Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: To Protect
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I knew it. Every time I killed a human, that mana wavered ever so slightly.
"Foolishly enough."
My employer, who strutted around like he knew everything, had no idea this hand was already stained with so much blood.
A sword-like blade was gentle. Gentler than the throbbing pulse felt in my palm, or the pain in my arm from nails clawing desperately to live, drawing beads of blood.
With a bladed edge, you swung and thrust once, and it was over—just that dull sensation at your fingertips.
Cain gazed at Adelian, who seemed to know his past yet clearly didn't, then shifted his eyes to his weapon. Ska.
A nameless, warped artifact.
It had gnawed at his mental strength, reshaping his body at will. But after passing through the elf's hands and returning, it had gained a spirit of its own.
So now, when he gripped it tight, it quivered in greeting to its master.
Eager for more blood.
"What are you wielding that sword for right now?"
What had that arrogant elf said? Something about not being able to breathe from the blood stench wafting off his soul.
Not an incorrect assessment. He was always pondering the best ways to properly kill others.
The arrival of a weapon that shifted forms at his command had only accelerated that pursuit.
Simply stabbing into a belly wouldn't kill a person. But thrust in and then turn the tip into a sea urchin? That would do it for sure.
Or if the blade-whip caught someone and started spinning?
"But if I killed enemies like that..."
Cain had never cared before how he came across to others. But things were different now.
Unlike back then, when he couldn't trust anyone and the whole world felt like it had cast him aside.
Unlike those who had used him, deceived him, and shoved him toward ruin.
At least for now.
"Since Zero's eyes have improved, it might be good to practice poison lip spells too."
"True. With Rabbit senior's ears and my eyes, gathering intel should get even easier."
―Cain-nim. Regeneration complete. Please continue.
He had people he could call comrades now.
"Yeah? So Kaiman sent people there, huh."
And.
"Cain, come here. I've mapped the next route to one of two places: Stormwind Isle or the borderlands."
There was someone who trusted in his potential without needing any explanations.
"The monster borderlands, then."
"I think we should head to the borderlands. Wait, how'd you know?"
Unlike that smug grin on his face. Unlike the way he acted like he knew it all.
Cain looked down at him, as if peering into a dim-witted skull.
"Because it's where I can grow stronger."
Adelian flashed a grin at Cain's words.
What are you wielding that sword for?
Cain offered no reply, but he knew the answer deep down.
*To protect.*
Even if he got trapped in a monster-infested hell like last time.
Even if—
A dragon appeared right in front of him.
All he had to do was grow stronger.
"You'll learn plenty there."
"Hope so."
To uphold his vow. Cain slowly closed his eyes, then opened them again.
* * *
[Production of the first unit is finally complete. We'll ship it via mail to the location you specified later, young master.]
Finally?
It hadn't been long since I'd heard the stalled decoding of the Siren prototype was nearing completion, and now they'd produced another unit already.
I lifted the corner of my mouth at the welcome news and asked after the other doppelgangers.
[They're out gathering intelligence right now, so they're not here, young master.]
"Shame. I was thinking of letting Zero hear their voices at least."
I reclined diagonally on the long chair, Siren in hand, stabbing into the apple Zero and Luna had brought me with a fork before speaking up.
"How's Lepid doing?"
[He seemed like a clueless child at first, but he's adapting well these days.]
Given Lepid's personality, he'd probably taken it in stride once I told Alkaido he was a dragon.
I listened to updates on background checks for that odd woman from the temple, the results of Aria's investigation, and even a report on Hula—who was starting to carry herself like a proper merchant now—while munching on my apple.
How much time had passed? I tilted my head, watching Leaf get punched straight through by Cain's fist, while Zero and Luna whispered in the corner.
―Pausing playback for a moment.
I slotted a magic stone into Aegis and delivered it to Leaf before asking,
"What's the latest on Father?"
[He's still hunting for attribute stones, but the supply has completely dried up, so he'll be tearing his hair out for a while. Oh, and he dispatched some personnel to the South Sea Isles.]
South Sea?
"Yeah? So Kaiman sent people there too, huh."
I pressed Alkaido for more details, piecing together the info spilling from the Siren.
The risks of getting tangled up with Kaiman or the Evil God Cult down there. The potential gains from meddling early.
*Honestly, sitting this one out is the smart play.*
It might sound cruel to some, but jumping in now would likely end in disaster.
That Storm Pearl waiting there. Mermaid treasure and attribute artifact both. I remembered Kaiman and the Evil God Cult both gunning for it. In the end, it went to the cult.
That entanglement would wear down both sides' forces.
Without it, the mermaids could finally emerge from the sea...
I had to play the long game. No helping it if I wanted the mermaids in the mix.
Even if Cain and I headed to the South Sea now and blocked off everyone after the pearl, it'd probably fizzle out there.
*I'll just stop the annihilation later and track it down to return it.*
Cain did exactly that in the original story, later on.
Better to hit the South Sea Isles after they'd all cleared out. Even without the pearl, something far more valuable would still be waiting.
*Our healer.*
I set my fork down on the empty apple plate and called out to Cain.
"Cain, come here. I've got our next route down to Stormwind Isle or the borderlands. One of the two."
The original was fuzzy on exactly when the Storm Pearl got swiped, so I was torn: swing by that event zone once, or send him to the borderlands for some large-scale battle experience? But it boiled down to one real choice anyway.
"The monster borderlands, then."
I'd just said we should probably go for the borderlands, but Cain beat me to it. I asked how he'd known and laughed.
The protagonist through and through. Sharp as ever.
"Because it's where I can grow stronger."
Such a dutiful response!
It suited me perfectly, steadily climbing the lord tree one branch at a time.
At minimum, 100 troops. I'd need him commanding over 1,000 soldiers at least once to meet the conditions.
*The safest route by far is the borderlands.*
Down there, as long as you weren't hopelessly inept, raw skill was enough.
"You'll learn plenty there."
"Hope so."
Cain's human aversion seemed way down compared to before. The recent spots—Labyrinth with its diverse races, Chabid, this spirit forest—were a mixed bag, sure.
But the borderlands' high ranks were human, while the mercs and rank-and-file included plenty of beastkin. Should be fine.
"Zero, Luna."
I'd been tracing a stain on the ceiling of this house we'd holed up in for a while when I called out to them.
"We'll move out again in a few days. Get ready."
Luna beamed, balled her fists, and replied with gusto.
"Sounds good. Just list out the potions and stuff we've used up, and I'll restock. Lots of fairies around here—those supplies are cheap and top-notch."
"Then I'll handle luggage duty for Rabbit senior and put this house back on the market. Oh, and Bahadi said to drop by before we leave, so I'll head out."
I nodded, then pulled the codex from my subspace.
Cain was swinging at Leaf's elbow joint. I slapped grease on his plant foot to throw him off, rose from my chair, and as he whipped his head my way—flash!
"I've got plenty of 1st-class spells left, so count me in."
Leaf and I team up for a Cain raid. Let's do this.
"But I can't actually hit you?"
"Right."
It'd burn through codex pages.
I'd restocked basic spells by grinding Bahadi and Gamur, but Fury of the Heavens had permanently torched a full page. Couldn't replace even one.
*Pushed hard and squeezed out some high-class spells, but still.*
Permanent page loss was too steep a cost.
5th- and 6th-class spells only required burning a magic stone instead—no page loss—but that wasn't cheap either.
I watched Leaf take Cain's weapon cuts without a drop of blood, regenerating bit by bit, and started interfering with Cain's attacks using nothing but 1st-class spells.
1st-class were pure basics: grease to briefly cut friction, a quick flashbang, magic missile—which Cain could shrug off bare-handed without flinching.
*Still, a constant drizzle soaks through eventually.*
Disrupt his focus. Create an opening for a real hit.
I smirked and fired off multiple magic missiles from different angles, staggered in timing.
Pop! Pffbang! Pop!
In that instant, he morphed Ska from sword to whip-form, sweeping around to slice every missile apart. Then from my blind spot, as Leaf lunged—he shifted it to blunt and smashed him away.
Leaf ignored the wounds and charged anyway, so Cain dropped him with raw physical impact, then hooked his toe into the hole I'd dug in the floor.
Cain leaned into it, kicked off the snagged foot against the ground, and lunged. He seized Leaf's throat as he straightened up, twisted his waist in a massive arc, and hurled him into the wall like a ragdoll.
"Hey, that's too much, isn't it!"
No matter that Leaf had dialed down his pain receptors for sparring, regenerated without bleeding, and felt no fear—I knew their original-story bond. My fists shook as I protested.
"Has to be like the real thing."
"Yeah, but still!"
In the original, he was a full-on romance route stan. They had those cute, sweet moments.
*What's the problem here?*
Gadia was out with her blatant love-at-first-sight schtick, but Rachel and Leaf? Their lines about tagging along on this hellish journey were ripe for romantic interpretation.
―Repairing. Full recovery in about 17 minutes.
"Once you're fully recovered, I'll just dodge. You attack."
―Understood, Cain-nim.
Talk about bone-dry now...
I handed Leaf a magic stone and clicked my tongue.
Self-repair via mana heart was for emergencies. Magic stones extended runtime.
I eyed the back of Cain's head as he went for a water break, then threw an arm around Leaf like we were buddies and whispered.
"Got a question."
―Please speak, Administrator-nim.
"When you look at Cain, what goes through your head? Like, his mana heart's accumulation rate feels higher or something?"
I murmured an original-story line under my breath. Leaf tilted his head.
―Requesting impressions of Cain-nim? He possesses a peerless physique, peerless body, and peerless talent. His youth is an added bonus.
Huh?
―Calculations indicate he could represent the human race. As for the mana accumulation rate you mentioned, Administrator-nim—being near Cain-nim enables smoother mana absorption, so yes, it rises appropriately.
I mulled it over, arm still slung around Leaf.
The nuance was positive, at least... So probably?
Leaf was a golem, sure, but he had a sense of self. His emotions were just clumsy, not absent.
I thanked him for the answer and fished a candy from my subspace.
"You seemed to like these during that last game."
―Thank you.
That faint, ghostly smile told me Leaf liked sweets too.
I slipped him one, then tossed another to Cain, who was back and loosening up.
"Keep it moderate. Bedtime."
Prep for departure started tomorrow.
To the borderlands.