Apologies for the long delay. I got caught up with Batoto dying. I quit scanlating entirely, which makes me sad. My little brother might start scanlating, though, so I’m pretty excited about that.
We walked along the road while looking for herbs.
While we were doing that, I checked our Statuses.
『Fran, your Status still has you as under a contract.』
“Un.”
I noticed this after checking Fran’s Status after leaving the Dungeon.
At first, I was worried that Fran’s slave contract would renew itself somehow, but it didn’t seem like that was the case. Because when she was a slave, her Status said, Status: Slave.
But she was under a different contract now.
With me.
For some reason, she ended up in a contract with me. Ah geez, I don’t remember making a contract with her. It seemed like the contract was created because of some strange power I had.
This sword may be my body, but there were still some mysteries left for me to discover.
I tried doing things like physically moving away from her or removing Fran as my wielder, but none of these methods taught me anything. All I learned was that, no matter what I did, I couldn’t get rid of the contract in her Status.
At this point, any further attempts would result in more harm than good, so all I could do was leave it alone.
Fran wasn’t particularly bothered by it, so she didn’t mind.
As we walked on the road in search for herbs, we detected someone.
‘Master.’
『Yeah, someone’s following us.』
There were two people stalking us. One of them was clearly an amateur. Shockingly, one of our trackers wasn’t using any form of cloaking, so we could easily hear him or her.
So we deliberately walked off the road, and we could sense them do the same. They were definitely following us.
We walked through the forest for a while in order to lure them out, and they approached us.
“Hey, you! Stop!”
We heard a familiar voice shout at us from behind.
The poor guy didn’t even realize we were baiting him.
“That’s…the weakling vice-captain?”
『Baron August…probably?』
He was taken aback after hearing us. One of our tails, a man, was dressed like a warrior. He was probably a hired adventurer. I’d never seen him before, but he looked like a typical warrior.
The problem was the other person. We had difficulty immediately identifying him as Baron August.
It had only been a week, but he had changed drastically. For the most part, he looked the same, but at a glance, it was hard to tell if he was the same person.
His cheeks were sunken in, his eyes bloodshot, his hair disheveled, and there were even patches on his head where his hair had fallen out. He looked like a specter from a horror movie. Wait. He didn’t become an Undead, did he?
What happened to him? He was an utter a.s.shole, but I was starting to feel bad for him.
“Y-Y-You!”
Wow. He was really close to us now.
“I-I’ll make you pay for the d-disrespect you showed me in the Guild!”
The heck was he on about? He suddenly shouted at us.
As I continued to look at him, I started getting a bad feeling.
“Who are you?”
“Wha-What? You mean you forgot who I am?!”
“I never met you before.”
“S-Seriously? N-No! You’re lying! You couldn’t possibly have forgotten me!”
“I’m serious. You got the wrong person.”
Fran probably didn’t want to get involved with him. Was she planning on avoiding him like this?
No, but her plan probably wouldn’t work.
Was what I thought, but——.
“Huh? Did I really mistake you for someone else? No, you’re lying! Are you lying?”
“I’m not. Later.”
“Huh? What? That wasn’t a lie? You weren’t lying?”
Was it because he wasn’t quite right in the head? Who’d have thought he’d buy it.
Maybe this could be a permanent solution.
“Ah! That sword! Th-There’s no mistaking it: you’re that beastfolk girl from the Guild!”
Sorry, Fran. He found out because of me.
“S-So you were lying! s.h.i.+t, all you b.a.s.t.a.r.ds do is lie!”
As if you’re one to talk! You’re the one who lied to try to get us in trouble!
“Y-You, give me th-that sword!”
“No.”
“Sh-Shut up! How dare a lowly a-adventurer disobey a n.o.bleman! G-Give it here!”
“No.”
“J-J-Just who do you think I am?! I am the great Au-August Alsand!”
Shrieking in a shrill voice, August clawed at the top of his head and savagely pulled. He tore out a fistful of his hair, and blood trickled down his forehead. Th-That was just like a scene from a horror movie. I couldn’t think of him as anything more than a character from a psychological thriller.
His erratic behavior continued. He was now tearing out his hair with both hands.
“? Are you crazy?”
The truth was, dealing with him any longer would be a pain.
Should we run away or cut him down? As I was discussing this with Fran, the man next to August stepped forward.
“Please calm down, Sir August. Please leave the matter to me.”
“G-Grrrr.”
“I shall deal her punishment.”
“I-I see. Then do so. Heeheehee.”
He laughed with a vulgar look on his face.
I guess a bad personality sticks even when someone’s lost their sanity?
“Enough of that. Now hand me your magic sword. This is the Baron’s command.”
“No.”
“Hehehe. It’d be in your best interest to give it before I rough you up.”
“Th-That’s right! Garen is a highly skilled mercenary!”
“Get it? Now, give me that sword.”
“h.e.l.l. No.”
“Tch. Idiot brat, trying to act tough. Don’t you realize you’re totally outcla.s.sed?”
And how strong was Garen?
Hmm. I Appraised him, but he wasn’t anything special. He wasn’t a weakling, but he wasn’t particularly strong, either. At the very least, he was weaker than Fran. Isn’t he a little weak to call highly skilled?
“Huh? Aren’t you a Black Cat?”
“…”
“I happen to be of the Blue Cat Race. Do you hate me? Do you?”
“Blue Cats are my enemy!”
Fran boiled with animosity.
This may have been the first time I had seen Fran hate someone so much.
『Fran? What’s wrong?』
‘Lots of Blue Cats are slave traders. Lots of black market traders too.’
『Like the one who captured you?』
‘Yeah.’
So he may be one of them as well. Because some of his Skills were Barter, Threaten, and Tie Up.
‘500 years ago, Blue Cats tricked Black Cats and sold us as slaves. After that, Blue Cats became our enemy.’
『The Blue Cats did?』
‘The Blue Cats acted friendly. Then a lot of Black Cats were captured. The Black Cats begged the Beastkin King for help, but our standing was low. So we didn’t get any help.’
What a sad story. I’d better keep in mind that the Blue Cats are slave traders.
Fran’s enemies are my enemies. In other words, he is my enemy.
“Why’re you so quiet all of a sudden? You got cold feet? Well, it’s too late. Regret your recklessness after I beat you up! I won’t hurt you too badly, now. Because otherwise I couldn’t sell you!”
『There’s the verdict. He’s a sc.u.mmy slave trader.』
‘Un.’
“Give me a nice scream!”
The man pulled out the sword at his hip. It was giving off strong magical power. It was pretty strong.
Name: s.h.i.+ning Spectral Stone Sword
Attack: 650 Stored MP: 200 Durability: 600
Mana Conversion Rate B
Skills: Spectral Block
I could feel power coming not just from the sword but from Garen’s whole body.
‘Is he covered in magic tools?’
『Yeah, looks like it.』
‘Wanna take it?’
『You want to test out Dimensional Storage?』
I just realized that being able to steal someone’s equipment in the middle of combat could be a powerful weapon.
Ah geez, I never thought of this until now.
I originally tested Dimensional Storage in a lot of ways. If it really stopped time for the objects inside, if it preserved heat completely, etc.
I knew from how none of the ingredients rotted and how the food stayed warm that time was stopped inside Dimensional Storage. I went out of my way to measure any changes. And the result was that time truly was stopped. Dimensional Storage was a pocket dimension of stopped time.
I was so caught up testing it, but the thought had never occurred to me. I didn’t have a chance to test this out since we were always fighting demonic beasts… But this was the perfect chance–and the perfect opponent.
“Huh? You planning on fighting, pipsqueak?”
Fran pulled me out of my scabbard.
And Garen collapsed where he stood.
“Ah—Aaaaaagh!”
Fran moved next to Garen in an instant, and his severed legs were rolling at Fran’s feet. She cut them off to stop him from running away.
『Then I’m going to try out Dimensional Storage. Starting with his armor.』 (tn: This was originally in double quotes, meaning Fran said this aloud. However, I think this was an error and was actually the sword speaking.)
“Heeek!”
Fran stabbed me through his shoulder to stop him from crawling away.
“Aaagh!”
It seemed the Dull Pain Skill didn’t fully block out pain. I activated Dimensional Storage while thinking that, but…
『It won’t work. It looks like I can’t use it on equipped items.』
What a shame. This would have been a huge help in combat if it had worked.
‘What if I tear it off him?’
“Huaaaagh!”
Fran swung me around and cut off his arms at the elbows.
On his arms were magic bracelets.
‘Master, want to try it?’
『S-Sure.』
She was merciless to her enemy. Actually, she was in a silent fury. She was more brutal than usual.
Fran didn’t even spare a glance at the bawling Garen as she pressed me against his bracelet. I activated Dimensional Storage.
『It worked.』
It looked like I could store equipment that were separated from his body.
“And his sword.”
『Yeah.』
She picked up his fallen sword. It also went into Storage.
“How did this happen…! Aaaahhh! Dammit!”
He kept speaking even in that condition. Was it because of the Dull Pain Skill?
“Why! My Skill didn’t say you were this strong…! J-J-Just spare my life!”
What was he saying about his Skill? Ah, I see. He had the Sense Strength Skill. It seemed like it gauged the difference in level between him and an opponent. So he knew that he was a higher level than Fran. Fran, who was not only lower in level than him and a Black Cat, but a girl. He must have thought this would be easy pickings.
‘I took everything except his armor.’
『It’d be pain to take it off him.』
‘Then…the user just needs to disappear.’
『Well, that’s true… I’ll do it.』
Garen was different from goblins or other demonic beasts. No matter how angry she was at him, he was still a person.
I figured even Fran would hesitate, but…
‘No. It’s fine. I’ll do it.’
And with that, Fran stabbed downward without a moment’s hesitation.
“Ku—huugh…”
Fran cut through his neck, leaving his head squirming as he gave his final exhale.
It was as though both his blood and his life were leaving Garen through the gash in his neck.
Garen’s face paled, and his wide-open eyes regarded Fran with utter hatred. Though rather than being intentional, his eyes were already empty. His mouth fell open and his entire body slowly fell still.
He then raised his arm towards the sky, as if trying to tear it apart—and Garen stopped breathing.
How anticlimactic.
『Fran, are you okay?』
‘This was bound to happen one day. I’m glad it was on him.’
She was calm despite having just killed a person for the first time.
That may have had to do with the fact that he was her clan’s enemy and because he was evil.
She didn’t seem to be putting up a tough front. There was not a speck of guilt worrying her conscience.
That was probably due to the Calm Mind Skill. It was a good thing she got a Skill that reduced the mental stress of things like murder.
There were a lot of things wrong with what I just said, but it was okay to ignore it in times like this.
As long as Fran wasn’t worried about it.
I didn’t like wishy-washy protagonists to begin with. Because it annoyed me when the protagonist went into depression mode every time he or she killed a single enemy.
The unrealistic view that we should stop children from committing murder had no place here.
In a world like this, hesitating to kill can lead only to your own death. It would actually be more harmful to Fran than anything to teach her to care for her enemies.
『Let’s try out Storage now.』
“Un.”
『Great. Let’s start with his armor.』
One by one, we put his armor, boots, knife, gauntlets, and necklace into Storage.
Storage worked perfectly when the wearer was dead.
“Heeeek!”
The weakling vice-captain, August, let out a sound that could have been either a laugh or a shriek as he fell to the ground.
“N-N-No way! He’s the hero of the Ruze War! H-How could someone who defeated a th-th-thousand people die so easily?!”
August-san, you were deceived. Defeated a thousand people? That was obviously a lie.
And you mean Garen was a hero? As if that could be true. He should have figured it out if he’d noticed Garen’s personality. It was actually harder to believe that August bought that lie.
‘He got tricked?’
『Most likely. But even so, he’s a n.o.bleman. Did he really fall for such an obvious lie?』
Wait, was it my fault?
Did he become unable to distinguish lies after I took Logical Fallacy from him?
If he had this Skill since a young age, then he likely used Logical Fallacy whenever he talked with anyone. And what happened when he suddenly lost it? He may have become mentally unstable or become completely unable to determine what was a lie and what wasn’t.
‘Because of Master.’
『Ah, you think so too?』
‘Un. Good job.’
『Ah, you meant that as a compliment.』
She really had no sympathy for her enemies. W-Well, I should consider this his just desserts. It was his bad luck for picking a fight with us. Yeah, I didn’t do anything wrong.
“A-And what did you do with Garen’s equipment?! Th-That was all top-of-the-line gear I bought for him!”
Garen played him for a fool. He must have talked August into spending a ton of money. That poor guy.
『Fran, what do you want to do with him?』
‘…Ignore him.’
『Hmm. Is that a good idea?』
I put Garen’s corpse into Storage. Because if left alone, it might turn into an Undead. We’d have to dispose of it later, but there was no helping that.
In the process, we also Stored the 20,000 gil he had on him.
Well, I guess we’d better take that in lieu of compensation.
The things he had were bound to be useful, after all.
All that was left was how to deal with August… But what should we do?
Grab him? Kill him? Or just ignore him? Brainwash him? But I needed to keep in mind that he was a n.o.bleman.
As I was mulling this over, a new set of footsteps approached us.
‘Master…!”
『Yeah, that’s some powerful mana. Be careful!』
‘Un!’
Fran ignored August and got into a combat stance in an instant.
The mysterious source of the mana continued to approach at breakneck speed.
But I had never felt this mana before. It was different from humans’ or demonic beasts’.
Was it aiming for Fran?
No, despite being an idiot, he was still a n.o.bleman, so maybe it was aiming for him?
Regardless, we needed to stay on alert.
“Th-The h.e.l.l, so you’re pulling out your sword again! Y-You want to fight?!”
August was being noisy. Come to think of it, he’d distract us if we got into a real fight. We should shut him up.
『Fran.』
“Un. I know.”
“Wha-Wha-What…”
Konk.
“Ah…?”
Ten seconds pa.s.sed after Fran knocked August unconscious.
Something strange and half-transparent showed up.
How should I describe it? Whenever it moved, its entire form rippled as well, and it looked like a ball of water that was hanging from the sky.
I didn’t sense any hostility coming from it, but what was it?
“Fran-san, I trust you haven’t killed him?”
We suddenly heard a voice while I was thinking this.
“?”
Did that thing in front of us just talk? It didn’t have a mouth or a face, so I couldn’t be sure.
It seemed like that amorphous object spoke.
And we recognized the voice.
“Guild Master?”
“That is correct. Ahh, is this your first time seeing this? This is one of the types of fairies I command. There is no need to worry.”
“First time…seeing a fairy.”
It was a first for me as well, and it was different from what I imagined.
I thought they’d look more human-like. Like a sylph or an undine.
And it seemed Fran was the same. She tilted her head and stared at it as if asking if it was really a fairy.
“Kind of weird.”
“What do you mean, weird?! Weird, you say?! Grant, this child may not be in a human form due to being a mid-rank fairy, but this child is most definitely cute!”
“But I like cool things better.”
“High-rank fairies have human forms. I sent this child because there was no need to use a high-ranking one as there was no violence.”
So high-rank fairies had human forms. And the Guild Master could summon them.
Even mid-rank fairies had this much magical power. I wondered how strong high-rank fairies were.
The Guild Master himself was already incredibly strong, but if he also used fairies, then wouldn’t he be untouchable? He was definitely strong enough to be a Guild Master.
“What is it?”
“Oh dear, I nearly forgot. We received word that Baron Alsand left the city.”
He only just left, but the news reached him quickly.
“Durte, the gatekeeper, informed us. He was worried if you would be safe as he saw Baron Alsand chasing after you.”
Durte-san, I’m sorry for wondering if you liked little girls. You’re just a good person.
“He’s here.”
“Verily! The Guild received secret orders to capture Baron Alsand. You did not kill him, correct? Yes? Ah, or did you kill him? That would place me in quite the situation!”
“I didn’t kill him.”
“T-Truly? Thank goodness! I shall go to your location. Of course, I will pay you for your help.”
“Okay.”
“Truly? You have my thanks! I will go to you immediately, so could you please secure the location?”
“Un.”
“Then please pardon me!”
The fairy disappeared the moment he stopped speaking. It seemed like it was a messenger-type fairy.
10 minutes later. The Guild Master showed up, breathing heavily.
That was fast. He really must have hurried.
“Fran-san, my apologies for the wait.”
“Un.”
“And Baron August…ah, there he is. There.”
The adventurer that came with the Guild Master draped the unconscious August on his back.
“Where are you taking him?”
“Ahh, this is a subordinate of Earl Olmis.”
That was a new name. Who was that?
“Earl Olmis is Baron Alsand’s father.”
“The father wants his son captured?”
“Yes. Though this is strictly between you and me. Baron Alsand was always starting trouble. Earl Olmis allowed Baron Alsand to remain unpunished due to his Skill that let him penetrate lies, and he used Baron Alsand for his own purposes.”
So Earl Olmis weighed the pros and cons of using Logical Fallacy, and decided that it was worth it.
“However, it seems that the Skill suddenly disappeared a few days ago. I do not know the reason. This is an extremely rare phenomenon. Though, considering his rampant use of the Skill, this may very well be the punishment of the G.o.ds.”
That’s right, that’s right. It was punishment. Let’s keep it at that.
“I was also surprised to see how he changed. He must have used his lie-detecting Skill on everyone. And after he lost the Skill, he became unable to trust anyone.”
Well, I got the feeling that his condition was more complicated than that. He was totally off his rocker.
I was excited to get such a useful Skill, but I should be careful about how I use it. I didn’t want to end up like that idiot Baron.
I wasn’t deluded enough to think that I was the only one who could use the Skill however I pleased.
“A few days ago, he created a commotion when the royal family came for an inspection. He lost all manners, and had a fit as he had an audience with them, screaming that they were all liars.”
Wow. That was no joke. Even Fran and I, who have no conception of court manners, wouldn’t act like that.
No, wait. We took his Court Etiquette Skill. Could that have partly been the cause…?
“And he went into hiding after escaping his house arrest. He left with a large sum of money. We tracked his movements to the point where he spent the majority of his money to buy expensive equipment.”
Garen must have been leading him. And he was probably planning on running from Alessa after capturing Fran.
He likely planned on leaving the idiot Baron to fend for himself.
“Earl Olmis likely does not want this to become a huge issue. Earl Olmis made a secret request for us to secure his location before Baron Alsand could create even more trouble.”
“Secret?”
“Yes. Though this is my personal opinion, I believe he wishes to hide the loss of the Skill and make use of the situation in some way. Though I do not know if he plans on finding a replacement or healing the Baron. And so, he wishes to find Baron Alsand. And before anyone discovers the truth, he wants to keep this all closely under wraps. This is most likely the case.”
“Already too late.”
“I agree. Though whether the Earl’s plan succeeds or not is no concern of mine. He need only ask a favor of the movers and shakers of the realm to avoid any damage. And both the request fee and the hush money fill our coffers nicely.”
Oh my. So the request fee was high?
“Staaare.”
“…I was going to give you both proper recognition and a bonus for your work even if you did not stare at me like that.”
“Un. Of course.”
“And you know what to do in exchange?”
“I don’t talk much.”
Fran proudly nodded her head, and the Guild Master looked uncertainly at Fran.
“Haa. Please do keep quiet about this. Because this is related to one of the greater n.o.blemen. If you anger him, things will become unpleasant in a variety of ways.”
We definitely didn’t want to get caught in the n.o.blemen family’s crosshairs. We would have kept quiet regardless.
“Ahh, and as I told you, the Baron’s belongings that you appropriated are yours to keep, so please rest a.s.sured.”
So he knew we took his equipment and money. Actually, that was almost completely true. For some reason, I felt like our debt to the Guild Master just grew.
We asked the Guild Master not to mention Fran’s name to the Earl. A greater n.o.ble wasn’t likely to be interested in a commoner, but we asked just in case.
Altogether, the request fee along with the bonus and the hush money were 200,000 gil. Suddenly, the amount of money we had doubled.
Just what I’d expect from a n.o.bleman’s request. I felt as though my sense of scale for money was going to turn strange.