?) (Souma)

I think about it for a bit. 

The skills I can currently use are all basic skills that don’t require weapon proficiency. 

Slash from Swords; Side Slash from Otachis; Energy Arrow from Magic; and you could say I can use the True Strike from Bare-handed.

There’s also the movement skill Step that isn’t related to weapons.

Weapon proficiency increases each time you deal damage with weapons. 

I fought quite a bit in the Sealed Lands, and a bonus is counted in your weapon proficiency depending on your level, so you normally would be expecting a second skill by now, but Shiranui being too strong has become a detriment in this part. 

Proficiency increases by the number of attacks, so because I defeated all enemies in one hit, it instead slowed my growth. 

I entered the hole to get my feet on the ground and make it easier to use Step.

But she is a fast one, so I can’t really say if I would be able to shake her off. 

It would be one thing in the town where there’s a lot of places where I can hide, but I would get caught immediately if I ran out of stamina here. Also, if I run, I will lose any chance to make excuses.

I do think that I might as well just tell her everything honestly here but, unfortunately, the real story is actually the hardest one to believe. 

Actually, this world is a made-up one and I got transferred here by a Fortune Mallet… Rather than giving such an explanation, saying I have a digger disease where, if I don’t dig holes, I die sounds more believable.

Reality is stranger than fantasy. 

Now that it has come to this, I gotta challenge it. 

I will line up all settings I can think of, and I will land at the place that fits the best. 

“Do you know what kind of place this is?” (Souma)

I ask her as if it should be natural for her to know. 

Honestly speaking, I don’t remember the information regarding the Evil God’s seal that well. 

It would be safer to have her spit out the information here rather than tripping at some strange spot and having her look at me even more dubiously. 

“Eh? Isn’t this the cave where a part of the Evil God is being sealed?” (Train)

She asked back.

Don’t answer a question with a question, is what I think as I respond. 

“You are half right and half wrong. See…?” (Souma)

We reach deep inside the dungeon.

What was there was a big gate. 

An ominous gate that has several holes on it, and there’s torches shining brightly at both sides. 

“This is…?” (Train)

“The gate sealing the fragment of the Evil God.” (Souma)

Train-chan’s eyes opened wide at my words.

“Eh? But isn’t the seal the relief of just now…?” (Train)

“That was simply showing the place where the Evil God is sealed at. What’s truly sealing the Evil God is this door.

…According to some statements, this door leads to a different dimension. 

No matter how many holes you dig, no person would be able to reach the fragment of the Evil God.” (Souma)

I try explaining with a face as if I know a whole lot. 

Well, you actually can’t go through it unless you have defeated the last boss though.

No no, even if I am reckless, there’s no way I would do something as suicidal as challenging a level 250 dungeon as a level 10. 

I would get killed before I do any bug techniques. Even with Shiranui, I doubt I would be able to get any decent damage. 

In the first place, if the seal gets undone and the monsters get out by some unfortunate incident, Lamurick Town would easily perish overnight.

“Do you have any knowledge about the seal of the Evil God?” (Souma)

I asked her with an air of superiority. 

I don’t know at all though.

“U-Uhm, the founding king of the Rihito Kingdom was involved in it, and then the nation was born from there…is what I have heard…” (Train)

“…Only that?” (Souma)

“S-Sorry, I don’t know much about that stuff…” (Train)

“I see.” (Souma)

I said this in a bad mood and nodded internally.

(I see, so that’s how it goes.) (Souma)

In that case, are the royals descendants of heroes or something like that? 

It is true that, according to the data, the king and princess are pretty strong, so the possibility is there. 

No, you can only see them fight in events, and I do remember them being quite strong.

“U-Uhm, what’s that?” (Train)

She asked, so…

“It is that.” (Souma)

I answered.

No, what’s ‘that’, me.

Train-chan has a question mark showing just like I have inside my head, and I continue my prodding talk.

More importantly, Train-chan, not only have you followed me to such a place nonchalantly, you have even forgotten to direct your weapon here. 

She is the type that would easily be deceived by evil men. 

I could call her Easy Heroine-chan from here on. 

I spoke while I was thinking that.

“In order to open this door, you need an item called Sunlight Pyroxene that serves as one of the keys. Of course, it is to protect the seal of the Evil God here.” (Souma)

This is the truth.

It is one of the drops you get after defeating the last boss. 

There should be no mistake in my memories there.

Even if I am wrong, no one can confirm until the last boss is defeated anyways.

Right, that’s it.

You can’t confirm anything until after defeating the last boss.

Let’s go with that.

“But I heard that the Sunlight Pyroxene that the Rihito Kingdom is supposed to be managing is currently in the hands of the Demon Lord.” (Souma)

“No way!” (Train)

Train-chan raised her voice as if screaming.

This girl would make a good spectator. Every reaction she does is serious. 

I continue really into it. 

“Of course, there’s no way the Sunlight Pyroxene alone will be able to undo the seal. However, a crucial key for the seal that should be stored with utmost security has fallen into the hands of the Demon Lord. Such a situation should not be tolerated.” (Souma)

When actually thinking about it, that really is the case.

What was the other seal item? 

I feel like there were also a lot of drops from event bosses. 

Those kinds of monsters should be under the control of the Demon Lord, so I wonder why the Demon Lord didn’t undo the seal of the Evil God Fragment.

The story was most likely that they were defeated by the player before they managed to undo the seal. 

It would have been safe if it were in the Nekomimi Neko quality world, but I now feel like it would be better to secure one of the seal undoing items as soon as possible. 

While I was thinking that, my mouth continued running.

Man, it really is running a lot here.

“That’s why I came here to confirm whether that seal hasn’t been broken.” (Souma)

“S-So that’s how it was!” (Train)

Train-chan raised her voice loudly in surprise. 

Yeah, I am surprised too. 

But I ignored her and acted as if I was checking the door.

“There’s 10 holes here. Even if the center round hole is for the Sunlight Pyroxene, you still need 9 more items to undo the seal. The chances of this seal being broken are pretty low.” (Souma)

“The seal…of this place? Are there a lot of other places with Evil God Fragments?” (Train)

I stay silent at that question.

I don’t know, so I can’t say anything to that. 

But well, it is called Evil God Fragment, so there should be more. 

And, I don’t know how she took my silence, but Train-chan speaks with a really serious face. 

“Souma…-san, even if you are not a merchant or just a plain adventurer, seriously, just who in the world are you?” (Train)

The eyes of Train-chan are steady on a different meaning from before. 

I endured that gaze of her and laughed.

“I am…the guardian of the seal. I move to each location and check the seal of the Evil God.” (Souma)

I ended up blurting that because of her expectant look, but the guardian of the seal…? Am I a chuunibyou?! 

“Guardian…of the seal…?!” (Train)

Train-chan repeated this as if shocked, but please don’t! 

I implore you, don’t repeat those words! 

Train-chan looks at me with sparkling eyes again.

“Then, that means there are other places where the Evil God is sealed at, right? How are the seals of the other places?” (Train)

“…I can’t tell you.” (Souma)

“Why?!” (Train)

Because I don’t know! 

But of course I can’t tell her that. 

That’s why I instead pointed my sword at her. 

“Because I can’t trust you!” (Souma)

“E-Eh?!” (Train)

When you get suspected for something, you can turn the suspicion on them to confuse the target! 

It is a basic technique in verbal battles! 

“In the first place, why did you show up at the instant I was investigating the relief? Also when you trailed me. Aren’t you a bit too desperate for someone that’s simply searching for a benefactor?” (Souma)

“T-That’s…” (Train)

I pushed an unreasonable accusation on her. 

“Also, you said you are level 27. How is it possible that an adventurer of that level can be okay after being chased by that many Mad Hounds? Aren’t you the one who is actually hiding something?” (Souma)

“T-That’s not it! A-At that time, I was truly desperate… Please believe me!!” (Train)

Yes, I believe you. 

But I can’t loosen my offensive here. 

I continued.

“So you are saying it really was a coincidence that you met me there?” (Souma)

“Y-Yes!” (Train)

It is actually not a coincidence, but an event though.

“Can you swear that in the name of God?” (Souma)

“Of course!” (Train)

“Then, to the Evil God as well?” (Souma)

I ask viciously. 

Basically, I am implying here that maybe she is the cultist here, but she seriously nodded without getting angry. 

“I…am not a cultist, but if you are telling me to swear on it, then I will swear on it even to the Evil God. I swear on God and the Evil God that I met you there by pure coincidence!” (Train)

“…Got it.” (Souma)

I knew that from the very beginning, but I said that and nodded.

I really am the worst. 

Also, Train-chan is truly an angel! 

And so, the result of being one-sidedly pushed a false accusation, mysteriously, we are now mentally in an equal standing.

A while after that, Train-chan fell silent with a meek expression, but she eventually muttered this. 

“…I will be going back.” (Train)

I was surprised by how easily she made a turn here, but I fake calmness here and ask back.

“Is that okay? I plan on investigating this seal for a while longer.” (Souma)

No matter if I called myself the guardian of the seal, I have no solid evidence. 

A seal guardian is just too cool, but they instead wouldn’t be doing any uncool work.

There’s more than plenty reason to suspect me…

But the face of Train-chan was clear.

“I came here pushed by momentum alone, but I can’t stop you by force in the first place, Souma-san. I was saved by you once. That’s why, I will try believing in you just once more.” (Train)

Saying this, she thanked me politely and returned from where we came. 

Train-chan really is an angel! 

But she seriously is so easy!!

Train-chan disappeared into the darkness of the passage, and…

“I-I did it…!” (Souma)

I fell on my knees right then and there. 

I felt pretty disgusted at myself there, but I managed to deceive her to the very end. 

“It really would have been better for me to be the reincarnation of a mole…” (Souma)

I am so depleted here that I don’t even understand what I am saying anymore. 

An easy to tell lie like being a mole would have been better. 

I feel like Easy Heroine-chan would have been easily deceived by a lie of that level too. 

No, that would be a bit of a stretch. 

While I stretched both arms and legs on the ground and entrusting my body to the wave of relief…

“…What are you doing, Souma-san?” 

A familiar voice…a voice that I shouldn’t be hearing reached my ears. 

The Train-chan that should have returned after believing in me was standing there with a baffled gaze. 

“W-Why…?” (Souma)

Train-chan made a sorrowful look at my question.

“I actually intended to return to the town just like that, but I can’t anymore… There’s something I must tell you at all cost, Souma-san.” (Train)

What is it?

What did I miss? 

Did I make a big mistake that would make her doubt me? 

As if splitting apart the spiraling thoughts, Train-chan informed me. 

“…The ceiling is so high…I can’t go back up.” (Train)

…Aah, right, forgot about that.