Chapter 73: At The End Of The Adventure… III & IV
Chapter 73: At The End Of The Adventure… III & IV
<At The End Of The Adventure… III>
I took off all of my equipment haphazardly at the entrance, then carried Rana to the bed and pushed her down onto it.The room was dim and its furnishings were modest. There was only one bed.
「De, dear, you’re being a little scary. Calm down」
「You’re asking the impossible」
I held her head in my hands and ravaged Rana with my tongue. After entwining it with hers, I pay-bit her, and then traced the line of her jaw. She closed her eyes tightly and went rigid, but gradually, her body grew hot and she became soft. It was the opposite for me. [1]
Her robe had come loose, and I stripped her bare.
「Eek」
Rana’s teary-eyed expression aroused me even further.
It’s right after I had done repeated lateral jumps back and forth between life and death, so I’ve become strangely turned on. ………Oh, not good. I totally forgot about the main subject.
I changed position, rolling while hugging her in my arms, and had her be on top.
「The incident where you burned down the forest. I heard about it all from your father and King Lemuria」
「Oh」
Her expression turned crestfallen.
Her appealing twin hills pressed against me as she put her arms around me and embraced me anxiously like a child.
「………Umm, that rabbit that shows death. You must have noticed. I didn’t see anyone’s death」
「I noticed」
You’re bad at lying.
「I don’t have the right to grieve for the death of anyone. For me to be tormented by the death of anyone now, after I’ve taken the lives of so many, it’s the height of senselessness」
「If you didn’t defeat that beast, the damage would have been more widespread」
「That might be true. But it also might not be. That’s just pointless speculation」
Regretting “what ifs” is a very human-like folly.
「When I was held captive by that monster, I was having a dream」
「A dream?」
Lola’s poison. It coaxes people into a deep sleep.
Held captive while asleep, her victims go through horrific torture without realizing anything until they die.
「It was a serene dream. Inside the forest, I lived quietly with the people that I had killed. It was an empty tranquility like that. Neither you nor my sister were there. It was a foolish dream. This is how ugly I am. I’m the epitome of what it means to be the shame(impurity) of the clan. You’re disillusioned, am I right?」
「Naive」
「Huh」
My hands were idle, so I caressed Rana’s ear. Her body jumped at the touch.
I’ve found a good weak point.
「Who do you think I am? I’m a follower of Misuranika, the god of misdeeds, you know? You burned down the forest you lived in? You burned innocent people to death? So what? If you want me to feel disillusioned, one or two countries isn’t enough. Massacring thousands or tens of thousands isn’t enough. Try destroying the entire continent, no, the world. It’s only after that, that I’ll think about whether or not I hate you」
「Huh, umm, that’s……」
「Don’t look down on me. If you’re worried, then I’ll swear it to you. In the name of my god, Misuranika, I forgive everything about you」
「Ah, umm, my ears are, umh……」
Whenever I massage both her ears lightly, she rubs her thighs together. This is fun.
「I, I’m serious, ahh, over there is……」
When I twisted the tips of her ears, Rana hugged me very tightly. She bit down on my shoulder. After a while, she lost strength and went limp. Her breathing was ragged, and her skin, which was moist with sweat, stuck to mine.
「Haa, haa……………… Dear………please decide between having a serious talk or teasing me. Are you trying to make me mad?」
She muttered in a threatening tone.
I reflected on my actions for a second.
「You’re really…….for goodness sake. But that’s right. If a person who loves me from the bottom of his heart exists in this world, it has to be a person like you. No, I’m sure it can only be you」
「I don’t think that’s true though」
She bit my collarbone for some reason.
「You agree, right?」
「Right」
It was quite painful.
As if in revenge, Rana stripped off my clothes. She also play-bit my ear. Not to be outdone by her, I grabbed her breasts and slid my fingertip over her wide hips. She came back with a cute response.
I find her lovable.
I’ve never loved a person before, but if I’m told that this is love, I’ll be convinced that it is. For the short time until my death, I’ll carve it into my heart like a curse.
「Rana, let’s get married」
「We already are」
Oh, that’s right. What a blunder.
「I meant it in a spiritual sense, or how should I put it, a physical sense, or rathmhmm」
My lips were covered by hers.
The kiss was clumsy but earnest. Her sweet scent made my head spin. We took a heated breather, and then our moist lips came together again. My senses melted and became muddled. I had the feeling that we were originally one.
Many cringeworthy words came to my mind, but rather than saying them, I wanted to use my mouth for something else.
However, in order to become more connected, we separated our bodies a little.
We blurted out similar words to each other.
A fever took hold of us, and, just like beasts, vigorously.
I’m sure we still have much more words that are wanting. We have a bond that must be bridged. It’s said that there is no flame that doesn’t go out, so this feeling may fade away with time.
Even so.
I believe.
It’s for that exact reason.
That this very moment is worth nearly forever.
<At The End Of The Adventure… IV>
【96th day】To think that both husband and wife would end up in a Dogeza before their sister…… We’re certainly at fault for fooling around for ten days without a word of contact, but is there a need to go so far, I wonder?Lanseal looked on with an extremely wonderful smile on her face, and Misuranika-sama didn’t help smooth things over at all. Makina and the retrieved Yukikaze were acting all flustered and going, 『Hawawa』.
But it was fun. It can’t be helped.
To be honest, I still haven’t had enough.
Leaving that aside,
The items in Lola’s graveyard that we’ve obtained have all been collected in a warehouse and are currently being appraised.
Once their prices have been set, they’ll be put up for sale by the merchant company. I don’t know what the total amount will be, but at the moment, the total amount for the ones that have been priced is 730 gold coins.
The staves of ancient magicians are much more effective as a medium than the ones of today, and thus, more expensive.
I tried to give Frey and her party a bonus, but they didn’t accept anything other than the reward they had agreed on initially. The Brave is very principled.
The total amount for the items continues to rise day by day. Even after paying the appraisal fees and taxes, quite a lot will be left over. Too much will be left over.
I was going to give Shuna and Lys their share, but it’s far too much money to give to children. Nothing good will come out of it.
I thought about buying new equipment for everyone, but I was still having trouble with how to spend the money, so I decided to buy property. The sisters and Lanseal have gone to the city to take a look at the properties for sale.
As punishment, I’m looking after the camp while they are away.
The requirements I had set for the property are that it must be near the river so that Geto-san can drop by easily, the soundproofing for the rooms must be good, and there must be a private space for Rana and me.
I left the rest to the women.
It seems that winter will come to Lemuria after the dragon has landed. It probably won’t hurt to have a roof over our heads.
What I’m concerned about are the relics in the hidden portion of the 19th floor.
Most of them have almost disintegrated into dust, but there are some which can be moved. Those have been stored in a warehouse just like the other items.
I tried to have Makina investigate them, but I got a reply saying,『Testing not possible due to higher privilege level』. It’s an opinion based on my amateurish knowledge and intuition, but the relics are of the same technological level as the modern world, no, they may in fact be more advanced.
The biggest mystery is the door that doesn’t open unless an A.I.’s core unit is connected to it.
The structural drawing of the universe on it.
I’m sure that this is almost certainly a snippet of what awaits on the 56th floor, the final goal.
There are nothing but questions and mysteries. The only way to shed light on them is to explore the dungeon.
………But.
「Makina, Yukikaze, I need to have a word with the two of you」
I summoned the A.I.s. There was no adventuring today, so I didn’t have my equipment, and was wearing normal clothes.
『Alright~』
『Alright』
The big one and the small one slid over.
「There’s something I need to talk to the two of you about. It’s something important」
『Yes, what is it? Please ask Makina anything』
『Yukikaze is listening』
「I’m going to stop exploring the dungeon」
The A.I.s froze for about three seconds.
『Wh, wh, what did you say?!』
Confused and in a fluster, Makina’s arms came out as she turned round and round.
「Calm down. Elves and I have different lifespans. Elves with Hemu blood are said to have a short lifespan, but they still live three times longer than normal Hemus. I can only exist in one-third of her life. That’s why, while I’m alive, I want to at least make lots of fun memories for those girls. That has nothing to do with exploring the dungeon」
『Souya-san, in other words, does that mean that you’re giving up on obtaining the reward as well as returning to your original world for the sake of the women of the alternate world?』
「Well, that’s what it amounts to, I suppose」
After all, I don’t have any reason to go back.
In this world, I have friends. I have a wife. I have a sister………sister. I have a mistress. I have fun memories. I have painful memories as well, but I have memories of overcoming them.
If I quit being an adventurer, Shuna and Lys will probably complain, but I’ve prepared another party, Frey’s party, for them.
I won’t explore the dungeon, but I’ll support them.
Exploring the dungeon, being an adventurer, is not the only way to live.
If I make good use of the fortune I’ve obtained, I can at least provide for the sisters’ living expenses until the day they die.
『Souya-san, please reconsider. Let’s talk it out from the beginning with Makina and Yukikaze. Come on, Yukikaze-chan, please say something as well』
『If that’s what team member Souya wants, then Yukikaze doesn’t have anything in particular to say about it』
『Wait a minute, Yukikaze-chan?!』
Ignoring the flustered Makina, I declared ruthlessly.
「Sorry, I’ve already made up my mind about this. Code break, code break. Authenticate the emergency command code」
『Understood. Password will be authenticated through voice recognition. Go ahead』
A mechanical voice came out of Makina’s speakers.
This is the emergency command code that I had set in case Makina goes out of control. Never did I think that I would use it in this way.
「Each outcry of the hunted hare, a fiber from the brain does tear. A skylark wounded in the wing, a cherubim does cease to sing」[2]
『The emergency command code has been acknowledged. The Makina Program’s personality is suspended. Will accept all orders up to level 3』
「After suspending all functionalities, power off」
『Understood. Would you like to set a restart time?』
「Restart………」
I felt lost for a moment.
I’m worried about whether or not I can manage in future without the A.I.s.
But I’ll have to fend for myself. I’ve come this far in this alternate world by making decisions like this. And that’s what I’ll continue to do from now on.
「I’m not setting a restart time」
『Understood. Good night』
Two people stopped.
Guilt gripped my chest.
Afterwards, the disposal of the units……I can’t do that, I suppose. These girls are different from the guns. They’re asleep, but they’re not dead.
「Sorry」
Muttering words that would never reach, I turned my back on them.
And then,
『I had higher expectations of you』Someone’s voice rang out.It came from the Makina Unit that should have been turned off.
It was an authoritative, male voice. A voice that was completely impersonal. A voice that was like a mishmash of electronic voices.
「Huh, who are you?」
『I’ve seen all sorts of people, but you’re the first and last fool who became obsessed with women and abandoned the mission. But for this fool to have come the closest, what an irony it is』
A spy in the A.I.s’ system?
No way, could it be accessing the A.I.s externally? I don’t get it, what’s going on?
『I’ll show you the world. And I’ll make you keenly aware that you have to explore the dungeon』
「What?!」
My body seized up and I crumpled to the ground.
Yukikaze’s mini・pod had injected me in the leg.
『Coordinates・anchored. Minimum range. Interference level is………medium. Forced deployment of portal』
Light exploded.
A portal appeared in front of me.
The Makina・Unit’s arms grabbed my leg and threw me forcibly into the portal.
「Rana!」
My cry sounded far away. My vision was enveloped in darkness.
One instant of weightlessness. Gravity reversed. Wind howled past my ears. Immediately, light flooded my eyes.
I landed on a marble floor.
The air felt different. It was so cold that it hurt.
I was in a wide space.
All around me were white ornamentation that wouldn’t be amiss in a cathedral. On the domed ceiling was an image of a maiden and a man with a sword. Perhaps there was a story behind it. The windows were gorgeous stained glass. Lined up alongside the rows of candelabrum were guards in ceremonial armor.
In front of me stood a queen.She looked young, and was probably in her late teens. She had a magnificent cloak draped over a magnificent dress. She had a thin waist. In her right hand, she held a long staff that was inlaid with jewels.Her long flaxen hair was braided and gathered up. A small crown sat on her head. In a graceful, yet royal voice, she spoke.
「Dear Brave, I have no words to express my gratitude to you for responding to the summoning. This “left continent” is in the midst of great turmoil. Right now, the black elf’s tentacles of evil are about to invade our Ashtalia. Dear Brave of Salvation, please lend me your strength to save our country」
「………………Huh?」
「Huh?」
The queen responded to my stupid-sounding exclamation in a foolish-sounding tone.
What did this person just say? Did she say “left continent”? Lemuria is on the “right continent”, the eyesore that’s called Elysium is on the center continent, and…………… You’ve got to be kidding me.
Have I been sent across continents?
「I’m sorry, umm, please return me to where I came from」
「Pardon?」
The queen tilted her head.
＜To be continued＞
[1] Oh come on…… I had to use “soft” or the euphemism would get lost in translation, and “amendable/responsive/and so on” is probably what I would have used otherwise.
[2] It’s an excerpt from William Blake’s Auguries of Innocence. Yes, I used the original words. No, I’m not going to translate the translation in my translation. XD
Hahaha, our isekai MC just got isekai summoned in the 3rd volume even though he was already in the isekai. Bet you didn’t see that one coming!
Back to the start tho, if you’re wondering that not much was revealed even though I seemed to have hinted at a lot of stuff…….yes, the reveal of everything Rana had done isn’t now, but much later. She did reveal why she didn’t see any deaths though, it’s because she had closed her heart as she felt she didn’t have the right to cherish others because of all the lives she had taken.
By the way, some time down the road, around 7 or so volumes later, you’re gonna realize how much difficulty I had with the choice of words in this chapter. Japanese is vague, but English is specific, so I really had to choose the words very carefully.
Also, as you have probably realized, the whole Lola arc was meant to be closely tied with Rana from the start, including the meaning of her name and so on.
I know “Two people stopped” sounds weird, but it’s important to have “people” in it because, as you’ve surmised, Souya has come to think of the A.I.s as people, not machines. It would have been worded differently otherwise.
And the day Souya decided to quit adventuring has been a long way coming, hasn’t it? His decline in motivation after “that” happened at the end of volume 2 was slow but obvious. But of course, things rarely goes as one wishes. Who does that male voice belong to? How is he able to control Makina? And even open a portal?
That’s the end of the 1st half of volume 3. And the second half is clearly related to the black elf we’ve heard so much about. Stay tuned for Souya’s adventures in a new land with no friends, no equipment and only the clothes on his back!