Dual Cultivation

TL Note: Here's the Monday chapter I missed. Sorry, the sched's a bit of a mess. I'll try to have everything fixed by next week. I have a module class this week, it's a bit hectic.

Japanese is a very punny language, it’s full of puns. There is a line here that might make you tilt your heads in confusion, so I’ll say it now, it’s an untranslatable pun. I’ll explain the terms used at the end of the chapter so as not to spoil it here.

Volume 3 Chapter 33

2 days later.

“Thank you very much, everyone.” [Ryouma]

“Stay in good health.” [Shiva]

“Take care of your body.” [Rheinbach]

“I pray for your safe trip.” [Sebasu]

“Let’s meet again~” [Remiri]

With Rheinbach-sama’s dragon, the trip that should’ve taken a month took us only two days. I was dropped off near Gimuru. I gave my thanks to Rheinbach-sama and the others, and then we went our separate ways. Like that I returned to Gimuru.

I learned a lot of magic in these past two days as well. It was a fruitful trip.

When I passed through the city gates, the first place I headed to wasn’t my store, but the church.

Actually, there’s something that’s been bugging me these past two days. I can’t tell for sure what it is. But because of it I’ve been thinking so much, and I haven’t gotten much sleep lately. Most of it is about my current strength, my current fighting style, and actually using the magic gem that I keep hesitating to use. It’s mostly just a repetition of these things.

For a moment I thought I was cursed, so I tried using dispel and anti-curse, but nothing changed. I might have simply been traumatized after being afflicted with a curse such that I don’t want to touch it again. But regardless, it sure feels disgusting.

Because of that, I thought of consulting with Gayn and the others. And now, I’m headed to the church.

Ah, but before that, I should put away my armor and weapons into my ‘Dimension Home’. It wouldn’t be right to go into the church with those after all.

As usual, the nuns, Riera-san and Bell-san, were standing by the gate of the church. I’ve been helping out with the children’s training, and have also been going to the church for personal reasons frequently, so I’m well acquainted with them. After I greeted them, I quickly headed to the chapel.

There were already people praying in the chapel by the time I got there. So I quietly entered the chapel so as not to disturb them. Then I sat by a corner, and prayed.

The usual light filled my vision, and my consciousness was taken to the divine realm. Before me was Gayn, Kufo, and Rurutia.

The gods no longer found it surprising for me to visit them, but the atmosphere about them this time was different.

Normally, they would welcome me with warm smiles, but this time, they’re looking at me with suspicion.

I don’t know if I did something wrong, but they’re not talking to me. If this keeps up, we’ll just end up wasting time.

With that, I decided to break the silence myself.

“Gayn, Kufo, Rurutia, I know I suddenly came, but I wanted to ask you guys something.” [Ryouma]

“Ah, right… That’s fine, but there’s also something we want to ask you.” [Rurutia]

“Ryouma-kun, did you do something strange? You’re different from usual.” [Kufo]

I don’t really think I’m acting any different than normal, but something strange did happen.

“What you want to know is probably the same as what I want to talk to you about.” [Ryouma]

“Then let’s hear what you have to say first.” [Gayn]

At Gayn’s urging, I opened my ‘Item Box’, and brought out the stone that the magic gem was in.

I was thinking of all sorts, trying to make out what Gayn and the others were talking about a while ago, but as soon as they saw the magic gem, their expressions turned grim.

“Ryouma-kun, you should hand that over to us.” [Gayn]

Gayn spoke in a heavy voice I’ve never heard before. I nervously handed the magic gem to him. Gayn waved his hand, and the magic gem floated toward his hands. The three gods surrounded the magic gem.

“Sorry, but just wait for a sec.” [Rurutia]

Rurutia spoke in a gentle manner, but she was clearly too busy to bother herself with me right now. I couldn’t do anything else but stay quiet as the three gods fiddled with the magic gem.

The three gods caused the stone the magic gem was in to crumble, revealing the magic gem in its full glory. Their expression turned even grimmer. Then they stretched out the palm of their hands toward the magic gem. In the next moment, light shone from their hands. And it wrapped itself around the magic gem completely, turning it into a ball of light.

I couldn’t tell at all what they were doing, but the three gods breathed a sigh of relief as they finished wrapping the magic gem in light. It must have been hard work.

That guess was proven true as the gods began to talk amongst themselves. Then suddenly, Kufo and Rurutia disappeared along with the ball of light.

Then Gayn, who was the only one remaining, turned toward me, and his face quickly changed from that grim expression to a troubled one.

“Ryouma-kun, you’ve done well. It’s a good thing that you were able to bring that thing to us.” [Gayn]

Those words left me confused.

All I did was come here to ask about something I felt was off from the people I consider to be the most knowledgeable. I didn’t expect to be thanked at all. And since the gods themselves are thanking me, that magic gem must have been something really dangerous.

Cold sweat permeated my back as I realized that fact.

“Exactly what was that?” [Ryouma]

Gayn hesitated for a bit, but in the end, he answered.

“If I were to put it in simple words…” [Gayn]

“In simple words it’s?” [Ryouma

“A god.” [Gayn]

The shock from that answer petrified me.

What? What did he say just now? A god?

“I’ll say this now, but I don’t mean paper or hair, alright? God, as in god. Someone like us.” [Gayn]

Seriously!?

“Why has a god been turned into a magic gem and buried in a labyrinth?” [Ryouma]

“The explanation will be a bit long…” [Gayn]

After that, Gayn explained.

First, it’s a fact that the magic gem I brought here is the demon king that attacked the world in the past.

Gods and demon kings are actually both gods. Demon kings or devils are merely gods who have broken the rules, and have decided to invade the world of other gods. Being called a demon king or a devil is merely for the sake of distinction. It’s no different from humans calling humans who have committed a crime, criminals.

Moreover, the demon king Gayn is referring to is actually a god who has been managing a world that’s been around since the beginning of the civilization of this world. But his world advanced too much, and when a war broke out, his world was ruined beyond repair. That god lost his world. Gods and worlds are two yet one being at the same time. Once a god loses the world he rules, his existence will gradually fade until it is no longer able to maintain itself, causing it to shatter into nothingness. The only way out is to have a new world.

A normal god would use their own power to create a new world, and then become its god. But in doing so, that god will lose most of its power.

A normal god will regain its power after the passing of some billion years once the world begins to develop. Which is why there are gods that endure the loss of power and give birth to new worlds. But there are cases, rare they may be, where a god, just like the aforementioned demon king, refuses to create their own world, and instead attempts to steal the world of another god.

“I understand the situation now, but I don’t recall being told that you defeated the demon king. Although I do feel like I’ve heard of that story when I came to this world.” [Ryouma]

“Wasn’t it when we told you that we don’t interfere with the world much? And we didn’t defeat the demon king. We just went out and drove him away. And I’ve mentioned this before, but that god has been a god since the beginnings of this world. A god’s power grows as his world progresses. That god is in a different league compared to us. He might have gotten weaker from losing his world, but driving him away was the most we could do.” [Gayn]

So that’s how it is…

“Then did that demon king come to invade this world again?” [Ryouma]

“No, that thing’s just a nasty souvenir. A fragment of the demon king. He purposely sealed a portion of his own power and will, and hid it a place full of magic power that we couldn’t find. In time, the black crystal produced by that area was filled with that power and influence of the demon king, turning that crystal into a magic gem.

But while it might contain the thoughts and powers of the demon king, it’s still a magic gem. But since we didn’t know where it was, if it were not for you finding it, after the passing of some tens of thousands of years, a powerful magical beast might be born. In the worst case, a demon king might be born.” [Gayn]

Tens of thousands of years… that’s a long time… In any case, I get that that crystal isn’t any good news. But rather than that, I’m more worried about…

“There were some magic jewels along with that magic gem… Are those safe?” [Ryouma]

“Those’re fine. We checked it a while ago, and the jewels your friends are carrying are just magic jewels. The jewels they’re carrying are just the solidification of the magic power gathered by the fragment of the demon king.” [Gayn]

“I see… That’s good to hear.” [Ryouma]

“Rather than worrying about them, the real problem is actually you.” [Gayn]

Me? Is something the matter?

“It might be weaker than the actual thing, but it is still a fragment of the demon king. The negative influence you received from carrying it isn’t something to scoff at. In fact, you received enough influence for four people’s worth.” [Gayn]

“Eh!? Will everything be fine!?” [Ryouma]

Shocked, I yelled that out in surprise as I checked my own body.

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing so serious. You wanted that magic gem, right? And when you had it with you, you wanted to use it, right?” [Gayn]

I did. Before I found that magic gem, for some reason, I knew that there was something there. And as if I was being guided, I dug the ground, and as soon as I found it, I took it. If it wasn’t for that strange sensation, I would have undoubtedly immediately recovered it, and would have fiddled with it in my magic experiments. [Ryouma]

“Yes… I guess it really wasn’t something good.” [Ryouma]

“Well, it is a portion of a demon king’s power. Also, it would appear that a curse was put on it to mentally attack whoever found it before its activation. And the curse was made to pollute the mind even further if the person tries to keep it for an extended period. And were you to have used it, your mind would have become more vulnerable to the pollution.

You possess a high level of mental pain resistance skill and recently, you even gained the charm resistance skill. On top of that, you even contained the fragment with your earth magic, so you were able to minimize contact with the fragment. Yet despite all that, the moment you set foot in the realm, we knew that there was something strange about you.

You learned how to dispel curses from that magician named Remiri, and it seems you tried dispelling the curse several times yourself. But all that can do at most is stabilize your condition temporarily, it can’t get rid of the main cause which is the power of a god. Because of that you couldn’t remove the curse.” [Gayn]

“………” [Ryouma]

What is that? That’s scary. I’m drenched in cold sweat. Am I in danger?

As I thought that to myself, Gayn served me tea from out of nowhere as he told me not to worry. Also, after listening to Gayn, apparently my situation isn’t hopeless. The negative influence I received is a bit troubling, but it’s nothing the power of a god can’t remove. It’s not a problem they can ignore either as gods, so they’re going to remove the curse.

Speaking of which, the chills I felt when I found the magic gem are because of Kufo’s divine protection.

The divine protection of the god of life has the effect of letting its receiver know where danger is via instinct. Moreover, as the ability to sense danger is merely an extra, it also improves the receiver’s weakest ability to sense danger.

For example, a person who tends to eat anything as soon as he sees it when he is hungry will become able to perceive when the food before him is bad. A person who tends to find himself in dangerous places will gain the ability to sense when the direction he is going in is dangerous.

In my case, the ability I gained is related to dealing with people. It works both for humans or for things that possess a certain level of intelligence. And my ability works such that I can sense whenever that person or something feels some sort of hate for me. Hearing that reminded me of Matthew and the boss of that fang group whose name I can’t remember. Back then, I thought it was just because they were similar to my superiors back in my previous life, but apparently that was actually due to the effect of the divine protection.

The chills I felt from the fragment of the demon king is because of the malice in the demon king’s will. If it wasn’t for that chill, things might’ve become more dangerous for me.

“You’re really unlucky though… I even bettered your luck with my divine protection and power, and yet…” [Gayn]

“Really? I thought I’ve been quite lucky since coming to this world though.” [Ryouma]

“You found a fragment of a demon king that’s normally hidden and caught his attention, you know? I don’t know anyone unluckier than that.” [Gayn]

My words were cut down in a single stroke. Then it was decided that I’ll be sleeping while the influence is removed from me. It’s sort of like anesthesia.

“Alright, let’s start. Just relax.” [Gayn]

I lied down on the bench that Gayn brought out, and relaxed. A fog gradually covered my thoughts until eventually my consciousness faded.

I don’t know how much time had passed, but when I opened my eyes, I saw Gayn’s face.

“You’re awake?” [Gayn]

“Ahh… Is it done? Eh?” [Ryoum]

My head was a bit hazy, but when I sat up, I noticed that it wasn’t only Gayn in the room, but also Kufo, Rurutia, and even Tekun who wasn’t there before.

“Tekun, why are you here?” [Ryouma]

“To make Gayn’s life easier. I was called here to extend the time you could spend here in this realm.” [Tekun]

Ahh! Now that he mentions it, I do have limited time here in this realm.

“I see, thank you.” [Ryouma]

“Don’t mind it. Here, drink.” [Tekun]

Tekun filled a cup with liquor, and passed it to me. Liquor always comes whenever I meet up with Tekun…

“By drink, you mean now?” [Ryouma]

“Just drink it in one gulp.” [Tekun]

For the meantime, I took a sip. The moment I drank it, my body felt hot, and immediately after, my body felt refreshed.

“What is this?” [Ryouma]

“Medicinal alcohol. It has the effect of stabilizing one’s mind when taken moderately. It’s the perfect wine for waking someone sleep like you, right?” [Tekun]

“So it’s that kind of wine. I certainly do feel like I’ve woken up.” [Ryouma]

“Then, since you’re awake now, let me explain.” [Gayn]

Gayn joined in on the discussion.

“First things first, I wasn’t able to completely remove all of the negative influence now.” [Gayn]

Eh!? Then what’s going to happen to me?

“Was it no good?” [Ryouma]

“I just wasn’t able to remove everything ‘now’. I could remove everything, but removing it all in one swoop would put too much burden on your soul, so I didn’t.

I put up something to suppress the influence instead. As long as we keep treating the influence just as we did today, eventually, all of the influence will disappear.” [Gayn]

“Just look at it as if you’re dropping by the hospital to receive treatment. The treatment was done once to buy time and reduce the burden on the soul. You’ll receive more treatments later on, and eventually, you’ll be bright as new.” [Rurutia]

Oh? Then in that case… I guess I’ll be ok, right?

You’ve been doing your best lately to get to Cormi Village, but you’ve already finished most of your preparations, right? So once you get the inheritance back, settle down at Gimuru for a while, and regularly visit the divine realm. Our free time for vising Earth will also lessen, but drop by the divine realm frequently, so we can treat you.” [Kufo]

“Alright. Please take care of me.” [Ryouma]

As I said that, all of the sudden, a god appeared before me at point blank.

“Uwaa!? Ah, Fer Noevir-sama.” [Ryouma]

“Did I startle you? My apologies.” [Fer Noevir]

The person that suddenly appeared before me was the god of magic, Fer Noevir-sama.

“It’s been awhile.” [Ryouma]

“Awhile? It’s only been half a year, no?” [Fer Noevir]

“…Half a year is considered plenty long amongst humans. Not that there’s a standard or anything.” [Ryouma]

“I see, but enough of that. I came here to give you something that I should hand over to you, or no. Rather, I came here to give you back something. [Fer Noevir]

“Something that should be returned?” [Ryouma]

As I was wondering to myself what the god meant, Fer Noevir-sama made the magic gem that I brought appear.

“…Is that what you mean by something that should be returned?” [Ryouma]

“Precisely.” [Fer Noevir]

“Umm… Even if you give it back to me, a demon king’s fragment is a bit…” [Ryouma]

“Don’t worry, I’ve already removed the will of the demon king from it. Its quality is abnormally high because of the demon king’s influence that it’s received for a long time, but it’s just a dark attribute magic gem now. And since you were the one who dug it out, you have the right to own it. I suggest using it to make a wand or something.

It’s up to you what you want to do with it, but I would advise you not to sell it as it would cause a commotion.” [Fer Noevir]

As Fer Noevir-sama said that, he left no room for arguments as he quickly handed to me the magic gem. I stored the magic gem in my ‘Item Box’.

There, Tekun turned me by the shoulder, and said,

“Ah, by the way, Ryouma, you don’t have a wand, right?” [Tekun]

“Nope, none. I do think it’d be a good idea to have one though.” [Ryouma]

“Then the timing couldn’t be better! You should use this magic gem to create a wand. And for the wand itself… you have branches of the mutated elder treant with you, right?” [Tekun]

I told Tekun that I hid it away in a corner of my ‘Dimension Home’, and immediately, Tekun’s face turned into a blunt face of dissatisfaction.

“What a waste! Materials are meant to be used. Oh yeah, you have the woodworking skill, right? This here’s a good opportunity, so why don’t you try making it yourself?” [Tekun]

“Magic wands can be made with woodworking?” [Ryouma]

“The basic stuff, yeah. But for the better ones, you’ll need magic perception and the ingredients. But you already have those, right? So if you’d like, I could teach you how when your dropping by to receive your treatment. After all, I am god of art and craft.” [Tekun]

“Is that ok?” [Ryouma]

“There’s no problem as long as it’s just human techniques. All I’m going to be teaching you are the basics of creating a magic wand. From there, it’ll be up to you to research and improve on it. Craftsmen all improve through the accumulation of those. And looking after that is my job.” [Tekun]

As Tekun said that, he filled a cup with liquor, and drank. Then he said,

“Nothing much really changes whether I support craftsmen directly or indirectly. Actually, from my point of view as a god of craft, I want people to keep creating crafts as much as possible with their own techniques.

“Really?” [Ryouma]

“Well, they went to all the trouble of learning it right? If you’re not going to use it, the skills will go to waste. So while I’m not going to ask you to make a living out of crafts, I do want you to keep making them even as a hobby.” [Tekun]

Well, it’s true it’d be a waste to see something not used. And besides, it’s a rare privilege to be taught by the gods directly.

At those thoughts, I decided to make my own wand.

“I understand; I’ll do my best.” [Ryouma]

Like this, it was decided for me to go to the divine realm regularly for treatment and for guidance from Tekun after I get home from my trip to the Great Forest of Shurus.

TL Note: 神(god read as kami) 紙(paper read as kami) 髪(hair read as kami). These are the words referred to for the puns in that one line.