Chapter 107
Chapter 107
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: Sauce
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The day at [Apocalypse Academy] was divided into four time slots.
In each time slot, you chose one designated activity and spent your time on it. Completing all four activities marked the end of the day.
Large-scale events like dungeon raids were exceptions that consumed the entire day at once.
In reality, finishing a dungeon raid or handling four activities in a single day left you utterly exhausted, so it felt reasonably realistic.
The key point here was that even travel time was consumed.
Within the Empire's territory, Christoph's railway lines made it possible to travel anywhere.
But the damn travel times were what held you back.
After mastering travel via Renne, I'd thought about it myself.
‘If I travel the entire Empire during free time and mark all the locations in advance, wouldn't it be much more convenient?’
The problem was that the world of [Apocalypse Academy] was set in a transitional period from medieval to modern times, so train speeds weren't as fast as in reality.
If you let your mind wander even a little, you'd end up with three hours! Six hours! Twelve hours! As a student, you wouldn't even dream of boarding a train.
Even Aren’s hometown of Baran was several days away by travel alone.
But vacation changed everything.
I'd chosen Belhart as my first destination because it was the closest, but also because it made the perfect starting point for circling the entire Empire.
Starting from Belhart, hitting the southern tip at Baran, and returning to Naveil would make for a fulfilling vacation.
During this break, I planned to wipe out a total of four branches.
One of them was in Getel, a village about three hours from Belhart.
Later, like Ronwood, it would be instigated by the Church, leading to cultists overrunning the place. At this point, though, the demonic beasts probably hadn't reached the village yet.
Since Getel grew like a cancer within the Empire and later became a supply base for Church members, I had to uproot it early to prevent that.
“Got your meals.”
“Thanks.”
After descending from Holy Light Mountain, we'd boarded the train to Getel.
Time had already passed five o'clock, and the horizon was starting to redden faintly.
Adelin sat beside me, Luna across from us.
I'd successfully recruited the stalker as a party member, restoring our three-person party setup.
Now we had three dealers, though.
I missed Mine and Alicia, but as an Overbel, Adelin would probably make it work somehow.
That said, I'd never fought alongside Luna, so I didn't know her current capabilities well.
For the future, we needed to test her in real combat soon.
Still, her performance as a magic dealer in the original was unmatched, so she had to be useful.
Even now, after leaving the cave, she hadn't let go of [Star Cloud], which suggested she had quite the material greed.
If she was that greedy for materials, she'd be diligent in raids too.
Honestly, seeing her attitude, I'd worried she might be a Mine version 2.0.
If her mental fragility flared up and she collapsed in front of a dungeon, it'd be a huge problem.
But surprisingly, she communicated well.
The terrified, squirrel-like demeanor from the cave was gone, and she no longer stuttered.
She answered questions promptly and hid what needed hiding appropriately.
Thanks to that, the conversation was so smooth I wondered if I'd ever clicked this well with anyone else.
Why would a girl like this stalk people?
“Huh? What's this? Didn't we all order the same thing?”
“Ah! It's the same as the instructor's. Maybe it's because of the sauce?”
For some reason, mine and Luna's sandwiches were strikingly different in color from Adelin's.
Adelin's was a normal brownish sandwich.
Mine and Luna's, on the other hand, were drenched in a sauce so red it looked like it had blood on it.
‘Chili sauce?’
I couldn't hide my disappointment.
The concept of spicy food existed here too.
But its spiciness fell far short of the real world's.
No matter how much sauce you added, it wasn't spicy—just salty.
It ruined the food's flavor, so at some point, I'd erased spicy flavors from my mind.
And they'd added it without even asking?
Still, since Luna had bought it, I bit into the sandwich without complaint.
But.
‘Huh?’
It wasn't the expected revolting saltiness.
A sharp, electric tingle at the tip of my tongue.
This was definitely ‘spicy’.
The proper capsaicin burn you could only taste in my old reality.
“What's wrong? Not good?”
Without answering Adelin's question, I took another big bite of the sandwich.
‘What the hell? This stimulating flavor?’
I stared at Luna in shock.
She chewed her own sandwich casually, unfazed.
“What is it?”
Adelin snatched my sandwich and took a bite.
Then.
“Kah… hack…!!”
Tears streamed down as she coughed violently.
That's why you don't steal someone else's food.
“Y-You… E-Eating this stuff stunts your growth?! No, it'll kill you?!!”
“S-Sorry!”
Adelin gulped down water.
That was the normal reaction. It wasn't spicy enough for this world's tastes.
But it was perfect for my palate.
“Luna. This sauce…”
“Ah…!”
Luna swallowed her mouthful and spoke.
“It's a sauce I made. The restaurant's was too bland… I wasn't sure if it'd suit your taste, so I only put it on mine and Halibal… sir's. Was it too spicy?”
“……No. It's way too good.”
“Glad it suits you.”
She pulled out a small sauce bottle and offered it to me.
“If it's okay, would you like to try it too, Halibal… sir? I made a lot.”
I took the sauce with trembling hands, entranced.
What use were rare shards or rare items?
This was the real loot.
With this, I could enjoy the spicy flavors I'd missed anytime.
Seeing me like that, Luna smiled softly.
Go ahead and smile.
I'm smiling too.
I wanted to heartily praise my past self from a few hours ago, when I'd decided to accept Luna into the party.
Wait a second.
‘Does this mean she knows my tastes too…?’
Damn. Can't let my guard down.
She was so sure this insane spiciness would work on me that she slathered it on my sandwich without asking.
I couldn't gauge how much she knew about me.
Scary girl.
But I couldn't deny the meal was satisfying.
⁎⁎⁎
Two hours later, we arrived in Getel.
True to early summer, the night air was refreshingly cool.
Exiting the station, a quiet country road welcomed us.
Under the pitch-black night sky, the clear sound of a river flowing beside the road rang out.
As we entered the village outskirts, an elderly man with a pleasant expression waved at us.
Unlike Ronwood, there was no pretense or falsehood here. The Church's influence hadn't reached the village yet, thankfully.
We booked rooms at an inn, then headed straight out to a forest path on the village outskirts.
How long had we walked? As the woods deepened, an old house came into view.
“Looks like the place.”
It appeared to be an ordinary house, but it hid an underground passage sealed with a mark only Church members could recognize.
The Getel branch was underground.
Then, Adelin turned to me.
“So, you said you need real combat mapping? How do we do it? Walk in the front door boldly, or go for assassination?”
“Whatever's easiest for you. I'll learn from it.”
“Oh? Pretty confident, huh?”
Adelin grinned and started toward the house.
“Then learn well.”
With a creak, she flung the door open. Inside were two villagers who looked like a couple.
Confusion flashed across their faces, along with faint demonic energy emanating from them.
Church members, naturally.
“Wh-Who are you!”
They seemed to be guards and immediately leveled spears at us.
But they couldn't stop Adelin.
Swish.
As she passed between the guards.
A golden sword aura drew from her waist, severing their necks in one stroke.
Thud.
The guards collapsed without a scream.
Adelin was the legitimate successor to the Belhart Style.
After achieving the opening of its secret techniques, she'd reinvented the swordsmanship with her own flair.
Her Belhart Style was far more dynamic, flexible, and faster than the original: the New Belhart Style.
But what she'd just shown me was the Old Belhart Style Form 3: Wind Dust Slash.
Just as she'd disassembled and remade the Mercenary King's swordsmanship, she meant for me to study the original and remake it myself.
Adelin sheathed her sword.
“Shall we head in? Think you can open it?”
“I'll give it a try.”
The house was just big enough for two people.
In truth, it wasn't a real house—just the branch entrance. Meaning, two people were needed to open it.
In the original, you held hands with a party member, stood side by side, and touched the marks on opposite walls simultaneously to open the entrance.
“Here.”
“……Pardon?”
I offered my hand to Luna, and she hesitantly took it.
Among all original characters, she had the smallest stature.
Her hand fit completely into mine with room to spare.
As we touched the marks, the floor split open like magic, revealing stairs leading underground.
Adelin let out a disbelieving chuckle.
“Heh… It really works. Hiding in a place like this. How many more rat holes like this are there in the Empire?”
“Let's plug as many as we can during this break.”
Adelin and I descended the stairs immediately.
For some reason, though, Luna lingered at the entrance.
“What? Not coming?”
“……”
She stared blankly not at me, but at her own hand—the one I'd just held.
I called her again, and she startled, hurrying after me with short steps.
The underground was filled with Church members.
“Intruders!”
“Stop them!”
The Church's named enemies were, of course, the bishops.
Bishops who'd absorbed demonic energy as planned each possessed top-tier strength even within the Empire.
Add special powers and beast transformation, and even Adelin would find 1v1s tricky.
That didn't mean the regular members were weak.
They too had received the Evil God's baptism, wielding demonic energy, and some could even partially use beast powers.
The Church members in this Getel branch all looked stronger than those in Ronwood.
Some even had horns resembling underdeveloped dragon ones.
Since Evil God Tartaros resembled an evil dragon, they mutated into that form.
‘Not that threatening, though.’
I couldn't get complacent, but if I stayed sharp, I could handle them solo.
Right then, the bus driver I'd brought started driving in earnest.
No, less a bus and more a janitor.
Every swing of Adelin's sword sent the packed corridor's Church members flying like fallen leaves.
Luna and I just followed in her wake.
Feels great.
‘This is the Empire's greatest sword.’
The branch spanned three underground floors, and Adelin cleared from 1 to 3 in one go.
On the second floor, she wiped out every Church member there with a single sword aura blast.
Even with that level of power, the underground showed no signs of collapsing.
Adelin was precisely controlling the output down to the finest degree.
Before we knew it, we'd reached the branch chief's office, the deepest part underground.
The office resembled a noble's study.
The walls bore paintings worshiping Tartaros, surrounded by grotesque statues and sculptures.
A bookshelf held about ten books, and Adelin pulled one out.
“This is… supply route documents?”
Her expression hardened after reading for a while.
The papers detailed entry logs and explicit plans for using the branch as a beachhead for invading the Empire.
But my attention was elsewhere.
An old safe in the corner.
Time to farm trophies.
‘The code was this, right?’
I turned the dial with the numbers from the original.
Click.
That was when it happened.
“Haliibal sir, be careful!”
As I turned the dial, a sword-wielding statue beside the safe roared to life.
Likely a trap triggered by an unauthorized person touching the dial.
But I'd anticipated this trap.
It was in the original.
It just couldn't be disarmed—only triggered.
I swung my sword.
But before it pierced the statue, Luna reached out first.
Whoosh!
Violet flames erupted from her fingertips.
The Grace Family's flames.
The fire engulfed the statue, melting it into sticky jelly on the floor.
This was the first glimpse of Luna in real combat.
Hang on.
‘……Violet?’
Unlike other characters, Luna's arts split into two types based on flame color.
The color completely changed their purpose.
The basic tree was normal red flames.
Magic-type extreme damage specialized—the standard build most players used for Luna.
The other was violet flames.
Violet flames specialized in debuffs, the worst-treated in the story.