Chapter 56

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 56

Chapter Title: I'm Just a Rock

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Putting aside thoughts about the people around me that only made me sigh the more I dwelled on them.

I picked up the potion Tabula had made and approached the bound Stonekin.

"It seems you're prepared, Challenger of Trials!"

"Yeah. Fully prepared. Let me introduce you—this is the 'Stonekin Guaranteed Killer Potion,' made specifically to kill you."

"Wh-what...? You think that measly black liquid can kill me...?"

"...What? What the hell is this, Challenger of Trials! What did you make in that short time?!"

"What else? A special potion made to pass the trial you mentioned. Why? Seeing the effects finally knock some sense into you?"

"Nuuuugh... As expected of a challenger who's come after such a long time—you're no ordinary fool. A poison that shows not even a grain of sand's worth of respect for life... Just looking at it feels like endless malice assaulting me!"

"Yeah. So let's not waste energy, acknowledge it mutually, and move on nicely..."

"But! Even so, it won't work on this perfect body of mi—Uwooop-?!!"

"...You were gonna say that, but you just had to cause trouble, huh?"

No helping it. I didn't want to force this poison down someone's throat either.

But if there are guys who have to taste whether it's shit or soybean paste to know, then you gotta shove it right into their mouths yourself.

"You're lucky. I'm a pro at force-feeding potions. I'll make you swallow it quick."

"Uwooop-! Oowareook-!!!"

(Challenger—! Why the hell are you a pro at something like that—!!!)

"Hey, who told you to talk while swallowing? You'll hurt your jaw."

Uook... Uwoook...... ...Gulp!

"Okay, all down. Alright, girls?"

"Forward march, nyang!"

"There's space behind that rock!"

After that, I force-fed the flying potion to the Stonekin and tossed him to the ground.

I gathered my daughters and Lavris, hid behind a large boulder, and observed what would happen to him.

A short while later.

"Nuuuugh...! To dare inflict such humiliation on me...!!! Challenger! Know that I won't let this slide easily!"

The enraged Stonekin vowed revenge against me as he stood up while still bound.

He then began taking a step toward the large boulder where we were hiding.

And at that moment.

Crack... Craaaack...!!!

"Nuooooh-?!!"

The moment his leg touched the ground, small cracks started spreading from there across his entire body.

Soon, tiny grains of sand began pouring out from those cracks with a patter—!

Or it melted like liquid, flowing down to the floor—changes like that began occurring.

And our reaction to witnessing all this was...

"Tabi-nyang must have an even more amazing little brother than I thought, nyang! Turning that hard rock-nyang into that, nyang!"

"I'm so glad we have such a smart youngest now!"

...For now, the girls were just chattering excitedly—kyarruk!—without a care for the grotesque sight of a living being decomposing and melting.

'...Gotta pay extra special attention to managing Tabula from now on.'

That was the moment Lavris and I broke into cold sweats, realizing we needed to be even more careful going forward.

Anyway.

Just to be safe, we observed him for another 10 minutes or so. When he was half-melted, half-decomposed into sand with only his head left, we approached.

"Why... My perfect body... This body, made of the hardest giant stone fragments..."

"You should've backed off when you first saw the effects."

"I can't accept it... This body is the hardest giant stone fragment... It should have indestructible properties...!! Why so easily...!!!"

"Sigh, he's completely lost it."

Well, I get it.

His lifelong conviction crumbling pathetically to a potion I whipped up in no time.

'I wanted to ask about the tower before he vanished, but looks like getting proper answers is gonna be tough now.'

So I gave up on asking about the tower.

Instead, I casually tossed out one question that had been nagging at me.

"Hey, just outta curiosity. Isn't 'indestructible' a bit weird?"

"...What do you mean...?"

"Think about it—it's weird, right? You say you're the hardest with indestructible properties. But you're a 'fragment' of that giant stone, aren't you? Doesn't that mean it's already been broken once?"

"...!!!"

"Eh, I don't know the details. Might just be wordplay. But at the point it became a fragment, it stopped being the hardest or indestructible, don't you think?"

"...Is that so. I..."

After that, the head-only Stonekin pondered deeply.

As even his head began losing form, he spoke to me.

"Am I just... a hard rock that thought itself special...? Nu huhut... Realizing that only on the threshold of death... What a foolish rock I am..."

"Don't be so pessimistic. All living beings think they're special by nature."

"Is that so...? Then, Challenger, one request before I die..."

"What?"

"First, take this..."

Ptooey—!

"Ow! You filthy—what...? Rock?"

"Yes, just a rock... But even so, a special rock that might be useful somewhere..."

"What's this?"

"The core that remains intact even in your potion... What the Giant Stone bestowed to prepare for emergencies... The 'Oldest Rock' that can explode anytime with an evil being..."

"So you're saying you just handed me a super-special bomb from the transcendent? Why give it to me?"

"...You don't think I'll detonate it...?"

"You would've blown up already if you were gonna. So? What's the request for handing over something like this?"

"Boring reaction... Anyway. My melted and decomposed body will surely be useful somewhere... Same for this core..."

"Probably."

"So my one wish is... Use these unremarkable things of mine to create... Something so special that anyone would think it's special..."

...This guy.

Even facing death, he can't let go of the desire to be special himself?

That's...

"...I'm greedy too, but you're just as bad, huh?"

"Nu huhut...! Lived my whole life that way—think I'll give up now...? Never...! I believed I was special in life and want to be special even in death...! Even if it means defying the one mission my creator gave me...!"

"Well, I feel the same. What's the point of a mission when you're about to die?"

"That means...?"

"I don't hate persistent greedy types like you."

I was planning to use his body thriftily to make something good anyway, so no reason to refuse.

Plus, I liked that he didn't try to rationalize it as some tragic backstory.

"But in exchange, this rock and your body go to me, right?"

"Nu huhut... Of course...! Do that, and I'll happily hand over everything and die...!"

"Good, contract established."

"So. Any last words?"

"Nothing but make me special..."

"Boring guy. Oh, right. What's your name?"

"Stonekin have no names..."

"No name? Wait, you don't even wear clothes, and no names? What kind of race is that?"

"That's how we've lived... ...Ah? Come to think of it, I did have one title they called me by..."

"What?"

"Meaning the hardest guardian... They called me 'Kuhn Talos'..."

"Yeah? Then bye, Kuhn Talos. Wasn't nice meeting you. Let's never meet again."

"Yeah... Me too... Likewi... se..."

Right after Kuhn Talos fully melted away and his form vanished.

We were ejected outside along with the floor collapse notification, so I asked Lavris about it...

'Lavris. What the hell is this?'

'Uh... so it's my fault?'

...Well, that's what she says.

I'd grabbed everything worth taking on the way out, so I decided it wasn't a big deal.

Anyway.

After telling Lulu and Arin—who were dash-dash-dashing to the bathhouse as usual—to wait a bit since I'd join for the hot springs soon,

I was in the kitchen preparing meals and snacks for after the soak when suddenly Tabula spoke up.

Posts I'd be interested in?

What the hell did that mean? I nodded anyway in affirmation.

Tabula promptly projected a gallery screen in front of me like a notification window.

"...What is this?"

Floor maintenance? What the hell does that mean?

After checking even the PhD's rare post after so long.

I finally had to admit, having understood the whole situation.

'That... was because of me, right?'

"Ah."

...Don't wanna take that.

Can I just ignore it...?