Chapter 215: All Sorts of Branches (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 215: All Sorts of Branches (7)
To offer a bit of an excuse, I was still a little clumsy at handling artifacts back then.
I had received training from the royalty, but what kind of kingdom was ours?
It was Leon.
However, I had no choice but to admit that magic’s help was essential to survive in this harsh RoFan world.
No matter how outstanding a swordsman might be, they couldn't summon swords from the sky. It was difficult to carry around a week's worth of rations.
Even if you did carry them, there weren't many things in this medieval world that could be preserved for long.
And they didn't even taste good.
That was why I requested artifacts. Through the royal family, the Captain sent me a subspace pouch—something difficult to obtain unless you were royalty.
That was the beginning.
The beginning of me collecting tools one by one for RoFan survival.
Of course, obtaining artifacts was a difficult task even for wealthy nobles.
“Give it.”
“Do you think artifacts grow on trees…?”
“Dark mage.”
“Ugh…”
Due to the debts the Empire had steadily accumulated, I could demand any artifact I wanted from them at any time.
“This is a set exclusive for the Academy that we plan to launch soon.”
Like a merchant who forgets neither grace nor grudge, the Ilias Merchant Guild also provided prototypes for Academy survival, not forgetting the help I gave during the Founding Festival.
Well, I had to send them periodic evaluations, but for someone from a nation tempered by review events, that much was easy.
As artifacts were gathered one by one and using them in daily life became natural…
“A recording artifact, huh…”
In my past life, I had seen people survive incidents that almost sent them to rock bottom thanks to call recording functions.
I knew how useful this recording artifact could be, but this was a fantasy world.
The moment I activated it, not only mages but even knights sensitive to mana would notice.
Should I just use it openly for blackmail? I was worried that might give them something to use against me.
Right around the time I was pondering that, I happened to run into the Anti-Daisy Committee and saw the Fire Spammer practicing her confession.
If he’s that focused, maybe he won't notice? I thought.
So I tried it, and perhaps because they were so focused on the Fire Spammer, neither she nor Senior Loreliya noticed.
Having obtained good data, I intended to erase the Fire Spammer’s dark history since the experiment was over, but…
“…Do I really need to erase it?”
The weakness of the Guardian of Dale—I figured I might have a use for it someday.
I tucked it away with that thought, and that choice was spot on.
“I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you…”
Life returned to the Fire Spammer’s eyes.
His two eyes, which had been devoid of emotion, were now filled with murderous intent.
“Damn, did he go berserk?”
A slight, minor problem had arisen.
Still, for now, I had awakened the ego that had been consumed by magic.
“If you ever get assassinated, just know it was death by natural causes…”
I heard Boradori’s voice beside me, sounding incredibly sincere, but I didn't pay it any mind.
In any case, hadn't I achieved the desired result?
“At least he’s snapped out of it.”
“Does that look like he’s in his right mind to you?!”
He wasn't in his right mind.
However, anger is also a type of human emotion.
In other words, it was easier to return him to normal than when he was consumed by magic.
And the way to make that Fire Spammer snap out of it was currently in my hands.
The Magic Spammer.
No matter how clueless this guy was, he wouldn't say something like “Eh, Andante?” in a situation like this.
I believed in the Magic Spammer.
This guy was a RoFan male lead candidate, not a light novel protagonist!
And as proof!
“Marie… to me…”
With a face full of confusion, he was looking at the enraged Fire Spammer.
As expected of a RoFan male lead, his social cues were non-existent, but it seemed his hearing was still intact.
“I… Mmph, mmph!”
the moment the Magic Spammer tried to speak his mind, I covered his mouth.
With a very high probability, as a RoFan male lead, he would proceed to dump the Fire Spammer for the sake of the RoFan heroine.
But if he dumped him right here, I would die.
At this rate, it would be treated as a natural death, just like I’d heard so often.
So, for the sake of my own life, this confession had to be dragged out as long as possible.
Until the Fire Spammer lost more strength and the Imperial agents, who still hadn't arrived, showed up.
Therefore.
I muffled the Magic Spammer’s mouth even tighter and placed my hand on the magic tool.
And so.
“Mmph, mmph!”
Between the Magic Spammer’s struggling as if telling me to let go…
—Arwen! Ever since… ever since we first met!
…and the Fire Spammer’s shy confession flowing from the magic tool.
“Hey, you crazy bastard!”
Watching a forest fire start from flames that were completely uncontrolled, unlike before.
“Uncle Aeryun. We’re all going to die at this rate…”
I had no choice but to wait for Uncle Aeryun.
Fortunately, Uncle Aeryun arrived before we could be turned into roasted meat.
“Fire department! No, this can't be stopped by a simple department! The Magic Tower! Contact the nearby Magic Towers as quickly as possible!”
Well, a massive forest fire almost broke out in the process.
But since it wasn't an eternal flame like the ones used on the modified mages by Hellfire, it was manageable.
It was said that everyone from the nearby Magic Towers to the Academy Director and the Magic Department Head Professor mobilized to suppress the fire.
After calming the frantic Fire Spammer, suppressing the forest fire, and releasing the Magic Spammer from his restraints, the Magic Spammer—who had given peace to the followers of Silence who were being grilled evenly even in death—spoke.
“Marie.”
“Yes…”
After checking the surroundings for a moment, he disappeared with the Fire Spammer.
Probably to give an answer to the confession.
I was glad that even if he was just a RoFan male lead, he wasn't trash until the very end.
“Usually, RoFan male leads are trash to everyone except the heroine… but because there’s a human named Adam Smith to compare him to, Arwen looks like an angel.”
“What?”
“No, I mean, seriously. Wow. I’m actually speechless.”
I stood tall even under Boradori’s absurd look.
“He wouldn't have been able to confess until the end of the original work anyway.”
“That’s true, but…”
I did it for him since he couldn't, snapped him out of it, and prevented a catastrophe.
“I did everything for him.”
“There’s still something you haven't done.”
“What?”
“Suicide? You’re not dead yet. I’m sure Marie wants it desperately too.”
“……”
Boradori’s remarks were quite spicy.
The way she called her Marie so familiarly, someone who didn't know better would think they were best friends.
As time passed and the surroundings were somewhat cleaned up…
Someone came trudging from afar.
Their head was bowed low, but their limp red hair announced their presence.
“He got dumped.”
“Must be…”
He looked dumped, no matter who saw him.
Just as I was preparing for that, the Fire Spammer suddenly snapped her head up.
“…Is he smiling?”
I wondered if he had finally gone mad, but just as I was puzzled by his unexpectedly bright aura…
“I succeeded!”
At the words that came out of the Fire Spammer’s mouth, not only I but even Boradori couldn't help but freeze.
“What?”
“The confession! I said I succeeded!”
My mind went blank as I watched the Fire Spammer running toward us, squealing.
No, for a RoFan male lead to accept another woman’s confession…
Had our Magic Spammer lost his mind, or did he think he had been too harsh?
Or perhaps, realizing there was no hope, did he decide to switch targets? Just as all sorts of thoughts were crossing my mind…
The Fire Spammer, running with a face full of joy, hugged me just like that.
Was he so full of joy that he wanted to thank me for the proxy confession?
“You really succeeded? How?”
Seeing him so full of joy, I asked the question I was curious about.
“……”
The Fire Spammer murmured in my arms as if embarrassed.
“What?”
“……you think?”
“I can't hear you well.”
“Do. You. Really. Think. I. Succeeded?”
Hearing the Fire Spammer’s voice, which emphasized every single word at the end, I realized.
It was a Trap of Resonance.
It was an act to destroy me, even if it meant throwing away all of his shame.
It seemed I wasn't the only one who realized this; I saw Boradori already running away without even looking back.
“Hey.”
“Let’s die.”
“First, let go of this…”
“Let’s just all die together!”
Whoosh.
And so, the incident came to a close with one last pillar of fire signaling the end.
“You managed to survive…”
“I’m a mage.”
I survived even the Fire Spammer’s self-destruction.
First of all, I had developed a resistance to mana itself due to the Yin-Yang Pill given to me by the Beastkin.
At the same time, I had gained the ability to use cold energy, which allowed for some protection.
“If I hadn't brought Arwen, you would’ve died right then and there.”
“I’m grateful for that.”
It was because Boradori, who I thought had run away, had brought the Magic Spammer.
“I really thought I was going to die.”
“Honestly, you deserved to die.”
“To think he’d deceive me so deliberately.”
“That’s how much he wanted to kill you.”
The Fire Spammer had been so determined, but the moment she saw the Magic Spammer, she ran away.
Thanks to that, the fire that had barely been put out started again, causing Uncle Aeryun quite a bit of trouble.
In any case, everything was finished.
And as a result…
“…After all that fuss, you’re saying you found out nothing?”
We reached the conclusion that nothing had been gained.
It was truly absurd, but they said it was the truth.
“Could the Magic Spammer be lying?”
“That’s not it. He told us everything he heard… but honestly, even we can't interpret it.”
The reason the Magic Spammer had allowed himself to be kidnapped, Dale’s Original Sin.
After all that suffering, the information the Magic Spammer obtained was…
“What does this even mean?”
Even when written down, it was the kind of thing that made you go, What is this, you nerd?
It was all just talk that only they understood.
“I don't know. For now, the analysis team seems to think it’s connected to a god…”
Uncle Aeryun scratched his head as if he didn't know either and told me the analyzed content.
I forced myself to memorize it and then told Boradori.
“So, what is it saying?”
And the result was…
“Dunno?”
It was still incomprehensible.
“No, if the analysis is this far along, they should at least give some plausible hypothesis.”
“How am I supposed to know if they just give me several possibilities? The most likely ones are a hypothesis related to spirits and a story related to the Nameless God. But both of these only appeared in the original work like teasers for a sequel, so they weren't properly explained.”
“So they were there?”
“They were. The author kept throwing out plausible settings, though nothing was certain.”
Still, it seemed there was something, so I could at least hear a rough explanation about it.
“It’s nothing much. Originally, the elves weren't pushed back by humans. But from a certain point, they started being hunted for slavery by humans, right? Part of it was because human technology advanced, but it was also because the Spirit Kings suddenly disappeared one day. There’s a teaser that that period is linked to an incident involving the first mage.”
“What does that have to do with Dale?”
“There’s a story that the ancestors of Dale—or more accurately, the ancestors of that ethnic group—were among the disciples of the first mage… but this is a hypothesis combined by readers, so it’s not even official.”
In short, it was unofficial information.
“And what about the Nameless God?”
“They say there are beings among the gods whose names have disappeared. A representative example is the God of Fire; the current God of Fire originally didn't have that name. So there’s a hypothesis that either a human or a demon stole that name…”
She said she couldn't investigate properly because if you researched this wrong, the Heresy Inquisitors might break down your door.
“But it’s not like we can't do it at all.”
“How?”
“There are people they can't take away even if they do it, right?”
“……?”
“Two of them, even.”
At this point, it was impossible not to know who they were.
However.
“To make it a bit more perfect… it would be good to get cooperation from Arwen or Marie.”
“……”
“That’ll be… hard, right?”
Since it was better not to be seen by the Fire Spammer for now, I intended to only ask Daisy for cooperation.
“……Just what on earth have you been up to?”
But seeing Daisy glaring at me with narrowed eyes, I was left speechless.