Author: Kaburagi Haruka
Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations
Chapter 24: Reason
Translated by Soyokaze Translations: soyokazetranslation . Com
"What the heck, you were finally safe, and then they made you a slave?! That"s horrible."
"Well, at the time my hair color and stuff changed quite a bit, y"know?"
"Aren"t you being too softhearted, Eir? If it was me, I would have slaughtered them all!"
"That"s extreme, Elly."
Elly put some hot tea in a pot and brought it out, so in spite of the strong winds outside, it doesn"t feel all that cold.
This spot already has plenty of sunlight, and Sentinel is being used to block the wind, so it feels sort of like we"re on a hike.
"But that master of yours knowing that and not freeing you, Rimuru was it? He"s horrible too."
"Really? He"s a good and kind master though."
"I"m saying that if he was kind, then he would free you."
"Hrrgh."
Sure enough I can feel my cheeks puffing up from the criticism of Master.
I"m well aware of how good he"s treating me.
"Ah, sorry, yeah? I didn"t mean to upset you. If you trust him that much, them I"m sure he"s a good person."
"Master is a good person, okay?"
"Yeah, got it."
Elly happily smiles and strokes my head.
She might find my horn though, so I"d like her to keep it to a minimum. She"ll find out I"m not completely human.
"So, about this Rimuru guy… Well? Think he"ll pa.s.s?"
"Master will do fine. He"s practically a genius when it comes to magic."
"So he"s that good, then."
"But he"s not so great at attack magic, so I"m a little worried."
"I thought you said he was a genius… Well, there"s a test to measure recovery abilities for healers too, so I would think he"ll still be fine."
Master is the intellectual type, so he should be fine on the academics. I don"t think there should be any problems.
"More importantly, if not for this sword we could have enjoyed the tea inside."
"Yup, oh well."
I used this for training because I didn"t think anyone would be here, but I need to toss it in "Dimensional Storage" to carry it around.
Stowing it away isn"t something I can just do in front of people, so it"s the reason for that now.
This sword is problematic in many ways.
"I"m pretty sure we would get complaints if you carried this around, after all. I"m surprised you can even swing it."
"Mmhm, thanks to my natural abilities."
"Yeah, that gift. Is it like "Strong Arm" maybe?"
"Something like that?"
In any case, I"m not exactly lying. Plus gifts are an individual"s trump card, so hiding them shouldn"t be considered unusual.
She must be aware of that, as she isn"t pursuing it further.
"So how heavy is this thing anyway?"
"About one hundred twenty kilograms maybe? Never weighed it though. Even then, it looks like [Weight Reduction] enchant magic is cast on it."
"One hundred and twenty?! Eir, does that mean you"d be able to pick me up?"
Since she said that, I easily grabbed hold and lifted her. In common terms it would be a princess carry.
I certainly couldn"t go and pick her up by the collar, and more importantly she"s a whole twenty centimeters taller than me.
"Wow, amazing! You really are strong!"
"Elly weighs about—"
"Don"t say it—!"
As I was about to give a rough estimation, she shouted and jumped down from my arms.
"I haven"t been getting enough exercise lately, so it"s been worrying me!"
"But you"re nice and soft I think?"
"That"s a delicate way to put it."
"Master complains that I"m "hard and bony" though."
"… Do you normally hold this Rimuru guy?"
"Whenever we sleep. Master feels good."
It"s cold, after all. Plus Master has a high body temperature, like a child, so he"s nice and warm.
"I-I see… Girls these days really do grow up quick, huh. Ah, or maybe that"s just normal for a slave?"
"…?"
Elly seems to be mumbling something while lost in thought.
Looks like she has tendencies to let her imagination run wild.
Translated by Soyokaze Translations: soyokazetranslation . Com
After happily enjoying the tea like that, before I knew it the sun was setting.
"Sorry, Master will be coming back soon."
"Ah, right. I guess it is about time for the test to end."
"Thanks for the tea."
"And thank you for all the fun today. Be seeing you around once you get in?"
"I"m not exactly the one being admitted. But see you then."
"Ahaha, looking forward to it!"
She nimbly cleaned up the tea set, and headed back inside the school.
Yeah, she"s nice.
"Later then."
"See you later."
After a light wave of the hand, I pick up Sentinel and return to the front gate.
Along the way I make sure n.o.body is around, double-checking by looking for magic power just in case, and stow Sentinel away in "Dimensional Storage".
Upon killing just a little time, Master came out through the gate.
"Welcome back."
"I"m back—, well, guess I"m not exactly home yet?"
"The test, how"d it go?"
"Well, I pa.s.sed. In the lowest rank though."
Lowest rank? Master did? No way!
"Why?!"
"I was at the top in academics, but… It was the practicals."
"You didn"t do well at the magic, Master Rimuru?"
"The test was to cast magic on a target ten meters away."
"Ahh—…"
Master can use even the highest rank healing magic [Recovery] just fine, but he can"t use it at a distance.
This could be considered one of the adverse effects of using magic by direct contact with patients in a clinic.
At a clinic the magic needs to be in constant effect next to the patient, to make sure they"re not getting anything wrong.
What"s necessary for this is strength in spell formulas, not the skill to use it from a distance.
As such, Master has practiced and grown quite exclusively in direct contact healing.
"I used some of my cruddy attack magic, and managed to barely swing by with [Flame Bolt]. I"m sure you can guess how the martial arts test went."
"Yep, I knew that part was impossible."
"Shut up, okay?! Back me up here a bit!"
"You said it yourself though… Selfish."
"Even so, men want girls to have expectations of them."
"Master Rimuru is amazing for other reasons. I know that."
What"s amazing about Master is that he can stand and face any fear when a patient is at stake.
It has nothing to do with him picking up a sword and fighting, or using magic to defeat enemies.
"R-right… Well, as long as you understand, Eir."
"Of course."
"So anyway…"
Then Master had an extremely serious look on his face.
It"s the kind of sharp look he might have when facing an enemy.
"I want to talk to you when we get back. Could you wait for me in the room after dinner?"
"? Got it."
I wondered why he couldn"t talk right now, but he looked so serious I let it be with a nod.
Translated by Soyokaze Translations: soyokazetranslation . Com
A little while after finishing dinner, Yig came back from the hot spring.
For some reason she had an ecstatic expression, or rather it was such a look of pleasure that it might not be okay to show children.
And with her appearing like a beautiful young girl, it seems really immoral. Her clothes were also loosened in places, bringing strongly to mind an "after the deed" look.
"Yig, have you been in the bath this whole time?"
"The water was soo good~. You should have come along, Chief."
"I get dizzy; no thanks."
With my rejection to the bath invitation put forward, I fix up Yig"s clothes. I think the way she looks right now would be a bit too stimulating for Master.
I put her collar neatly in order, straighten her loosened sash, and tug on the hem to un-wrinkle the back of her clothes.
Once I was done, Yig went from, "a beautiful young girl in ecstasy after the deed" to "a beautiful young girl with blushing cheeks and eyes swimming about."
Isn"t this dangerous in its own way…?
"Ah, Yig"s back too? Perfect timing."
Then Master came back. Seeing Yig"s flush, he had one response.
"Hm? Catch a cold? You really shouldn"t stay in the water so long."
Aaah, Master really is hopeless… She looks practically like a smitten maiden ready to go, and that"s the only impression he gets.
I guess he"s still at the age where the focus is more on food than sensuality. I"m actually a bit relieved.
"So anyway. What I want to talk about… Eir, it"s about my goals."
"Right, you"re going to tell me?"
"Yeah, I pa.s.sed the exam and all, so I think we"ve reached a nice break point. So I was thinking I"d like to tell you."
"Ah, then ya want me to go outside?"
Yig quickly raised her hand. She"s being surprisingly considerate.
"No, I"d like you to hear it too, Yig."
"Then I"ll stay~"
Master looks at Yig and I sitting on the bed, then prepares tea.
It looks like it"s something he"s having trouble talking about, and he"s buying time.
With the tea distributed, Master made a clear declaration.
"My goal… Is to develop [Resurrection] magic."
"Whhuh?"
[Resurrection] is a kind of mystic art that often comes up in fairy tales. There"s no current theory established for it, so it"s not called magic, but mystic arts.
Mystic arts are something for which no theory or law exists. If there"s no theory established, then it can"t be used by humans.
It"s a technique without principle, beyond imagination… Nay, beyond fantasy. That"s why it"s considered mystical.
"My parents were killed by trolls."
"Ah…"
Right, Master"s parents pa.s.sed away about three months ago.
With how good Master is at magic, even mystic arts may not actually be unthinkable.
"Luckily my parents weren"t eaten, and were left with relatively little damage. Their bodies are already regenerated."
"But that"s talking about three months ago…"
"Yeah, naturally they"d decay if left like that, so they"re being preserved with [Freeze] magic. In my bas.e.m.e.nt."
When I was staying over at Master"s house, he gave me a strong warning, "don"t go in the bas.e.m.e.nt," and this must have been the reason.
By the way, the [Freeze] spell is used more practically for preserving foodstuffs.
When I was buried alive, Fafnir"s flesh was preserved by this spell too.
"There are plenty of religions in the world, but I"m pretty sure raising the dead is considered taboo in all of them."
"Mm, probably~. The G.o.d of destruction said, "it"s best not to do that" too. Even though the one saying that is "Unaging" and "Undying"."
"Yeah, well like according to the World Tree faith, "the souls of the dead return to the World Tree to be born once again in the world," is what they teach. Resurrection should be considered taboo for them."
"So, Master Rimuru, the reason you didn"t release me was, in other words…"
"If this research is known, my life would be targeted… Undoubtedly by the World Tree adherents. That"s why I wanted an escort. An escort I could trust, who would never betray me."
That must be why he stuck his nose in the world of slavery, which he doesn"t like.
"And the reason you didn"t go to the Sokaris school…?"
"That place is focused more on practical abilities. It"s not a place suited towards research. In comparison, Raum"s is the oldest in the world, with the largest store of literature. It"s perfect for research."
With this school"s strong connection to the elves, it"s said even the most ancient literature of the world is gathered here.
There"s probably books about resurrection among them. Actually, I"m sure there is. Resurrecting the dead is right up there with eternal youth and immortality in the dreams of humanity.
"I managed to safely enroll, so I figured it was time for a breath of relief. That"s why I wanted you to know my real intentions, Eir."
"Hey, Boss, hey~. What about me~?"
"You too of course, Yig. You said you"ve been alive for five hundred years, so I"ve got some expectations for you in that regard."
"Leave it to me~"
She acts totally innocent, but Yig is actually very knowledgeable.
After all, she"s got five hundred years and the knowledge of the G.o.d of destruction crammed into her head.
Plus she has memories of the swordsmanship of ancient knights, so she also counts as my teacher.
Her high physical abilities allow her to replicate the movements according to her memory. She"s skillful enough that she easily repels my sword, which only relies on being strong and fast.
"And then there"s one more thing…"
Master, with an extremely worried look on his face, dropped a ma.s.sive bombsh.e.l.l.
Translated by Soyokaze Translations: soyokazetranslation . Com
"Eir, I think it"s time I release you from slavery."
"—Eh?"