Chapter 94
Now that our next destination had been determined, there was no longer any reason for us to remain in Draupnir .
As such, all we had to do now was to leave the country; however, we were still in Draupnir .
This was because Virgo had received a message from the Hero that she had to pa.s.s on to me . The content of the message was that the Hero wished to have a conversation with me .
Therefore, please wait for a little while before you depart – that was the general gist of it .
As a consequence, I was currently just waiting for the Hero to arrive whilst resting on the sofa within Tanaka .
Although Aigokeros was expressing his anger whilst muttering, “To make master wait… . ,” nevertheless, the Hero must have been delayed due to having to report the attacks from the demi-humans to the emperor .
Anyways, I’ll just wait here comfortably .
I was enjoying the moonlit view outside of the window as I was taking a sip of the tea made by Libra .
Although this was an irrelevant fact, in preparation for our upcoming journey, we had apparently ended up buying a lot of tea leaves from Draupnir .
“By the way, Dina . Do you know what [The Key to the Heavens] is?”
I quietly asked Dina who was sitting next to me .
Based on the conversation with Castor, it would be very strange for me to not know what it was . Nevertheless, however I searched through my memory, it did not come up at all .
I was convinced that “Ruphas’s” memory would have the relevant knowledge . However, as if it was intentionally being sealed, I was not able to recall it .
It seemed that, in regard to this specific memory, it was stored in a very deep place .
“No, I also don’t know the details about it . But, I’ve heard that the one who holds it has the power to even manage the providence of the world…”
“The world’s providence… huh?”
The world’s providence, or in other words, the power to change the rules regulating how the world worked . My honest impression after hearing this was that it was as if the holder would become an administrator .
Or, alternatively, a GM who had been a.s.signed such power from the administrators . [1]
Whichever it was, currently, I could only think of it as [The Somewhat Dangerous and Problematic Key] .
I wondered what the Ruphas of two hundred years ago was planning to do by obtaining such a thing .
Or rather, more importantly… Why she did not use such an item during the battle against the 7 Heroes?
Was it because she was unable to use it as there were conditions that had to be met before she could use the item? Or was it because even though she could have used it, she chose not to?
If it was the former, everything was well . Everything was still coherent and reasonable .
The problem would be if it was the latter . If she could have used it whenever she wanted two hundred years ago, yet chose not to do so, I could not ascertain her intentions whatsoever .
After all, it would mean that her decision not to do so was no different from choosing to lose the battle herself . I did not know how many of the rules she could have bent to her liking, but even if it were just a few, there was no doubt that it would have been in her favour .
Yet, she chose not to use it . She instead entrusted it to Castor and then lost .
…… I can’t understand it at all . With how things played out, I can only think that Ruphas had intentionally chosen to lose the battle two hundred years ago .
Ahh, this isn’t good . I’m lacking too much information to come up with any solid conjectures beyond this point . I need a bit more information and material to work on .
“Oh, Ruphas-sama . Sei has arrived . ”
“Hm . ”
After my train of thought was interrupted halfway by Virgo, I stood up from my sofa .
When the door opened, I saw a bunch of the Hero’s party members lined up while looking like fools .
Especially that young man Sei, who was saying, “Even though this is a fantasy, there’s a camping car…” and looking confused .
Ahh, yeah . The others aside, he alone would have a reason to react in such a way .
Or more like, objectively speaking, a Supreme Ruler moving around in a camping car would feel quite bizarre .
Even that Conqueror of the Century’s End was only cool because he was moving around riding on a giant horse . [2] If he was moving around in a car, he would have looked quite shoddy and surreal .
And the one who’s actually putting that in practice is me .
I feel like my dignity is also collapsing, but if it’s just a type of dignity where I’m feared by everyone in my surroundings, I’d rather that it collapses already .
“Nice to see you arrive, Hero . I’ve been waiting for you . ”
I decided to give a friendly welcome to the Hero’s party .
Since they decided to cooperate with me, I decided to use that to my advantage . After all, I did not have a hobby of letting such effort go to waste .
From what it looked like, the young boy Sei’s current emotions must have been about 30% nervousness, 30% fear and 40% conviction . I thought that he had a nice expression at that moment .
As for Gants, because he already knew about me, I could not feel any fear or apprehension from him .
It was also the same situation for Jean . I could not feel a shred of nervousness or fear from him . It was quite a relief that they acted the same way as they previously did .
On the other hand, the elf nii-san was looking at me and constantly shivering in fear .
I… should be describing this situation as the same as it previously was… or more like… if I recalled correctly, he was like this at the time he summoned me as well .
Behind the elf nii-san were a tiger and cat beastkin who were being cuddly in a giant ball of fluff together . Next to those two was a gorilla beastkin .
The Hero, an adventurer, a mercenary, and an elf . And three beastkin, huh .
Hmm, isn’t this party too skewed towards frontliners?
“Hmm? What happened to Nick-san and the rest?”
Before I could say anything, Virgo raised her voice in confusion .
Nick… Ahh, if I recalled correctly, they were the muscle-brained adventuring colleagues of Jean .
Now that she had mentioned it, they were currently not present in this location .
“Ahh, yah, if it’s those guys, cause their injuries are pretty bad, they’ve decided to chill and recover for a bit in Draupnir . ”
“Indeed . In exchange, I shall be joining the Hero’s party, and I intend to fill in the void left by them . ”
Because I was not present at the location of the incident, I did not know the details . However, it seemed that the three adventurers had to retire and taking their places was the cat .
Oi oi, is that even fine? It’s kinda rude of me to say it, but that cat looks super-duper weak .
He looks like a Bengal cat walking on two legs, so it makes me smile, but he just doesn’t look strong however I look at him . [3]
If the enemy is a j.a.panese person who loves cats, he might be able to KO them just by being there… like some form of final hidden weapon, but I just can’t imagine him being useful in a proper fight .
Cats are supposed to be loved . Not something that should be made to fight .
“I see . Anyways, let’s hear what you have to say . ”
“Yes . The truth is…”
The content of the young boy Sei’s story was something that was quite simple .
It could be summarised as him having doubts as to whether I was really an enemy or not, and to determine that, he came to talk to me .
To be able to do such a thing, he was someone that was quite courageous .
Although it was strange for me to be saying it about myself, in this world, I was considered and treated as someone that was extremely scary to interact with .
Furthermore, because the 12 Stars had turned gigantic on the previous occasion, if I was in his position, I would frankly not consider my own image to be that great .
Even a.s.suming he had a.s.surance from Megrez, there was still the fact that Megrez himself had a conflict with me two hundred years ago .
So I might still get killed – he should have at least thought in such a way before coming here .
Nevertheless, he recognised his position as “someone without any preconceptions,” and chose the option to walk alongside with me .
Something like that… was not something that just anybody could achieve, is it?
“I see . You’re indeed correct in that I have no intention of proactively being hostile to you all . To begin with, I remember telling you this the first time I was summoned, didn’t I?”
As I answered Sei’s question, I looked at the elf nii-san, causing him to quietly shriek .
This guy… isn’t he overly fearful of me for no reason?
I mean, it’s not like he needs to be this scared of me . I’m not going to kidnap and eat him or anything, after all .
“In other words, can I a.s.sume that you will a.s.sist in fighting against the demon race together with us?”
“That’s not a bad way of thinking, but that’s for later in the future . I have things I need to do before then . ”
It was not a bad idea to work together with the Hero and his party .
However, my next destination was still the region where Benetnash and Leon were in conflict .
The others aside, if your level was too low, you were likely to end up dying for real .
At the very least, if you were to encounter Leon or Benetnash and still wished to escape with your life, you would at least need to have power at the same cla.s.s as the 12 Stars .
Without it, it would not even be possible to think about running away .
In other words, it’s that . It might be a bad way to word it, but the Hero’s party is nothing but a burden .
“Something you have to do?”
“Indeed . It seems that guy Leon’s been inciting the magical beasts and leading them to a path of destruction, bringing them along as collateral damage . For Leon, he might just be reaping what he sowed, but I feel that it’s quite pitiful for the magical beasts involved . A subordinate’s mistake is the mistake of his master, or in other words, my mistake . Therefore, I have to go and stop that fool . ”
“Then we’re not totally uninvolved . If the magical beasts all grouped up and came raging for war, it’ll be a major problem . Yo, Ruphas, I’ll lend you my help in stopping that guy called Leon or something . ”
In response to my explanation, Gants brought up the topic of a joint struggle without a moment of hesitation .
Always a man with good intentions . Working together, huh .
I was quite happy with his intentions… but… you know, it’s that . Honestly speaking, with their levels, all that they could do was die from the shockwave of a fight between me and Leon .
Furthermore, I did not know when Benetnash would make her move .
To bring them along was way too risky .
Nevertheless, if I were to be honest and outright tell them, “You’re all too weak so I don’t need you,” then the reconciliation flag that I had long been painstakingly working towards would probably snap just like that . [4]
So for the moment, the appropriate action would be to leave them with a relatively unimportant role as if I was a.s.signing them with some important task .
“Thanks, but the location that Leon is in is an active war zone . I want to head there by ourselves . Instead, can I get you guys to search for the location of the centaurs’ hometown?”
Although I was concerned about Leon and Benetnash, the matter about Sagittarius was also weighing on my mind .
In regard to this matter, Libra had said that it was impossible for Sagittarius to rush into action like Leon would .
In other words, there was a reason which was forcing him to undertake such a rash decision .
In my prediction, I believed this was somewhat connected to the “people I must protect” as mentioned in the conversation between Sagittarius and Libra .
As such, if something were to be done about that, there was a possibility that we could avoid having to fight against Sagittarius .
Having said that, centaurs were a species of fairly strong magical beasts . To have just the Hero and his party endeavour on this search was a little too dangerous .
Therefore, I made a quick selection of the members who would accompany them on their journey at that moment .
“I will entrust Virgo and Castor to accompany your party . It’s probably easier for you lot if you’re with someone you’re familiar with . ”
What was lacking from the Hero’s party was a magic type .
Nevertheless, I could not entrust them with a suspicious individual like Dina nor could I send over someone dangerous like Aigokeros .
Or rather… Aigokeros was likely to end up a.s.sa.s.sinating the entire Hero’s party behind their backs . Therefore, I absolutely could not leave him with them .
As a consequence, the individuals that I could a.s.sign were limited . In the end, I decided to select Virgo and added Castor as he seemed to be the most normal out of the others .
In all honesty, the main reason I entrusted Virgo to them was to put her as far away from danger as possible . It was too risky to take her with me to where Benetnash and Leon were .
In exchange, I would be bringing Aries with me this time . After all, his per cent damage attack would be effective against both Leon and Benetnash .
In particular, now that Leon’s status was likely to have reverted back to the time he was a boss character, his HP was likely to have surpa.s.sed one million .
In other words, it meant that Aries would be able to easily deal 99,999 damage to him . [5]
Although Aries was the weakest individual amongst the 12 Stars when it came to battle, it did not mean that he could not be more useful than those stronger than him .
He had the potential to be stronger as his enemy got stronger .
“And hmm, that’s right . As a bonus, I’ll include a free mode of transportation . ”
Using the materials I acquired in Blutgang, I made a second camping car model golem without putting that much effort into it .
Others aside, Virgo was a girl . I did not want her to be continuously camping outside without even being able to wash her own body .
Therefore, I included a minimum amount of utilities in the golem, created rooms for the men and created a small separate room for Virgo .
In the limited s.p.a.ce, I also installed a shower room and toilet . Therefore, the room available for the men had become quite small… but it would still be better than sleeping outside… yeah .
I could not deny that I was playing favourites, though .
As such, Unit 2 of the camping car model golem series was completed . Because it was troublesome to think of a name, I just ended up naming it Suzuki . [6]
[Suzuki]
Level 350
Species: Artificial Lifeform
HP: 20 000
SP: 0
STR (Strength/Attack Power): 620
DEX (Dexterity): 120
VIT (Vitality): 700
INT (Intelligence): 9
AGI (Ability/Speed): 1650
MND (Mindpower): 75
LUK (Luck): 100
Alright, it has somewhat of an awkward status, but it’s not like it won’t be of any use at all in battle .
I ordered it so that in the case of an emergency, it would protect Virgo and the others, and at other times, to move according to the orders given by Castor and Virgo .
I had also ordered it to listen to the Hero’s party’s commands . However, if they showed intentions of abusing (exploiting) Suzuki, I had programmed it to kick them out .
Finally, for that one-in-a-million chance, I had ordered it to rough them up to the point of them being on the verge of death should they show any intention of putting their hands on Virgo .
Well, it was merely just as insurance, though .
“Umm… Ruphas-san, why is it a camping car?”
“I just thought it was suited for journeys . Or would you have preferred a truck instead?”
“No, that’s not what I’m trying to say…”
“I know what you want to say . Well, I can’t tell you the details, but just understand that I also know a little about the other world . ”
The young boy Sei was beating around the bush with the way he questioned me, but I promptly cut off the conversation on the spot .
Oh, by the way, the inside of me is actually a modern j.a.panese person – even if I were to say such a thing, he was unlikely to believe me, and even if I was in his position, I would not have believed it myself .
Therefore, there was no merit in conveying to him such information .
The young boy Sei was looking at me for a while with his doubtful expression . However, he must have decided that it would be useless for him to continue pursuing this issue . In the end, he did not end up saying anything .