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28. Ah, Is that So? (9)
In the realm of syntax, addressing me as a prince, even if one merely observes the structure, is quite unconventional.
– It’s abnormal.
– Especially the women around the master. It’s not usual.
– Does that include you?
-...?
Fine. I sealed the chatterbox’s mouth shut.
If she referred to herself as a goddess, then she must have included herself.
“Are you okay, Your Highness?” noVElb1n
As the elf crazily shook hands with me, I subtly avoided eye contact.
“What about the instructor...”
Suddenly, a frowning demon lord appeared before my eyes.
Could the World Tree connect to the demon lord?
– Of course. The World Tree is a tree imbued with the power of mercy and dedication, a tree containing the power of a god. It possesses a strength beyond ordinary deities, enough to be called a demigod. Historically, it holds the power of a god that defeated evil spirits, making it a natural adversary for a demon lord with fragments of evil.
Thinking of a demigod as a divine incarnation wouldn’t be too strange.
In other words, each branch of that tree held the attack of a god filled with mercy and dedication, similar to the attacks of evil spirits, or so it meant.
Certainly, those branches must have possessed enough power to defeat evil!
No, even before that!
– In other words, it means if you had carried a tree branch instead of that chatterbox, you could have harmed that guy!
– Didn’t you think you would have been caught by other sisters before that? I’ve saved you several times. If you keep doing this, I won’t help you later.
– Um... that’s awkward.
Honestly, I had solved too many problems with the chatterbox. No, I had solved most issues with the chatterbox.
There was no better tool for conversing with people than the chatterbox.
Create a one-on-one situation and beat the chatterbox.
Create a trauma that couldn’t be resisted again. Tame and tidy up the surroundings one by one.
If repeated a few times, the surroundings would be cleaned up in an instant.
I could proceed with the situation neatly according to the scenario I created.
I taught students in Ugrasia that way, resolved issues with warriors in that manner, maintained it even when I went to the mainland, and used it effectively when uniting the warriors.
Success rate 100 percent.
If strange guys didn’t pop up from somewhere, I could have created my own utopia.
There were a few limitations, but I acknowledged the usefulness of the chatterbox.
– Wait a minute.
– Why?
-I said I couldn’t use magic because I’m an existence outside this world. It’s natural to assume that you, who are also an existence outside this world, can’t use magic either, right?
-Huh? Well, that’s natural. Well, before that, even though I was a god, I didn’t use magic.
-Is that so? But you needed magic to use your powers, right? You mentioned that you needed magic for transformation and maintaining a specific form!
-...
-Hey?
I continued to press the chatterbox, who suddenly fell silent.
-Excuse me, Goddess? Could you please explain!
Living in this world, the concept of magic always hindered me.
Even though I had been evaluated as the best swordsman in my past life, my lack of magic imposed limitations on my combat abilities.
Magic, too, remained an enigmatic domain.
Unlike awakened beings from past lives who inherited one attribute, magicians, with their abilities determined by their own limits, were an incomprehensible race.
While their attacks did not affect me due to the lack of magic, I couldn’t prevent physical phenomena caused by magic.
“Huh? Do you think a rotten branch would be used to save the prince?”
“What... the heck!”
Momentarily taken aback by the words of the crazy elf, the demon lord barely avoided the flying javelin aimed at him.
In the meantime, the crazy elf next to him received another branch from the World Tree and concentrated mana on it, shouting.
“A fresh branch borrowed from the World Tree before you came! It may not be enough compared to the rotten branch lent to a mere hero!”
“Lies!”
Dodging another javelin, the demon lord shouted with his mouth wide open.
If you lived in this world, you must have heard stories about the World Tree—a divine being that saved the world. It was the last deity left by the goddess of mercy and dedication.
If properly processed, the branches of the World Tree, more solid than steel and more efficiently utilizing the user’s mana, were a common motif in fairy tales and legends.
However, no story or fairy tale ever mentioned breaking and using branches of the World Tree. Even if it were a dragon, it was only natural not to touch the World Tree, a sacred object.
But that law was now broken. By none other than the hands of a high elf, supposed to protect the World Tree!
“For the sake of the prince, this level of investment is essential!”
“Instructor...?”
Don’t look at me with such eyes. I have no idea.
The elf is just crazy, and I got involved with that crazy elf. I wanted to answer the demon lord, who looked at me with an indescribable gaze, in that way.
“Is it a lie?”
The momentarily composed demon lord looked at the other elves behind the crazy elf.
“Is it true...!”
But was it counterproductive?
As if enduring shame, the elves next to each other, lips tightly sealed, avoiding the demon lord’s gaze, caused the demon lord’s body to stiffen for a moment.
“Grrr...!”
The crazy elf seized the opportunity and succeeded in cutting off the demon lord’s left arm.
“Darn...!”
Momentarily distracted, the demon lord, whose arm was severed, directed his gaze at me again.
It was just a moment, but it was enough. Taking advantage of that moment, I used my sword to deflect the attack of the demon lord, which was aimed at me.
“Such...!”
“Your skills haven’t rusted enough to be defeated by you.”
The demon lord, who lost his left arm due to a momentary distraction, was not in a good state. Although I taught that villains become less favorable the longer they drag out, could it be because there was an interval with a hero’s life in the middle? He forgot my teachings and got excited, resulting in losing his left arm and going back empty-handed.
“Will there be a next time...?”
“Yes. Next time, I’ll bet everything and bring the instructor and the power of the demon to destroy the world. So until then... please wait.”
“No way.”
I wanted to answer the demon lord, who looked at me with eyes burning like flames but got distracted by the javelin falling on him. The crazy elf, looking at me with eyes full of tears, handing a branch of the World Tree to another elf next to him, seemed to have torn off quite a few.
The face of another elf looking at the crazy elf, who confirmed the infinite refills in the wrestling part of the wrestling competition hall, was the expression of the boss who confirmed that the wrestling competition had brought in a seedling, not a wrestler.
“Give up.”
The demon lord, who had already missed his chance, was in a pitiable state.
After all, could it be that having a hero’s life interspersed in between made villains less favorable, or did he forget my teachings because of that? He was excitedly speaking and got his left arm chopped off, and it seemed he might go back empty-handed.
“Will you give up...?”
“Your fate is that.”
“Fate... I don’t believe in such things.”
I got into big trouble once when I said something similar. So believe in fate and give up on me.
-We are beings that have left this world with the master, so the fate god can’t manage us, right?
-Volcano...
-Eek!
I was about to tell him to shut up before being put in the volcano, but the perceptive chatterbox shut his mouth even before I finished talking.
“Where are you running!”
Seizing the opportunity amidst the chaos, Iron Bat stabbed the sword into Shuttle’s back as he tried to escape.