Chapter 255 |
The reason Rezé lay defeated was the weight of the magic gun slung diagonally across her back.
"Huh, huuuuuh..."
Blood streamed down Rezé's forehead.
It was embarrassing enough to grapple with one's own weapon, let alone to be defeated by it. Such was the act of a pufferfish rabbit.
Even calling her a teammate felt shameful. Yet at that moment, she was nothing less than my savior.
"Miss Rezé! Are you alright?"
I freed my hand from Luna’s grip.
Perhaps it was the last of my strength, or maybe it was because my friend Rezé had fallen. My hand slipped out effortlessly.
I immediately ran to where Rezé had fallen.
"...Huh?"
"Such a vile creature! I cannot forgive anyone who torments a friend!"
I vigorously smacked the magic gun with my palm.
Rezé sprang up suddenly, pushing off the ground on all fours like a rabbit.
"Filthy demon! Don’t touch me!"
"Excuse me?"
"I’ve seen everything! Those ominous, dark flames..."
I clamped my hand over Rezé’s mouth.
She had seen the effect of 'Darkness'.
‘Killing Amonga in one strike was more important than secrecy.’
Given my vantage point on the battlefield, it was only natural to see through my actions.
And such incidents were bound to repeat.
Unaware Luna might not catch on, but there was no hiding it from Rezé.
No choice now but to...
"Keke, Miss Rezé, you misunderstand. While it's true I wield ominous powers, that hardly proves I'm a demon."
"Isn’t it common to gain such powers through a pact with demons?"
Hm, sharp for a rabbit.
But to me, it was no different from a bunny's futile tantrum.
"So what if I do?"
"...What?"
"Suppose I do use such powers. What can Miss Rezé possibly do about it?"
A tactic I call 'what are you going to do about it?'. It rarely works on others, but it's perfect against the timid Rezé.
She avoided my gaze with her long bangs shadowing her eyes.
"Well... I could... report you..."
"Keke, to declare such a thing in my presence... Is that bravery or foolishness? I'm not sure."
"I’ll do it secretly. After returning to the dormitory..."
"I see. Thanks for the heads up. Keke, I’ll have to deal with this beforehand then."
"Wha...?"
"Rabbit meat with a side of carrots... I can’t resist. It sounds like a delicious meal."
"Heeeek! I’m not meat!"
Rezé began to tremble.
"Keke, why so? Miss Rezé... or should I say, Meat."
"Eeeeeeeek!"
I was pressing Rezé using the 'Eye Opening' skill when—
Crack!
A crisp smack turned my head to the left.
It was Luna, having smacked my head as a consequence.
"Keke, why do you do this?"
"Don’t you know? Stop tormenting my friend."
"It wasn’t torment, merely a conversation."
"It’s torment to her. Step aside. Rezé’s scared."
Rezé had already hidden herself in a box.
Luna whispered towards the box.
"Rezé, don’t worry too much. You know he is like this, right?"
"But, but such power is dangerous... He might be punished by the Empire’s law. We could be in danger too."
"Well, that’s true."
Despite Rezé’s attempt to frame (?) me, Luna showed no suspicion towards me.
This was the importance of 'favorability'.
‘Luna’s favorability towards me is quite high.’
Between entrance exams, becoming first friends, and getting involved with the Lester family.
Her high favorability towards me was inevitable.
"...Right. Ugly, weird personality, incomprehensible actions, and to top it all off, a pervert. He's the worst, right?"
...Luna, your favorability is still high, right?
From the conversation, it seemed like her favorability was at its lowest. Was I mistaken?
Luna carefully handled the box, then her lips quivered slightly.
"But he's not one to betray a friend."
"That doesn't absolve him. He can't save you, Luna!"
"You're right. So, if it comes to facing punishment, feel free to sell me out. We won’t mention your involvement, so don't worry."
"..."
Suddenly, the lid of the box burst open as Rezé emerged.
"Don't say things like that!"
"No, this is entirely my fault. I've been dragging you around under the pretense of friendship. I know you're struggling, I know you hate it."
"No! I'm not being dragged around unwillingly! I choose to be with you of my own will!"
Rezé clenched her fist, expressing her strong will.
For Rezé to assert her own will was a significant development, considering her usual demeanor.
"Don't worry! I may not know about Zero, but I will definitely save Luna no matter what happens!"
"Rezé!"
"Luna!"
They embraced each other tightly.
Hmm, a touching scene from a youth drama. If only they weren't discussing selling me out.
It’s odd but let’s move past that. Right now, that’s not what's important.
‘It’s time for the first maintenance break. I've acquired the skill, but... is there anything else to do?’
‘Maintenance Time.’
The reason we can afford to shoot a youth drama in a moment like this, where every turn is critical.
Glancing slightly, a holographic window caught my eye.
-Move to Area 2.
-Stay in the current area.
This prompt had been floating ever since we defeated Amonga.
Each area’s battle ends with a maintenance break, and options appear.
Clicking decides the action, and one turn passes.
The turn used to defeat Amonga was the sixth, and moving to another area takes one turn.
So, moving to Area 2 means starting the seventh turn immediately.
‘The seventh turn is when Kroga, the second demon, appears.’
Arriving on a demon's appearance turn sounds unproblematic, right?
Wrong. There's a huge problem.
‘I hadn't done the necessary preparations.’
Kroga, the Wind Demon. His ‘Wind Spear’ can knock out every character in one hit.
No matter how high your health or defense, it’s an equalizer—one hit.
The only feasible option is evasion. But relying on such a ridiculously low probability was not an option.
Even Raymon, who lives by evasion, only has a 20% chance to dodge it, which says a lot.
Just hearing about Kroga's ‘Wind Spear’ sounds overpowered.
Of course, the developers left a way to counter it.
‘Just hide behind a rock.’
Rocks placed all over the map. Hiding behind one shields you from Kroga’s overpowered Wind Spear.
The problem is.
‘You should have moved those rocks ahead of time.’
Kroga’s shortest route of attack.
To use that route, one should have moved the rocks ahead of time to clear a path, but now it’s already the sixth turn.
There's no time left to rearrange the rocks as desired.
‘And that's not the only problem.’
Kroga is a wind demon. Fittingly, the wind bugs he commands have wings.
Meaning, they are ‘flying monsters.’
Without using skills like ‘One Flash,’ neither Luna nor I can even attack them.
‘This is also why players don’t usually tackle Areas 1 to 4.’
It’s Chapter 2. Most characters are melee types in the early stages.
Capturing flying monsters isn’t easy.
In reality, too many turns are wasted in Area 2, causing most players to give up on Mabelga and only tackle Areas 1 to 3.
‘This is the worst scenario.’
Already the sixth turn. Difficult-to-capture flying monsters.
The rocks needed for setup are poorly arranged.
In such a situation, to quickly defeat Kroga and move to the next area, what’s required is...
"Hehe... we won."
Pufferfish Rabbit, Rezé’s role was crucial.
The image of Rezé blasting Amonga’s back with a mana shot was still vivid in my mind.
‘There was no hesitation in her attack. It wasn't a critical hit, but...’
It was clear that Rezé was the key to the invasion of Carpathia.
I must treat her with much affection, just like Luna did with my earthworm.
While Luna was examining Amonga's corpse, I shifted closer to Rezé.
"Keke, now that I think about it... That was an excellent strike. Well done."
I ruffled Rezé's hair vigorously until it was all tousled.
Suddenly—
Snap!
Rezé jumped back, glaring at me with suspicion, her idiot hair spinning wildly atop her head.
"What, what is it? What do you want from me!"
Ugh, this is why I dislike kids who are too perceptive. How nice it would be if she were as oblivious as our Luna.
"Keke, Miss Rezé, what are you implying? Do you think I praise you because I want something from you? I'm disappointed. I'm not that calculating."
"Then, it's not that?"
"I don't want anything. I just have a favor to ask."
"That's the same thing!"
Is it, though? Well, whatever. As long as the quest is completed.
"In fact... a demon will soon appear in Area 2."
"I know."
Hmm, she knew yet chose not to speak of it?
I resolved internally that once this defensive battle was over, I’d need to train her properly.
"We're heading there now. I mean to say, I need Miss Rezé's help."
"That's, that's impossible. How can someone like me..."
"Keke, imagine how delighted Luna would be if you performed brilliantly."
"Luna...?"
Rezé looked towards where Luna was standing.
The wound left by the mana bullet on Amonga's back. Seeing this, Rezé clenched her fist.
"I think I can take down at least one more. I've become stronger!"
Rezé, scraping together every ounce of courage in her body, declared with difficulty.
To this, I grinned and said,
"It's three."
"Wha...?"
"Three more demons will appear soon."
Did she momentarily lose her grip on reality? Rezé’s eyes went vacant.
"Ha!"
Shortly after, Rezé came to her senses and began to wail.
"Please, exclude meeeee!"
Was the truth too hard to believe? She clung to my pants as she cried out.
There was only one thing left to say to such a Rezé.
"Well, you don't have to come if you don’t want to."
"Really!?"
"But then, dinner tonight might just be fried rabbit."
"..."
With that, Rezé fainted, eyes still wide open.
As I was packing her into the box,
"You two seem close?"
It was Luna, who had approached without me noticing, mumbling to herself.
"Keke, isn’t that what you wanted, Luna? For the two of us to get along."
"Well... I did, but what's this about moving to another area? And what about a demon?"
"Ah, another demon will appear in the next area. We should move quickly. We're running out of time."
"Did you tell Rezé before me?"
"You were too far away, Luna. Is there a problem...?"
It was information I would have shared with Luna anyway.
Was there an issue if there was less than a minute’s difference?
"Hmph!"
Luna turned her head sharply away, clearly miffed.
Why is she acting like this all of a sudden?
"Luna?"
"Let's go to Area 2! Hurry up!"
"...?"
"Oh! Why are you blocking my way! Do you want to get hurt!?"
Bang!
Luna began kicking pebbles on the ground irritably. She seemed to have no intention of stopping.
"Luna! Let's go together!"
With the box containing Rezé slung on my back,
And Luna kicking stones along the way,
Thus, we began our journey to Area 2.
--TL Notes--
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