Chapter 69: Big and Beautiful (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 69: Big and Beautiful (3)
A massive mass of mana was literally crushing the dungeon.
Was this what they called an earth-shaker?
Playing the role of countless giants all by herself—she was truly a RoFan heroine through and through.
Or was she?
“…Is this really what a RoFan heroine is supposed to do?”
At this point, I was starting to just accept whatever Daisy did.
“She really is incredible.”
“It’s not something you see every day.”
“Whoa…”
Everyone stood there in awe, watching a scene that defied all common sense.
Bell even stopped mid-bite, holding a piece of meat in her hand, her face a mask of pure shock.
That was how absurd the situation was.
Normally, a dungeon is a concentrated mass of immense mana at its core.
Protected by its Dungeon Core, a dungeon is nearly impossible to destroy through external attacks.
There’s even a survival tip that says if a sudden natural disaster strikes in the wild, you should take shelter inside a dungeon.
Collapsing such a place single-handedly was a feat that even a Sword Master like the Sword Emperor or a Grand Mage like the Magic Tower Lords would struggle to achieve without some kind of assistance.
And yet, Daisy was doing it.
Granted, it was only possible because she was using a cheat-tier Magic Sword to drain all the mana from the Dungeon Core.
But since Daisy was the only one chosen by the Goddess who could even wield that Magic Sword, you might as well call it her own power.
Because of that…
“…Starting next year, student Daisy will be transferred to the Swordsmanship Department.”
“Aren, have you gone senile?”
“Look at that! Look at that massive sword of mana! Who could look at that and think she’s a mage? Even her posture is perfect! Usually, it takes over a year of practice to get a stance like that!”
“Mages also learn 'Staff-Smacking' as a final secret technique. Of course her downward strike is perfect! And who would ever consider a sword of that ridiculous size to be part of swordsmanship? If it were Aura or even just Sword Energy, I might consider it. But that’s just mana! Pure mana! She’s just slamming down a giant lump of mana!”
“Swordsmen use mana too. Sword Energy is just mana compressed and sharpened. In other words, if she just sharpens the edge a bit, that’s Sword Energy. From what I can see, Miss Daisy could manifest Sword Energy in half a year.”
“In the half-year it would take Miss Daisy to do that, she could easily master mid-tier magic. Why bother with Sword Energy? With that much mana, she could burn the entire continent down just by spamming Fireballs!”
“You see talent like that and all you want to do is turn her into a Fire Spammer?!”
“Why, you damn Sword Fighter…!”
Was this really a fight between the Sword Emperor, respected by every swordsman on the continent, and the Former Tower Lord of the White Tower, famous for his vast personal connections?
Their petty bickering made my heart feel small just listening to it.
But I understood.
How could anyone stay calm after seeing something like that?
Besides, the "Fire Spammer" comment felt strangely familiar, which actually boosted my personal opinion of the Sword Emperor a little.
As expected of the King of Swords.
He truly represented all the brainless Sword Fighters out there.
“Uncle. Over there.”
“Yeah, I see them.”
As the cave on the small hill was gradually leveled into flat ground…
Figures in black robes began to pop out from the small crevices like cockroaches hit with pesticide.
“If you can’t even clean this up, you should stop calling yourselves Imperial Secret Agents and start calling yourselves Small-Time Secret Agents from tomorrow on.”
“You heard him, right? If you can’t clean this up, I’m going to the Imperial Family today to demand they change the name of Rias Territory to Soas.”
“That name sounds a bit suspicious, doesn't it?!”
“If you don’t like it, get out there and catch those Dark Mages!”
Uncle Aeryun shouted as he kicked Taylor’s backside.
Taylor, along with the hidden agents of the Rias Territory, immediately began to hunt down the panicked Dark Mages as they tried to flee.
“They’re not putting up much of a fight for Dark Mages.”
“How are they supposed to react when something like that is falling on their heads?”
“Fair point…”
Even for us, who were trained for this, if a giant mass of mana started slamming down like a flyswatter, our first thought would be to run.
Of course, not every Dark Mage was like that.
“Oh.”
One brave Dark Mage began to resist Daisy’s mana, radiating an intimidating aura.
“What is that?”
It seemed to be a final secret technique of dark magic—amplifying power at the cost of one's soul. Dark crimson mana rose up to oppose the massive mana sword.
However, Aeryun’s "that" wasn't referring to the Dark Mage.
“…Isn't that the Saintess’s power? Divine power is the natural counter to dark magic, after all.”
“No, I wouldn't go that far…”
I tried to defend Daisy’s image, but seeing her Magic Sword greedily slurping up the dark magic as if it were delicious, I couldn't figure out how to spin it.
“Aaaagh!”
The Dark Mage met his end far too easily, flattened despite his efforts.
At the same time, Daisy’s Magic Sword, now reeking of dark magic…
“Perhaps Miss Daisy really does belong in the Magic Department…”
“Your point has some merit. Maybe we should consider having her transfer to the Swordsmanship Department this time…”
It was a sight so bizarre it managed to bring a peaceful end to the seemingly unstoppable argument between the Sword Emperor and the Former Tower Lord.
“This isn't what I wanted?!”
Perhaps because she had absorbed the dark magic, Daisy wailed, her hair still black even though she wasn't holding the Magic Sword.
Well, not perfectly black—more like a very dark grey?
I had been watching her, worried she might have actually "darkened," but it seemed I had made the wrong choice.
“Take responsibility!”
“For what?”
“I’m going to end up a loner at this rate!”
It was absurd to hear the beloved RoFan heroine say such a thing.
But that was how powerful Darkened Daisy… no, Supreme Overlord Daisy looked.
Even the RoFan male leads seemed to decide they needed some "alone time" after seeing her!
“I suppose so.”
If even the RoFan male leads, who were obsessed with Daisy, were acting like that, how would the regular students feel?
“Ah.”
A thought suddenly occurred to me.
Why did I become Daisy’s fake boyfriend in the first place?
It was because too many people had started approaching her after her sudden rise to fame.
In that sense…
“Don't you think we don't need the fake boyfriend act anymore?”
“Waaaaah!”
At my sincere suggestion, Daisy burst into tears.
She wailed and sobbed as if her heart were breaking.
“Am I being dumped by my lover now, too?!”
The way she phrased it was incredibly prone to misunderstanding.
“No, that’s not—”
“Are you dumping me because you found another woman?! Is it because you don't like a woman who’s this unrefined?!”
“Excuse me?”
“I put all my trust in you, Adam! I did everything you told me to do! And because of that, people whisper whenever I pass by, and they run away when I get close!”
“……”
Wait, every single thing she said was misleading.
But since it was all technically true, I was left speechless.
“Boo, you trash.”
“Our male is a bad male.”
With everyone else chiming in from the sidelines, I felt like I was going to lose my mind.
“This is what you wanted, isn't it?”
“I didn't want it to go this far?!”
She really was going to darken at this rate.
If she defected to the Demon King’s army right now, she had the talent to become at least one of the Four Heavenly Kings, if not the Demon King herself. I couldn't let that happen.
“Here, use this to pull yourself together.”
“Wait, what?”
I picked up the smirking Violet.
Violet flailed and resisted, but the physical strength of a "Magic Spammer" was no match for mine.
“Daisy, hold on!”
“Hwaaaah!”
I shoved Violet into Daisy’s arms. Daisy hugged the struggling Violet and continued to wail.
“I swear, I’m going to quit this job or something…”
Leaving behind Violet and her look of total resignation, I tried to use our "collective intelligence" to solve the problem.
“What should we do?”
The problem was that the only "collective intelligence" present was Bell.
Still, in an emergency, you have to borrow a cat’s paw—or in this case, a dog’s paw.
“Usually, a being that is too powerful is feared.”
I was slightly surprised by her unexpectedly normal answer.
“However, fear and awe are very similar feelings!”
“Oh.”
As expected of a Wolfkin who worshipped the strong. She sounded like she was about to suggest a decent solution.
“So, what should we do?”
“I have no idea.”
But the answer that came back was the exact opposite of my expectation.
Wait, isn't this the part where you provide the solution?
“Huh?”
When I looked at our wench with that expression, Bell tilted her head as if she didn't understand my confusion.
“I mean, I said fear and awe are similar. But who wouldn't be scared of a sword that’s that big and reeks of dangerous energy?”
“Uh…”
She had a point.
In fact, Daisy had done something similar before and received awe.
It was in the Holy Kingdom, when she revealed a sword filled with divine power in front of everyone.
Back then, her enemies knelt and begged for mercy.
The citizens of the Holy Kingdom all knelt in reverence to the Goddess and her proxy.
The situation now was similar, but since what she swung wasn't divine power but dark magic absorbed from a Dark Mage, it was bound to be perceived differently.
“Since when did you get so smart?”
“That sounds like racial discrimination.”
“I wasn't trying to discriminate; I just thought you were usually stupid.”
“That’s even more offensive!”
Hah!
She looked quite fierce baring her fangs in human form, but as soon as I stuffed the meat I was holding into her mouth, she started chewing quietly.
“Hmm.”
Still, thanks to Bell, I found a way.
If we could just turn that fear into awe…
We could keep the pests away while still maintaining her image.
Of course, for that to work, we needed two things.
First, time for Daisy to purify the dark magic.
“Hwaaaah!”
“Excuse me? How long do I have to stay like this?”
“……”
“Hey! Where are you going? Take me with you! Take me too!”
Since our agent, Violet, was handling that part…
I went to find the second thing we needed.
“Uncle. Please find me some Dark Mages.”
We needed villains to fall victim to the Saintess’s incredible divine power.
“What? We didn't catch them all?”
“That shouldn't be possible.”
At my request, Uncle Aeryun and Taylor shook their heads in disbelief.
“No, I mean new Dark Mages.”
Uncle Aeryun looked at me as if I were talking nonsense.
“Look, even if Rias was breached easily, do you really think there are more Dark Mages around?”
He was saying there was no way.
“The Academy keeps getting breached, though.”
“Guh!”
When I brought up past events, Uncle Aeryun practically collapsed.
“Rias is different!”
Taylor insisted that such a thing wouldn't happen in Rias.
“And where was the place that got breached just one day after you said that?”
“Ack!”
If they wanted to make that argument, this incident shouldn't have happened in the first place.
“But the number of Dark Mages we caught this time is no joke.”
The Fire Spammer tried to back them up.
“That’s the problem.”
“What?”
“If a group this size was moving… there must be a mastermind pulling their strings.”
“A mastermind behind the Dark Mages? Does such a thing even exist?”
There’s no way.
That’s what they were thinking.
At this point in time, that was the common-sense view.
“Your comrade has already confessed about those who follow the Evil God.”
“Urgh! That traitor!”
During the interrogation of a captured Dark Mage, I casually dropped a hint, and he immediately proved the existence of a mastermind.
Of course…
“……”
“……”
“……”
“I told you, it’s not like that.”
Aside from that, there was the minor side effect of the club members' expressions turning into those of readers watching a certain boy detective who brings trouble wherever he goes.
