kscans

Chapter 29 - Dungeon Rematch and the Laciel of Old

We were on the third floor of the dungeon. Our formation was Mizuki and Famu in the front, with me and Myra in the back. I had my bow equipped in preparation for Big Eyes. Myra was equipped with a mace.

"So you’ve been in a dungeon before, Myra."

When we entered the dungeon, we’d been given the option to choose floors 1 to 30, or 39 to 41.

"Yes. When I was a priestess, I went as far as the 30th floor."

"Were you in a party?"

"I was in Aidan-san’s party. Or rather, Aidan-san was the one who taught me about dungeon diving."

"Is that so?"

Myra nodded.

"When my parents died from a plague, Aidan-san was the one who saved me and Aira. Thanks to his help, we were able to get into the church’s orphanage. He continued to support us after that, so we never wanted for anything at the orphanage. And that’s how we are where we are today."

The dwarf Aidan had short legs. He was less ‘Daddy-Long-Legs’ and more ‘Daddy Short-Legs.’ Now I knew who was really responsible for raising those two’s boobs. He seemed to have saved a lot of people, including me and Famu. Leaving this city meant saying goodbye to him as well.

"A plague, you say? The pestilence?"

That was the only medieval plague that came to mind.

"Yes. The church in the farming village where I lived didn’t have anyone who could heal it."

I see. So there are churches in this world that are actually functional.

"Master."

Famu called out. There were two Big Eyes on the ceiling. They launched fireballs before I could even nock an arrow. We were far enough away to dodge them easily. As I was nocking another arrow, wolves charged at us from the front and back.

"I’ll take the wolf in front,"

Mizuki said as she moved to engage it.

"Then I will take the enemy from behind!"

Myra moved to protect my back, confronting the other wolf.

"Famu, let’s take down the Big Eyes!"

"Yes!"

At the same time I loosed my arrow, Famu threw a kunai. Her single strike pierced a Big Eye. Just as the Big Eyes were dealt with, Mizuki and Myra finished off the wolves.

"That was easy. Let’s move on."

As I said that, I noticed Famu staring up at the ceiling.

"My kunai is stuck in the ceiling and won’t come down…"

Arrows were consumables, but it was a waste to treat kunai as disposable. I used earth magic to hit it with a stone pebble, and the kunai fell down.

"Thank you, Master."

Famu bowed her head.

"Famu…"

For some reason, I felt a little distance between us. I stroked her ear. It was, as always, the best feeling in the world.

"…Master?"

"It’s nothing."

I took my hand away from her ear. I felt embarrassed when I realized Mizuki and Myra were staring at me. Still, when fighting ranged enemies, my arrows were the first to go. My mana depleted from controlling them. And there was a chance of not being able to retrieve the kunai. It couldn’t be helped against powerful opponents like Area Guardians, but being forced to expend resources on small fry was tough.

"Mash, why don’t we check everyone’s levels?"

Myra suggested.

"Good idea. I’m an Adventurer, level 17."

"I am a Miburō, level 14,"

said Famu.

"I’m a Swordsman, level 11, and my second class is Adventurer, level 2,"

said Mizuki.

"And I am a Priestess, level 34, with a second class of Cleric, level 15. Mash and Famu are leveling up quickly because of Mash’s Divine Grace. Mizuki is leveling up fast because she’s been fighting high-level enemies, but the effect of the Divine Grace is faster. Hmm…"

Myra was by far the strongest. I should probably be careful not to stare at her chest too obviously. She was currently lost in thought.

"By the way, Famu, have you decided on a special skill?"

I asked.

"I’m still trying to decide. The one called ‘46cm Triple Cannon’ seems good."

If she fired something like that, wouldn’t the shockwave blow away her allies first? Besides, was Famu a fan of the big ship, big gun doctrine? Maybe my destroyer, no, my light cruiser wasn’t satisfying her.

"I’m looking for a skill that can protect you, Master."

"I see. A skill that can protect me would also be a skill that can protect yourself. I agree with that."

Famu nodded happily.

"Well, there’s no rush. You might be able to choose something that suits you better after you get a little stronger. We can wait until we get to Miglutt."

"You’re right. I’ll think about it carefully,"

Famu replied.

"Those with Divine Grace are said to be one in tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands. Mash, can you grant Divine Grace?"

Myra asked, looking quite surprised.

"No, I made a deal with Laciel when we fought Reed and the others. She gave me a catalog of special skills for Famu."

"Haven’t you been favoring Famu quite a bit lately? I understand she’s number one, but Mizuki and I are your lovers, too."

Myra looked at Mizuki, seemingly calling for backup.

"Huh? M-me? I don’t really… well… yeah, I’d like you to be nice to me, too."

Mizuki looked down and fidgeted. It was kind of cute.

"I’m sorry about the special skill. As for my attitude, I get it. I’ll try my best."

"Yes. Please do."

Myra smiled. Honestly, I still wasn’t sure how to act around her. I wanted the courage to touch her boobs. Alright, no time like the present. As I stealthily reached out my hand, my eyes met Mizuki’s. She was clearly admonishing me. I pulled my hand back.

"As an apology, of sorts, I’ll share my storage with you, Myra."

I immediately created a partition for her.

"Thank you!"

I was glad she was happy.

"Hmph. What about me?"

Mizuki piped up. She had her own storage. This was a dilemma.

"I don’t have anything to give you right now. I guess I’ll have to kiss you instead."

"Huh? Right here, right now?"

Mizuki’s face turned bright red.

"Master…"

Famu’s voice was scary.

"Mash, then… for today, while you’re using your bow, can I use your katana? I want to try it out."

"I might want to switch to it depending on the enemy… but… alright."

I handed the katana to Mizuki. Since I was in the back, I figured I’d have time to switch between my bow and sword, but in that case, I’d just use a one-handed sword. It was important for Mizuki to test out different possibilities, too.

"So, I was thinking… the enemies on the third floor seem to be too low-level for us. Aira and Cecily will be joining us from tomorrow, so I think the tenth floor or higher would be good."

Would Aira and Cecily really join the party? I still couldn’t picture it. I looked at Famu. Would she be okay suddenly facing high-level enemies? I’d prefer to ease into it gradually.

"That’s the thing. That right there,"

Myra pointed out. It put me in a bit of a bind.

"Ah, I said too much. I’m sorry."

Had it shown on my face? Myra bowed her head.

"For today, since we’ve come all this way, I want to defeat the Area Guardian on the third floor. From tomorrow, we have to prepare for our journey, so let’s talk again tomorrow."

We needed to get ready for the trip to Miglutt. Also, we’d been fighting almost every day since we came to this world, so we needed a rest day.

"Yes, understood,"

Myra replied.

"Is that okay with you, Mizuki?"

"Yeah."

Mizuki nodded.

"Myra, have you seen Laciel before?"

I asked, suddenly curious. The mural in the church was a dead ringer for Laciel, and the audience at the duel had recognized her.

"No. I don’t think anyone alive today has met any of the gods directly, including Laciel-sama. But Laciel-sama is a special goddess."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Do you remember the story I told you about how the various races were born?"

I nodded. The human race had indiscriminately copulated with various animals, leading to the birth of races based on those animals. Seeing this, the gods made it so that they could no longer produce offspring even if they mated. I gave Mizuki a quick summary.

"How many races are there?"

Mizuki asked.

"No one has seen the ends of the world. We don’t know how many races there are. To change the subject, the gods were angered by the human race, which continued to create new races, and they tried to destroy them with divine punishment. The one who opposed this was Laciel-sama. It became a battle between Laciel-sama, leading 100,000 humans, and the four goddesses who admired her—Rishal-sama, Lushe-sama, Renren-sama, and Ronron-sama—against the God of the End and the other gods. There aren’t many left now, but there are still paintings and sculptures from that time."

I could see why the gods would be angry. And one of the gods had a panda-like name, which screamed of lazy naming, but I figured it was best not to make fun of it, so I kept my mouth shut.

"Did all the gods participate in that battle?"

"No. It is said that the two primordial gods, the five creator gods, and a few others did not participate. However, all the gods except for the five goddesses stood on the side of destroying the human race."

"I see. So about forty gods turned against them."

Myra blinked in surprise.

"Did you perhaps already know this story?"

"No, it’s my first time hearing it."

With names like Laciel, Rishal, Lushe, Renren, and Ronron, the hints were a bit too obvious.

"So, the human race was victorious?"

"No. Unfortunately, they lost. Laciel-sama wielded her Divine Spear, but she was unable to defeat the God of the End. It is said that the five goddesses who sided with humanity were imprisoned."

Was that space where Laciel summoned me a prison, then?

"However, through their sacrifice, the remaining humans were able to reach the God of the End. In the end, humanity could not defeat the God of the End either, but they were able to cast him down to the earth. The God of the End could no longer return to the heavens. The other gods stopped trying to destroy humanity, ensured that no new races would be created, and returned to the heavens. But the God of the End, who was cast down to the earth, is still somewhere on this land, trying to destroy humanity. And that battle was the last time anyone saw the gods. There are many legends of them appearing, but there are probably no legends with as many witnesses as the recent duel."

"Is the God of the End the Demon Lord?"

Mizuki asked a terrifying question. But I had been thinking the same thing as I listened to the story. The Demon Lord that Laciel mentioned was probably the God of the End, or a transmigrator summoned by him. If a transmigrator was the Demon Lord, that would be fine, but if we had to fight the God of the End, Laciel’s power wouldn’t work. We’d need to find another way to fight. No, if the story was true, I would use Goddess Summon to send Mizuki to the showdown with the God of the End. And then, Mizuki would defeat him. A skill that evades fatal blows should be more effective the stronger the enemy is. Mizuki might have a chance of winning even now. Thinking about it that way, I could understand why Laciel was trying to pair me and Mizuki up. I couldn’t let Famu get near that place. If she died a martyr’s death, my reason for fighting would disappear. I wouldn’t be able to go on living. No, by that point, I’d probably already be dead. There was a way to keep her from participating in the battle and from dying a martyr’s death. Famu was my girlfriend. No, I should think of another way. I absolutely did not want to die. Not until the day I find a beauty who surpasses even Mizuki.

"The Demon Lord who was defeated 100 years ago, you mean. Hmm, I don’t think Mehmet was the God of the End. From what I’ve heard, he was too weak to be a god. The fact that his name is different is also a big factor."

A feudal empire. The Demon Kingdom in the east. And a Holy War. Hearing that name, I couldn’t help but think of Mehmet II, a historical figure from my original world. Could it be that some transmigrator jokingly took that name and ended up being defeated as the Demon Lord? I wanted an accurate map of this world. Mizuki looked at me like she wanted to talk. It seemed she was thinking something similar.

"The Demon Lord’s name is Mehmet? What is the name of the God of the End?"

"The two primordial gods are the highest-ranking gods, followed by the five creator gods and the God of the End. I cannot tell you his name. Divine punishment will befall any insolent person who speaks it. It is a closely guarded secret that only a select few in the church can handle. I was told the name by the priest after I began to serve you, Mash."

It seemed like parents could be struck down by divine punishment while trying to name their child. Or maybe it was a name that wouldn’t normally occur to anyone. A ridiculously long name, or a name like a strong password with a mix of numbers and symbols?

"But perhaps I should tell you all. Just be sure to never speak it as the name of the God of the End."

I see, so as long as you don’t associate the name with the god, it’s fine. It was probably something like the name of ‘The Closer’ from Norse mythology anyway. Still, there was something about being told absolutely not to say something that made me want to say it.

"You’re being awfully dramatic. Is it a name we would know?"

"The God of the End’s name is the same as yours."

"What a dumb name. ‘The Same As Yours’?"

"That’s not it! What would you do if I fell for your stupid joke and actually said the real name in my retort? Don’t try to lead me into such an embarrassing death!"

Myra delivered a magnificent comeback.

"She’s right. You’re the dumb one, Mash. Still, this makes me want to dig a hole and scream into it."

It seemed Mizuki wanted to play the fool, too. In any case, a name I had chosen so lightly turned out to be a heavy one. And then it hit me.

"Famu, did you know the name of the God of the End?"

"No, I didn’t know it was ‘The Same As Yours.’"

Famu was desperately trying to keep the joke going.

"Famu… you don’t have to force yourself to play along."

"Well, it’s hard to explain, but when I got sick, I just… came to know it, for some reason. But I had forgotten about it for a long time, and then the morning after I met you, Master, I was watching you sleep and it just came back to me. I had heard that he was the god who would bring an end to this world, so I thought he must be a terrifying god, but you were completely different. I love you. Even if everyone in the world sides with Laciel-sama, I will follow you, Master."

"Famu… this is hard to say, but Mash is really just some old guy. I came to this world with him, so there’s no mistake,"

Mizuki said.

"I’m not the God of the End. I think it’s rude to call me an old guy, but I’m a normal human. So, praying to me won’t do anything."

Famu made a troubled face. It was clear she wasn’t convinced. It was as if she wanted to tell me something, as if she was about to cry. But she neither nodded nor denied it. Famu glanced at Myra.

"I don’t think someone who can summon a god is normal. But for now, I think Mash is a normal person. However, that name holds a special power. I believe there will be a change eventually."

It was an unpleasant proclamation, but Myra’s eyes were shining with expectation.

"Famu, if you’re thinking something, I want you to say it."

"No. My feelings for you, Master, are so strong that they may have distorted my view of things. But I can’t bring myself to pray to any other god now."

"What’s distorted?"

"The world. Ever since I met you, Master. But I feel like I knew it from before."

"By ‘from before,’ do you mean since you got sick?"

"Probably, but it feels like it was from even further back."

I was getting confused. But I felt like I should remember this. Besides, if it was such a big-deal name, why didn’t Laciel stop me? I felt like I was being played with.

"In the end, it’s your fault for not properly introducing yourself to Laciel, Mash!"

Mizuki said.

"Myra, do you know what kind of god the guardian deity in Famu’s village was?"

Was this also related to a high-ranking god?

"No. I don’t think it was one of the gods that appear in the myths. It was likely a person, a monster, or a natural phenomenon that was deified and passed down. We might know if we went there, though."

"I promised Famu. We will go. I’ll be counting on you then."

"Understood. I will do my best to be of service."

Myra gave me a bright smile.

"By the way, since you can meet Laciel, why didn’t you just ask her about these things directly?"

Mizuki asked a very reasonable question.

"I try to summon her with that in mind, but for some reason, it never turns out that way."

"That’s because all you’re thinking about is perverted things, right?"

She had me completely figured out, so I couldn’t argue.

"Regarding the recent summoning, Laciel-sama was generating a large-scale field with a charm effect. It probably deploys automatically and constantly. Those affected seem to have their minds slightly altered so that they have no awareness of it even after the effect wears off. It was a powerful one. A normal person wouldn’t be able to resist."

Myra answered for me. So, on top of the mana sickness, I was also under a charm effect. In that case, it couldn’t be helped.

"I see, so that’s why I get in a perverted mood. That’s a relief."

"No, I don’t see what’s relieving about it, but I think you’re probably the only one who would get in that kind of mood with a goddess, Mash."

"That’s not true. Famu, too…"

Famu covered my mouth.

"…What are you two doing?"

Mizuki sent a cold glare our way.

"Mash, if you take me with you, we can have a proper conversation,"

Myra said, looking a little proud. Alright, I’m not letting Myra meet Laciel.

"Mash, you believe in Laciel-sama, don’t you? That’s why you were summoned to this world, isn’t it?"

"Huh?"

Myra’s question left me at a loss for words. Now that she mentioned it, Laciel was the first god I had ever seen. But to me, she was just a perverted older sister. She was too raw. There was no trace of the legend that Myra spoke of. Maybe a certain amount of distance is necessary for faith.

"No, I don’t have faith in her. I have faith in M… Mizuki’s boobs."

I had wanted to say Myra’s boobs, but I just couldn’t bring myself to say it. But if it was boobs, Mizuki’s were fine too.

"Huh?!"

Mizuki covered her chest and glared at me with an accusatory expression.

"What did you believe in in your world before you were transferred?"

Myra asked, looking surprised.

"I didn’t even know a god named Laciel existed in the first place. In my original world, I think most people thought the existence of gods was dubious and that they were nothing more than creations of the human imagination. I didn’t really believe in that sort of thing either. If I had to say, I believed in the eight million gods."

"Shinto? Not Buddhism?"

Mizuki asked.

"I’m not well-versed enough to say if it’s Shinto or not. But if what I vaguely believe is Shinto, then I guess so. For example, wouldn’t you feel grossed out if I took the chopsticks I use every day, washed them, and then handed them to you saying, ‘These are yours from now on’?"

"If they were yours, Mash, I wouldn’t mind. But I might not like it if they were someone else’s."

So mine were okay. I would gladly lick Mizuki’s chopsticks clean.

"There are other things, too, like not wanting to speak ill of the dead, or feeling not just clean but purified after just tidying up. That’s a way of thinking about vengeful spirits and impurity that’s unique to the region we lived in. It’s become a part of our lives and taken root at a level I can’t even perceive."

"…Now that you mention it, it does feel that way,"

Mizuki replied.

"My grandparents’ funerals were Buddhist. But my family, while saying they didn’t believe in God, celebrated Bon, New Year’s, and Christmas. Well, I don’t think you ‘celebrate’ Bon, but still. That means we did believe in something."

"Hmm. Maybe it’s because you don’t believe, so anything goes…"

"I think it’s because the faith that has melted into our lives has also incorporated other religions. In other words, within the eight million gods, there’s a faction of Buddhas and a god who claims to be the one and only God."

"Um, wouldn’t that lead to conflicting teachings and contradictions?"

Mizuki didn’t seem to think highly of my idea. Everyone’s different, so that was fine.

"There are guys who trapped and killed their youngest brother multiple times, after all. And they were tricking a rabbit. There’s no problem with some guy who says whatever he wants joining a group like that. You probably prayed for success at a shrine when you were taking exams, but you’re also thinking about having a girlish wedding in a chapel, right?"

"Ugh… how did you know?! Is-is that bad?"

"It’s not bad. I think you’d probably look beautiful."

"R-really?"

Mizuki was blushing. Myra and Famu had been left out of the conversation for a while now. It would take a long time to explain.