Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Memory Eater
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A male character is a bit...
“Killing them would be the cleanest solution...”
Is it okay for a priestess to say that?
Rina looked utterly displeased.
“It'll be fine.”
“Sir Hyeon-ung, are you all right?”
I was about to call for her anyway, and just then, Hanna arrived.
“Took you long enough. You're a knight, so why are you so slow?”
“You're the one who ran off first, Rina. Without even listening to Sir Hyeon-ung.”
She has a point.
“Stop bickering. Hanna, I need you to return to the Sanctuary for a moment.”
“R-Return?”
“Yes.”
“...I know I was late, but you ordered me not to step forward...”
Hanna looked incredibly wronged, as if she were about to burst into tears.
“Huh? No...”
“No, I'm sorry. From now on, I'll fight at the very front, no matter what...”
She dropped to her knees and pleaded, which flustered me even more.
“No, listen... I need to call another companion to help clean this up, but I can't summon three at once. That's why I asked you to go back for a bit...”
I could have sent Rina back, but the one I was about to summon was a demon. It would be better to have Rina, a priestess, here.
He was a companion, so he probably wouldn't harm me, but you never know.
“What? Then...”
“Get up. Of course I'll call you back once we're done here. We're companions, aren't we?”
The misunderstanding was cleared up, but Hanna's face turned as red as a ripe persimmon.
“You're an idiot... Ouch!”
Rina, who had been teasing her from the side, got a flick on the forehead from Hanna.
Tsk, tsk. I knew she was asking for it.
“Ahem, then I will return to the Sanctuary and wait as you've commanded.”
“Okay.”
“It... won't take too long, will it?”
“Of course not.”
After reassuring Hanna and sending her back, I opened my inventory.
I was sure I saw it in the Rare grade... Ah! Here it is.
I took out the card and read the name written on it.
“Radios, the Memory Eater.”
A blue light flashed, and a black-haired man in a navy suit appeared.
When I summoned Rina and Hanna, the light was red, but this time it was blue. It seemed the color of the summoning light differed by grade.
“Radios, butler of the Azure Castle, at your service, Summoner.”
He knelt on one knee and placed a hand over his chest. Oh, this one felt like a proper companion.
The ones I'd summoned so far hadn't even greeted me properly.
“A pleasure. I'm Oh Hyeon-ung.”
“A name as splendid as your appearance. I have waited so long for you, Summoner... No, what is this unpleasant aura...?”
He glanced around, and his expression hardened the moment he saw Rina.
“A... A madwoman from the Dynaic Order?”
“Madwoman? You filthy demon, do you have a death wish?”
Should I have just sent Rina back?
He was very polite to me, but being a demon, it seemed he and Rina didn't get along.
“To think I would be serving the same summoner as that little brat...”
“Sir Hyeon-ung, do we really have to make a filthy demon like him a companion? Let's just get rid of him.”
“That's enough, both of you. Radios, can you erase memories?”
His full name was the Memory Eater, after all.
“Of course. Though I don't erase them, I consume them.”
It was good that he answered so readily, but since he was a demon, I felt uneasy and asked him to explain the process in more detail.
“The more memories I absorb, the stronger I become. Of course, this benefits you as well, Summoner.”
“It benefits me?”
“I heard that summoners can increase their stats by summoning us. Am I mistaken?”
“That's right.”
“The more memories I absorb and the stronger I become, the more your stats will increase.”
It sounded like he gave extra stat bonuses. Could he be a growth-type companion?
I only brought him out to erase some memories, but it seemed he had a better ability than I thought.
Normally, a Rare-grade companion only raised one stat by 10, but if I kept feeding him memories, he might one day surpass the bonus of a Hero-grade companion.
I was a little disappointed I hadn't fed him their memories before killing them.
“Sir Hyeon-ung, should I consume the memories of those people over there?”
“Yes. Can you control how much you take?”
“Of course.”
That was a relief, but he said the minimum was a day's worth, so I just told him to take the entire day.
It would have been better if he could remove only the memory of meeting me, but it couldn't be helped.
“Mister, do we really have to borrow the power of a demon like him?”
Clearly displeased, Rina came over and whined.
“Those kids are innocent. If I killed them, it would weigh on my conscience.”
“Weigh on your conscience?”
“You know, like seeing them in my dreams and feeling guilty.”
“Fine. If that's what you want, Mister... Wait, if that's the reason, can't you just tell them not to say anything?”
Rina pointed back toward Su-hyeon and Su-hyeok. All three of them were hesitantly looking our way.
“I'm not the type to trust people easily.”
I did save them, and seeing how they read my mood and kept quiet earlier, they seemed to have some sense of loyalty, but I don't trust people.
If it were just Su-hyeok and Su-hyeon, I might have considered it, but there were others too.
I walked over to Su-hyeok and Su-hyeon with my companions.
“Wow! You're incredibly strong!”
Since when did I become his big brother?
Quite the smooth talker.
“We won't say a word about what we saw today. So...”
The party leader took a slight step back, shielding the kids. His experience and age clearly made him wary.
“I'd like to trust you, but in a world like this, it's hard to trust people you barely know.”
As I spoke, I raised my hand and signaled Rina.
“...Please trust us. We will never speak of this anywhere...”
Thud—
Hyeon-cheol, who was speaking, collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
He was quick-witted and immediately promised to keep quiet, but it couldn't be helped.
“Uncle Hyeon-cheol?”
“Uncle Hyeon-cheol!”
Su-hyeon and Su-hyeok both stared at me, flustered, but nothing would change.
Thud— Thud—
As I said before, I don't trust people.
The kids could slip up and cause trouble.
“May I begin consuming them now?”
I nodded in response to Radios's question.
Just like before, he placed his hand on the party leader's head, and a navy-blue orb of light was extracted.
“A bit bland, but a palatable memory nonetheless. I shall move on to the little one next.”
He approached Su-hyeon, but the orb extracted this time wasn't navy blue, but a clear sky blue.
Radios frowned.
“Radios? Is something wrong?”
“No, sir. It's just a very pure memory. Gratitude, reverence, warmth, concern... memories like these are rather tasteless...”
For something he called tasteless, it took much longer than before.
The trash from before hadn't even taken a minute per person, but this party took almost five minutes each.
When I questioned if he'd taken more than a day's worth, he explained it actually took longer because he was trying to consume less.
“I only consumed their memories up to the point they met you, Sir Hyeon-ung.”
“Didn't you say a day was the minimum?”
“Haha, consuming too much of this kind can cause... indigestion...”
He laughed awkwardly and scratched his head. He might be polite and obedient, but a demon is still a demon.
I thought to myself that I shouldn't trust him too easily and woke the party leader first.
“Wh-Where am I?”
He frantically checked his body, a sign of considerable experience.
“This is the 8th floor. I was on my way to the 9th floor and found your party sleeping here, so I woke you.”
“What? What do you mean... Ah, I think we came to the 8th floor, but two floor bosses appeared, so we were running away...”
“Two floor bosses? You must have been dreaming. It's dangerous to sleep in a place like this.”
“Feels like I was possessed by a ghost. Anyway, thank you for waking us. Kids, get up.”
The party leader tilted his head in confusion as he woke the kids, but Su-hyeok and Su-hyeon didn't recognize me at all either.
“I'm in a hurry, so I'll be on my way.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Just in case, I watched them from a distance for a bit. They all immediately turned toward the 7th-floor portal entrance.
“Um, Sir Hyeon-ung, couldn't that trash's guild interrogate the party leader?”
“He might run into some trouble, but if the entire Four Stars Guild came up, it might pass without issue. Even if not, it's not like we can worry about every little thing, right?”
It was a bit cold, but it couldn't be helped.
I stopped Rina from killing them, and besides, if it weren't for me, they would have died to the floor boss anyway.
“Ahem, Sir Hyeon-ung, more importantly, what did you think of my ability?”
“The effect was certainly potent.”
“You should check your stats as well. There should be a change.”
“Status.”
[Oh Hyeon-ung 34th Cycle
Level: 14
Class: None
Titles: Pioneer (50F), Gold Lycanthrope Slayer
Strength: 40, Mana: 50, Stamina: 39, Agility: 43, Luck: 67
Traits: Failed Game Master (EX)]
The bonuses from summoning Rina were Luck and Mana, and it seemed the stat Radios raised was also Luck.
It would have been better if it were Strength or Agility, which are immediately noticeable, so it was a bit of a shame.
I didn't know how Luck worked, after all.
It would be great if it at least increased my item drop rate.
Anyway, instead of the usual 10-point increase for a Rare grade, it went up by 11, bringing it to 67.
“The bonus really did increase.”
He was still weaker than a Hero grade, but since he was a growth type, it might be fine to bring him along later when I leveled up and could summon more companions.
“Mister, you're done checking now, so send him back already.”
I was about to do just that, but Radios grabbed my clothes.
“Radios?”
“Get away from him, you filthy demon!”
“Sir Hyeon-ung, surely you don't intend to just use me and then cast me aside?”
I was a little taken aback.
“Why would you say that? I can only have two companions with me right now, so later...”
“Sir Hyeon-ung, I wish to remain with you always. You've seen my abilities, haven't you? I may be slightly weaker in combat than that madwoman, but I am confident I can pull my own weight.”
He appealed to his strengths, mentioning his skills in cooking and all sorts of household chores, camping, and guard duty, as well as his decent combat abilities.
Hanna was the same way earlier. It seemed my companions really didn't like being unsummoned.
“Mister, you made a promise to Hanna.”
Rina shot me a fierce glare, her expression saying she wouldn't let it slide if I broke my promise.
She needn't worry.
“Sir Hyeon-ung, promises are made to be broken!”
Sigh. Spoken like a true demon.
“I'm sorry my abilities are lacking. You'll have to wait a little longer.”
“Sir Hyeon-ung...”
“Instead, I promise I won't forget to call you when something like this happens again.”
Though his expression was disappointed, Radios obediently followed the command and disappeared.
“Mister! Everything demons say is just sweet talk, so be careful.”
“Your concern is unnecessary. I was going to send him back anyway.”
“Really? You seemed to be thinking about it.”
“Thinking about what? It's Hanna over Radios, no question.”
“Oh, now that's an answer I like, Mister.”
“I'm serious.”
It was rude to even compare him to my Hanna, who was a healing sight to behold.
No matter how competent he was, Radios was a man.
And a male character is a bit...
Hanna must be waiting, so I was about to summon her when Rina suddenly poked me in the side.
“I'm summoning Hanna right now, so stop pestering me.”
“I'm not pestering you... Hey, Mister, can I ask one more thing?”
“What is it?”
“Then, if you had to choose between me and Hanna?”
She looked expectant.
She was a bit unsettling when she spoke so casually about killing people, but I guess a kid is still a kid.
“Are you hesitating?”
I knew what the right answer was in this kind of situation, but seeing Rina press me, I didn't feel like giving it.
“Do we even need to bring Hanna into this? As long as we're not fighting, Radios has you beat— Oof!”
Thwack—
She suddenly kicked me in the thigh, and I thought she'd broken the bone.
Wow, is she a priestess who only invested in Strength?
“Ugh... It was a joke...”
“Hmph! A joke? You were serious! Go summon Hanna and play with her!”
After saying her piece, she stormed off alone, clearly sulking.
Thankfully, the pain faded quickly. I opened my inventory again and saw an unfamiliar item.
It looked similar to the random stat orb I'd consumed earlier...
Ah! It was the item that dropped from the first troll I killed.
I'd forgotten about it because of all that trash.
Along with Hanna's summoning card, I also took out the Orb of Traits.