CH 222

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—It has been 3 days since I challenged the trial of gods. 

I am just a normal person, so it is necessary for me to practice a lot in order to get through that trial with certainty. 

However, I thought it would be difficult to prepare the appropriate environment for it, but that’s when Mitsuki showed her overpowered technique. 

“That path in the sky? The width is around 1 meter and 92 centimeters. 

The distance to the sword is a bit more than 32 meters.” (Mitsuki)

I still can’t forget how Mitsuki answered nonchalantly like that. 

Her spatial awareness is so high, or like, as she polished her ability to measure distance, she managed to be able to measure distance with a margin of error of just around a few centimeters if it is within 100 meters. 

What kind of superhuman are you? -is what I want to say, but I am actually thankful. 

Behind the coaching of Mitsuki, we managed to recreate a facility after the trial of gods, and I repeated my training there for the trial. 

That said, it is absolutely necessary to watch the recording in order to increase the accuracy of the training. 

I can only use that once a day, so I can’t just bring out results in one go.

“And so, how’s the progress of the training?” (Maki)

When Maki asked me in the Nekomimi Neko Mansion while we had dinner, I ended up quivering a bit. 

“I-It has gotten a lot better than the first time. I am working hard. 

Or more like, you have a splendid house…I mean, castle, so at least go back when it is dinner.” (Souma)

“Too bad~! I have already gotten permission from Father~.” Maki)

Maki spit that out as if saying ‘as if I will let you throw me out’.

It is annoying, but this livened up the conversation. 

I was relieved by this and…

“…And so…the training…?” (Ringo)

Ringo joined in and returned the topic. 

We are talking about Ringo who looks as if she is spaced out, but is actually sharp. 

She probably saw through my lack of confidence. 

“U-Uhm…as I said, I am doing my best. 

J-Just now, I was practicing for the real deal, you know.” (Souma)

“…And?” (Ringo)

Ringo continued pursuing the topic. 

I gave up and finally spoke.

“Uhm…I fell.” (Souma)

“Eh?!” (Ina)

When I confessed this, Ina, who didn’t react much until now, leaned forward. 

“W-What do you mean by you fell?” (Ina)

“A-As I said, I…fell down to the outside of the training spot.” (Souma)

The gaze of Maki as if saying ‘I knew it’ pierced me. 

“N-No, it can’t be helped! 

I didn’t know it would be that hard until I actually tried it…” (Souma)

Even I could tell this is a pretty unsightly excuse, but…

“U-Uhm, is it really going to be okay? 

In that trial, level and all that stuff is pointless, right? 

If you were to fail, even if it is you, Souma-san…” (Ina)

“Ugh…” (Souma)

Those words of Ina that showed heartfelt worry for me made me fall silent. 

If you are going to make fun of me, I can still respond to it, but if they show me such serious concern, I can’t even come strong at them. 

I raised my voice as if trying to escape from that uncomfortable atmosphere. 

“A-Anyways, I have good news for everyone!” (Souma)

The timing feels as if I am trying to divert the topic, but I don’t mean anything bad from it. 

As long as there’s the issue of the stone slate, there’s no point in getting so worried about the practice of the trial.

More importantly, it would be a waste of time if everyone aside from me doesn’t have anything to do. And so, I had everyone gather ‘certain items’ as training, but it seems like they have finally gathered them all. 

I lined up the gathered items on the table. 

What was lined up there was the Sunlight Pyroxene and the items used to open the Hidden Dungeon’s entrance.

It was a whole trove of issues to place them in the proper order in the game, but the fortune within the misfortune is that, because of how much of an impression it left in me when searching for the correct pattern, I still remember clearly where I should be placing those items. 

In other words, now that we have these items…

“Finally, we can enter the Sealed Magic Dungeon, huh.” (Mitsuki)

“Yeah, the Soul Eater in that dungeon is absolutely necessary to strengthen our battle power. 

I am thinking of making preparations and challenging it tomorrow.” (Souma)

When I declared this, the atmosphere of my comrades turned tense in one go. 

“Then, will we all be going there tomorrow?” (Mitsuki)

“No, the Sealed Magic Dungeon is a high difficulty dungeon. If we go with a lot of people, the risk of dying increases. 

I am thinking about going with one more person. So two people.” (Souma)

I could tell the room grew even more tense. 

Looks like they are worried about who will be chosen for the biggest job this time around. 

I felt those gazes to a painful degree while designating a certain person.

“—Sazan, I want you to come with me.” (Souma)

When the masked mage heard this, she nodded in her usual haughty fashion.

“Fuh, me, huh. Knew it. In such important moments—eh?! M-Me?!” (Sazan)

And then, she got so surprised to the point where her mask tilted to the side. 

“Yeah, I would like Sazan to come with me to the Sealed Magic Dungeon.” (Souma)

“Eh, ah, i-isn’t stuff like this given to people like Mitsuki or Ringo…?” (Sazan)

Sazan was panicking here unlike herself.

It is amusing to see her like that, but the Sealed Magic Dungeon is the highest difficulty dungeon. 

Of course, your life will be in danger too. 

I shouldn’t be teasing her here. 

I invited Sazan with as much sincerity as possible. 

“I need your strength… Can you come with me?” (Souma)

Sazan must not have expected me to speak to her seriously here, she pointlessly waved her hands in panic, and after looking to the sides for no reason…

“Ah, uhm…if you are okay with m-me…

…I-I will be in your care.” (Sazan)

She gave me her hand for some reason. 

I don’t really get it, but I shook her hand for now. 

“…Then, does that mean the other ones will be on standby at the mansion?” (Mitsuki)

I couldn’t tell when to stop, so I ended up in a handshake with Sazan for quite a while, but I snapped back at the somewhat cold voice of Mitsuki.

It is not like we were doing something bad here, but I felt like I was being judged, and I hurriedly spoke. 

“Ah, no, I of course have things I would like you all to do as well. 

There’s a lot of things I would like you to gather aside from weapons, so I want you to divide the work and gather them.” (Souma)

I faced Mitsuki.

“First, I would like Mitsuki to hunt Butchers in the Deus Plains.” (Souma)

“Butchers… I see. To gather up Power Seeds.” (Mitsuki)

It really helps that Mitsuki is quick on the uptake. 

“I think you will be able to defeat the King Butchers alone without much trouble. 

Butchers definitely drop Power Seeds when defeated, so I would like you to gather them, Mitsuki.” (Souma)

“Got it.” (Mitsuki)

Mitsuki is an all-rounder, so I was a bit worried about what to have her do, but when it comes to someone who can defeat a Butcher without risks, it would be none other than her. 

And the next important job is…

“Then there’s Maki and Ringo. It is a bit dangerous, but I would like you two to head to the Demon Lord Castle.” (Souma)

“The Demon Lord Castle? But that place is…” (Maki)

I know what she is trying to say. 

That place is submerged and the Demon Lord has already died from that. 

Of course, there’s no way the weak monsters inside the castle would be fine either…

“I had Mitsuki go get the Sunlight Pyroxene the Demon Lord had, but most of the monsters there either died from drowning damage or were in a critical state.” (Souma)

“But the dropped items of monsters will remain for a while after they die. 

There were items here and there inside the castle when I went there.” (Mitsuki)

Mitsuki follows up after me. 

Maki tilted her head at that.

“Eh? You didn’t pick the items up even though they were there?” (Maki)

“No, that’s…” (Mitsuki)

Mitsuki’s cat ears were flapping about as if feeling bad about it. 

Cute…no, that’s not it. 

“Aah, about that…Mitsuki has a Demon Lord Castle allergy.” (Souma)

“Heh?” (Maki)

Being told an absurd disease name, Maki’s eyes opened wide. 

“I thought I managed to overcome it when the Demon Lord fell, but even now, I would be assailed with symptoms like: my pulse would rise, be out of breath, feel dizzy, have a dry throat, and would be compelled to fight a strong enemy.

And so, I just secured the Sunlight Pyroxene and came back.” (Mitsuki)

It kind of sounds like the symptoms of a cold, but this is because of the setting of the Nekomimi Neko developers who felt the battle against the Demon Lord would be too easy with Mitsuki accompanying the player. 

The last one felt a bit off, but that’s surely because of Nekomimi Neko. 

It must be. 

“A-Anyways, there’s still items left there in the Demon Lord Castle. 

That’s why I want you two to collect them.” (Souma)

When I said this, Ringo hammered her hand as if a light bulb had turned on on top of her head. 

“…Hn, got it! Corpse scavenging!” (Ringo)

“Y-You are not wrong, but let’s consider the phrasing, okay?!” (Souma)

That’s the last dungeon after all. 

The enemies showing up there are strong, so the quality of the items is also high. 

“But the enemies in the Demon Lord Castle are strong, so be careful, okay? If you think it is getting rough, return with the Teleport Stone.” (Souma)

I think Ringo and Maki should be able to manage somehow with their strength, but it would be terrible if they were to die from this. 

When I warned them like this, the two nodded clearly. 

“What I want you to gather up more are consumables rather than gear. 

The enemies there drop expensive potions and healing items. Also, there’s the highest rarity potions within the rare drop loot table, and even the Dragon’s Treasure which showed up in the record—” (Souma)

“Eh?!!” 

The one who reacted the most at my words was not the two but Ina.

I wondered why Ina raised her voice like that and she looked at me with a serious expression.

“W-What’s the matter? Shouting loudly like that all of a sudden.” (Souma)

“Ah, no, uhm…I just thought you and the others really did conquer the Demon Lord Castle…” (Ina)

“Eh? Y-Yeah, now that I think about it, you weren’t there.” (Souma)

I don’t know if to call it conquer, but I can see why she reacted like that…I guess?

“U-Uhm…Can I go to the Demon Lord Castle too?” (Ina)

“Eh?” (Souma)

While I was flustered by this, Ina hesitantly said this. 

“I would like to see the Demon Lord Castle once at least, and…I also want to be of use to you, Souma-san!” (Souma)

“I am happy with your enthusiasm, but you don’t have a Water Dragon Ring.” (Souma)

“Uh, that’s…” (Ina)

A Water Dragon Ring is necessary when fighting in an underwater place.

But that’s bugged gear, so we can’t give it to someone who doesn’t have it. 

“I-I have something else to ask. 

The Evil God is sealed in a marshland, right? 

I would like you to get an item called Float Ring so that we can stand on top of water.” (Souma)

“B-But…” (Ina)

Ina seemed to still be insistent, but…

“That’s in a dungeon in Lamurick. 

You are more knowledgeable if it is Lamurick, right?” (Souma)

“That’s…yeah, I will do my best.” (Ina)

She yielded when I insisted.

I quickly gave the instructions before she changed her mind.

“Then, Leila, please go together with Ina to search for the Float Ring.” (Souma)

“Okay! I will achieve this even if it costs me my life!” (Leila)

“N-No, you don’t have to pay with your life for this.” (Souma)

The dungeon where the Float Ring is in isn’t life threatening in the first place. 

I was bothered by Ina who seemed to not be convinced yet, but all our jobs have been decided with this. 

At the end, I decided to speak to Sazan who will be going with me tomorrow.

“Then, Sazan, counting on you tomorrow.” (Souma)

“Fuh! Don’t worry. With me accompanying you, no matter how difficult of an ordeal, it is practically solved. 

That’s why, uhm…I definitely…won’t make you regret choosing me.” (Sazan)

Sazan said this in a low voice in the latter half, but it seems like she is motivated. 

We dispersed that day while thinking I can look forward to this.

And then, the next day.

“Then, Sazan, I am counting on you.” (Souma)

“I-I knew it was something like this! [Tidal Wave]!” (Sazan)

There was me and Sazan filling up the Sealed Magic Dungeon with water all cheerfully. 

“Kuuuuh! I didn’t learn magic for the sake of something like this!!” (Sazan)

Submerging a dungeon is incredibly effective against closed dungeons. I learned this from the Demon Lord Castle. 

I couldn’t implement this in the tower, the Sky city, and the mysterious space, but we should be able to submerge the Sealed Magic Dungeon with this. 

If it is a sunk place, we can defeat them without doing anything with the water damage, and even if that’s not the case, we can restrict their movements inside the water. 

It really is two birds with one stone. 

“I-In the first place, you can use Tidal Wave too! 

You could have come alone!” (Sazan)

“I don’t have high MP because I am a warrior type. 

Also, it would be safer for one to keep watch while the other is using magic, right?” (Souma)

Sazan is a mana monster and has the Water Dragon Ring, so there’s no issue with her acting underwater. 

You could say she is the best for the job.

“Damn it! Damn iiiiitt!! Even though I was so nervous yesterday I couldn’t sleep! Uuuuuh!” (Sazan)

I felt like there’s no need to get so worked up, but being unexpectedly timid despite being so haughty is the nice part of Sazan.

But contrary to the dissatisfaction of Sazan, the exploration went extremely well. 

It is a dungeon I have gone to countless times, so I know where the treasure chest of the Soul Eater is at.

The enemies along the way were almost all unable to fight, and we managed to get it easily to a baffling degree. 

“A-Are we done with this?” (Sazan)

It seems like Sazan thought this too, so she said this with a slightly tenseless voice.

But…

“…Actually, I didn’t tell everyone, but there’s actually one more reason why I came here.” (Souma)

When I said this, Sazan was surprised and then directed eyes of doubt at me. 

“N-No! When you open up at a moment like this, it is definitely something I must not hear!” (Sazan)

“O-Oi oi…” (Souma)

I would say it is actually good news for Sazan though. What a rude person.

Well, fine. 

“We are all the way here already anyways, you know.” (Souma)

I forcefully tear away the hands of Sazan covering her ears while going ‘no no no’.

“—While at it, let’s go deeper in and drown the Evil God too!” (Souma)

I proposed this with a smile.