Chapter 92
Chapter 92
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: Dragon-Style Apology Method
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[You have completely absorbed the catastrophe.]
[Acquired attribute 「Phantasm」.]
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[Adel]
Limit Break: ★★☆☆☆
Attributes
: 「Abyss」
: 「Space」
: 「Phantasm」
: 「Nothingness」
Unique Skills
: 【Catastrophe Eater】
: 【Silence Walker】
: 【Word Spirit】
: 【Falling Blood Return to Flower】
: 【Red Thread: Guidance】
: 【…】
Unique Traits
: 【World's Myriad Disasters】
: 【Laplace's Eye】
: 【Language Interpreter】
: 【…】
Achievements
: 【King of the Abyss】
: 【Falling Moon】
: 【Sword that Sheathes Wrath】
: 【…】
Stats
: Stamina: 15 (D)
: Strength: 5 (F)
: Intellect: 29 (B)
: Mentality: 32 (A)
: Magic Power: ■ ()
Talents
: ■
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Plop.
I picked up the 【Mask of Silence】 resting on the throne.
“…….”
A mask without a single scratch, not even a trace of dirt.
…Did it feel worthless?
Or… was it Elodie’s innate kindness that kept it from being defiled until the very end?
“……Ah.”
Wobble—
My legs gave out, and I barely kept myself from collapsing.
…My mind was a distant tangle of thoughts and emotions, devouring each other.
“…What the hell am I supposed to do?”
The quiet murmur that slipped out was so vague I couldn’t even tell who it was aimed at.
The system? A god? Elodie?
Or just self-reproach spat at myself.
“What the… hell.”
No context… no buildup at all.
Just one skill activation…
And the entire life of the girl named ‘Bellamir Lou Elodie’ flooded into my head.
The princess’s smile.
The children’s cheers.
…The despair of being pelted with stones, blood flowing.
And right up to the moment she became a witch.
“Fuck….”
I cursed,
But even that profanity couldn’t fully vent my emotions.
A being called a ‘catastrophe.’
An villain rightfully shunned by the world.
A monster you just need to slay to feel better.
“…….”
So why?
Why did her memories linger so vividly, shaking me to my core?
Why did her pain claw at my chest like it was my own?
Why… did that lonely girl have no choice but to become a ‘witch’ in the end?
I understood.
Yet I didn’t understand.
That contradiction… kept shaking me to the end.
“Whew….”
A sigh finally escaped my lips.
If only she’d been a one-off villain who showed up and vanished…
Now that it was all over, only emptiness remained.
…Plop.
“…….”
A massive shadow fell over me.
Leviathan gently rested its enormous jaw on my head.
I couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight.
Ploff!
“???”
In an instant, Leviathan’s huge body warped…
And what plopped onto the floor was a tiny minnow the size of my palm.
The long tail that had been whipping through the air was now that of a little fish, flapping against the ground.
“…….”
The little fish lay there plumply, looking up at me with aggrieved eyes.
In those eyes… “You bastard” was written.
“What.”
I said calmly.
You know full well that the more you manifest in that massive dragon form, the more my magic power is exposed to the world.
And that accelerates the collapse of my body.
“…….”
The minnow just looked even more sullen, smacking its tail against the floor in protest.
Zap—
We locked in a childish staring contest…
And in the end, I sighed first.
Plop.
I placed my hand on the fish’s head.
Like soothing a sulking child, its resentful tail loosened a bit.
“Grrmph…….”
The minnow laboriously climbed up my body and settled on my head.
It flopped belly-down onto my crown, sticking fast like it was home.
…Familiarly.
“…….”
I lightly tapped its wriggling tail with my fingertip.
The grumbling minnow seemed to give up, slowly closing its eyelids.
…My scalp grew warm.
Meanwhile, a completely opposite scene unfolded a short distance away.
“Huff…”
Klaus lay sprawled on the floor, gasping for breath as he flailed his hands at the empty air.
“These things… no matter how much I slash, they never end….”
His eyes were already unfocused, his sword swinging side to side.
…Was he losing his mind, or seeing illusions?
“Nyanyaang… Nyaaak…!”
Beside him, Neru was flattened to the floor, limbs splayed out.
And…
Thudthudthudthud!!
Those limbs drummed the floor without a single thread of mercy.
“Haa…….”
Feeling the weight of the minnow nestled on my head, I let out another endless sigh.
There were still mountains of things left to resolve.
***
“Ugh, my head huuuurts….”
Neru clutched her head, rolling on the floor in agony.
Her ears drooped limply, her tail stood rigid, trembling.
“…….”
I opened my inventory and pulled out a precious vial of churu procured from Duke Delbar’s estate.
Neru’s secret weapon.
“O… Ooh…!!”
Neru’s eyes snapped wide open.
The writhing in pain vanished in a flash…
Her little lips just chased after the churu.
“Nyum…!”
Slurp slurp slurp.
The moment she got the churu in her mouth, her trembling body stopped dead!
Her face flushed with bliss, her tail swaying side to side.
“Churu’s like medicine, huh.”
I muttered softly, but Neru didn’t even pretend to hear.
She just slurped away mindlessly, sitting primly with her front paws neatly together.
“Nya, nyaaang… Tasty….”
She licked the churu from around her mouth, then patted my knee.
A signal for more.
“I’ll give you some later.”
“NyaAAaak…….”
Her tail drooped to the floor.
Must be disappointing, but right now, there was a lot to sort out.
Then…
“…….”
“…….”
My eyes met Neru’s.
Blue eyes locked with golden ones…
What I thought would be a short stare-down dragged on surprisingly long.
“Th-This is too muuuch…….”
“…?”
Neru flushed and looked away for no reason.
She tugged her collar tight, hiding her face.
“What’s wrong?”
I tilted my head and asked, but Neru didn’t answer.
Instead, her ears and tail twitched busily… speaking for her.
“Adel….”
Klaus, now recovered, approached us.
His battered face broke into an incredulous smile.
“Mark my words, you could have a bright future just showing your face around.”
“You too? What’s with that?”
Seriously…
Why did they always react the same way whenever they saw my face?
Calling me a deceiver… telling me not to take off the mask…
They never said it outright, but I could feel those looks.
‘…Not that?’
Tch…
Well, if that’s how it felt to me, then that’s probably it.
I decided to just go with that.
“For now… let’s head back.”
I forced the words out.
The 【Mask of Silence】 was still in my hand…
But for now, I didn’t think I needed to wear it.
I just… wanted to savor this sense of liberation a little longer.
Of course, the more I did, the more my body crumbled bit by bit…
But it wasn’t as urgent as before.
I believed… it’d be okay for a little while.
Step, step.
My footsteps echoed…
Thud, thud.
Followed by far heavier ones.
“…….”
Clunk.
I stopped walking.
…Thud.
The massive footsteps behind me halted too.
“…….”
I turned my head…
The Spirit King who had guarded Elodie… Bahamut… was following me.
“……What.”
【…….】
What the hell.
A fallen spirit now, why hadn’t this Spirit King dissipated yet…
And why was it following me?
【……I offer my thanks.】
“…What?”
【……Thanks to you, Elodie awoke from her nightmare. I offer my thanks.】
And at that moment.
A message popped up in the corner of my vision.
[You have defeated 「Witch of the Fallen Kingdom」.]
[Acquired achievement ‘Dreamer’.]
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【Dreamer】
You threw yourself into the endless nightmare woven by the 「Witch of the Fallen Kingdom」 and stopped it.
: Acquire unique skill 【Echoes’ Call】.
At times lost in illusions with eyes closed, at times turning your back on truth…
Even so, you will dream new dreams in the end.
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…A belated message.
Every word made a strange discomfort stir in my chest.
“Adel… what do we do about that thing?”
“Nyaak….”
Klaus gestured at Bahamut and asked me.
…What do we do?
Even if he asked me, I had no idea what to do with it.
“…You gonna keep following?”
I asked Bahamut.
The one who killed your master…
Would you keep following to the end?
【…….】
No answer.
But… I realized that was the answer.
“…Do whatever.”
I muttered quietly and turned away…
Ploff!
Soon, the massive shadow warped, shrinking to minnow size.
Drip drip…
Bahamut, now a small lizard leaking dark red shadows…
Crawled chittering at my feet.
As if it had always guarded someone’s side long ago…
Familiarly, naturally.
Following behind me.
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【Echoes’ Call】
The cries of lost spirits echo in your ears.
: Summon spirits.
Reach out your hand.
Spirits will never ignore your call.
If you wish, be it light or darkness…
All will answer your summons.
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***
By now, the moon in the sky had regained its brilliant blue glow.
The sun had long since hidden away.
“Dean, I’ve confirmed the spirits’ dissipation.”
Kaous reported to Veronica, who gazed at the moon.
All the spirits that had breached the cradle’s barrier were gone.
But even at the news, Veronica’s face didn’t brighten.
“Hey, Kaous.”
Veronica quietly set down the book in her hand on the desk.
“Yes, Dean?”
“What kind of apologies do kids these days like?”
“Yes…?”
Kaous paused.
Apology…
Did she mean the fruit ‘apple,’ or the ‘sorry’ for mistakes…?
“How should you apologize to make them like it?”
But from Veronica’s tone, it was clearly the latter.
Kaous was momentarily speechless… but soon spoke up.
“…Did something happen?”
“Nooo…….”
Scratch scratch.
Veronica kept scratching her head, staring out at the moon.
“…I think I messed up.”
She’d told Adel to fetch the runaway cat…
But apparently… that place was no ordinary spot.
Very… extremely so.
“So, y’know? It’d be good to learn how to apologize in advance.”
“…….”
Kaous nearly teared up in感动.
This filthy, wicked dragon had finally uttered the word ‘apology.’
That alone was a huge step forward.
“How do kids these days like to be apologized to?”
“Dean… I’m not one of the kids these days, how should I know.”
Hmm…
Veronica tilted her head, recalling the book she’d just read.
“…Should I start by taking off my clothes?”
“………Pardon?”
Kaous froze solid.
How did she arrive at that conclusion…
The filthy, wicked dragon’s nature hadn’t changed.
“Haa…….”
In the end, Kaous bowed deeply, sighing endlessly…
And saw it.
“What’s th….”
A single book on the desk.
The very one Veronica had been reading moments ago.
…The cover read:
“…Let’s Learn the Maid Dragon’s Apology Methods… Author… Dragon… Parker.”
…Yeah.
Let’s just drop it.