Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Chapter 6 - Kapu #3
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The damage from the bandit gang's attack was far from minor.
Over ten adventurers and vigilante group members had died, and when you added in those injured in the fighting, the total casualties exceeded forty.
But a victory was still a victory.
Moreover, since they had taken down Kapu, the bandit gang's leader, this battle held significant meaning.
[It's close to a complete victory, not just a one-off win.]
Quite a few bandits had escaped, but the gang had only been viable thanks to Kapu's overwhelming power in the first place.
It was standard for them to fall into infighting and scatter on their own, and even if they reformed, they wouldn't regain their former menace.
"Something like that."
As a result, the emotions overwhelming the village leaned more toward joy and relief than sorrow and anguish.
[Quite a few of the dead were adventurers rather than vigilante group members, which likely influenced the villagers' sentiments.]
It was a cold assessment, but not wrong.
In fact, it was close to the truth.
'Anyway.'
Luther himself had survived, Karen and Max were safe, Lilia too, and they'd captured Kapu.
'That should be enough.'
What more could he ask for?
[Master, Karen and Max are back.]
At Integra's words, Luther got up from the bed and headed to the living room.
Sure enough, Karen and Max were each holding a basket.
"Did everything go well?"
"It went great."
Karen flashed a confident smile and set her basket down on the table in the corner of the living room.
"This is our share from the battle."
When Karen upended the basket, seven yellow magic stones, each a bit smaller than a fist, spilled out.
They were unmistakably Cateradon magic stones.
"We took down three in total... but you're the hero of the victory, Luther. We negotiated to secure as many as possible. And this is from selling the byproducts and the rewards from the village, all combined."
At Karen's cue, Max upended his basket.
Supplies and pouches of money tumbled out—clearly a substantial amount at a glance.
"Wow, impressive."
It wasn't empty flattery.
Comparing to Dragon Hunter Origin's market rates, this was well above fair value.
They must have extracted hefty rewards from the villagers or traded the byproducts on highly favorable terms.
"Thank you. Seeing you pleased makes the effort worth it for once."
Karen shrugged like it was flattery, then smiled shyly—yet genuinely happy—and Luther found himself smiling back.
[Master, this is behavior to win your favor.]
[Don't fall for it hook, line, and sinker like this.]
[Master, are you listening? Huh?]
He was listening.
Just letting it go in one ear and out the other.
Anyway, after exchanging smiles, Luther picked up one of the magic stones with particularly vibrant color.
While the others were yellow but dull or dark, this one was quite vivid.
"This one's Alpha Male's."
Alpha Male.
The red Cateradon Kapu had ridden.
"Separate from splitting the rewards, we'll give all the magic stones to you, Luther. I hope they help repair the Heavenly Armor."
Luther nodded with another smile at Karen's words.
"Thanks, I'll put them to good use."
"It's between you and me, after all."
[Master and Karen are just traveling companions.]
[A strictly business relationship.]
Luther chuckled softly at Integra's unusually stiff tone and began putting the magic stones back in the basket.
Then Max spoke up.
"Kapu had a bounty on his head, apparently. We can't claim it here, but we can collect it at a larger village with an adventurer's guild."
Of course, claiming the bounty required proof, so they'd have to haul Kapu's head to the next town, but that was a hassle they could manage.
'Or rather, it's more a matter of stomach.'
Carrying around a dead man's head.
"So, we leave tomorrow morning?"
"Yes, we'll rest the rest of today... and head out tomorrow morning."
Luther nodded at Max's reply.
After yesterday's battle, the group needed at least a full day to recover properly.
'I need time to upgrade the drone too.'
With this many magic stones, maybe other parts could be upgraded as well.
"Then I'll head back to my room and rest."
"Sure, see you at dinner."
"Yeah, see you later."
After responding amiably to Karen's farewell, Luther returned to his room and laid out the magic stones on the bed.
"Integra, this should be enough for Drone Lv2, right?"
[We need to check the quality of the magic stones.]
[Place them on your palm.]
According to Integra, the resources needed to level up the Energy Gun, nanosuit, and drone differed.
Moreover, beyond core system upgrades, reaching higher levels required tech research and new resource development—something that made sense.
'The higher the level, the more EXP it demands, naturally.'
Even if Integra was an excellent AI, she had lost a lot of data to initialization.
Aside from fragments like those from the Primitive Tree Forest—updating via Energy Cubes—there was no way to instantly acquire advanced tech, so R&D was necessary.
'The fact that R&D is even possible is impressive in itself.'
Anyway, as Luther placed the magic stones on his palm one by one, Integra said in a warm voice.
[Master, this is enough not just for Drone Lv2, but also Energy Gun Lv2.]
[We can even add new functions to the nanosuit.]
"Oh, really?"
[Absolutely real.]
"Thanks to Karen securing seven magic stones. I should do something nice for her."
[Master, did you already forget my advice not to fall for it?]
[Assigning 1 demerit point to the feather-light Master.]
He wasn't even using HUD, but he could picture Integra puffing out her cheeks.
[I sense Master having unpleasant thoughts. Feels like it.]
"Nah, no way."
Playing innocent, Luther absorbed the Alpha Male stone first and asked Integra.
"So, any blueprints ready?"
[I'll show examples via HUD augmented reality.]
At Integra's words, a drone made of blue lines appeared before Luther's eyes.
[The drone is still too small to specialize in a specific direction.]
[So, I've planned to enlarge the main body and add minor auxiliary functions.]
Fair enough—how much could you add to a drone barely bigger than a coin?
Luther nodded, and Integra altered the drone's shape.
"Oh."
The coin-sized drone was now nearly palm-sized.
Unlike the previous round shape, the new one was triangular overall, with wings almost as large as the body—about the size of three or four coins combined—attached to either side.
"The propeller's inside the wing."
[Yes. Besides the propeller, there's a thruster at the rear for faster straight-line flight.]
[Recon capabilities are greatly improved, and the larger frame allows more energy storage.]
[This enables a one-use electric shock.]
Integra boasted proudly, but Luther could only give a wry smile.
'Still a long way to go.'
Bigger and faster, but still far from combat-ready.
'Still... it's growing.'
Even at coin size, the drone had been helpful in various ways.
Now with electric shock, it'd surely prove useful in battle.
"Alright, then upgrade Drone Lv2 and Energy Gun Lv2. Oh, and you mentioned adding nanosuit functions?"
[Correct.]
[Two simple functions can be added.]
[But it's a secret for now.]
[Planning to surprise you when complete, so prepare to be amazed. Got it?]
Her voice suggested she was genuinely excited to shock him.
[Work will take 17 hours, 12 minutes, 28 seconds.]
[Wait curiously until then. Okay?]
Luther chuckled involuntarily at her coquettish tone and nodded, thinking.
'Guess Energy Gun Lv2 is a secret too.'
What would Lv2 really be like?
Just more power?
[Curious?]
"Very."
[But it's a secret.]
A mini Integra appeared, humming smugly before twirling her skirt hem and turning away.
Right then.
Knock knock.
At the soft knock, Integra spoke first.
[It's Lilia.]
"Um... it's Lilia. Can I come in?"
At the timid question, Luther tilted his head briefly but soon agreed.
Building rapport with Lilia couldn't hurt.
"Come in."
Lilia entered quietly after his permission, but she seemed different from usual—though he'd only seen her yesterday.
Her cheeks slightly flushed as she looked his way. How to put it—her heart-pounding nervousness was palpable.
[That gaze toward Master is unusual.]
[Heartbeat abnormally high.]
[Better take her out before she becomes a heroine.]
Anyway, with the stunning beauty Lilia sending him moist glances, Luther naturally tensed.
'Why's she acting like that?'
Did she call him handsome yesterday, and that's it?
[Master, your lips are curling up.]
[Honestly foolish.]
Coughing to straighten his expression at Integra's jab, Lilia fidgeted with her fingers and spoke.
"Um... I wanted to talk to you, Luther... about, um, magic."
"Magic?"
"Y-Yes. Magic."
As Lilia nodded with a reddened face, Luther furrowed his brow briefly before understanding.
'She thinks I'm a mage.'
It made sense.
He'd turned transparent mid-battle with Kapu, firing energy bullets and electricity from his hand.
Karen and Max saw him as some angel from the sky, but Lilia had no such notion, so mistaking him for a mage was natural.
"I-I've never seen one before."
"Hm?"
"A handsome mage... no, I mean, one as fit and skilled in battle... with such excellent Magic Craft ability."
She stammered it out, gazing at him with utterly moist eyes.
Pupils turning to hearts wouldn't be surprising.
[Impure intentions in that gaze.]
[Lilia's even more airheaded than Master—be cautious.]
Ignoring Integra, Luther pondered Lilia's words.
'Sure.'
A muscular, battle-proficient mage like him would be rare.
Magic Craft, though.
Was she referring to the drone?
Enchant infused magic into finished items, while Magic Craft created magitech devices powered by mana.
Enchanting a sword with fire magic made a magic sword; combining magitech to build a golem was Magic Craft.
Both magic, but the latter was far more advanced.
"And so small, yet flying freely... and it seems to have functions beyond just flight..."
From her fidgeting explanation, it was definitely the drone.
Luther tapped his bracelet to activate it on impulse.
"Wow."
As Lilia admired the hovering drone, Luther smirked and said.
"Want a closer look?"
"R-Really? Can I?"
"No reason not to."
It had nothing to do with magic, so no risk of breaking.
Lilia, thrilled, carefully extended both hands to receive the drone as Luther smiled.
'Cute.'
Like a squirrel or hamster.
Seeing her examine it so delicately, Luther smiled warmly, and Integra chimed in.
[Handing over my avatar so easily—disappointing.]
[1 demerit point to the airheaded Master.]
Her voice was unmistakably sulky.
Imagining Integra's pout, Luther chuckled softly and whispered tiny, mimicking her.
"You're so cute."
[Bzzt.]
Really cute.
Meanwhile, Lilia, inspecting the drone, flinched, her already flushed face turning even redder.
'C-Cute?'
Only she and Luther were in the room—was he calling her cute?
Ears red, Lilia fidgeted with her drone-holding hands, while Luther racked his brain for more ways to tease Integra.
And the next morning.
The group left the pioneer village, heading south toward Venus City.