Tenshi Translations

Volume 1 Chapter 4 Part 1

 

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You can grab the PDF here.

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After leaving the restaurant, Shin turned his feet towards the library. The reason why he wasn’t heading over to finish the Hilk grass request first was because there was no deadline. As such, there was no need to hurry. Or so he told himself. The real reason was because he was feeling insecure from having had to face so many happenings the past few days without sufficient prior research.

 

“It’s here, huh.”

 

Shin was currently at a place between the industrial district and the residential district. The lively voices of the merchants intermittently reached Shin’s ears. It was a lot quieter here than inside the industrial district.
The building that towered before Shin was a library managed by the kingdom. Its name was the Royal Magic Library.
Although the word ‘magic’ featured so prominently in its name, it also had a large number of books on other genres. According to Tsugumi, another piece of common knowledge here was to first visit this library if there was anything to look up. Though some books inside did require special permission to read, today Shin planned on only reading the generally accessible ones, so there was no problem.

 

There wasn’t anything characteristic inside the library; all he saw was the reception, tables, chairs, and a huge number of bookshelves. Just in case, Shin grabbed the introduction pamphlet, which told him that while it was free to read inside the library, borrowing a book would cost a fee. There was a limited number of days that a book could be borrowed for, and a maximum of three books could be borrowed under a single person’s name at any given time.
The fee for borrowing a book would vary based on the kind of book it is and the number of days that it is borrowed for. Naturally, if a borrowed book is lost, a fine will be incurred. As a general rule, books that require special permission to read may not be borrowed, and may be accessed only by people of at least a certain status, such as higher ranked adventurers and military officers working under the royal family. Some books in the library were actually quite valuable, so there were guards posted as security and anti-theft skills had been installed throughout the library to discourage theft.

 

(Level VIII Wall and Barrier, huh. No wonder they’re so sure of themselves.)

 

Though Shin was curious why the enchantments here were stronger than those used on the castle walls, he acknowledged in admiration that with this much security, the library was indeed very safe.
After learning the basic rules, he had someone teach him the locations of the different kinds of books. Going around the library, he picked up several volumes before settling down into an empty seat.
First up was history. He had decided beforehand to prioritize looking up information on the so-called ‘Dusk of the Majesty,’ the event where all of the players had logged out of the death game at the same time. He spread open a book that gave a chronological account of the major events that had happened after the founding of the Berylricht Kingdom.

 

“So it starts from recent events and goes backwards in time. Let’s see, looks like this year is the 511st year since the founding of the country. I’ve heard that it has also been roughly 500 years since the Dusk of the Majesty, so the two events took place around the same period?”

 

Tilting his head at the coincidental timing, he continued going back through the years. The book told him about kingship successions, funerals, wars, large scale construction projects, and the formation of alliances. The entry at the very end was about the founding of the country.

 

“There isn’t even a shred of information on the Dusk of the Majesty.”

 

The book only had information on the history of the Berylricht Kingdom. It made no mention of anything prior to that.

 

“Well, it’s a chronological account of the kingdom. Maybe another book will talk about it.”

 

He pulled himself together and opened another history book. However, this book also only talked about the history of the kingdom, and did not give any details about the Dusk of the Majesty.
After that, he consulted several other history books, but they were all the same. The only mention that he found said,

 

“ ‘The world was changed on that day’ is all I can find ......”

 

The description did briefly mention that kings had died, countries had disappeared, and that the world had changed, but there was nothing at all about what happened directly afterwards. From the brief mentions that he caught, he inferred that for a while after the Dusk of the Majesty, the world had been thrown into turmoil, but that was all he got. There were also no details on exactly what the Dusk of the Majesty was. The players logging out, which was effectively a mass disappearance, and the chaotic history afterwards might have been hard topics to write about, but it was almost suspicious how few references there were.

 

Starting to despair of finding any proper information, Shin picked a book at random from the mountain that he had brought back.
It turned out to be a book on the different races. It was brief, but succinctly described each race’s characteristics and current state.

 

Human —— The most populous race, and has the most countries. They’ve built ‘kingdoms,’ and the title they give their leaders is ‘King.’

 

Dragnil —— Has especially high strength and vitality and are long-lived. Able to take on human form. They’ve built ‘empires,’ and the title they give their leaders is ‘Dragon King.’

 

Beast —— The second most populous race. They are keen and nimble, and are separated into different tribes, each with its own characteristics. Many tribes have gotten together to form ‘unions,’ and the title of those who lead unions is ‘Beast King.’

 

Lord —— Has a tendency to rely on abilities. Does not possess any prominent strengths, but are generally strong all around. They’ve built ‘imperial empires,’ and the title they give their leaders is ‘Demon King.’

 

Dwarf —— They are very dexterous and good at making equipment and tools. Have been dispersed into different countries and belong to ‘craftsmen unions.’ Has a high tendency to share their technology. The title they give their best craftsman is ‘Cave King.’

 

Pixie —— The race with the longest lifespan. Very proficient with the use of magic. Has made a separate world called the ‘Fairy Village’ and makes a distinction between those who live inside that world and those who live outside. The title they give their leader is ‘Fairy King.’

 

Elf —— Second longest lifespan after pixies. Has strong magical affinity and high danger perception. They live in the forest alongside nature. A lot of their younger ones choose to leave their home village and explore outside. Their villages are called ‘gardens,’ and the title they give their leaders is ‘Forest King.’

 

(T/N: The dragnils’ countries are called 皇国, which is a term most often used to refer to the Japanese empire. The lords’ countries are called 帝国, which zKanji translates as ‘empire, imperial.’ Thus I will call the former ‘empire’ and the latter ‘imperial empire.’ The beasts’ unions are unions between tribes, while what the dwarves have is more like craftsmen guilds. However, the Adventurers’ Guild already features prominently in this series, so I will call the former ‘unions’ and the latter ‘craftsmen unions.’)

 

Most of this matched with what Shin already knew. The fact that the top dwarf craftsman was called ‘Cave King’ gave him a momentary sense of discomfort, but it abated when he remembered the setting that dwarves lived in caves.
There might be elves or pixies who still remembered the Dusk of the Majesty, so he took special care to memorize the information on them.

 

“Alright, next.”

 

Having decided to look up as much as time would allow, he cracked open another book.

 

 

 

♦♦♦♦

 

 

 

While Shin was doing research in the library, Balkus and Els were in a meeting with the other executive staff inside a room in the Adventurers’ Guild.
Of course, the discussion topic was the Skull Face. They were still waiting on the results of the jewel analysis, but because the person who had reported it was a letter of introduction holder, they were taking a “believe him until proven wrong” stance. As such, the only people at the meeting were only those who happened to be free, and there wasn’t much of a sense of urgency. Balkus and Els had also vouched for Shin’s character, so everyone was working off of the assumption that the Skull Face was indeed already dead.
One might say that they are placing their trust too easily in the person called Shin, but never before had a letter holder turned out to be a bad person, so there was a very high credibility behind the honor.

 

“Well then, let’s begin this extraordinary meeting.”

 

In response to his voice, everyone inside the meeting room gave their attention to Balkus.

 

“I think you’ve already heard this before, but the Jack class Skull Face inside the Northern Forest has already been defeated. The one who did it had only retrieved the jewel, and we are currently examining it.”
“Did that person not also retrieve the sword and armor that had belonged to the Jack class?”

 

Almost everyone expressed puzzlement at Balkus’s matter-of-fact announcement. The first person who had spoken up was Aldi, who was currently dispatched to the guild from the kingdom as the person of contact. Another person who had disbelief on his face and was nodding in agreement Aldi was the one currently in charge of the jewel analysis, a wizard named Arad Royl. Only the submaster, Kirie Ein, and Els, who knew the full details of the situation, did not react.

 

“According to the person, the sword and armor were ‘crappy.’ ”
“ ‘Crappy’ ...... you said?”
“He must be a personage with quite some means to be able to say something like that.”

 

Aldi looked very unconvinced. Next to him, Arad was smoothing down his own hair while laughing like “ho ho ho.”
Arad’s hair and mustache may be conspicuously white due to his old age, but his bulging back muscles made him look quite a bit younger. With his cheerful laugh, the overall image that he gave off was that of a good-natured old man..

 

“The majority of those guys who hold these letters of introduction are lacking in common sense to some degree or another. You lose if you let it get to you, young one.”
“Is that how it is?”
“Wait a minute, wait a minute. I’m not saying this just out of professional courtesy, but we’re not that bad!”
“There’s absolutely zero persuasive power when you’re the one saying that, Guildmaster.”

 

Though Arad was of the opinion to not place too much weight on so-called ‘common sense,’ Aldi was still dissatisfied. Balkus had cut into the conversation, but was immediately shot down by Els.

 

“Well, about that jewel. We still don’t know the full details, but we have at least somehow managed to confirm that the level was indeed as claimed.”
“As I thought. With this, I believe we have sufficient proof. What we should now worry about is whether there are anymore similar monsters still roaming around.”

 

Having joked around until even the small amount of tension that had been in the air was dispersed, Arad soberly delivered his report. He had been assigned to examine the jewel because he was by far the most apt person for it from within the guild. With his input, it was now confirmed that a King class Skull Face had indeed appeared.

 

“I have already deployed staff specialized in on-scene investigation to the area. We will get a detailed report by tomorrow.”

 

Kirie added to the conversation in a calm voice. She had black hair held back with a barrette and brown almond eyes that peeked out from behind her glasses. If there wasn’t a sword hanging at her waist, her intelligent face would make one mistake her as Balkus’s secretary.

 

“Kirie-jou is as on top of things as ever. So much so that I wish our guildmaster would learn a thing or two from her.”
“Our submaster is just that good, Roy-jii.”
“I also believe that Balkus-sama should spend more effort on the managerial side.”
“Ughhh.”
“Not a shred of mercy, eh?”

 

Kirie followed up Balkus’s light jest with a sharp comment. It wasn’t that Balkus was particularly bad at office work; it was Kirie who had particularly high standards.

 

“............”
“Fumu, is this going differently than how you’d imagined it?”
“No, I mean, well, I did expect there to be more of a sense of urgency.”

 

Arad spoke out to Aldi, who looked taken back at the previous dialogue between the guild’s executive staff. Having a more serious and reserved personality, Aldi was currently a bit bewildered.

 

“Don’t worry about it, this is how it always goes. Besides, this time was more of a liaison meeting instead of a proper meeting. When things get really serious, we would also gather the supervisor of each of the districts and all available S rank adventurers.”
“So we really do think that there was only a single Skull Face?”
“Indeed. To be frank, we wouldn’t be able to handle it if several such monsters came out. But of course, there is also a proper reason for why we think there is only one.”

 

The very fact that only five people had gathered for this meeting was already a large indicator that they were not in a state of emergency, but Aldi still had doubts that the situation was being taken too lightly. Arad was now voicing Aldi’s thoughts as if he had read Aldi’s mind.

 

“It’s the protective barrier, isn’t it.”
“Correct. Are you aware of exactly what it is?”
“It’s a barrier that wards off monsters. It doesn’t let monsters from the outside to even get close.”
“Exactly. It was set up by the king who founded the kingdom. Consequently, it is extremely improbable for several strong monsters to appear at the same time. The way the barrier works is by preventing large concentrations of magical power from building up. And I believe you already know at least a little bit of how vigilant and alert we still are.”
The technique formulas cast at the birth of Berylricht Kingdom were still fully functional. Therefore, though powerful monsters have indeed appeared every so often, there has yet to be a case of several of them appearing together.
However, both the kingdom and the guild are by no means simply sitting back and relying on the barriers to do everything. At the news of the Skull Face, the Knights’ Order had made the necessary preparations to become ready to sortie at any time, and the guild had immediately issued the subjugation request, such that even now they still had the adventurers on standby. Currently, though, all efforts were being directed towards information gathering.

 

“If there are still any Skull Faces around, they would become much more active at night. Aldi-kun, please relay to the Knights’ Order to further increase their alertness just in case.”
“Duly noted.”

 

At the lull in the conversation between the two of them, Balkus interjected. There wasn’t even a trace left of his flustered self from earlier. Based on the reactions from Arad, Kirie, and Els, Aldi inferred that this was the norm.

 

“This is all I have for now. Does anyone else have any comments or information to share? If not, then this meeting will be adjourned.”

 

The main agenda for this meeting was the information on the Skull Face, so with this conversation drawing to a close, Balkus, Kirie, Arad, and Els thought that the meeting was over. However, Aldi rose a hand, signaling that he had something to say, so Balkus nodded and gave him the floor.

 

“We have received information that the weapon used by the Skull Face this time was different from normal. I would like to hear as much as you can divulge on the person who subjugated the monster and what has been learned so far in regards to the Skull Face’s equipment.”
“Fumu, we have no intention on hiding details about the equipment, but we cannot reveal anything about the subjugator, as that person wishes to remain anonymous. With this in mind, please feel free to ask anything you want. We are also curious why your side is so interested in the subjugator. May we ask the reason behind it?”
“I can tell you, but I will have to change the topic of the conversation a bit. I believe everyone already knows that a sword had flown into the royal castle, yes?”

 

Everyone nodded in confirmation. If it wasn’t for the commotion around the Skull Face, that incident would have been the one on everyone’s lips by now.

 

“Unlike normal Skull Faces, reports say that the one this time had been wielding a greatsword. On the same day that the sword flew into the royal castle, this Skull Face was also subjugated. There are those who believe that the two events are connected.”

 

At those words, a certain person came into the minds of all those on the guild’s side.

 

“May we ask what kind of sword it was?”
“As long as you agree to abide by the condition that you will not disclose this to anyone else.”

 

Everyone present nodded in acceptance of the condition. All of them were well aware of how valuable information could be.

 

“The blade body is 2 mels long, is made of an alloy of demon steel and mithril, and is imbued with an unbreaking enchantment. It is as good as our kingdom’s treasured sword. In some aspects, it could even be said to be better than our treasured sword.”
『?!』

 

At this revelation, none of them could hide their shock. Though Berylricht Kingdom’s treasured sword was not exactly high-end, it was still Legend grade. As there were only very few people alive who could forge a weapon equal to it, a sword that was even more powerful appearing would be a huge deal. And to think that such a weapon had been in the hands of a Skull Face.

 

The reason why Shin did not use【Analyze】on the sword was both because he had been too engrossed during the fight and because he had complete confidence that he could make a perfect replica by himself if he really wanted to. Consequently, he was still under the impression that the sword was at best Rare or Unique grade.

 

“If what the Skull Face had been using was indeed that sword, the subjugator would have to be someone who was able to defeat something with an extremely high level that was wielding a weapon on par with our kingdom’s treasured sword. It would be impossible to tell us to simply overlook him. Besides, the situation has become somewhat troubling ......”
“Troubling?”

 

Aldi was trying his best to answer earnestly and honestly, but it was a fact that no one knew enough about the greatsword to provide sufficient confirmation. For the residents of this world, it was almost common sense that it was impossible for an undead to hold a holy attribute weapon.
The guild executives could see why Aldi’s side was so interested in the subjugator. However, Aldi still seemed undecided about sharing the second half of what he had wanted to say, so Balkus pressed him for it.

 

“Well, I believe that an official notification would soon be sent to Balkus-dono’s side anyways, and it might even be announced to the general public eventually. So I would ask that the following be kept secret only until then.”
“Fumu, understood. Would you like to have the others step out of the room first?”
“I have received permission to share this, so as long as everyone abides by the same condition, then they may stay. As I said, there is a chance that it would become general knowledge anyways.”

 

Balkus and the rest were doubtful when Aldi said that it would be announced, but they all nodded in acquiescence for the time being.

 

“The truth is ......”

 

What Aldi said next threw all of them into a state of great perplexity.

 

 

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