“Huh? Oh, y-yes, I’m fine.”
“‘I’m fine’… Have you always talked like that?”
“I-I stumbled over my words.”
Mai is no longer calm, her mind in chaos. Then, a loud explosion is heard.
“What?”
Magic interference, an abnormal situation, tension fills the air. The townspeople are shocked by the sudden fear. Yururu, Arthur, and Fei head towards the scene.
In this state of emergency, two people are acting strangely.
(Could this be… an event for Mai, the heroine of a romance novel!?
She might be beyond saving.
Defeat the White Wolf!!
We accepted such a request, but we’re free for a while. So, what to do? Speaking of which, the lord, Johnny, was it? He seemed kind, but there might be a twist.
A bad character, perhaps?
I wonder what will happen next. What kind of events are in store?
I walk coolly around the territory. Then I see Master Yururu.
“Hey, Fei-kun!”
She waves energetically like a child. Sometimes, she looks like a mascot character.
TLNOTE: mascot character = ゆるキャラ = Yurukyara = Yururu
Just like Master Yururu. There’s a maid beside her. Ah, the one who used to be her personal maid?
What was her name again?
“Yes, I was just lost in thought for a moment. Please don’t mind me… Lord Fei, I am Mai, who used to serve as Lady Yururu’s personal maid.”
Hmm?
“Yes, I worked tirelessly every day under Lady Yururu. After many unfortunate events, we were separated… It was truly a depressing time. But to reunite joyfully like this is thanks to you, Lord Fei. Thank you.”
She speaks in rhymes. Without a doubt, she’s a side character. Her past is so tragic, but I can’t focus on it at all. Instead, I’m fixated on the rhyming.
──So, Mai the maid, worked tirelessly, feeling depressed? This is hilarious.
I’ve memorized her name now. Mai. With such persistence, I actually like her.
It’s the author’s way of helping players remember the character’s names. Rhyming to make it memorable and easier to immerse in the story. Ensuring they remember the character’s names.
──As the protagonist of this world, it’s essential to understand the author’s consideration in creating this world.
But Mai, she’s funny to this extent.
Then, a loud bang!?
This is an event for the protagonist, me!!
Time to head out, no stopping now!
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
A loud noise echoes. It sounds like an explosion. If anyone were near, they would surely have died.
Johnny’s wife and Fei head towards the site. The ground is torn up. It looks like there’s some sort of underground passage visible.
“Ma’am, do you know about this?”
“No… I had no idea something like this was in our territory.”
“…I see. May I investigate a bit?”
“Yes, please… It feels quite eerie.”
With her permission, Sargento leads everyone inside. It’s like a labyrinth made of rock debris.
The temperature inside is about the same as outside, but there’s a creepy feeling all around. Anything could come out at any moment. They walk quietly, trying to make as little noise as possible, and reach a crossroads. Forward, right, left—where to go?
“A crossroads, what now?”
“…Arthur and I will go this way.”
“Why do I have to go with Sargento… I want to go with Fei.”
“…Now, what should the rest do?”
Sargento ignores Arthur’s protests. His mission of surveillance makes him want to minimize separation. Plus, he’s tired and wants to avoid talking to Arthur.
“I’ll go alone… I’ll continue straight.”
With that, Fei heads straight alone. His determination is unchallengeable. Yururu reaches out to stop him, but he disappears on his own.
“…Fei alone… Well, he’ll be fine… Yururu, you and True take the right.”
Fei vanishes, and Yururu worries about him. But they must hurry. Following Sargento’s orders, they each take a different path.
In this event, the results wouldn’t change much regardless of the path. In this maze-like lab, Johnny is killed by a woman. His corpse and the children’s corpses in the lab are traumatic events for True and Arthur.
Johnny’s death is karma. He was a good man but walked a cruel path, becoming an accomplice to a child-killing murderer.
This place is a research facility. Hidden underground to avoid detection.
In a dimly lit room, surrounded by stone walls, Johnny is stabbed in the abdomen by someone.
“Guh…”
“Ah, you weren’t much of anything, were you? How disappointing.”
“…I… for the future… for the people…”
“No matter what you say, nothing will change. To me, it doesn’t matter at all… Well, regardless of your reasons, this end is fitting for someone who caused so many sacrifices.”
“Sacri… fices, were… necessary… I… for the future…”
Johnny breathed his last. As she pulled out her sword, blood dripped from it, forming a pool on the ground. The woman turned to leave.
“So, this was all. And this man was just a low-ranking member… no valuable information at all… what a waste of effort.”
With a sigh, she started to disappear from the scene, but two figures blocked her path.
“Oh? Who might you be?”
“…We are the Holy Knights.”
“Johnny…?!”
True and Yururu stood in front of the woman. Seeing Johnny’s corpse and the blood splattered on her clothes, it was clear she was the one who killed him.
Yet, something didn’t sit right with True. Where were they? Why was Johnny killed here? True pondered, feeling there was more to the situation.
(I failed to save them again… but I can’t give up here.)
Normally, he would be retching from the stress, but he had to fight. However, thanks to a skilled doctor’s treatment, his stomach was protected.
“Would you come with us…?”
“I refuse.”
The woman seemed slightly pleased by the determination in True’s voice. Hearing her response, True drew his sword.
“Indeed, battle is a wonderful thing.”
“…Yururu, please contact the other members… I’ll hold her off alone.”
“True… but…”
“It’s fine. I’m just buying time. It’s better to capture her with everyone here. So, please.”
“…Understood. Good luck.”
Yururu hurried back to inform the others. True’s mind wasn’t focused on fighting as a group. He just wanted to achieve something on his own, hence the deception.
A man flashed in his mind. Black hair, sharp eyes. A swordsman who continued to fight alone.
Both sides launched forward, clashing with the sound of metal. Enhanced by the star power, their sword dance unfolded.
“Not bad. I don’t dislike this.”
“……”
“Ignoring a lady is unacceptable.”
“…I only think about defeating you. There’s no need for anything else.”
“Oh? How interesting… oh?”
The woman noticed a large puddle at her feet, with water arrows shooting at her from all directions.
“Nice control… but you’re lacking resolve.”
“──!”
With a single movement, the woman dissipated the water arrows with her sword. True realized she was far above him in skill.
“Enough. You’re not worth hunting. You lack resolve, and most importantly, your imitation is laughably poor.”
“──No, it’s not over!”
Despite knowing she was stronger, True charged again, trembling in fear.
“In such a state, you can’t defeat anything…”
Dodging his sword, she struck his solar plexus. The burning pain sent True into unconsciousness.
“Well then, let’s destroy this place… Oh, he’s unconscious…”
“…Still…”
“Oh, you’re awake. Convenient. This place will be erased soon. You should flee.”
A massive concentration of star power gathered in her right arm, shining like a star. She slammed it into the ground, transferring the star’s brilliance to the earth.
“In about an hour… please, don’t die. You’re interesting.”
Those were her last words. True, holding his stomach, crawled after her pathetically, but she was already gone. Even so──
Sargento and Arthur arrived. True, with his abdominal wound healed, walked and informed them they needed to escape. He also received information he hadn’t known. Yururu was still searching for Fei, and this place was an experimental facility with numerous dead children.
True noticed Arthur’s sad expression but couldn’t afford to address it. Escaping and finding Fei were the priorities.
◆
“I got lost…”
The blonde woman was lost. After defeating True and trying to escape, she wandered through the labyrinthine research facility.
“…What should I do? I could use magic to break through, but that would collapse the place and kill that person…”
She wandered, retracing her steps, but found no exit, sighing in frustration.
She let out a sigh. You ponder what to do.
In the dim labyrinth, In that place where sound has almost disappeared, she hear something. It was the sound of someone’s footsteps.
Someone was approaching, without any attempt to conceal their presence. The woman was intrigued by the arrogant steps.
A silhouette appeared, taller than her, with a sword at their waist and wearing the same uniform as True. As the man’s face became visible, she spoke.
“Who are you?”
“When asking a lady her name, isn’t it polite to introduce yourself first?”
“I’ll ask one more time. There won’t be a third… who are you?”
“Such impatience. Well, fine… I am Mordred. A free swordsman who whimsically blows things up and seeks strong opponents.”
“…I see. It seems we must cross swords.”
“Exactly. I just defeated a man in the same uniform as yours. Feel free to avenge him.”
Mordred, the long-haired blonde woman, tied her hair in a ponytail, her blood-red eyes focused on Fei. For her, battle was more enjoyable than meals, and she sought intense, soul-stirring fights.
“I swing my sword only for myself. Don’t get it twisted, woman.”
“…How rare, such a philosophy!”
Fei moved first, striking with his sword enhanced by clumsy star magic power at Mordred. Slower than True’s attacks, Mordred, who had expected him to be a very strong fighter, was disappointed.
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