Tenshi Translations

Volume 1 Chapter 3 Part 3

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You can grab the PDF here.

~~~~~~~~~~​~~~~~~~~~~​~~~~~~~~~~

 

The next day.
Shin rose with the dawn and quickly went into action.
After confirming his preparations and grabbing breakfast at The Badger’s Pavilion, he pushed through the crowds towards the eastern gate. On the way, he made a short detour to a tool store to buy a simple map of the kingdom and the surrounding area. Yesterday, he didn’t think he would go far and had expected to return quickly, so he didn’t buy it. He remedied that today.
It was called a map, but was actually more like just a rough sketch with only a few details. Shin still wanted to explore the kingdom later on in the future, so he bought a map that showed both the kingdom and the Northern Forest.

 

Walking for a while after leaving the tool store, Shin saw a throng gathered at the gate. He drew near, curious about what was happening.
Entering through the gate was a vehicle barely recognizable as a carriage, a coachman, and several adventurers following behind. The coachman was unhurt, but all of the adventurers were heavily injured, with some that had even lost an arm. They were hobbling along while supporting each other. They had clearly escaped from something only by the skin of their teeth.

 

“What happened?”

 

There were all sorts of people of different races in the crowd, but no one was stepping forward to help. Even the guards who were investigating hung back at a distance and merely looked on.

 

(Their levels are 131, 129, 118, and 134.)

 

Shin remembered that the Squad Leader of the Knights’ Order’s Elite Squad was level 188. His power was probably on the level of an A rank, so the adventurers that Shin was currently looking at were probably C or D rank. From afar, he inferred that the damage to their armor and to the carriage was by a blade, but considering that the entire roof of the carriage was gone, it might be too hasty to immediately conclude that it was a bandit attack.

 

After a while, the onlookers gradually dispersed, and people arrived to tend to the adventurers.
Shin walked towards the gate and called out to Beid.

 

“Hey Beid, what happened to the guys just now?”
“Nn? Ah, it’s you. It wasn’t anything big, they just got attacked by a monster and escaped.”

 

Turns out it wasn’t bandits after all.

 

“So that’s what it was. May I ask exactly what they were attacked by?”
“I can tell you if you don’t carelessly spread it around. Well, considering that it’s you, it’ll be fine. Either way, it’s probably going to become common gossip really soon anyways.”
“Was it something really huge?”

 

Shin needed to know how strong the monster was to decide if he needed to be on guard against it, so he waited for Beid’s response.

 

“...... It was a Skull Face. I’m sure even you’ve heard at least the rumors of them?”
“Aah, I think it was the Northern Forest ...... was it?”
“That’s right. There have been very little eyewitness reports, so we were expecting a Pawn class, but apparently it turned out to be a Jack class.”
“Jack class ...... How many people were in that party?”
“They were two full parties, thus a total of twelve people. As you saw, only four survived.”
“I see ......”

 

The level of a Jack class Skull Face was between 150 to 250. Based on the levels of the adventurers that he saw earlier, the parties’ average level was probably around 120. Considering their armor, and that there were twelve of them, for them to lose would mean that the Jack class Skull Face was at least level 200.

 

“Right now, they’re gathering all the higher ranked adventurers. Depending on the situation, maybe even the Adventurer’s Guild’s head or the Knight’s Order’s head would also have to move.”
“Based on the level of the monster, that sounds about right. Nn? What about the princess? I heard that she is pretty strong.”

 

He remembered that the second princess was above level 200 too.

 

“There’s no way she would come ...... Though she is indeed very strong, as a member of the royal family she can’t come out so easily to fight monsters.”
“Well, it’s just that from what I’ve heard, she sounded like someone who really liked to fight. Didn’t she defeat a Horn Dragon before?”
“Aah ...... that was ......”

 

In contrast to yesterday, it was now Beid’s turn to cover his face with his hand and drop his shoulders. It was apparently a taboo subject.

 

“We-well, I’ll just take care to not go anywhere near the Northern Forest. Seeya.”
“I think you already know this, but just be careful!”

 

Drinking in the air, Shin hurried towards the Eastern Forest. Looks like working for the royal family brought with it its own problems.

 

Reaching the Eastern Forest, he cut straight through the places that he had searched yesterday and dove straight into the heart of the forest.【Search】told him that there were several monsters prowling about, but he could easily handle all of them, and thus paid them no mind.
He walked around deep inside the forest in search of Hilk grass. Confirming the information that they were easier to find deep in the forest, he did indeed find several clumps of them, which brought his current score to thirteen. Even so, it was still less than halfway to his goal.

 

Walking around for two more hours failed to yield any more than the first thirteen pieces, so he decided to go to the Northern Forest. There was only a rarely used road separating the Eastern Forest and the Northern Forest, so he set his course westward with the intention of diving straight into the Northern Forest.

 

After walking for a while, he came across the road. It was barely wide enough for two carriages to pass by each other.
Shin realized that the place where the adventurers had been attacked was somewhere nearby. The proof was the roof of the carriage lying at the side of the road. Now that he was looking closer, he could also see what seemed to be bloodstains and broken off pieces of armor. The reason why he didn’t see any corpses was probably because the wild animals and monsters around the place had already taken care of them.

 

“In this world, even a Skull Face is a formidable opponent, huh ......”

 

Shin sighed while staring at the remains of the carriage. Considering all this much commotion over a single Jack class Skull Face, if an even stronger monster appeared then probably all residents of the area would have to abandon their homes, Shin thought.

 

“Oh well, there’s no point in me thinking about this right now.”

 

Chasing these thoughts to the back of his mind, he stepped into the Northern Forest.
The vegetation in the Northern Forest was even denser than the Eastern Forest. As a result, less than half of the sunlight actually filtered through, causing the forest to be pretty dark even during daytime. He would need to watch his step even when walking normally. Thinking about what a pain the place would be to search, Shin sighed heavily and went on.

 

Unlike the Eastern Forest, many monsters lived in the Northern Forest. Although the ingame map was still pretty much unusable, it could still show red and yellow markers within a certain circumference, with himself as the center. Together with enemy detection skills, Shin could clearly know the position of every monster nearby, no matter how hard they tried to hide or conceal their presence.

 

He was not a supporter of senseless killing, but he did need to gain a better grasp on his current state, so when he was attacked he fought back instead of running away. Fighting with【Limit】activated, he tried to gauge how much power to use.
At first, he fought without holding anything back, like when he sparred against Balkus. As a result, the monsters were blown away with a single strike. It had been the same on his way to Tsuki no Hokora, so he wasn’t surprised. However, that outcome wasn’t helpful in helping him gauge his own strength. If he had his previous stat profile, then he would have a rough estimate, but with his stats more than doubled, even he didn’t know exactly how powerful he had become.

 

In the end, he concluded that the most rational thing to do was to keep using the Support-Type Skill【Limit】at the highest level of X.
【Limit】was originally a skill that allowed high level players to play together with low level players, lowering the user’s stats to a half or a third or even lower. Using this, even players with a significant gap in stats could play together. Level X was unlocked for everyone from the start.

 

Currently, Shin had applied【Limit X】only to his STR, which brought it down to 223, a tenth of its original value. He left his other stats untouched. This was roughly the appropriate number for a level 255 human who had never reincarnated. Incidentally,【Limit I】would apply a 1/1 divider to the chosen stat, which meant no change. This skill for adjusting one’s stats could at most bring a stat down to 1/10, and at least leave it unchanged.

 

As for why he applied it to only STR, it was because of his observations on the amount of damage that normal humans could deal to monsters. Even if he used an average-looking weapon, if he defeated monsters too easily then he would really stand out. As it were, if he ever came across a situation where he had to join a party, he now knew to do this so that the other members would not get suspicious.

 

...... It was also a precaution so that he didn’t accidentally alter the area’s geography.

 

There were more monsters than he had expected, and he was fighting just on a whim anyways, so he didn’t pursue any of the monsters and mainly focused on looking for Hilk grass. He sincerely wished that he had a skill to search for items.

 

When he went further into the forest, he did indeed find Hilk grass.
Currently, he was in possession of 29 pieces. He only needed one more piece to fulfill the request. “Alright, only one left to go!” thought Shin as he motivated himself once more as he carefully continued walking through the forest. At that moment, he noticed a marker on the map at the edge of his vision moving very strangely.

 

The marker was red. It indicated a hostile entity.

 

Thing was, that marker was not moving around in a large area, but was zigzagging and wriggling around within a 10 mel radius.

 

“What the heck is this?”

 

Seeing a marker moving in a way that he had never seen before, Shin’s curiosity was piqued. Intending to quickly check it out, he went towards it by following his map.

 

After only a few minutes, he had gotten close to the marker, so he hid behind a tree and took a peek.

 

What he saw rendered him both dumbstruck and frozen.

 

Before his eyes was the figure of a Jack class Skull Face. Roughly twice as big as a Pawn class, its body was made only of bones and was roughly 3 mels in height. It was equipped with armor, gauntlets, greaves, and a helmet. In its left hand was a round shield about 1 mel in diameter, and in its right hand was a greatsword 2 mels long.
Aside from the greatsword, everything the Jack had on was pure black and looked very well maintained. It was a far cry from the ragged gauntlets and rusty swords sported by Pawns.

 

In place of its eyes were gloomy purple flames, and black smoke that could be called an aura of negativity emanated from its entire body.
It looked like a commander of an undead army that had just been called up from hell. This was what a Jack class Skull Face was like.
Any normal person of this world would have been petrified with fear at the sight.

 

However, the reason why Shin was dumbstruck and frozen was not because of any of that. In the first place, to someone with maxed out stats like Shin, a Jack class Skull Face was nothing more than a trash mob. Then why was he just looking on and not attacking?

 

The reason was,

 

“Why is a Skull Face breakdancing ......”

 

Those words summed up the situation quite succinctly.

 

Just thinking about it made one want to see it. Undead monsters are by all rights monsters that hate the living and exist only to drag them to the side of the dead. Their very appearance was to instill fear in anyone who saw them, and they were to sow death all around themselves with bodies that never tire. That is what undead type monsters are like in THE NEW GATE. And Skull Faces could be said to be the representative of all undead.

 

They were absolutely not ones to be breakdancing in the middle of a forest when they thought no one was looking.

 

“This is surreal ...... This is way too surreal. Did you really want to dance that much? Seriously?!”

 

There was no vegetation at all in the immediate area around the Skull Face. If one was to look down from above, they would see a hole in the middle of the forest. The reason for this was clearly because the Skull Face was breakdancing with all of its equipment on. Its greatsword had toppled all of the trees, its shield had mowed down all of the grass, and the uneven parts of its armor had scooped out the ground.

 

In the first place, the question whether breakdancing could be done while wearing armor was indeed a valid one, but it was actually being done, so there’s nothing else to be said about that.

 

Shin’s outburst was mixed with a faint sense of pity and sympathy.
It felt like he was seeing something that he was not supposed to see, which made him feel an indescribable sense of guilt.

 

However, these thoughts disappeared in a moment as he remembered what a Skull Face really was and heard a very faint sound.

 

The sound of a liquid being splashed against a surface reached Shin’s ears. Curious, Shin looked in the direction of where the sound came from, and saw a large tree with red liquid on its trunk.

 

Shin’s eyes immediately returned to the Skull Face, and he began to examine it more closely. The greatsword that whistled as it swung through the air, the armor covering the skeleton, the shield that was mowing down the grass, and the red liquid on all of it that matched with what was on the tree.
Shifting his line of vision a little revealed the corpse of a monster sliced in half. Apparently, anything and anybody that stumbled here would get cut down, no questions asked.

 

A Skull Face in the Northern Forest. The adventurers who had been attacked. The dried blood and fresh blood still dripping from the greatsword. There was no definite proof. However, Shin was not naive enough to belief that this Skull Face wasn’t the one that attacked the adventurers. As such, he couldn’t just leave it alone.

 

It took a mere moment for Shin to recover from his shock. He tightened his expression and body and sharpened the aura around himself.

 

“It isn’t time to be zoned out.”

 

While muttering to himself, he finished a thorough analysis of his opponent. It would be dangerous to treat this encounter as flippantly as if he was still in the game.
In actuality, the Skull Face had enough strength to chop down a 30 cemel wide tree in a single swing, so there would be nothing to gain in letting his guard down.

 

“I get to draw first blood.”

 

Shin matched the timing of his katana leaving its scabbard and the Skull Face turning its back on him. Keeping his posture low, he closed the gap to the Skull Face in a single step.
In the same movement, he drew his katana. Without using a skill, he slashed at his opponent’s unprotected back.

 

Skull Faces naturally have a certain resistance against slashing attacks, but a surprise attack to its back should deal a fair amount of damage. However, he was betrayed by this expectation.

 

The instant Shin turned his katana towards the Skull Face’s back, almost as if it had already sensed Shin’s presence, the Skull Face slammed the ground with its left hand and used the reaction force from that to turn around at an accelerated speed. In the same movement, it repelled Shin’s sword with the round shield on its left hand and brought the sword in its right hand towards Shin with a mowing attack.

 

“What the heck?!”

 

Shin used the momentum from his own attack to dash past the Skull Face, thus escaping the reach of the greatsword.
Shin couldn’t help being shocked. Even level 250 Skull Faces didn’t use to move like what he just saw. A flowing defense and counterattacking with its sword, plus still maintaining its balance on top of those movements. This was absolutely unheard of back in the game.
Considering a body of flesh and blood, such movements were not impossible. However, this Skull Face was apparently managing it with brute strength that belied its appearance of a mere skeleton and by ignoring how joints normally bend.
Shin could not hide his shock at this Skull Face fighting in such an unimaginable way.

 

“What was up with those movements? That isn’t how Skull Faces move!”

 

The breakdancing was already strange enough, but it wasn’t the only thing about this Skull Face that was off.

 

“Its level is also weird. And that sword, that doesn’t look like a sword that a Skull Face would wield.”

 

While regaining his stance, he looked at the Skull Face.【Analyze X】told him that its level was 359. It wasn’t on the level of a Jack class. Going above even the Queen class, this Skull Face was firmly ranked in the King class.

 

The bigger problem, though, was the sword in its hand. It was a broad, double-handed sword that a human wouldn’t be able to wield with only one hand. There was fancy ornamentation on the handle, the blade shone with a silver light, and a blue line ran through the heart of the edge. It appeared to be made with mithril and demon steel, the former of which was stronger than iron, and the latter of which had high magical affinity. The edge was enveloped with a white light even more brilliant than the glow from the blade body.
White light indicated the attribute of light. Considering also its design and the aura that it was cloaked in, it could definitely be identified as a holy sword.
No matter how you think about it, it was clearly not a weapon for an undead monster to be wielding. The attributes didn’t match up.

 

“It would be appropriate to think of this guy as a unique monster, then.”

 

Shin increased his wariness a notch. It was common for unique monsters to possess extra attributes or special powers. However, he had never heard of one that possessed the attribute that was originally its weakness.

 

As Shin was weighing the situation, the Skull Face, seemingly in acknowledgment of Shin as a worthy opponent, planted both feet firmly on the ground, brought the shield in front of itself, and slightly drew back its sword. From the looks of things, this stance was not a fluke, but the movement of someone who had studied sword fighting. There was a clear contrast to normal Skull Faces, who only know how to repeat the same attack.

 

“So that dancing wasn’t just you messing around, was it!!”

 

As he spoke, he charged the Skull Face again. He aimed for the left side, where the shield was.
Again crossing the distance between them in a step, Shin sheathed his sword to draw it again. He aimed for his opponent’s left ankle.

 

(T/N: Shin is apparently using iaijustsu here, which is a style of sword fighting that relies on the drawing motion of the sword for a faster slashing attack. That’s why he re-sheathed it first.)

 

“Sei!”

 

He ran at full speed past the Skull Face’s left ankle at the moment his sword left its scabbard.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In response to Shin’s attack, the Skull Face reacted by bringing its shield down to protect itself, but the difference in physique between the two of them and the size of the shield caused it to fail in blocking the attack.

 

The sound of metal clashing with metal reverberated as Shin escaped the reach of the greatsword. Realizing that blocking would be impossible, the Skull Face had instead decided to ignore Shin and attack with its own sword instead.
Evaluating the risk from blocking a slashing attack aimed at his back, Shin decided to evade, leaving the sword that was being swung down to smash into where he was standing before. It would have been good enough if the sword shaved off a bit of dirt, but it instead left a 3 mel long gash in the ground beyond the tip of the blade, almost as if the blade had been elongated.

 

“That weapon must be either Rare or Unique grade. I’ve never heard of this.”

 

An increase in range due to a magical enchantment. It was a common enchantment from Shin’s point of view, but it did not belong on a weapon wielded by a low level monster. Also, if there had been such an acrobatic Skull Face before, it would definitely have remained in his memory.

 

Showing zero regard for Shin and his suspicions, the Skull Face began a counterattack with its greatsword. Its left foot had been completely severed, but it was no problem for the Skull Face who felt no pain. As if it never even had a left foot in the first place, it stabbed the ground with its right foot and released a fierce horizontal mowing attack.

 

Shin also ran towards the Skull Face on his own accord while activating the Sword-Type Martial Skill【Shiraha Nagashi [Drawn Sword Diversion]】. Turning his katana towards the handle of the greatsword, he deflected the mowing attack.
Right afterwards, he activated the Sword-Type Martial Skill【Seijin [Blade Crusher]】at the Skull Face’s unprotected torso.
This skill was a common strategy against opponents with resistance to slashing attacks. In this case, it would smash through the Skull Face’s armor and directly deal damage to its body.

—— At least, that was what was supposed to happen.

 

 

“Are you kidding me?!”

 

Shin was understandably shocked.
The very instant before Shin’s attack made contact, the Skull Face retreated with a powerful back step, thus eluding the trajectory of Shin’s sword. The armor did break where the attack had grazed it, but the Skull Face’s body received almost no direct damage.

 

It had moved as if it had known that a powerful attack was coming. Even though Shin was not using his full power, for the Skull Face to be able to keep up with him was beyond unusual.

 

“GeeEEEEaaaaAAAAAAAA————!!!!”

 

Having dodged the blade, the Skull Face released a warped version of a beast’s roar. It was a voice so filled with resentment that it would make anyone who heard it shiver with discomfort.
The scream at point-blank range made even Shin grimace. There weren’t any particular effects from the roar itself, but large sounds were very effective at instilling fear in most living beings in and of themselves.
Shin recovered quickly, then retreated from his position. Shin saw that the Skull Face’s HP bar had only gone down by a tiny bit. Most of his attacks so far had been dodged or mitigated by the Skull Face’s armor, so as of yet there had been no significant damage dealt to it.

 

“Man, why am I encountering such a weird monster so early on?”

 

Half in surprise at the Skull Face’s movements and half in admiration, Shin muttered to himself.
He sent a fleeting glance at his own weapon, and noticed that it was chipped and cracked here and there.

 

Games often have the setting where weapons and armors have durability points, and when the durability points reaches 0 the item becomes unusable. However, in reality, when an item decreases in durability points, it would become physically worn out, such that it would be impossible to keep using it up to the point when its durability points run out.

 

At the moment, Suda’s durability had dropped to under 30%. The reason why it had received so much damage was probably because of the Skull Face’s high level and the powerful weapon that it was wielding.

 

“There’s about only one good attack left in this guy. In that case, let’s try this!”

Shin and the Skull Face. A single person and an area that had been thoroughly devastated by the Skull Face’s actions. Therefore, this place was perfect. Shin adopted a proper stance.

 

He put his left foot one step forward and leaned forward. The katana was held horizontally at his waist and slightly pulled back.

 

Then he whispered,

 

“【Limit Off】.”

 

With just two words, the restriction on his power due to the skill was gone.
Even a complete amateur would have been able to notice the sharp change in Shin’s presence.
He channeled power into the sword until it started making ‘gishiri’ sounds.

 

“GuUUuuuUUuUuUUU————————”

 

Growing wary of Shin with his stance and his altered presence, the Skull Face groaned in a low voice. Bracing behind its shield, it adopted a stance that focused purely on defense.

 

Shin mentally praised the Skull Face’s movement, gathered his own power,

 

“Shi!!”

 

And rushed forward while expelling all the air in his lungs, brandishing his sword.

 

With a step-in so fast that he didn’t even leave an afterimage, he attacked with a single upswing.
As Shin reappeared in front of the Skull Face, the two kinds of sounds of ‘ki’ and ‘giin’ could be heard.

 

Two changes took place.

 

The first was Shin’s katana breaking into pieces, leaving behind only the handle.
The other was the Skull Face’s greatsword flying off and disappearing into the sky.

 

Among the two kinds of sounds still reverberating around the area, the first sound ‘ki’ was the vestiges from the transparent sound ‘kin’ made when Shin’s single attack tore through the Skull Face’s shield, armor, and the core in its chest all at once. The other sound ‘giin’ was from the Skull Face’s greatsword and Shin’s katana clashing against each other.

 

Perhaps due to having a really high durability, the greatsword did not shatter nor break, but simply left the grasp of the Skull Face which had failed to resist the attack, and flew off somewhere.

 

With its core sliced in half, the Skull Face’s HP bar dropped to zero immediately, and was reduced to a pile of bones. Pathetically scattered all over the place, it was as if the intense battle that had just occurred had been a mere dream.

 

“Guess my weapon couldn’t handle that last attack, huh.”

Shin sighed while looking at Suda, of which only the handle remained. He had put quite a significant amount of strength in that last attack, but it was still far from all he had. The attack had left the trees behind the Skull Face in a condition where they might fall over at a whisper. Feeling nothing while looking at that scene, Shin calmly stored the handle back into his inventory.

 

“That sword just now looked like it was still fine, though.”

 

So saying, he looked up towards the direction where the sword had flown. However, all he saw was the expansive blue sky with nary a cloud. There were no traces that a sword had just flown by.
He honestly did not expect it to be blown so far. away He prayed that it didn’t hit anyone.

 

“...... Let’s go home.”

 

He was no longer in the mood to resume looking for Hilk grass.
Within the remains of the Skull Face was a jewel, so he took only that.
He thought that he should at least report this incident to the guild, and accordingly cut through the forest on a path straight towards the gate.

 

All the while, he remained ignorant of the huge uproar in the kingdom caused by the sword.

 

Emerging from the Northern Forest, Shin decided to re-enter through the eastern gate.
When he was almost there, he noticed some sort of commotion at the gate.

 

“I wonder what happened.”

 

Instead of a crowd of onlookers like yesterday, today was a lot of soldiers interviewing everyone who was going through. From what he saw, they were doing it mainly to people entering the town.

 

Usually, he wouldn’t have to wait long if he showed his guild card, but today there was even a line, due to every single adventurer being interviewed. There was nothing he could do, so he just patiently waited in line.
 

Gradually getting closer to the gate, he started hearing snatches of the conversations between the soldiers and adventurers.

 

“Northern Forest ...... Eastern Forest ...... flying, shadow ...... ?”

 

He combined the fragments that he heard with where he was just now. A certain something came to mind, leaving him with a really bad sense of foreboding that he couldn’t shake off.
As the distance towards the gate decreased even further, he started picking out entire conversations. From what he gathered, residents of the town had witnessed a mysterious object flying through the sky. Furthermore, it had landed somewhere inside the royal castle. The direction that it had come from was somewhere between the Northern Forest and Eastern Forest. The soldiers were asking around to see if anyone knew anything more about that.

 

(Something flying through the sky ...... It’s most likely that sword ......)

 

He remembered the greatsword that he himself had sent flying. He had been focused on the battle and thus didn’t know which way it had flown, but the timing was perfect.
With heavy steps, Shin continued approaching the gate.

 

“Yo, Shin.”
“Ah, Beid. What happened?”

 

He responded to Beid like nothing was wrong. He still clung desperately to the hope that what flew in the sky was not necessarily the greatsword. It was a hope that even he himself found hard to believe in.
People normally call that escaping from reality.

 

“We received information that a sword had flown into the royal castle. It seems to have come from somewhere in the northeast. We’re interviewing people to see if anyone knew anything about it. You also went to the Eastern Forest, didn’t you? Did you see anything?”
“...... Nope, didn’t see a thing. Was there any damage?”
“I heard that it stabbed right into a wall, so there were no casualties. Seriously, what kind of idiot was it that threw a sword over the castle wall.”
“All that matters is that no one got hurt.”

 

Hearing that there were no casualties calmed him down. If someone had gotten hurt, he wouldn’t have known what to do.

 

“I really need to confirm the direction next time.”

 

He vowed to himself.

 

“Nn? What did you say?”
“Nope, nothing. May I go now?”
“Yea, and if you remember anything, just bring it to one of the guards on patrol.”
“Roger.”

 

Maintaining his poker face, Shin left the gate with a quick step. Only when he no longer see the gate did he slow down his pace and sigh.

 

“Haah, of all places to land, why did it have to be the royal palace ......”

 

It was still only his third day in this parallel world, but he had a premonition that he had already gotten into trouble with the country. There was an extremely high chance that if it was taken as an attack against the royal family, then the incident would turn into a crime of treason. Frankly speaking, the situation was now unbelievably bad.
There was no evidence that pointed to Shin, but as he also had to report to the guild about the Skull Face, he felt like people might turn a suspicious eye towards him.

 

“Why did it turn out like this ......”

 

Things don’t always go well in life.

 

 

 

♦♦♦♦

 

 

 

Leaving the problem for another time, he headed towards the guild. He had confirmed that a Skull Face had indeed appeared, but he didn’t hear that there was only one of them. Additionally, a Jack class Skull Face normally also brings several Pawn class subordinates along, so even though he had defeated the Jack, there was no guarantee that everything was now safe.

 

When he had left the battle area, he had searched for nearby enemies, but no monsters had registered on his ingame map. The Skull Face that he had fought had been either working alone, or its dancing had wiped out its own subordinates. Based on how it was moving, the latter was more likely. It did not look like it was making any distinction between friend and foe.

 

Adventurers of this world could handle Pawn class, so should be no problem if he just reported that. The unique monster this time was a different story altogether, but from what Beid and the rest were saying, it was an extremely rare case for a Jack class to come out, so Shin was not too worried.

 

However, he wondered if this incident was truly over, with the appearance of only one unique monster. Still largely ignorant about this world, this was what Shin was worrying about.

 

With that said, no matter how hard he thought, the wouldn’t reach an answer in his current state. Thinking that it would be fine to just ask Els or Selica, he opened the guild door. The guild was much more crowded than he had ever experienced. Seeing swords, spears, all sorts of weapons, and all sorts of armor and robes all around, he was strongly reminded once again that this was a place where adventurers gathered.
What bothered him, though, was the amount of killing intent in the air. Anyone who was not emanating killing intent looked ready to flee at a moment’s notice.

 

“What an imposing sight.”

 

The reception desk was relatively uncrowded, considering the number of people inside the guild at the moment, so Shin decided to give his report right away. Conveniently, Selica was manning the reception. The content of his report being what it was, it was a great help that he could pass it on to someone that he already knew.

 

“Good afternoon. There’s something that I want to report.”
“Otsukaresama desu, Shin-sama. What do you wish to report?”
“Just something about a Skull Face. I want to confirm, how much is known about it at the moment?”
“!! ...... The ones who made it back alive had reported that it was a Jack class and that it was holding a stronger weapon than what Skull Faces normally have. We have only confirmed a single body. We have not confirmed any Pawn class subordinates. Currently, a subjugation request has been released, and due to the location’s proximity to the kingdom, it is being given maximum priority. All S and A rankers have already set off, and parties ranked B or below are now making preparations to set up a united front.”

 

Apparently, there had been no instructions left behind in regards to how the attack will be coordinated. But what Shin cared about was rather the information on the Skull Face’s weapon.

 

“You mentioned a powerful weapon?”
“It is generally known to be a greatsword double the size of a longsword.”
“...... A greatsword, huh. Is there any other information on that sword?”
“No, this is all we have at the moment.”

 

So the survivors had passed that on. As expected of adventurers with battle experience, they indeed did not forget their opponent’s armament. However, the greatsword that the Jack class was using should have shone with a magical light with light attribute. Why was this part not being passed on, then?

 

“...... In summary, this was a Jack class in possession of a weapon larger than normal. Anything else?”
“Yes. We estimate its level to be at least 200.”
“............”

 

Fumu, pondered Shin. He was about to ask if the greatsword had a magical glow, but from what Selica was saying, it sounded like this Jack class’s weapon was a simple greatsword. He can imagine how rare a magically enhanced weapon was, so he knew that he might get suspected for the sword that fell into the royal palace if he accidentally talked about it.
The thought that the Skull Face in question was a completely different one did cross Shin’s mind. However, considering how much of a commotion there was over a single one, he did not think it likely that there were two of them, with both similarly wielding a greatsword.

 

“Umm, Shin-sama?”
“Ah, sorry about that. I got a bit lost in thought.”

 

Selica was a bit worried, because Shin was thinking with a serious look on his face. In Selica’s point of view, Shin was one of the very few people that she knew who had power to rival an S ranker. When such a person makes a serious face after hearing the information on the Skull Face, it would be understandable for those who can only be protected to become worried.

 

“Lost ...... in thought?”
“Well, yes, I was trying to remember what items a Skull Face would drop.”

 

He was still thinking of a way to ask about the greatsword with a magical glow without actually mentioning it when in a flash of inspiration he thought to just ask about all possible drops instead.

 

“What it would drop ...... you say? Let’s see, if I remember right, a jewel and the armor and sword that it was wielding, all of which can be sold for a considerable price ......”
“Aah, so that’s what it was. I had totally forgotten, hahaha.”

 

To cover up the lie that he had thought up on the spot, Shin tried to act jovial, but no matter how anyone cuts it, he was acting suspiciously.
For Selica, though, in a conversation about an enemy as powerful as a Jack class Skull Face, the fact that what was on Shin’s mind was its drops surprised her so much that she failed to notice Shin acting strangely. The combined result was an out-of-place scene of a guy laughing unnaturally and a girl giving a befuddled answer all within an atmosphere dripping with killing intent.

 

“By the way, what was it that you wanted to report, Shin-sama?”
“Oops, sorry. I still haven’t told you the most important part. I just killed a Jack class Skull Face in the Northern Forest, so I thought I should report it. Ah, this is the jewel that I retrieved then.”
“I see, a Skull Face ...... Skull ............ Hmm? ...... Umm, a Pawn class ...... was, it?”
“Nope, it was a Jack class. Oh right, it was holding a greatsword.”
“............”

 

About to take out the relevant document like normal, at Shin’s words Selica’s movement became clumsy and stiff. Wondering if she heard Shin wrong, she asked for confirmation on what she thought she was supposed to have heard, but was immediately repudiated. She was now so shocked that she couldn’t say anything.

 

“............”
“............”
“...... Umm, Selica-san?”
“Eh? Ah! So-sorry! It was a bit of a shock.”

 

With a start, she returned to herself and started to apologize in a fluster. As a result, she accidentally used casual speech.

 

“Is it really that surprising?”
“You would need to be at least as strong as an A ranker to subjugate a Jack class Skull Face on your own!! Please don’t say it so off-handedly like you just came back from a stroll or something!”
“Err, I’m sorry?”
“I already know that Shin-sama is quite strong, but ...... it is absolutely unheard of for someone to solo a subjugation request the very day it was given out!”
“I met it by accident, though ......”
“Even in such a case, the normal thing to do would be to return here and report to the guild and make thorough preparations first before going back to fight. I think there are very few who would think of just fighting it on the spot.”
“Is that so. Well, my weapon did become like this.”

 

So saying, he showed the katana which had been reduced to pretty much only the handle. Knowing that he would be talking about the fight, he had prepared it in advance. Even the tiny bit of the blade left attached to the handle had cracks, and in its present state it was even more useless than a bamboo sword.

 

“Wha-?! It’s all in pieces!”
“Yea, when I dealt the final blow.”
“Just how reckless did you get?!”
“Wai-! Selica-san, you’re too close! Way too close!”

 

With her face color changing, Selica leaned over the counter towards Shin, causing him to place his hands on her shoulders to hold her back. Due to the sudden movement, their faces were now less than 20 cemels apart.
Shin had reacted instinctively, but now he was conflicted as to whether he should be praising himself or regretting it.

 

“Eh ...... Aaaahhh, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I wasn’t trying to do anything weird, I really wasn’t! I was just too agitated worrying if you had gotten hurt ...... Aaahhhh what am I saying?!”

 

It was funny the way the shaken Selica was acting, so Shin just gazed on without making any comments. It seems that soloing a Jack class was indeed a very shocking feat.

 

“Seeing a normally intellectual cool beauty getting all embarrassed and flustered, huh. This is somehow ...... This is good!”
“It’s fine if you want to come but please calm yourself. You two are standing out quite a bit.”
“Nn? Ohh, Els.”

 

As Shin was nodding to himself and marveling, “Is this what people call ‘gap moe’?”, a voice came from behind him. It seems that before they knew it, the exchange between Shin and Selica had drawn the attention of the people nearby.

 

“Sorry. It’s just that the embarrassed Selica-san was just too cute, so I couldn’t help myself.”
“Cu-cute?!”
“I agree with you on that point, but I would appreciate it if you don’t tease my colleague too much.”
“You agree?!?!”
“Apologies. But please allow me to vindicate myself by saying that I did not do it intentionally.”
“I know. I was watching the whole time.”
“Then please speak up earlier ......”

 

Completely ignoring Selica’s lines, Els and Shin continued their conversation. The way Shin saw it, if Els had been here from the start, then the situation wouldn’t have become like this.

 

“Don’t say that. I, too, was busy with preparations and gathering information.”

 

On second glance, Shin noticed that Els was not wearing the receptionist uniform like what Selica had on, but was instead decked out in a hunter’s clothing, with emphasis on ease of movement. A slightly long, durable-looking jacket completed a carefully selected outfit that also included a pouch, leggings, and knee-high boots. On her back was the staple of all hunters, a bow, and a short sword was fastened to her right thigh. With her waist-long hair tied up with a string, she emanated an aura very different from before. She now had the presence of a hunter with a prey in her sights.

 

“The Skull Face?”
“Un, the one that appeared in the Northern Forest. Some time had already passed since we first heard about it. However, this was the first time that we’ve had actual casualties. It appears that this Jack class is wielding a weapon more powerful than a normal one would.”
“Aah, if it’s that one, then I also saw it. It was indeed swinging around a greatsword.”
“I had suspected so from Selica’s shock. From the looks of things, you’ve already crossed swords with it, right?”
“Rather than crossing swords with it, I killed it already.”

 

Shin conveyed the killing part in a smaller voice. He had done the same when telling Selica. The atmosphere in the guild at the moment was not one in which he could loudly proclaim what he had done, so he kept his voice down just in case.

 

“...... If that’s true, then I can’t fault Selica for being so flustered.”
“That’s right! I’m not weird!”

 

At Shin’s words, even Els froze in the middle of the light-hearted bantering. Selica had just managed to recover herself, and barely managed to squeeze out an appropriate response.

“I’m really sorry to seem doubtful, but do you have any proof? Without any, then it would be hard for us to believe you, no matter how many times you tell us that you’d killed it.”
“I only retrieved the jewel, but in the first place, I don’t know how to prove a monster subjugation ...... which part of the Skull Face was I supposed to have brought back?”

 

As a habit from the game era, Shin only picked up special drops. The fact that he needed to bring back proof of his kill had completely slipped his mind after the battle, and he had remembered only after getting back to the guild.

 

“Did you not retrieve its armor or sword? Being a Jack class, it must have had some pretty nice equipment that you could sell or customize for personal use.”

 

Shin was troubled over how to answer the doubtful Els. In actuality, he had hundreds of Skull Face drops inside his inventory. It wasn’t that they were anything special or that he had any particular use for them, he had just left them in there as a ‘just in case.’ Aside from the greatsword that flew off into the sky, it was a bit late to go back and retrieve the helmet or armor from the Skull Face remains.

 

“Those were pretty crappy, though ......”
“I ...... never thought I’d hear an adventurer say those lines ......”
“Mattaku desu ......”

 

(T/N: Mattaku is an expression of exasperation like ‘good grief’ or ‘really’ or ‘seriously.’ None of them really felt right, though, so you get to learn another Japanese word!)

 

Realizing what Shin had just said, Selica and Els were astounded. Shin just didn’t know. Els was understating a bit, but in this world, just gathering together equipment of the same quality as what a Jack class Skull Face had on required a very considerable amount of money. It was so much that an adventurer would have to be at least A rank before even considering such a purchase. It was only natural for the two of them to give Shin odd looks when he just off-handedly called such equipment “crappy.” The implication behind his words was that he didn’t need them. There was no other adventurer who would say such a thing.

 

“We-well, as evidence we can just inspect the jewel. Jewels still contain the magical power from the monster that it dropped from, so we can confirm whether it came from a Skull Face or not.”
“Oooh, is that so?”

 

Deciding that it was pointless to think too deeply, Els revealed that the jewel could suffice as evidence. It would take a while to analyze it, but time spent to prove the truthfulness of the subjugation would be time well spent.

 

“However, during the examination, we will need to hold onto the jewel. There is also the option of selling it to us right now.”
“Hmm, I think I’ll pass this time. I don’t really feel like selling it yet.”
“Duly noted. In that case, when we are done with the examination, we will directly contact your inn. You are currently staying at The Badger’s Pavilion, is that correct?”
“Yes. Well alright, I’ll leave you guys to it.”

 

Taking over from Els, Selica informed him about the time it would take. She was back in working mode.

 

“Speaking of which, do Skull Faces often show up in the Northern Forest? From the way you guys were speaking just now, it sounded like this problem had been going on for some time already.”
“In the first place, undead type monsters are born when magic is combined with the grudges and regrets of living creatures. Although a lot of ferocious monsters roam the Northern Forest, many precious herbs and raw materials are also there, so an endless stream of people still go in. Many get attacked by monsters and fail to return. Therefore, the fact that undeads are born there is not strange in and of itself. However, it is not an environment that naturally possesses enough magic to give birth to something as powerful as a Jack class, so when one mentions a Skull Face in the Northern Forest, they are normally referring to a Pawn class.”

 

Els had doubts that perhaps Shin had mistaken a Pawn class. However, the fact that no one else had fought with it added to the credibility of his claim. As the existence of the Jack class was still a rumor, no one has even been been to confirm it yet.

 

“By the way, what is the level range of the Jack class?”
“The lowest confirmed was 150, and the highest was 250. Anything above that would be classified as either a Queen class or King class.”

 

So it seems that the monster classification standards had stayed the same.

 

“If that’s so, then this time might have to be labeled as an exception.”
『What do you mean?』

 

Two people responded at the same time to what Shin said. They had quick reflexes, as expected of a guild staff member and an adventurer.

 

“The Jack class that I fought with was over level 250.”
“That ...... is that true?”
“I confirmed it with【Analyze】, so there should be no mistake. I think it was probably a unique monster. Unlike with a normal one, I didn’t see any Pawn class subordinates around.”
“Let me confirm, what was its exact level?”
“It was 359. If I remember correctly, it should be actually be classified as a King class, right?”
『359?!』

 

Even while saying it, Shin was doubting himself.【Analyze】had indeed confirmed that it was a Jack class, and Queen and King class Skull Faces had markedly different physiques and equipment. Aside from the level, weapon, and movements, there was nothing else strange about it being a Jack class.

 

『......』

 

The two of them froze again at Shin’s words. Doubts like “This can’t be true!” and “Was it a misunderstanding?” sped through their minds.

 

“...... Did I do something wrong?”
“Rather than ‘wrong’ ...... no, give me a moment ...... I think I’m also quite dazed right now. Selica, wasn’t there a method to get a rough estimate of the opponent’s strength from examining the jewel? Let’s try doing that.”
“——! I’ll hurry the jewel examination. Els, I’m sorry but I’ll have to leave the rest to you.”

 

Selica came back to her senses at Els’s words. With a brief bow to Shin, she hurried behind the reception area with the jewel in her hands.
As for Shin, he was just leisurely being impressed that they could do something like that.

“Mattaku, you are such a ......”
“What is it?”
“If what you’re saying is true, then it would mean that you are at least as strong as an A rank party. If it’s a lie, then you are an enormous braggart.”
“Oh well, if I was wrong, then we can just say that I was mistaken. I mean, I’m still rank G, remember? No one would believe me anyways if I say that I subjugated a Jack class.”
“True, if they didn’t know your circumstances.”
“Then it’s all fine. I’ve been saying it this whole time, but I don’t really want to be in the spotlight.”

 

It sounded like a bit of a contradiction to what he was doing, but Shin really didn’t want to stand out and didn’t want to get involved with people who would drag him into troublesome things. His aim was, in the end, simply to return to his own world. The main reason why he even joined the guild in the first place was to gain access to more information.

 

“I just reported it because it would be pretty bad if something like that was still lurking around. If possible, I would like to keep the fact that it was me who did it under wraps as much as possible.”
“I personally would like to abide by your wishes, but the more we try to hide it, the more people will try to dig it up. Since someone who performed such a feat would normally want to make himself known, after all.”
“I guess you’re right ......”

 

Shin himself already knew that, but when it was clearly spelled out in his face, it made him feel even more troubled. There was already such a commotion. People would expect the person who was able to defeat it to use the feat to increase his own fame, so it would be extremely unnatural to hide his name instead. If he did try to hide it, then there would definitely be people sniffing around for the reason.
On the other hand, if it becomes known that the person who did it was still a newbie adventurer at G rank, then he would definitely get tons of attention. Either way, things would only get more troublesome.

 

“I’m afraid that I won’t be of much help in this matter.”
“Don’t worry, I have no intention of burdening you with it. For now, I’m just going to grab some food.”

 

Nothing would get resolved even if he wasted time lingering here in worry. As a change of pace, he decided to go eat lunch. As the tavern area inside the guild was already very crowded, and it did not look like any of the seats would get vacated anytime soon, he left the guild to find food outside.

 

 

 

♦♦♦♦

 

 

 

Els said she would stay behind at the guild, so Shin stepped out onto the main street by himself. Before he did, Selica had returned to the reception desk, and both Selica and Els had recommended the same restaurant, so he decided to go there.
After walking for a while, he saw a store with a signboard that had a sword and a fork draw on it. Apparently, the owner of this shop was an ex-adventurer, so he would be able to taste foreign dishes and dishes that used rare ingredients here.

 

“A chef who can fight, huh ...... makes me think of Cook.”

 

Remembering the female member of Rokuten who had been in charge of cooking, a wry smile slipped out. She had been a picky person who had insisted on personally procuring her own ingredients, almost maxing out her stats in the process. 
In the first place, every member of Rokuten had a really unique personality, but the image of that girl handling a dragon while duel wielding two sashimi knives that Shin had made for her was burned vividly into his memory.

 

“Recalling it made me really hungry ......”

 

His empty stomach was going to cry out soon, so he opened the door with a quick step. Due to it being mealtime, the store was absolutely crowded.

 

“Welcome—! We are very sorry, but please wait a brief while!!”

 

A clear voice rang out from inside the bustling store. There was only one waitress, so she was busy rushing back and forth between the tables and the counter. Though Shin was hungry, he would feel bad hurrying her, so he just quietly stood beside the door and looked around. Perhaps because it was close to the guild, or perhaps because the owner was an ex-adventurer, most of the customers were wearing armor and weapons. A lot of them had probably gathered for the Skull Face incident.

 

“Thank you for your patience. This way please ...... Oh hey, it’s Shin-san!”
“Nn? Umm, Selica-san? Wait, no, are you Silica-san?”

 

Shin was surprised at suddenly having his name called, but realized that the Selica with a ponytail was actually Silica instead. For a brief moment, he thought that Selica had gotten changed again.

 

“Bingo. Was it Onee-chan who recommended this shop to you?”
“Yep. She has helped me out a whole lot lately.”
“...... To get introduced here so quickly, you can’t be just a normal guy, then.”
“? Did you say something?”

 

For a second, Silica had a serious face and was muttering something to herself. He was a bit curious and asked about it, but she said it was nothing with a smile so he decided to not press any further. They can’t keep talking by the door while the store was still so packed, after all.
Coincidentally, an entire group of adventurers was leaving, causing an entire table to be opened up, so Shin was led there. He felt bad having an entire table by himself, but the counter where single customers could sit by themselves was still packed. He told Silica to feel free to guide new customers over to share the table with him. She expressed her acknowledgment, then Shin ordered his food.

 

“Excuse me, Shin-san. A new customer has arrived, so would you mind sharing your table?”
“Ah, yes. Understood.”

 

Barely any time had passed after Shin had ordered his food before Silica returned with the request to share his table. The one who came up was, as expected, an adventurer. He was carrying a spear that gave off a poisonous radiance.

 

“......『Venom』, huh.”

 

Seeing the ominous-looking spear, Shin muttered in recognition.
The Demon Spear『Venom』—— As a Legend grade weapon with power that rivaled Mythology grade weapons, it was markedly above anything in the Rare or Unique grades.

 

“Sorry ‘bout this, man. Gonna impose on you a bit.”
“Not at all. In fact, you’re a great help. I was feeling really bad about having a table to myself.”

 

Casually going through the greetings, Shin looked at the man. His height was around the same as Shin’s. He had red pupils, his black hair was roughly tied up together behind his head, and skin was so white that it could almost be called sickly. Shin thought that his facial features could even be called beautiful, but the very sharp glint in his eyes and the violent aura that cloaked him instead gave off the impression of a wild beast. As far as wild beasts go, he seemed like a predator that could coldly finish off his prey.
His level was 188. Most likely, this man was more than able of taking down a normal Jack class Skull Face on his own.

 

“I’m Shin. This is probably some kind of fate. It’ll only be for a short while, but yoroshiku.”
“...... To think that there was still someone who would speak like that to me. I’m Wilhelm Avis. You a newbie adventurer?”
“Aah, today’s my third day.”

 

Briefly giving Shin a look-over, Wilhelm named himself. Tilting his head at Wilhelm’s words, Shin answered his question. The noise in the store didn’t decrease, but he felt like everyone in the store was now focusing on the two of them. However, Shin had only recently become an adventurer, so all of the attention was probably due to Wilhelm. Shin didn’t know why there was so much attention on Wilhelm, but there was no real harm being done, so he decided to ignore it.

 

“Third day? Your equipment is pretty good considering. Were you a mercenary before?”
“No? Well, I came from the countryside, so I thought this was appropriate. Thanks to that, I’m still quite lacking in a lot of common knowledge about this area.”
“No wonder you didn’t freak out at hearing my name. Any proper adventurer would refuse sharing a table with me.”
“You did something worth freaking out over? What exactly did you do?”

 

The amount of pressure was such that any normal person would have broken out in a cold sweat by now, but Shin was still naturally carrying on the conversation. All of the adventurers nearby were screaming『Why is this guy chatting with him all friendly-like!!』inside their heads.
Shin felt not even a sliver of that pressure, though. Rather, he didn’t think that this man looked like someone who would do anything bad, so he got a bit friendly with his questions.

 

“Nothing, really. I’ve only been taking down undead monsters since quite a while back, which meant I had been fighting by myself far away from where other people were. As a result, people are saying that I’ve absorbed the power of the undead.”
“What the heck is that ...... That doesn’t even make sense.”

 

Shin thought that it was probably people being jealous. The story was so far-fetched that he wondered if it was a joke.

 

“That’s what I think, too. Well, the only people who believe that are low ranked idiots. The real reason is because I have this guy here.”

 

So saying, Wilhelm grasped the Demon Spear『Venom』that had been leaning against the wall.

 

“This guy is『Venom』. It’s a Legend grade weapon that has the ability to drain the life force of an opponent and grant it to the user. The ability itself is already quite useful, but all weapons Legend grade or higher also have enough strength to blow away a ton of opponents. The only problem is that even though I’m using it, I still don’t know all of its effects.”
“You don’t know them even though you’re using it?”
“There was even a guy who got cursed before he noticed it. On top of that, the power of my weapon is called Drain. In short, people are just freaked out about it sucking up even allies before they know it.”

 

It appears that there was no longer a weapon explanation field like back in the game, so the full effects of the weapon were not known. As Shin knew all of the effects, he thought those fears ridiculous, but he also understood that it wasn’t so for people in this world. The same moment he understood the attention of the nearby customers, the question of using【Appraisal】came to mind.

 

“Wouldn’t you learn it all if you bring it to an appraiser?”
“You mean the appraisal of what it’s made of? I’ve tried that, but the only thing I got was its name and grade. It also only confirmed the effects that I was already using.”
“What was the skill level of the appraiser?”
“It was VII.”

 

From Wilhelm’s answer, Shin knew that it was impossible. To appraise a Legend grade item required an appraisal level of at least VIII. Mythology grade required IX, and Ancient grade required the max level X. These requirements were needed to see the full details of the items. Back during the game, most merchants and blacksmiths had the skill maxed, so it was a simple matter to just ask them. However, this world was apparently not so convenient.

 

Right when Shin was about to change the topic, their food came. It seems that Wilhelm had already ordered beforehand, as Shin didn’t remember ordering some of the food that had arrived.

 

“For now, let’s just eat.”
“I heartily agree!”

 

Clapping their hands together with an “itadakimasu,” they bit down into their food. Shin’s order was the thigh meat of a monster called Aburidori that had been roasted together with the bone. Even now, it was still sizzling and releasing a savory fragrance that was tickling Shin’s nose.
The moment he bit into it, an explosion of meat juices and impactful spices spread throughout his mouth. The crispy skin and soft meat that was melting in his mouth tasted heavenly to the famished Shin.

 

“Freaking delicious! This is awesome!!”
“...... Let’s calm down a bit while eating.”

 

Wilhelm looked a little disapproving of the Shin who was vigorously chomping down on his food. However, Wilhelm himself was eating at the same pace as Shin, so he was not in a position to be saying anything about someone else.
For a while, they ate their own food without talking, briefly breaking the silence only to ask for seconds. Afterwards, they sat back and sipped on black tea.

 

“It has been a while since I last ate Aburidori. But whichever way you think about it, the name makes it sound like I’m the one being warmed.”
“If we’re not careful, we might get burnt black.”

 

(T/N: The monster’s name can be broken up into two parts: aburi and dori. The dictionary form of aburi is aburu, which means to warm, to grill, etc. Thus the joke about ‘being warmed’ and ‘being burnt.’ As for dori, it is an altered way of saying tori, which is the Japanese word for chicken or birds in general.)

 

The name was a bit silly, but it was a proper monster with levels around 100. As can be gathered from the name, it is a bird type monster. However, it can not fly, and neither is it agile; its main characteristic is its ability to breathe a very powerful fire. Back in the game, it was also quite infamous for its “kill at first sight” policy. 

 

“By the way, are you sure about telling me everything about your weapon so freely? Don’t people normally want to hide that kind of information?”
“As I said earlier, everyone has known about it ever since long ago. Nothing would change even if I talk about it to a newbie.”
“Fair enough.”

 

So it was something that he could have learned with only a little investigating.

 

“Well, I’m off. Seeya, newbie.”
“Seeya~”

 

Shin sent Wilhelm off almost like a friend. He felt like the people nearby were buzzing about it, but at this point in time he had already stopped caring about them.

 

After Wilhelm left, Shin also vacated his seat before long.

 

The first meeting between the high human of Rokuten and the white-faced Demon Spear user who would eventually meet each other on the battlefield was indeed such a light-hearted affair.