31
“Two days ago, you requested to join the carriage… Mr. Saiten?”
“That’s correct.”
“Please come in.”
Saiten, having received the driver’s permission, boarded the carriage.
It was an unavoidable choice, as he couldn’t afford to ride alone without money.
Although he was in a miserable situation, he didn’t have time to lament.
“Hello, everyone.”
Saiten greeted the people who were already aboard the carriage.
“…”
They glanced at him briefly and ignored him.
It was when Saiten protruded his lips like an octopus.
“Nice to meet you. My name is James. I needed a conversation partner, and it worked out well.”
The middle-aged man sitting across from Saiten was wearing a snug cloak.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Saiten. Same here.”
Saiten smiled as he found someone to talk to.
Small talk is essential during carriage rides, which consume a lot of time.
“Mr. Saiten, don’t you feel like we’ve met somewhere before?”
“Hmm. I don’t recall.”
“I have a very good memory.”
James’ yellow pupils widened.
“Have you ever seen a storytelling session in Puskin Village recently?”
“‘The Serenade of the Shadows,’ you mean? Yes, I have.”
“I was there too, at that time.”
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“What a coincidence! Do you happen to enjoy stories?”
“I enjoy them very much.”
“hahahahaha! Remember my name. I will be a great writer someday!”
Saiten laughed heartily and extended his hand for a handshake.
“You seem lively.”
The two men with identical speech patterns shook hands.
“Is the square object in the bag a book written by Mr. Saiten?”
“That’s right!”
“I see. Why are you leaving Lenghel? It’s a great city for artists.”
Saiten was speechless.
There was nowhere to accept his new publication this time. His emergency funds had run out a long time ago. He had to do adventurer work somehow to make a living. He was on his way to that place after accepting a quest.
He could never say such things out of pride.
“…The inspiration of an artist doesn’t come by just sitting still and waiting. True great writers find their own colors through long journeys.”
“Indeed. Those are wise words.”
James’ eyes turned towards Saiten’s bag.
“If it’s not too much trouble, may I read it for a moment? I love reading books. I’ll make sure to give you feedback.”
“You don’t even have to ask. Feel free to read it. Manuscript is fine too.”
“It’s alright.”
Saetun had finished reading the masterpiece of the century that had yet to receive recognition, ‘Drinking Steel.’
“The beginning of the story left a deep impression.”
“Particularly well thought out.”
Flip. Flip.
Saetun unintentionally became quiet, focusing on the sound of James turning the pages.
After a few hours, James, having finished reading, spoke up.
“This… is an extraordinary work.”
Gasp!
“R-really?! Your taste is exceptional!”
“Sir! Please refrain from shouting loudly while driving!”
Saetun covered his mouth with his hand and sat back down.
“It was a piece that dealt with the theme of a romantic era fading away in a serious and delicate manner. Especially the climax and resolution were truly perfect.”
“That’s exactly it!”
“However, the weight of the play could be overwhelming and may feel boring if not careful. How about adding a character to refresh the atmosphere?”
“R-really? I’ll consider it.”
James pulled out an expensive-looking pipe.
“As a writer… I see. Can I tell you a story that I had in mind? If you find it interesting, feel free to use it.”
“Of course.”
“It’s a story about a young boy. A story about a boy who admired knights.”
James had a brief moment for smoking.
“If you’re a knight?”
“A knight must have enemies to defeat, right? A warrior who faces their destined enemy and engages in fierce battles. That’s what a boy thinks a knight is.”
“How romantic.”
“One day, this boy faced a crisis. His poor parents sold him to the ‘Shadow’.”
“The Shadow?”
“A cruel assassination organization that trains young children to become assassins.”
“I see.”
“In that place, the boy, who was given the name 007, became an assassin after rigorous training. He never failed a mission, not once.”
“Hmm.”
“As time passed, the boy became a man and felt bored. The missions assigned by the Shadow meant nothing to him as a man. Isn’t it inevitable that he aimed for a bigger world? The man attempted to escape and finally managed to break free from the Shadow after a long chase. His friends who had planned for a future together all died, though.”
“That’s a grim story.”
“The man who escaped the Shadow went to a place where he received the protection of order and gradually became stronger, quickly rising to a high position. After much effort, he eventually even received the title of knight. The boy firmly believed that in this position, he would be able to find worthy opponents.”
Suddenly, James’ eyes were burning with intensity.
“But the destined enemy he had longed for his whole life never appeared, even after a long time. There was nothing different from his life in the Shadow. Killing someone who was nothing to him on command, killing someone who only talked on command… How boring of a life is that? The man fell into a long period of ennui, until the ‘Massacre’ appeared.”
“Massacre?”
“That’s the nickname the man gave him. The sudden appearance of the Massacre completely wiped out the members of the Shadow that the man had been tracking. And it happened in an instant. How astonished the man must have been. And how delighted. Finally, he met someone like himself. A worthy opponent to risk his life and fight against. An archenemy.”
As he calmly poured out his words, his appearance seemed quite distorted.
By the time the atmosphere had become strangely tense, with everyone except Satan breaking out in a cold sweat.
“We’ve arrived!”
The carriage came to a stop with the voice of the driver.
“Oh, time has already passed like this.”
“I heard you well. So… it’s a story about a ‘wannabe knight’?”
“A wannabe knight… I guess you can see it that way.”
James put the pipe he was holding into his pocket and stood up.
“Now that I think about it, it’s a cliché story that you can hear anywhere. It’s embarrassing.”
“Isn’t that how life is? All stories tend to be predictable.”
“That’s true.”
“There’s something I’m curious about.”
Sutton smiled as if he had thought of something amusing.
“Go ahead and tell me.”
“What if the ‘executioner’ who had been waiting all his life didn’t consider the protagonist of the story worthy? What if he was defeated without any resistance the moment they met? If the protagonist meant nothing to the enemy?”
“That would be… despairing.”
“Is that so?”
Sutton raised the corner of his mouth.
“It’s quite amusing. I hope Mr. Sutton lives a long life. Sincerely.”
James smiled gracefully, exchanged eye contact, and left.
“A character that relieves the tension of the play… a monster beauty with a human heart? I wonder if this will be accepted?”
Sitting on a rock by the roadside, Saitun mumbled for a while.
The meeting between the two men, who talked excessively, ended like that.
***
It took another week for his condition to improve. During that time, he imagined the new power he would gain from this power-up while lying in bed.
Could he use the orbital bombing technique? Did he acquire Delbanas’ wide-area skill? If not, would his mana increase dramatically like last time?
Damn it, none of them.
Oooong-
A daring dawn when everyone was asleep. The wavelength of green light spread around. Roughly calculated, the distance of the wavelength was about 300m.
Ziiing-
The people caught by the wavelength shone with a green light.
That’s right.
The new ability he gained this time was the infrared beam that Delbanas used to locate me.
And just a tiny increase in mana. Moreover, this ability didn’t manifest naturally either. It was fired off on its own when I exerted strength in the bathroom.
“Sigh.”
Even now, I’m exerting strength in my muscles and using it. Did Delbanas use it like this for two years?
From a distance, it’s soybean paste soup, up close, it’s just poop. I wanted to vent my frustration by killing Yasayo all day, but I still have one homework assignment to do.
The secret underground map of the people of Goldon injected into my brain by Spirit-Youkai Hanssanda. Before leaving the now safe Goldon, I must definitely find this place.
“Robin. Diana is also ready.”
“Come out quietly. Let’s go.”
This time, Orpheus, as well as Diana, would accompany him. As confirmed earlier with the Ninja-Radar, all the people of Goldon were fast asleep, so there won’t be any issues of being discovered.
Everyone danced and played, saying that the war was over and the crisis had passed.
“…Do I have to go too?”
“Diana, you can’t just keep taking classes forever. You need to gain practical experience to become a good ninja dinosaur.”
While battles that involved killing people were exempted due to the social status of minors, there was no way to exempt this. If they kept making excuses, they would eventually end up skipping group projects that they had to do.
As a third-rank ninja and a teacher, I couldn’t just let that happen.
Thud, thud.
The destination was a well in a corner of Goldon Square. It was an abandoned place where water didn’t collect.
Smack!
They kicked down the wooden boards with a jet kick.
“You even boarded it up?”
“It’s double-locked.”
They kicked it once more and broke through, entering inside.
“It’s not that deep.”
As Orphe said, the depth of the well was ordinary. If it ended here, it wouldn’t be a secret passage.
They pushed the biggest boulder that made up the well inside. It weighed more than ten ordinary adults combined. But their opponent was an escaped ninja.
Rumble…
After pushing it to a certain extent, the boulder moved automatically.
“Wow…”
“Bugs might get in.”
They closed Diana’s wide-open mouth and walked forward. I wonder if ghosts eat bugs too? I’ll test it later.
“The water didn’t accumulate. It couldn’t. It’s too wide.”
“Nin-nin.”
A massive door appeared at the end of the narrow secret passage.
“What’s that?”
A scrap metal robot in the shape of a person stood next to it.
“A steel lumberjack?!”
Seems like it wandered into the wrong world.
“Orpheus, explain. Is that also a monster?”
“I’ve never seen it before. Will it move?”
I don’t think this creature, covered in spiderwebs and ivy, has any possibility of moving.
Thud.
“Huh?”
“Diana? What did you step on?”
“Well, I was just looking around when suddenly my foot sunk… here.”
I might go crazy. Shouldn’t we have started with a lesson on humanity instead of discipline?
Ziiing-
Life returns to the eyes of the scrap metal robot.
[Observer…]
It slowly moves its body and points at me with its finger.
[The observer… must die.]
Whirr-clank. Whirr-clank.
It’s incredibly stifling to see him slowly approaching.
“Stop! Who are you?”
Suddenly, Orpheus, armed with a window and shield, stopped him in his tracks.
[A hero?… Why…]
Crack!
He took a jet kick.
Thud!
He shattered into six pieces.
Head, chest, arms, legs.
Perfect disassembly.
“A cyber-monster brat, daring to kill someone.”
There’s no way the scrap kid who first meets someone would be a monster.