Chapter 29
Chapter 29
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Chapter 10 - Gleston Count's House
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Anus Village outskirts.
Lilia, who had been running toward Luther standing by a tree—dododo—stopped dead just before leaping into his arms.
A drone that had guided her, Karen, and Max all the way here kept blocking her face relentlessly, as if refusing to allow it.
"L-Luther?"
Lilia searched for a gap to slip past left or right but ended up frozen in place, her face crumpling in distress. Luther had no choice but to let it be.
Invisible to Lilia but clear as day to Luther was Mini Integra, arms crossed atop the drone.
'Both are cute.'
Integra humming triumphantly in victory, and Lilia pouting miserably.
Luther chuckled softly and shifted his gaze farther to meet Karen and Max.
"Luther."
Karen called his name in a calm voice, exhaling a long sigh of relief as if finally at ease, then naturally approached his side.
"You vanished so suddenly. We were very worried."
"Sorry. There wasn't time to explain."
Luther corrected his expression to show genuine remorse as he spoke, and Karen nodded once before asking quietly.
"The assassins collapsed in the inn... That was you, right?"
"Yeah."
Luther acknowledged it flatly and explained last night's events in a steady voice.
The sleep gas that filled the inn, and the assassins targeting Aru in the next room.
Aru turned out to be the princess of Malkuth Kingdom, and she had returned home under her retainers' escort. And so on.
Essentially, he explained everything except matters related to Hecatoncheires.
"That's... impressive, somehow."
"Yeah."
Assassins appearing out of nowhere was absurd enough, but their target being Malkuth Kingdom's princess?
It was too big an incident to brush off as "something that happened last night."
Karen blinked with a somewhat incredulous look, while Lilia and Max stared at Luther with wide-eyed admiration.
The latter two seemed thrilled by the "heroic tale of saving a nation's princess."
"Anyway... can we consider it resolved for now?"
At Karen's question, Luther nodded.
"I think so. Like I said earlier, I took down all the assassins, and Princess Aru left under her retainers' protection."
"Hmm, understood. Then let's head to Venus City as planned."
The Aru incident wasn't something that would blow over easily, but it wasn't directly tied to the group either.
Luther getting involved in Aru's affairs had been pure coincidence, after all.
So, on to Venus City as scheduled.
Luther nodded at Karen's neat summary.
"That's the plan. That's why I called you with the drone."
"Good call. The inn's in chaos from last night's incident. We nearly got held as witnesses ourselves."
Max glanced at Karen and Lilia as if to say "right?", and the two nodded with faintly weary faces.
Without Luther, they'd been questioned multiple times since last night simply for being part of his group.
[Master, shall we get going then?]
[To save time, I recommend using a carriage.]
"Good idea."
In the original story, the "Gleston Count's House tragedy" occurred about a week from now.
With the perpetrator Valboa defeated, it might happen even later than scheduled, but arriving as soon as possible to resolve it was still best.
"Max, can you arrange a carriage?"
"Yes, the roads from here are well-paved, so plenty of carriages run. Especially to Venus City—lots come and go, so it'll be quick."
"Then let's hurry."
It was already past morning.
The group had likely eaten breakfast, and Luther himself felt full rather than hungry, thanks to the dragon heart he'd absorbed yesterday.
"Yes, this way."
Responding promptly to Luther, Max guided them to the carriage stand with practiced ease, like a local.
And about two hours later.
Riding a carriage bound for Venus City, Luther glanced at the others.
Perhaps due to the predawn commotion disrupting their sleep, Karen and Lilia dozed against the carriage walls, nodding off, while Max napped with eyes closed.
'Guess I'll sleep too.'
Truth be told, he wasn't sleepy.
Though he'd been active at dawn, Luther needed only about three hours of sleep daily thanks to the nanomachine.
'Still, might as well.'
No point staying awake with nothing to do.
Of course, discussing future plans with Integra would be far more productive than wasting the downtime, but various issues made that tricky.
Even having explained the "holy spirit in his head," openly chatting about the future in such cramped quarters was impossible.
And right then—
[Master, a new function has activated during the nanosuit's visor generation process.]
[From now on, you don't need to speak aloud to talk to me. Just move your lips, and the meaning will transmit.]
Integra appeared with the perfect new feature, as if reading his mind.
Intrigued, Luther tested it by mouthing.
'Integra, you idiot.'
[Ouch, seriously.]
[You know you look super childish right now?]
Despite Integra's scolding, Luther stifled a chuckle.
It was because of her affectionate tone even while chiding.
[Anyway, Master, now that silent conversation is possible, we can discuss future plans.]
At Integra's words, Luther nodded and mouthed.
'The stuff after arriving in Venus City?'
[Yes.]
With Integra's reply, Mini Integra appeared before his eyes.
Hovering in midair with arms crossed, she said.
[First, we need to address the fragment.]
The fragment signal detected farther beyond Venus City.
[Securing the fragment then returning to Gleston Count's House would make obtaining the Spirit Jewel easier, but schedule-wise, it's too tight.]
'It'd be cutting it close, huh?'
[Yes. High chance of overlapping with the original event date, or even missing it entirely.]
[So, I believe we should prioritize securing the Spirit Jewel.]
Sound reasoning.
Luther nodded, and Integra continued.
[To tackle Gleston Count's House, we need intel first.]
[But Master already has some secured.]
'You mean Anne Rose, protagonist of the west side story?'
Integra nodded at Luther's question.
[Yes.]
[But Master, Anne Rose... that's a woman's name, right?]
'Yeah, she's a woman.'
[Game character, so obviously a beauty?]
'Gorgeous one.'
Even in Dragon Hunter Origin, full of handsome men and beauties, the four playable characters were top-tier.
At Luther's answer, Integra furrowed her brow.
[Didn't you say over 90% of players are male?]
[Why make the first playable character a woman in a guys' game?]
'It's a guys' game, so she's a woman.'
Moreover, Dragon Hunter Origin used "back view" or "shoulder view" perspectives by default.
Who'd want to stare at a guy's butt the whole playtime?
[Reason for the sigh.]
Integra shook her head exasperatedly, actually sighed, then said.
[Anyway, requesting info on Anne Rose.]
[As a playable character, she'll play a key role not just in this Gleston incident but in the future "world-ending prevention plan."]
True enough.
Luther dropped the playfulness and seriously recalled Anne Rose.
'Okay... Anne Rose is basically a warrior. She can use a huge variety of weapons. Among the four playable characters, she's the all-rounder who can do anything. Her role shifts based on equipment.'
[Doesn't that usually make her mediocre at everything?]
'Pretty much. The other three are specialized: damage for the mage Radien, tanking for holy knight Ash, healing for priest Reinhardt. Anne Rose lacks a standout strength—second best across the board, like a jack-of-all-trades.'
'If anything, she's the classic RPG hero position.'
[Hmm, got it.]
'Yeah, and... Anne Rose has a weapon master teacher.'
[Teacher? A character?]
'No, lore-only. She descended briefly from training to visit Venus City, got caught in the Hecatoncheires fight, and couldn't return for ages. By the time she did, the teacher had passed.'
[Hmm... so possibly still alive now?]
'Probably. Better to save her if we can. From Anne Rose's lines and flashbacks, she seems incredibly powerful.'
Inheriting the teacher's arsenal like in the original was fine, but keeping the teacher alive offered more benefits.
[Understood.]
[Any other notable points?]
To Integra's question, Luther listed what he knew in order.
Anne Rose's appearance.
Her specialties.
Background.
Basic personality.
Reason for staying in Venus City, etc.
Having heard it all, Integra nodded slowly.
[I have a decent outline of her now.]
[We'll wrap Anne Rose here for now.]
[Master, now about Gleston Count's House.]
[Anything you know about the count's house?]
'Sorry, not much on the count's house.'
It was where Anne Rose's main scenario started, but it burned down right at the game's beginning—no real details.
[No helping it. Once in Venus City, I'll infiltrate with drones for intel.]
'Good plan.'
It was made for exactly such purposes.
Pleased by the praise, Integra spoke in a lighter tone.
[We'll discuss the rest after arriving in Venus City.]
[I'll notify you then, so rest well, Master.]
'Yeah, you too.'
Luther replied curtly and closed his eyes, pondering.
Venus City.
Gleston Count's House.
Beyond drone infiltration, was there another way to get info?
Something safer and more reliable.
And after another two hours or so, Luther found his answer.
"I'll take you to my uncle's house. He'll welcome you warmly."
Lilia, smiling shyly, guided the group to Gleston Count's House.
No—'Lilia Ailstones.'
Talented genius enchanter and niece of Venus City's influential figure, Count Gleston.
Integra stared blankly at the count's house grand doors flung wide open, then spoke in her usual warm voice.
[Master, this is a freebie jackpot.]
'No kidding.'
What was the point of worrying in the carriage?
Luther smiled wryly and followed Lilia into Gleston Count's House.