LN Translation

Learning through reading

Chapter 24
redhare404 February 22, 2020 Uncategorized

24 現実逃避
Escape From Reality

The 【Imperial Capital Zebrudia】 was always bustling.

Well maintained streets. The main roads were broad and interwoven, there were
always countless carriages and people busily coming and going.
It was to the extent that people hailing from other districts would say that there
was always a festival in Zebrudia.

When people gathered, things gathered, and that’s what grew the city.
The 【Imperial Capital Zebrudia】 was currently said to be a large world leading
city, and that there was nothing you couldn’t find there.
Powerful weapons and armour, a delicacy originally only found in particular towns
facing the ocean, rare books with only a few existing volumes in the world,
expensive potions that could cure any illness, and ―― profound and mysterious
Relics produced from the surrounding Shrines.

Wealth to prestige. And also, power. The Imperial Capital Zebrudia that took pride
in it’s splendour could be said to be a representative of cities with active hunters in
the modern age.

And, it was still unknown whether it’s growth would stop.

For us, the members of 『Strange Grief』, that the first city we chose to visit was
the Imperial Capital was our most extreme case of good fortune.

Of course I wouldn’t ever say anything against the amount of effort my childhood
friends put in, but the abundant resources and superior teachers gave us a big leap
forward.
And so, we took that momentum and 『Strange Grief』 ran up what regular people
saw as the glorious path of Treasure Hunters.
Actually, in the five years since we had come to the Capital, our party (except me)
had already finished overcoming most of the Shrines in the vicinity.

But still the capital was our hometown, it was convenient and there was also the
pretext of making new friends. And it wasn’t like I didn’t have any thoughts of
contributing to the development of the city a little if possible.

But at the moment – this Imperial Capital that we owed a great debt to was facing
an unprecedented crisis because of me.

The Clan House top floor.

After spending an hour searching my private room, I was clutching my head in my
hands.

Sytry’s slime was – nowhere to be found. No matter how many times I searched.
Searching every nook and cranny it didn’t appear.

From the gaps between the countless Relics that decorated my room, to
underneath my bed. I searched everywhere, but there were no traces of it.

I sat on my bed with a flump, and muttered alone. My throat was parched.

It was a pleasantly warm afternoon. Usually I would take a stroll outside with a
suitable escort, or sit in my chair in the Clan Master’s room and take a nap, but I
absolutely couldn’t feel that way right now.

“Crap… what do I do. It’s not anywhere….”

The thing that should have been inside the metal capsule, I had noticed it wasn’t
there before throwing it in the White Wolves Den.
Fortunately we were able to manage the Hunt itself with the help of our adorable
Genocidal Monster, but there was still a big question that remained.

That was, where was Sytry’s Slime?

I swear, I had never opened the capsule before even once.

After it was entrusted into my care, I put it in the safe and always left it there. It
was treated as a half-way toxic substance. I had made it a rule to run away from
dangerous things to the best of my ability.

Sytry’s Slime was created by a member of 『Strange Grief』, Sytry Smart.

The Slime was known as the weakest monster of them all.

Against heat, cold, magic, physical attacks, and also shocks, it was weak.
If you were a child in the countryside, at one time or another you probably played
around by stepping on field slimes.

It was also famous for being able to be created through special techniques, and was
often used in experiments because it’s nature changed according to the mana in it’s
surroundings.

Just one slime going missing by all rights shouldn’t give off a sense of impending
doom. But it wasn’t surprising to feel when one went missing on this occasion.

Sytry had said it was a good thing to create, but to be careful with it since there was
a little danger that the Imperial Capital would be destroyed if it was released, so
take care of it.

And her ‘little’ doesn’t mean just a ‘little’. (Saying ‘a little’ when the Capital could be
destroyed is a little bit little….)

Sytry is a genius. Her body wasn’t very strong, but she more than made up for that
in intelligence.

And she was the most matured among the collected monsters of『Strange Grief』.
But at the beginning she was a child just like me, that was worried about her own
weakness. (Although I should mention at that point she was much stronger than I
was.)

From the start, she must have been a late-bloomer type.

All the members of Strange Grief showed outstanding talent from the outset, so I
was the only one that understood that kind of suffering.

Now she had become strong. With knowledge and experience, her position had
rapidly grown, but the sympathy she held towards me didn’t disappear.

Perhaps that was why Sytry often handed me “deliverables”. To her perfectly well
intentions, I couldn’t turn them down. (Or should I say, they would become litter if
I didn’t accept them, so I had to even if I didn’t want to. For some reason Sytry
wasn’t interested in the “deliverables” I didn’t accept.)

And for all that, Sytry-chan had some small bits missing in her, so she often left out
important information that lead to me making mistakes time and again.

Yeah. Exactly like – this time it seems.

a
“………No no no no no. This time will be different. It’s been in the safe this whole
time, and I never opened it.”

Calmly think.
I definitely paid meticulous attention to that Slime.

Sytry’s Slime was inside the metal capsule.

Even as stupid as I was to drop a Relic without noticing while moving, I wasn’t
skilful enough to only lose the contents of something.
I wasn’t, I think. Just to say so would be going too far.

The metal capsule had already been destroyed unfortunately, so I couldn’t examine
it in detail, but the capsule hadn’t had a single scratch on it. There were no holes in
it, and it was difficult to imagine that only the contents would be stolen from the
safe.

The safe was on the top floor of the Clan House – it was guarded perfectly, and in
the first place the safe that it was kept in – was a Relic.
I wouldn’t say for sure that it would never be able to be opened by a third party, but
if it was opened I would surely be aware of it.

That is to say there is only one conclusion.

-Originally, the contents had been empty. It’s that!

I convinced myself, and got on my bed and laid out flat on my back.

“Good grief, so Sytry can be mischievous too. Ahahahaha…”

Sytry wasn’t a foolish person like me, or someone that would pull a practical joke
like that, but it wasn’t unimaginable.

…Anyway, that was enough.

It was becoming troublesome to think about, and when I did I felt like throwing up.

The Capital was at peace today. Everything was fine. Lets just pretend the Slime
never existed.

In the first place, even though it was something specially made by Sytry, it was a
slime after all. It was the weakest monster. It shouldn’t be that big of a deal.

That’s right. Saying the Capital would be destroyed was obviously an exaggeration,
….since there are plenty of amazing Hunters living here.

I’ll think about something more enjoyable.

§

A desk and chair that were pointlessly grand and elegant.

The large window in the Clan Master’s room let in a lot of sunlight. It made you
sleepy, particularly in this season approaching the end of winter.

I didn’t have any work to do, so I was sitting in my chair absentmindedly polishing
my Relics when the Deputy Clan Master Eva entered the room.

I’m a decorative Master, so Eva acted in my place taking charge of all Clan
administration. She looked busy today as well.

Dressed in a uniform crisp from top to bottom, and sharp eyes that peeked through
red framed glasses.
If you lined us up as a pair next to each other I’m sure we’d be the dim-witted
Master and competent secretary. As a matter of fact, that’s exactly how it is in
reality.

“The Explorers have contacted us to hear in more detail of the matter concerning
the White Wolves Den.”

Eva looked at me, and without scolding she went straight into the main topic.

She truly is the Deputy Master. Even though when she first entered the clan she
would often give her frank opinion, before I knew she had started not saying
anything. Maybe she had given up.

I let out a big yawn while I rubbed my eyes and listened. I hadn’t slept much since
losing the Slime, so it was unavoidable that I’d be sleepy.

“Has Ark come back yet?”

“…As would be expected, it would be difficult to entrust this to Ark-san who hasn’t
even been there.”

Ark was… Ark wasn’t enough.

Eva shrugged in exasperation.

He is strong. Strong enough to be above the others. He’s popular too.

A companion from the same clan, it truly couldn’t be helped that I would end up
relying on him.

The main thing, was that the number of Hunters with screws loose became even
more frequent among the strong.
From the experience of making a clan, I knew that if something came up, if you
threw Ark at it then it would work out some way or another.

Well, an outcome of that was having to go through a bitter experience at the White
Wolves Den.

Surely if it was Ark he would be able to do something about the Slime.

“Tino was the Leader so Tino should do the report. I just chased after them from
behind.”

I went to help, but I didn’t defeat any Phantoms or rescue Tino and the others.

Liz-chan had come running after me so I was of some help indirectly, but looking
back on it calmly it didn’t appear that great.

In the old days I once wished to be a Hunter that could cooly rescue someone in a
pinch and be praised. Now I didn’t hold such overambitious desires.

Whatever the details were, above all the result was that Tino and the rest were safe.

Sighing with a somewhat philosophical feeling, I was suddenly struck with an idea I
could verify with Eva.

“By the way, have their been any changes lately in the Capital?”

“? Changes, as in, what do you mean exactly? What are you saying?”

Eva Renfeed was excellent.

Unlike me she had the skills to manage this clan that had swelled on a large scale –
『First Step』.
This included the ability to gather information. Though with the exception of me,
all our clan members were excellent.

If there were news of strange occurrences in the Capital, there was no way she
wouldn’t have heard about it.
In short, it meant that I hadn’t missed Sytry’s Slime.

Also I didn’t feel impatience in Eva’s tone when she asked for more clarification.

End of verification.

I settled back into my chair and breathed a sigh of relief. It’s ok. It’ll surely be ok.

“No, it wasn’t anything in particular so it’s fine.”

“…I’ll investigate immediately.”

“No, it’s fine. That much is unnecessary. It’s fine, it’s fine… probably. It’s just me
imagining things. So, just take it easy, don’t worry.”

“…”

Eva looked at me suspiciously. Her sole weak point might be that she was too
devoted to her work.

I shouldn’t stir up trouble for myself.

Most things in the world could generally be made to work as you went along.

…Sytry, please hurry back before it’s too late.

“Afterwards, Liz-san made Tino-san work herself hard so it seems right now she is
unable to move.”

“Really? She’s working hard isn’t she.”

Despite only just finishing a hunt where she put her life on the line, wasn’t it quite
a considerable thing to immediately go and train?
As expected of Tino. That’s just like her.

The Tino that was just a girl when we first came to the Capital could already be
called a fine Hunter.
And Liz also seems to be a fine teacher.

That’s right…

A sudden surge of drowsiness rose up and I let out a big yawn. If I kept sitting like
this I’d end up falling asleep.

The clan would keep functioning even if I took a nap.

But it wouldn’t be good to show that appearance in front of Eva who was working
hard.
I wouldn’t mind if I was expelled, but it would be a problem if Eva quit.

“Well, I’ll think about our talk while I go make an appearance. The training range?”

“…That should be fine. The second floor underground training range.”

“Ok-. Well until later then.”

As I stood and waved at her, Eva never dropped her serious expression even once.
§ § §

“Go collect any new information at once. Gather up any incidents occurring in the
Imperial Capital, no matter how trivial – scrape it all up.”

“Y-Yes. Understood!”

At Eva’s calm yet somewhat intimidating voice, one of her subordinates left the
room running.

Eva Renfeed was originally a merchant.

Before becoming the Deputy Clan Master she was a member of a trading company
competing for the first and second spot as a major power of the Empire – The
Wells Company.
Although she was still in a lower position in those days, after she resigned she still
continued to keep her connections.

『First Step』 is a huge clan.

Superior Hunters can be identified as an armed force. Especially for a clan the size
of 『Footprints』, to the country, merchants, and to other Hunters, it was seen
that way down to the bandits and criminals that specialised in Hunters.

Although it was unfamiliar to Eva, she used her position to construct an

intelligence network on the level of the highest in the Capital and developed the
Clan.

Merchant networks. Information mediums such as newspapers. To not be caught

off guard she used her status among Hunters to collect information from Treasure
Hunters. Her reach even extended to the Explorers Association.

Freshness of information was most important. Most of the events occurring in the
Capital were brought to Eva’s attention immediately.

That was, why the question asked by the Clan Master this time had been such a
shock.
If this was the first time she might have firmly proceeded with further questioning.
At least, she wouldn’t purposely order for an investigation.

But, for Eva the Masters words were worth putting confidence into.

Cry Andoric was a strange man.

When they first met he was still a boy without his recognition as a Level 8 Hunter
and still didn’t hold an alias.
From then several years had passed with their relationship as Clan head and
Deputy Master, but she was still yet to get a good grasp of him.

He was always sitting vacantly in his office polishing Relics and yawning.
He didn’t interfere with the management of the Clan, and there was no feeling that
he was working towards anything.
He didn’t have a strong appearance, and aside from his occasional eccentric
behaviour there was nothing special in particular about his character.
Like some of the people within the clan, he didn’t have the shine of a hunter that
would become great in the future.
On the contrary, he was frequently saying he wanted to retire as a Hunter and hand
over the Clan Master position.

Supposing a person didn’t know him, they would unmistakably conclude that he
was an idiot.
Even Eva, at first held dissatisfaction at that lackluster appearance.

However sometimes he would let leak words that, to Eva that it wouldn’t be an
exaggeration to say had full knowledge of the Imperial Capital, contained such
precision that they couldn’t be thought of as jokes.

From natural disasters such as Earthquakes, to the outbreak of abnormalities in a

far off Shrine.
From quarrels between Empire aristocrats up to the manoeuvres of secret societies
behind the scenes, many times over she had seen him meddle in affairs with no
prior indications.

The person in question clearly was in no position to know of these things.

However, once might be seen as a coincidence, but over and over and it becomes
seen as an inevitability.

Inconceivable foresight that could not be expressed with words such as ‘genius’.
Unidentifiable. Infinite Variety was an apt way to call it. When Eva first heard the
alias he would be attached with she clapped her hands in agreement.

The person himself said that it was only coincidence and that he was unlucky.
However taking the previous conditions into account and then seeing those wilful
Hunters submissive to that figure –
Occasionally it looked to Eva as more of a Monster than those Hunters with easy to
understand monster like ability.

Eva held confidence in her own abilities. But it only persisted under the category of
common sense.

If Cry perceived some kind of premonition, no matter how abrupt his words were,
Eva took action on that premise alone.
The room of the Deputy Clan Master.
Eva finished issuing orders to her many subordinates in the room that was
disordered compared to the Clan Master’s.
At the rear window, Eva muttered while looking down at the surface world.

Dismissing all thoughts of her usual duties from her mind, she frantically tried to
recall anything she may have overlooked.

“What in the world is going to happen, in this Imperial Capital…”

It was during Eva’s daily routine when this took place.

The start of the second arc. If you have any thoughts about the first part as a whole, consider leaving
a review on novelupdates since it’d be interesting for me to read them.
 LN Translation
Learning through reading

Chapter 25
redhare404 February 23, 2020 Uncategorized

25 戦後
After the battle

The crimson wolf knights that appeared demonstrated their fighting potential.

The full body armour easily repelled slight attacks, and since each one held a
different weapon you couldn’t plan on a single countermeasure.
The blows that were sent out one after another from strong arms held the power of
a mid-class Hunter reinforced by Mana Material. It had the might to be slightly
dangerous.

In addition, without prior knowledge of this information, that was precisely why it
would be able to be a threat.

If your opponent has hardness, prepare weapons that could penetrate.

If they hold a variety of weapons, then make countermeasures for everything
beforehand.

And, if it was difficult to beat with mid class Hunters, just bring Hunters that were
certified at a higher level.

It was a Shrine ranked at Level 3. A cavern existing within a thickly grown forest –
the name was the 『White Wolves Den』.
Not less than ten treasure hunters were gathered.

The equipment and outfits were not uniform, and the ages and gender were also
diverse.
The only common point held among the gathered Hunters was ― they were all top
class Hunters acknowledged as Level 5 or over.

The average level of Treasure Hunters was said to be 3. This is because levels
beyond that require more talent and luck than experience.
Of the Hunters gathered, they were all well known in Zelbrudia, the Holy Land of
Hunters where various Hunters came together.
Some even held a second name.

A hunter that had been certified with a high level meant that they had taken in a
certain extent of Mana Material, a person that had crossed over the limits of those
at mid range.

For the Hunters used to exploring Shrines ranked much higher than 3, even the
wolf knights that were several levels above the originally appearing Phantoms
weren’t worthy of caution.

A male hunter cut through the thick armour of a wolf knight keeping watch. To the
feeling in his hands that remained his eyes widened, and he confirmed with his
companion that was intercepting a wolf knight with a bow and arrow at the back.

“…Was this place, definitely Level 3?”

“Yeah. All of a sudden the levels of the Phantoms went up. The spear user Rodolph
was done in you know. Seems like the boss is tough.”

“Are you serious… wait? But that guy Rodolph, I saw him at the Explorers today.”

“Then the rescue was in time.”

“Oh, so that’s what happened huh.”

A light conversation played out while they never stopped moving.

A released arrow pierced through a skull, and a wolf knight toppled over.

The hunters were gathered together to confirm the circumstances of the White
Wolves Den.

It was rare for a Shrines degree of difficulty to suddenly spike, but it wasn’t
impossible.
In a situation where irregularities sprung forth, the Explorers issued a request for
qualified hunters to investigate, to reclassify the former ranking.

Due to the hefty rewards offered by the Empire and Explorers, these requests were
profitable for high level Hunters.

“Still, so he was able to survive well then…”

Curious seeming words.

The investigation request given by the Explorers was officially announced just
recently.
Which meant the Hunters that took the rescue mission wouldn’t have known of the
abnormalities beforehand.

They may have been cautious because a Level 5 had gone missing, but it wouldn’t
have been strange for the mummy collectors to become mummies themselves.

To the doubting words, the hunter with a huge bow replied with a sour look.

“Yeah. That 『Infinite Variety』 seems to be the one that carried it out.”

“!? Uueh… The Level 8? Why again…”

“Who knows. He’s a hard man to get a read on. But he must have some aim that we
aren’t able to understand.”

“Must be.”

Even in the Imperial City, with a large population of hunters, there were only three
people recognised as Level 8.
All of them had captured countless Shrines, contributed in various fields, and had
been recognised as extraordinary people by Explorers Association.

Among them, Infinite Variety was a Hunter specialised in Treasure Hunting.

There wasn’t anything special in particular.

A party of resourceful members, the leader of 『Strange Grief』, the master of a
large-scale developing clan, properly raising levels by overcoming Shrines, however
― almost all rumours placed him as a strange man.

He spent his time at the clan headquarters, and rarely took center stage so there
was no chance to meet him.
Only, apparently he didn’t have the look of a Level 8 and was said to have a dull
appearance.

Of course, reality would be different. Since Level certification trials were not that
simple to overcome.

“It’s about time we entered. Confirm the rank of the highest level Wolf Knight, and
the Boss too if possible. We can’t earn the reward without working for it.”

“Understood”

In an instant their mode of thought changed, becoming conscious of the battlefield.

From the voice of the Leader, each expression tightened as they looked towards the
dim Shrine.

Cold air drifted out, as if to threaten away invaders. Howls resounded.

§ § §

A Shrine exploration will be rough. No matter how much attention you place on
safety, you will be putting your life on the line fighting the inhabiting monsters and
Phantoms.

Therefore excellent Hunters were diligent and never slacked off.

The Capital also held many training facilities that could be used by regular
Hunters, and smaller ones were also provided by the Explorers Association.
When it came time to raise funds to build the base of 『First Step』 it was only
natural to include facilities for training purposes.

The training grounds of 『First Step』 were built on five floors underground, so
they could be freely used by each clan member.

To endure the absurd strength held by Hunters, the facilities seem to have taken a
lot of money, but their reputation was superb.
Since I didn’t interfere I didn’t know any further details, but it seems at the start
Eva and the admin staff went through some terrible hardships.

I descended the metal staircase, and passed by a party I remembered from

somewhere.

It was a mixed gender five person party. One of them saw me and their eyes
widened.
A man with a towering large build with a large scar running down his cheek. His
weapon was a long handled axe that would be capable of bisecting full body
armour.

……I definitely recognised him but his name didn’t rise to the surface.

“Cry. This is unusual, are you training?”

I’m slightly used to it, but when someone I didn’t know the name of called me by
my own name it gave me a weird feeling.

The other person wouldn’t know that I didn’t remember their name.
I put on a calm smile to deceive them.

“Something like that. Are you all training as well?”

At my question, the members exchanged uncomfortable glances.
A bad reaction. In cases like this the answers they give usually aren’t good.

As I was filled with apprehension, the representative large man showed a frown.

“Right… however, at the moment… it might be better not to go. Since it’s a little bit,
rough.”

“That was… already torture.”

A man at the back had turned pale as he muttered a few words. I see… I think I’ll
not go anymore….

Without a doubt it would be Liz-chan.

In regard to where Liz is, there will either be a collapsed human body or a corpse of
a monster. It was a miserable method that you could arrive there naturally if you
searched an area going through turmoil long enough.

Tino was excellent. Only a handful of people could reach Level 4 in such a short
period of time.
And, she achieved it through Liz’s training that seemed severe even to Hunters that
had been through many battles.
I think saying torture was a bit of an over-exaggeration, but since she just returned
from a Hunt Liz was probably still a bit fired up.

“It’s alright it’s alright. Because Liz is usually rough.”

“…Aah, 『Severed Shadow』 was a member of Cry’s party wasn’t she?”

Five people turned over silent inexpressible gazes.

A child of ours is always troubling you, forgive us.

“If we try to stop her she’ll fight back, so it’s better for us to wait a bit before we go
in ―”

A child of ours is always troubling you, truly please forgive us.

How rough was it, that the expressions of people that are fighting everyday against
monsters were clouded over?

We’d only just managed to come back with some trouble so I thought it would be
good to take it slow and rest, so why can’t she be more docile…
It’s ok if you train Tino, but don’t cause trouble for other people.
“It’s alright it’s alright. I’ll do something.”

“…If Cry says so then… I won’t stop you.”

They’re extremely afraid.

One of our Clan rules was for everyone to get along with each other though.

Now that Liz had learned to make adjustments and wouldn’t snap at others with
her true strength, she wasn’t like a monster anymore.

For some reason the party that I didn’t remember accompanied me down the
stairs.
In front of the second underground floor training facility many members were
gathered. It was a bizarre sight.

One of them noticed my presence and turned around.

A man with black hair tinged in dark green. His height was about the same as
mine, but even through his clothes you could tell he hd a well trained body, he was
a seasoned Hunter.
His age was several years above mine, but he was one of the hunters in the
youngest class.

One of our own clan members. An archer of remarkable skill. Sven Anger.

A prominent figure among Footprints – the Leader of a certified Level 6 party

『Iron Cross』 .

“…!! If it isn’t Master! You’ve finally come down to see us… go stop Severed
Shadow. We can’t use the training grounds.”

“Monster extermination isn’t part of my duties.”

It was more suited for Sven’s 『Iron』 that specialised in exterminating monsters
and harmful animals over exploring Shrines.
A decorative Clan Master like me had no place to act don’t you think?

“But it’s your monster!? You’re not going to raise your hand again?”

That’s a horrible thing to say. Even though we’re basically part of the same clan.

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“!?”
But, even if you say that, it’s irrelevant.
Unfortunately, my friends had long ago gone beyond my comprehension.
How terribly far they’ve gone exactly is hard to judge.

Isn’t it enough to knock down bullets (or rather catch them) with their vision
blocked?

The skilled Hunters were glaring at the thick door, and I let out a small sigh.

“…Anthem and Lucia both, no one is here to put a stop to her. Why did Liz have to
return alone?”

Sven and the people behind him seem to be fed up.

If it was this man he would be able to put up a fight to some extent, but in that
situation Liz-chan would keep biting until one of them collapsed…

The members of Strange Grief… my childhood friends were roughly divided into
two groups.
The problem children, and the ones with comparatively good sense.

And in our party generally, there was the equation that Liz and Luke caused
uproars, and Anthem and Lucia pacified them.
The current Liz without a stopper was more vicious than the monsters in the area.

A child of ours is always troubling you, truly please forgive us.

“She released all the traps and arrived at the Boss room, but abandoned it and
quickly came back because she seemed to want to return home.”

“…This time it was the 【Fortress of 10,000 Demons】 wasn’t it?”

Sven frowned at the incredible talk. I also found it incredible.

Liz truly behaved freely.

By all rights abandoning others at a Shrine and returning wasn’t something

permissible.
But in our party everyone except one person were childhood friends, everyone was
a free spirit and they were all skilled.

Well, it wasn’t the healer that left, and they had another thief so it would work out
somehow.

Sven spoke to me in a hurry.

“If you don’t stop them quickly, Tino will die.”

“Ahaha, that’s too much. People won’t die that easily.”

“N-No, really…”

Liz was indeed the Genocider, with the habit of indiscriminately biting out here
and there and getting caught by the guards in a brawl many times over. And she
was a person that would keep beating the other side until a reward came out and
continue until there was just dust remaining. But she wasn’t someone that would
kill her own disciple.

Sven and the others took a step back.

I gave an exasperated smile and slowly opened the door to the training ground.

Liz was standing in the center of the training ground.

Her pink blonde hair was tied up at the back, coupled together with her small build
it looked cute.

Regrettably, scattered at her feet was something like a ragged lump of clothing, and
her penetrating cold and indifferent voice made it all less sweet seeming.

“Hey? Why aren’t you standing? How come you won’t stand? Is this already your
limit? It shouldn’t be right? Maybe you can’t draw anything else out? Are you
trying to make light of me? Want to die? You want to die? You think you won’t die?
Think you won’t be killed? Should I kill you? Don’t you have something important?
Nothing to protect? Why are you’re arms and legs not moving, even though they’re
still attached? If you don’t bring out all your power ― you’ll die.”

“Ok let’s leave it there-!”

Without breaking my smile, I wedged my way between them while clapping my

hands.

Of course my inner mind was pulling back. Please, I just want you to live a little
more peacefully.

Translator Notes

-The guy Cry meets on the staircase calls him Cry-dono. From anime you mainly see this used for
like a knight character or something referring to their lord.
However from the way the hunter talks it seems intentionally informal. It’s not really used in real
life Japanese apparently. Either used by really old people or used to make fun of old people. Anyway
it didn’t seem necessary to me, since it might get confused as super respectful when it (probably)
isn’t and also since we’re unlikely to see that nameless character again anyway.
-Sven Anger(both Germanic – Norse). His last name I guess could be Unger (Germanic also). But
Anger is legitimate plus it has that naming convention thing going for it so why not.
 LN Translation
Learning through reading

Chapter 26
redhare404 February 24, 2020 Uncategorized

26 訓練
Training

Tino was heaped up like a ragged lump of cloth.

As I rushed over, a moan mixed of pain and sorrow could be heard.

Her trembling body was curled up as if to look smaller, and her hair that was
casually scattered on the floor moved slightly as she raised her head.

Before my eyes, Liz’s foot swung downwards.

The sound of the ground rumbling seemed to shake through the whole building.
Tino’s body jumped in a spasm.

That leg strength that could overcome a Level 8 Shrine was already no longer able
to be categorised under human.
The floor that should have been solidly made had a footprint remaining in it.
Where was such power hiding in such a small body…

“What? Cry-chan. Right now I’m teaching Tee you know?”

While raising a light voice Liz turned to face me. Beautiful light pink eyes like
jewels pierced through me.

Liz was a little unusual and impulsive, but she wasn’t an unreliable person.
She was particularly sincere in regards to power. She herself had come close to
death while overcoming ordeals many times over in order to improve her strength.

She might have loathsomely high demands, but Liz was earnest in training Tino
and really hated anything getting in her way.

Several years had passed since the Clan had been built.
Older Parties had a long time relationship with Liz, but still no one would step in
because that fact had been deeply permeated.

“You see Tee, she has the talent. Maybe even more than me. But she’s weak. Why is
it I wonder, when I was around the same as Tee ― I was a lot stronger?”

“Uh-huh yep, that’s right.”

She’s already quite strong. Everyone is strong. Isn’t that good? Everyone is
different and everyone is fine.

I somehow managed to fix my smile that was starting to stiffen up, and came in
front of Liz.
Sven and the others were stopped at the entrance, peeking at our situation.

I didn’t know much about the difference between Liz and Tino, but Liz’s words
were most likely correct.
Given Liz’s character, for her to say that someone else was more talented wouldn’t
be something easy.

But that wasn’t a good reason to leave that cute junior in tatters, beating her down
and breaking her spirit.

“You’re still so sweet. Cry-chan might be gentle enough to allow it, but with the way
things are, isn’t she just going to end up in trouble again?
She’s still my disciple, so I have to take the trouble to make sure she acquires the
minimum amount of true strength.
If Tee is a small fry then… I too might be looked down on….”

Liz gave a spine chilling light smile.

The temperature dropped from the violence hinted at in her voice.

At this stage it was too late for her to be a small fry, and no one would look down
on you.
Especially within the Imperial Capital, Liz’s name was spoken about with awe.
She was a frequent regular on the list of most dangerous Hunters.

Following that, Liz looked towards the entrance with eyes as if looking at insects.

“Some people have been coming over to stop me, but it’s got nothing to do with
them.
Tee is different to those whiny bitches, my job’s to to make her strong.
She needs be at the edge of death to make it.
She’s got no time to rest. She’s got no time to play around.
Do they want Liz-chan’s disciple to end up as trash? I’ll kill ’em.”
It wasn’t just talk. Her murderous intent wasn’t a laughing matter, it was
menacing.
Her methods were warped, but the zealousness towards training her disciple was
apparent.

Tino was still curled up hiding her body, in a clattering tremble.

Liz narrowed her eyes as she looked up at me from below.

She spoke with a sugary voice, but I felt the delusion of a blade being pressed
against my throat.

“Since it’s Cry-chan then ― you understand right?”

I answered with my smiling expression fixed in place.

“Uh-huh yep, that’s right. Just, I get that you’re enthusiastic, but it looks like Tino
has already met her limits. So for today lets just end it here ok?”

“!?”

I didn’t know how many hours she had been working hard for, but at the point
where Tino had collapsed on the floor it was obvious she was at her limit.

At the moment our healer Anthem wasn’t here, so if she was made to do anything
too unreasonable there was a chance that there could be lasting after effects.
That was one of the biggest reasons Hunters retired. Neither magic nor potions
were omnipotent.

But if possible I also didn’t want to offend Liz, but since no one else was here, I had
to be the one to tell her to stop.

For a moment, Liz’s eyes were blinking in a state like she didn’t understand what
had been said. She tilted he head to the side as she spoke.

“Hmm? Eh? Cry-chan, are you perhaps, telling Liz-chan to stop?”

“Uh-huh yep. That’s certainly right.”

Her eyes went wide open. The depths of her pink irises were imbued with a sense of
translucence, squirming with energy that could explode with the slightest stimulus.

Several seconds of silence passed. Liz peered into my eyes as if trying to measure
my true intentions.
The atmosphere grated due to the strong tension. Her hand slowly stretched out,
and touched my cheek.
a

And her whole face bloomed into a smile.

“Ok then, today’s over!”

The voice that chilled the heart from a short while ago suddenly changed to a bright
one.
Pivoting around, she looked down on Tino still lying on the floor.

“I’m sorry? I tried to make adjustments not to kill you, and you were still wriggling
so I thought you could still go on, but since Cry-chan says so was that your limit?”

“Mas, ter…?

Why are you calling out my name instead of hers?

Tino slowly raised her head. There, her face was covered by Liz’s mask.

The party symbol of 『Strange Grief』. The smiling skeleton mask.

Tears wouldn’t brim out from the eye sockets painted over in black no matter what,
and her facial expression wouldn’t be revealed.

But why was she wearing the mask…..

Suddenly guessing at my question, Liz spoke with a smile that made it hard to
believe she had physically punished her disciple.

“It would be better if Tee could join us. So she could do it sooner I thought she
could grow a bit more, so I tested her out a little.
But it was useless. It looks like she’s unable to do anything just by wearing the
mask and having her vision closed off. That’s why she can’t join us right?”

There wasn’t a rule like that though?

If there was such a condition, in the first place I wouldn’t be able to be in the Party.

The condition for joining the party of 『Strange Grief』, was to be reccomended by
an existing party member and that was it.

Well though… I think it was still too early to bring in Tino.

It was my own long cherished desire to bring in new members, and it wasn’t that
Tino was bad, but if she was thrown into a Shrine with too high difficulty and
ended up dying it would be getting the priorities out of order.
Perhaps following along with the existing members might go smoothly, but I was a
cautious person.

“Uh-huh yep, that’s right. It may still be too early.”

“Cry-chan soo, how long do you think until she’ll be able to enter in?”

Don’t ask me something like that.

The Leader is also half there as decoration, and right now I don’t even know the
situation of the party.

I pretended to ponder over it while thinking of nothing and maintained a smile as I

spoke.

“Until she’s about the same as Liz I guess.”

“eh……?”

Tino laying at our feet, from the back of her throat rose a strained thin shriek like
sound.

Even if you didn’t raise such a heart-rending voice… it was just a joke. Liz is your
teacher in earnest, at a suitable time she will make the proposal at her own
discretion.

You don’t really have to hear out my opinion on this?

“Kyaa-, Cry-chan you brute. If you say that, no matter how much time passes she’ll
never join you know?”

“…..No no, that isn’t true.”

For some reason Liz looked delighted and she embraced my arm.

I’m looking forward to the day Tino joins the party.

And, seeing how the hunt went in the White Wolves Den, I was convinced that the
day wouldn’t be far away.
Of course, that would all depend on Liz’s opinion, so I wouldn’t put that into
words.

“So, why did Cry come here for? Was it maybe to meet with me?”

“Gark-san wanted to hear from Tino about the 【White Wolves Den】 so she was
to go and make a report.”
“Cry-chan is sincere huh. I wish someone had come to call on me… or rather
someone to go with.”

I briskly stroked the head of Liz that had murmured abusively, in order to turn her
consciousness towards another direction.
The feeling of glossy hair. Liz turned her sweetly smiling face towards me.

Ok then. Since you want to go.

To begin with, the person that was called for directly was me… it was good that I
didn’t have to use another person.
The degree that you think about and the degree that you carry out is a different
story.
Truly though I just wished to live more relaxed just a little longer.

Liz put a finger on her lips, crouched over and looked down on Tino who wasn’t
making a single movement on the floor.

“Is it, a rush? If it needs to be done quick we can just go over to Gark-chan’s place
and throw her over right now.”

Even though she was always treated in this fashion, why Tino adored Liz I just
didn’t understand.

Gark-san also wasn’t as strict as to summon Tino battered like this.

“It’s not a big rush. It’s fine for her to recover first. It’ll be fine tomorrow or the day
after I think.”

I wonder if that means that I don’t have to go anymore. That’s it! Lets just forget
about it.

“Tee, did you hear that? Understand? If you heard, make a big nod with your
head.”

At Liz’s voice, Tino’s head raised and lowered ever so slightly while she was laying
down.
She was more worn out than the time at the White Wolves Den.

Looking down at Tino my eyes narrowed and I breathed out a sigh.

Jeez how do I put it, isn’t this just too pitiful?

Tino is a hunter, a disciple of Liz while at the same time being one of my juniors.

Liz should be separated from Tino for a bit… Tino needs some time right now.
It was a little different to the work of a Hunter, but I think this was something
worthy of a Leader.

At Liz’s back I put my hand firmly on her shoulder.

Her delicate shoulders didn’t seem like they belonged to someone always in
Shrines beating Phantoms to death.

“Alright. Lets go somewhere ok Liz-chan.”

“Cry-chan… Do you think I’m a child?”

“I do not. You’re so great and amazing.”

I gave off a soothing feeling.

People from the clan were watching from the entrance holding their breaths
anxiously, their expressions stiff.
I hadn’t been a friend of Liz since childhood just to show off.

Liz wasn’t as bad as the others thought.

Now she has taken a disciple, but fundamentally she was a girl that was self-
realised.

“Erm… go somewhere, where? A Date?”

“Ah…Well………..To go eat icecream?”

But Liz wasn’t good with sweet food. Sytry as well as Lucia as well as Anthem also
weren’t fans.
The only one with a sweet tooth among my childhood friends was just me.

Sure enough, Liz’s expression became gloomy. And, at the time she was going to
say something, her gaze turned downwards.

The shoe model Relic 『Highest Roots』 that she always wore concealed her
ankles. They had a battered worn out hand grabbing onto them.
Liz’s large eyes gleamed with a dangerous light.

“Hmmm-? What are you doing, Tee? You know, right now Liz-chan and Cry-chan
are talking.”

Tino didn’t make a single movement. The hand grasping at Liz’s ankle had no
strength in it, and if she wanted to shake it off she probably could.
However, while face down Tino let out a voice mingled in with rough breaths.
“I c-can still….move, first…..Mas-ter…..”

I couldn’t see her expression. The airtight mask turned all emotions contained
inside it into a smile. Honestly, I feel like it would be better if we used a different
symbol for our party.

Liz touched the hand I had on her shoulder, gently removed it and walked away.

Hm? Doesn’t this seem bad?

“Woow. Just before you couldn’t move at all. You should have already been broken!
There’s no way you should’ve recovered in such a short time! Look look, Cry-chan!
My Tee has finally done it see!?”

Despite being interrupted, Liz’s mood was unusually good.

Why does she look so happy, was I allowed to ask that?

Liz had sparkling eyes, but I felt like I was drawing away. No matter how you
looked at it, she wasn’t moving at all. If she didn’t get medical treatment
immediately it could be bad.

However, while disorientated and wobbly, Tino staggered to her feet.

She was so unsteady on her feet that If I faced her I could defeat her.
Due to the mask I couldn’t see her face, but at that moment from the bottom of my
heart I was glad that the mask was there.

“As expected of Cry-chan! If it was me no matter what it wasn’t enough – I’m so

jealous! Yeah, I took it a little easy, but it wasn’t enough!”

What wasn’t enough…..I want to ask, but I can’t.

Liz was excited. Her eyes were blazing with brightness and her skin was flushed.
She was fired up. Just looking from the side you could understand the
overwhelming energy.

The alias she was given ― 『Severed Shadow』 belonged to a man, Zebrudia’s
most famous 『thief』.
So, Liz had become his apprentice, and once she possessed full mastery after
several years, she succeeded the name as the second generation.

It was rumoured that the 『Severed Shadow』 had a lifespan different to other
humans.
I didn’t know what it meant, but it was certain that she had become an inhuman
lifeform.

Liz-chan stretched out her limbs and spoke softly.

“That’s how it is, I’m really sorry but, Cry-chan can you leave?”

“Eh-“

Eh? You can’t be planning to resume training? But she just reached the point of
only barely being able to move? Huh-…

The fact was that the gap between their true abilities was like the distance between
heaven and earth.
The difference was too much even without Tino battered and wearing a mask,
while Liz was at full energy.
There was no contest.

And for that, Liz didn’t seem like she was planning to go easy on her.
Seeing the staggering Tino, her eyes were shining as if given a new toy.

“It doesn’t really matter if Cry-chan is around but… isn’t it too pitiful for Tee? You
can’t see her face but, after this she’s going to be spitting up blood and wetting her
pants. Since there’s no one here for recovery I can’t half kill her, but all her most
shameful spots will be seen. If it was me I wouldn’t be able to bear it. Ok? You can
watch next time, but since she’s new can you show her some sympathy? Ok?”

“Ah, yeah”

Amazing. Liz-chan, whether she was delighted or angry, the tension was identical.

To that smiling face like a sunflower I could only nod my head.

I double checked over Tino, but it looked like she was also showing the will to
continue training.
What was it that drove those girls to go so far… I really didn’t understand Hunters.

Translator Notes

Cry has a few repeated catchphrase type words.

After reading quite a lot of the webnovel, probably the most repeated one is 「うんうん。そうだ
ね」(UnUn. Sou-dane)
It’s just agreeing for the sake of continuing the conversation.
There’s probably a much better translation then what I’m using and it vexes me since it’s so
commonly repeated.

Tino gets referred to as Kawaiisou a fair bit. It’s not a huge deal, but there are a number of Japanese
words that have no true English equivalents and this is one of them.
It basically means pitiful or pathetic… but not really with such cold meanings. As you might have
seen from the word, it has cute in it – it may have more of a feeling of ‘poor little thing’.
Maybe like seeing a kitten sneeze. In English when you look at someone beaten on the ground and
call them pitiful – it’s usually the villain looking down on them. But kawaiisou is not that.
Another word like this is the name of the site – majime. It doesn’t really mean serious or diligent
exactly, it can be quite a bit more extreme in meaning.
A counter to these words I remember reading of is ‘hierarchy’. I tried looking for the journal I was
reading but I can’t find it, makes it feel like I’m making this up. Basically though it talked about how
in the 80’s or something, western business were teaching about Japanese hierarchy… except the
exact concept of hierarchy didn’t exist in Japan and they adapted it as a loan word.

Liz aint got no chill. We usually see the male protagonist suffer for training, but it’s totally worth it!
This just shines a light how messed up that is.
Anyway I think it’s fine if anyone is uncomfortable with the violence, I’m not trying to invalidate
how anyone feels or anything.
 LN Translation
Learning through reading

Chapter 27
redhare404 February 26, 2020 Uncategorized

27 妥協
Compromise

“Well, sorry. That Liz, when she’s like this she won’t listen to a word you say…”

I went back upstairs while apologising.

I was Liz’s childhood friend. Without thinking about our foundations she would
pick fights with any and everyone, and she only listened to the initial members of
『Strange Grief』.
But it was only listening and taking into consideration. You couldn’t issue one
sided commands.

There were several floors for training in the clan house, but the facilities were
different at each level.
What Liz was monopolising was the one intended for 『thieves』. From close
combat to target throwing, traps to treasure chests, there was no better substitute
for testing out the skills of a thief.

Originally it wasn’t meant to be something you used alone, but once it had become
like this she wasn’t going to budge.
For the moment there was no choice but to give up or use another training range.

Sven frowned and groaned at my apology.

“Tch, can’t help it. Master’s spartan tendency has started up again.”

“No, see I was saying stop- “

“Right, no need to say any more. I get it I get it. Tino getting stronger isn’t a bad
thing for the rest of us.”
With an expression that really looked like he didn’t get it at all, Sven nodded his
head as if trying to convince himself.

…Well he doesn’t look like he understood at all, but whatever. If he was going to
permit Liz’s violence then I wouldn’t say anything extra.

The people around Sven met eyes with each other and in the next moment they
also nodded to each other. Liz really needed to follow their example of cooperative
spirit.
There were many Hunters with high skill that had something wrong with their
heads.
Sven and the others were also different compared with ordinary people, but in
comparison to ones like Liz they had common sense.
Someone please do something.

As I left the training range the sound of a scream like roar resounded, but I decided
not to listen to it.

Ah- …I just want to forget everything and go eat ice-cream.

“The Northern Highway is closed off?”

While engaging in small talk, I was amazed at the news given by Sven.

The Imperial Capital was also the Empire’s center of commerce.

Roads extending East, West, South, and North connected with towns and shrines.
Even just one road being blocked off wasn’t a trivial matter.

I had heard that a Phantom from the 『White Wolves Den』 had attacked a
merchant party the other day, but I didn’t think the judgement would be made to
blockade the road.

“Aah, it seems multiple Phantoms were discovered. Looks like the details are still
being investigated… a few of the knights sent to check on the situation were done
in.”

Sven had a serious expression, shrugging his shoulders.

The behaviour of Phantoms was basically limited to the interior of Shrines.

If one was encountered outside once you could write it off as a coincidence, but if it
happened another two or three times in a short period you couldn’t keep thinking it
was an accident, and start thinking that something must have happened.

Which reminded me, something did seem off about the 『White Wolves Den』.
I really didn’t have the slightest idea what the cause was, and it was unrelated to
me who never left the capital to go outside, but safe highways prepared by thinning
out the surrounding monsters were the arteries of the Empire.
The many merchants that gathered also held the expectation that the roads would
be safe.
It was likely that we would also be asked to cooperate in settling the issue.

I wondered if Gark’s call might also be about this.

I tilted my head slightly in contemplation, but stopped thinking and breathed a

short sigh.

There was no point in thinking about it. I had an ace up my sleeve. Of course, I
wasn’t thinking about the completely useless Liz-chan that returned alone.

The one that’s useful in times like these, the man called Ark Rodin.

Ark was popular. And powerful. He was smart too, and his name carried weight.
And so his ability to command was excellent.
Above all else, he had a good personality. His party members, as you’d expect were
several steps behind him, but they had enough ability.
He could both act as a commander or a lone soldier perfectly, he was one or two
drops of tasty man.

The Hunters of 『Footprints』 generally all had high pride, but there wasn’t
anyone that wouldn’t listen to the words of Ark (except for my own party
members).
If you gave him the right to command and threw him at something, everything
would turn out smoothly. Conversely if it didn’t go smoothly then it was something
that couldn’t be helped to begin with.

He probably wouldn’t be back so soon yet… Until Ark returned I needed to do

whatever possible to stall for time.
Whenever he left the Capital for a long period of time he would notify us in
advance, so since he didn’t get in touch this time he shouldn’t be away for very
long.
While I was spacing out, Sven’s gave a warped grin towards the misfortune and
pounded my shoulder with his hand.

“Master has a lot of composure as usual.”

Without saying anything I gave a smile.

That’s because it was completely someone else’s problem.

I don’t mean to boast but my self preservation skills are pretty considerable.
Speaking of my preservation skills, pushing things onto others was something I
had always been doing to make it this far.
And I would continue to do so in the future. I could only do so. Before I caused
someone to make a fatal mistake, please expel me to somewhere else.

“I’m not sure what’s about to happen, but I reckon a request will be coming our
way. I was going to do some adjustments in preparation for that… I guess I’ll do
them tomorrow.”

Our child truly caused you trouble, I sincerely apologise.

However, Sven’s expression didn’t seem to be frustrated.

They had been around since we first came to the Capital, so they were used to Liz
acting rashly.

Well, 『Iron Cross』 was famous for it’s well balanced composition and reliable
skills, with enough remarkable ability to defeat a type of dragon.

Even if they didn’t do any adjustments, they should have the leeway for some stray
Phantoms.
At least the Wolf Knights from the Shrine the other day wouldn’t be able to be their
opponents.

And then, a nice idea struck my mind.

If I sent Iron to Gark, wouldn’t everything be spearheaded over in that direction?

Gark-san also wouldn’t complain if it was a Level 6 party.
Unlike me, Sven didn’t dislike subjugating Phantoms so it would be perfect.

Today I really am… on the ball.

I looked at Sven and the others, the surrounding members of Iron Cross, and spoke
with a smile.

“If you have the time, why not do the quest? By the way, tell Gark-san I can’t come
over because I’m busy.”

§ § §

In good humour Cry Andoric left with a whimsical stride.

Sven saw him off, staring at his back with a far away look. A member of 『Iron
Cross』that had been silent until then, a young man with the healer role Henrik
Hefner, spoke with an exasperated tone.
“As ever… you can’t tell what he’s thinking… a carefree person, isn’t he?”

“…Well, you know…, he’s not a bad guy really…”

While awkwardly scratching his cheek, Sven gave a wry smile.

Iron Cross was one of First Step’s founding parties. Compared to Arch Brave and
Strange Grief their average age was slightly higher, but they were a young party
part of the golden generation.
They were a rare party in which all members held the ability to cure wounds, and
although they didn’t have any showy achievements, the well balanced composition
of their party and the reliable way they conducted themselves boosted their
reputation and fame.

Unfortunately in the same generation there were two monster-like parties so they
didn’t really stand out, but outside of that generation they were evaluated as a
party that was thought to have a shot at the top, and the Explorers Association and
other parties held deep trust towards them.

Even though he was the Clan Master, the parties they belonged to were different.
Their positions should have been equal.
Being used for chores didn’t give a very good feeling. To say nothing of Hunters
that valued honour and dignity highly.

“…Shouldn’t it have been better to refuse… I mean, what’s that guy doing all the
time anyway?”

His words displayed his veiled exasperation and discontent.

The history of 『Strange Grief』 was known.

To 『Iron Cross』 that went step by step reliably, the pace they captured Shrines
could conversely be called reckless, a path of voluntarily exchanging your life for
glory.
Henrik didn’t understand it, but he respected them. There was nothing about the
name that did not inspire fear.

But their Leader was a different story. Henrik hadn’t seen 『Infinite Variety』
leave for a Shrine even once. If anything, he had hardly ever seen him outside of
the Clan House.

To the words of the young man that had only joined recently, the Leader Sven
spoke in order to pacify him.

“No, it’s fine… we’ve got the time anyway. Having him owe us one isn’t bad either.”

Henrik frowned at the reply of the leader that usually held his stance resolutely.
“While the others are out on hunts, the Leader stays behind by himself as a house-
sitter….? Aren’t the other members frustrated?”

“Cry’s always been like that. Henrik, you’ve only joined recently so you might not
know. That party revolves around him, and this clan revolves around him too.”

His voice was light, but it held strength as if to not permit any further doubts.

Being sensitive to what was left unsaid, Henrik held his tongue. Even if you had
dissatisfaction, talking badly about your Clan’s Master in public was unwise.

“…If Sven-san says so, then it’s fine I guess…”

The depths could not be seen, it was an odd way of saying it, but he just couldn’t
understand.
Carrying a second name, being level 8, the Master of a large-scale clan, and the
leader of the well known 『Strange Grief』.
If someone didn’t tell him, it would be unbelievable. Even now that he knew it was
hard to believe.

A Hunter needed to have a discerning eye to judge character.

Power will be determined by the amount of accumulated Mana Material, which
wasn’t always apparent from appearances.
It was a world in which a large man with a fierce look could be defeated by a little
girl.

He had tried to train his eyes to observe the interior and not be stuck on outward
appearance, but Henrik’s eyes weren’t able to see Cry as a skilled Hunter.
He had too little gravitas.

“In the first place, Liz and Luke will pick a fight over anything so when the time
comes don’t complain if you try to stop them.”

At those words he closed his eyes, and recalled the training grounds from a short
while ago.

A bursting with flame like aura, that shouldn’t be taken out into town, it wasn’t
possible to go out, the fighting spirit held murderous intent.
The penetrating cold voice was only heard from the entrance, but it was so
terrifying his breath had caught in his throat.

The problem child of 『Strange Grief』. He knew the name 『Severed Shadow』.
The Hunters at Level 6 that held a second name were only a small amount.

Certainly… to put yourself in the middle of that, it would be fine to at least admit
that there was courage.
“…But he didn’t stop it…”

His dissatisfaction hadn’t been completely resolved, but Henrik’s expression had
half-way loosened up and Sven gave him a gratified nod.

“Also, you might not get it yet, but that man as well is without a doubt… a monster.
The descendant of the hero, the one expected to become the strongest Ark Rodin…
he’s the only opponent Ark has ever admitted defeat to.
Liz and Luke also obediently follow him. When you’re part of the same Clan you
tend to forget it…”

Sven talked with his eyes narrowed, and Henrik gulped.

“I’m not telling you to obey any order, just… don’t get careless only looking at
what’s on the surface.
Don’t take everything he says literally. Read between the lines. You’re always doing
so, right?”

“-…Yes!”

Contrary to his brash manner of speech the Leader had a sharp look, Henrik bit his
lip, and cut away his hesitation by answering loudly.

He had been careless. He knew the other was a Level 8 Hunter, and a short while
ago he hadn’t been able to discern Cry to be a Hunter of a much higher rank.

It wasn’t as if he had been concealing his higher position… that shouldn’t be

something that was possible.
If Infinite Variety had been guiding his thoughts intentionally, how frightening
would it be?

As if to reassure Henrik who’s face had cramped up, Sven spoke cheerfully.

“Don’t make that kind of face. No problems were made. Besides… Strange Grief
also has Anthem in it. As long as he’s their Cry can’t pull off anything too weird.”

Hearing that name, Henrik’s expression finally went slack.

All members of 『Iron Cross』 followed the Holy God and held healing ability.
There were no Healers that were active in the Capital that didn’t know the name of
Anthem Smart.

Even though they belonged to the same clan, first class Hunters were busy.
Without exception, Anthem also rarely surfaced, but his reputation was well
known.
The party with the dangerous name 『Strange Grief』 didn’t have many good
rumours surrounding it, but Anthem alone never had anything negative said
against him.

Historically, the conscience of 『Strange Grief』.

Specialising in abilities of healing and protection, he was a stern man full of
benevolence that would not only help his party members but also others that
requested his aid.

He didn’t know how true it was, but there was talk of being awarded for curing the
untreatable disease of a high noble, and recruiters under the direct supervision of
the Emperor approaching him. Rumours such as those were never ending.
That the members of 『Strange Grief』 could continually overcome Hunts that
were harsh even for skilled Hunters in good health should be due to that man.

“…The Imperial Capital’s foremost Paladin ―― 『Unshakeable Permanence』, is

it?”

“A man that doesn’t tolerate any injustice. Straight laced maybe, and a bit of a stick
in the mud, but reliable. Both Liz and Luke have to acknowledge that guy.
…Now, lets end the gossip here, lets go to the Explorers. They’ll know the situation
on the highway.”

Ignoring Henrik who had said something more, Sven ended the conversation.
At that moment the colour drained from the face of the rookie.

From now on if something similar happened, he shouldn’t look down on someone

based off what was on the surface.

Certainly the composition of 『Strange Grief』 seemed disconnected from

common sense, but that didn’t mean Sven hadn’t admitted that from the very
beginning.
Apart from the members anyway, only the Leader looked like an ordinary person.

Seeing the sight of Henrik’s recovery, Sven recalled the time when 『First Step』
was first created.

Translator Notes

-When describing Arc it called him a drop or two of tasty man, which I left literal because it’s kind if
funny and also I don’t really get it. I could have made it dripping with appeal. When I ran a search
on it it seemed maybe connected with a category of alcohol suitable for men. So I thought of maybe
calling him a ‘manly cocktail’. Anyway I gave up in the end.
-Anthem’s nickname: 不動 不変
『不動不変』- if you want a rename you can click the definitions above and leave a comment with
your idea. I tried to make sense of it in english, but maybe simply Immovable Eternal sounds better
than Unshakeable Permanence.
more ideas (from the kanji ‘fudou fuhen’ it should follow a similar pattern)
– unmoving unchanging, everstatic everlasting, maybe ‘immovable indestructible’.
I think that’s probably my choice. Immovable Indestructible.
*Today I like unmovable undestroyable. Maybe Unshakeable Indestructible.
 LN Translation
Learning through reading

Chapter 28
redhare404 February 28, 2020 Uncategorized

28 危機
Crisis

The secret room connected with the Clan Master’s office.

In the interest of security, the room crammed with Relics was without windows.

Relic. A special tool that manifested extremely rarely in places with thick
concentrations of Mana Material.
While checking over the tools collected one by one using both time and money, I let
out a helpless sigh.

Not good. Most of the mana had already leaked out.

I had been expecting it, but they only had about half remaining.

Collecting Relics was one of my hobbies along with being one of my few measures
of self defence.

There are many skilled Hunters that held Relics as their trump cards, but for me it
was different.

For me, Relics that produced the same effects no matter who used them were my
lifeline.
Especially when you are powerless, holding onto various abilities that could
respond to any situation was amazing.

However these handy Relics had two major weak points.

Firstly, the Relics that could be found in shrines were basically one of a kind items,
so the more powerful they were the more expensive it was to buy them.

And secondly, in order to operate them they needed to be charged in advance with
Mana as an energy source.
The first could be resolved one way or the other through financial assets, but the
second was a heavy problem for me.

Mana resides in the bodies of living things.

The replenishment of Mana must be done manually, and what was worse was that
the operation of Relics required a considerable amount of Mana.

Even for Magi that had a high amount of Mana, filling a few up would result in a
feeling of strong fatigue.

And on top of that, once they were filled, the Mana would slowly leak out over time.

That was why in return for utility, Hunters carried less Relics.
For Hunters, Relics were both a trump card and a tool that came at a high cost.

The Explorers Association recommended that you held enough Mana to fill your
own Relics.
If you were a not a Magi type Hunter, then you could only use one or two at most.
Making decisions taking into account your own supply of mana was the basics.
Even for a Magi with a large quantity of mana, that kind of thinking didn’t change
much.

Meanwhile, just the other day my Relic collection crossed the 500 mark.
It wasn’t that I had to be equipped with all of them, but I didn’t neglect keeping
them topped up for a time when they would be needed.

And of course, replenishing them wasn’t my job.

Someone with a mana quantity below the average person couldn’t fill such a large
number of relics.

Taking my pathetic place, was the rear guards of Strange Grief that would always
replenish the Relics.

This time as well they had refilled them before setting out.
But it had been almost two weeks since, so the Relics had converted into being
regular ornaments.

There were still a few that would be useful, but they wouldn’t last long.

The Safe Rings wouldn’t run out of mana since they had a slow speed of release,
but it must be remembered that they were only an insurance measure and couldn’t
be used to overcome an emergency.

Others might think that it shouldn’t matter since I always stay indoors, but I’m a
chicken.
Even though I don’t stand out, my face is fairly well known.
It’d be preposterous to go outside without a way to defend yourself or some escape
measures.
The public order of the Capital wasn’t bad, but after all there were Hunters looking
to pick fights in order to make a name for themselves.

I threw the 『Dark Wings of the Night Sky』 that had devolved into a stylish
mantle out of my way, and breathed out a sigh as I flopped onto the bed.

With things as they were I couldn’t go out and eat ice-cream.

It’s not like I could ask the clan members. One or two would be one thing, but
several hundreds was another.
It would probably be difficult to refill all the Relics even if I used every Magi
belonging to a party of 『Footprints』.
Also, if I asked something like that they would get angry as you’d expect.

Liz that had come back by herself was also useless at a time like this.
Once before I had asked her to, and by the third one she became unsteady. Even
then she didn’t think of stopping, so I had to stop her myself.
Her brakes don’t work.

Lying on my back in the bed, I stared up at the seamless ceiling while breathing
slowly.

But, what were Luke and the others doing right now?

If the Shrine was going as planned, they should be coming back soon.
Even if Ark was gone, it would be reassuring if Luke came back… they didn’t seem
to have run into any problems, were they loitering on the way back? …That was
incredibly likely.

At that time the sound of footsteps resounded from the passageway.

I got up from the bed hastily and picked up the Dark Wings of the Night Sky from
the floor and tidied my disordered clothes.

The number of people that entered this room was limited.

The entrance to the room was inside the Clan Master’s office on the other side of a
bookcase, and Hunters were restricted from entering the Clan Master’s office.
Liz and the others completely disregarded those rules and came and went as they
pleased, but the members of Strange Grief including Liz, had silent footsteps.

There was only one person that would come here who’s footsteps made noise.

The one that descended as expected, was Eva. To the sound of a knock, I responded
by regaining my breath.
The door opened slowly. Eva saw me spreading out the Dark Wings of the Night
Sky and her eyes widened.

“…What are you doing? In this kind of place.”

Crap, crap.
Even though she usually saw me skipping out, I’m not sure what she would say if
she caught me lying down during the day time.

I had also rejected the summons from Gark-san.

As the point of contact for the clan, I’m sure Eva had some complaints to say.

“No, see I was just doing a little investigating….”

“???”

Eva’s expression distorted weirdly.

Certainly this was my private room. Besides the Relics it was minimally furnished.
I guess if I was in her position I would think there was nothing to be investigated
down here.

But Eva was one of the people who knew about my true character. Because she
could also read the air, she should know what was going on.

“What kind of investigating? If you like I could assist you?”

She didn’t make any presumptions. It couldn’t be that she was taking my words at
face value…
I looked away from her gaze.

“No, that’s ok. It’s something only I can do, I was just finishing up.”

I spread out the 『Dark Wings of the Night Sky』 that had the texture of velvet,
and put it on a hanger.

In this place, what were you investigating? How were you investigating? What is it
that only you can do exactly?
Weren’t you just doing that to refuse the summons from the higher ups of the
Explorers?

The quips that could be aimed at me were never ending. Incidentally, the answer to
all of them is NO.
I started strangely perspiring.

While I couldn’t stop my face from twitching, Eva’s sigh entered my ear.
She’s found out… She knows I was laying down here.

But in the first place, the reason at fault was that I had no way to go outside.
Should I hire a guard at this kind of time… as I was seriously considering it, Eva
said something unexpected.

“…Is there anything I can do?”

!?

“No.”

I answered by reflex unconsciously, Eva-san’s eyebrows curved sullenly.

Maybe she believed me? Was there something believable about what I said earlier?
It was completely wrong on my part to tell a lie, but it should have been obvious to
someone that witnessed the way I went about my daily life.

Was it sarcasm? I felt like that was still highly likely.

Eva’s light purple eyes seemed as if they were trying to read what I was thinking as
she scrutinised my expression.
Did she really believe me, or was she trying to indirectly place blame on me by
looking at me in that way. I couldn’t tell from her facial expression.

In confusion I cleared my throat.

“I’m not saying that Eva is useless. This is a – exceedingly delicate and… dangerous
problem. It’s something only I can do. It’d be impossible for Ark and Liz as well.”

“!?”

Eva’s face stiffened. That added to my confusion.

“Ah, no. I’m not saying it’s that big of a deal, don’t look that surprised… I’m
grateful for your offer, but I alone am enough for this.”

In 『Footprints』 the administration staff basically held more power than the
hunters.
At the time the clan was founded, it was decided that there would be trouble if
Hunters didn’t listen to the office staff when it was important, so some rules were
established.
If I mislead Eva here, some strange rumours could start up.

Now that it had reached this point, I felt like I needed to say I was only looking over
the Relics. There had been no reason to refuse Gark’s summons.
“That’s-“

“Let’s leave the matter here. I won’t accept any questions, and I’ll ask you not to tell
anyone about this.”

I sealed the words Eva was about to say. Before she found any flaws, lets just
pretend this never happened.
If I said that much, no matter what position Eva really had, she couldn’t say
anything further.

“…Understood.”

For an instant, Eva made an expression of regret but she soon changed to an
emotionless look.

I don’t deserve to say this, but if you have the time to deal with me, you should be
doing your own work.

The mood was tense. I spoke in a joking manner.

“That’s right… if you really want to do something no matter what, you should
search for a popular ice-cream shop…”

“…….Understood.”

To my joke, without a chuckle or smile, Eva nodded her head with a dissatisfied
expression.

§ § §

“There’s been no changes in the nearby Earth Veins, huh…”

Upon seeing the written report, the Explorers Association Zebrudia Brach Chief
Gark Welter growled in a low voice.
The other was intimidated by his rough look and well trained body, hearing the
growl as if from a bear.
The member of the Third Order of the Zebrudian Empire Knights responsible for
public order, straightened up seeing the unsatisfied expression in response to the
report.

Earth Veins were similar to blood vessels in the human body.

They were paths for power that spread out underground, and things that were in
their vicinity were heavily influenced by them.
The effects varied. There could be strong monsters that found the constantly
flowing strong power to their liking, or alternatively large-scale magic rituals could
be performed without the sufficient catalysts by making use of the flowing power.
And above all – it was easy for Shrines to manifest in the vicinity of Earth Veins.

The Imperial Capital was also built taking into consideration the location of the
nearby Earth Veins.
If they had large enough changes, in the worst case the Capital would need to move
location.
In fact among past magic civilisations, it was known that some cities had been
destroyed overnight when the cores had run wild under the influence of Earth Vein
fluctuations.

Of course, the locations of Earth Veins rarely changed.

The primary cause was large scale seismic shifts such as those caused by
earthquakes.
Naturally in that situation, the Capital would suffer some damage.

“But, if the Earth Veins haven’t had any changes, what is the cause…?”

Another investigation was being done into the abnormalities in the 『White
Wolves Den』.

The White Wolves Den was a level 3 ranked Shrine. The Phantoms that appeared
were in line with that.

Phantoms existed, but they weren’t ‘living things’ strictly speaking. They were a
pseudo-lifeform springing from Mana Material.
The quality was proportional to the concentration of Mana Material. If they had a
sudden change in power it could quickly be attributed to a change in the
surrounding Mana Material – an Earth Vein fluctuation.

It didn’t need to be a huge variation. Just a slight change in orientation could

greatly increase or decrease the power of the White Wolves Den.

But this time, the results of the investigation of the specialised unit of knights had
turned up nothing.

The level of the Shrine had certainly increased. The power of the Phantoms had
gone up.
They were still investigating the fine details, but had they risen by two or three
levels?

There were many Hunters in the Capital. Even if the certification of the White
Wolves Den rose there wouldn’t be any fuss. But for veteran hunters like Gark, the
cause going unknown gave an ominous feeling.
While looking down at the data, his thoughts went in another direction.

“Was it artificial… but, no-“

A Shrine was a place of danger while at the same time being the greatest mystery
created by nature.
Since the dawn of history, countless researches had grappled with examining them.
But, too little was understood.

There were people that, through forcibly distorting Earth Veins, were able to
artificially create Shrines.
Some people captured a Phantom from one Shrine and placed it inside another.
And there was also a person that tried to change multiple Shrines in the same area
into one large Shrine.
Someone had also attempted to fix the location a Relic would manifest so that it
could be frequently and safely obtained.

But none of what Gark could recall was true for this case.

For a while he closed his eyes while he thought, then slowly opened them. He
looked at the knight with a scowl.

“…People will also be behind this. Let me know when you find something.”

At Gark’s words, the man gave a salute and exited the room.

Right now the level of the White Wolves Den hadn’t risen very high, but there was
no guarantee that the unknown cause would stop.
If the level didn’t stop rising, there would be few people in the Capital that would
be able to deal with it.
There was even potential that the Northern Highway would become unusable.

Gark’s brain couldn’t come up with any ideas. There weren’t any other similar
occurrences.
But, there was a person that might know.

Taking a deep breath, he continuously issued instructions to the assistant branch

chief Kaina behind him.

“I’ll speak to Cry. Send over a message.”

“He will refuse since he said he was busy.”

“If he refuses, then I’ll be the one to meet him.”

At the harsh voice, Kaina lowered her eyes as if troubled.
Hunters registered under the Explorers Association were obligated to heed
instructions in a crisis.
But the scope of that wasn’t clearly defined.
Often making refusals, 『Footprints』 held influence among Hunters in the
Imperial Capital.

Seeing Kaina’s reluctant expression, Gark added on.

“Don’t worry, even if it’s Cry he wouldn’t run from this situation. Generally that
guy… will know something. I’m sure of it.”

He handed over the data that had gotten crumpled over to Kaina.
He continued on to Kaina who’s expression remained unconvinced.

“A guy who recently hadn’t entered any Shrines, expressly went over to one. With
that alone you know something’s up.”

Spoken with strong conviction.

If it was just an ordinary hunter, it would end with just being called unlucky.

However, Infinite Variety was different. There was no luck involved in his actions.
In the years since coming to the Capital, Cry’s stacked up footprints were enough to
believe in.

To Gark’s words, Kaina nodded in agreement without any further objections.

Translator notes

So I first translated Luke’s name as Luke, but it sounds more like Rook in Japanese.
Luke sounded more appropriate at the time since Rook is so rare as a name.
The thing is, it’s anime logic, so now I think the intended name would be Rook. I mean one of the
girls names is Sitri… so rarity isn’t exactly an issue is it?
I’m going to keep it as Luke so everyone can laugh at me as the guy that would have named Naruto -
Nathan.
-I have a feeling there was something else that I wanted to say but it slipped my mind. Well anyway,
I liked the scientific experiments done on Shrines mentioned in this chapter. Sounds very much like
what scientists would want to do if they were real.

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 LN Translation
Learning through reading

Chapter 29
redhare404 February 28, 2020 Uncategorized

29 悪夢
Nightmare

I had a dream. A dream where the Capital was burning brightly, a dream of the
world’s end.

The sky burned a deep red. Screams cried out. The hunters, knights, merchants,
and the townspeople ran away in mass confusion.
The wide streets were awash with people, all frantically trying to escape the city.
And, the walls originally meant to protect them, prevented them from leaving.

I was alone in an empty room as I looked down at the Imperial Capital from above.

The room where I always spent my time, the top floor of the clan house of
『Footprints』.
Overlooking the Capital I understood the circumstances perfectly. And also the
reason why the sky was burning.

The Imperial Capital that was soon to surpass a history of three hundred years,
Zebrudia.
The well ordered streets were covered by burning red liquid.

Thick viscous liquid slowly spread outwards through the city.

It was as if a giant tsunami was consuming the Capital, however there were no
oceans in the vicinity.
From above it could be seen that the way it flowed was different to that of water.

That was – clearly aiming towards the living.

Rather than the vacant buildings, empty carriages, and unmanned stalls, it
prioritised the escaping children and elderly, and the knights trying to control the
chaos.
All life that came into contact with the liquid without exception burst into flames
like a torch, vanishing without a trace in seconds.

Emptied armour and clothes, swords tumbled by the wayside. The air that touched
the skin was hot.

For three hundred years, the walls that protected every person from the
surrounding monsters and phantoms prevented each one from escaping.
The Capital Zebrudia was surrounded by walls, and the exits were too narrow for
the amount trying to escape.
With the capacity overflowing, the slow evacuation didn’t advance.

The castle seen from far away already showed no sign of life.
Already, half the city had transformed into ruins. Buildings were undamaged and
life had vanished cleanly without corpses. The quiet streets were extremely eerie.
There might be survivors inside the buildings, but the surrounding liquid made
escape hopeless.

There was no indication the volume of liquid would decrease. On the contrary, little
by little it looked like it was increasing.
This liquid wouldn’t stay inside the capital. Eventually it would exit the walls and
wash over the whole world.

No, that – wasn’t liquid. I already knew.

That was a living thing.

It was the weakest monster that existed in nature.
That was it’s base of creation, a product of madness that shouldn’t exist.

Told to treat with caution, and thoughtlessly set free (maybe).

Before I knew, a girl was standing next to me overlooking the same scene that I
was.
A gentle impression was given from her droopy eyes and short cut pink blonde
hair.

A featureless simple grey robe, it wasn’t something magical that Magi would wear
into Shrines. They were work clothes worn under the assumption they would get
dirtied.

The girl turned to face me as if just noticing.

Her eyes were opened wide.
She was smiling in spite of the crisis, and spoke in a soft voice as if for small talk.

Her voice was heated. I wasn’t sure what she was saying, but I could see her
excitement from her glittering eyes.
I desperately tried to stop her but my voice wouldn’t come out.
My whole body was filled with dark despair and impatience.
I seized her shoulders, and the girl gave a bashful smile and embraced me.

That’s not it. I’m not praising you!

I gripped both shoulders, and pushed her body away. As I shook the shoulders of
the child that was happy with the results of her slime, I woke up.

I rose from bed in the total darkness of the room, my body trembling.
My back was cold with sweat, and my heart still pounded furiously.

That was a terrible dream. Yet it held sobering reality. Particularly when she
embraced me.

I was someone that was prone to worrying so I often had bad dreams, but that was
unmistakably the number one of recent times.

I slowly regained my breath. I persuaded myself.

It’s ok, the Capital wouldn’t fall into ruin that easily.

Zebrudia’s strength as a nation was high.

It’s knights boasted of invincibility, several hundred Magi assembled a force of

sorcery. And there were many hunters and former hunters here.
It wasn’t just the military might that was powerful. The Empire was also at the
forefront of information, technology and research.
It was without a doubt the strongest of the surrounding countries. And the
Imperial Capital where it wouldn’t be strange for anything to happen considering
the surrounding Shrines, had the greatest defence capabilities.
If the Capital was destroyed by a sudden disaster, the other countries also wouldn’t
be able to be a match for it.

…Hm? Could this maybe be bad?

For some reason the vividly remembered scene from the dream entered into my
mind, and I shook my head.

“No no no no no, my dream can’t be true.”

“mm… what’s wrong?”

A sluggish voice came from the left.

Looking over while laying on her side, Liz got up as if it was natural.
Her face slightly resembled the girl in my dream – Sytry, and I involuntarily
grimaced.
Liz and Sytry were blood related sisters.
They had many places they were different in such as hair length, eye type, and
height. But their appearance was so similar that if you put them in disguise you
wouldn’t be able to tell them apart.

Liz had no malice and smiled at me.

“Morning, Cry-chan. Sleep well?”

Thin fabric. Liz stretched out in her nightclothes made for comfort, and she came
over and clung to my arm as my heart beat in ill manner.
Brimming with energy, Liz’s body temperature was quite higher than mine. Being
embraced would make me gradually sweat.

This was the nightmares origin. She wasn’t there before I went to bed though…

I felt like making a complaint, but it was no use saying I had a nightmare.

As I didn’t reply with anything, Liz’s leg twisted around my own.

The ring around her ankle touched me, and it felt slightly cold.
It was the form of Liz’s Relic, Highest Roots, when it was on standby. When it
wasn’t in use, her shoe type Relic transformed into a ring.
Liz who was always saying to be combat ready at all times, didn’t remove her Relic
when she was taking a shower or when she went to bed. In a day she would only
remove her Relic for an instant.

As she stuck closely to me, a faint sweet fragrance drifted off of her.
Her arms, chest, and her flexible legs coiled around me. Everything felt soft and
warm.
The cuddling and nuzzling body gave a sensual pleasant feeling that gradually
made my brain come to boil.

She seemed like a gentle young woman.

And it was her hobby to genocide the ones that approached her like fodder.

As I stayed silent and got my breathing in order, Liz spoke in a coaxing voice.

“Hey, Cry-chan, today, are you free?”

“What about Tino’s training?”

“Mmm-….She might break if we overdo it, so todays a day off.”

“Your training?”

Graduating, and inheriting the name of her Master 『Severed Shadow』, she was a
hardworking person.
She was usually busy within the Capital with either Tino’s or her own training.
At my question, Liz gave a foolish grin.

“Today’s a day off”

…..Is that ok? Well, I didn’t have the right to comment.

I don’t know what she wants to do, but if Liz was around as an escort, then I could
go outside. I didn’t have anything else planned in particular.

This wouldn’t be the first time Liz had accompanied me.

Particularly after I stopped getting involved with Shrines, these opportunities had
increased little by little.

Getting involved in recreation was also part of a leaders duties.

No, I can only do that much… so I’ll do it if I’m asked.
One of the reasons was because it was a time when they were more docile.

I decided to forget the silly nightmare I saw a short while ago.

It was a bad dream. Just a bad dream.

It was because of Sytry, and also Liz that I was unable to sleep well. Unbelievable
sisters.

“Alright. Lets go out together.”

“Kya-! Thanks, Cry-chan!”

Liz raised a shrill voice and buried her head into my chest.
I stroked the head of my friend giving violent skinship, and breathed a sigh.

At the entrance to the clan house, Liz glared at the large man, with a look more
dangerous than a runaway monster.

Whether the opponent was a noble, a knight, a veteran soldier, or an acquaintance,

belonging to her own group or a higher up of the Explorers Association, her
attitude remained the same.
Liz’s figure was different to when overcoming shrines, it looked completely casual
and unlike a hunter. No knife, belt, or other held weapon.
The colour of her attire remained black, but she wore a skirt and her stomach was
showing.

However one thing from when she hunted shrines was constant. Most of her legs
up to the knees were covered by a black Relic, and her foot was tapping the ground
in irritation.

From the good humour of earlier, the difference was too intense.

“You know Cry-chan is busy today? Can you not get in the way of Liz-chan with
something stupid? We don’t have the time to clean up after some small fry, so beat
it.”

“Liz…? So the bitch has already returned has she? How was the 『Myriad Demon
Castle』? You’re supposed to make a report when you capture a shrine level 7 or
higher right?”

Gark-san scowled at the tiny berserker that he hadn’t seen around lately.
They had been associating for a long time, so he knew how tiresome Liz was when
she was in a bad mood.

Behind him was Kaina who wasn’t a former hunter, her expression turned pale as
she watched the other two.
Ah-, the timing was bad.

Translator Notes

I think previously I named the level 7(or was it 8) shrine – fortress of 10,000 demons? I read the
manga, and it looked like the disney castle, so I changed the name.
In my defence I feel like it had been built up as an ominous place.

Gark calling Liz a bitch. So he says ‘Temee’ here, which isn’t something nice but could just be taken
as him being rude to her.
It’s honestly quite difficult to convey that. And using bitch makes him seem sort of sexist which isn’t
there originally. You’ll just have to forgive me on this, since I want the scene to have the dramatic
impact but I don’t have the skills. Something else is that when Liz says ‘clean up after’ she literally
says ‘wipe the ass of’.

Droopy eyes. Apparently Japanese have a thing about the attractiveness of slanted eyes and droopy
eyes. I’m ignorant of it though.

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 LN Translation
Learning through reading

Chapter 30
redhare404 February 29, 2020 Uncategorized

30 別件
A Separate Matter

The Explorers Association was a huge organization.

Managing the inhuman hunters, many of the staff were former hunters themselves.

The Zebrudia branch chief Gark Welter was also originally a first-rate Hunter.

He had been a level 7 hunter. Using a somewhat large halberd as his main weapon,
and rampaging through any Shrine, people murmured his second name 『War
Ogre』 in awe.

It had been a long time since he had retired, and his power had declined since his
heyday, but his ability wouldn’t be outdone by the average hunter.
To speak of how strong he was, when the six of us along with Liz first came to the
Capital, Gark-san who had already been sitting in the Chiefs chair was so strong
that we couldn’t do anything.
Because of that, I came to know the level of hunters in the Imperial Capital.

Luke and Liz both got along well enough with the branch chief due to that incident.
Basically, the people that thought with their muscles liked the strong.

However, all that was from nearly five years ago.

“The main thing is, you bastards rely on Cry-chan too much! What do you think
you’re being paid for, you solve it you dumbass!”

Liz intimidates Gark who stood three heads higher than her.

A girl that clearly wasn’t dressed to fight threatening a well built man could only be
seen as an obnoxious child, but the reality was anything but.
The power absorbed in Shrines over a long period – Mana Material, was released
over time.
The speed varied between each person, but no matter how gifted you were it won’t
stop completely.

Gark had already mostly retreated from battle.

His power was clearly weaker than five years ago, perhaps not even half of when he
was in his prime.
And Liz’s power wasn’t the same as when she first came to the Capital either. Well,
Liz never thinks about the difference in power when she picks fights anyway.

As Liz picked a fight first thing without listening to his situation, Gark-san
remained calm.
He vigilantly glared at her as if he was looking at a low-grade monster. If I was in
his position I would definitely be shaking, but as expected Gark’s courage was
different.

“Wait, so if you’ve come back, then is Sytry also here?”

“Who cares! You’re in the way of our date. Disappear!”

Gark-san mercilessly flew through the air. Liz had kicked him.
The huge body close to two meters slid across the marble floor that had been
expensive, a decorative plant alongside the wall was blown away.

There was no choice but to smile at how quickly the blow had come out.

Gark who had crossed his arms to receive the kick, stood up slowly.
His actions were slow, but that look was reminiscent of the ogre from his second
name.
Still being lively after being hit by a blow that was used against monsters in a Level
8 shrine, as expected of Gark-san.

And, he’d become fully motivated. Someone that was hit and stayed silent wasn’t fit
to be the branch chief of the Explorers.
From his waist he pulled out a small knife that was probably for self defence.
Even though it was small, in proportion to their body size it may as well have been
a short sword to Liz.

“…Liz, you little, do you know what you’ve done…? There are limits to how gentle I
can be…”

Who was gentle?

Seeing the Branch Chief prepare for battle, Liz’s lips warped into a smile.
Her white skin quickly became flushed and her eyes were blazing.
After getting her settled with great trouble, it seemed like her engines had started
up again.

Hey, can we stop? Why are you guys always so violent?

The clan house will get destroyed again. And I’ll be the one that Eva scolds.

Kaina and the others were at a loss at how to stop them. But I thought it was
already too late.
The non-hunter girls wouldn’t be able to stop a fight between monsters.

I stopped looking at the two that were locked against each other in a blazing match
of glares, and made a proposal to the poor Kaina-san and the two Explorers staff
who had a quarrelsome superior.

“………For the time being, should we go up and drink some tea?”

Liz who had wanted to go see the Capital today wasn’t equipped with any weapons.
They probably weren’t trying to kill each other, so they might not die.

The sounds ringing out from downstairs didn’t stop. The glass was shaking.
I enjoyed small talk with Kaina-san and the others while thinking that there were a
lot of earthquakes recently.

In fact I felt strong sympathy for Kaina-san who had to suffer through the same
hardships as me as the right hand of the Branch Chief with the frightening face.
My tone naturally became lighter.

“Isn’t the young girl at the Explorers reception desk incredibly cute? How did you
hire her? I want to employ her over here.”

『Footprints』 used the Explorers as a reference.

When I discovered Eva, I was looking for someone like Kaina-san and knelt on the
ground in order to hire them.

Next what was needed was a beautiful receptionist.

The girl at the Explorers Zebrudia branch was a draw for customers.
Bright and spirited, and didn’t make a single displeased face at dealing with fierce
and dirty Hunters. Each and every time I was summoned miserably her attitude
didn’t change.
I figured the girl I didn’t know the name of influenced the smooth running of the
organisation.
Since time existed, men have been weak to cute girls. The same was true even for
Hunters.
To my half serious half joking talk, Kaina-san made a bitter smile.

“Are you talking about Chloe? She’s… chief Gark’s niece.”

“Those genes aren’t working.”

Why is such a good kid related to that 『War Ogre』? No, it was since she was used
to Gark that she developed that kind of personality.
And it was that connection….?

Anyway there was no way the quarrel was going to end peacefully.
While Gark-san and Liz-chan had their fist fight, I’d hear out why Kaina-san had
come here.

And I was amazed by what she and the other two told me.

It seemed like Gark was making a big misunderstanding.

I didn’t know anything about the White Wolves Den. I didn’t have any predictions,
and I hadn’t made any preparations.
Just that, the reason it was abnormal wasn’t my fault. The punishment game I was
unfortunately dragged into was safely cleared, but after that was a job for the
Explorers and the country.

I entered perfectly into my ‘not my problem’ mode.

It wasn’t just restricted to Gark-san, everyone had a tendency to rate my ability way
too highly.
I reached Level 8 through luck only. With no knowledge or skills, it was
unthinkable that I could get greater results than the Explorers or the country’s
experts.

“Oh-, sounds bad. It’s not the Earth Veins, huh…”

To my carefree opinion, Kaina looked like she had been thrown to the ground.

Earth Veins were so to speak, blood vessels that ran underground. With a single
look I’d be able tell there was a problem, but I wouldn’t know anything further.

This type of thing was what Sytry was familiar with I suppose.

Liz’s younger sister, Sytry Smart was an alchemist.

Learning the truth of the world and studying the laws behind phenomena, it was an
occupation that crossed magi and scholar.
Their bodies didn’t hold the vast amounts of mana that could be used as a weapon,
so generally their attack power was inferior compared to magi.
Their true strength was in their abundant knowledge and experience. Requiring
rare tools, it was not a job seen often in Treasure Hunters.
For situations like this, they were extremely dependable.

Particularly, unlike most of her peers Sytry often went to shrines as a hunter. So
she seemed to hold more practical knowledge.
Incidentally, creating magical creatures such as slimes was a skill alchemists took
pride in.
Please take greater care with the creatures you create.

With a few peculiar points, Sytry belonged to the Empire Institution of Academics,
and was the brains of Strange Grief.
Well she unfortunately hadn’t returned yet.

“Wasn’t there anything you noticed, even something small?”

Kaina-san kept pushing for something, but at that time I was full to the limit from
the fear of my first shrine in a long time and Liz’s unexpected appearance, so
everything was muddled.
I sat back into my chair and closed my eyes, but I didn’t know things that I didn’t
know. The main point was that if something unnatural occurred a memory should
remain of it.

“Hmm. There wasn’t anything in particular. To begin with, what I’m worried about
is a separate matter.”

“…A separate matter?”

Damn. I let it slip.

I grimaced but it was too late. Kaina-san’s brown eyes examined me inquisitively.

At that time I was more concerned about the whereabouts of the slime over the
shrines abnormality.
It was the same now. Last nights nightmare was still flickering in my mind so I
couldn’t help it.

I didn’t think I would understand anything if I checked the shrine for

abnormalities, but if I had the time to check for that, I’d search for the slime
instead.

“……Are you able to tell me?”

Kaina-san looked at me with serious eyes, but no matter what I couldn’t tell her
that a slime created by Sytry was set free.
It was all my imagination. It was surely all my imagination. That’s what I decided.

I put my hands together and lowered my head making a grave expression.

Confuse with suggestive words. Level 8 hunters have many secrets.
I’m sorryyy.

“Sorry but, I still can’t tell you. ……Because I still haven’t heard anything.”

At the vague words put up as a front, the expressions of the staff members behind
Kaina-san went stiff.
Unable to bear it, I stood up.

Lets go in a positive direction.

If I think it over my slip of the tongue might be correct. This could be a reason to
refuse Gark-san’s request for cooperation.
Of course, shrine abnormalities would also influence the actions of hunters. I
planned to do my best to cooperate as 『Footprints』, but this could be my reason
to not make any moves personally.

Since I didn’t have to suffer through anything dangerous or have my mind

exhausted I was lucky.
Gark-san and the rest won’t have to be manipulated by my words, and Liz will be
docile so it was lucky.
Was this that win-win relationship?

“I can’t make any moves, but the clan will help as much as possible. That’s right,
when Ark returns I’ll ask him to help out ok.”

“……for your cooperation, you have our thanks.”

Kaina-san hung her head and gave thanks.

Forgive me, Kaina-san. I’m in the wrong. I can’t do anything. All I know is where to
go in the Capital to eat delicious ice-cream.
I’m sorry I’m this kind of level 8. But it was you guys that made me level 8.

I’ll lend you Ark so forgive me. An all purpose intelligent guy that can solve most
things.
You need to return him later though.

I offered some words of comfort to Kaina-san and the others that seemed
disheartened.
The accumulation of Mana Material and the evolution of phantoms was a natural
phenomenon.
It wasn’t something we small humans could do.
“I don’t think you need to worry too much. If it wasn’t the Earth Veins influence,
then everything should soon return to normal.”

§ § §

It was like magic. Maximum concentration after a long time made his
consciousness stretch.
One second felt like two or three seconds. However going that far his judgement
couldn’t keep up.
He also couldn’t evade, he had to give his all just to manage by guarding.

Liz Smart didn’t use mana, she also wasn’t using a weapon.
She attacked with simple thrusting kicks. However they were simply 『fast』.

Thieves held confidence in their agility. However while he was active he had met a
great amount of hunters, and after his retirement acting as the Explorers Zebrudia
branch chief he had interacted with even more hunters.
From Gark’s point of view, that agility was extraordinary.

Metal grazed against the floor, and smoke rose from the friction.
Liz stopped in an instant from top speed, and spoke with a light voice without the
rage from before.

“Hmmm? Gark-chan, hasn’t your skill fallen? Since you’re only doing desk work.”

“…Shut it.”

I haven’t gotten weak. You became stronger.

He wanted to say so, but somehow stopped himself.

His body wanted fresh air.

Masking his breathing that was on the verge of getting rough, Gark glared at Liz
that had taken a superior attitude.

Although it wasn’t a weapon he was accustomed to, he had learned some dagger
techniques to an extent.
But, the drawn knife couldn’t graze her.
The blows that landed on his guard ached with pain. It wouldn’t seem like it from
those thin arms, but their power surpassed bulky muscles, and gave blows that
reverberated to the bone.
If she reached a vital area then he might faint.

If the branch chief that supervised all the treasure hunters was made to faint so
unsightly, Gark would be disgraced. No matter what, he had to avoid that much at
all cost.
There was a hopeless difference in fighting power.

Liz was small. Compared to Gark she was like a child.

His arms and legs were longer, after all Gark’s reach was much wider.
However, her body gave off the characteristic energy of a diligent hunter that didn’t
avoid entering shrines.

The level 8 shrine 『Myriad Demon Castle』.

Liz had only just returned from a shrine dense with Mana Material, barely any
would have been released yet making her at her most strongest.

It was the opposite of Gark that had been away from shrines for such a long time.

Compared to Gark that was prepared for war, Liz was completely natural.

From just a moment of battle, he had understood.

Even if he resolved himself to take a blow so he could counter, his knife still
wouldn’t graze her.
Liz could move out the way faster than Gark could swing the knife down.

In front of the former 『War Ogre』, the girl tapped her eccentric glimmering
black boots on the floor while she spoke as if to make fun of him.

“It’s not good if Gark-chan doesn’t get out and exercise sometimes don’t you think?
Ah, you got fatter? Hunters you find scattered around are stronger you know?”

“So noisy!”

Where can you find so many hunters like that!

He had certainly dulled. But even being dulled, he was still around level 5!

As Liz looked at him as if looking at the elderly, he was grinding his teeth so hard
they might shatter.

This bitch grew more than expected. To silence this cheeky shit of a hunter, he
might have to make some adjustments!

He was aware he had weakened, but to have it pointed out like this, even the gentle
Gark would lose his cool.

This little, should he bring down her level? Those kinds of childish thoughts went
through his mind.
Of course, it wasn’t permitted for a branch chief to lower someones level
certification over a personal grudge.
Without knowing his inner thoughts, Liz spoke while smiling in satisfaction.

“This takes me back. It’s a little pitiful you’ve gotten so weak, but I’ll overlook it
because of the good old days. I’m soo kind.”

He didn’t understand what was said for a moment, then his eyes were dyed a deep
red.
Anger boiling from the depths of his belly came frothing out. It had been a long
time since he had felt this sensation.
He gripped the knife with too much force and it cracked.

By nature, Gark was a warrior that could handle all kinds of weapons. Among his
skills, he could make his anger explode and convert it into power.
That was the reason why the level 7 hunter Gark obtained his second name.

Recently he hadn’t had the chance to put it to use, but apparently his own body still
knew how to use it.

“Apparently, someone needs to be punished… you stupid brat.”

“Ah-, that’s not good. I’m bad at nursing, so that means you’re going to have Kaina-
chan take care of you after?”

His voice resounded as if from the depths of hell, and Liz made fun of it like a
spoiled child.
The Hunters of footprints observed Gark and Liz with great interest.
Outside, curious people that had caught onto the noise cautiously peered inside.

The difference in ability was fatal. But he couldn’t end it like this after being looked
down on.
He needed at least one point of retribution.

The knife shattered and then his sole weapon was gone.
But as he stepped forward without a care, at that moment as if choosing the timing,
a spirited voice was heard.

“You guys were still going at it. Making such a big mess, and we already finished
talking.”

He didn’t notice when he had disappeared.

With Kaina and the two staff members, Cry descended the stairs. Seeing the
disastrous scene he breathed out a sigh.

Liz who until now hadn’t released her tension while throwing out insults, nimbly
jumped over that way and the air around her body dispersed.
“Cry-chan welcome back. Gark-chan won’t listen to me…”

“This is, not relying on the people in the same trade isn’t good you know.”

While Kaina’s cheek twitched, she approached Gark who was ready for war.

Seeing her expression, Gark finally released his posture.

After taking a deep breath, the numbed pain was resurrected.
There were no fatal injuries but there would be bruises and splits.

Apparently, he had been able to achieve his goal while fighting.

Gark frowned while thinking of scolding in the future, he decided to reforge

himself so he would never be made light of again.

Translator Notes

-Garks name (war ogre) is war oni. Traditionally they are kind of troll like monsters/youkai. Ogre
seemed fine to me, but think monster-ogre not Shrek.
-As always the dialogue is a continual compromise. Not the worst, not completely inaccurate.
 LN Translation
Learning through reading

Chapter 31
redhare404 March 2, 2020 Uncategorized

31 情緒
Feeling

『Strange Grief』 had many adversaries.

This was mainly because Luke and Liz picked fights everywhere.

If you hear of a master swordsman in the west, then go and test your skill. If you
hear that fiendish bandits have routed Knights on the Eastern frontier, then travel
several days to go and kill them.
If hunters didn’t have the tendency to respect the strong, our reputation would be
terrible.

Particularly since our party name was so eerie, and since in the old days we only
took on bandits and other grey requests, we were sometimes mistaken for a red
party and attacked.
Inside the Capital nowadays there were no longer misunderstandings, but when we
went out on expeditions there were still occasionally people that gave us cold looks.

“Gark has also fallen hasn’t he. Age is a cruel thing.”

While I walked next to her, Liz spoke calmly after having picked a fight with the
Explorers Association for the first time in a while.

There was no ridicule in her tone of voice.

She was the one that had fanned the flames of his anger, but her voice seemed
lonely like one of her brawling companions had disappeared.

“…It’s better not to use yourself as a standard.”

“Ye-s”
Gark wasn’t as weak as she was making out.
Even these days when two hunters got into a drunken fist fight he would intervene
and beat them both up. Just meeting his face was scary.
As you’d expect it’s not good to make comparisons with Liz who’s still active on the
frontlines.

In the hunter world becoming inactive was a rigid weakness.

Liz who was currently swinging her arms while walking would also lose her power
in this way.

For this reason there were many retired hunters that changed the location of where
they lived.
Some Treasure Hunters also worked as mercenaries or bounty hunters as a side
job. Many collected grudges. It was fine if you were strong enough to put out the
sparks, but not if you get attacked in a place of weakness.
That went even more so for the type of person that plunged straight into the
burning flames.

Liz and the others currently had no plans to retire, but I had secretly been thinking
about a few destinations to move to for when that time came.

But that Gark’s expression hadn’t been at the level of being teased just a little. He
should have had some understanding of Liz’s character, but he couldn’t stomach
his anger.
He had some areas where he hated to lose, so in that state he might go back into a
shrine out of his own will.

I talked with Liz while we walked down the street. It seemed like the Explorers
Association was in a bit of an uproar, but the streets were still as peaceful as usual.
She was exposing a lot of skin, with just her legs looking like they had robotic
attachments which made her stand out.
Eyes collected on her, but she didn’t seem to care and smiled constantly.

It would be nice if she was always this subdued.

The conversation was mainly about the hunt that Liz and the others had been on
this time.

『Myriad Demon Castle』.

It was one of the Shrines that hunters rarely went to.

Distant location. Harsh terrain. Strong Phantoms. Obtainable Relics leaning to

only a certain variety and so on.
The reasons were numerous, but sometimes the shrines that had not been
conquered in a long time accumulated Mana Material and became greatly
enhanced.

『Myriad Demon Castle』 was one of those shrines.

To sum it up in a few words, it was a huge castle protected by a large number of

powerful apparitions.
Apparently it seemed to be one with a mythological motif, and the phantoms that
manifested had diverse variations making it difficult to prepare countermeasures
for.
It was a shrine that hunters hadn’t challenged for a long time since it was so far
from human settlements.

The White Wolves Den was also an unpopular shrine, but Myriad Demon Castle
was different.

The former was simply an unattractive shrine, but the latter was due to the degree
of difficulty.
The most recent hunters that challenged it had not succeeded, and there was
almost no information on what was inside it.
Hunters were attracted by the notion that a large number of Relics should be
sleeping inside, but they could only look at the castle in the distance and give up
with frustration.

In fact I was very uneasy at the time its name was brought up as the next target
shrine, but I couldn’t stop Luke as he explained with sparkling eyes.
More or less, I was the leader. I held the right to make the parties decisions.
Maybe I should have told him not to, but how could a friend block him from going
on a hero’s journey wishing for adventure?

The story Liz was telling this time was also more passionate than usual.

The Phantoms that came out at level 8 were significant.

Dragons and griffons I knew of since they were famous, but halfway through she
started saying names I didn’t know. I could only smile and nod.
Things like Squonks and Yackles and the like. What are they. Are they living
creatures?

“Sytry said it was pulling from the legend of 『Black King Grapps』…but
afterwards there were a lot of intelligent human types, so maybe it was mixing a
bunch of legends?
The terrain was also crazy.”

“Oh-…was it tough?”

Enduring the various things I wanted to ask, I verified just one thing.
『Black King Grapps』 was the name of the supreme ruler that reigned over the
continent thousands of a years ago.

He manipulated countless beasts at will, and through dark rituals he created beasts
that should never have existed.
It was a tale from before the Empire came to be, and his authority had spread
widely.
Even now there were various shrines throughout the world where manservant like
Phantoms had been witnessed.

Among hunters he was the number one hated person.

To my words Liz put her finger on her lips as she thought for a while, then made a
smile that spread over her whole face.

“Mmm… up until now I guess it’s the one at the top. It was like you’d think a level 8
would feel. The Black King’s beasts were tough… definitely stronger than in those
days.
Physical attacks weren’t very effective, there were a lot of them, honestly I didn’t
think I could handle it. If it was just escaping I could manage somehow.”

Don’t speak so delightedly…

Phantoms that couldn’t be handled by the Liz who I couldn’t even comprehend
anymore. That level of threat is hard to imagine.
What kind of opponent can make someone that can knock away a barrage of bullets
struggle?

“How were they compared to the Boss of the White Wolves Den from the other
day?”

“Eh…..?”

The White Wolves Den Boss…that wolf knight that was concealed by a human
skull, in a shrine where the level of phantoms had sprung up it still stood out.
An enemy that overcame a party spearheaded by a level 5 veteran hunter.

Liz had appeared right away, so it wasn’t like I’d had any direct battle experience.
But just recalling it’s shining pupils made me want to retire at any moment.

At my question, Liz-chan came to a stop.

She stayed like that for ten seconds as her eyebrows curved into a brood, and then
spoke with regret.

“…Was that…a boss?”

“…Ah, yeah.”
“Sorry? I’m sorry? That’s what Cry-chan said wasn’t it? Sorry. I, don’t really
remember trash that well…I remember that we were looked down on and that Tee
was disappointing though…”

Apparently compared to Level 8 Phantoms, that Boss wasn’t even worth

remembering. After all it looks like I’ll never go on a hunt with these guys ever
again.
It’s not particularly frustrating, and I don’t regret creating the clan and retreating
from the front, but recognising that the difference was this much was a little lonely.

Looking at my complex expression and wondering what I was thinking, Liz

grabbed my hand and spoke hurriedly.

“Ah, but you know! They were weak like trash, but there were a lot of weapons that
came out! I thought they were good for training! It worried me that they were only
carrying physical equipment, but they were just right for Tee don’t you think?”

I didn’t think they were that trival.

“Uh-huh yep. That’s right.”

“Right-? Lets bring her along another time! I was troubled since there were only
humans as opponents! After all, you have to bet your life or it’s worthless isn’t it?”

Ah, whoops. Should I stop her here?

Tino was just enrolled in some life risking training.
…Next time I’ll take her out for ice-cream.

This times date was for Liz. I walked around the capital while being lead by the
hand.

Liz was extreme. She loved to fight, and when she became a hunter she was highly
curious.
But when she walked the streets with me she preferred a general date like course.
We made the rounds at boutiques and jewellery stores, and drank tea at a cafe.
We didn’t go to taverns, or look at popular weapon shops, and we didn’t go to back
alleys the public avoided in order to fish for ruffians.

From the side, it really just looked like an ordinary date.

Liz would also get tired if she always stayed on guard.

Maybe calm times such as these let her keep balanced.

As she walked next to me, a bag of gold coins on her waist jingled. Not really a
purse, it was a large pouch filled to bursting.
After separating the overhead of equipment expenses on a hunt, income was
divided equally between members.
Different to me that scooped up Relics immediately, Liz usually wasn’t materialistic
and was a rich person.

In my wallet, Eva had prepared five Imperial gold coins for a time of emergency –
500,000 gil, a great difference to my own remaining 10,000 gil.

Aimlessly entering high class boutiques and jewellery stores and watching the
extravagant spending gave a good feeling.
Seeing her try clothes one by one and hearing her ask if each one suited her was the
only trouble, but this sort of thing was also nice once in a while.

I don’t know much, but they suit you. They really suit you, want to buy it? I’m sorry
I can’t give it to you as a present.
If you drop two zeros from the price, I can buy you a present. Even if I want to I
can’t use the money that’s there for emergencies.

As I walked around the city, I looked out for any hints that Sytry’s slime had caused
an uproar, but I didn’t see anything in particular.
There were murmurs here and there about the disturbance on the northern
highway, but the stray Phantoms had been manifesting since before I lost the slime
so as you’d expect it was irrelevant.

“Hey hey, Cry-chan, what’s wrong? For a little while you’ve seemed a bit down.”

I hadn’t intended to show anything on the surface, but Liz suddenly called out to
me. I’m sorry, all I do is worry everyone.

“Liz, what if… just asking hypothetically, if Zebrudia was about to be destroyed…
what would you do?”

An extremely theoretical question. If such a thing actually happened and I was the
cause, I wouldn’t be able to say that much.

It was so out of the blue it should have been taken as a joke, but Liz answered the
tedious question immediately without a break in her smile.

“Run away together?”

…No no no, we can’t do that.

“Next, a southern country would be nice I think…I want to see the ocean…I’ve
never been.”
Even though we were talking about the country being destroyed, she was
surprisingly forward facing.
Seeing her eyes sparkle as she was lost in thought made me feel a little more
cheerful.

Do what you can. And if that’s hopeless, maybe it would be good to run away
together like Liz said.
Ocean. The ocean, huh. Not bad.

“It’s all water so you won’t be able to run you know?”

“Eh-, you won’t know unless you try right?”

You should know even without trying. Please don’t transcend the laws of physics.

Liz was speaking in a light manner, as if talking about going on a trip.

“It seems like there are Shrines even at the bottom of the sea, I think it’d definitely
be pretty. We’d have to do something about the breathing problem though.
I wonder if going into the sky would be good too… It’s convenient living in the
Capital, but how many years have passed since we’ve been here-“

While returning ‘Uh-huh, yep’ as I listened, Liz’s expression suddenly became

severe.
The body that was sticking close to me was separated before I knew, both shopping
bags she had been holding fell to the ground with a thud.
At that time a few meters away my childhood friend was pinning a man to the
ground. His arms were pulled behind him and his back was tread on, perfectly
sealing his movement.
The opponent was a man with a moustache. He was about the same height as me.
He was featureless and gave a plain impression, and he wasn’t attired like a hunter.

The man let out a groan in pain. If I wasn’t looking to the side at that moment, I
wouldn’t even know when the man had been beaten and thrown down.

I was surprised for a moment, and then I rushed over. For a hunter to turn their
hand on an ordinary person was strictly forbidden. Even worse if the hunter was
one sidedly attacking.

Liz was a violent person, but these days she hadn’t been striking out at ordinary
people.
Just when you thought she had mellowed out, this happened.

“!? W-What are you doing, Liz-chan?”

Why, when you were just in such a good mood?

Seeing me turn pale, she turned her gaze towards the man at her feet. The arm she
was gripping creaked.
The people around us quickly left with their cheeks twitching. It was only a matter
of time before the force for public order arrived.

Liz gave a look of disgust, then stepped down on his head rubbing it into the
ground.
The man quickly stopped struggling and froze up.

“You, just now, Liz-chan and us, you were watching.”

…so what? Are you going to just attack everyone that meets your eyes?

In the first place, Liz stood out. If it was people looking, I understood it.
What’s the difference between other gazes and this guy?

The man attacked under such a miserable pretext groaned. I gripped Liz’s arm
from behind and pulled it away.

“Ok come on, lets separate from each other first.”

“…”

Liz separated.
While the man coughed violently, his body rolled over, and looked up at us with a
pale expression.

He didn’t have any scars on his face, and his body wasn’t trained like a hunter.
A commonplace regular build of a middle age man. He held no weapons, an
ordinary virtuous citizen. It was completely a crime.

The Capital favoured hunters, but it wasn’t sweet on them to the point it would
permit violence against ordinary people.

I offered out my hand, to help the man get back on his feet.

“E-Excuse us. This child, her emotions are unstable. You don’t have any injuries?”

“-…”

The man didn’t take my hand, and let out a small scream as he broke into a run.
…Looks like he didn’t suffer any injuries. Good, that’s good… that wasn’t good.

I didn’t know what her trigger was. It makes me anxious you know.
Liz scowled as she watched the man run away. What are you unhappy about?
What? What is it? What rubbed you the wrong way? You’ve been such a good girl
lately though?

Anyway lets get out of here before any people come. I faced her again.
Seeing me in a hurry Liz thought a little, and tilted her head to the side in
puzzlement.

“Hmm? Are you maybe………setting him free?”

What’s this kid saying. There was nothing to set free, because there was nothing
wrong.
So what was the harm to me? They were looking because you were wearing such a
conspicuous Relic.

“Liz, I need to do some scolding later.”

“…Geez-, you’re too good at acting! I didn’t notice at all… next time I’ll pay better
attention ok?”

Her good humour returned.

I said I would scold her, but she gripped my arm, and didn’t seem to reflect at all.

With Liz clinging to me in an extremely good mood, we briskly left the scene of the
crime.

You should pay attention so you don’t randomly attack people…

Before Liz trains Tino, I want her to learn from Tino some good sense .

§ § §

He ran with all his strength. Running to the limit his breathing allowed. No one
stood in front of the man to block him.

Zebrudia was like the mans backyard. Tourists and merchants travelled the main
streets, but he knew the back streets that ordinary civilians hated to go to.

But he had no extra time to think about that right now.

Keep escaping as if a small carnivorous beast was chasing you. That chilling gaze
was in his mind while he suffered from insufficient oxygen.

The man only stopped after running with all his power to the opposite side of a
gloomy building.

There were no pursuers.

If it was that girl then he should have been caught long ago.
No, he shouldn’t have been able to shake off her restrictions from the start.
The vice like force in those thin arms limited all of his movement, giving the
illusion that his whole body had been bound.

Weak sunlight shone through the cracks in the building, and shone on his hazy
vision.

“Haa, haa,…-….what, was that…”

Out of breath, he pressed down on his arms and withstood the uncontrollable
tremors.

He definitely hadn’t let out any signs in his behaviour.

His opponents were a level 8 and level 6 hunter. The man had been taking great
care.

The two had stood out a lot, and walked down streets with lots of pedestrians.
Even if he meant to cause harm, there was no way to distinguish between his gaze
and the others.

His appearance didn’t stand out, he wasn’t a hunter.

He conducted himself naturally, and it wasn’t like he had stared at them
abnormally.
He hadn’t held any murderous intentions, the purpose this time was just wait and
see.
He was always careful to keep in their blind spot and not come into view.

In fact, until he had been thrown to the ground, he really didn’t believe that his
shadowing would be discovered.

His arm that had been tightly restricted still ached in pain. He held it and got his
breathing back under control.

He wanted to think it was coincidence, but clearly 『Severed Shadow』 had

noticed his gaze.
What he needed to consider was why 『Infinite Variety』 had let him go.

He couldn’t imagine why you would let someone that was tailing you go free.
The main thing was if they were going to let him go, there was no point in
restraining him.
Apologetic words had been said, but it was obvious they weren’t genuine.

He hadn’t planned to give up any information if he was interrogated, but what

meaning was there in not even doing that much.

Was it ― a warning? Shit, how much did he know?

He didn’t let out his voice, he just grit his teeth.

There hadn’t been any information leaks. Their plans were perfect.
Even though the White Wolves Den had been enhanced, the abnormalities were
discovered much earlier than they should have been.
Even if it was invaded by misfortunate hunters, the shrines difficulty would still
rise. They wouldn’t be able to leave alive.
But in reality, it was difficult to continue the experiment because too many people
had gathered.

The cause hadn’t been found yet, but if the experiment continued on people would
begin to suspect.

The reputation of 『Strange Grief』 was well known. He had been cautious, and up
until now there was nothing so he had become complacent.
For someone to come and make a big move was unexpected.

Recalling the young man’s face as he apologised, his eyes widened and he began to
tremble.

The sun had set by the time the man recomposed himself.

The White Wolves Den was already a lost cause. It had been perfectly seen through.
They didn’t have enough people.
He needed to tell them that the plan must be modified.
No one watched as the man unsteadily walked away.

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Chapter 22 Chapter 26 Chapter 30

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redhare404 March 2, 2020 Uncategorized

 LN Translation
Learning through reading

Chapter 32
redhare404 March 3, 2020 Uncategorized

32 集合
Meeting

Her whole body was on fire.

At the same time as she woke up, her body flared up with pain all over.
As Tino turned over, she let out a small groan.
Being in a soft bed did nothing to ease the pain.
As she peeked out from her futon, the sight of her plain room rented near the clan
house came faintly into view.

『What you can’t do in training, you won’t be able to do in actual combat right?』

Her teacher’s pet saying.

The verge of death. Training to control the power only released when you break
through the limit between life and death.
Every time she received a lesson with that objective Tino went through a time of
hell.

From the first time she had actual combat training, there were no signs she was
getting used to it.

As Tino raised herself up she hid a scream behind a sour expression, and she got
out of bed.

Seen in the full length mirror in her room, the disheveled hairstyle, disorderly
clothes, and displeased face of a girl was reflected.

Most likely after she couldn’t move due to the fatigue and damage from almost
dying, her teacher had washed her and changed her dirty clothes before tossing her
into bed.
In the beginning not even that had been done and she had been left in the training
grounds as is.
Not being able to stand by and watch something he didn’t think was appropriate,
the master spoke up and the bare minimum became to be done.
It was quite a careless cleanup, but it was better than being left like that to be seen
by other clan members for who knows how many hours.

Tino’s limbs reflected in the mirror had no wounds. From the pyjamas that were
left widely exposed, white smooth skin showed through as if she didn’t make a
living through fighting.
Did she recover naturally while unconscious or was she soaked in potion before
being washed? Or did the teacher that was bad at going easy finally learn a
technique to knock her around without harming her on the surface?

Anyway, she was thankful that there were no visible wounds.

The remaining pain also wouldn’t take long to go away. This much was possible for
Tino who also absorbed Mana Material.

Although she was still exhausted she went to shower, and after dashing water over
herself without hesitation, her consciousness fully woke up.
The cold water brought her body full of heat to her senses.
She closed her eyes to the pleasant sensation of the dull aches being cooled, and
checked over her physical condition.

Body regulation was an essential skill for hunters. In particular, Tino’s teacher
would give training without thinking of her condition, so it became second nature
to pay attention.
Glittering water fell off her shoulders as she rubbed down her arms, and spoke to
herself in amazement.

“As expected of Onee-sama…there isn’t a single bruise…”

Originally the 『thief』 role would have low offensive ability. For Tino right now,
Liz’s blows were heavy to the point that she wasn’t safe even if she guarded.
It was better at least that she didn’t use weapons, but her thrusts and kicks were
cooly aimed towards the joints. If she reacted wrongly, they would become fatal
blows.
A few of her bones should have been broken. That there was no internal bleeding
was a mystery.

Her memory was clouded. There was a time during the training that she had closed
her eyes, because her consciousness was scattered here and there, she didn’t
remember much.
But she was probably successful. She must have managed to attack while expecting
to die.

Otherwise she wouldn’t have woken up alive like this.

There were many places in the Capital that you could learn fighting techniques.
There were more than a few where the teachers were retired master hunters. There
were even schools.
Most hunters level 3 or more had received some sort of systematic training.

But, did other hunters go through training like this?

Tasting the ground, throwing up blood, breaking bones, no matter how you saw it
– you could only seriously think that she was bathing in awful bloodlust-.

Tino being discipled to Liz Smart, was under her own will.

Tino hoped for it, and at first, Liz had rejected it.
Since she was someone without the free time to teach.
Now that Tino was Liz’s sole disciple, it was merely a consequence of good luck.
If at that time Master hadn’t coincidently been around to persuade, Tino probably
wouldn’t have become a hunter.

To be called strong. That year she had devoted herself, and had been praised.
Before she knew, making desperate efforts became ordinary.

It was harsh to the point of death, and it took on the name of torture, but Tino
didn’t plan to quit being a disciple.
She frequently became dispirited, but she would not lose her spirit. For now.
But, would she really be able to meet the target set by her teacher?

Caught on that doubt Tino’s shoulders quivered, and she turned off the shower
with a trembling hand.

Tidying her outfit, as always Tino headed towards the clan house.

Her home was rented because it was near the Clan House, within walking distance.
The Clan House was much taller than the surrounding buildings, so Tino could see
the top of it through her bedroom window.
Although it wasn’t possible with Tino’s visual acuity, according to her teacher from
Tino’s room you could see the top floor of 『Footprints』 – the clan masters room.

That was also one of the reasons Tino rented this room.
Among hunters some did not have a fixed home, some always lodging at an inn.
Tino didn’t have any plans to leave the Capital, so a rented house was convenient.

Tino was still only half a hunter. She was level 4 which made her at least midrank,
and she also explored shrines but she wasn’t recognised by Liz.
Tino barely left the Capital, and while Hunters were recommended to form parties,
she was still solo since she was still in training.
For Tino, her life was devoted to training.
Liz was her teacher as well as being a hunter. The fickle temperament and free
spirited nature of her 『Onee-sama』 meant that she didn’t actually have much
time to train her.
Casually going off somewhere without saying anything was a daily occurrence. That
was why when she knew her teacher was in the Capital, she tried to stay close to
her as much as she could.

An unusual amount of carriages were stopped in front of the clan house.

They were large carriages that anyone would be able to ride. Unlike the decorated
carriages owned by nobles, these were made of iron, they gave a tank kind of
impression.
Linked to them were robust horses specially bred to run through lands where
monsters and phantoms existed. They pawed at the ground in agitation.

Inside the clan house – dozens of hunters gathered in the lobby.

Could it be an expedition? The lobby that was usually spacious became cramped
from the amount of people gathered.

The jobs, outfits, and levels of the hunters were all varied, their only point in
common was that they belonged to this clan – 『Footprints』 and that was it.

They were all armed, and the hunters all together had the appearance as if they
were about to go off to war.

Tino frowned at the situation.

『Footprints』 had a large amount of Hunters belonging to it, putting it among the
biggest clans in the Capital.
But it was rare for such a large crowd of those hunters to assemble together in the
one place.
Primarily, the clan was organised to be be mutually beneficial. It didn’t restrict the
actions of the hunters that belonged to it.

Even the clan master who held the position of top convenience didn’t hold strong
authority.
Rules were different between clans, but in regards to 『First Step』, the clan
master did not have the power to issue orders to the hunters that belonged to it.
That could be said to be one of the reasons for 『Footprints』 growth.

Hunters in the clan were acquainted with Tino who had been with the clan since it
was founded.
She questioned a nearby swordsman hunter.

“What’s going on?”

“Hm…Ah-, Tino. You didn’t hear? Yesterday there was a summons. It seems like
there’ll be a joint operation with the Explorers to the 『White Wolves Den』.”

“…With this amount of people?”

Her eyes widened at the name of the shrine she had heard before, and looked
around the lobby once again.
The lobby was full of prominent members. Just counting the numbers, half of
Footprints had gathered.
There were many members out on expeditions, so the amount collected here must
be nearly all the remaining members in the Capital.

There should have been no authority to issue commands yet this many had
gathered, as expected of Master…
Even while having such a thought, her questions didn’t disappear.

Certainly the White Wolves Den was troublesome, but these were Footprints elite.
These members outranked Tino not just a little.
She had heard an investigation would be carried out, but this wasn’t on the scale of
an investigation.
With so many hunters mobilised, just how difficult was the outbreak exactly?

The boss had been disposed of. When Mana Material accumulated it would be
revived, but such a powerful phantom wouldn’t occur so frequently.

At Tino’s quizzical expression, the male hunter spoke candidly while lowering his
voice.

“Just between you and me… the Master said that he was going to send out Ark-san
at first.”

“…Eh?”

What was he saying, this guy…?

As if Tino had forgotten how to blink she stared at his face, but there was no sign
he was joking.

The man saw her expression and his lips curved into a smile as if to say ‘that’s
exactly what I had thought’.

“Ku ku ku, seems like a joke doesn’t it? Something like asking the top hunter in the
clan to capture a shrine that’s only level 3.”

“…”

“But, at the moment Ark’s away. The ones gathered here… are his substitute.”
At his words, Tino realised why the assembled hunters seemed to be on edge.

Since they belonged to the same clan there wouldn’t be any disputes, but their
expressions despite being safe inside the Capital gave the same sense of tension as
if they were exploring a shrine.

Ark Rodin. That was the most famous hunter in the Capital.
A man that had received the blessings of all the gods in heaven, born with the
status of a promised hero.

An all rounded hunter that had knowledge of all magic and was a master of
techniques. When he brandished his sword it was like the flash of ten thousand
lightning strikes as if to tear the world asunder.
The most perfected hunter, the man said to be the star of the next generation.
There were extreme devotees in the upper stratum of the Empire, along with inside
Footprints itself.
He was also the rival of her teacher and her companions.

Originally, if it was for the investigation for a level 3 shrine, he wasn’t a man that
would move for that.

There was an appropriate order to things.

The Explorers Association recommended that hunters explored shrines that
matched up adequately.
If high level hunters laid waste to low level shrines, killing all the Phantoms and
snatching all the Relics, low level hunters would go into poverty.

There was also the potential for high level hunters to become unable to act in a
time of emergency.

Naturally though, there was no way that the Master didn’t already know all this.

In other words, it meant that in that Shrine there were abnormalities that required
Ark Rodin to move.

Tino who wasn’t a god, couldn’t imagine what would occur. But had Tino been in
the same position as those hunters, she would have written her will with the same
stern expression that they were wearing.

At least, the Phantoms wouldn’t be any less than the ones Tino had encountered.

No, if she met Onee-sama right now, there was a possibility that she might throw
her into this.

“…With the small amount of people here, will you be able to manage?”
“Oioi, don’t look down on us. At least, that’s what I’d like to say…”

Shaking off his uneasiness, the swordsman scratched his jaw at Tino’s question.

Ark Rodin was without a shred of doubt, one of the strongest hunters in the
Capital.

Sword and sorcery. You can become a top-notch hunter by mastering one or the
other, but the man called the hero had combined the two to an extremely high
level.
That power was to the degree that it was recognised by Tino’s teacher with the
strongest pride in her own ability.
If the other members of his party – 『ArchBrave』 held about 70% of his power,
they might hold the seat of the strongest party in the young generation.

There were a lot of individual differences between treasure hunters. Even with a
large amount of people, there was a limit to their ability to substitute.
But, the hunter showed a smile while his cheek was twitching. He showed strong
fighting spirit, with just a little fear.

“Well, we’ll work it out somehow. There are other parties coming outside of
『Footprints』.”

At that point, it became noisy.

All eyes focused on the young man coming down the stairs.
『Infinite Variety』.
The man at the top of Footprints, with the power to see through all things.
Next to him the opposite was occuring, the right hand to the focal point standing
up straight, the deputy Master checked over each person assembled with sharp
eyes.

In an instant the noise stopped. Everyone waited for the Masters words.

Unlike the time he came to assist at the shrine, the casual appearance of the Master
was at odds with the hunters full of tension and armed to the teeth.

“Hmm? Huh? What’s this? What’s wrong, gathering like this? Was there a festival
going on?”

“Cry-san, this is concerning the matter you talked about with Gark-san.”

“Ah-, that huh. But there’s so many.”

“Cry-san wanted to make the request to Ark-san, but since Ark-san is away… they
were summoned as his substitute. By my calculations this should be enough
gathered strength.”

Cry’s eyes opened wide at Eva’s words.

Among ordinary people, many made huge misunderstandings about the ability of
hunters.
‘Since they were both people it would be fine if they were cautious’, in this way
there was a fixed rate of ordinary people that didn’t return from shrines every year.
Their sweetened perception invited disaster.

Eva wasn’t a hunter, but outside of the master she held the most amount of
knowledge about the hunters in the clan.
The fact that no one had made a complaint, was an indication that her calculations
were accurate.

Everyone was satisfied with the amount of people, but the Master made an
indescribable expression.

“Eh!? ……Ah, yep. Uh-huh yep, that’s right. Is that so, like this huh…”

“!? …If there’s something, a place I’ve made an error, please let me know.”

The place became quiet. Ark was the clans strongest solo unit of force.
There was no person in the clan unaware of that power.
The only people that argued over who was the strongest were the members of
『Strange Grief』.

To the gathering that raised no objections, the Master tilted his head to the side as
he gazed out at them and then made a smile that stabbed at their self confidence.

“Hmm…with just the elite, can’t we go with half this amount?”

Translator notes

Some of you may have noticed the use of ‘tank’ as a comparison. It’s not an anachronism (like if
Naruto mentioned his new yeezies).
That tanks exist in the world either tells you about their level of technological progress, or that they
exist as part of the worlds memory.

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 LN Translation
Learning through reading

Chapter 33
redhare404 March 5, 2020 Uncategorized

33 論争
Dispute

“No way… half!? Impossible!”

“It’s a situation calling for that Ark isn’t it!? When in the first place we were at a
number where we would only just get by!?”

What has happened here?

To the uproar in front of me, I couldn’t hide my bewilderment.

Eva was looking at me with dumbfounded eyes.

At the members that had started a tumultuous loud dispute, I observed the
situation without saying anything.

No…was there something odd about what I said?

While it was patting ourselves on the back a bit, 『Footprints』 was one of the top
class clans in the Capital. In fact, compared to the average, our ability was much
higher.

Originally there were two purposes in creating the clan.

The first ― was to withdraw from the front under the pretext of clan management.
And the second ― was to strengthen the interaction with other parties, and to
refine the sociability of the members of 『Strange Grief』.

One thing about having too much talent, was that it was lonely. Outstanding talent
keeps the merely talented at a distance.
In the case of 『Strange Grief』, all the members except me were blessed with
unparalleled talent, so they weren’t alone.
But it was for this reason that exchanges with other parties became delayed, that’s
what I had felt back then.
Therefore, when 『Footprints』 was created, the founding parties had been
selected based off of their talent and age.
If they were close in age and their talent was at least as good as Luke and the rest,
they would probably accept them.
Through interaction, the members of 『Strange Grief』 (mainly Luke and Liz)
could raise their sociability to a large degree. And ultimately, in place of me that
was holding everyone back, a member could be added from the outside.

I held faint expectations, and we approached every party with names that
reverberated throughout the Capital in those days.

With all members holding abilities in recovery, and capturing high difficulty shines
with the lowest amounts of casualties, 『Iron Cross』.
Multiple Magi specialising in attack magic, and unrivalled in regard to their ability
in wide area annihilation, 『Starlight』.
Rigorous discipline and systematic training, with more than ten members holding
high ability, 『Torch Knights』.

And above all, considered to 『Strange Grief』 as rivals, 『Arch Brave』.

Astonishingly the negotiations went smoothly. The other members apart from me
approved of my thoughts, and each member agreed to negotiate with a party they
had a high opinion of.
We still haven’t perfectly achieved my original purposes yet, but the outcome was
excellent. I was able to depart from the front, and Liz-chan and Luke were also…
better off than if the clan hadn’t been created.

Getting back on track, each founding member of the clan was distinguished, which
started the clan off with fanfare. It was natural that the hunters in this clan were
superior.

I think it was probably motivating. However for the next parties after that, we
added suitable ones regardless of ability.
Footprints still preserved it’s elite reputation, and it was judged as a clan still in the
middle of it’s growth.

The members assembled here now shouldn’t be making such an uproar.

Ark was exceptionally strong but I chose him because he was the most reassuring,
and also the easiest to ask. Not that I thought he was absolutely necessary.

Unpleasant to think of calmly, a situation that absolutely required Ark would be

way too crazy. What would that even be?

I looked to Eva who had gathered this many hunters in such a short time.
In the first place, I had told Gark-san I would give complete cooperation with a
meaning full of empty politeness, but this was seriously overdoing it. You really
gathered a lot didn’t you…

Well, I already knew Eva was excellent a long time ago, but I had one thing making
me uneasy.

To mobilise hunters it took money. Who was going to put out the cost…
I was the one that said we would give complete cooperation. That’s why I said to go
with just half.

Eva caught my gaze, and with an earnest expression and with a nod, she spoke in a
voice that echoed throughout the entrance.

“Everyone, quiet down, Cry-san has something to say.”

At her voice, all members immediately stopped their discussions, and looked this
way.
At their painfully silent gazes, I cleared my throat once to gloss over things.

Really… Cry-san has something to say? …Which Cry-san is that?

No, isn’t it fine? It should be fine.

While I was wondering what to say, my inner thoughts were in turmoil so I bluffed
with a smile.

“Now now, calm down, everyone. If you think calmly, the shrine in this case was
originally level 3. So there’s no need to worry.”

“That’s a lie!”

The one that shouted out first was a Magi hunter in a black robe.
A hunter much stronger than me was glaring at me with a horrified expression.

It wasn’t a lie ok. I wouldn’t tell lies. I don’t tell them ok.

“To begin with, branch chief Gark will also be mobilising other parties. It’s not
solely our problem. Certainly, at the moment the White Wolves Den is more
dangerous than usual. It’s not like I don’t understand your concern…”

Generally it shouldn’t be a deeply held desire to trample down Shrines with

absolute firepower. Because they were what you might call, adventurers.
To my logical persuasion, for some reason everyone’s expressions were unchanged.
They truly held no faith at all.
The look in Tino’s eyes was also extremely cold. Well, she had a previous offence at
the White Wolves Den just the other day so it couldn’t be helped…

Was there a strange thing in what I said…?

I looked back out at the hunters with my head tilted in confusion, but my eyes
strayed away.

I had been out of the hunter trade for quite a while. Did my way of thinking become
rose coloured?

When you receive that much extra rejection, you start to feel like you might have
made a mistake somewhere.
I didn’t hold that much confidence in myself from the start.

I asked a quick question to Eva next to me.

“What do you think?”

“…The situation is the situation this time. Isn’t it better to have room for extra
allowances?”

“…Right…”

Apparently, Eva also seemed to agree with the others.

I gave the surrounding members a look over.

Looking carefully there were a lot, but not many of the top tier were here. Of course
Ark that been called on by the nobles wasn’t, but also parties like Iron and Starlight
were missing.
Well, our top tier were quite busy, so it wasn’t that strange.

But even so, I still thought they had an excessive amount of power.
With this many fully motivated hunters heading to the White Wolves Den, there
wouldn’t even be weeds left when they were finished.

“Right, what if some parties were left out, how about that?”

Even leaving out the issue of rewards, if all the parties of Footprints were gone,
who would I rely on if something were to happen?
Of course, I couldn’t say a shameful thing like that even if I wanted to.

To my careless manner, one hunter breathed roughly through his nostrils as he

raised a protest.
“Master, no one here asked for any more added than this! It wasn’t a problem you
know?”

“Right…”

“The first thing, is that we’re part of the same clan but we belong to different
parties. We will work together, but we aren’t obligated to obey your orders. Or else,
if there’s a dire reason you need to reduce the amount, then tell us!”

“Right… that’s a reasonable opinion.”

Behind him several hunters nodded in agreement. You guys really don’t want the
amount to be reduced.
You’re always so daring and brave, what’s there to be so scared about…

But, really…

This time I had told Gark-san I would cooperate, but it wasn’t saying we would
volunteer.
Well since the motto of our guild was freedom, the entrustment of requests was left
to each persons own judgement, the clan masters role was handling the pay
accordingly.

“Eva, can everyone here be rewarded properly? The other sides budget isn’t
infinite. I don’t think they could afford this many could they?”

The request was originally commissioned by the Empire. The budget was decided
by the degree of difficulty hypothesised from the investigation results.
This time the shrine had a major abnormality, but I didn’t think it was to the point
of hiring half of 『Footprints』.

As I was still unable to let it go, Eva replied with a prim look.

“It seems like it won’t be a problem. Branch chief Gark is drawing a supplemental
budget from the country. I can confirm that it is adequate.”

“Seriously? To swing enough budget to hire this many high level hunters… that’s
amazing.”

The Empire wasn’t stingy, but there needed to be some basis to increase the
estimated budget.

Which would mean… the hunters that first investigated found something?

They didn’t seem to know anything when they came to talk with me, but there was
the chance that they discovered something new while I was on the date with Liz.
And, because of that cause for concern, our elite were nervous about a decrease in
personnel.
Yep, that’s most likely.

I felt like the puzzle pieces had finally fit together.

So those in my vicinity wouldn’t notice, I breathed a short sigh of relief.

It was good that our members weren’t people that would just accept my words
without question. I nearly made the same mistake as I did with Tino.

But if they had found out new information, then I wish they would tell me about it
beforehand.
Well even if I did know, it wasn’t as if I could do anything about it.

When I looked at Eva to confirm, as usual her glasses shined as she nodded.

“Yes. Apparently it seems that branch chief Gark used the information he obtained
from Cry-san as the justification.”

“Oh-“

??? I don’t understand what you’re saying at all.

I didn’t know what I could possibly say, so I tried to give a dignified nod in
agreement.
Is there another Cry-san inside the city? Like an incredible store of intelligence… if
a person like that existed, then by all means share them.

Did I give out such important information?

Frowning, I tilted my head in contemplation.

I didn’t know. I had said I’d cooperate.

I just said that if Ark was here then I’d send him, but he wasn’t here.

I didn’t say anything concrete, exactly how was it presented to become basis
enough to convince the country…?

Ah-, it would have been better if I didn’t say I would cooperate.

I didn’t have any obligation to do so separately, I should’ve just said that I was busy
with a separate matter so I couldn’t do anything.

There’s no use crying about something that was already said.

…Ah-, I want to throw up. With things like this will it be my fault if nothing ended
up happening?
Pressing down on my forehead, I fell into self-loathing.
Why was my mouth like this, flapping so easily? It became like this because I spoke
so carelessly… Well, I think there was also a problem with Kaina-san and the
others that interpreted my words in a strange way.

Now then what’s to be done… the amount that’s accomplished should correspond
to the budget. My sole high level skill I had pride in of kneeling down to apologise
wouldn’t be accepted here.

In front of me, the eyes of the gathered members pierced into me.
Everyone had grave looks. As I didn’t have to bargain down the expense, there was
no reason to reduce the hunters.
Even if the number of our members joining was reduced, other hunters would be
hired to fill in the budget anyway.

Hmm……am I stuck?

Being on the receiving end of everyones eyes made me let out a groan, and without
being able to come up with anything I gave up.

“……Well, fine.”

“Eh!?”

I didn’t even say anything. I didn’t mean for this to become so serious.
I just said we would cooperate. Gark-san was the one that decided to increase the
budget.

If the Empire’s side said something, Gark-san would probably do something to deal
with it. No matter what they said I would use my other high level skill and ignore
them while looking the other way.

“Eh…it’s fine, you say? Master? Everyone can really go?”

“Well, if you all say you want to like that, I don’t have the right to stop you.”

Do whatever you like. Whatever.

To me who was already in give up mode, the assembled members had the subtle
expression as if they had been thrown to the floor.
Don’t come complaining if the difficulty is lower than expected.
I said you should go with less. Since I said so.

Then, from behind I heard a voice that I didn’t want to hear right now.
The expressions of the lined up hunters became stiff.
Without the sound of footsteps a soft feeling clung onto my back, and slender arms
crossed in front of my body.

“You endlessly say worthless things, if you want to flock together so much, why
don’t you just quit being hunters?”

“Liz, shouldn’t you stop saying things that could be misunderstood as you making
light of people?”

After the date, she seemed to be in a really good mood today.

Tino automatically moved behind a hunter with a large build to hide herself.
I couldn’t see her expression since she was behind someone, but undoubtedly she
had to be laughing at Liz from just now.

“Misunderstood that I was making light of them? I was making light of them
though. I didn’t even yell. That’s because that’s just the way it is right?”

In a syrupy tone, she spoke to admonish all the hunters here.

She didn’t yell, but the feeling of intimidation was no less than usual.

“It’s true that Cry-chan’s demands are always hopelessly high, but hunters that are
afraid of death can’t do anything. That’s why I – would never refuse.”

And I heard words that I absolutely couldn’t ignore.

…Eh? Wait a moment…hopelessly, high? Seriously?

Liz was someone that did things without thinking, but she was an elite hunter.
Something hopelessly high from her judgement, meant that my own judgement
was fundamentally mistaken.

“…It’s not high.”

I gave an objection in a small muttered voice. The hugging arms increased their
strength a little.

“That’s because… 『Severed Shadow』, you’re strong.”

To one hunters rebuttal, Liz let out a short chuckle.

“Cry-chan’s exasperation, I also understand it… It’s why, no matter how much time
passes, you never move forward. Hey, do you want that kind of comfort?”

Exasperation? No, I wasn’t exasperated though? When was I exasperated?

I was satisfied with the current state of 『Footprints』. I was thinking that if they
were so afraid, then I might have to agree with Liz’s judgement that my demands
were hopelessly high.

Rather it’s a good thing to be cautious. I decided not to stop the hunters that simply
didn’t want to die.

“Well, it’s fine. It doesn’t really matter to me… rather, I should be thankful to them
for refusing.”

And, while still being on the receiving end of everybody’s gaze, Liz spoke to me in a
spoiled voice.

“Hey, Cry-chan? Can you let me and Tee take this request? Isn’t it ok? The
phantoms of the White Wolves Den are perfect for training, they’re just right. The
others don’t need to come.”

“Eh….!?”

The elite that were familiar with these things became noisy.
Tino let out a scream of fright. Tino, haven’t you had bad luck these days?

Liz was writing letters on my chest with her hands while she continued.

“That’s right. Really if it’s something that needed Ark-chan, then Tino is going to be
put into danger, but I want that all the more. Anthem-nii also isn’t here, there’s no
healer, our limbs might go missing, and it can’t be helped if a few internal organs
come out, Cry-chan you have one don’t you? A high elixer. Hey? Please.”

The voice whispering close to my ear was sweet and warm.

This child, she planned to keep fighting even if her limbs were torn off…

Tino was shaking like a frightened puppy. I smiled and spoke clearly.

“Nope.”

“Ehhh, whyy?”

How should I say it, you, really can’t act together in a group.
It’s rejected ok. Rejected. Even without us there were other groups going to the
White Wolves Den, so I could’t send just you.
It’s not about being strong. The sociability that Liz had gained was at the most the
ability to half kill instead of murder, she was probably more terrifying than the
Phantoms.
I wasn’t going this time either.
And besides, no matter how you saw it… Tino was too pitiful.

As Liz raised her voice in complaint I stroked her arm to soothe her, and I made a
serious expression.

“Sorry but, just now, the situation has changed. I was saying to reduce the
numbers, but I’m withdrawing that. As Eva chose, we’ll go with everyone here.”

“….!?”

“Be careful not to be careless just because it’s a shrine with a lower level.”

From me swiftly going back on my words, everyone looked at each other in

bewilderment. For some reason a few of them were shaking with clattering teeth.

Now then, after this I’ll get Liz to tell me what she saw that was so 『hopelessly
bad』 about this request.

Translator Notes

Starlight was mentioned in an early chapter, but was only given the Kanji (Stars Sacred Lightning).

The Kanji for high elixer was divine medicine of creation.

 LN Translation
Learning through reading

Chapter 34
redhare404 March 7, 2020 Uncategorized

34 無能
Incompetence

Everyone formed a line going outside. The typical anticipation and exhilaration
before a hunter set off on an adventure was nowhere to be seen.
What floated in the air was a sense of tension as if they were heading off to certain
death. Even though I had said I’d concede to their demands.

Tino approached the end of the line, and saw them off with an expression of relief.
Liz rotated around in front of me and spoke displeasingly.

“Hey. Why did you say no? Why? It’s something Ark-chan has to come out for
right? I want to go. Hey! Cry-chan, please. Ok?”

She spoke with a flattering voice.

Liz acknowledges Ark. The all purpose magic swordsman Ark Rodin seemed to be a
considerably tricky opponent even for 『Severed Shadow』.
Those blazing pink irises glittered at the hint of a cruel battle. This child was
hopeless, she only used a portion of her brain.

What was important was what she mentioned before, the 『high elixer』. That was
a transcendently high class product that came from shrines.
Strange Grief had only ever brought back one of them, and while I wouldn’t
hesitate to use it when it was important, if it was used it would be a huge loss.

As Liz gripped my arms and started to pull on them like a spoiled child, I breathed
out a sigh.

“No, because you, you don’t have the spirit of cooperation.”

“Eh- …it’ll be fine. Since everyone will go along with me.”

That’s not a cooperative spirit.
In the back, Tino’s face was ghastly pale as she peeked over watching Liz. I pinched
Liz’s cheek in front of me.

Liz looked up at me in puzzlement. I continued pinching her cheek.

Even though it should be reinforced by Mana Material, her skin was soft without a
single flaw.
Mana Material truly is a mysterious substance.

“To start with, you’ve only just returned from the last hunt. It would be better if
you have a little rest.”

If you just stay here quietly everyone will be happy. Of course I’ll be happy as well.
At my words Liz showed a sparkling smiling face. Can you always show that
expression?

“Kya-, Cry-chan’s soo nice! It’s ok though. Right, Tee?”

“Y-Yes! It’s ok, Onee-sama. …Master.”

“There, see?”

Tino nodded desperately while her face clearly turned paler.

No matter how you looked at it, she only seemed as if she was being threatened.

I had known Liz for a long time. Basically, we’ve had a relationship since we first
became aware of thought. That’s why, somehow I could tell what she was thinking.

Liz’s eyes looked like she had come up with something mischievous.
You, you’re planning to go in secret. That’s no good.

It wasn’t exactly that the high elixer was too precious. It’s just, while the other
parties were in the middle of cautiously progressing, the image of her plunging
through the shrine like she owned the place and kicking everyone else around came
to mind.

Reluctantly I put my arm around Liz’s shoulder. As if I was talking about

something secret, I persuaded her.

“Now now, settle down, Liz. For Liz… that’s right, there’s something else you need
to do…”

“…Eh? Is that how it is? Well….then it can’t be helped.”

Liz blinked while letting out a disappointed voice. There, now with this she won’t
go outside arbitrarily.
Knowing her for so long also meant that I knew somewhat how to handle her. This
clan had Ark that was recognised by everyone inside it, but that I was still made the
clan master may have something to do with this area.

While giving me a sidelong glance, Liz parted her lips slightly.

“Mmm, then just Tee should go on her own? The Phantoms have all different types
of weapons, it’s perfect for training…”

Oi oi, that’s not good.

This time the members of Footprints would also be there, so she probably wouldn’t
go through such a bitter experience again. But it looked like Tino’s affinity with the
White Wolves Den was bad.
From the start, Tino was solo so she didn’t match up well with these sorts of
missions, and the ability of the Phantoms that came out was a bit high.

Liz, you may not know this but… with shrines you make sure there is a sufficient
safety margin.

After the previous matter, if I sent her back to the White Wolves Den wouldn’t I
just be a brute of a Master?

I… want to look good. Not mentioning that the other person is my junior, it’s even
more when she’s a young girl.

“Nope.”

“Ehhh”

“With this we’re finished talking about it.”

“Ehhh….”

Liz-chan was still displeased as I took away my arm from her shoulders and raised
my face up.
Over there was a hunter… a young man named Lyle was approaching.

He wasn’t a member from the early days, but he was a veteran. He was slightly
taller than me, and the dull metal armour he was well accustomed to wearing
inexplicably gave off a shine.

Since he was close in age, he was a hunter I was on good terms with.
He recently reached level 5, and I recall really letting loose at the tavern at the time.

“Cry, this request….is it….really going to be ok?”

At a separate spot a short distance away, other hunters were cautiously looking
over this way. Apparently this guy drew the short straw.

But, if you asked me something like that I was going to be troubled. I also didn’t
know much information about the mission.
It’s likely I could know even less than Lyle and the others.

But…yeah. I’m the Master. Since I’m the Master I need to conduct myself
accordingly.
I should encourage my companions with thumbs up.

“Don’t worry, it may be a difficult mission, but I believe that if it’s 『Footprints』
they will succeed every time without fail!”

“….”

….Hm? How strange.

I thought the flow would have been cheers and war cries, but what came back was
silence.
The hunters in the back, and Lyle himself were wearing indescribable expressions.
And Lyle responded as if shrinking back.

“Oh…is that…so? If you can… as the clan master, and a level 8 hunter, could you
tell me the most important things to watch out for?”

“Most important things…?”

He came out with something difficult again. I turned my eyes to Eva, who had been
driven away by Liz to a place a little further off, and without saying anything she
gave me a nod.

Apparently I couldn’t get anything across through eye contact.

Important things. Important things, huh. The important things involved in

exploring shrines went without saying to first rate hunters.

Take care with Phantoms. Don’t have internal discord. The thief should go first to
check for traps. Avoid being solo as much as possible. They would be troubled by
that kind of advice.

But if there was one other important thing… it was that.

I frowned and let out a groan, but raised my head and sighed.

“I don’t know whether or not it will come out, but if there’s a slime kind of guy you
should be careful.”
Well, this should be suitable as an important thing. Really, where had Sytry’s slime
gone?

Lyle listened to my words, then looked at me as if I was a madman. How impolite,

this guy.

“A Slime!? In the White Wolves Den something like a slime shouldn’t come out
though?”

Usually shrines had phantoms. If a monster entered from the outside, in most
cases the spontaneously occurring Phantoms would kill it. So there weren’t a lot of
occasions to see a monster inside a shrine.
If the one that was said to come out was the weakest monster, the slime, then that’s
the reaction you would expect.

“That’s why I said I didn’t know whether or not it would come out right.”

“…No, I’m not saying I doubt you, but, look. I asked you one thing, but how come
you started talking about a slime?”

I didn’t answer and smiled at him.

Hearing our conversation, the hunters in the back immediately started talking
about countermeasures for slimes. You guys aren’t very upfront…

“Ah, probably, if it comes out it won’t be an ordinary slime so be careful ok?”

“Ehh!? Not an ordinary slime? What do you mean?”

I don’t know.
It has the same name as slime, and I think the weak points will be the same as a
slime, but since Sytry is meticulous…

As Lyle was thrown into confusion a second time, I gave him a smile while within
my mind I knelt down and apologised.

§ § §

The room was spacious and well lit, it wasn’t what you would expect from an
underground basement.

The well ordered desks were covered in cluttered documents.

Alongside the wall were bookshelves tightly packed with thick books. The cold air
had a pungent odour that assailed the senses.
On racks were countless bottles of chemicals lined up systematically.
On a wide table there were reports crammed with notes written in strange
characters different to the language used in the Empire.
At the center of the room was an inverted cone of glass pipes, a strange apparatus
that was producing noise.
The ends of the glass ran into the ground, sometimes producing small vibrations.
As if it was beating.

At a nearby desk, a man wearing a green robe observed and breathed out a sigh.
The mans age was verging on the elderly. He had winkled skin and hair that was
over half white.
But his actions proved his liveliness.

Those eyes in particular possessed hidden dark energy.

To the trained eye his green robe and the silver staff placed beside him were items
hard to obtain even for Magi treasure hunters.
The mana in his body was dramatically high, and defensive ability was his strong
point.
Outside of shrines, his equipment was of the highest grade.

From the ceiling above muffled footsteps could be heard. The sound of hunters
passing by.
Originally the sound of footsteps should have been almost inaudible, but the
surveillance magic set up when the room was constructed communicated the
unusual state of the shrine.

“They’re here now as well, huh…”

While looking up at the ceiling, the man muttered, not seeming overly
disappointed.

He knew this had been coming.

The great work the man had been trying to accomplish over several years wouldn’t
be concealed forever.
No matter how unpopular of a shrine the White Wolves Den was, hunters would
eventually come.

Things would have to proceed slightly faster.

With Rodolph’s invasion, signs of success were at last within sight and the sponsors
were excited with the results.
With a little more time, the makeshift rescuers wouldn’t have survived.

It was upsetting to throw away the 『laboratory』 that had been set up with great
pains, but it wasn’t as if this was the only 『laboratory』. There were others in
reserve.
Anger disturbed the thought process. Composure must always be retained.

He recalled the report that came from the Capital, and talked to himself while
stroking his moustache.
“『Infinite Variety』, huh… a bothersome man. Why do these hunters always
stand in my way?”

The man was once a Magi that could boast of having high reputation, treasure
hunters were simply a target of scorn.

Putting their own lives at risk, sneaking into shrines and stealing the produce, they
were an existence close to grave robbers.
Coarse and uncivilised, with no respect for knowledge or history. Scoundrels that
acted as if the mysterious force of Mana Material was their own power.

But – the present situation was slightly different.

While grasping his staff, the Magi’s lips curved into a sneer.
A laboratory built beneath a shrine. After being immersed in research for several
years, the mysterious force could be used to greatly increase the power of a Magi.
And, that force had greatly altered the Magi’s understanding.

Mana Material. An unknown force that no one knew how to control yet.
It could be understood as a powerful force from seeing the hunters that received
the highest benefits swaggering around as if they were important.

After just a few years of basking in it, the man gained several times the power he
had gained previously over decades.
If that was the case, how powerful was a 『Level 8』 of which there were only a
handful of hunters?

There was no scorn. But there was also no excess valuation.

“…there should be no problems in withdrawing from this place but…hmmm…”

The Magi looked up at a place in the ceiling – where a specific passage of the White
Wolves Den should be.
Currently there were about twenty people that had arrived to investigate the White
Wolves Den.
At this time they should be looking into what the cause was that raised the shrines
level, and to examine the 『origin』 that they shouldn’t be able to find.

Unless a particular accident occurred, the likelihood of more personnel arriving

was low.

If the man just left like this, over time the White Wolves Den would return to
normal.
If it was like that ― it would be too boring.

“If I’m evacuating anyway, I may as well do a final experiment…”

Pulling out a desk drawer, he took out a single phial.
Within it was an ink black liquid that differed to any existing potion.

What the man was looking at – was a taboo article created by chance by his
disciple.

An experiment in manipulating Mana Material.

A by product of several years of research, a potion to make Mana Material run wild.

Up until now it had been too dangerous to use, but there was no hesitation now
that he was evacuating.

The phial was set with a specially made syringe to pierce into the thick fur of the
Phantoms that appeared in the White Wolves Den.

If this was revealed to the surface, even if though it was created by chance – his
disciple would probably gain fame comparable to the man’s own.
Of course, manipulating Mana Material was taboo in any country, so it would only
be within the worlds underbelly.

“Ku ku ku…Sofia, you won’t be able to see the results, you’re going to regret it…”

Murmuring the name of his top disciple, the Magi stood up holding his staff.

Even under normal circumstances, the level of the shrine had sprung up.
With a further enhancement, twenty hunters of slightly higher level would be
nothing special.

Translator Notes

An interesting tidbit – phial and vial are words for the same thing, but phial hasn’t been used for a
century for whatever reason. The original said ampoule, which I can’t recall seeing before so I was
hesitant to use it, though it seems used in cosmetics. Serum may be another translation.

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 LN Translation
Learning through reading

Chapter 35
redhare404 March 7, 2020 Uncategorized

35 撤退
Evacuation

“Branch Chief, are you really going?”

At Kaina-san who’s eyes were curved up in worry, Gark Welter let out a snort.

His appearance wasn’t his usual when working at the Explorers Association
Zebrudia Branch.

So that his arms and legs could move freely, he wore crimson armour covering only
the vital areas, and on his head was a helm adorned with thorns.
Around his waist were all kinds of tools and potions for times of emergency, as well
as a machete that had uses outside of battle. From his time as a hunter, he still had
a lot of equipment remaining.

His armour and helm had numerous small chips and scratches; it could be
understood that the equipment had gone through countless battlefields.

However, most eye catching of all was the tall halberd clutched in his right hand.

It was a strange halberd coloured black and tinged with blue.

Compared to the pointed tip, the axe portion was much larger. From looking at it
you could assume it was made for mowing down enemies.

In the past, even before the 『ultra life seed』 that was said to have experienced
everything in history, there were those that loved blacksmithing and fighting.
Those people refined their smithing within their lifetimes, and devised a technique
to work mana into metal.
They were also skilled warriors that loved war, and so created a lot of unique
equipment. They were said to have retreated from calamities many times and were
prosperous for a long period.
After an eternity of time, traces of such a civilisation were mostly nonexistent.
The technique of refining special metals which was the backbone of the civilisation,
was lost.
Many Magi and master blacksmiths have attempted to reproduce it, but haven’t
found any clues to the technique.

――However, this item was different.

In the present time, there are many weapon type Relics found in Shrines. They
were said to be recreations of what was created in the era of that civilisation of
advanced magical weaponry.

A large sword that can manipulate flame. A sword that never bends or breaks. A
lance that can cut through the air several meters ahead of it.
Even now they were a threat – surpassing the strength of average metal and cutting
through monsters and phantoms with ease, a legacy from ancient times.

The use of a Relic required a long period of training. That’s why hunters did not
carry many Relics.
However, with the limited Relics they had, hunters often chose weapons from that
era as a partner they could bet their life with.

Gark’s halberd was also one of these Relics.

It was a partner that was with Gark until he ended his time as a Level 7 hunter.

Clad in intense cold, a halbert that froze over the internals of those it cut 『Blizzard
War Fang』.

There were many that approached him to sell it when he retired, but in the end he
couldn’t let it go.
He gripped it for the first time in a while, a cold sensation was passed into his palm
from the grip, and Gark’s expression stiffened.

A good mood could be felt from that sullen expression, and Kaina breathed a deep
sigh.

“Branch chief, you, you’re not a hunter anymore you know? You understand that
right?”

“I know. I’m not going to do anything unreasonable.”

“This shouldn’t be a problem since we have the full cooperation of 『First Step』.
『Iron Cross』 has also already gone ahead of them… for Gark-san to go as well
is….”
“…Tch”

At the disapproving words of the assistant branch chief, Gark clicked his tongue
and made a slight movement.
The tip of the halbert brushed against the ceiling, and frost began to fall. With his
weapons and armour his equipment weighed over 100 kilograms, Gark’s usual
countenance was unchanged.

“Liz finished things while looking down on me! My power has dropped, but I’m still
not planning on being defeated by todays hunters. I have experience!”

“…That’s, just like a kid…”

Gark looked away from the small voice that was leaked out. Originally Gark was a
Level 7 hunter. There weren’t very many hunters that looked down on Gark that
held the second name 『War Ogre』.
It seemed that being looked down on to the extent that Liz had was intolerable.

He spoke to the head shorter Kaina as if giving an excuse.

“That’s, the matter this time has the smell of conflict. It would be quicker to
respond if I was there in person. …This may also be partly a performance.”

In the middle of things, he forcibly applied for an increased budget.

Without any concrete information, it passed through with the influence of a level 8
hunter. Gark’s name was also well known within the upper reaches of the Empire.
Was it really necessary to employ hunters to this extent?
The origin of the request, and the ones responsible for shrines under management
of the Empire, the 『House of Remnant Investigations』 was also looking on with
suspicion. If he made a move himself it was easier for the other side to agree.

Kaina held her forehead and breathed a deep sigh. It can’t be stopped. There’s no
stopping him.
Although the branch chief had retired, he was still a hunter.

“Since you’ll be leaving you’re work behind, when you return you’ll be doing
overtime for a while.”

“………You don’t mind also taking care of it?”

“No thank you.”

At Kaina’s words, this time it was Gark’s turn to breathe out a sigh.

§ § §
Within the narrow cave, the sounds of clashing weapons echoed.
The noise of distant howling and something collapsing.
The White Wolves Den which had been unpopular until immediately following the
request, had now amassed an unprecedented amount of hunters.

One of the founding parties of 『Footprints』. 『Iron Cross』 was also one of
these parties.

There were six members. The average certified level was 5.

Among them was their leader who was almost level 7, Sven Anger, the top archer in
the Imperial capital carrying the second name 『Tempest Strike』.

For hunters it’s natural for long distance attacks to be magical, so the role of archer
was quite uncommon.
The might of a bow and arrow was considerably powerful.
Particularly when a hunter reinforced by Mana Material fired an arrow, it could
even penetrate thick metal armour.
It wasn’t that archers were weak exactly, it was just that with the ability to respond
to different situations, Magi were found more convenient within shrines.

It was an indication that the forte of 『Iron Cross』 was monster subjugation
rather then exploring shrines.

The one walking in the vanguard was the leader Sven. Following was his heavily
equipped companions.
Whole body black iron armour. There were two swordsmen with shields to deal
with any attack, one Magi specialised in protection magic, and another Magi for
wide area destruction, and finally a restoration expert that had only recently
joined.

It was a gloomy passage, but each person walked without hesitation or fear.

Sven in the lead suddenly stopped, and readied the long bow in his hand. The ones
following also came to a stop.

A black metal bow. In a natural movement he drew a long arrow from the quiver on
his back, and in a practised motion he nocked the arrow on the bowstring.
Both the bow and the arrow were specially made for hunters. A bow that was
refined specifically for rigidity and strength that could not be drawn by an ordinary
person, the arrows released from it were also almost comedically thick, long, and
heavy.

The bow string creaked as the metal bow flexed under physical strength.
From the direction it was pointed towards, something appeared from around the
corner. A Wolf Knight clad in crimson armour.
And simultaneously, Sven released the arrow.

It was like a cannonball. Released with a thick sound that could not be thought of
as the noise of the wind, the arrow pierced the skull of the wolf knight with
unwavering aim. It didn’t stop, and blew away the head completely as it continued
on and pierced into the wall.

The body of the wolf knight convulsed without it’s head for a moment, before
dissolving into the air and vanishing.

Without a howl, an ultimate shot that did not allow time for a scream upon death.
Easily slaughtering the Phantom without giving it time to react, Sven took back the
arrow from the wall and returned it to his quiver. Acting as if nothing had
happened they proceeded onward.

The number of Phantoms appearing was not just a few.

However, all the phantoms, whether they had red or silver fur, their skulls were
shot through by Sven, disappearing without even time to howl.

『Iron Cross』 were hunters specialised in subjugating monsters. But that didn’t
mean they were poor at capturing shrines.

Particularly with the White Wolves Den which had no risks such as traps or
gimmicks.
A shrine where not many Phantoms appeared at the same time was an easy shrine
for 『Iron Cross』.

The expression of each person was like they were on the battlefield, but were
relaxed somewhere.
Only the young man that joined recently showed signs of nervousness – the Lighter
(recovery user) Henrik.

At a point roughly halfway on the map, Sven let out a light voice.

“Mmm, certainly the level has sprung up, but there’s nothing particularly
different.”

“It seems like the last hunters that came didn’t find anything either.”

A red haired female Magi – an attack magic user Marietta shot back relaxedly.

There was no doubt that an abnormality had occurred. It was certain, but they had
no idea what the cause was.
『Iron Cross』 had high fighting abilities, but their ability to investigate wasn’t any
more than the average party.
But the Explorers Association that had made the request probably didn’t require
much. If they needed greater detail, then they probably would have hired
specialised researchers.

To Sven and the others talking calmly, Henrik nervously interjected.

“Sven-san, wasn’t this not worth receiving?”

“Mmm…well since we were asked…”

Saying that, Sven scratched his cheek.

『Iron Cross』 was asked to investigate the White Wolves Den at the time the
Explorers Association had approached Cry.
They weren’t obligated to accept, but after receiving the clan masters declaration
‘I’m busy so I can’t go’, they had a party meeting.
One reason was that they had the spare time.

Henrik’s expression still held dissatisfaction.

In the end his party was being used for an errand, perhaps getting swept up in the
request was still weighing on his mind.

Sven tried to placate that expression by talking.

“Well, you can also experience exploring a shrine. And I told you before, it’s ok if
you stay in town right?”

“…That would be impossible. I’m also a member of this party…”

The quiet swordsman clapped him on his upright back.

As Henrik started coughing, laughter rang out.

“–Cough, cough…..but-but it looks like we’re cleaning up after the Master-“

“…Well, Henrik, you’ll understand someday.”

To add to his meaning Sven was wearing a wild smile.

Seeing the others offer no objections, Henrik gave a short nod.

Without a direct battle, they walked for tens of minutes.

Halfway to the boss room, the bag on Sven’s waist started shaking all of a sudden.

Sven stopped immediately, and took out a black stone from inside the bag.

『Footprints』 was a large clan. The difference between it and other clans was that
while others had a strong aspect to parties gathering together, it was in this area
that Footprints was highly organised.
It was a feature rarely seen for hunters that hated being bound by things.

The 『black stone』 was a Relic also referred to as a 『sound stone』. Found in
pairs, words spoken to one stone were transmitted through the other. It was a
unique way of transmitting information.
The sound stone Sven carried was purchased after consultation with 『Iron
Cross』. The other was placed at the clan headquarters so they could be contacted
in an emergency.

A 『sound stone』 was generally expensive.

It required a lot of money, yet as a Relic it required training to use properly. But
when one was found it sold quickly after being taken to the markets.
The one carried by Sven was also purchased through an intermediary, and it wasn’t
something requested by the clan.

The expression of Sven, who held the stone close to his ear, quickly turned into a
scowl.
The conversation was only a few words.

“Ahh, got it. You saved us.”

He put away the stone that had lost it’s power. He turned to his companions that
were watching the surroundings vigilantly.

“We’re leaving at once. The situation has changed. Cry increased the amount of
personnel coming from 『Footprints』. Watch out for a slime. Let the other parties
know. Sound the evacuation whistle.”

“Eh? …Eh?”

“Understood.”

While Henrik was bewildered, one of the swordsmen whistled.

The sharp sound indicating an emergency echoed inside the cave.

Translator notes

Not sure if the ultra life seed has been mentioned… Not sure what it is, it sounds similar to the
concept of the worlds memory mentioned in an earlier chapter.

Lighter seems to be the term for recovery specialists. It has mentioned healer as a role before, but
perhaps it’s a further distinction between pure white mage and paladin and other roles.

Really wanted to call it a tele-stone. The sound stone has an extra kanji meaning together. So it’s
literally more like ‘together or paired sound stone’. But my brain is dead so I can’t think of anything
good.

The sound of a whistle for emergency might also actually be an actual pipe or flute that gets blown.
 LN Translation
Learning through reading

Chapter 36
redhare404 March 8, 2020 Uncategorized

36 判断
Judgement

“Oi oi, Iron-san…”

A brown haired male hunter was looking down on Sven, his staring eyes twitched.
He was a member of a party that had taken a different route to Sven during the
investigation of the White Wolves Den.

Although 『Footprints』 was one of the largest clans in the Capital, the great
majority of hunters were not a part of it. This operation also had multiple hunters
that weren’t part of 『Footprints』 participating.

Surrounding Sven who had safely evacuated, was a party that had escaped after
hearing the signal for emergency.

Fellow treasure hunters were rivals.

Resources created by shrines were pretty much limitless, but were restricted to
being obtained over fixed intervals.
For that reason, fellow hunters often clashed at shrines. Outside of towns was no
man’s land, so if you incurred someones hostility it could be enough to get you
killed.

However, at the moment this was an official request by the country. An

investigation request where it is unknown what might happen required
cooperation.

A signal of caution was the compromise.

Let each other do as they please. If an unmanageable emergency occurred, let out a
sound to notify the other. Something like that.

Near the entrance to the White Wolves Den they had made camp, and close to
twenty hunters were gathered together. Everyone had returned after receiving
Sven’s signal.

The air drifted with a tense atmosphere.

“So what was that? You still don’t know what the abnormality is either, but after
getting a message you sent out the emergency signal?”

“That’s right.”

Some hostile eyes. Some eyes that were observing the situation. Even with the odd
gazes coming from hunters armed to the teeth, Sven’s expression didn’t waver.
The gathered hunters became noisy from the words that had cut through clearly.
The accusatory hunters also frowned.

『Iron Cross』 was a famous party.

The hunters inside it all held the ability to heal, and they placed importance on
stability in their party composition. There were some who laughed saying they
were scared of fighting, but their actual accomplishments didn’t lie.
Above all, that one of their members reached a high level without any others
getting harmed was a fact worthy of respect.

But the present matter was a separate story.

Since parties of different levels and factions were investigating jointly, behaviour
that disrupted the situation should be avoided.

The brown haired hunter clicked his tongue, and spoke in a loud voice to confirm
with the other party members present.

“…Did anyone here find anything? For instance the boss would be something.”

At his voice, Sven frowned slightly.

Sven joined the investigation halfway through. Although they had been officially
received by the Explorers, it wasn’t amusing to the ones that had accepted the
request first.

The surrounding party leaders answered briefly.

“Not particularly.”

“Neither did we. We encountered a few phantoms, but dealt with them easily
enough.”

“…I heard the Boss was slain by Severed Shadow. It probably won’t appear again
for a while.”
The White Wolves Den was a mid-size shrine.
The paths were complex and there were many dead ends, but with this many
people it wouldn’t take long to fill out a map even while remaining cautious.

It was too late to fear a strong enemy when the Boss had already been subjugated.
Although the cause of the abnormality had yet to be found, it was a comfortable
request.
And the request received by the hunters was simply to investigate the scene, not to
determine the underlying cause.

The brown haired hunter gave a snort, and scowled at Sven.

Sven knew of the male hunter in front of him.

Not whether he was a good man, but that his ability was certain.
For an investigation request like this, hunters with too many problems would not
be mobilised.

No, if Sven was in that mans position, and someone gave his reason for sounding
the alarm, he would probably let out a complaint as well.

“…It’s like this is it? Over our judgement, you choose to believe in a man that hasn’t
even been on site, while he lays back in town with his legs outstretched. You’re
saying that?”

Intimidating eyes.
He hadn’t drawn his sword, but that was probably because of the surrounding
hunters.
The newcomer Henrik had trouble breathing as he looked between Sven and the
brown haired hunter.

Sven gave those surrounding him one slow look around, and made a show of
shrugging his shoulders.

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“…-!”

Because of the unexpected words the brown haired hunter’s eyes went wide. His
face quickly went red, and his eyebrows slanted severely.
Even though right now he was striking forward with his attitude, Sven sighed
inwardly.

“It’s a pity.”

“!? What did you say!?”

“What you said before…It was out of a 『warm heart』 that we sounded the
alarm.”

Looking at each person that was growing angry, Sven continued on in an

indifferent voice. From the cave the sound of howling echoed out. The invaders had
disappeared all of a sudden – were even they trying to threaten Sven?
Those howls seemed to be a pre-cursor of some kind.

“If it was that lot 『Strange Grief』 then… they wouldn’t have sounded it. If it was
Cry, he would say everything was fine. If it was Liz or Luke then they wouldn’t
show any interest to begin with, and Sytry ― she would probably make you go on
ahead first. However, more or less we are『Healers』. Not stopping the casualties
we know are going to happen is against our 『way』.”

Hunters were responsible for themselves. It was an unspoken agreement to help

each other in emergencies, but there was no obligation to warn someone that
would complain. But Sven did so. To begin with, Sven predicted this development.
That was the reason he was calm under fire.

Keeping his back to the trees, Sven continued as he trampled the growing grass
underfoot.

“Soon our clan will be coming over in great numbers. We’re going to do a
reexamination after waiting, but it’ll take time. If you want to die, then do what you
want. We’ll wait here.”

“…-“

“If the large reward dies with you, then what’s the point? I’ll make preparations
with the new information. It’s lucky isn’t it?”

The investigation request had a fixed reward rate, but additional rewards were
given to those that obtained significant new information.
With the introduction of multiple new hunters, it had gained a race like aspect.

The brown haired hunter chewed his lips.

The amount of additional reward offered wasn’t something you could ignore. But
they had been investigating since before 『Iron』 arrived, and they hadn’t found
any significant information.
If they continued on like this, it was unlikely they would find anything.
But even still, if they just stood by and waited while a lot of parties from
『Footprints』 showed up, then the amount of competition would increase even
further.
The man was also a hunter. He had more greed than the average person. And he
didn’t feel any great risk from the current circumstances.

The other hunters also exchanged perplexed looks. They were probably thinking
about the same thing.

Usually they would laugh down a warning like this. But the other party was famous
in the Capital, so they maintained restraint.
In actuality, the hunter before them had the appropriate demeanour to hold the
name 『Tempest Strike』.

If 『Iron Cross』 was going to continue searching on their own it would be a

different story.
But, they were choosing to wait.

As if one of the hunters couldn’t bear the atmosphere, he raised his voice.

“What comes out here are wolves…for something like a slime….there would be no
way! Even more is that it wouldn’t even be a problem! After all I’m the Magi of my
party.”

The possibility of a slime. If they were asked what it was, everyone would reply
with zero.
Even if it wasn’t zero, it would be a probability close to zero. It’s not a natural
prediction to make.

“-It’s something I won’t forget, a story from when our clan 『Footprints』 was first
created. Cry he…our clan master, he began talking about going outside for cherry
blossom viewing.”

Sven began to talk about something unexpected. At his serious expression his
surroundings became quiet.
The brown haired hunter that was grinding his teeth until they creaked a short
while ago, also raised his head.

Behind Sven as he talked, the expressions of the members of 『Iron Cross』

distorted unpleasantly.
Only the newcomer Henrik looked at his companions curiously.

“He didn’t need to hire everyone as guards, but he said since it’ll be outside, don’t
forget to carry your weapons with you.”

“? …So what’s the story?”

“Now that place ― is a shrine.”

“!?”

“I’m not sure whether any of you lot remember, but there was an earthquake that
slightly displaced the Earth Veins. They were displaced precisely at the cherry
blossom viewing location. Have any of you seen the moment a shrine is created?
That really was ― a sight to behold. It was as if hell had appeared on earth. Well, I
don’t think you’ll ever get a chance to see it though.”

Nobody said anything.

If you were a hunter it was natural to seek out information on shrines. In those
days when a shrine appeared it was big news.
All the people there had some idea of what it was.

With a shocked expression, the brown haired hunter asked back in a broken
sentence.

In the vicinity of the Capital, a shrine with a high degree of difficulty due to the
harsh nature of the environment that most hunters could not even attempt.

“That couldn’t be…that 『Flower Garden』?”

Only appearing recently, in only three years it arrived at a Level 7 certification, it

was called the worst shrine in the vicinity of the Capital.
Recently it was talked about that Ark went to capture it, but how many hunters
could challenge it within the Imperial Capital?

Whlie he replied, Sven looked up at the sky.

“『Infinite Variety』 can see the 『future』.”

“…that’s…ridiculous.”

It was a ridiculous story.

The were many varieties of different Relics, but they were all said to be imitations
of things that had once existed in a previous civilisation.
Nothing existed too far outside of reason. Seeing the future was something beyond
human capabilities.

But, for the most part Relics could not be reproduced by modern civilisation.
Who could completely rule out it’s existence?

At the hunters who seemed to lose their bearings, Sven gave a big smile as he
spoke.
“It seems he has some sort of Relic like that. It’s just a rumour though. The person
himself denies it but… that was why I decided to retreat. There – I gave my reason.
But still, if there’s someone here that wants to make progress, do as you like.”

§ § §

Time passed calmly in the clan masters room.

Everyone ended up heading towards the shrine, and the usually bustling clan house
had a quiet air to it.

At the tall, large clan masters desk, I drank the coffee Eva had brought in while
flipping through the balance sheets of the request prepared by her.

Since she was originally a merchant, the data was easy to read. It was amazing that
even a layman like me could understand it.
It listed the parties from Footprints that had received the request. The reward
lump sum from the Explorers Association and the amount deducted after
administration expenses.
And also the members that were predicted to raise their level during the request.

Many other clans had careless management, but First Step had high membership
fees so it went into minute details.
You could understand the tendencies of the clan members quickly by examining
the data.

But I still didn’t try to understand the tendencies of the hunters in the clan… that’s
how it was.

Incidentally, Eva seemed to know it all so if you asked her she would reply straight
away.
The first thing I needed to do was memorise everyones name and face…

Frankly, my impressions didn’t go anywhere beyond ‘oh?’. It wasn’t good to Eva

though so I flipped through the data while acting dignified and nodding.
There were a lot of places I didn’t understand, but I didn’t make any enquiries.

Then, a certain party name came up.

“Eh? Hm? Could it be that Iron Cross also went?”

“?? Yes. Wasn’t it because Cry-san sent them?”

At Eva’s curious words, I finally remembered using Sven and the others as errand
boys.

Most likely, when they gave my report, Gark-san had asked them.
Iron Cross was an elite party. They didn’t have explosive power, but they had
incredible stability, and there was nothing to criticise about the leaders strength.
And of course, he had much more common sense than Liz. They were one of
Footprints exemplar parties. If they were there, then there would be no problems
in command.

The tension in my whole body was released, and I lent back into my chair to relax.
When I put my feet up on the desk, Eva knit her brows disapprovingly. Now now,
at the moment there was no one else here.

“I guess it was overkill…”

“…Isn’t it also good, to have some extra leeway occasionally?”

“No, we should always have extra leeway…”

“……”

Eva faced me with blank eyes.

I take extra leeway. I always have it. But, things never go smoothly.
I have no talent and no luck. My timing was always bad. No matter how I moved it
never went smoothly.
Somehow I can keep the clan moving, but maybe I’m cursed.

I want to throw up.

I held the black coffee in my mouth, and the bitterness made me frown
involuntarily.
I should have had cafe au lait instead of trying to show off. It was already too late.

“I wonder if I should stop being a hunter…”

“You’re saying that again…”

Well it should be alright this time.

For things not to go smoothly with 『Iron』 there would be unimaginable.
Ark wasn’t available, but if it wasn’t the best it was still better.

The remaining problem was… how could I restrain Liz?

Looking back at the training range, Liz needed some stress relief. I breathed out a
sigh.

At the moment she was believing in my words ‘I have something else for you to do’,
but if I didn’t come up with something there was the danger that she’d rush over to
the White Wolves Den alone.
Not only Footprints, the other parties there would also be exposed to danger. At
least that much needed to be avoided.

It’s a job only I could do. I wasn’t very motivated, but I had to do it. I didn’t want
trouble.

However, yeah… that girl was motivated. She wasn’t able to stay in one place.

Folding my arms, I absentmindedly stared at the ceiling.

Hmm… Liz-chan was such a wild kid.

Should we go to a suitable shrine… Tino will probably be forced to come along, so

lets choose a simple place. It should also be a place far from the White Wolves
Den… so there’s no trouble lets make it somewhere unpopular.

Liz also probably wouldn’t refuse my request.

Since she’s a person always in 『motion』, trying to stop her from moving was
difficult, but changing her direction was easy.

Today I’m – clearheaded.

“Yep, that’s right.”

As I nodded, Eva who had stayed silent while I was staring at the ceiling asked me a
question with an indescribable expression.

“…What did you see?”

“Eh? No…nothing?”

“…..Is that so?”

Rising up, I decided to start work on selecting a shrine.

I was itching to put my skills to use.

Translator Notes

cafe au lait means coffee with milk in french. (the style is specifically hot milk apparently).
Sorry, that’s all I got.
 LN Translation
Learning through reading

Chapter 37
redhare404 March 8, 2020 Uncategorized

37 対策
Countermeasures

As the ground shook, a number of large carriages with the crest of Footprints
arrived.
There were large horses protected by metal armour, trained by treasure hunters
not to be disturbed by the atmosphere peculiar to shrines.

The ones disembarking were the hunters of Footprints. Their weapons and outfits
were all different, and if you removed the small tag they all wore with the symbol of
Footprints they would seem to have nothing in common.
However they didn’t look like a group of wandering hunters. Their expressions
were as if they were headed into certain death, and the way they moved without
wasted actions gave them a somewhat disciplined military air.

With the exception of Iron, the hunters that had arrived earlier showed
dumbfounded looks towards the reinforcements.
Although their moods were different, the sheer number was the most unexpected
thing.

“Oi oi… the reinforcements, just how many did you call…?”

The brown haired hunter that had been questioning Sven’s judgement a short while
ago, spoke with a voice filled with shock and awe.
It was an unprecedented number of hunters to be mobilised for a shrine on the
scale of the White Wolves Den.

“….Are you planning on wiping out the shrine?”

Shrines were a 『place』. Even if you destroyed the structure it wouldn’t go away.
To destroy it would require relaying with the Earth Veins that transmitted Mana
Material underground, but it wasn’t a realistic idea.
However from witnessing the vigour, clear intention could be felt behind those
ridiculous words.

A young man descending from the lead carriage spotted Sven, and rushed over.

A young man with chiseled good looks – Lyle. His age was one year less than Sven.
His level was also below Sven’s, but as both were part of parties belonging to
Footprints their status was equal.
The hunters descending one by one did not sit down, and immediately started
being vigilant of the surroundings.

Lyle briefly spoke with Sven to confirm things.

“Good to see you, Sven, what’s the situation?”

“Right, at the moment nothings happened. Is there anyone that’s come to take
command? If it’s free I don’t mind doing it, it is how it is.”

Sven quickly checked over the increased personnel.

A party was originally made to be complete within itself.

Each had their own tactics they were good at, and they had their own hidden aces
they didn’t wish to reveal.
Even though it was a clan, it would be impossible to unify them under one
command, but the story was different again when dealing with these amounts of
numbers.

If they didn’t determine a course of action, it could increase the amount of

meaningless actions.

To Sven who was checking over the members vigilantly, Lyle made a slight smile.

“Iron has seniority. Since the other high level guys are absent.”

“Assuming Cry isn’t coming as usual, what about Liz? She’ll definitely want to
come.”

The name of the thief that sought out battlefields to plunge towards certain death
came out.
Their power was certain, but they were an absurdly selfish hunter that didn’t want
to take command, but also wouldn’t follow orders.
A hopeless existence that was trouble for the enemy but also trouble to their own
allies.

She only listened to the advice of each member of Strange Grief.

“Cry took custody of her. He also took Tino, he seems to have an additional
request. But the main thing is, that one wouldn’t ride something like a carriage.”

Lyle spoke with a bitter expression, something must have happened but he didn’t
speak about it.
He was worried about the request, but for now he placed it out of his mind.

Thinking about the actions of Infinite Variety was a waste of time.

Sven gave a nod, then spoke in a voice so all could hear him.

“Alright, gather round. Lets have a strategy meeting.”

The slime is referred to as a monster.

It had a sticky body, and often inhabited marshlands.

It looked just like an ordinary puddle. It had no muscles, no bones, and no blood.
Although it didn’t appear to be a living thing, it seemed to have it’s own will. It
moved slowly bringing insects and bugs and the like into it’s body to be digested.
It was a type of magical organism, and aside from it’s natural occurrences,
alchemists also knew how to create them. From Sven’s knowledge there was no
need to be cautious, even to call it a monster was presumptuous. It was that kind of
existence.

Slimes were weak. To both physical and magical attacks, they were weak.

What was called the core was a tiny fragile heart inside it’s liquid body. Just a
barehanded scratch would be enough to split the body.
The orders of the core did not arrive when the body was separated, the existence
called the slime became reduced to something small.
The acidity worked on tiny insects, but for a large creature like a human it had no
effect. Even if it was swallowed, it couldn’t devour the inside of your body.

It was considered almost harmless to the ordinary person.

It was even more difficult to consider as an enemy for the treasure hunters that had
gone beyond human limits. Mostly it wasn’t recognised as a a monster at all.

The group sat in a circle. From a higher positioned Sven checked over his
companions that were sitting down while still armed.

“Is there any one here, someone who has had a direct battle with a slime before?”

“Not me”
“Neither.”

“Nope.”

“To begin with it’s, not really an opponent you battle…”

“If you’re talking about accidentally stepping on one then…”

At the bewildered hunters that talked freely, Sven frowned.

Up until now, Sven and the other members of Iron Cross had captured a great
variety of shrines. They were probably the highest ranked among the gathered
hunters.

However, their experience in fighting slimes was pretty much the same as those
that just answered.

There were many different types of slime. In a far east territory there was even a
strange shrine where nothing but slimes appeared.
He had heard rumours that there were some slimes that held the power to kill
hunters, but he thought it was dubious information. It was natural to have no
fighting experience against them.

Sven sighed while scratching his head.

“Couldn’t it be something other than a slime… a dragon would still be better.”

“Oi oi, you’re going too far.”

One of the hunters poked fun at his words, but it wasn’t really a laughing matter.

If it was a species of dragon, he at least had experience fighting them. After long
preparation and resolutely preparing for death, they had struggled for their lives
and achieved victory.
But he had nothing to do with slimes. He didn’t have the slightest idea what would
come out.

He didn’t know what nature the slime would hold, what kind of attacks it would
have, what weaknesses it might have, and how they could arrange things so they
could fight with an advantage.
It it was a dragon, he knew. You had to pay attention to everything. Strikes from
the claws, and strikes with the tail. It’s breath as well, and if it was a superior
dragon then it would be able to use ancient magic. A troublesome opponent.

But to some extent the opponent this time was even more troublesome.

“Did anyone take any countermeasures along with them?”

After closing his eyes and waiting a few seconds, the members in the circle started
to answer Sven.

“They’re vulnerable to slashing so as always I brought my sword.”

“I brought a hammer. Slimes are weak to being crushed. It’s good to smash the
core.”

“Our party has a Magi so we can hit it with flame magic.”

“I can use wind magic.”

“I brought some slime repellent spray. I’m not sure whether an over the counter
700 gil product will be any good though…”

“I’ll flatten it with my shield.”

Will this be ok?

Each person had a serious expression. Excluding the spray, a slimes weak point
was ‘anything and everything’.
Sven’s arrow was a targeted strike so it might not be very effective. But he could
defeat them by shooting out the core.
And with Sven’s skill, it didn’t matter how small the core was.

There were no problems. There shouldn’t be any problems. Even if it appeared

right in front of them it should be easy to defeat.
However, his uneasiness didn’t end. There was too little data. He wanted to at least
know it’s appearance.

“Did Cry say anything else?”

At Sven’s question, the three people sitting next to Lyle made miserable
expressions.

“It’s not an ordinary slime, he said…”

“Damn it, I know that already! Why can’t he stop that habit of being so stingy with
information! Over and over again!”

“I tried to check with him but he didn’t say anything…”

His character looked bad because it seemed like he truly didn’t know anything.
Infinite Variety was famous in the clan for having depths that were unable to be
discerned.
It was silent.
The brown haired hunter who had taken a step back from the circle while listening
to the conversation, and interjected again.
Maybe he couldn’t handle the lack of nerve even with the increased amount of
personnel. His voice that made light of them echoed out.

“Tch. Worthless. It’s useless to think about. There are more people, and no one
knows how the future will turn out, so shouldn’t we immediately resume the
investigation? If you’re that scared, we’ll take care of the slime for you. If it even
appears.”

The hunters of Footprints said nothing. They just shifted their attention over as if
they were looking at something pitiful.
If you had pride in your own skills, there shouldn’t be a problem with responding
with an objection.
To the reaction that was different from the hunters he had met up until now, the
brown haired mans cheek twitched.

“W-What is it, with those eyes!?”

“You don’t get it? Everyone here, thinks you will be the first victim. I’ll say it once.
I’m stopping. I’m stopping right? You’ll become a ghost you know?
Oh… don’t just die though, leave behind some information. We’ll get revenge for
you.”

“Ku…you lunatics have the nerve! If you stay out here and nothing happens, what
will you do huh!?”

Sven didn’t reply, but turned to face his companions.

For hunters, death was their own responsibility. No matter what an outside hunter
said, with the current power relations, the superior numbers of Footprints wouldn’t
make a move.
It was better to suffer as little damage as possible, but without information it
couldn’t be helped that there would be a sacrifice.

“Ok, got it. There’s no valid plans. Then next… is there an alchemist that is familiar
with magical creatures?”

At Sven’s words, the hunters looked at each other and fell into silence.

An alchemist fused science with magic and were prided in refining various
materials.
They were not an essential existence for hunters, if anything more of them
belonged to academic institutions or companies trading in medicine.
It was a job that could only subsist with vast knowledge and vast funds.
Strange Grief had an alchemist but that was a rare example.

At the circumstances Sven clicked his tongue loudly.

He didn’t think there would be one here, was it hopeless after all then? Damn it,
why was the one that came back Liz instead of Sytry…

In the end they had to be prepared to deal with it with a sacrifice then?

With a deep breath he looked over once more at the hunters. And there, he found a
small hand raised hidden in the circle.

It was a female hunter with an expression lacking confidence somewhere.

Large round glasses with hair that hung over her eyes. A figure that seemed more
natural around a library, instead of a shrine.

The sudden attention made her body wither and shrink into itself, but she spoke
with a clear voice. Her eyes held a strong light contrary to her bashful appearance.

“Yes. I only just reached it, but I’m level 3… I’m Talia, an alchemist.”

A girl of the same age and party sitting next to her clapped her on the shoulder as if
to give her confidence.
She didn’t seem very reliable, however at level 3 she would hold at least the
minimum power necessary for a hunter.

But like Sytry, did all alchemists give off this feeling?

Such words snatched at his thoughts, but right now he was too busy to entertain
them.

An alchemists knowledge was wide and deep, and peculiar. It was more than what
Sven and the others had.
Sven raised a loud bright voice and welcomed her.

“Oh, there really is one. Was it Cry’s suggestion?”

“No. …But, in First Step the only alchemists seem to be just me and Sytry…”

Should they say there’s only two people? Or should they say they have two people.

Before Sven’s eyes, Talia pulled out a glass tube from a pouch twice as large as a
regular hunters pouch. With careful movements, she raised it up.

What was it for? Inside it a dark liquid wavered slightly.

Talia nervously took deep breaths, and spoke. A momentary flash of light showed
her black eyes glittering.

“It’s a drug that kills slimes… An agent designed exclusively for them. Although it
only effects slimes, against them… it can kill 90% of them.”

At her words a small cheer rose. That was exactly what the hunters were wishing
for.
Sven was also astonished for an instant, and then frowned while staring at the
liquid.

“That’s……amazing…”

Was it really… going to be ok?

He had never heard of a drug that only killed slimes. Slimes were small frys to
begin with.
Cry had only declared the enemy would be a slime a few hours ago. Could a new
drug be produced in such a short time?

And if a drug to kill slimes already existed, this times slime wasn’t going to be an
ordinary one… probably.
This was much too convenient.

Most of all, Talia was only level 3. Level 3 could be said to be mid-level within the
clan, but from Sven’s perspective she still had a way to go before being equal.
If it was Sytry from Strange Grief it would be a different story.
She was a perfectionist. She didn’t produce defective items.

Her current level was the lowest in Strange Grief – no, it was even lower than Talia.
But everyone in Footprints knew her true ability.

Nobody said the name, but everyone must have been thinking the same thing.

At the questioning gazes, Talia gave a bitter smile. Then she spoke clearly.

“Please rest assured, Sven-san. The one that made this wasn’t me… it was Sytry-
chan.
I only accepted it for study… I think she made it when researching slimes… she said
if there was a slime this didn’t work on, if you caught it and brought it to her she
would buy it for one billion gil.”

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 LN Translation
Learning through reading

Chapter 38
redhare404 March 11, 2020 Uncategorized

38 作戦開始
Operation Start

In front of the shrine, the air was filled with tension.

The entrance to the White Wolves Den was gaping wide.

Phantoms in large numbers were standing guard. Hunters lined up in party units,
and each was finishing up their final checkovers.

The plan had been decided. But from the start, the means that could be used were
limited.

In the space in front of the White Wolves Den, Iron Cross took center point.

The origin of their party name.

Referred to as iron, their armour was made of a unique alloy created using the
most sophisticated techniques in the modern era.
Hard while at the same time being flexible, it gave protection from magic and
softened impacts.
It was said to be armour made from materials closest to Relics.
The trained bodies enclosed within trembled. Not from fear. From excitement.

Sven Anger was a level 6 hunter. He was a person influential enough to be

attributed a second name, and among treasure hunters he could be called first rate
– but he didn’t have ingenious schemes or hold anything like precognitive powers.

But, he was still a hunter.

In the past, united with his party he had overcome many scenes of carnage.
A request that surpassed those risks filled Sven with fear and simultaneously a
feeling of exhilaration.

The number of parties participating was now twelve.

The average amount of people in each party was six. All together there were less
than a hundred people.
It wasn’t significant enough to be an army, but everyone there was a hunter
tempered by shrines.

Hunters strengthened with Mana Material gathering together just for one shrine
was something rare.
Their true ability was more than what their numbers suggested. More than a few
carried weapon type Relics.

And yet, none of them relaxed their attention under the circumstances.
Because the hunters of Footprints understood the danger involved in 『one
thousand tribulations』.
And the outside hunters had been swallowed up by that spirit.

The White Wolves Den was a cave type shrine.

Shrines occasionally held an aspect (or perhaps they held that aspect because they
were shrines) that made it so extra numbers didn’t give much of an advantage.

Sven decided to divide into units in order to take total control of the shrines
interior.
They needed to ensure that the large number of people did not become a hindrance
if it came time to evacuate.

They agreed to investigate in segments, each allocated to a party.

The communication would be through whistles. The amount of sounds in
succession altered the meaning.

In a state of emergency or if something was discovered, sound once for an

evacuation.
If the situation involved a monster, then lure it outside so it could be attacked by
everyone together.
Even if you were safe, sound out at fixed periods. If you did not return a whistle
you would be considered to have been killed.

One party would wait outside and not enter the shrine. There was always the
danger that everyone could be defeated, but they would at least avoid being wiped
out all at once.

It hurt to only have ambiguous information concerning the enemy. No, perhaps it
was good fortune to at least know it existed.
Hunters were never neglectful when investigating in advance. A situation like this
was rarely encountered.

It might be better to challenge the zones that were still unknown.

Sven clicked his tongue again, and scowled at the shrine with glaring eyes.
“Tribulations, tribulations huh… Cry you, daring to impose this on us. After this
I’m definitely going to give you a hard hit.”

“You say that, but 『Severed Shadow』 is scary.”

“Yeah shut up. I could take care of her with an arrow! Our match up is too one
sided.”

As one of the party members poked fun at him , Sven shouted at them breathing
roughly through his nose.

Talia held Sytry’s specially made slime killing agent, and waited with her party
away from the entrance to the shrine.
Perhaps nervous, see could be seen desperately trying to compose her breathing.

Talia – no, the dark potion she was carrying was the trump card.
Of course, they wouldn’t depend on it. Through the other hunter’s attacks – if they
could kill it through long range magic attacks and arrows, then it wouldn’t be
needed.

But if it turned out none of that was effective, it was good luck they had that as a
backup plan.

Alchemists had limited combat ability. On the other hand, their ability to
correspond with elaborate preparations surpassed any other role.
Talia still seemed inexperienced, but the potion she had was created by the
alchemist once referred to as 『The Best』. There was no questioning it’s quality.

Then, a voice called out from behind.

A voice with a slightly high quaver.

“…Um…who is Sytry? It seems like everyone became convinced at her mention…”

“Aah, Henrik. You must have never met her…”

Henrik had joined Iron Cross about six months ago. At that time the members of
Strange Grief had been reigning as the top party.

Each member of Strange Grief had a side to them other than being a hunter.
Among them, Sytry who worked as an alchemist was extremely busy.
To speak of the one that never showed up, her name would come up naturally.

“Recently she hasn’t made an appearance, that Sytry.”

One of the other members, the Magi Marietta smiled with nostalgia.
But, the depths of her eyes held strong fear.
Sometimes people that held outstanding abilities were admired but also feared.
After all even Sven’s gaze held a blend of fear and awe, but Marietta and the other
members may have also felt jealous.

That’s how Sytry Smart was.

She could think rapidly and absorb any information. Even in the highest institutes
of education in the Capital holding many outstanding scholars, she stuck out.
She held natural talents as an alchemist that anyone would envy. Once, she was
said to be the closest to the alchemists number one desire, the 『philosophers
stone』.

But, Marietta wasn’t afraid of that past ability.

A somewhat hesitant look gazed at Henrik.

That look was burdened somewhere from that 『alchemist』.

Sven’s breathing was suppressed, his forehead furrowed as he squeezed out his
voice.

“Well to sum it up in a few words…Sytry is… a 『strong』 weak person.”

“Strong… weak?”

She was strong. She had ability.

But more than anything else, it was so 『alien』 it was outside of everyone’s
comprehension.

Consequently, now that those days of glory were in the past, that name wasn’t
murmured by anyone.
They weren’t avoiding it. But, it was natural not to speak it. As if they were trying to
strike it from their memories.

And in reality, there were some members of Footprints that hadn’t heard her name
just like Henrik.
Sven raised his head turning his line of sight from Henrik to Talia, who held the
tube with the dark potion.

“And including Iron Cross, some of the parties that joined First Step when it was
first created were persuaded by Sytry.
She was a master alchemist that next to Cry, could boast of having the highest level
in Strange Grief.”

“Sven. The preparations here are done.”

“Alright, got it. Sorry, we’ll have to finish our talk later.”

Called to by Lyle, Sven took a step forward.

Their fighting spirit was enough. Not one person was afraid.

Footprints was excellent. There was a reason their average level was so high.

Any weak people had already been weeded out. All the cowardly people, had left
the clan a long time ago.
To be here meant that at least to some extent you had overcome a tribulation, just
the elite. And they were also comrades in arms.

That fact had given them high self confidence.

『First Step』 was strong.

A first rate party was in command.

Facilities were in place, and systems of management existed.
But Sven would say such things were just an extra bonus.

The unity from going through fierce battlefields and carnage together was surely
the essence of the clan.
That was why the clan was able to grow so large in only a few years.
The symbol of Footprints held the meaning of the tracks they had carved out so far.
Before one knew they became something you could be proud of.

It was reason enough for hunters to place their lives on the line.

There were other parties here as well, but Sven paid them no mind.

He took in a deep breath, and then shouted in a voice that shook the greenery
around them.
The morale intensified. The expressions of the hunters went tense as the
exhilaration spread.

“Hey, you sorry lot. Show me your spirit! Trample down! Engrave your footprints!
Everyone here return alive, and say it straight to that fucking Master! Just this
much, isn’t even a big deal!”

“Oooooooooooooooh!”

The surrounding forest shook from the explosive yells.

Both the voices of the parties of Footprints and the ones form outside it became
hoarse from shouting.
Perfectly coordinated with stream like momentum, the hunters began their raid.

After picking out a selection of shrines, I went down the stairs to the underground
training range carrying the data. I heard the distant sound of something sharp
cutting through the wind.

The training facilities built at the Clan House were almost the same as those found
in various places throughout the Capital.
Getting dragged into training was boring so I rarely made an appearance, but when
I went down their I usually saw someone reviewing their techniques.

Although it’s only training, the spirit was genuine. When you felt it, you
experienced the illusion that you had become a hunter yourself.
Well, strictly speaking I was a hunter though.

I rhythmically tapped my way down the stairs, and forced open the heavy solid
metal door to the first floor underground training range (which had been blown off
and replaced a few times since the range was built).

What you could do on the first underground floor was practice kata (martial art
form) variations.
If you used magic then the walls treated to be anti-magic on the second
underground floor were suitable.
And if you wanted to practise particular skills, then the third floor or lower had
various equipment in place.

The instant the door opened, I was welcomed with cold air and sound.

Liz stood on floor similar seeming to metal, in a wide spacious training ground
with no other objects around.

Facing her was Tino.

Dressed as usual in hunter garb with mainly black undertones, she kept her
posture low while glaring at the teacher smaller than herself.
The sound of the door opening resounded within the training range, but her jet
black irises only narrowed and she didn’t pay any attention my way.

From that sharp look, it was hard to believe she was always being tyrannised.

In the other direction, Liz turned to face me, and grinned widely.

“Ah, Cry-chan. You finally came?”

Shwish
At Liz’s flat tone of voice, black hair swayed.
A fist wrapped in black leather shot out with compressed energy.
The thrust made sound, the sound of wind being pierced reverberated briefly.
Overwhelmed by the situation, I took an involuntary step back.

The blow came at great speed, and Liz while still smiling, avoided it with a half turn
of her body without even looking.

“At the moment see, we’re training. But if I make her too ragged, she’ll probably be
a hindrance to Cry’s request right?”

swsh! whsh! swsh!

Tino’s strikes only left afterimages. Balls of sweat flew off, her hair was tied up with
a ribbon that flickered.
Thrusts that emphasised speed. At the same time she stepped in she released a kick
striking at Liz.

The sound of cloth cuts through the air from afar.

Coupled with her attire it was as if she was a black wind.

Foot sweep. Lunge. Palm heel. Roundhouse kick. Elbow. Everything flowed
together into one attack.

When it all happened under a second, it could be understood. Such fierce offence
and defence with paper thin allowances was as beautiful as a dance performance.
Breath exhaled from open lips. As the spinning kick was released in front of Liz, a
few of her bangs were shaved off.
From where I was looking it seemed like it had hit, but it must have just barely
been avoided.

It was kind of incredible… Liz didn’t say she had talent for nothing.

While having her hands full with the rush on attack, Liz’s eyes narrowed slightly
and her lips formed a warped smile.

“See? It’s amazing right? It’s totally different from me. In the past, when I was told
I had no sense I was irritated, but seeing Tee she definitely has the aptitude doesn’t
she…!! I thought I didn’t need a disciple, but I’m glad I did what you said Cry!”

At the time Liz came to the Capital and became the disciple of 『Severed
Shadow』, apparently the first thing that was pointed out was that she had no
sense for close combat.
Now she held the ability of a certified level 6, but that bitter feeling was still
engraved upon Liz.
No well, judging from my standpoint I couldn’t really tell the difference, but I
thought that the promising disciple’s attacks were pretty amazing, she had high
expectations.

However in the training I witnessed before, Tino’s attack wouldn’t have been able
to graze Liz’s hairs. It certainly seemed like the distance between them was
shrinking.

At the moment she’s bare handed so she couldn’t reach, but maybe, if she used the
dagger she always had on her waist wouldn’t she make it?
The difference in their ability was clear, but after a few more years of being a
disciple, perhaps Tino wouldn’t just be chasing Liz’s back.

While being impressed and thinking of those things, Tino raised a strained voice
without stopping her attacks.

“Haa, haa-….I, can, never! Hit! Ever-! Why!?”

Despite her continuous intense movement, her sharp strikes increased. A fist
streaked towards Liz’s head.
Liz let her posture drop slightly.

Contrary to Tino’s sorrowful voice, Liz aways held a smile set on her face.

With my dynamic vision I had no idea what was happening. Most likely if I was in
Liz’s position I would have been defeated by the first blow.
While Liz snapped away the strike with her hand, she moved with feather light
steps.

“Look, Tee. A little more! Can you reach out your fingers a little more? Burn your
life! Don’t relax your movement! Focus on the nerves! I won’t step back! Attack!
Don’t be scared!”

-!

Tino’s eyes blazed fixed on Liz. They were just like Liz’s before a battle, as if her life
was fired up.

At the situation, I paused for a moment and scratched my cheek.

“…By any chance, do you still have room to spare?”

“Hmm? Does it seem like I’m in a pinch?”

No, it doesn’t look like a pinch but… I was just saying that her speed was different…
Tino grit her teeth. Liz’s eyes rounded.

Did she increase her speed? The sounds had an even weightier feel to them.
The reaching strikes already had the same sharpness as a spear, and yet for quite
some time Tino hadn’t touched Liz even once.
If she wasn’t hitting even after increasing her speed, then Liz must be evading with
the least amount of movement necessary.

Tino was taller than Liz. Her arms and legs were also longer, but she still couldn’t
reach.

“Tee, dagger.”

“-!”

The moment Liz said that one word, Tino’s eyes were burning, wide open.
Without hesitation she unsheathed the dagger on her waist. The edge hadn’t been
dulled for training. It was the one she always took with her to shrines, it was well
sharpened.

Without a drop in speed she let out a sweeping sideways strike – and with that
greatly extended reach, Liz took a step back without a change in expression.
Even when a naked blade passed centimeters in front of her, she didn’t blink.
Neither stabbing or slashing, or kicks when the attention was on the blade, they all
missed with paper thin distance.
While evading attacks that seemed to hold the intent to kill, Liz smiled. She looked
like she was having a lot of fun.

“At the same time as Tee’s training, I can train too! Isn’t that amazing?”

“…Uh-huh, yep, that’s right.”

A terribly light mood… apparently Tino was far from catching up to her teacher.
Tino’s breathing had become rough. Her usual white skin had flushed red, and her
fringe stuck to her brow with sweat.
But even still she didn’t let up with her strikes. The axis of her body was
undisturbed and her movement remained light.

I would give Liz a perfect score. And if I was Tino, I would be satisfied with my
ability and I wouldn’t train any further.

Avoiding a blow coming from below that held committed power from being
stepped into, Liz spoke lightly.

“Alright, lets finish up… our bodies are warmed up.”

Oi oi, this was a warm up exercise…

No matter how many attacks were evaded, even if everything was seen through, the
storm like strikes didn’t slow up.
Into a space with no gaps to enter, Liz took a step forward.

She should have been hit. The place Liz stepped into was Tino’s killzone.
However, kicks, thrusts, downward slashes with the dagger, Liz slipped through
them all as if by magic.

I rubbed my eyes without knowing what was going on. The afterimage of Liz easily
restrained Tino’s stretched out arm, and swept out Tino’s feet with her leg.
With just that much, those continuous movements ended. Tino’s motions that
seemed like an illusion were stopped. I unconsciously breathed out a small sigh.

Tino’s stance crumbled. On reflex she scratched out at the air, but with her wrist
restrained and her body wide open it was useless.
Her eyes were spread wide open, but by that time her body was already put on the
ground. A tiny shriek leaked from her throat.
As Tino rolled on the ground Liz held her hand over her neck.

“Ok, it’s over.”

Tino’s body lying face down on the ground had a large spasm. Like the sound of her
heart was transmitted.
Her arms and legs were trembling. Tino coughed violently with teary eyes as if the
tightness around her neck had made it difficult. Her gaze wandered in space, until
at last she caught onto me.

Liz separated from Tino’s neck, and then brushed her hand off.

“Haa, haa… Mas-ter?”

“It’s because from now we have a job to do. Tee, your sweat stinks. You can’t roll
around all the time, shouldn’t you go get prepared? Will you show that miserable
look to Cry-can forever? Cmon!”

From the harsh things her teacher said to her, Tino’s eyes opened wide.

No but, I wouldn’t really mind if we went after a short break – or should I say, it’s
just a favour so we don’t have to go if you don’t want to…
Right now Tino needs to have some rest doesn’t she?

As I looked down at her thinking such thoughts, Tino, who’s face was already
flushed from the exercise, became even further red and tears gathered in her eyes.
“I’ll, be back soon!”

“…Eh? No, it doesn’t really — Eh!?”

Tino rushed to her feet. I involuntarily fell back. It had the feeling of a corpse rising
up.

She stood up on her legs that should have been convulsing up until now, and
started running while still wobbly.
She could fall over at any moment, but she left at a speed that was about the same
as when I used all my power.
How is my leg strength the same as Tino’s when she was injured or almost
completely exhausted?

Like that she rammed herself into the door to throw it open, and went outside of
the training range.
I was worried she would use up all her strength on the way over.

“How long have you two been going for?”

“Eh? The whole time?”

Not an answer.
The whole time… Since we had saw off Lyle and the others headed to the White
Wolves Den, two hours had already passed….

It was obviously overkill. Hunters said that rest was also part of work.

On the other hand, Liz didn’t have a single drop of sweat. Was she really human?

“Should we not take Tino with us?”

“Ehh- Is that ok? Tee also has some so-so fighting ability… Cry-chan is harsh in
that area. …What are you holding?”

Where am I harsh? That’s not why I wanted her to stay behind.

To me frowning at my damaged reputation, Liz asked me a question.
I sighed and presented her the file of data I had fished through on shrines.

The clan held onto most of the information on the shrines in the vicinity of the
Capital.
This was data that had been collected in the reference room after a long time. All I
did was search through it.

Flipping through it Liz tilted her head cutely.

“Hmm-? Only low level places? And there seem to be a lot of them?”

Shrines occur with the accumulation of Mana Material. Due to that nature there is
a tendency for more low level shrines to appear than high level ones.
Around the Capital with who knows how many Earth Veins running out, there were
dozens of low level shrines.

Even with the condition of being far from the White Wolves Den, my
indecisiveness led to me being unable to cut them down to just one.
As if to dodge that fact, I spoke with a smile on my face.

“Right, I thought I’d let Tino choose one that she liked.”

After always going through terrible experiences, this one will surely be fine.

Translator notes

Not sure what it was about this chapter, but it was much harder and took twice as long to translate
than normal.

First up I added some onomatopoeia for whiffed punches which hopefully made sense, they seem
terrible but I’m not sure what they should be instead. In the raw it’s 「ッ︕ ッ︕ ッ︕」. Just “-!
-! -!” I guess would represent it more literally, but it’s a terrible translation.

In chapter 35, I wrote Sven as level 7, when it said close to level 7. I gotta pay closer attention.

Sytry’s former name ‘The Best’. The kanji is used in words like ‘most valuable player’, or ‘the best
quality’.

Just a tidbit, you might know the philosophers stone from harry potter or full metal alchemist. But
it was a true ideal in non-fictitious history. Eventually we actually did turn lead into gold through
nuclear transmutation (a complete radiated waste though obviously). Cool article here:
“It would cost more than one quadrillion dollars per ounce to produce gold by this experiment,”
Seaborg told the Associated Press that year. The going rate for an ounce of gold at the time? About
$560.“

The iron alloy armor. I may have messed up here.

The kanji used for Iron in the story is the archaic (barely still in use) Kurogane, it could also be
‘black metal’ or even ‘black gold’. So maybe it’s an alloy called black metal, and their party name is
black metal crosses.
I’d be interested to know how a fluent reader instantly knows which one it is, my guess is that the
archaic word for iron might be often used in medieval fantasy novels (the modern kanji is tetsu).

Google says ancient blacksmiths had trouble with iron ore, probably because their heating methods
were shitty and unreliable. The stuff they created with iron would end up being brittle. But,
occasionally they would make steel unintentionally.
So steel weapons in ancient times had a mystical air because they were so much stronger than other
metals, and they were passed down generationally.
So maybe the characters think it’s special iron armour, but it might just be steel and they don’t
know (hard, flexible, blocks magic, sounds like steel to me).
 LN Translation
Learning through reading

Chapter 39
redhare404 March 14, 2020 Uncategorized

39 増援
Reinforcements

At my words, Liz started going through the file again.

I had listed ten shrines. Of those, seven were level 1 and the rest were level 2.
However they were just barely certified at level 2 and were easy shrines that trainee
hunters would go to.
They were shrines at a level even a hunter with no talent could capture with two or
three years experience.

Conversely at Liz’s level there were no merits in going there. In one way, they were
rare shrines.

As Liz flicked through the file over and over again she was frowning.

The data on shrines was stored in the clans archives. Office staff sorted information
from the Explorers Association as well as what was given by returning hunters.
The data was very popular among the hunters of Footprints. The accuracy was also
high.

Liz raised her face, and looked up at me.

Was there some kind of point an excellent hunter would feel uneasy about?

“Hey hey, Cry-chan… With this, what’s going to happen?”

“Eh?”

I think it would be good if nothing happened.

“No, I’m not doubting you or anything it’s just… Look, you asked for me to do this
right? I mean, if you told the others to go to the White Wolves Den, then that
means this will be way worse won’t it?”
“…Yeah, that’s right.”

“Well… there’s not really any powerful monsters in these areas… and there’s barely
any gimmicks. In the first place, with the Mana Material that a level 1 or 2 shrine
collects it’ll be difficult to make Tee struggle… hmmm…”

“Yeah, that’s right?”

Liz tilts her head making a small hum.

I think before you go jumping into danger it would be better if you fixed your
character first.

Liz had a thoughtful look for a while, but then nodded as if she had convinced
herself.

“…Well, it’s what Cry-chan has said isn’t it. I don’t think you would make a mistake
in judgement…”

“Yeah… that’s right.”

My family are sweet.

Then, Tino returned.

She seemed to have had a shower and a change of clothes, her hair was still damp.
As she came in front if us she was cautious with her arms pressed tightly against
her.

“I’ve come back just now. Onee-sama, Master.”

“You’re not tired? Are you ok?”

To my words Tino shot a fleeting glance at Liz as she answered.

“…Yes. There are no problems.”

“There’s no problems with just that much right? Since I made adjustments!”

Liz puffed up her chest with pride, while Tino had a blank look.
But just before she straightened up in front of me, I definitely saw her legs wobble.

Words were just words.

She’s always overdoing it isn’t she… Because Tino doesn’t give an honest objection,
the brakes can’t be put on.

As a close friend of her teacher and as her senior I have to make her rest and not
take no for an answer.
Lets go to an easy shrine… after all, it’s better to just take Liz along. I’m worried she
truly has no stopper…

“After all it looks like Tino is tired, so I’m just going to take Liz…”

As I started to speak, I noticed Tino’s eyes starting to tear up.

They were like the eyes of an abandoned puppy.

No, I’m not saying I don’t want to choose you. It isn’t about choosing you or not.

“…That’s what I was thinking, but I guess Tino really should come along. Alright, I
have some I picked out, so choose whichever one you like.”

“Y-Yes! …Picked…out?”

Tino began to look through the file.

Liz was staring at her from the side. For some reason she had an arrogant smile.

Tino couldn’t concentrate under the pressure.

Her body withered as if shrinking, and she stared fixedly at the file.

Come to think of it, I had asked her how it was being Liz’s disciple.
She always answered that she was training, but perhaps she was usually doing this
sort of thing.

Tino slowly looked at Liz.

“Um… Onee-sama?”

“What is it?”

“……..I-It’s nothing.”

Overwhelmed by that gaze, Tino started desperately looking through the file again.
Similar to Liz from a short while ago, she looked through the data over and over
again.
No, it’s not like there’s a correct answer. I said it was fine to just choose the one you
liked.

“Liz.”

I beckoned at Liz, and put both hands over my ears.

While Liz gave a strange expression, she plugged her hearing the same way I did.
Then I grabbed her by the shoulders and rotated her around, and moved her a few
meters away from Tino.
Tino can’t choose at all like that, so you need to be keep quiet.

The girl disciple stared at her teacher with amazement. Now there were no
obstacles.

“Now, you can take your time to choose the one you want. Liz won’t interfere.”

“…But, Master. I can’t…. make a judgement.”

Judgement… she was still searching for the correct choice huh… what correct
choice?
I want to drive some of that seriousness into Liz. …Well no, Liz was also serious
when it came to a hunt.

I think life is more enjoyable when you live well.

I threw out my chest and spoke confidently without any basis.

“It’s fine it’s fine. Whatever you choose is fine. We’ll manage somehow…
probably?”

“!?”

For some reason a small shriek leaked from Tino’s lips. She took a step back as if
drawing away.
As if she was looking at a monster.

Not just limited to today, for some reason Tino’s gaze was often much harsher
when she looked at me than when she looked at Liz.
I said it would be fine, so why are you so anxious…?

In a delicate, shaking voice Tino spoke.

“Um…Master……I, I’m still just level 4 so-“

“Eh? Yeah, that’s right?”

“……”

“Yeah, that is right.”

I had a great feeling of deja vu. Is Tino not trying to escape because her teacher is
so close?
Tino’s hand holding the file was shaking. Her lips were closed together tightly.
Her face had also gone pale, her beautiful looks were ruined.
Unfortunately I had no idea at all what she was afraid of. This time it wasn’t 『body
retrieval』, this time it was the ten easiest shrines chosen by my cowardly self. I
didn’t think there was any reason to be concerned…

While Liz’s back was turned and she was still holding over her ears, she started
kicking the floor while she waited.

“After all maybe a rest is…”

“N-No… I’ll do it.”

So serious. You don’t have to do anything impossible.

Tino looked up from the file, and looked at me with upturned eyes.

“…So, um…anything, is fine isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Anything.”

“…………even if, it’s not one of these, it’s ok?”

Eh…?

She says something beyond expectations. Tino’s expression was serious.

Even though I specially chose easy shrines for you… Well but, I picked out ten
shrines that were simple without thinking about Tino’s strong points, I didn’t
choose them with any solid reasons.
I’m not going to take any offence.

Suddenly the ground shook. A metallic crack echoed in the wide room and Tino
jumped with a start.

Liz’s foot had pierced through the floor. The metal tiles were caved in and crushed.
Do they have to be replaced again?
Liz looked over her shoulder while still closing over her ears, and smiled cheerfully
at Tino.

You could clearly hear what she was saying. This was a threat.

Tino looked like she was about to die at any moment.

She shook her head in fleeting resistance. She was torn between two demands.
I smiled at the poor girl to reassure her.

“Of course it’s fine. Actually I was waiting for you to say that.”

“…Eh?”
Tino’s expression froze. The file left her hand, and scattered on the ground.

§ § §

The emergency whistle didn’t sound, only time passed.

The sun had already half set, and the camp set up in front of the White Wolves Den
was faintly dyed in vermillion.

Listening to the reports from the returning parties, Sven compared them with the
map spread out on the ground.

From the start the White Wolves Den wasn’t a shrine with high difficulty. A map
that was roughly complete was already available.
The highly accurate map displayed the extent of the investigation. Because of the
precautions the progress had been slow, yet already 70% of the countless paths had
been verified.

The ends of Sven’s eyebrows came together. Before long it would be night. Lights
had already been set up, but he would like to get as much cleared up before then as
possible.

“Nothing abnormal, huh.”

“As usual, just the levels of the Phantoms seemed higher.”

At his companions words, Sven folded his arms.

The parties that had embarked resolutely prepared for death had returned with no
one missing for the time being.
There were a few with varying degrees of injuries, but no one had died and those
injuries had already been healed.

The Boss room which was the number one likely place for the slime to appear had
also already been checked. It had been ordered to be inspected with particular care,
but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

The remaining thirty percent that had not been investigated were dead ends. And
even then, after two or three more hours the checks would be finished.
The sense of crisis they had started out with was also easing away. Of course,
something going wrong the moment you relaxed was an old trick of Infinite
Variety, so they wouldn’t let their guard down but an air of tension couldn’t keep
up for long.

“Has Cry’s divine eyes clouded over?”

“What do we do if nothing happens?”

“Then we’ll count ourselves lucky.”

Sven replied to his companions jokingly.

As the investigation progressed, some parties had begun to look at Iron Cross as if
they were fools.
Henrik would look back indignantly, but since the others were only going as far as
grinning or laughing there was nothing he could say back.

There hadn’t been any denouncements yet, was it because they were waiting until
after the remaining thirty percent was finished?

Like Iron Cross in command, the slime countermeasure party with Talia in it
seemed uneasy and hadn’t entered the shrine even once.
Sven felt a little sorry for them, but he didn’t plan on making an error in
judgement.

“The investigation still hasn’t finished huh.”

“If you didn’t do so many excessive things it would’ve already ended don’t you
think?”

To the ridiculing voices, Sven raised his head up. It was the brown haired hunter
and his party that was taking every chance they had to make complaints.
His ears were pierced and his hair was dyed with highlights. He looked like a thug,
but he was a hunter that followed Sven’s command even while disagreeing with
him.

His party members held the same opinion, and watched Sven and the others with
eyes of hostility and caution.
Sven cracked his neck, and sighed.

“I’ll hear out your complaints afterwards. You’re shift has just finished. Settle
down.”

“…Tch. Stay here and pray as much as you can to that crazy master that hasn’t even
been down here.”

Stifling his anger, he parted ways after getting a final line in.

But, Sven understood why he felt the need to say it.

Without Sven and the others and their cautious tactics, the remaining thirty
percent would have been finished off long ago.
About this time they should have already been back at a tavern in the city
celebrating. Of course, that was assuming nothing was going to happen in the last
thirty percent.
Suddenly, the brown haired hunter separated from his party. Sven shouted out
when he saw him headed for the bushes.

“Oi, don’t leave your post!”

“Shut up, I’m taking a piss! I’ll be right back. I’ve got my weapon on me.”

He clapped the back of his sword, and disappeared into the foliage. Sven sighed
silently.

Well, the other party members were still around, and it wasn’t like he was headed
into the White Wolves Den.
It shouldn’t be dangerous around there. If he returned quickly it wouldn’t be a
problem.

“That person’s going to die isn’t he”

“Oi oi, don’t say such a bad thing.”

To Henrik joking casually, Sven gave a bitter smile.

At first the newcomer was suspicious of Infinite Variety’s words, but as Sven’s
position worsened he had strangely become more frank.
From being stared at Henrik smiled awkwardly.

“I don’t know much about Cry-san, but I trust Sven and the rest of you.”

“…Then, will you pray to the master to answer that trust?”

Then, at that moment sounds could be heard form the forest.

Sven stood up. Each party became alert, they had their weapons drawn and were
turned towards the noise.

Entering was a large carriage. It didn’t lose in comparison to the ones the members
of Footprints had used.
Seeing the symbol on the curtains Sven’s eyes widened. As everyones line of sight
converged, the door opened.

A giant of a man stepped out with slow movements like a bear.

Deep crimson armour, and a crimson helm held under an arm.

His height was around the same as Sven’s, but the well built frame was larger in
comparison to Sven’s slim body.

The tatooed face with old scars warily looked around the vicinity, and his gaze
caught onto Sven.
Sven blinked his eyes, seeing that familiar face.

“Branch chief Gark? What’s going on, looking like that?”

At his back two men with delicate features wearing the uniform of the Empire’s
『House of Remnant Investigations』 stepped down nervously.
As Sven couldn’t keep up with the state of affairs, the source of it all the 『War
Ogre』 snorted as he spoke.

“Ah, you kept me waiting. Sven. I’ve come to see this myself.”
 LN Translation
Learning through reading

Chapter 40
redhare404 March 14, 2020 Uncategorized

40 スライム
Slime

Gark Welter.

Originally a hunter, then after retiring he was a popular recruiter for the Explorers
Association, and he was now the formidable Explorers Association Imperial Capital
Branch Chief.
There was no person in the Capital that didn’t know of him.

It had been a long time since he had retired, but he was still known far and wide by
current hunters from the time when he was active.
Freely manipulating a hard to manage weapon like the halberd, and annihilating
any obstacles in his way whether monster or phantom, he was a man given the
name 『War Ogre』.

His transcendent combat skills made him one of the highest certified level 7
hunters.
Withdrawing from the front, and with the loss of Mana Material resulting in a drop
in power, his ability was still comparable to active hunters.
It was a bit of a custom in the Capital for hunters that got carried away and
entangled with Explorers staff to receive severe punishment from Gark.

However, Gark was one of the key figures in the Imperial Capital. He had a certain
position, and from the start he was busy involved in negotiations and the like with
the Empire.
No matter how much power he had, primarily he wasn’t the person that should be
expected to appear on a dangerous battlefield like this.

Feeling the atmosphere of a shrine after a long time, Gark seemed emotionally
moved. Stunned, Sven pointed his finger out.

“Branch chief, you’re not a hunter any more, you know that right?”
“Yeah, of course. Well, there’s still a long way before I lose to the hunters these
days.”

Gark frowned and beat his chest with his fist.

That figure. Bulging muscle with no excess flab covered by crimson armor, with a
relic held in his hand. He was perfectly ready.

Ah, this guy’s hard to understand. The assistant branch chief goes through a lot.
Sven sighed deeply.

It certainly didn’t seem like Gark had gone through a ten year blank period, and his
strength was preserved.
He probably had a high natural ability to withhold Mana Material. His body still
seemed to be trained. In Sven’s eyes he was still enough to pass as a hunter.

But while that was true, the front was another story.

The two men who seemed to be examiners from the 『House of Remnant
Investigations』 looked around uneasily whenever they heard howls from the
Phantoms.

The 『House of Remnant Investigations』 was a division of the Empire that

investigated shrines and relics.
Investigations of shrine abnormalities such as this one was also under their
control.
By it’s nature it had close ties with the Explorers Association.

However, most of it’s members were researchers and civilians.

The two that came with Gark wouldn’t be very different from an ordinary person in
fighting capability.

As the two squat on the ground, scooped out dirt and talked about something, Sven
spoke to Gark while he watched them.

“Those guys are?”

“I asked for a big budget increase this time. They wouldn’t take no for an answer.
They won’t get in the way.”

To the words that wouldn’t allow a refusal, Sven was swayed for the time being.

It wasn’t the time for an argument, he would make a complaint after returning.
Many of the members of the 『House of Remnant Investigations』 took a
condescending attitude towards hunters, but Gark was here so there shouldn’t be
any problems.
They had better stay quiet within eyesight.

Branch chief Gark was a former high level hunter.

Even though he had been absent for a while, he wouldn’t get in the way. More than
that, a former hunter that was part of various legends taking part would lead to
increased morale.

And above all, he had no right to veto.

At the center of camp, he gave a report running down the situation from the
beginning.
As Sven spread out the map and explained, Gark gave a low murmur.

His expression held relief that he was in time, and grasped the strong vigilance.

One of the examiners spoke up at Sven’s report.

“A slime…? What appears at this shrine are wolves. Up to now there haven’t been
any reports of other types of Phantoms appearing, and this area isn’t a suitable
habitat for slimes.”

He understood all that.

When Iron Cross arrived at the shrine, they hadn’t known the information from
Cry.
But the members that had arrived as reinforcements were investigating every
possibility.

As he was about to say that, one of the examiners crossed his arms and opened his
mouth.
An older man with a sharp look in his eye, his tone of voice exuded feelings of
suffering.

“But, it’s the word of 『Infinite Variety』. That man never fails to miss strange
occurences at shrines. …Up till now, we’ve also had some terrible hardships.”

“Terrible hardships…?”

“Because of that guy that can expose accidents without any precursor, we’ve been
treated as incompetent. Even in this case, if we didn’t increase the personnel and
something happened then someone would be chased after to be held responsible.
That’s why we’re closed in from every direction. Damn it…”

For some reason Sven felt some affinity for the man that treaded on the ground in
agitation.
“It’s better to deal with it all at once. Don’t you think it’s stupid to be influenced by
the words and actions of a man who only says he was unlucky?”

“…Oi, leave it there.”

“Ah, it was just a slip of the tongue.”

One investigator strikes the others shoulder and apologises.

However, hearing the mans words the eyes of the hunters that had been looking
over changed.
It wasn’t as if their doubts had vanished, but the ridiculing factor was gone.

“But really, the chance of a slime appearing here is equal to zero. No, there are no
shrines in the Empire that have slimes that could harm you lot. Of course, that’s
the story for now. Unfortunately our predictions are outside the range of foresight.
We can’t deny that this shrine could become specialised in slimes now, but, from
the opinion of an expert it’s probably impossible.”

“Yeah, that’s seems about right.”

To the almost sarcastic roundabout way of talking Sven nodded. Next to him Gark
was frowning but also didn’t say anything.

It wasn’t that shrines never went through drastic changes. But there were only a
few cases up until now.
More than anything, if such a thing happened, it would be too much for Iron Cross
to handle.

“Any other possibilities?”

“Who can tell. I don’t have the faintest idea what could appear. If it wasn’t an order
from above, I would never have come to this place.”

The man shrugged his shoulders and sighed.

Even though the older man was in a higher position, the other looked at him
reproachfully but said nothing.

Apparently their wills were united. They both wanted to return safely.
Another party came back, and another portion of the map was filled out.

“If it’s unlikely a wild slime will appear, what about one that isn’t wild?”

Gark raised his head and spoke to Sven.

“Creating slimes is one of an alchemist’s specialties. Certainly it’s improbable that a
wild slime will come out, but it’s possible if there was an alchemist that created
one.”

Sven gave Gark’s idea some thought, and then shook his head.

“…No, it’s doubtful. A good alchemist can make powerful slimes, but even so there
is a limit. If you were going to pour so much money into researching powerful
slimes, if it was me I would research 『Golems』 and 『Automata』.”

“I-If it’s slimes… if there are good things to say about slimes, Sytry-chan had said a
few things though…”

The sole alchemist Talia cut in, but didn’t deny Sven.
An 『Alchemist』 used magic differently to a 『Magi』, and it had costs and took
time. If you had time to spend on slimes, it was better to use it researching another
field. That was common sense.

Sven turned his gaze towards the glass of dark liquid on her waist.

“…Either way, if worse comes to worst, we have this slime potion. It would be best
if we didn’t have to use it.”

“Since there’s only one, we need to be careful.”

Talia nervously clenched her fists and nodded.

The information source was just the word of one hunter. The basis behind it was
not explained.
But all the people in that place took some amount of caution at the words.

As the unknown spots inside the shrine became accounted for, caution was turned
towards the forest as well.

“…Speaking of which, that guy that went into the forest earlier-“

Was he back?
At the time he was about to verify it, a faint sound entered Sven’s ears.
It was a sound small enough to be lost in the wind. It disappeared in an instant, but
it wasn’t misheard.

“It’s a single sound out. All hands, be alert!”

Sven shouted out.

A single sounded whistle was the signal for the discovery of a monster. Since it was
a brief sound, was there no time afforded against the monster?
The remaining hunters quickly went into formation and readied their weapons.

The investigation was already nearly over.

There were three parties left within the shrine. Most of the hunters were mobilised
outside of it.

Gark grasped his Relic – the 『Blizzard War Fang』, and asked Sven with a stern
expression.

“Oi, Sven. The whistle just now, where did you hear it from?”

Sven was an archer. His eyes and ears were good.

It was difficult to detect the source of a sound when it was echoing inside, but in
these circumstances he wouldn’t be mistaken.

He composed his breathing, and glared.

His line of sight wasn’t on the shrine, it was in the direction of the thickets the
brown haired hunter had left in.

“Inside the forest… it wasn’t the shrine. Shit!”

The trees shook, and the ground quaked.

The sound of a great impact resounded from the interior of the forest.

The sound of the whistle wasn’t heard again.

The sun was already setting, and the dense forest that was dim at the best of times
was getting harder to see in.

The Magi among the hunters each chanted light magic. Soft spheres of illumination
were suspended in the air, turning away the darkness.
The two non-combatants of the 『House of Remnant Investigations』 fell back to
the rear. Sven took his bow and turned towards the direction of the noise.

Then, a limping figure rushed out of the darkness.

“-…God… damn… it… it’s, coming.”

It was the brown haired hunter. However, his face was distorted, both arms were
cut in half, and bones could be seen.
Blood was dripping. The armour he wore was gouged out, and the sword he had
been carrying was nowhere to be seen.

As the man tumbled towards the formation, his party members ran over and pulled
him in.
He was unable to fight. It wasn’t at the level of some broken fingers. Without
fingers on either arm it was impossible to hold a sword.

“Henrik, cure!”

“-….! Yes!”

At Sven’s order, the Lighter Henrik rushed over.

With a serious expression he checked over the wounds and was dumbfounded.

Both arms seemed to have been torn off, an ordinary attack would be unable to
create such wounds.
The cross section was warped as if twisted, it was doubtful it could be sutured even
if the arms had remained.

Sven also didn’t understand it.

Until now he had fought against a great amount of monsters, but what kind of
attack would result in these wounds?

The sound of foliage being broken down steadily approached. The sound of trees
breaking made it seem as if it was a large beast.

A faint white light extended from Henrik’s hand.

The jutting bones and dripping blood swelled, and in the blink of an eye the
wounds were closed over with flesh.

While receiving the treatment, the brown haired hunter screamed out.

“Not a, not… it wasn’t, a slime! I-I know, that it – it will swallow you in. Stay away!
Run!”

At the words, the party closest to the bushes changed their position to further
away.

Then, as the fully prepared hunters lied in wait, the monster from the forest came
into view.

Under the magical light sources, Sven widened his eyes in shock.

“A …….slime?”

It was far away from any creature Sven and the others had ever fought.
The sound of footsteps were faint, but if you listened carefully the strange sound of
something damp and heavy creeping forward could be heard.
The body was large. In terms of height it was taller than Sven.

It’s body was deep red and humanoid. It’s body was larger than Sven’s, but it was
more appropriate to say it was lumpy rather than muscular.

“Is it….melted…?”

At the bizarre form, Talia’s breath caught and she took a step back.

At her words Sven noticed that the creature before his eyes resembled the
phantoms from the Shrine.

There was nothing preexisting to compare it with. But if he had to say, then it
would be a 『Melted Wolf Knight』.

The arms, legs, fur, and armour, not only on the surface – more than half had
dissolved into a viscous mass. It was nearly collapsing and could hardly maintain
it’s posture.
However only the eyes remained clear, shining gold towards the hunters waiting.

It was a creature with it’s body in a liquid state.

Certainly if you only listed it’s features you might say it was a slime.

But, that form was much too violent to call it that.

Slimes were that sort of creature, but this life form had experienced a failure in the
construction of it’s body.

As the monster passed by, nothing was left behind.

A part of it’s almost liquefied shoulder touched a tree. With just a touch, the tree
shattered into fragments and fell.
It wasn’t magic. It didn’t launch an attack. It was only a touch.

Unknown whether blood or flesh, the surface of it’s body frothed and bubbled.
At that ugliness, one of the examiners opened their eyes to the limit and covered
their mouth.

It’s legs were not agile. It’s speed had allowed the injured hunter to escape.
One of the hunters muttered while taking a step back.

“You nearly die?”

“No! At the time I ran into it, that was-“

It was the 『enemy』 that 『Infinite Variety』 had wanted to dispatch the clans
strongest for.

That thought suddenly crossed his mind. Sven pulled out his bow and shouted.

“All hands, commence the attack! Bring it down by keeping your distance! Cry
damn it, how is this thing a slime! Stop kidding around!”

a
 LN Translation
Learning through reading

Chapter 41
redhare404 March 14, 2020 Uncategorized

41 スライム②
Slime 2

In accordance with Sven’s command, the hunters fired their attacks with perfect
coordination.

Treasure hunters that dealt with gimmicks and various phantoms excelled in their
ability to adapt.
Even in the event of an unexpected enemy showing up in front of them, they
demonstrated that disposition.

Within the darkness, dazzling shining lights flew out at a terrific speed.

Attack magic was fired from a number of meters away ― the most basic magic
attack 『fire arrow』 made a muffled sound impacting on the slimes head, arms,
and torso. It didn’t make any moves to evade.

The slime raised a strange cry that made you want to close your hands over your
ears.
From the impact, dust swirled up concealing the large body of the slime.

『Fire arrow』 was a low grade magic that most Magi could use. It was simple to
control and the mana consumption was low. The invocation speed was also fast, it
was a magic useful from skilled Magi down to beginners.
It’s might was low among attack magic, but it had the power to pierce through thin
metal armour.

Even more, the enemy this time was a slime which held weakness against fire.
After receiving the attacks of more than ten Magi it wouldn’t be strange for it to be
completely obliterated.

Without confirming the enemies erasure, a second wave of fire arrows were
released into the dust cloud.
The bursts of flame warmed the air, and the intense heat was transmitted to Sven
nearly ten meters away.

The continuous attacks that could be called excessive ended, and the area returned
to silence.
The brown haired hunter on the ground was drawing back with his eyes opened to
their limit.

“…-, did we do it!?”

“Don’t get careless! Move back! This is 『one thousand tribulations』!”

Sven shouted while he set the sight of his arrow on the cloud of dust.
After the attack ended, the relaxed air became tense once again.

The appearance of the slime was beyond bizarre. For the members of Footprints,
this wasn’t their first encounter like this. But they wouldn’t grow used to it no
matter how many times it happened.

Approaching an unknown enemy was too high of a risk. They slowly gained
distance from the cloud of dust.
While ready to shoot at any moment, Sven finally checked in with the now standing
brown haired hunter.

“Oi, what is that guy?”

“I-I don’t know. I ran into it on the way back after pissing, it was headed in the
direction of the camp.”

Sven clicked his tongue.

Should they be happy not to receive a surprise attack?

The brown haired hunter was evidently unable to fight.

Setting aside Magi, a swordsman without arms was useless.
Henrik’s healing was powerful, it could heal serious wounds in seconds. But it
couldn’t regain lost body parts.

The brown haired hunter’s looks were distorted. He had a demonic expression.
Fear and anger as well as though he was holding back some impulse, he grit his
teeth and spoke.

“It, still hadn’t noticed me. It was full of gaps. From behind, I slashed it! Shit! My…
arms were ―”

The dust fell. One of the Magi opened their eyes wide at what emerged.
The slime was alive and well. There were no traces left on the body dripping like
mucus.

The slime moved it’s arm like growths up. From it’s movements it didn’t look like it
held any rage from receiving the attacks.

At that ugly figure, Sven’s party member next to him Marietta, had wide eyes.

“Huh…? It was attacked to that extent and it’s…un…harmed?”

Was it resistant to fire? Either that or perhaps magic itself was ineffective.
Every possibility went through Sven’s mind.

The slime took a sluggish step forward. At that moment Sven released his arrow.

“-!”

Stretched focus. A jet black arrow with energy loaded incomparable to a 『fire
arrow』 was aimed at the slimes head, and it went straight between it’s eyes.

It was an arrow of certain death that could even shoot out dragon scales. The attack
that gave Sven his name 『Tempest Strike』 drilled into the Slimes head – and in
the next moment it was blown away into the air.

There was a noise like a splitting crack.

“Wha-…”

At the unexpected sight, Sven furrowed his brow.

The arrow that was blown away and shot off whirled in the air, and dropped among
the trees.

The scene was too unnatural, and the brown haired hunters eyes were wide while
his mouth repeatedly opened and closed. Henrik at the side also became
speechless.

Behind the examiners, Gark groaned in a low voice.

Sven was calm. Since entering the clan he had experienced many opponents where
his arrows were ineffective.

It’s not that it didn’t pierce. It hadn’t been evaded. It was repelled. Moreover the
slime didn’t take any defensive actions.

It hadn’t been all his power, but he didn’t plan to relax.

Without shaking he pulled a new arrow from his quiver and speedily nocked it on
his bow.
The slime moved forward with an uncertain stride.

His companions gathered together at the abnormal situation, and Marietta cried
out.

“I’ll use a different magic! Don’t let it draw near! 『Thunder Storm』”

Holding up her large staff, a golden sphere clad in lightning appeared in front of it.
It was mid range attack magic that overwhelmed with lightning. By all rights it
wasn’t something that would be used on a single monster.

Vast amounts of Mana was converted to rapidly create a lightning sphere that
headed towards the slime, the energy scattered.
A flash that wasn’t inferior to true lightning cut away the dark, tremendous
thunder echoed throughout the area.
However after receiving the lethal blow, the slime only stopped walking for an
instant.

Marietta took a short breath after exhausting so much mana.

As it approached again as if nothing had happened, one beat later attack magic
from all directions was released.

A blade of wind, a spear of earth. Flame and wind enveloped the slime. The
vegetation burnt and the ground was hollowed out.
Each attack that came was magic that had slaughtered many phantoms before.
Sven knew the power well.

However, the red slime received them casually. It only took a step back from the
impact.

“…Impossible…there was, no effect?”

The Magi’s expressions warped with despair. The attacks of various natures had
exhausted a considerable amount of mana.
If they spent some time, a more powerful attack magic could be used. But what
they had used so far should have been enough to slay a single slime.

It could be understood if it was repelled by strong armour. But the strange variant
before their eyes was totally soft.
It could be understood if it repelled attacks using it’s limbs. But the slime in front
of them received them without defending.

In the place of the disturbed Magi, Sven fired arrows giving a short spirited shout.
Arrows released with unseen force fell down on the slime like a storm.
Head. Neck. Arms. Legs. Body. Regardless of the location, the arrows were snapped
away and held no indications of piercing.

Invincible. The word crossed his mind.

The enemy’s movements were not fast. But if an attack couldn’t be connect, it
would not be defeated.

One of the hunters gave out a roar as if unable to bear the situation. As he rushed
out, he swung his huge metal hammer down onto the slime.

There was no time to stop it. A heavy blow from a high level hunter swept down
from directly above the slime.

At the moment the hammer with a protruding metal spike smashed into the slimes
head – Sven witnessed a strange sight.
The hammer made of metal became greatly cracked. It warped as if it was forcibly
twisted.

And that force was transferred into both arms of the hunter holding the hammer.

“Gaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

A painful voice like the roar of a beast.

Thoughtlessly holding onto the weapon so tightly made a turn in a bad direction.

The sound of breaking bones and crushed flesh. The arm protected by muscle was
twisted easily.
At that sight, the brown haired hunter that had lost both his arms came to memory.

This was – the origin of those strange wounds!

“Release your hands!”

Gark shouted out. The hammer shattered to pieces at roughly the same time.
Barely released in time, the arms were still safe. They were bent in the wrong
direction and hanging limply, but they were still connected.

To the male hunter that stopped moving at the sharp pain, the slime leaned it’s
body forward overhead.

It was a monster. It seemed emotionless, but it surely recognised Sven and the
others as enemies.

He knocked an arrow at once. With a minute amount of time to aim, he released an

arrow.
The arrow that had massacred phantoms up to now drilled into the ground, and
with it’s footing destroyed the slime’s posture collapsed. Not missing the gap that
was created, several more arrows were fired.
The aim wasn’t the slime itself, but at it’s feet.

The man staggered away from the slime.

Gark groaned. His breathing was rough. His eyes blazing with concealed fighting
spirit glared at the slime.

“It’s a 『force field』. This guy, to use a force field… this is also why the magic was
ineffective!”

At those words Sven looked closely. The surface of the slime was putting itself back
in order, melting with sound.
The surrounding air was distorted. He thought it was traces from the 『flame
arrows』, but it was different to the effects of heat residue.

“Force field….a magic….barrier….?”

It was one of a Magi’s most used techniques.

Putting out the mana within the body without forming it into magic, developing it
into a boundary that enclosed the body, magic that couldn’t be called magic.
All energy – it prevented attacks but because of the inefficiency, it wasn’t practical
unless you were a Magi with vast stores of mana. It was proof of a first class Magi.

If anything rather than human Magi, it was known to be used by powerful

monsters with innately powerful mana such as dragons.

For a slime to use it was unthinkable. But, if that presumption was correct, it would
be exceedingly difficult to break through with an attack.

He had to think about a new plan.

Should they put in enough energy to overcome the barrier, or wait for it to exhaust
itself?

“Damn it, Cry you… so that’s why, Ark was-“

Ark’s power as a single unit was in the strongest class. Perhaps with his power, he
could forcibly break through the barrier.
For that, Sven was far inferior to Ark in terms of pure offensive power.
In Sven’s opinion Arks power was excessive, but all he could do was make
complaints now.

Should they buy time to try and break through with superior attack magic?
But the might of attack magic was proportional to the skill of the caster.
There was no prominent attack magic users among them.
Sven’s party member Marietta was an excellent Magi, but it’s doubtful whether she
could break through a barrier capable of flicking away one of Sven’s arrows.
And if it failed, Marietta would become unable to move with the over consumption
of mana.

The number of people was insufficient. Maybe if Footprints strongest Magi party
『Starlight』 were here it would be a different matter.
Or if the one that had foreknowledge of everything 『Infinite Variety』 was here, it
was doubtless one way or the other it would get done.

As if planned, the necessary things to be sufficient weren’t there.

At the time Iron Cross was sent here Cry’s smile crossed his mind, and he shook his
head.

The alchemist Talia ran over. In her hand she grasped the thin glass tube.

“Sven-san. It’s already too much… use this.”

Slime killing potion. The trump card.

Without the arrows keeping it in check, the slime resumed it’s sluggish movements.

The mana boundary was strong. But it didn’t reject everything in it’s surroundings.
If that happened it would be unable to walk.
The boundary only flicked away attacks with a fixed amount of energy. For
example, it couldn’t defend against toxic fog.
Creatures with barriers tended not to be weak against poisons, and although it
wasn’t a weakness this time it was a different story.

“From only one drop, it should disintegrate.”

“Got it. …I’ll do it.”

He received the potion from Talia. It was inside a container that would break easily
if thrown.
If it defended with a mana barrier, the glass would probably get reflected away.

The slime looked at Sven with both eyes. The huge body seemed to stoop over as if
being compressed.

Sven’s lips curved, and he set a smile on his face.

It was a monster. An absurd monster. But, it didn’t see Sven and the others as it’s
opponents.
No, it held hostility, but it was in the manner of prey. At least it wasn’t being
cautious.
It wasn’t definite whether or not it had intelligence. That’s was the gap to take
advantage of.

The body of the slime shrunk in as if it’s flesh and blood had melted, and like a
spring it jumped into the air.
Up to now it was at an incomparable speed. It closed the distance in one breath.
As it swooped down from the sky Sven laughed scornfully.

“Too bad, 『Infinte Variety』.”

They read it. Since Iron Cross was a first rate party.
The party members that were on Sven’s left and right, took Talia and separated as
if reading Sven’s intentions.

Fast. It was certainly fast, compared to the movements it had been making
previously.
It was a speed that could be seen through easily compared to the Phantoms that
they were usually fighting.

The slime descended as if to crush him with it’s body.

Sven bent over, and at the same time he kicked himself away he placed the bottle
on the ground.

It’s target Sven vanished, and as it hurtled through the sky it’s limbs stretched out.
By that time Sven was far out of the Slime’s range.

The slime slopped down onto the ground.

Right onto what Sven left behind – the slime killing agent.

The faint sound of glass breaking was picked up by Sven’s ears.

Barriers were not invincible. The 『safe ring』 famed for creating strong barriers
also had it’s gaps.

The movement of the slime stopped for an instant after taking in the potion.

“Die…!”

Talia, Marietta, Lyle, the brown haired hunter, and Gark stared fixedly at it’s
movements.

And then it’s arm suddenly extended, and Sven stepped back to avoid it with room
to spare.
The slime started to move without incident. It’s viscous melted form was
unchanged, but it’s movement was far smoother than when it had first appeared.
Talia who had provided the slime killing agent fell down as her lips trembled.
Sven stamped his feet and he screamed out.

“Fuuuuuuuuuuck! Like I thought, it wasn’t a slime at allllll!”

His scream reverberated in the dead of night.

He had expected it. Sven had a long relationship with Cry.

The creature in front of them clearly deviated from the category of slime. By all
appearances it was a subspecies of Wolf Knight.

Lyle who had received the advice turned pale, as he recalled it.

“T-That reminds me, Cry…… didn’t say slime. He said slime kind of guy-“

“That man, cut it out already! Convey information accurately! Don’t base it on the
standard of 『Strangry』! How many times are you planning to kill us!!”

The pseudo-slime began forward with agile footwork.

In front of everyone shocked by the fact, Sven lowered his body and barely avoided
it.
He wasn’t sure what would have happened if he didn’t lean over, but it surely
wouldn’t have been anything good.

In the tension cold sweat dripped. He heard the sound of something damp striking
behind him.

“Shit, what the hell is this, Cry! Drop dead!”

“B-but, for Cry, just halfway is fine…”

“Don’t mess with me! Kill him! I’ll do it myself!!”

Sven raised an angry voice while skilfully evading, in the confusion the magic
attacks resumed.
The pseudo-slimes movements were stopped from the impact, and he was able to
distance himself in the gap.

Some advanced attack magic was able to be fired off, but they were also reflected
off the surface.

The key to the solution, hadn’t been found.

Something had gone wrong, or perhaps it was growing, but the pseudo slimes
movements were getting faster.
It’s target changed from Sven and it indiscriminately rushed down hunters.
An agonising cry was raised like the embodiment of hell. The hunters desperately
distanced themselves from the attacking slime.

Although it hadn’t made any unusual attacks, the Magi had been considerably
exhausted of mana due to their continuous attacks.
It would be difficult to defend like this if their mana was cut off and they fell down.

Sven frantically thought while keeping it’s movements in check with arrows. His
number of arrows remaining was also low.

“Sven-san, lets retreat…”

One of the hunters shouted.

But, there were still others inside the shrine. If they withdrew like this, the ones left
behind would be put at risk.
In the first place, if they retreated they couldn’t pull the pseudo-slime back to town
with them.

A hunter holding a shield was hit by the slime and blown away.
He had been planning to release it from the beginning, and seemingly undamaged
he got back up immediately.

It’s attacking capabilities weren’t that high, but it’s defence was tough.
Limbs. Head. Front or rear, no matter where you attacked, it was repelled. Rather
than defence, it was closer to a counter.
And if they could get an attack through, they could defeat it.

And at that moment, Sven noticed the pseudo-slimes body had become slightly
smaller.

The slime sprung up into a jump. It’s body had an indeterminate form so it was
hard to grasp, but certainly you could see that it’s volume was reduced.

The pseudo-slimes body was liquefied, and when it gathered together it raised
fumes, and nothing remained on the ground.
It was as if it had evaporated.

If they stalled for time… would it destroy itself?

Although it moved around wildly, it’s change in size wasn’t very large.
There was no way to estimate how long it would take to reach zero.

But now he had some hope to wish for. This was a trial. He had the will to
overcome this tribulation.
Cry was a man with depths that were hard to perceive, but the clan master wouldn’t
drive them into a hopeless situation.
If he said that it could be done with half the amount here, that meant the man had
read through everything and judged it so.

“Buy time! Look closely, it’s become smaller! Magi should preserve their mana and
stamina! Party units should rotate to keep it contained!”

As Sven raised his voice, the expressions of each person changed. Hope rose amidst
despair.

As he ran around he collected arrows that had been flicked away.

The total number of hunters was close to a hundred. The slimes current movement
was random, and by attracting it’s attention in turns, they may be able to gain time
by being able to control it’s target.

Taking a single blow wouldn’t be a problem.

Sven and the others part of Iron Cross, they all could use restoration magic.
They couldn’t recover stamina, but they could heal wounds.
If their arms weren’t swallowed up, they would manage somehow.

Even more, this was one of Cry’s tests. Everyone of Footprints would have brought
along more supplies than usual.
Having no way to win was one thing, but if there was a chance then they would do
whatever they could.

Under Sven’s instructions, everyones expressions became calm.

It was at that time. The pseudo-slime that had been pursuing a thief changed it’s
target.
It’s target was the two examiners furtherest away from camp. The gold eyes turned
towards the two hidden behind a tree.

The slime dragged it’s body along quickly. Hunters along the way tried to induce
it’s attention, but the slime bounced around in it’s movement.
It gathered enough speed to approach the ordinary civilians, and the examiners
screamed out and broke into a run.

“Stop it!”

Sven sucked in a deep breath, and released an arrow.

The arrow flew at the pseudo-slime’s feet with a thunderous roar. With it’s posture
collapsing, more arrows were fired in succession to keep it contained.
From firing rapidly his fingers ached with a tingling sensation. Just like that, his
quiver became empty.

However, that much could only delay the pseudo-slime for a short moment.

The pseudo-slime made a great leap. As if in an attempt to eat it’s prey, it fell
spreading itself to cover over the two examiners.

――In front of them, a huge shadow stood in the way.

A large frame dressed in crimson armour, and a giant halberd wedged into the
space between them.

The leaping pseudo-slime fell onto the giant black-blue blade with it’s abdomen.

The arm holding onto the halberd shook with the impact. But, the hand holding
onto the weapon never separated.

“-!? Branch chief!?”

“Oi, you bastard, go run back to Sven.”

A tattoo was engraved on the left side of his face, and on his cheek was the trace of
an old wound.
The man once called the 『War Ogre』 smiled. His armour rung out in front of the
slime.

The slime knocked to the ground slowly got back up, and it’s eyes turned towards
Gark.
 LN Translation
Learning through reading

Chapter 42 – part 1
redhare404 March 15, 2020 Uncategorized

42 スライム③
Slime 3

It was an unknown lifeform to Gark that was once a Level 7 certified hunter.

He swung the 『Blizzard War Fang』 in revolutions to shake off the numbing
impact on his arms, and turned the point towards the pseudo-slime.

The pseudo-slime shook it’s fat arm-like feelers while observing Gark.
Conflicting with it’s appearance it had rounded gold eyes. The eyeballs showing
through it’s faintly transparent body made it awfully sinister.

He had slaughtered many monsters. Golems. Phantom imitations of ancient

knights, and renowned as the strongest monster, a dragon.
As well as nauseatingly hideous undead.

But the creature in front of him was different. If Gark was forced to put the
creature into words, he could really only call it something like a slime.
Of course, he didn’t believe it was actually a slime.

“What are you…? Which 『era』 have you been pulled from?”

The examiners he had protected while they were fallen, were desperately fleeing to
Sven.
He didn’t expect the thing to answer him in words, he was only stalling for time.

When Sven and the other hunters had been keeping it company, he had been
observing.

A mana barrier strong to the point that it distorted the air. It was a type of force
field.
It repelled Sven’s deadly arrows, and magic attacks could not pass through.
The field could destroy a hunters armour with only a touch. It particularly didn’t
match well with close combat roles – the great majority of hunters.

A mana barrier was strong because it was simple. It was exceedingly difficult to
break through using an inferior amount of power.

After some short breaths and refocusing his mind, Gark checked on his own
weapon with a fleeting glimpse.
Gark’s halberd was a relic. It was a reproduction from a heightened civilisation. It’s
quality was superior to any existing metals.
A weapon he had carried with him through countless battlegrounds without a
scratch wouldn’t receive one from the likes of the pseudo-slime.

If Gark had maintained his power from at his peak, perhaps he may have been able
to pierce through the barrier and destroy the pseudo-slime.
But the present Gark had a time of absence that was fatal. Even if training kept his
physique from declining, it could not prevent the loss of accumulated Mana
Material.
His former experience could compensate to some extent, but there were limits.

Gark wasn’t so senile as to think a hunter of average power could pierce a barrier
that Sven’s arrows could not.

He delivered mana to the old friend in his hands.

It had been a long time since he had felt the sensation. At the unexpected strange
lethargy that ran through his whole body, Gark frowned.
Due to the deterioration of Mana Material, Gark’s total amount of mana had
decreased.

However, the relic still met the call of it’s wielder.

The halberds blade became clad in a chill air, and glowed a dull blue.

“You aren’t an ordinary Phantom. Did you come from the outside? What
happened? Cry – what did you see?”

The first time Gark met Cry was a story from five years prior.
It was an ordinary party. No, at least just the leader looked ordinary.

But that judgement was immediately overturned from their results.

『Strange Grief』 was always blood stained.

While there were many ornately named parties, that oddly named party constantly
visited harsh battlefields that would usually be unable to be encountered.

The essence of Cry’s true nature lay in his transcendent foresight. It was the most
essential ability for a leader.
And as the strength of his party members grew, that ability was sharpened.

Gark held a long relationship with Cry, but didn’t know how he was able to read the
future.
It wasn’t by magic. And it shouldn’t be the ability of a relic. Of course it was
unthinkable that it was something like chance.

There was only one remaining answer.

Cry Andoric wasn’t anything particularly special. Like an ordinary hunter that
collected information in advance to be extremely prepared, he made predictions
from the slightest grains of sand like clues.

In this case, when Cry had been to the location of Gark’s emergency request, he had
noticed 『something』.
And responding to that, he sent Iron Cross ahead.

One thing he couldn’t carelessly forget, was that when Gark went to consult him,
Cry had said he was 『busy with a separate matter』.

The pseudo-slime before him was a formidable enemy.

By the nature of the mana barrier, Liz that specialised in speed was a bad match for
it.
But, with 『Infinite Variety』 that held innumerable cards up his sleeves as tactics,
he could do it one way or the other.

But, he hadn’t played that hand.

In other words, this matter wouldn’t just end with 『a powerful phantom that
manifested by chance』.

At this moment Cry could be fighting against an enemy incomparable to this

pseudo-slime.
He had said he needed Liz for something, so that might be connected.
Either way, the pseudo-slime right now had to be taken care of by Gark and the
others.

The pseudo-slime didn’t answer to Gark’s words.

It raised it’s arms overhead at Gark who held a glint in his eye reminiscent of his
time as the 『War Ogre』.

“I’m a fool, but I remember one thing!”

They lashed out like a whip and were received by the halberds blade. Instead of
slamming violently, Gark gave a passive defence.
The gooey arm struck the blade. The massive blade trembled as if it was roaring,
and he gripped the handle tightly, withstanding the fierce impact that was
transmitted.
As Gark braced his legs as if they were rooted to the ground, the pseudo-slime
stepped back for the first time.
At that scene, the surrounding hunters watching let out voices of admiration.

Gark raised the corner of his thick lips and smiled like a wild beast.

After all, it seemed like the monster before him wasn’t a slime.
Originally the monster referred to as slime had an indefinite form. Without holding
a specific shape, it’s form could be changed freely. It seemed like this monster did
not possess that property.

It also wasn’t very smart. If he had to say, it was attacking on instinct.

To defeat it was difficult, but at least to Gark it wasn’t that hard to defend against.
If the hunters with shields took turns as it’s target, they could make a bid for some
time.

The sole place of concern, was that the pseudo-slime’s speed was increasing little
by little.
Gark was essentially a warrior. Defending wasn’t his expertise.
If it’s speed continued increasing as it was, Gark would eventually be unable to
keep up.

He might not be able to resist it alone. But with support from the surroundings ―.

He took a short glimpse back. Each Magi was gulping down a blue potion,
recovering their mana.

That stuff was horribly bitter…

While having that thought, he changed his position so he was in-between the
pseudo-slime and the hunters.
Protecting the two examiners at a far distance, Sven shouted out.

“Support the branch chief!”

Flame arrows fell on the monster like a downpour of rain.

The pseudo-slime jumped through the blazing storm head on and it’s body press
from above was blocked by the 『Blizzard War Fang』.

The impact of the force field assaulted Gark’s arm like an electric shock. The
crimson armour covering him did not defend against it.
However as if to gloss over the pain, Gark roared. With just that, the former power
he held as a hunter sprung forth.

Blades of grass stirred, and trees shook. The cold of the blade spread to the pseudo-
slime.
With the return of the war ogre, the hunters fighting a desperate battle regained
their fervour.

He could do it.
He didn’t know how long he would have to endure, but he would.

At the moment of that conviction, an arrow flew into the side of the pseudo-slime
at the same time it was about to leap, piercing into it’s body.
The pseudo-slime was blown away. Like that it collided with a tree, which was
smashed and knocked down as it touched the force field.

A thunderous roar resounded. Sven that had fired the arrow widened his eyes.

The slime slowly got back up. The arrow pierced into it was crushed, and it fell to
the ground.
The spot the arrow had struck. There was a hole with cracks in it’s circumference.
The hole closed up in the blink of an eye, and the pseudo-slime began moving
again.

But, the attack had doubtlessly gone through. It was different to the ones that had
been deflected until now.

“? …Why did the attack go through? Has the mana barrier… become weakened?”

Sven fired off a new arrow. The arrow flew at the same speed as the other, hitting
the slimes arm and being deflected like before.
As the pseudo-slime began charging forward again, Gark blocked it once more. He
braced his legs and caught the blow.

At that moment, Gark noticed it.

――It was frozen.

At the point the pseudo-slime came into contact with the blade, it was thinly frozen
over.

The 『Blizzrd War Fang』 was a halberd clad in cold air. It froze the flesh of
monsters with a strong chill, and in his prime he could produce full sculptures of
ice.
Originally, it was a Relic that froze the wounds it inflicted, even with a barrier to
block it the cold air was still transferred.
The surface of the slime was whitened. The distortion of the air from the barrier
was reduced.

Disregarding the pain, his face flushed and he put power into his halberd.
His body creaked and his bones ached. He withstood as his arms were being torn
away, clenching his teeth.
Freezing over white, the red body developed a crack.

And continuing in that way, the surface of the pseudo-slime shattered.

Glittering ice fragments sprinkled down. As they piled on the ground, they didn’t
return to the main body and vanished like a phantom would.

The pseudo-slime raised a shrill roar.

That wasn’t a scream. It was fear and pain that could be heard from that strange
voice.

But it was certain. It’s weakness was ― the cold.

With the surface frozen, the barrier was weakened. If it’s body parts were smashed,
they would disappear.

Ice magic was difficult. Because it’s pure destructive power was low, the priority to
learn it was lower. Only a few Magi could use it.
Especially if it wasn’t striking with a direct physical attack, the ones that could use
advanced magic that generated cold were even less.

The 『Blizzard War Fang』 had a dull glow. Gark shouted.

“It’s ice! Freeze it!”

“Damn, that branch chief – …you hear him? Freeze the little bastard in ice!”

Sven pulled at his hair, and spat out a shout. The hunters roared back.

Notes

Just putting this up for those that desperately want it early. Not planning on doing this regularly,
just finished on a bit of a cliffhanger yesterday.
I’ll finish it off tomorrow.
Man, I have a sore throat and runny nose… anyone else?

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 LN Translation
Learning through reading

Chapter 42 – part 2
redhare404 March 16, 2020 Uncategorized

Using fabricated eyes and ears to witness the unexpected scene, the old magi
wearing the green robe pressed on his forehead.

He was at one of the many reserve labs that had been prepared in advance.
He had transported all the equipment from the basement underneath the White
Wolves Den, and a number of hurried disciples were working hard constructing the
new lab.

An exceedingly rare space expansion Relic – the 『magic bag』 twisted space-time
and boasted of more capacity than what appeared.
Shelves, desks, formulas and methods, as well as rare catalysts were taken out and
arranged identically to how they were at the White Wolves Den.

All of his disciples were people once disgraced and disqualified as Magi.

People that were captured for attempting taboo magic for the sake of their curiosity
that became too strong.
Spontaneously releasing large scale attack magic, and causing a large number of
casualties.
Or using a live human in repulsive experiments.
Those that held sufficient ability as Magi, but were broken as people somewhere.

And, once praised as one of the most prominent Magi in the Imperial Capital, but
expelled after demanding forbidden knowledge.
That man – for Noto Cochlear, those fellow comrades were convenient pawns.

“-…What, is there to say…”

“What is your will, Noto-sama…”

One of his disciples dressed in a black robe, a man with graying hair and a poor
complexion asked Noto who had his eyes closed concentrating his mind.
Noto slowly opened his eyes, then looked at his disciple sharply like a bird of prey.
He tapped the desk with a wrinkled fingertip. It was a habit of Noto’s when things
didn’t work out as expected.

“It’s no good… it’s defeated. Damn, the amount of hunters… was way too large.”

At the bitter words the disciples widened their eyes in surprise.

In fact, his disciples had seen the moment their teacher had treated the phantom
and transformed it into a far more powerful “failure.”

The Phantom had gave a panicked sound. It’s expression was in agony as it’s body
constructed by Mana Material melted.
It resulted in a powerful monster that went against the nature of the world.
Seeing that scene secured a deepened respect for their teacher that was fresh in
their memory.

“…It can’t be… was their a flaw in Sophia’s potion?”

“…No. The effects… were definite. If it was twenty people it would have certainly
buried them… Damn it, why were those guys…”

His best disciple’s accidental creation was more effective than Noto had imagined.

Injected into the lowest rank Wolf Knight, it’s body composed of Mana Material
broke down, and in exchange for it’s form it gained power.

Mana Material was also referred to as a substance that was a source of evil. So to
speak, it was a source of mana.
The break down of Mana Material transformed into a huge source of mana, and as
it surged forth it created a force field that repelled attacks like an impregnable wall.
Originally it was an ability held by high level phantoms and monsters, it was a
power incomparable to what it held when it’s body was stable.

Of course, it wasn’t invincible.

It’s body was liquefied, and once it ran wild it didn’t last long.
Once it became like that it could never turn back.
The mana material that made up the body wouldn’t take long to return to mana,
and vanish like dust.

But according to the man’s calculations, before that happened it should have been
simple to wipe out the hunters that came to investigate.

There was one thing that was unexpected – as soon as Noto had withdrawn, an
increased number of personnel had arrived.
And it was several times the number that had initially arrived to investigate.
For the man once referred to as sage, it was completely beyond his expectations.

Even more, they weren’t the common sort.

Famous in the capital, hunters of the clan 『First Step』, together with the once
feared 『War Ogre』 and current branch chief of the Explorers Gark Welter; to
annihilate them was considerably difficult.
And furthermore, at the time the hunters were being strangely cautious without a
fragment of carelessness.

And truly unfortunately, the battle had shifted from Noto’s expectations.

When the arrow of Iron Cross was deflected the possibility of victory crossed his
mind, but as time passed the fact that it’s body was shrinking was discovered, and
now with the weakness such as 『cold』 that even Noto did not anticipate, it was
hopeless.

After all, he shouldn’t have done anything excessive, huh.

In front of Noto who had an unpleasant expression, one of the male disciples
clicked his tongue staring.

“Sofia hmph. At such an important time she isn’t around… always acting so self
important…”

“-…Well, it’s fine. It’s unavoidable. They saw the experiment, but we shouldn’t have
to worry about being followed here.”

Contained in the disciples voice was anger and jealously that could not be
restrained.

Certainly, the drug that Sofia produced may have hit upon a new technique.

Sofia was naturally talented.

Noto’s disciples were all excellent, but among them her intelligence was
outstanding.
It seemed like there was no courage to step into the abyss of magic, but with time
there was talent that could surpass their teacher Noto.
Supposing Sofia hadn’t unfortunately left the Capital, the Phantom would most
likely have been strengthened even further.

However, this time was just a test, it wasn’t Noto’s ultimate goal.
It wasn’t fatal for it to not go as expected.

He couldn’t imagine that the likes of hunters would arrive at the conclusion it was
Mana Material running wild, and even if they did they wouldn’t then jump to Noto.
There was only one person that remained as a problem.
The Level 8 that used ingenious schemes that had appeared in the capital like a
comet, distinguishing themselves in the twinkling of an eye.
Feared by every criminal syndicate, a man who’s life was targeted.
The magic organisation the magi belonged to, holding vast influence with different
nations, considered him a man to be wary of.

Known for reckless heroism, a slayer of dragons, his name shook.

Those that recklessly challenged him were said to be crushed without even seeing
his face.

The master of 『First Step』.

He was one of the reasons Noto decided to withdraw from the White Wolves Den.
And he was probably the one that sent such a large number of hunters over.

The elder Magi gripped his staff tightly until his knuckles turned white.

“『Infinite Variety』 …how far, do you plan to get in my way!”

He wasn’t set back to the start. The results of his research remained in his hands,
but it was doubtless his path of ambition had dropped slightly.
The phantoms held a reasonable amount of strength, the White Wolves Den that
did not manifest many relics and was unpopular with hunters had met a high
amount of requirements for Noto’s desire.

Supposing that at the time 『Infinite Variety』 visited the White Wolves Den he
had… it was meaningless speculation, but his mind could’t help but be drawn to it.

What’s more, if he was still going to be an obstacle to his tests, it was something he
couldn’t ignore.

People that got in the way must be killed. His lips warped, and sunken in the
darkness the sage smiled.

At the moment, Noto held no power. At least he didn’t think it would be enough to
defeat a hunter certified at level 8.
But in the event that his wish was fulfilled and he gained power, he would certainly
use any means to choke the life from him.

As Noto burned with resentment in the dark, one of his disciples that had been
observing the outside with a flying familiar rushed over.
His eyes were unusually wide, and his cheeks were twitching. The hands he placed
on the desk were shaking.

“…T-There’s trouble, Noto-sama.”

“What is it?”

As he concentrated his gaze on him, the disciples voice shook.

“………『Infinite Variety』 is… at the shrine, above.”

He didn’t understand what had been said.

At the shrine above? Who?

“-…Don’t give me such a ridiculous story!!”

“B-But, truly―”

Impossible. Noto had only made the decision to move his research equipment here
a few hours ago.
It was Noto himself that made the decision. There were many places he could have
changed to, he hadn’t even reported the information to his patron.

“And yet…he was above?”

Impossible. Absolutely impossible.

While glaring at the pale face of his disciple he frantically spun through his
thoughts.

Even if the location of the laboratory was discovered in advance, to pinpoint that
they would move here was impossible. He didn’t choose a place near the White
Wolves Den.

Moreover, it was way too premature. Noto hadn’t even finished preparations to
resume the experiment.

“The sun has already set. Yet he still came at this time? Hunters are supposed to be
active during the daytime.”

“B-But..”

His disciple’s expression didn’t lie. No, Noto’s disciples weren’t foolish enough to
come up with a lie like that.

In that case, the possibility was, internal ― could one of the disciples be leaking
information?
He checked the faces of each disciple that couldn’t conceal their surprise at the
abrupt situation.
They had all been disciples of Noto for at least a few years, Magi that he knew. He
had verified their history beforehand.
His most recent disciple was Sophia, but right now she was absent, so she would
not know of the change of lab or the events that had occurred.

Impossible.
The main thing was that every one of his disciples had joined in with experiments
that would never be permitted under Empire law.
That included human experimentation. He didn’t think they would be permitted to
offer information.
Noto’s disciples all shared the same lot.

After a little hesitation, Noto cast away his doubts.

『Infinite Variety』 had a formidable eye of discernment. Now was not the time to
start infighting.
He had heard that he rarely appeared on the surface, so his intentions this time
were obvious.
A fearsome insight that could choose this laboratory out of all of them, with things
like this it was impossible to remain hidden.

Looking around the laboratory he bit his lip.

It took time to evacuate.

No matter what it took they had to earn time. He couldn’t afford to lose the
research equipment now.
If the reports were seen, Noto’s existence would be discovered by the Empire.
If Noto was discovered to still be trespassing in taboo territory, the Empire would
chase after him in a frenzy.
Although he had collaborators in the upper levels of the Empire, they would not
protect him.

It was unavoidable. The chances of winning against a level 8 were exceedingly low,
but they had no choice but to make use of the interception system.
He lamented again at the misfortune that his most reliable top disciple wasn’t here.

Sophia was a researcher but she was strong. She was the most skilled at operating
the interception system, and it was Sophia that had mostly created it together with
Noto.
The scene at that time ― he wrinkled his eyebrows remembering how she had
confidently declared that even 『Strange Grief』 could be defeated.
Unexpectedly, at the moment they would fight 『Strange Grief』 the person
themselves wasn’t there.

He looked around surveying the room. To the faithful disciples that waited for their
teachers words, Noto made a declaration.

“It’s regretable, but we must retreat. A few people must lay down their lives to stop
him. Everything… is for our dearest wish.”

Translation Notes

ノト・コクレア – noto cochlear, his last name appears to be the part of the inner ear.
His first name could also be ‘Not’ I guess, kind of arbitrary right? I’m terrible at katakana, I
remember the first one I ever misinterpreted, I read tour as sewer. Whatever.
 LN Translation
Learning through reading

Chapter 43
redhare404 March 16, 2020 Uncategorized

43 ストーカー
Stalker

Why was I here I wondered.

While feeling an inexpressible bout of lethargy I gave a half smile, and breathed a
small sigh.

Tall plants sprung up in the plains with no other people around, it was wrapped in
a mysterious stillness.
The sun had completely set, and the hazy moon was the only thing in the sky. The
world was covered in darkness.

Zebrudia was a large city. Even at night, within the walls it was bright and bustling
with people, outside it was different.
Near the main roads that stretched out in the four cardinal directions, the knights
often thinned out monsters. To some extent safety was assured, but if you deviated
off ever slightly the world changed into the law of the jungle.

Even in the morning it was dangerous. Night was even more so. Really, even with a
guard it was a place you wouldn’t want to go to.

Hunters that took in Mana Material not only enhanced their physical abilities but
strengthened their five senses as well.
The faint moonlight was enough for a first rate hunter, but for me it was mostly
unchanged from complete darkness.

Suddenly my shoulder was clapped, and it made my body jump in shock.

Turning my head, Liz-chan was in high spirits swinging her arms with tension
unchanged since the morning.

“Cry-chan! Look look! Saimos, a saimos! Isn’t it amazing?”

“…Yeah, that’s right.”

From Liz’s swinging hands, an odd large creature was dangling.

What she was gripping looked like a huge needle. Rustling something like thin
feathers, it produced a terrifying noise.
Was it still alive? As it moved violently, Liz swung it around keeping it in check.

It was too dark to see clearly, but it looked the size of a small dog. But needless to
say, it wasn’t a puppy.
It was good luck that I wasn’t able to see it.

Saimos? What’s a saimos?

…I didn’t think I knew anything.

Orbiting around our immediate vicinity vigilantly, Tino raised a trembling voice.

“Onee-sama… as expected. To capture a saimos at night, which can creep up

without a sound or hint of it’s presence.”

Huh? Was the saimos perhaps common knowledge among hunters?

Reluctantly I activated the ring that I had refrained from using because the mana
was low – the 『Owl’s eye』.

In an instant the ability of the Relic brightened my vision.

What Liz held was an enormous mosquito. Please cut me a break.

Even with it in her hands, her femininity was too strong.

There was a limit to being wild wasn’t there?

I didn’t know much about saimos, but it was writhing and shaking it’s feathers.
I call them feathers, but they were at least a meter long.
I was weak with most monsters, but I was particularly bad with insects and
undead.

Tino leaned in close to get a better look at the saimos. Her eyes were rounded in
wonder, but she wasn’t in a state of fear.
Aren’t our women too strong?

“So they exist close to the Capital as well then huh…”

“Hmm, they generally live deep in the forest though.”

“I, hate that thing…”

I mean, I don’t think there’s anyone that likes a mosquito that big.

At my reaction, Liz who had been enjoyably swinging her arms until now, slammed
the saimos into the ground.

There was an unpleasant splatting sound. The long legs of the squished saimos
twitched.
I turned my eyes aside right away. That was the reason I hated insects.

Liz dusted off her hands, and tilted her head to the side giving a sweet smile.

“There are a lot of them though so what should we do?”

“…I wish I had brought along insect repellant spray.”

Liz gave a single nod, and disappeared. Apparently she went exterminating.
The distant sound of kicks that were more like explosions continually resounded.

This is why I didn’t like going outside the Capital.

Liz was strong to the point of being too strong, but her level of consideration was
the lowest in『Strange Grief』.
She was the worst along with Luke. Well, it was also one of her good points.

“Master, Um… Is this really, ok?”

Tino asked. As always she wore a black outfit that dissolved into the darkness.
Fully equipped. A black jacket and a number of utensils on her waist.
Her somewhat large dagger was worn so that it could be drawn at anytime.
Her fatigue from training a short while ago was unnoticeable.
If she was an ordinary hunter it would be time for her to finish up, truly thank you
for your hard work.

“…Well, there’s no helping it. Since Liz is self indulgent.”

After Tino chose the shrine she wanted to go to , Liz was in a bad mood.
Seemingly it had rubbed her the wrong way that my proposals were rejected.

Well, I subdued it somehow, but after that Liz’s words to me were unexpected.

―Ok-, then let’s go!

…I hadn’t been planning to go though.

Honestly in 『Strange Grief』 created by us childhood friends, there wasn’t a thing

like ranks.
I was the leader on paper, but without the strict rules of ordinary parties everyone
freely did as they liked.

And among them, Liz was the one with the greatest amount of freedom.
Unfortunately Liz had the bad habit of trying to show me good things at each and
every opportunity.
Of course I could strongly refuse, but someone other than me would pay for her
bad mood.

In this case, the one that would be dealing with the bad mood version of Liz was
Tino.
As expected I felt too guilty.
Tino pouted and muttered a few words.

“…At the time I was invited, Master, you weren’t going to come…”

That’s because I didn’t want to go. I truly didn’t want to go.

Right now I didn’t have any relics. The 『Night Hiker』 (prev. dark wings) from
before had run out of mana.
There were a few 『safe rings』 remaining, but the others were used up.
The 『Dogs Chain』 had been charged so it was usable, but since Lucia had not
returned early it was too frightening to go outside.

“Was there a need for me to come?”

“Eh? It’s been a long time since I went with Cry-chan on an adventure, isn’t it really
fun!?”

Liz had returned before I knew, and she clung to my back with her arm around my
neck.
Liz was even lighter dressed than Tino. Her body wasn’t very sensual, but when she
stuck so close she was quite soft.
As she nuzzled her cheek against me, and whispered in a sweet voice it gave me a
shiver.

Even at night she was lively. She was in a good mood…I didn’t want to go on an
adventure though.

Tino seemed to be more nervous than Liz.

“Onee-sama, this is outside the Capital. Powerful monsters like the saimos being
here, something like that, is a little…”

Was the saimos a powerful monster then?

At her words Liz stopped clinging to my back. She revolved to my side and took my
arm.
She intertwined our fingers like a pair of lovers, and grinned at Tino.

“Tee, stay alert. Cry took the trouble to come out here, so don’t show him your
shameful side.”

“Y-Yes.”

…Well, she was in a good mood so it’s fine.

Liz was stronger than me when I was fully loaded with Relics, so I was weaker than
last time but safer than last time.
I felt like we had spent enough time already, lets get this farce over with and return
home quickly.

The shrine Tino chose was equally low as the ones I had picked out.
As well as being far enough from the White Wolves Den, it also met my criteria
when I was selecting shrines.
The reason this shrine didn’t enter into my choices, was because the scope was
exceedingly small.

Along with the two reliable escorts, the walk there took thirty minutes.
It came into our field of view.
In the center of the plains sat a total of seventeen thick columns.
In a one hundred meter radius from the center there was empty open space.

The difference between the plains and the shrine, was that within the shrine there
wasn’t a single plant growing.
In the bare expanse of rugged earth grew seventeen stone pillars that gave off a
terrible sense of unease, but frankly it was boring.

A Level 1 shrine. 『Alain Column Ruins』

Published annually by the Imperial Capital Explorers Association, the shrine

rankings always listed it near the bottom, a genuinely garbage shrine.

The seventeen pillars were from three to five meters tall. For Hunters that had
taken in Mana Material it was an easy climb to the top where you could overlook
the whole shrine. And there, you would come to know there was nothing.
More or less for phantoms, one meter tall humanoid sand golems would appear.
But the power, agility, and durability was low. They would collapse with a light
strike so they weren’t even useful for training.
Relics rarely appeared, and even hunter newcomers would want to go to a slightly
more serious shrine.

Well, the flow of Earth Veins was linked to the terrain. In open plains like these
where there was no connection, shrines were often low level. Nevertheless this one
was terrible.

Incidentally Alain was the name of the man that first discovered this disappointing
shrine.

The reason I thought to dispatch Liz was to keep her busy. I had hoped for one that
was simple, but would take time.
With this shrine, if it was Liz she could finish investigating in ten seconds.

At this stage though that would be convenient.

I hadn’t thought I would be coming out on this night. Around this time Sven and
the others should also be finishing up their investigation of the White Wolves Den.
After that it was time to properly deceive Liz.

However, Tino… to choose a shrine from outside my options, the previous hunt
really did a number on her huh.

In high spirits Liz pulled on my arm.

“Hey, hey, look look, Cry-chan! A sand rabbit nest!”

Her eyes weren’t turned towards the ruins. Liz was pointing to an open hole in the
ground.

The sand rabbit was in-between a monster and an animal, distributed extensively
in the vicinity of the Imperial Capital.
The same colour as the earth, it’s pelt was cheap and it’s meat had a bad taste. It
settled in large burrows they dug in the ground.
People didn’t purposefully hunt them, they seemed to be a creature with high
fertility that supported the ecosystem around the Capital.

“Somehow, Tee’s choice of shrine is boring, see even the rabbits come out and play
don’t they?”

At that high pitched voice, Tino started shaking. Perhaps she had realised that her
choice of shrine was nothing more than what the rumours said.
Well there wouldn’t have been anything at the shrines I chose either, but at least it
wouldn’t be as flagrant as this.
As Tino was frightened, Liz spoke while continuing to smile.

“Hey Tee. Are you going to search? You thought there was something here, that’s
why you chose it right? Even though Cry-chan chose especially for you, you
rejected them. Did you want Liz-chan to feel ashamed? For this shrine, how many
minutes do you want? One minute? Three minutes? Do you want about five
minutes? Since Tee is also a thief, you can do it with that much right?”

“!? ……M-Master”

Liz really is strict on others and soft on herself.

Tino was always calm and dependable, and only became frail when Liz was
concerned. But from my point of view I was always seeing her frail. Poor thing.

As Tino called to me in a trembling voice, Liz’s voltage rose all at once.

Her smile disappeared in an instant, she separated her entwined arm, and shouted
at Tino.

“Ahh!? Don’t lay the blame on Cry-chan! Take responsibility for your own idiocy!
Understand!? For Cry-chan, if Tee can’t capture this stupid shitty shrine then he’s
saying that you’re garbage!”

I didn’t say that.

“I didn’t say that.”

“Cry-chan is kind. But Tee is Liz-chan’s disciple so, and she’s different from Liz-
chan, so when she behaves spoilt she has to be corrected. …Ok? It’s sort of like
what Cry-chan did with us in the past.”

Liz let out a coaxing voice.

Yeah, that’s right. Liz should be kinder than I am. In the past, did I do something?

Tino is desperately shrinking back. Unlike the time at the White Wolves Den, with
Liz next to me she couldn’t hide behind my back.
As a cool senior hunter I should give a good follow up.

“Well now. It’s a nice shrine isn’t it?”

“Eh-…”

I gripped Liz’s shoulder as she was dissatisfied, and turned towards the shrine.
Tino nervously looked up, and then gave a confident nod. It’s ok, I knew how to
handle her.
“The main thing is, look see. There is more than just nothing.”

“Eh-? Really?”

There is. There really is. …Like, the columns.

I tried to see if there was something else, but there was absolutely nothing.
Well I had to settle her anger, so I decided to pretend that my hobby was column
watching.

“……Well, it might be something of little importance, but I don’t dislike it.”

“Hmm?”

And, in that moment all at once my vision became dark. The mana of the 『Owl’s
eye』 had run out.
I wasn’t an owl so I gained night-blindness. I couldn’t see anything anymore.

After just saying something was of little importance to me I started grinning

unconsciously. It’s called an escape from reality.
Realising that Tino could probably see, I cleared my throat and returned to a
serious expression.

“By the way, it’s dark here, but can Tino see properly?”

“Right, Cry-chan, no matter how you say it, that’s looking down on her. She trains
in the darkness as well you know? She’s still trash that can’t move properly in the
mask, but she’s still Liz-chans disciple.”

Liz pouted. How to say this… sorry for being garbage.

Letting out a small sigh, Liz instructed Tino by pointing with her chin.

“Well it’s fine. Tee, come on, go search properly? For Cry-chan, find proof that
there’s more than nothing ok? If it’s that, you can do it right?”

“Y-Yes…Onee-sama. Master, please watch.”

Sorry, but I can’t see anything with my eyes anymore.

Tino started running, and just like that she vanished into the darkness.
In the distance a vague black thing started swiftly climbing a pillar.

Ah, this is no good. I can see less than I thought. I can only offer some
encouragement.

“Tino, be careful!”

“Yes! Master!”
It would be dangerous if you fell. …At Tino’s level, would she still be fine if she fell?

But this darkness is really bad. Unfortunately clouds had come out. If the sole light
source, the moon was hidden, I wouldn’t be able to see even the small amount I
could. Not good.
I had confidence in Liz. With her speed it would be easy to protect me on her own.
But at the same time Liz and the rest of Strange Grief tended to overestimate my
abilities. It’s because of their favouritism for family.

Liz meekly looked down and offered an apology.

“Cry-chan, I’m sorry. Even though Cry-chan took the trouble to pick out some
choices…”

“…No no, it’s not a problem. And that the shrine Tino chose wasn’t bad also wasn’t
a lie.”

“Eh? Really?”

Not really, but yes.

“Yes. Rather, I expected Tino to choose this shrine. Everything’s in the palm of my
hand.”

“Ehh? Really? As expected of you Cry-chan! I’m glad I didn’t scold Tee!”

Wasn’t that a scolding before…

I couldn’t see Tino at all anymore, so I helplessly looked around me.

I didn’t have any skills to detect enemies, but I could still do an imitation.

And, at that time, within the darkness a number of meters away, I saw something
small shine. I strained my eyes, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. My vision
wasn’t bad, it was just dark.
It wasn’t my imagination. Something was shining.

Liz was relaxing, bending and stretching. Did she not notice?

“Liz, that is?”

“Hm…? Do you mean the sand rabbit?”

Aah, so that’s it. So the sand rabbit’s eyes shined then.

Of course. If it was a dangerous monster, there was no way someone specialised in
finding enemies like Liz wouldn’t notice.
As I sighed with relief, next to me Liz moved. With her quick movement, she
returned with a rabbit in her hands.
Gripping both of it’s ears, she dangled it in front of my eyes.

In the darkness I couldn’t tell it’s colour, but it looked like an ordinary rabbit.
The eyes shined with a glitter, it had a short plump body and stiff fur.
Did it notice it had been caught? The sand rabbit wriggled it’s body and shook.

I didn’t say to go and catch it you know.

Liz watched the hanging rabbit and stared into it’s eyes, and frowned.
For a moment she was silent, and then as if she found something that displeased
her, shortly after stopping she threw the sand rabbit violently into the ground and
stepped on it.

The sound of crushed bones and flesh disgusted me no matter how many times I
heard it.
She looked down at the sand rabbit that had stopped moving without even a twitch,
and then looked to me as I was drawing back and stiffening up.

“I’ll go and catch the others too ok”

“Ah, yeah”

Liz disappeared from in front of me as I responded by reflex.

By any chance, did you find it enjoyable to drag the rabbit out and give it lethal
injuries? If you are going to play, please play with love.

I had a long relationship with her, but I truly didn’t understand Liz.

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Chapter 49 Chapter 21 Chapter 31

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redhare404 March 16, 2020 Uncategorized

 LN Translation
Learning through reading

Chapter 44
redhare404 March 26, 2020 Uncategorized

44 災禍の源
The Source of Disaster

With it’s whole body frozen white, the pseudo-slime let out a garbled scream.
It’s body was only about a third of it’s original size.
Sven and the others had continually attacked together, and after shaving it down
little by little this was the result.

In front of the White Wolves Den, a disastrous scene had spread out.
Because of the force field the pseudo-slime was enclosed in, scores of trees had
fallen down and there were places in the ground that were gouged out.
But there were no longer signs of the pseudo-slime’s former agile movement.

It was proof that the monster thought to be invulnerable was on the verge of death.

The pseudo-slime looked warily around at the distant hunters encircling it’s
surroundings in a long unbroken line.
It rubbed it’s body against the ground creating a grating noise.

Gark breathed roughly as he turned the tip of his 『Blizzard War Fang』 towards
the pseudo-slime.

“Haa, haa, …at last, it’s movements have slowed…”

His outward appearance showed no wounds, but from his eyes and figure there was
likely accumulated non visible damage.
He had a bitter expression consisting of pain and perseverance.

Few others apart from Gark could take on the Slime’s attacks. They could ward
away one off attacks, but it mostly only made time for Gark to regain his posture.
And more importantly, there was no person that could substitute for the 『Blizzard
War Fang』 that could damage the slime with just a touch.
Gark received a potion from the hunter next to him to heal his injuries, and drank
it in one shot.

But the flow had already been determined. As long as the pseudo-slime didn’t have
any hidden moves, Sven and the others wouldn’t be defeated.

When it was frozen it could be injured by Sven’s arrows. The pseudo-slime with it’s
whole body frozen made a good target.
However, Sven didn’t let himself relax, and shouted to the others.

“Don’t get careless! This is one of Infinite Varieties trials! Watch your
surroundings, it wouldn’t be strange if two or three more like this guy appears!”

“I’m already doing so!”

“Y-You all, up to now just what the hell…”

A member of Footprints answered Sven.

As they said, some of the members of Footprints had shifted their vigilance from
the slime to the forest under the veil of darkness.
Gark’s eyes twitched as he watched a situation that seemed familiar somehow.

Sven said nothing more, and aiming at the pseudo-slime he greatly drew back an
arrow.
As if feeling the threat, the pseudo-slime attempted to escape, but while it was
frozen it’s movements were hindered and it’s speed was a shadow of it’s former
self.

“…This is, the end!”

And, no matter how much fatigue had built up, Sven’s aim wasn’t bad enough to
miss from merely a number of meters away.

He breathed a small breath, put everything into his arrow and gave a shout. And
then, he released the jet black arrow.
The pseudo-slime could barely move.
The sharp pointed metal arrow flew at the speed of lightning and pierced the center
of the pseudo-slime, nailing it to the ground.
The power the arrow was loaded with shook the ground on impact.

The vibrations calmed down.

The body of the pseudo-slime was skewered through the middle. The frozen body
cracked.
Were the depths of the interior already frozen over? There was no indication that
the threatening mana barrier was functioning.
Until the end the pseudo-slime had it’s emotionless eyes turned toward Sven, who
remained at the ready.

And without anything unexpected, it broke into fragments and vanished like the
phantom it was by nature.

Sven knew from experience that the hand of death would fall on those that let their
guard down.

He swiftly checked over the situation. Many heavily wounded. One person that had
lost their arms.
They had been continually focusing during a battle that had drawn out for about an
hour. They had built up a lot of fatigue, but there were no casualties.
Everyone that had joined for the investigation into the White Wolves Den could
return home safely.

Plunking down on the ground, Gark breathed a silent sigh. The two unfit examiners
were also unable to stand and sat with haggard expressions.

“Well, that was an unexpected monster… how did it become like that… was it… a
phantom?”

“Damn it. This is exactly why I hate coming along. This job would have just been
better off being slandered as incompetent.”

One of the examiners spoke without any force. Maybe those words were what
everybody was also thinking.

The pseudo-slime had definitely been strong. They had somehow found out how to
defeat it and carried it out.
The main thing was that it had been a complete unknown. A slime that could create
a mana barrier was unheard of.
In the first place, as the older examiner had said, the chances of a slime appearing
there were close to none.

The members of the same clan sat together worn out. Sven looked at the hunters
that had grave faces despite returning alive, and raised his voice.

He couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Always continue to plan countermeasures. It’s something Sven felt many times
since joining First Step, the know how to survive.

“I’d say, that slime thing… is probably related to the shrine abnormality. It’s too
much of a coincidence.”
In the end the investigation into the interior of the shrine didn’t turn up anything.
The sole remaining lead was the pseudo-slime.

Marietta, who had completely exhausted her mana from the continuous use of
attack magic sighed deeply.

“Yeah that’s true. If it was just the levels of the Phantoms being raised it would be
ok, but this might make things worse.”

At those words everyone’s expressions clouded over further. They all understood
the severity of the circumstances.
Extreme mana exhaustion. Built up fatigue. Some injured. Although they
understood how to defeat them, if another similar slime appeared it would be
trouble.

However, abandoning the area and returning home involved a high risk. Those
were Sven’s thoughts.

They managed to defeat the pseudo-slime because they were the elite.
They were prepared, resolved, and well coordinated high level hunters.
This is how they confronted the pseudo slime, but if it was the knights of the third
order that kept order around the Imperial Capital there would be a great amount of
damage.

The third order of knights were highly trained and frequently absorbed mana
material. They had high power and were by no means weak, but they were much
less of a match compared to hunters that were used to the various gimmicks within
shrines.
Using a method of brute force against an enemy like the pseudo-slime was a
hopeless approach.

With time they may also notice it’s weakness, but it was doubtful they could hold
their ground until then.

“We should be able to tell where it came from… if we do it now there should still be
tracks remaining. There shouldn’t be that many. If there were, the forest wouldn’t
still be so quiet.”

To Sven’s words, Gark scowled and let out a low groan. He must have be thinking
of the trouble this would make for the Explorers.

The details of the request only concerned the interior of the shrine. If traces were
found outside the shrine, then the information should be brought back. But there
was no obligation for them to jump straight into danger.
If they returned now their reputation may suffer, but there would be no charges
held against them.
At that time, the sitting brown haired hunter looking down at his lost arms
stunned, raised his face.
He was the man that had suffered the most harm in this matter. The impacts of his
arms were needless to say as a hunter, this would impede his everyday life.

The voice that came out was hoarse.

“…anyway, do you think there are still more?”

“…The likelihood is low. But, any of the members here should be able to deal with it
without a problem. That slime doesn’t have the power to wipe out a party in an
instant. Even if we separate up to search, we can still run away.”

The hunters exchanged glances with each other.

Fear. Exhaustion. Some of the members of Footprints had bitter smiles. They were
probably muttering silent complaints to the Master in their thoughts.

Sven also sympathised with the difficulty of the one thousand tribulations.
Certainly the pseudo-slime was a powerful and unknown enemy, but still the
degree of difficulty was low compared to how they had been treated in the past.
Being able to pinpoint the weakness by sending Gark, could only be said to be
something indescribable, but he didn’t think there was a need for close to one
hundred hunters to be there.

In other words, the tribulations still hadn’t ended.

If that was the case, they should proceed on. To Sven and the others the options
could not be seen as equal.

“It’s fine if you choose to retreat… but nothing good will be waiting. You lot, you
might be attacked on the way right?”

“……”

“The ones that want to return can do so. We will… continue.”

The attacks of the pseudo-slime were simple but powerful. Even a tough hunter
wouldn’t be safe if they took a blow in a vulnerable area.
He waited for a moment, but there were no objections. Naturally none were raised
from the members of Footprints, but the outside hunters also remained silent.
The appearance of the pseudo-slime may have added credibility to his words.

There was an excess of personnel remaining. They could divide into individual
parties and thoroughly search the nearby area. It wouldn’t take long.

Deep in the forest, the direction the slime came in could be seen.
There was enough light provided by the floating magic sources, but the quiet forest
enveloped in darkness instilled indescribable fear.

It would be better if they hurried. All of a sudden following his instincts, Sven stood
up.

Advancing through the forest.

The pseudo-slime had the nature to indiscriminately destroy anything it touched.
The viscous body had been made from Mana Material and there was nothing like a
trail of mucous left over. But it wasn’t difficult to track by following the various
trees that had split open or fallen on the ground.

Sven’s group consisted of Iron Cross, Gark carrying his halberd, the two examiners,
and the brown haired hunter that had lost his arms as well as his party.
The other parties had spread out, checking whether there were additional slimes in
the area.

The brown haired hunter steadily gazed at Sven as he moved at a quick pace. Sven
cleared away the thickets with his short sword as he spoke.

“The manifestation of 『Prism Garden』 was hell. This wasn’t much compared to
that.”

“…compared to this, huh.”

He gave a small nod without speaking.

The 『Cherry Blossom Viewing Incident』 was a topic still passed down within the
clan, as it was an opportunity to rewrite the commonsense of the hunters in
Footprints.
While carefully following the tracks, he continued.

“The opponent this time… was a phantom, but the opponent back then, was the
『environment』.”

『Prism Garden』 (Kanji: Chalk Garden) was the name of a beautiful shrine with
countless flowers blooming in profusion.
However, it’s true nature was a hell incomparable to the likes of the White Wolves
Den. Even now, Sven sometimes dreamed of it.

“It was pollen. It had a sleeping effect. A few seconds after the shrine appeared,
half the members of Footprints fainted.”

Originally the location was a field of flowers.

Suddenly altered by Mana Material, petals and pollen soared from a sea of
blooming flowers.
Like it’s name it had a chalky texture, and it held the property of inducing severe
drowsiness in those that inhaled or touched it.
Powerful enough to make a hunter with a honed mind faint in seconds.

There were several shrines that were even further apart from the standard
classifications.
Among them, 『Prism Garden』 had an environment that was a high hurdle for
hunters on it’s own, and was categorised as an 『Environment type』 shrine.

“It seems that the changes in the Earth Veins were quite large. The surrounding
area transformed quickly. People fainted before being able to understand what was
happening. Besides drowsiness, there was also paralysis and poison. And of course
– there were carnivorous plants and beasts adapted to the environment as
phantoms. 『Prism Garden』 is like a trap where the whole shrine is lying in wait
for hunters.”

“…You managed to survive.”

“I was lucky.”

At the time of it’s manifestation, 『Prism Garden』 only had a small amount of
Mana Material accumulated, and the degree of difficulty was lower compared to
now.
And yet for Sven who was mid-rank at the time, it was a hopeless opponent.

If just Sven and his party were there, they would have already been nutrients for
the plants by now.
Once you entered, you could never return. That shrine was a prison.

He would never forget the ones that broke through the situation, the members of
『Strange Grief』.
Without speaking, they moved smoothly as if they had known everything
beforehand.

Not really in a state of comprehension, just as Sven was getting hazy, Liz stabbed
herself in the waist with her knife.
Luke bit through his tongue, and Lucia broke her little finger. Everything was to
shake off the drowsiness with pain.

The first thing they did was to put on their symbol, the 『mask』.

Wind to blow away the pollen. Fire to burn down the flowers.
Fragments of dazzling flames danced like petals. Moving calmly within the burning
red, the form of the 『smiling skeletons』 was still intensely seared into the minds
of the hunters of Footprints.
There shouldn’t have been much time to make a decision.
Now the members of 『Strange Grief』 held second names that were well known,
but at the time they weren’t much different to Sven and the others.
There was little difference in level, and their physical abilities were about the same.

At that time, Sven didn’t understand how they made the usually unthinkable
decision to self harm in that abrupt abnormal situation.

Now he knew. Their experiences were night and day to each other.
Iron Cross had spent more time as hunters, but Strange Grief had been through
scenes of carnage an unusual number of times.

Among hunters, the powerful were given respect.

Ever since then, there was no one within the clan that would openly speak badly of
them.

Because 『Strange Grief』 were so severe they didn’t have a good reputation, but
they had a portion of wildly enthusiastic fans.

Sven also still held some fear towards those eccentric figures. It wasn’t that their
abilities were high. They were simply superhuman.
He was thankful to have the good fortune to be in the same clan as them.

However, he wasn’t content to remain in the same position. Sven also held pride as
a hunter.
It was probably precisely because many others also thought like this, that there
were still many members in Footprints.

Following the tracks, Sven and the others reached an open area.
The traces of sudden violence didn’t continue on from there.

Of the two examiners, the younger one with brown hair timidly peeked around the
surroundings.

“Is this where it manifested…?”

“No, this is outside the Shrine. It’s not likely it could appear here.”

The other examiner refuted him immediately.

Gark was checking on the broken trees. How they were twisted and smashed
resembled the tracks of the pseudo-slime.

Phantoms tended to be stronger deep within shrines where it was thick with Mana
Material.
But when concerning tendencies, it was strange for such an odd phantom to appear
at all.
The first thing necessary was to cast away common sense. And then only put
together what was fact.
If it really did manifest here, they had no choice but to accept it.

As Sven brooded, Gark groaned sounding half shocked and half impressed.

“…That Cry, how does he predict these things time and time again? Even though he
came straight to the shrine.”

“Predictions, predictions, huh…”

Cry Andoric was a genius. He wasn’t a god, but a person that made moves like a
god.
This time as well, he had guided Gark here as a trump card against the pseudo-
slime.
Even for Sven who had a long relationship with him, he didn’t know the truth
behind Cry’s foreknowledge.

However, there should have been some meaning in the amount of people sent.
Cry hated pointless waste. The lineup hadn’t simply been for defeating the slime.

At that moment, timid of his surroundings, Henrik called out.

“Sven-san, there’s, there’s something here.”

“Hm? What is it…?”

He handed across a large piece of metal. It had a curved shape. It wasn’t very old,
without any rust it gave a dull shine.
It was solid enough to be used as armour, but it was destroyed as if it was twisted
in half.

The other members also handed over pieces of metal newly discovered. They
seemed to be scattered across the vicinity. Some of them were thick chains.
Looking at the collected pieces of metal, Gark’s expression became severe in the
blink of an eye.

They were simple shapes. They arranged them to match in the way they were
destroyed.

“Oi oi, this is – “

“…handcuffs and… a collar?

The completed shapes were five solid rings.

Huge handcuffs, shackles, and a collar. There were some fragments missing, but
there was no doubt.

The size clearly wasn’t for restraining a human.

The expressions of the two examiners had changed. The earlier fatigue was
forgotten as they touched the different parts.
Sensing the feeling of dread, Sven held his tongue. The two whispered as if to hide
their voices.

“It can’t be… shackles and handcuffs? A phantom could be restrained with these
but-“

“…This is crazy. I thought it was an unknown phantom but -“

“It needs to be reported right?”

“Obviously. It’s one of the ten sins!? It would be a crime to conceal it. Damn it,
Infinite Variety, such an absurd thing is-“

Grave voices. They couldn’t stay calm concerning a crime.

The two who seemed to know something, had understood this was more of an
emergency than they thought.

The ten sins were the most serious crimes under Zebrudia law.
Equal to crimes such as rebelling against the Emperor, or attempting to overthrow
the country.
It wasn’t something you would hear about any other day.

In relation to Treasure Hunters the 『Sin of Liberation』 was the most famous,
involving freeing transcendent beings that were sealed deep within shrines. But
that likely wasn’t the case here.
To put a transcendent existence into words, it was 『a being as close to a God as
possible』. As one would think, that didn’t apply to the pseudo-slime. And if
something was released, there would be no way Infinite Variety wouldn’t come.

Eventually the older examiner raised his head.

He didn’t give a detailed explanation, but he talked to Gark quickly.

“Branch chief, the circumstances have changed. There is a possibility someone

released that Phantom, it needs to be reported immediately.”

At that moment, the sharp sound of a whistle interrupted their words.

a
 LN Translation
Learning through reading

Chapter 45
redhare404 March 29, 2020 Uncategorized

45 災禍の源②
The Source of Disaster 2

Sven and the others rushed over, and in front of them was a half destroyed
abandoned hut. The other hunters had also gathered there.
The familiar alchemist Talia along with three parties welcomed Sven.

For the moment they surveyed the outside, confirming there were no monsters or
phantoms.
The signal had been one that only meant something had been discovered, but they
checked just to be sure.

“Sorry, we just found something that wasn’t marked on the map.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll take even one clue right now.”

Some hunters made apologetic voices, and Sven focused his gaze on the half
destroyed hut.

It was a wooden hut. It was small enough to fit a few people, and it seemed to have
been there a long time.
Here and there the walls and roof were eroded or destroyed, and you could see the
interior from the outside.
It didn’t seem large enough to be used as a house, and it shouldn’t have been used
for a long time.

He didn’t recall seeing it on the map.

Gark gave one of the walls a light touch, and it let out a small creak.

“Hm… Is it something remaining from before the White Wolves Den was a shrine?”
The White Wolves Den was a shrine. The level wasn’t that high, but an ordinary
person such as a huntsmen or woodcutter wouldn’t approach it.
Hunters wouldn’t bother building a hut, and if it was built before there was a
shrine, it was likely made when the hunting grounds were bountiful.

They peeked through the semi broken walls. Inside, it was practically empty.
A desk with broken legs, and a large empty wooden crate without a cover had been
left behind as they were.
And it was dirty from being openly exposed to the elements.

“It would be better to sleep outdoors than stay inside this… it wouldn’t even keep
off the wind and rain.”

“Who knows who made it, it’s not like the maps published by the Empire are
perfect…”

One of the examiners returned Sven’s words as if let down.

This place was within the Empire’s domain, but the Empire didn’t keep track of
randomly made huts within a forest.
It was one thing within a city, but even for a great country, there was no leeway for
such fine detail when monsters and phantoms were rampant.

And at the moment, a hut with nothing in it like this was irrelevant.
The elder examiner continued on in an agitated voice.

“There are no roads in the forest, but you’ll still stumble across these things… Well,
it’s unrelated this time. If there are no leads beyond this, we need to go back and
report at once. This is a matter for the knights to deal with. You have all
accomplished your jobs sufficiently.”

To the words that didn’t allow for any disagreement, the party leader that
discovered the hut looked indignant for an instant. But seeing the examiners
serious expression they held their tongue.
The hunter’s purpose this time was to investigate. If the client of the request
acknowledged it’s completion, there was nothing that could be done.

At that moment, as Sven was squinting his eyes to see every corner of the hut, he
looked back and asked.

“Wait… you lot, have you been inside?”

“? No, we haven’t.”

“……That’s odd. There are footprints…”

They squinted their eyes, and while they all looked, Sven stepped into the hut.

A hut with nothing in it had no need to be entered. Not only was there no decent
furnishings, the appearance of the hut was not well maintained.
No matter how great the adventurous spirit of a hunter, this place would hold no
interest. Even if a hunter reached this hut inside the forest by chance, he still didn’t
think they would want to go inside it.

However, in the darkness Sven’s enhanced vision noticed footprints on the floor.
And more than one set.
Sven wasn’t a thief, but he had confidence in his eyes. Even at night, he wouldn’t be
mistaken.

He carefully looked around inside. It was the same as how it had appeared from the
outside, there was nothing within the hut.

“Are they old footprints then?”

“But didn’t it rain a few days ago? Year old footprints would have washed away by
now.”

In the first place, Sven’s level of ability with the skills of a thief weren’t high.
Everyone of the hunters with the role of thief looked at Sven with indescribable
expressions.

Outsiders looking in might see Sven’s actions as foolish. But his intuition formed
over many years was telling him something was here.

More than anything though, the other day when Cry went to the White Wolves Den
– it seemed he had used a Relic to fly through the air.
It would be difficult to come across this hut within the dense forest. However, just
speaking hypothetically, what if you were to look down from the sky?

Sven had also heard about the 『Night Hiker』 (prev. dark wings). Due to the
speed and defect of having no brakes and poor handling, it was a Relic that could
result in the death of it’s users.
If it was the average user it would be impossible to spot the hut, not to mention
even discovering the footprints within it.
However, if it was that man certified at level 8… maybe he would be able to.

The floor didn’t seem to have deteriorated like the walls, and it barely made a creak
under his weight.

He frowned at the odour in the air. It was truly weather beaten. It was natural there
was nothing valuable, and there was no space for any extra hidden rooms.
He leaned over the ground and checked the footprints. They were from a human.
But he couldn’t make out the details.

The colour of the table was faded, but there were no messages written on it.
The hut was decaying, but there was no signs it was destroyed by the slime.
Sven gave a sigh while inadvertently catching onto the abandoned wooden crate,
lifting it.

“…!?”

Unable to enter in together, Gark and the others watching Sven from outside were
speechless.
Gimmicks were harder to spot when they were simple. For something to be inside
the hut when there was nothing inside the shrine wasn’t something normal to think
of.

Underneath the raised crate ― there were stairs leading below ground.

They descended the stairs. From the aboveground hut, it extended into an
unbelievably wide passage.
Although the entrance was narrow, there was enough room for several people to
walk alongside each other.
The passageway only continued straight without branching off. The end wasn’t
within sight.

The walls and floor were both earthen, but they were unnaturally solid. A light tap
produced a high sound.

Talia scraped the surface with her fingertip, and then looked at Sven in surprise.

“It’s a kind of alchemy. There’s a potion that’s often used when creating earth
golems – but to think it was used to harden such a large area.”

“…Well I don’t think it’s normal to create an underground tunnel in the first place.
Even bandits choose hideouts that are a bit more than this.”

They proceeded while cautious to respond to any attacks.

The underground was silent. Only the sound of their footprints echoed in the
confined space.
Unlike outside, the interior wasn’t in disrepair.
The ceiling had luminous stones embedded in it, meaning the passageway was in
use until very recently.

In the lead, a thief from a different party frowned.

“…There are no sounds… but there are scents remaining…”

No matter how far, the passage continued straight. There were no divergent paths,
and no rooms. It was only long.
Although it was straightforward, the amount of labour to excavate such a passage
was unimaginable. It would even be difficult by magic. At the least, it wasn’t
something created on a whim.

Their field of view opened up, and they had no need to have been concerned about
an attack. No, the passage hadn’t been created for that purpose.

This was – perhaps…

While walking, Sven had come to a sudden conclusion, and frowned.

Perhaps thinking the same thing, Gark’s expression was also falling.

With few words, they proceeded silently. And without ever raising their weapons,
they arrived at the innermost place.

Deep within was an elegant wooden door. Beyond that, was a completely ordinary
room.

The walls were about 10 meters wide on all sides. The ceiling was higher than the
passage they came in, and the ground and walls were not bare earth.
Since it was underground there were no windows, but if you brought supplies to
live with it could be used as a residence.

The male thief responsible for searching for enemies was bewildered upon entering
the room.

“What the…?”

But, there was nothing there. There were no people, and not a single piece of
furniture.
No, more accurately, there were traces that they had been there. Traces that it been
used just a few hours earlier.

But now, there was nothing.

After checking the room, Sven clicked his tongue loudly.

“…Damn! I had a vague feeling, this is what it was -“

“!? W-What do you mean?”

Sven grimaced as if he was chewing on something bitter.

Gark entering in behind him also went stiff upon checking the surroundings.

Thieves were checking for hidden rooms, but they probably wouldn’t find any.
Anyone that had been here had left hours ago.

As Henrik looked up with worry, he gave a deep sigh, and rubbed his hair to
conceal his irritation.

“They escaped. Damn it, our lineup wasn’t just for killing that slime bastard. That
slime thing was just to keep us away! I didn’t know it, shit! There weren’t enough
hints! Aaaaaaaaaaaah!”

The abnormalities of the White Wolves Den.

The slime appearing.
Gark Welter being guided over as a reinforcement.
The restraints discovered on the ground.
The abandoned hut with a secret chamber.

And the one thousand tribulations that were much more lenient than usual.

All the information came together like the pieces of a puzzle.

Nine out of ten, there was a mastermind behind releasing the slime thing. And
while Sven and the others had been fighting, no doubt they had been close by.

Cry hadn’t sent reinforcements to take down the slime. It had been to capture the
mastermind.

With the slime, Gark probably could have handled it on his own somehow.
If he put his life on the line he could have held out for a while.
While Gark dealt with the slime, the other members could search through the
forest and capture the mastermind.
Most likely, this was the optimum solution Infinite Variety had come up with this
time.

They made a mistake. The slime was a formidable opponent. They would never
think to make a retired hunter fight it on his own.

No wonder it had been better than the usual tribulations. They hadn’t even
attempted the trial.
Driven by an impulse that was out of character, Sven roared.

“You kneeeeeeeeeeeeeeew! Oi, now what! We messed up! The main thing is, if
there’s a mastermind behind it then say soooooooooooooooooooo!”

“Sven, get a hold of yourself!”

As Sven lost control, Marrietta gave him a strong clap on the back to calm him.
A vein rose to the surface over Gark’s face tattoo. Was it a difference in experience
that kept him from losing it like Sven?

“If that slime thing was artificially created, then the one behind it must be just as
bad.
It was someone we absolutely couldn’t afford to miss. Damn it, there weren’t
enough clues. Even if we chase them now we won’t be able to catch up to them.”

The existence of the one pulling the strings wasn’t a product of Sven’s imagination.
Shrines and Phantoms went by the laws of nature. Trying to modify them was even
beyond the realm of hunters that had gained abilities outside of human
understanding.

Perhaps the enemy was an amateur. They wouldn’t be a hunter. They didn’t even
erase their footprints. Capturing them shouldn’t have been difficult.
However the degree of difficulty rose sharply if they had to search.

Since they made such a large room, the enemy wouldn’t be a single person but an
organisation. And Sven didn’t know what their identity was.

Impossible. This wasn’t something you could consider as a trial! We aren’t the
same as you.
Understanding Sven’s words, the members of footprints at the back became noisy.

At that moment, the room shook. Gark had clenched his fist, and struck the wall.
With a thunderous sound, the commotion settled. Pulling his fist out of the sunken
wall, Gark took a slow breath and began talking.

“……Now, calm down. This isn’t the time to rush. When we return, we’ll question
Cry. I’m not sure how much he knew, but we’ll be sure to discuss everything.”

That was right. This still wasn’t over.

If it was that man, then he would unmistakably know more about the ones they had
missed. They could make regrets later.

“―― Akasha…”
Sven who was letting out curses at Infinite Variety in his mind, raised his face at
the small voice.

The one that spoke up was Talia. She was hugging herself as if to stop from
trembling with a pale expression.
Her eyes were staring at the center of room – focused on where there was a fist
sized hole in the floor.

“You said… Akasha!?”

Gark’s expression was clearly severe.

As if at an enemy, he was looking down at the tiny alchemist with a dangerous look
in his eyes.

The expressions on the examiners also changed. They looked as grave as when the
manacles had been discovered.

Only just noticing the eyes centered on her, Talia quickly gave a flustered
explanation. But her voice trembled.

“S-Sytry-chan, mentioned them before, just a little. People that violate, the
『taboo』. They repeat mana material experiments, ones that have been banned
all across the world. People that absolutely must be stopped ―― the greatest
enemy of 『Strange Grief』.”

Talia Widmann met the alchemist shortly after joining the clan.

There weren’t many alchemists among treasure hunters.

Alchemists needed to study a vast amount of knowledge, and their time and
expenses didn’t equate to offensive ability.

Among hunters there were many that ridiculed them as degraded Magi. A skilled
alchemist could shrug off such ridicule since it was a job that could make a lot of
money by immersing themselves in research.
Therefore not many of them attempted to be hunters.

Talia had been a hunter for a few years, but she was yet to meet another alchemist.
『First Step』 was quite specialised to have facilities and equipment to study
alchemy.
For the young party that Talia was in, it was one of decisive factors in joining
Footprints.

Footprints was more accomodating for alchemists than Talia had imagined.
Data, expensive utensils, rare catalysts, and even a room purposed for it all.
It might have even been above the average top class laboratory in the Empire.

And it had all been collected and arranged for the single alchemist in the clan.

Sytry Smart.
Once praised by everyone in the Imperial Capital, the name had vanished in a
flash.
They may be an alchemist, and they might belong to a high rank party of hunters,
but their name was rarely spoken about in the shadow of the other members fame.

In reality when they met, Sytry was a modest, kind, and exceedingly intelligent girl.
Her pink-blonde hair was unusual for a Magi and it was evenly cut short,
regrettably saying 『Onee-chan said she wanted to grow hers long, so I cut it』.
She had gentle drooping eyes, and always wore plain grey robes, she couldn’t be
seen as a remarkable hunter.

And she welcomed a new alchemist to the laboratory that, while said to be freely
available, had existed primarily for just one person up until then.

She seemed very busy, and was only at the clan house for a scarce amount of time,
but she and Talia quickly became on good terms.
While Talia was trembling with fear, she taught her various things. They could even
be said to be friends.
She knew of the bad reputation that had spread a few years back, but she quickly
realised it was a mistake.

Sytry was a hard worker.

She plunged herself into every field covered under alchemy. She performed high
difficulty risky experiments avoided even by skilled Magi (of course, they weren’t
illegal). Never faltering, she was a genuine Magi.

Her enthusiasm for magic pushed past any opposing hostility, and it overwhelmed
Talia who was on the road to becoming an alchemist. Ironically enough, Talia came
to understand the cruel rumours about Sytry.

Most likely her high enthusiasm and steady efforts were the main factor behind her
drop in reputation.
Sytry stuck out too much.
Her talent and passion for alchemy inspired dread in her peers. And still, Sytry was
humble and didn’t put up enough resistance. She was the type of person to forgive
anything with a smile.

Sytry said that the cause of her bad reputation was due to her inexperience.
She accepted the crimes others had put on her, and submitted to the lowering of
her level. The greatest dishonor a hunter would ordinarily never recieve.
Her character was too gentle for a hunter, but if Talia was to name one true
alchemist, she would say the name of Sytry without hesitation.

Talia wasn’t the pupil of Sytry. Because of her inexperience Sytry hadn’t taken a
disciple.
But in essence, she was like her disciple.

She had heard various things.

Concerning the current experiment, or the research paper they had read the other
day.
The details about the shrines they visited as a hunter, and what Talia needed to do
as an alchemist hunter.

And extremely rarely she would leak out – information on the 『enemy』 Sytry
and the others were pursuing.

Superior hunters had many enemies, and among them the 『Alchemist』 Sytry
had a particularly large number of them.

The gentle girl rarely spoke about her enemies. But Talia memorised the small
amount of details, and decided to help Sytry if anything ever happened.

Sytry was always alone. She only had a bad reputation because she had no one to
rely on back then.
That’s why, if something happened, at least she could be her sole ally.

As what a companion of a respected alchemist should do. And also, as a friend.

The underground room. She recognised the hole in the floor. She suddenly
understood the chaining of the slime, and the origin behind the abnormalities of
the White Wolves Den.

No, she always had a strong feeling. Not being able to speak up about it until now
was simply a weakness of Talia’s.

It was frightening. She didn’t want to believe it. But after coming this far, she had
to say it.
Because this might help Sytry.
Sytry once told a story of a man that had stood as a top Magi in the Imperial
Capital, and his research made her hairs stand on end.
Sealed within the Imperial Capital Institute of Academics, only permitted to be
perused by a portion of high ranking practitioners, was research data recorded on
taboo mana apparatus.

Intervening with the flow of Mana Material, there were unmistakable traces of a
『Vessel』 that could collect the unnaturally dense mana material.

It was an attempt to seize control over the laws of the world.

One of the largest Magic Associations, a gathering of mad Magi that desired
omniscience even if the world itself would be destroyed.

――『The Tower of Akasha』.

Most likely they didn’t think anyone would notice anything even if the traces were
found.

Talia had never seen the research. It was just something mentioned in one of
Sytry’s conversations.
However, Sytry was currently capturing a shrine of high difficulty and wasn’t there.

The names of two Magi spoken of by Sytry passed through her mind.
One was a name that would come out after a small amount of investigating, the
other was obscure. But apparently both were equally dangerous.

They had continually pursued them, but still hadn’t managed to grasp hold of
them.
She remembered the apologetic smile on her face as she had spoken.

Adversaries that would even give Sytry a hard time. They would be too much to
handle for a low level alchemist like herself.

Her throat was parched. Countless gazes waited on Talia’s next words.
Most eyes didn’t hold confidence in her. She supposed it was from the failure of the
slime killing potion.

She was hesitant to even talk about what Sytry had said.
With his insane thirst for knowledge that could guide the world to destruction, he
was the 『Worst of the Worst』 Magi.

And as Talia grasped her shivering arms tightly, she spoke in a husky voice.

“The Great Magi, Noto Cochlea, and Sophia. Those are the names of the two that
『Strange Grief』 are chasing after.”
a

Translator Notes

It struck me as odd that thieves that have godly awareness wouldn’t be able to pick up an
underground lair. But that part about things being too simple rang true as someone that gets stuck
in videogames occasionally. I wasn’t dumb, I was just too smart to realise!

Very likely the name Akasha comes from the ‘Akashic records’. A compendium of all knowledge past
present and future, recorded in a separate plane of existence or in space. It fits the meaning of
omniscience.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akashic_records
It’s kind of weird that people believe or did believe in this stuff… but then again our human genetic
code has been completely cracked. Again, it’s kind of like the whole turning lead to gold thing. Like
yay, we did it I guess. Doesn’t feel very magical though.
 LN Translation
Learning through reading

Chapter 46
redhare404 March 30, 2020 Uncategorized

46 ウサギ
Rabbits

Aah, I want to eat ice-cream.

My body shivered in the cool night air, and while escaping from reality I pulled on
the collar of my cloak that was nothing more than a piece of clothing.

Well, I wasn’t exactly shivering because of the night breeze. The number one cause
was Liz-chan, who had decided to suddenly change careers from treasure hunter to
a regular hunter.

Tino was giving her very best leaping about the tops of the stone pillars, searching
for something that didn’t exist.
Liz who had instructed her, was single-mindedly making a pile of sand rabbit heads
in front of me.

Liz was faster than any animal living in the area. And since she wasn’t hunting to
eat, she never stopped moving.

I had only noticed one sand rabbit, but maybe because they supported the
ecosystem, it turned out there were an amazing amount of them around here.
When Liz caught one she would bring it in front of me, and then as if it was a
matter of course, snapped it’s neck and added it to the pile.

The cute round eyes that shone in the darkness even after death were extremely
eerie.
I had averted my eyes, but I couldn’t ignore the sounds. That they didn’t let out a
terrible cry was a small mercy.

Were these, to eat? They weren’t right? Stop, don’t bully the animals. Well no, they
were technically classified as monsters, but they really looked like an animal.
I was a philanthropist. Naturally I hated violence, and I didn’t really like to exert
myself.
Subjugating monsters wasn’t a crime so I had no reason to stop Liz, but it was just
too cruel.

Tino had said to please watch her. I couldn’t watch though. I couldn’t see anything.
I breathed a deep sigh, and decided to give out some candid advice.

Ever since becoming a hunter I was always being saved. I owed a great debt to Liz
and the others.
But this was a different matter.

“Liz… isn’t it already fine over there?”

“Eh? Really?”

The sounds stopped. How many animals did she hunt, even with my face turned
away there was still a strong smell of blood.
Even if I was a little accustomed to it, it was a harsh smell that made me nauseous.

“…I’m a… philanthropist.”

I didn’t fail to notice it. The bonds between Liz and I weren’t so weak that I couldn’t
overlook something of this degree.
But I couldn’t completely stop some words from coming out. At my words Liz
turned around and tilted her head while looking me in the eyes.

Those eyes were truly mystifeid.

“? You mean not to hunt the terminals, but the main unit?”

??? I had no idea what she was saying. Were they some hunter terms perhaps?

“But even with the terminals, it seems like the terminal side is unaware it’s being
used, so I don’t really know where the main source is. Looks like they were really
cautious. This type of thing is better suited to Lucia-chan or Syt.”

Liz put her finger on her lips and talked rapidly. I was desperate to comprehend
her words, but I didn’t understand anything.

I didn’t understand anything from the first half, so for the time being I could just
focus on the second half.

They were cautious? That’s because all the others were killed. Sand rabbits were
also living creatures that grouped up, so they were going to be cautious. Well, after
this it seemed like their caution was completely futile though.
So, Lucia and Sytry were knowledgable about rabbits huh…
It was the first time I had heard of it, but Magi and Alchemists had a lot of strange
knowledge.
If those three made a serious effort together, let alone rabbits, nothing would be
left remaining. You didn’t have to take hunting rabbits so seriously.

Yep. I had a feeling I understood about 80% of what she had said. The important
thing was to stop Liz from her massacre.
My eyes wandered in the total darkness, and I spoke while putting up a front.

“For now there’s no need to hunt rabbits anymore. To begin with, whether they’re
cautious or not doesn’t matter.”

“Amazing Cry-chan. So cool! But I haven’t crushed the source yet, I think we need
to make them regret ever thinking of moving against us. Don’t you think it’s
shameful to be so hostile despite surviving while hiding away? We need to put our
stake in the name of 『Strange Grief』 and crush them… Do they think we’re trash
that won’t be able to find where they are? I don’t think it’s good to let them look
down on us like this. We have to take them seriously and crush them underfoot.
Wouldn’t Lucia-chan and Syt also say the same thing?”

Liz’s eyes were glittering. What I said really didn’t seem to have gotten across.

Wasn’t it a bit much to use all your power on rabbits?

Your opponents are sand rabbits you know? It’s one thing for humans, but they’re
sand rabbits you know?
I don’t think it’s shameful to be looked down on by a sand rabbit. In the first place
they live a modest life by the survival of the fittest without bothering anyone. They
never even made any moves against us.
Going all out was one of Liz’s charms, but I wish she would be more selective with
her enemies.

And what did you think Lucia and Sytry would say?
They wouldn’t agree. They didn’t really like such pointless things.
They might keep Liz company if she strongly insisted, but I didn’t think they would
go exterminate such harmless rabbits.

I thought seriously about Liz’s words, but the contents were so absurd that I
grinned.

And it was there I realised my error.

Liz wrapped her hands around my back, and looked up at me in excitement.

That’s right. Liz was a bit thoughtless, but she wasn’t stupid.
Violent but humorous. She was an important friend to me.
In this case, her words were probably – intended as a joke. Maybe she had been
trying to make up for our lack of communication lately.
It was unacceptable to make a mountain of sand rabbit corpses as a joke, but it
wasn’t something worth scolding her over.

Today I was clear headed.

“No honestly, something like a bunch of sand rabbits aren’t worth our attention.
And you can’t find out where they are? The source? Their ruler? The king of rabbits
will always be inside the burrow. You don’t even have to think about it.”

They might come out, but basically they should stay inside the burrow. But in the
first place, whether a colony of rabbits had a king was doubtful…

At my high spirited return, Liz’s expression bloomed brightly.

“It’s because you only try to find everything with your eyes Liz. You need to think
with your head.”

“Yes, although I’m thinking as well. …I see, inside the burrow, huh… There are
many burrows in the area, it could be the perfect place for a cowardly rabbit
owner…”

What do you mean owner? Sand rabbits don’t have owners.

“Yeah. That’s right. They aren’t worth caring about. Look at the brave figure of your
disciple.”

I couldn’t see anything, but do your best.

For some reason Liz raised a cruel warped smile, and I grabbed her shoulder and
turned her towards the pillars.
I’m not sure whether you’re serious, but please stop being so fixated on the rabbits.

Under the faint moonlight, there was something vaguely black. It was indistinct so
I couldn’t make it out.
Seeing it hop about the pillars gave it the feeling like it was some sort of yokai
flying around.

“She’s become quite good… she’s already one part thief.”

“Ohh, really? She still has some training to go through yet. She needs to grow fast
so she can be my training opponent.”

I thought it was already plenty enough, but Liz was dissatisfied.

Well, one of the reasons Liz took her as a disciple, was to raise her to be stronger
than herself so she could be her sparring partner. So there was no helping it.
But I mean, wasn’t it a contradiction to raise someone stronger than yourself? How
does that work?

While soothing Liz I really had the feeling I wanted to go eat ice-cream.
By the time Tino finished her investigation, I had to come up with a reason to
convince them why we came to this shrine.

“You see, I wanted to come to this shrine to observe Tino’s growth. At the White
Wolves Den she might have caused you some trouble, but that was just bad luck.”

“Mmm, it’s ok if it’s Tino, but I want you to see my growth as well.”

While I still held her shoulder, Liz resolutely raised her head and looked up at me.

I couldn’t understand even if I saw it. I thought she had become strong enough
already.
Liz and the others were already beyond me. Honestly Tino was also a little much.
If you want me to watch it’s fine, but I can’t give you any advice…

I decided to give an evasive answer.

I stroked the nape of her healthily tanned neck. Liz’s eye’s moistened, her
shoulders lost strength, and she started to tremble.
Her body temperature seemed to have raised considerably.

Liz’s engines were tuned for high performance.

Put simply, energy is heat. When Liz showed off her true ability, her body
temperature went off the charts.
It was different to Luke who used fighting spirit as a weapon, and Anthem with his
tough body.

“It’s ok, it’s ok, when I look at Tino’s growth I can also understand how hard Liz
has persevered. You’re too wound up. You need to relax a little more.”

“Is that the manner needed to cope with any situation? Well, we’ve been through a
fair amount of bloodshed, but that level still seems far away. Cry-chan doesn’t need
to worry about those scum. Searching has also become boring.”

“Yeah, that’s right?”

…I’m not sure what you’re talking about, but it’s fine if you’re having fun.
Liz nodded as if to convince herself, and then put her body against me.

“Yep. But, I’m fine. Thanks, Cry-chan. I’ll keep at it. So I won’t disappoint Cry-
chan.”

“…I’m not going to be disappointed.”

Rather, I’m more worried Liz will be disappointed in me.
Then at that moment, Tino’s voice came out mixed with relief and (rare)
excitement.

“Master, a Relic! There was a Relic! A bracelet type! I found it, Master! Master!
Onee-sama!”

“Oh, not bad.”

It was rare to find a Relic at a low level shrine. Maybe it was good that not many
people came here.
I guess you have a good daily routine. A great difference with me.

With such a tangible outcome, Liz should also be satisfied.

When I looked down, her happy expression from a short while ago had vanished.
She scowled and clicked her tongue.

“Damn it, Tee. You were careless. Cry didn’t come here to find a Relic. Don’t you
feel the tremors?”

…Hm?

And then. The ground shook as if it was going to turn upside down.
Tino was also surprised. She let out a short scream, then jumped up.

Liz was the only one that was calm.

It wasn’t an earthquake. The shaking showed no indication of stopping.

I couldn’t say anything due to the chaos. I couldn’t even let out a yell. And I also
coudn’t move.

Liz took my arms as if to calm me down, and squeezed them tightly. That was the
only thing that allowed me to regain some composure.
And I was silent at the unexpected sight.

The source of the sounds and vibrations was from the central area of the pillars. A
large black mass slowly rose in the space surrounded by columns.
It’s height was about four meters, around the same as the pillars.
At first glance it looked similar to the columns, but staring from a distance you
could see that this pillar had 『limbs』.

Within the darkness, on it’s head, there looked to be the pattern of an inverted
triangle shining red.

What is it?
Liz put her index finger on her lips and muttered with a serious expression.

“A golem. Metal armour. Leg boosters. Guns in both arms. Shield and longsword.
No wings. A model designed for land combat? The crest is what Syt called
『Akasha』.
……Cry-chan’s aim was this hmm… yep it’s definitely strong.”

A golem? Aah, right. This was also a phantom that appeared.

I pretended to know while listening to Liz’s combat analysis.

“Yeah, that’s right. It’s a big sand golem isn’t it.”

There was the White Wolves Den, but nowadays shrines seemed pretty dangerous.
It may have been a boss, but wasn’t the degree of difficulty a little high compared to
the level of the shrine?

Large was synonymous with strong. Dragons slaughtered countless hunters with
their physique alone.
Well, the sand golem in front of us wasn’t that big, but compared to Tino it was too
large.

The huge sand golem turned our way and faced us. I couldn’t see the fine details,
but from the silhouette I could tell it was a giant human shape holding a sword and
shield like Liz had said.
If I could, I would have run away at any moment. My feet wouldn’t move.

Liz had an unusually grim face.

“Yeah. I don’t think it’s possible with me or Tee. We aren’t actually suited to
combat. Saying this was easy, as usual Cry-chan’s estimates are really harsh.”

“…Tino was the one that chose.”

Ah, I feel like throwing up.

Translator Notes

When Cry says philanthropist, think of it as him saying ‘I am a benevolent/merciful person’. He

truly does say philanthropist but this is how you should read that word. I recommend coming back
to read from this chapter at the end of the volume.

Fun fact, when I first read Shitori’s name I was debating whether or not to just keep it as Shitori
instead of Sytry/Sitri. But I feel like I dodged a bullet since Liz literally calls her by the nickname
‘Shit(o)’.
 LN Translation
Learning through reading

Chapter 47
redhare404 March 31, 2020 Uncategorized

47 レベル８
Level 8

The sand golem slowly changed it’s stance, and faced our way.

It’s imposing appearance armed with a sword and shield looked like some kind of
god of death.

Apparently the sand golem phantom that was famous for being a small fry, gained
considerable power when it became a boss.
If the huge body only fell over I would be crushed flat. The 『Safe Ring』 wasn’t
invincible.

…Why do these things always happen to me.

Before falling into despair, I first felt worn out. When I thought about it, since
becoming a hunter I had only gone through bad experiences.

When I went to go view cherry blossoms, I thought I would die when a shrine
suddenly appeared.
Well due to some pollen I immediately fainted, and by the time I woke up
everything was already over.

The golem raised it’s sword in a casual motion. The jet black sword covered the
moon.
And like that, it swung the sword down into the ground as if to intimidate.

Fierce wind pressure assailed me and Liz. A thunderous roar as if the whole world
was collapsing was thrown against my body.
I accidentally activated one 『Safe Ring』 even though I wasn’t hit by anything.
Crap.

I should have only come here after asking a trader to charge the Night Hiker and it
was finished.
Because it was a simple shrine, and since Liz was also here I had gotten careless.

Liz frowned and held over her ears. She was in front of me, and even though she
received the impact directly her stance was unswayed.
She was grumbling.

“…Tch. The output is high… I won’t be able to take any hits. A new model? It isn’t a
phantom… 『Akasha』 huh. A troublesome thing as usual.”

What’s Akasha? Is it the name of the golem?

The huge column raised it’s arms to it’s head, and it’s legs bent. At the human like
actions, I reflexively took a step back.

And all of a sudden – the sky darkened.

The giant golem made a huge jump, completely blocking out the moon. It was
nimble contrary to it’s slow witted looking silhouette.
While I was astonished, the golem landed at a place ten meters in front of me.

It was like a meteorite had come down. My consciousness was paralysed by the
impact of a monster suddenly appearing before my eyes.
I felt like patting myself on the back for still being able to remain standing.

Beneath the moonlight, it’s imposing appearance became clear. It’s whole body was
covered in what looked like metal armour. At a glance, instead of a golem it looked
like a heavily armed knight.
The only difference was it’s size. Large compared to a woman with a small build
like Liz, it had a physique around twice the size of a man like myself.

I had seen golems several times before, but this was my first time seeing one so
gigantic.

The sword was black with a sinister red design running along the edge.
The face of the shield was polished into a mirror, and it was large enough to cover
the majority of it’s huge body.
The golem looked even stronger. Was there some kind of rule recently where
phantoms had to wear armour?

The head had nothing resembling eyes. No, it’s body didn’t have any organs like
those of a living creature.
I knew with the wolf knights that you could aim for the eyes, but this monster
seemed to have no weak points.

Well, even if I knew them I couldn’t do anything about it.

I have no choice but to ask for the opinion of Liz-san the expert.

Liz was really uplifted at the appearance of a monster that could never have been
predicted.
Whether the enemy is a human, an insect, or a golem it’s all irrelevant. She spoke
to me in a voice that was a semitone higher than usual.

“Hey Cry-chan. Do you really want Tee to do this?”

She was a strict teacher. Disregarding normal Treasure Hunters, that was probably
asking the impossible.
No, this would probably be difficult even for Liz.

The moment I started to say that, the golem standing upright leaned slightly. The
high sound of metal being struck sounded, and I saw Tino land at the gap between
it’s feet.

Apparently she kicked it from behind. So aggressive.

The golem turned as if in an annoyed gesture. Tino spoke in a weeping voice that
seemed like it could fade away at any moment.

“Master… it’s impossible.”

“…Yeah, that’s right.”

This wasn’t even a challenge was it…

The golem turned and mowed it’s sword down into the ground. The pressure from
the sword gouged a hole in the ground, and Tino who jumped away to avoid the
slash was blown away bouncing on the ground.

It wouldn’t be odd if you were cut right in half if you took that strike. For an instant
my breath stopped at the sight, but apparently it wasn’t a fatal blow and she got
back up straight away.

“Hm hm, I see…”

I nodded in a dignified fashion. I did understand but… it looked like it’s appearance
wasn’t merely for show.
Large, fast, and heavy. It wasn’t a phantom that would appear in a Level 1 shrine.
Let’s follow the rules properly.

The golem didn’t seem to show much interest in Tino, and it turned in order to
pursue us.
Liz didn’t take the golem out of her sight, and spoke shortly.
“Should I do it? Or does Cry-chan want to?”

What’s with those hellish options?

Well no, I wanted to do it but I was worried about Tino! There was no helping it.

“I’ll take Tino and escape, so you do it.”

The movement of the golem was definitely fast, but such a large thing could never
keep up with Liz. If it was just Liz on her own, she could escape easily.
At my shameful words, Liz gave a small smile. Seeing it after a long time, it was an
expression she often had when we explored shrines together.

And without hesitation, Liz flung herself at the monster much larger than herself.

The golem with a giant shield at the ready stepped back as if overwhelmed.
Without actually seeing it, it was hard to believe a girl less than half it’s height
could accomplish it.

Successive sounds resounded in the night sky as if a jack hammer was being used.
The true origin of the sound were kicks. A shield that covered the whole body of the
huge golem. Liz’s kicks continuously drilled into it. No voice was let out, but it’s
feelings were transmitted from the way it was standing.

Sounds so fierce they made me worry about activating a Safe Ring.

Each blow was so powerful that they didn’t seem like kicks. It was simply
monstrous. But the sand golem that could receive the strikes of a hunter that could
capture a level 8 shrine was just as monstrous.

I mean looking closely, it’s like metal. Since it wasn’t sand anymore it couldn’t
really be called a sand golem…

The broad, slightly curved shield had incredible hardness.

It was only natural something made of metal couldn’t be broken by kicks, but the
limits of Liz’s physical strength were no longer in that realm.
It wouldn’t be odd for a regular shield to be destroyed by now, so it wasn’t strange
for it’s defences to struggle.

However, the movements of the sand golem didn’t stop. Perhaps experienced in
receiving blows, while being kicked it swung down the sword in it’s right hand.
The blade that had the power to make the ground tremble fell right over Liz’s
position, and shook the sky.
The sword bored deep into the earth, and the ground quaked. An angry shout came
from behind the sand golem.

“Hey, Tee. Get out of here! Don’t keep Cry-chan waiting!”

“Y-Yes. Onee-sama!”

When did she get behind it?

I didn’t even notice watching from a distance, so from the sand golem’s perspective
it would have been as if it’s target jusy vanished.
As expected, Liz’s speed was overwhelming. With this, she’d manage somehow
right?

Tino ran across the ground. The sand golem didn’t pay her any attention.
It remained with it’s back to Liz without turning.

It’s head was turned towards me, the one person who wasn’t doing anything.

A momentary flash of light was emitted by it’s feet. For an instant, my vision was
dyed white.

Terrific heat was slammed against my body.

With my vision white, I heard Tino shriek.

I only noticed I was attacked after my vision returned to black.

The golem had moved back as if shaken. I could see the area around my feet
glowing red.

Apparently I had suddenly been directly hit by heat rays or something. And my safe
ring defended me.
Sand golems were crazy these days… they also had long range attacks. Wasn’t it
supposed to be a small fry? Before and even now, if I made one mistake I would be
dead.

For some reason the golem didn’t fire a second attack. It had just gone rigid. Like it
was surprised I was safe after receiving the heat rays defencelessly.
Of course a phantom golem shouldn’t have any emotions so it was all my
imagination.

A dull sound echoed, and the golem knelt. Liz had kicked it from behind.

“There’s no way something like heat rays are going to work on Cry-chan! This
shitty small fry! He surpassed attacks by magic long ago!”

Is that right? I surpassed attacks by magic? …It was the first I was hearing of it.
With loud metallic sounds, the body of the golem clattered as it twitched.
It had put it’s hands on the ground to get itself back up, but it couldn’t rise. Liz’s
kicks wouldn’t allow it.

There was more force used than when she had been kicking the shield. I guess she
couldn’t restrain her anger after seeing I had been attacked.
If she could, I wish she would do so before I was attacked, but there was no such
luxuries.

I mean, wasn’t this a little bad? That golem wasn’t damaged at all.
A sturdy phantom was Liz’s natural enemy.

Her way of fighting – or rather, the thieves style was to lead enemies by the nose
with quick attacks and agile movement, striking at vital areas.
Liz was absurdly strong, but this opponent was without vital points so her affinity
with it was bad.

Being able to kick it into the ground was incredible, but the situation was poor.
Golems didn’t appear to feel pain or fatigue, so defeating it without taking damage
didn’t seem possible.

While being attacked from behind, it raised the sword in it’s right hand high.
And then swung it down towards me.

The distance between me and the golem was about ten meters. No matter how I
thought about it, there was no way it could reach.
As I was being careless, the tip of the sword struck beyond it’s original reach.

That guy threw it’s sword. The moment I understood that, my 『Safe Ring』
deflected the huge sword away. Wasn’t it’s accuracy way too good?

My eyes were submerged in almost total darkness. Now as I was prepared for
death, my heart beat like an alarm. Even if I knew I was protected, there was no
way to get used to the verge of death.

Now I had 『died』 twice.

The deflected sword rolled several times on the ground raising a cloud of dust.
Concealing my shaking arms and legs, I folded my arms and gave a nihilistic smile
imitating Liz.

“There’s no way this kind of physical attack is going to work. I’m level eight you
know? It’s not even worth avoiding.”

Well, I can’t do anything either though… Was that hard boiled?

The movement of the golem stopped a second time. No way, was it at a level where
it could feel nervous? I feel like golems had really progressed lately.

The number of remaining safe rings was four. I needed to escape without receiving
any further attacks. …My legs wouldn’t move.

“Master!”

With good timing, Tino leaped over panting for breath.

Even though she crossed in front of the golems line of sight she wasn’t attacked,
was this the difference in our daily lives?
I was attacked even though I didn’t even do anything.

Trembling as if she was upset, I caught Tino who jumped over to me and tried to
calm her down.
Her eyes were teary, her complexion was pale, her hair was dishevelled, and her
equipment was dirty even though she didn’t seem to have any injuries.

I noticed she was also holding the Relic she had discovered in her right hand. A
model hunter.

However, having a junior rely on me like this caused an indescribable sense of

superiority to well up. My shaking legs regained power.
I felt a sense of duty to protect this junior no matter what it took.

Though this junior was several times stronger than me.

“Teeeeee-! Just how long are you going to cling onto Cry-chan!?”

“-!?”

Certainly we were full of gaps, but that’s not how to talk to your disciple on the
battlefield. Such a strict teacher.

Tino shook as if she was struck by lightning, and slowly separated herself. Her face
looked like she would cry.
But, we needed to escape. Even crying, I thought Tino would still be faster than me.

The golem rebooted. In resignation it turned to face Liz and struck down with it’s
arm.
Of all things, Liz used it as scaffolding to climb up and send it’s head flying with a
kick.

The huge body lost balance and fell to the ground. Liz was also sent back a great
distance from the recoil, and landed splendidly on the ground.
With just Liz here I felt a sense of security. I waved my hand her way.
“Liz, I’ll leave it to you ok.”

“Yes-. …Tee, do it properly. Kill.”

“Y-Yes! Onee-sama!”

All Tino had said since earlier is “Yes”, “Onee-sama”, and “Master”.

The golem got up. It also couldn’t seem to endure having it’s head kicked off.
The legs that had been kicked also didn’t seem to have any noticeable damage. Did
it have any weaknesses?

I checked over Liz who was standing grandly, then without any reservations I took
Tino by the hand and ran away.

§ § §

What is that monster…

Noto shuddered at the image projected by the crystal ball.

The interception system Noto created with his disciples was a tactical type golem.
It was created through continuous research and by not sparing any expense. It cost
enough money to buy several high grade relics, and he was confident it was at the
forefront of golem architecture.

It was adequate to be put into use by the 『Tower of Akasha』 that unraveled the
mysteries of the world.
Presently there was only one made, and the kingdom’s knights were no match for
it. It could even overwhelm multiple high level hunters.

The land battle model golem 『Akasha』 was designed to respond to any situation.

The specialised whole body armour covered every weak point including the joints,
and could withstand the bombardments from civilisations advanced in science.
The main weapon clasped in it’s right hand was the 『Sword of Truth』. It was
made from a rare metal with extremely high affinity for magic, and its sharpness
had been magically enhanced.
Using the vast stores of mana within it, physical strength was produced and
released through slashes that could bisect an opposing blade.

The defensive armament, the 『Shield of Judgement』 was Sophia’s idea.

For 『Akasha』 that had it’s whole body covered in a special alloy, a shield
shouldn’t have been needed. But since she firmly insisted, he decided to accept it.
Constructed from metal one step stronger than it’s armour, it was particularly
resilient to being cut. No matter what Relic was used it wouldn’t be able to be
penetrated.

For thieves that moved faster it could fire magic rays, and it had a function that
could use it’s internal mana to form a temporary barrier. It was crammed full of
features to the point it was excessive.
It was to the degree that even the 『Tower of Akasha』 that valued knowledge and
research admonished them.

There was absolutely no way they could lose. It was the system created as the last
defence in an emergency.
Even if it was a hunter certified at level eight they still wouldn’t lose.

But that self confidence had been smashed to pieces in a few minutes. Noto’s
disciples that had absolute confidence just a short while ago had pale faces.

『Severed Shadow』 that opposed Akasha without receiving a single hit was also
astounding, but above all –

“Impossible… Both physical and magic attacks show no effect!”

If they were evaded they could understand. If he defended himself then it could
also be acknowledged.
However, Infinite Variety received the attacks defenceless. And in spite of that – he
was unharmed.

The heat rays were simple but difficult to avoid, holding the same power as
advanced attack magic. Even a high level hunter couldn’t take a direct hit without
resistance.
The thrown 『Sword of Truth』 was the same. Simple but difficult to defend
against.

“I-Is it some kind of Relic!? No human can survive the attacks of Akasha unhurt!”

“But, he did it twice. It might be possible to block one using a Safe Ring, but is
there a Relic that can defend against the attacks of Akasha multiple times!?”

“There is no chance it was a mana barrier right?”

“He didn’t use any magic arts. Damn, what kind of trick is it?”

Watching his disciples in fear and disorder seeing the mysterious person, Noto
sighed at the unsightly state of affairs.
Before the unknown he felt curiosity more than fear. Rather than curiosity, it was
an insatiable thirst for knowledge.
This time his second and third most reliable disciples were staying in the lab to
operate the golem, his best disciple wasn’t here.

Most of all, the observing familiars that should never have been able to be noticed
had been seen through.
Not only the sand rabbits that were used to watch the vicinity, but also the saimos
that were used to monitor the outer area to a certain extent.

Akasha was their mental support.

One of the disciples spoke with a quavering voice in terror. It was a disciple that
was particularly passionate in creating Akasha.
An expert in golem creation. It was because of that he had confidence, and also
precisely why why he couldn’t endure the current situation.

“Look at his expression. Look how much leeway he has. The way he’s so defenceless
is like he’s begging us to attack! I-It’s really like… he thinks we’re not worth
anything. Like we’re insignificant.”

“It’s just a coincidence. Forget it. Akasha… still hasn’t been defeated yet! It’s the
realisation of our research. Right now they’re retreating from the golem, okay?”

He rebuked his shaken up disciple sharply. But, he understood that his words
weren’t very persuasive. To sum up the current state of things with the word
‘coincidence’ was too much.

His disciples regained composure from his strong words. They probably
understood that arguing about it was futile.

“B-But, Infinite Variety – he said the rabbit owner was inside the burrow, it’s – too
late, he knows that – “

“…There are a lot of sand rabbit burrows around here.”

Translator Notes

I feel like a modern equivalent to hard boiled would be ‘ice cold’ or something. But saying hard
boiled lends it a cringish ‘pretend’ feel that I’m not sure was intentional.

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 LN Translation
Learning through reading

Chapter 48
redhare404 April 2, 2020 Uncategorized

48 レベル８②
Level 8 ②

Within the darkness, I ran without looking back and without being able to see.

It was stressful. The sound of my heart felt frightfully nearby. I exhaled white
breath that floated hazily in the dark.

A curtain of total darkness had descended all around.

I had been barely able to see in the faint moonlight before, but now a thick cloud
had covered it throwing the area into near pitch black.

The grass was tall and overgrown, making the ground exceedingly hard to run
through.
I simply recklessly rushed through it.
The only thing I could be sure of was the feeling of Tino’s hand gripped in my right.

There were intermittent high pitched metallic sounds coming from behind us
distantly, indicating that Liz’s battle still wasn’t over.

Was it a really strong enemy…? I stifled down a sense of powerlessness I hadn’t felt
in a long time.

I didn’t abandon her. I truly didn’t abandon her. My combat abilities were worse
than garbage. If even Tino was just extra baggage, then this was the best choice.
If I could use Relics I could offer some support but… After all, I really shouldn’t go
outside without Relics.

Right now I could use the Safe Rings and the 『Dogs Chain』 that had been
recharged.
And also the one I didn’t use in the White Wolves Den with a single charge of magic
stored… I really couldn’t fight against a monster like that.
After running for some time, when the noises became less audible I finally came to
a stop.
I didn’t know how far we were because I couldn’t see anything, but with this much
we shouldn’t get hit by any sudden attacks.

Behind me, Tino matched my pace and came to a stop.

Unlike my rough breathing, hers was undisturbed.

Tino didn’t say anything, she only looked up at me with pure eyes watching me
breathe heavily.
Her gaze was like she was condemning me for leaving her teacher behind, and I
gave an involuntary sigh.

I had always been depending on my friends. My level 8 status was from their
achievements – like a house built on sand.
But it’s not like I had ever depended on them because I wanted to. Liz and I were
old friends. I always tried to give my best up until the last.

I spoke while conscious that what I was saying sounded like an excuse.

“It’s okay. Liz alone is enough for that. Tino, we should do what we are capable of.”

“Yes. Master.”

This wasn’t an unsightly desertion. It was a strategic retreat.

As if understanding, Tino nodded with a serious expression.

Now that things were calm, one problem remained.

While getting my breathing under control, I turned around taking a look at our
surroundings.

Where was this?

From the beginning, the one that had guided me to the shrine was Tino. I wasn’t
even sure what direction the way back was.
If I could see the main road I could probably work it out, but as it was I could
barely see a few meters ahead of me.

My good junior was just staring at me silently. Looking closer, what was in her eyes
wasn’t blame but expectation.
Her eyes were sparkling as if she was with the person she admired. It must be
because Liz had been blowing so many half truths into her ears. It would have be
better if she was condemning me instead.

It was a bit like this back at the White Wolves Den too.
It was good I was able to stumble upon the injured people coincidently that time,
but I didn’t think it could work out like that once again. I felt like throwing up.

I raised my white flag. Putting on a facade, I spoke with a hint of warning to my

voice.

“Tino… I am weak.”

“…Yes… Master is weak!”

…It’s fine for me to say, but when it’s said back so readily it feels a little different.

“B-But, for people, power isn’t everything you see.”

“Yes. Power isn’t everything!”

Tino’s eyes are wide and she’s nodding. Apparently she’s just agreeing with
everything. Are you a devotee?
As I felt foolish I checked with her straightforwardly.

“Tino, do you know which way the Capital is?”

“?? Yes. Of course, it’s that way.”

Do you have a compass inside you?

Tino blinked curiously, and then pointed diagonally right in front of us as if it was
only natural.

Looks like this time we didn’t have to backtrack. Well that’s right. No matter how
poor my sense of direction was, I couldn’t escape in the wrong direction every
single time.

“Tino, I’ll rely on you to be alert!”

“Yes. Master!”

Thank you for your energetic reply. But Tino stayed in place without moving
forward.
I waited for a moment like that, and then gave more directions.

“That’s right. I guess I’ll let you lead the way as well.”

“Eh!? But I’ll just be in the― …Y-Yes. Please leave it to me Master.”

Is she someone that can’t move without being instructed? Someone that couldn’t
move without orders or Liz-chan that moved on her own, which one was better?
“There’s no need to hurry. You don’t need to run, just take it slow. I don’t think it’s
a problem for you, but it’s dark around here so take care ok.”

“…Yes. Master.”

I gave additional orders. It was a bit pathetic, but I was already worn out.
If I needed to run it wasn’t as if I couldn’t, but I wanted to preserve my stamina for
when it was important.

Under my directions Tino began walking cautiously, as if to smother the sound of

her footsteps.
Tino was dressed in black from head to toe, and had black hair. If I carelessly lost
sight of her she would assimilate straight into the darkness.
If I strayed away from Tino here it would be the end. I followed her small back
closely.

The pitch black darkness coiled around us like a monster. It was as if only where
we were had been cut off from the rest of the world.
I should have at least replenished the Owl’s Eye with mana. But it was too late for
regrets.

“Um… Master. That golem earlier… what was it?”

While walking, Tino spoke in a breathless voice.

I wouldn’t know something like that.

Maybe it was a boss that rarely appeared, but for it to come out at a level 1 shrine
was like some sort of scam.
It was possible that Tino or I had pulled it with bad luck, but regardless once we
returned to the Capital we really had to update the records.

But while I had no recollection of it, Liz had seemed to be familiar.

Yeah, what was it she had said-

“That one huh… Right, it’s 『Akasha』. It’s a golem with a little bit of power, so it’s
only natural your attack didn’t work.”

I gave Tino a quick reply. If I answered her with total confidence it would help ease
her anxiety.
Decide when it’s time to decide. That’s the way 『Infinite Variety』 does things.

“Akasha!? It can’t be, you mean the infamous 『Tower of Akasha』…?

Tower of Akasha?
I frowned at the name.

It was a name I really hadn’t heard before.

She said it was infamous so I supposed it was, but unfortunately it wasn’t in my
memory database.
Tino had spoken seriously. Around the Capital there were several infamous
organisations (I mean, Strange Grief was also infamous). Judging from her voice
though, it should be a well known one.

But it was probably unrelated to this matter.

That had been a phantom. Just a boss. I had never seen such a huge golem created
before, even by Sytry that had been crazy about golem research for a time.
In the first place, it was a golem that could rival Liz who had taken on a level 8
shrine. Even someone like me unfamiliar with alchemy could tell it wasn’t
something that could be created with current technology.

But there was too little information to say they were completely unrelated.
It seemed like a connection was there because the names were similar. I probably
couldn’t say they were completely unrelated. No, I could.

I answered with a fluffy reply. I would check the details over with Liz afterward.

“It’s not as if they’re unrelated, but when I said 『Akasha』 I meant it was the
name of the golem. It’s only natural Tino wouldn’t know it… I don’t know the full
details either-“

“W-Why, does the likes of you know that name!?”

“…Eh?”

At that moment, in a place where no one else should be, a third voice cut in. It was
the voice of an elderly man.

In the lead, Tino lowered her stance and unsheathed her dagger.

The plains north of Zebrudia were vast. Furthermore this was far from the main
road. There shouldn’t have been any people around.
Not knowing what was happening, I stared with amazement in the direction the
voice had come from.

And, I saw something incredible.

a
“Im…possible”

“…Pu~” (withheld laughter)

A hoarse voice. Impossible is what I should be saying.

Why? Before I could ask that question, I couldn’t hold back some laughter from
coming out.

From a hole in the ground―― the hole Liz had previous called a sand rabbit nest,
the upper half of an old man in a grey robe was poking out.
A man. His wrinkled face spasmed, and he glared at me like I was his parents
enemy.
I wasn’t sure why but it was just too funny.

The situation was like a horror, but I was weak to surreal things like this.
While I was smirking, the old man crawled out of the hole with unbelievable
sprightliness for his age.

Tino raised her left hand and stepped out in front as if to protect me.

“What’s with this mana… just an ordinary person.”

He was saying something, but he couldn’t be talking to us.

“?? What’s this? A rabbit?? Did you come out to make us laugh?”

I didn’t get it. I was aware it was a rude thing to say having only just met, but he
was also just as bad.

What do I do? While I was grinning in confusion, more robed people crawled out of
the burrow.
He wasn’t alone. No matter what age or gender, they all crawled out with desperate
expressions on their faces. It could only be called a comedy.

“Master”

Tino called out to me. Unlike me that couldn’t stop smiling, her face was deadly
serious.
A single trail of sweat fell down her face, giving her graceful profile a cold
impression. She looked like she would jump at the others at any moment.

Hm? Was this… bad maybe?

As I thought that, the group that came out of the burrow took up stances.
Looking closer, these people seemed like Magi. Robes and staffs. There were six
people.
Because of the darkness I couldn’t make them out well. However each of them held
a staff, and stood a few meters in front of Tino and I as if to block the way forward.

Hmm???? Hmmm? What was this situation?

“Infinite Variety, why are you here – no, more importantly, where did you hear that
name! It’s a weapon that hasn’t been put into combat even once – It’s impossible!”

Everyone was on edge except me.

The leader of the group, the old Magi, shouted indignantly. Why did he know my
alias?

…It was bad of me to laugh, but I didn’t think he had to get that angry.

Tino was holding her dagger menacingly so I touched her shoulder and stood in
front of her.
The old man and his group stepped back as if pressured.

I didn’t really know why it was like this, but I needed to sincerely apologise. Even if
I didn’t think I was the one at fault.
I felt like hunters lacked the skills to avoid conflict.

“Aah, this was my bad. It was totally our fault. I wasn’t considerate enough. I was
just surprised, because I didn’t think humans would come out of a sand rabbit
nest.”

See, if you apologised like this the other party would also understand.

“!? W-What did you just say!”

“No well, you see, generally no matter who it is, you wouldn’t expect to see so many
people fit into such a tiny burrow right? My bad. I didn’t mean to step on you like
that.”

It was weird… I apologised to the old guy (perhaps a sand rabbit researcher or
something) but his face became even more distorted and red. I could understand
even in the darkness, so he must have been that much angrier.

“No, It’s not like I’m trying to look down on you or anything. It’s not wrong to go
into burrows and there’s no law against it. Yeah, I also think it’s a magnificent
thing.”

“D-Didn’t you hear what I said, I asked where you heard that name!”
We couldn’t… communicate. Well, self important nobles were everywhere.
I was a small fry, but since I was level 8 I had some experience meeting with
prideful nobles.
Liz and the others had been banned from places before for getting out of control.
The old man probably wasn’t a noble, but from the way he carried himself he could
be upper class.

However, what name was he talking about?

I crossed my arms, and observed the old man. Could he have overheard what Tino
and I were talking about earlier?
To put them at ease I spoke with a calm smile.

“You mean 『Akasha』? If it’s that… I heard it from a friend. They’re an excellent
little one.”

“…What…did you say…”

The old Magi’s eyes went wide, and he ground down on his teeth. Wasn’t his
reaction odd?

Mmm… Maybe we didn’t know what the other was thinking because the gap in our
ages was too big.
I gave a quick glance back at Tino, but she was also still on guard. Well I guess
anyone would be on guard if a suspicious group of people suddenly emerged from a
burrow.

Maybe these people were afraid of the huge golem? From their expressions I saw
subtle lines that didn’t give me anything else but that impression.
Pointing my thumb out to the noises continuing behind me, I spoke in a gentle
voice.

“Aah, it’s ok. If it’s that golem then don’t worry, my friend will finish up with it
soon. If you want to, we can go back to town before it’s done with…”

“-…”

After trying to calm them down, the elderly man’s expression really hadn’t softened
at all.
He was shaking with rage. He must have high blood pressure.

Perhaps it was time for my kneeling down for forgiveness skill?

However, I didn’t know what I was supposed to apologise for, so as a Master of
kneeling down I couldn’t permit myself to. My adorable junior was also watching.
While I was having difficulty, something cold went down my spine and made me
shiver involuntarily.
This was – the same feeling as when a phantom or monster was in front of me. It
was what they called killing intent.

…I didn’t mean to make him so angry he would want to murder me.

“You, dare, to mock me――! Who do you think I am――”

It came. Don’t push on his pride. Don’t push on his pride…

I answered while smiling without any hostility.

“I know. Since you were in sand rabbit nests at this hour – you must be the famed
throughout the Capital, sand rabbit researchers right? ……Actually, I’m a fan.
Please give me your autograph.”

“-…I-I’ll kill yoooooooooooou!”

“Eh-!?”

The old Magi raised his staff overhead and shouted in a rage.

Was I too unreserved!?

 LN Translation
Learning through reading

Chapter 49
redhare404 April 3, 2020 Uncategorized

49 慈悲
Benevolence

Thick murderous intent washed over me, and Tino slid out from behind.
Her body moved left and right using intricate footwork to plunge herself in front of
the old man.

A Magi’s specialisation was long range magic attacks. Even if they were advanced
enough to use chantless magic like Lucia, they stood no chance of victory against a
thief from that close of a distance.

Tino brandished her dagger without hesitating. Perhaps not expecting the girl I
was supposedly protecting to come out and attack, the old man was unable to react.
The honed edge of the dagger gleamed in the darkness. Her clear eyes had pushed
aside any emotion – she was completley ready to kill. Oi oi, this is bad.

“Tee-! Those are completely ordinary people, take it easy on them!”

“…Eh!?”

“It’s the duty of the strong to care for the weak. Don’t forget to pay respect to the
elderly!”

“!?”

Tino swung down her dagger, but the old man used the tip of his staff to divert it
away. Because of my interruption she must have lost force halfway through. But
even so, that must be one spritely senior citizen to be able to turn away Tino’s blade
like that.
The old man who escaped with his life made an expression like his eyes were
caught on a demon, and backed away.

Tino shouted in a voice of confusion not knowing what to do.

“Master!? Those are not, ordinary people!”

I know, I know. In the end, Tino was Liz’s disciple.

To my childhood friends, even when the opponents were ordinary people like this,
if they opposed us they became enemies to be killed.
Even if the law permitted, I wouldn’t tolerate it. My morals still hadn’t degraded to
that point yet.

“I know! But don’t kill them! If it’s you, you should be able to do it.”

“I can’t do it!? They’re Magi!?”

“Aah. But they’re only people that research sand rabbits you know!”

“Infinite Variety… how far, do you plan, on mocking us!!”

Why must they direct their murderous rage towards me, when I was the one
protecting them from Tino?

I just wanted to work this out peacefully. It would make more trouble if they lodged
a complaint with the authorities later.
If there wasn’t a good enough reason, self defence against civilians wasn’t
recognised for hunters. One of Footprints motto’s was not to lay a hand on
ordinary people.

There has to be some sort of minor misunderstanding!

We could work things out if we just talked it over with each other!

I looked towards all the Rabbi-pros (short for sand rabbit professionals). They all
had the eyes of prey looking at a beast.
Reaching an understanding was impossible.

“They aren’t my opponents! Please be gentle-“

As I was speaking, the area suddenly became bright.

A man standing behind the leader was raising his staff. A burning blue flame was
floating at it’s tip.
It wasn’t me that was in his line of sight. It was Tino, in disorder between my
instructions and her teachers.

Are you serious…

The attack magic of a Magi was powerful. Due to chanting there was a delay before
invocation, but once cast it would exceed a melee attack of similar skill.
To make things worse I couldn’t hear any chanting. Chantless magic was an
advanced skill. Why did people that just researched rabbits know such a
technique?

Tino’s eyes caught onto the sphere of flame. At that moment, the pale ball was
fired.

Could she evade it? She may be able to. She may not. I couldn’t make such a
judgement.

I kicked out at the ground. I didn’t hesitate. I knew enough about the power of a
Safe Ring from my time as a hunter until now.

I leapt forward and shoved my body in the line of the magic’s fire.
I activated the Safe Ring.
A fierce blast as if the world was ending swept out in front of me. The grass in the
vicinity was vaporised in an instant, and the impact depressed the ground.

“Master!?”

Tino screamed. I put out my hand to stop her from leaping forward.

“Don’t worry. It’s no problem. I don’t have a scratch.”

But, that was dangerous. That flame sphere just now hadn’t just been for self
protection.
Even for a hunter that had absorbed Mana Material, it held the power to kill or
severely wound them. It couldn’t be endured without a Relic.

I pacified Tino who had a pale face, and turned towards the rabbi-pros. At my gaze,
the man that had cast the magic took a step back and dropped his staff.
Offensive power of only that degree. I was confident.

The 『Dog’s Chain』 hanging from my waist was clattering and shaking as if an
enemy had appeared.
I brushed around where the flame sphere had hit me, and raised my voice.

“That was clearly an attack just now. Against me it had no effect but―― I’m not
sure how I hurt your feelings, but you had better leave things there. If you go any
further than this, then I’m also going to start having some ideas.”

“-…”

Safe Rings were rare. Even if people knew they existed, not many had seen the
moment one was activated. I should be able to bluff.
I observed cautiously. At the rabbi-pros reaction, I was inwardly astounded.

They weren’t shocked. They had strong vigilance, and a little fear. This was my first
time seeing a reaction like this.
Showing fear was bad. It was hard to predict what a person engulfed in fear would
do.
If they all started firing magic together, I would turn into charcoal just like that.

I continued negotiations.

“…E-Even though things are this way, I’m a hunter. I have a reasonable amount of
power. It would be simple to turn you all into charcoal. It wouldn’t even take a
second.
However, I’m a philanthropist. I was starting to get a little irritated because you
attacked my junior, but I hold respect for everyone that studies sand rabbits. That
would be boring for me… something like that, I truly couldn’t do it. No, I’m not
trying to make fun of you. It’s only natural to pay respect to people that can do the
things you can’t.”

“Master, such amazing provocation skill. Only from you.”

At my desperate persuasion, Tino murmured some praise. I wasn’t provoking them

though.
I cleared my throat, and tried to tie things to a close.

“…That is, what I mean to say… is that if you leave now I’m willing to overlook this.
You guys don’t want to be arrested either right?”

“Master!?”

“-…What was that!?”

The leader’s eyes were peeled back. His two pupils were gleaming in the dark.
Similar to a sand rabbit, but far more repulsive.

It was fine. There was no reason to fight. I was tired of this situation I didn’t
understand. Please just leave.

“I’ll forgive and forget that last attack. We’ll just call it even since I accidentally
laughed at you. It was just unfortunate for both of us that we met each other this
time.”

“Call it… even? What are you, planning?”

I’m not planning anything, even means even.

I could understand if I was being attacked by a phantom, but I didn’t understand
why humans would attack me. I didn’t remember ever giving someone a reason to
hold a grudge.

The old Magi was silent. I had compromised as much as I could. If this still wasn’t
good enough, then I had no choice but to resign myself to battle.

Tino stayed quiet even though she had a dissatisfied look.

She was the one who was attacked this time. I’ll take you out for ice-cream later.

“If we go back, we would have to leave this place.”

Saying so the old Magi came to a decision.

“Kill Infinite Variety! Make him regret he ever mocked us. It’s impossible to be
unharmed after receiving our mastery over magic! It must be a trick!”

“-….Yes!”

His throat went hoarse giving an absurd order. Apparently my prayers went
unanswered.

His subordinates behind him answered all at once. As for the old Magi himself, he
kicked at the ground and retreated while facing this way. He intended to escape by
himself.

If you were going to run away anyway, it was fine if you all just escaped together…
Wasn’t it terrible telling them to kill?
From their expressions it wasn’t a joke. I also didn’t plan on taking my pacifism
that far.

I didn’t remember ever mocking them… but they didn’t seem to plan on letting us
go.

The subordinates all raised their staffs up. Their faces were stiff, and there was a
person that was shaking.
But, none ran away. They had resolved themselves for death.
What kind of group were these rabbi-pros? …Their discipline seemed on par with
the regular orders of the Empire knights.

I rush forward silently, and grabbed Tino’s arm trying to protect me. Tino’s eyes
went wide, and she looked up at me.
If it was Tino she could probably defeat a few of them. But there were a lot of them,
it was unlikely.

I breathed a deep sigh ―― and prepared myself for the worst.

I looked like this and I was level 8. I wasn’t an opponent against phantoms, but
against regular people I could do anything.
I had overcome the level certification exams. What I said about turning them into
charcoal before was a lie, but when I said I had my own ideas that wasn’t a bluff.

My Relics were mostly exhausted of mana. But I had one trump card remaining.

I was glad I didn’t use it in the White Wolves Den.

I had planned on keeping it aside until Lucia returned, but at this point it was
impossible to persuade them using words alone.

Hanging from my neck, I took out the pendant type Relic from beneath my
clothing.
A gold pentagram, set with an inlaid crystal. Jet black like the night sky swirled
within the clear center.

『Realise Outer』. (Kanji: Longing for a Far Away Land)

The Relic’s origin, was a tool created by an engineer that had a deep yearning
towards magic.
At the huge cost of about one hundred times the amount of mana originally
necessary, it could store one magic art.
That ridiculous ability could be released at any time.

Most of my abilities came from the wealth accumulated by Strange Grief.

However, this was the most extreme of them all.

What was contained inside could crush an entire area flat except for the ones
touching the caster. Advanced level gravity magic.
The person that charged the magic while always complaining, was the Magi with
the strongest offensive power in Strange Grief, Lucia Roche.

My――younger sister.

Because storing magic was it’s peculiar trait, it was a Relic that had an exceedingly
slow rate of mana loss.
It was a trump card for when Lucia had to be away from me for a long time for
whatever reason.

I was told to only use it in a crisis where my life was at risk.

If it was discovered I was using it against some ordinary people, there was no doubt
Lucia would scold me.
She might not speak to me for several days.

But if I didn’t use it here, even if this could be worked out somehow… I wouldn’t be
able to forgive myself.

I gripped Tino’s arm and pulled her towards me.

I looked over the Magi with confidence. Just like the original creator of this Relic
would have wanted, I would use the power as if it was my own.

The Magi began forming magic with their staffs. Fire. Ice. Lightning. Wind.
Arts that were simple yet highly lethal.
And they were all chantless – it was incredible that all of the rabbi-pros seemed to
be top class Magi.
But, I wasn’t worried.

“Have you guys――ever seen the greatest attack magic in the world?”

At my words the Magi were startled and their eyes widened. But they didn’t stop
their attacks, and fired them off silently.
Sound stopped. My thoughts became distant seeing the various colours of light
approaching, and I released the magic within the Relic.

However, the ground shook only once. With just that, everything was over.

The Relic didn’t have a visible effect. No intense lights and completely soundless, it
just released the stored magic.

The rabbi-pros that had been aiming at us before were lying flat on their backs.
The number of people – was five. They showed no external injuries, but with a
closer look you would realise there was a tremendous force from above, pressing
them into the ground.

The entire area became like a vacant lot. Plants and anything else was flattened
down as if being crushed.
The only one standing with me was Tino, who had been excluded from the effect
since she had been in contact.
The approaching attack magic had been snuffed out like the flame of a candle,
vanishing without a trace.
Magic was a phenomena that used mana as energy. If two Magi were to cast magic
in the same place, the weaker art would be smothered.

Which meant that the 『trump card』 I received from Lucia greatly exceeded the
magic of all the rabbi-pros.
Well, it seemed like a surprisingly dangerous group, but the difference between
hunters and ordinary people was way too much.

Pressure (kanji: Gravity Magic) was an art that manipulated weight like the name
suggested.

I wasn’t certain of the full details, but it was an obscure magic. And among the
many different arts it had an especially high degree of difficulty.
Although useful, in pure destructive power it was a step below other magic, the
level of interference was higher, and it’s mana consumption was large.
Only a handful of Magi had mastered it according to Lucia.

Regardless, I stored the Relic with gravity magic instead of something destructive.
That was because the art was suited for human 『suppression』.
Gravity magic indiscriminately interfered with everything, dampening released
attack magic and able to stop a vast amount of opponents while killing as least as
possible.
It was a power unsuited for phantoms, but that was fine since I didn’t enter shrines
alone.

This time the Magi were twitching as they laid out flat, without even the room to
raise their voices. But they still weren’t dead.

『Realise Outer』 could only release stored magic cast by the original Magi. I
couldn’t adjust the power, but it seems like it was cast in line with my request for it
not to kill anyone.

I was worried since she had recently been going through a bit of a rebellious phase,
but as expected of Lucia. Your big bro is really happy.

Perhaps because he was further away then the others, the leader of the rabbi-pros
had only fallen to his knees. He was looking up at me dumbfounded.
His staff had dropped from his hands and was sunken into the ground, but he still
seemed able to move.

“-This is… a magic… art!? Pressure!?”

If I acted modestly I would be slandered with some unwarranted false accusations.

I immediately spoke while caught up in the moment.
“Looks like you didn’t die… it was worth choosing a magic of low power.”

“This is absurd… Impossible! For I who was called a sage, to pass through my
barrier so easily ―― you little, …so you, were a Magi!?”

Was his anger being suppressed by shock? His eyes were opened to their limits,
and he was staring at me as if looking at a monster.

A sage? Was this senior, actually a famous and upright person? Was he a
forerunner of the sand rabbit world?

…Well either way, the ones at fault were the quick tempered rabbi-pros that
attacked us when we didn’t do anything.

I regretted getting carried away a little, but after coming so far I couldn’t just step
back and pretend everything was fine.

“A Magi? I’m just – an ordinary hunter.”

Pretty hard boiled right?

Tino who had been silent for a while now looked up with teary eyes. Since I had
held onto her shoulder, Tino hadn’t received any effect from the gravity magic.

She was probably sad looking at the master of her clan act immature. Don’t look at
me with those eyes… I was wrong. I just wanted to look cool.

“Impossible… For I, for Noto Cochlear who absorbed Mana Material and obtained
power ― with chantless magic ― damn it!!”

Eh? Was he going to stand? Did I go too easy on him…?

Yeah. I guess Lucia held back too much?

The renown rabbi-pro gave out a groan, and slowly got to his knees. But from his
expression, it was obvious he was overdoing it.
His eyes were wide, and he was gritting his teeth while drool fell from his lips.

The atmosphere was strained. Terrific spirit.

The ability of the Relic was to cast magic without a chant. But the power should be
the same as when Lucia uses one.

Even though she made adjustments, to be able to stand up in Lucia’s 『Over

Gravity Frame』 wasn’t ordinary.
It wasn’t lethal, but there should still be damage done.
I had used my final trump card. Gravity magic didn’t last that long, and I was
already out of ways to attack.

But in stead of feeling flustered, I felt pity. I spoke while looking down on the old
man benevolently.

“You should stop already.”

“What… did you say?”

I had no idea why he was that angry with me.

But no matter how much they opposed me, I had no will to harm them.
My group was always causing trouble for regular people.

“I have no intention to quarrel with you here. I’m a hunter. People like you are not
my opponents – not sand rabbit researchers that dive into burrows loving rabbits.”

“-…………”

For some reason the old man bared his teeth, and looked up at me with blazing
eyes in extraordinary fury. But it didn’t look like he could get up and walk.
The limit. That body was already at it’s limit. If he forced himself too hard he would
do irreparable damage.
In the first place, with Tino here he had no chance of success.

At that moment, some words crossed my mind.

Stop. Don’t say it.

I warned myself, but I made a slip of the tongue. And whats more, I had a full
smile.

“……We were attacked, but I’ll forgive you for today. Now, I won’t hurt you
anymore so… go back to your burrow.”

Ah-, I said it. I knew it would fan the flames, but it was a bad habit.
It was probably stress built up after being falsely accused and struck by magic.

“-…Kill. I will, kill you! To insult! Our! Akasha! You will regret your mistake!”

As I thought, the old man was furious. The emotion in his eyes was hatred.
A truly villainous face. The world was a strange place for such an old man to be
researching sand rabbits.

The precise moment the magic cut out, the old man regained his stance. But the
after effects on his body remained.
“…Prepare… yourself! I, Noto, will make you regret, ever releasing me!”

While making a passing threat in a shaky voice, the renown rabbi-pro (perhaps
their chief) introduced himself disoriented, and turned his back to me.
If he’s said this much there probably wasn’t a danger to my life anymore. I felt
relieved.

And, realising I had forgotten something, I released the 『Dogs Chain』.

It had been constantly making noise for some time now, and as if thinking the
same thing as me it raced across the ground, and wrapped itself around old Noto’s
feet.
Tripped up, Noto-san tumbled grandly to the ground. I pointed to his companions
as he twitched there.

“Wait up. Take care of your collapsed friends properly. If you leave them here the
sand rabbit researchers will turn into sand rabbits themselves.”

“I don’t think they will, Master.”

In a small voice, Tino muttered a few words.

Translator Notes

Rabbi-pros – in Japanese it says ‘Rabbiken’ for the Japanese nickname Rabbit Researcher
(Kenkyouka).
I tried several english versions Rabbi-chers(researchers), Rabbi-techs (technician), Rabbi-ists
(scientist). I liked Rabbi-techs the best but it doesn’t really make sense to be a rabbit mechanic.

Katakana strikes again. Lucia’s last name is ロジェ. I probably sounds like Rodge I think? Google
translate puts it out as Roger. But I thought that was ロジャー.
I figured it could stand as Roje or Roche… not really I guess. Oh well.