Do You Know Lashu?

Around noon the next day.

I was supposed to be heading out by now, but something had come up. Something involving Lumina.

Squish, squelch! Thrust, thrust!

"Nooo♥ If you jam it in like that, I'll teeeear♥"

"Your hymen's already torn, so what's the problem?"

"Ahhk♥ It huuurts♥ Haa-euhh♥"

"Now who was it that begged me to do her like this because she was lonely?"

"I hate iiit♥ You keep shoving it in so deeeep♥ Ahh-euuh♥ Waaah♥ I-I'm commiiing♥ Kyaaaaahn♥"

Slurp, slurp, sluuurp! Squelch!

Lumina had her hips hoisted in the air, putting on a fountain show like she'd been hit with a live wire. The way she grinned with her eyes half-lidded ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was the best part.

The whole floor was soaked. I flicked the wetness off my hand and smirked.

"That do it? Let's play even dirtier next time, Miss Rabbit."

"Euhh, you filthy animal...♥"

I headed downstairs to leave the house. Through the window, another beautiful day. I stretched wide and stepped out.

Then I finally got around to checking the dungeon rewards.

Clink!

Three hundred gold, received without a hitch. The random item was wrapped in a bread bag.

Rip. Tick.

I tore the bag open and a stone tumbled out, about the size of my palm and a deep, solid orange all the way through.

Wait. This is—

I stopped dead, jaw hanging open.

Holy shit. An Unlocking Stone? Wasn't this thing only ever flavor text in the game? They snuck it into the beta, then scrapped it because it was worth way too much as a commodity!

And back ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠then it wasn't even Cosmic Relic grade. It was one rank lower—a Masterpiece-grade Unlocking Stone—and those went for five hundred million won in real cash.

That's right. Five hundred million.

A thing that could unlock any item's potential. Even effects that had been written into the lore and then deleted!

I found myself glancing around. What if someone stole it? No—worse. I was worried that if anyone so much as looked at it, the thing might wear away.

Hold on, though. What do I even have to unlock? Dawn's next ability only unlocks with my level. So what am I supposed to use this on?

Ziiing!

My ring flared with light. The family heirloom Mom had given me.

More precisely, the gem set in the band was glowing especially bright.

Just in case, I pulled up the ring's flavor text again.

Thinking about it now, that was a little strange. The true body isn't the gem, but the band itself?

Hmm. Don't tell me...

I went straight to the kitchen. Mom was cooking, humming under her breath. She turned and smiled.

"Oh my, son. Heading out to work?"

"Yeah. Hey, Mom, I've been wondering about something. This ring!"

"What about the heirloom?"

"What's the gem in this thing? It's so cool how it lights up every time an effect triggers!"

I picked my words carefully and turned it into a question. Mom beamed.

"Have you ever heard the myth of Sir Grant?"

"Yeah. You used to tell it to me when I was little, right alongside training. I know it well—the Cosmic Hero with the shining sword."

Mom looked absolutely delighted. Like I'd come home with a trophy.

"Oh, my baaaby♥"

She pulled me into a fierce hug. Her chest was choking the air out of me, and down below, my other self lifted its head without a shred of shame.

At this rate I was going to get hard and press right up against Mom's thigh.

"That's right! While traveling the multiverse, Sir Grant discovered something called a Heavenly Stone."

"Wait—so this is one of the Heavenly Stones?!"

"No. It's a crumb from a fragment of a Heavenly Stone."

"...A fragment is a fragment, and a crumb is a crumb. So what the hell is this, then?"

I was confused. How was I even supposed to classify this thing?

Mom wore a smile that was somehow both serious and lewd.

"It's nothing special on its own, but to humanity—people like us—it's an extraordinary treasure. Anyway, your ancestors on my side of the family happened to obtain it and made it our heirloom! Heehee."

I examined the ring more closely. There was writing engraved on the inside of the metal band.

I had no idea what it said.

Mom spoke up immediately.

"There's something written on the metal, right? Even Mom doesn't know what that is."

"Oh, really?"

"If I were a high-ranking mage I might've been able to read it, but it's an ancient language that no one knows except the very first ancestors!"

"Ah. Then what kind of ability does the gem have?"

"They say a subspace for storing objects is sealed inside it. But there's actually a story that goes with it."

Now I was interested.

Of course a thing like this needed a backstory. That was half the fun.

And if it was the kind of tale you'd find in a legend or a myth, even better.

"What is it? Tell me!"

I grabbed Mom's hands and bounced up and down. Finding me adorable, she cupped my cheeks and laughed.

"They say there's a world floating in the sky sealed inside it! Of course, it's just a fairy tale."

"A world...?"

I was speechless. A subspace inside this tiny ring, sure. Fine.

Having an inventory would be convenient.

But beyond that—a vast subspace? One that could actually be called a world?

Huh. If that's real, that's insane.

After we finished talking, I left the house. I looked down at the ring, swallowed dryly, and focused my eyes.

Let's try it. If that story is true, I might be able to use the Unlocking Stone on this gem and find my own dungeon—or a hideout, even.

All sorts of thoughts popped into my head. But hey, wasn't that a good thing?

Who knows?

Maybe subspace sex was on the table.

I glanced around for no real reason, then slipped around to the back of the house. I gripped the Unlocking Stone tight and rubbed it against the gem in the ring.

Chiiiiing!

The gem turned gold and blazed with a brilliant light, unfolding before my eyes as if it meant to dye the entire world.

It looked ready to flood everything in radiance. Enough to startle even the Goddess.

Sorry, Goddess. I used an Unlocking Stone on the heirloom, kh—!

It was blinding. So bright I thought my eyes might melt.

Then I opened them. And what I saw was—

"Holy shit!"

A space that looked as if someone had sliced a piece of grassland—maybe a thousand square meters—right out of the earth and set it down here. Translucent clouds drifted past on every side.

There were two suns, one gold and one white, pouring out light, and the place I stood was floating, suspended in midair.

Alright. Time to look around.

I arrived at Weverpool Fief. This time, luck was on my side—I actually got ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to meet the lord.

The man had the presence of someone living in a bunker. Impossible to get a meeting with, and we were in the same damn country.

In the reception room, with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the captain of the guard sitting in, I was able to speak with the Lord of Weverpool.

The captain was glaring at me like he was waiting to hear what kind of garbage I'd spout.

All swagger, no substance, as usual.

I looked at the Lord of Weverpool. First impression: he seemed genuinely kind. A decent man, on the surface.

"I apologize for last time. I was far too busy... I failed to give you the attention you deserved. A pathetic lapse on my part."

I just smiled.

I'm not fool enough to fall for a face. Though getting betrayed by a gorgeous, stacked woman would be pretty thrilling in its own right.

I cleared my throat and spoke.

"My lord, if I may be so bold—isn't there a talent perfectly suited to the current situation standing right in front of you?"

"You, you mean? Lady Gale Wars did sing your praises, I'll grant you that."

I felt a fresh wave of gratitude toward Renata. If she hadn't put in a word, meeting the lord would have been even harder.

After all, next to a noble I was just some two-bit Hero.

"Right now, every corner of this fief is groaning under the cultists. The problem is their corpses. You can't keep burying bodies in the same place forever."

"If the fief's infected flesh must be cut away, then so be it."

"And you believe grain will grow in soil used as a graveyard? That it will still hold water?"

The lord wasn't a complete idiot, at least—he fell silent, humming in thought. Or was even that an act?

For all I knew, he didn't give a damn what happened to the fief. He was the one pulling that crap behind the scenes.

"Then do you have an answer?"

So now he was finally willing to hear me out. This son of a bitch.

I pulled a rat out of my subspace. I'd caught it before coming here.

"What is this?"

"I have a power like this."

I drew my sword. The captain immediately pulled his spear and dropped into a charging stance.

I ignored him and stabbed the rat dead. It died without even a squeak. Then it turned to light and vanished.

Tsssss!

The lord and the captain both stared in shock.

"The corpse... disappeared?!"

"Did he teleport it? Some kind of magic?!"

Shiiing. Clack.

I deliberately sheathed my sword with a solid, forceful motion.

"Please assign me to the Those Who Recite Sins suppression force."

"You...?"

"Anyone I kill, the corpse itself turns to light and vanishes. If you wish, I can erase the bodies as well."

This was the grounds on which the lord might actually need me.

Same as when China went after those pest birds. Same as the Black Death spreading from corpses in the Middle Ages.

If you want to wipe something out, byproducts are inevitable.

And among those, corpses were hands-down the number one vector for disease.

They didn't do a city's scenery any favors, either. But I had a way to get rid of them.

"...Didn't you say you came just to show your face?"

"Who shows their face with words alone? I can show you with actions."

The lord smiled, looking intrigued. But he was still half-skeptical.

A Hero he'd never met, and a young-looking one at that, coming out with a line like this—as a noble, he probably found it absurd.

"Lady Gale Wars vouched for you, and you are an official Hero, so I will take you at your word. Captain, if you would."

"Yes, my lord."

"Add the Hero of Gale Wars to the suppression force. Let's see what he can do."

"I will live up to your trust!"

I bowed and followed the captain out of the mansion. Honestly, it was laughable.

He still doesn't trust me. But he will. And once he does, I'll get close enough to slip through the cracks.

And I'll take everything he has while I'm at it. I am a depraved Hero, after all.

I followed the captain out to the front of the estate. The suppression force was already lined up.

"Listen up! We will advance from the fief's central plaza all the way southeast. This time, we wipe out the cultists and restore order!"

"YEAAAAAH!"

I went with the suppression force to where the cultists were. Combat began.

A quest appeared as well.

Crackle!

I summoned Rin and charged. The cultists had formed a shield wall, but those weren't tower shields—they were door panels. Not a chance in hell.

Clip-clop, clip-clop! Crack-ZZAP, CRUNCH!

I tore through Those Who Recite Sins, running wild in every direction. The suppression soldiers stared at me in shock.

"Huh? Where'd that horse come from?"

"Did he soup up his horse? That's sick as fuck."

"It's throwing sparks! And it's fast!"

I'd seized their attention in a single stroke. But it wasn't enough.

The cultists rallied as one.

"We are Those Who Recite Sins!"

"We shall speak of your sins!"

"Be grateful! When the Great One descends, every last one of you will go to hell according to your sins!"

They came at us in unison, clutching bamboo spears.

Ah, the bamboo spear. The great equalizer of weapons.

But nowhere near enough to stop my Rin. I gave the order.

"Rin, full speed. It's fine."

"Kihiihiiing!"

Rin let out a pleased cry, then transformed her whole body into something like a living spark and charged.

She was trampling the members of Those Who Recite Sins at a speed that left supersonic in the dust.

Clip-clop, WHAM! Clip-clop, CRACK, SPLAT!

The suppression soldiers didn't even need to step in. All I had to do was give the dying or the already-dead a quick poke with my sword, and that was that.

Points were stacking up nicely as I cut them down.

Watching the cultists turn to light and vanish the instant my blade touched them, the soldiers just laughed in a daze.

"What the hell is that sword?"

"He's a Hero, right? Is that his ability?"

"So that's why a kid that small became a Hero... I'm jealous."

Today, I carved my name into Weverpool Fief. The name of this Hero.