Chapter 136
Chapter 136
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Trickery(?)
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A pillar lofty enough to connect heaven and earth.
A famed sword stained with a thousand bloodbaths, tempered in a hundred battles, and etched with a name through ten glories.
A pouch endlessly spewing gold.
Vast silk enough to blanket the world several times over.
A supreme being before whom even reigning sovereigns kneel to kiss its feet.
Sentences as unreal as a verse from myth.
They couldn't even grasp a clue.
What on earth was the Asking Left Hand demanding?
It was beyond imagination.
How were they supposed to fulfill such requests?
Hero and holy sword.
Even those grand and noble names held no meaning here.
Their predictions proved correct.
The price for the fallen city was something they could never pay.
...And yet, why?
All the Asking Left Hand's demands had been met, leaving just one final request.
Amid the bewilderment.
The Asking Left Hand voiced its last demand.
Was it his imagination?
The Asking Left Hand's voice as it spoke the demand felt oddly resolute yet petty.
Above all, its previously metaphorical tone, like reciting myth, had turned blunt.
As if it was determined not to get tricked this time.
In any case.
The Asking Left Hand had stated its final demand.
Tension returned to the room, briefly lightened by the unexpected accident(?).
All eyes focused on one man.
Rishir.
Would he who had fulfilled the Asking Left Hand's demands through some unknown method cause another upset?
"..."
Rishir's arm, which had shot up so eagerly before.
This time, it did not rise.
After a brief moment of thought, Rishir shook his head.
"..."
"""..."""
They knew they shouldn't, but for some reason, they felt a sense of relief.
A moment later.
The Asking Left Hand spoke.
Black spots appeared on the necks of everyone present.
It was a sentence. A curse.
Their expressions grew complicated upon spotting the marks on each other.
Three days.
Too short for an impossible demand.
Yet compared to the frantic urgency before, it was a clear respite.
All thanks to him.
Felix's group exchanged glances and nodded.
No room for doubt anymore.
Hero of Heroes Jane.
Now they understood why he praised Rishir so highly.
Why the Sword of Advance had chosen Rishir over Jane.
Their eyes focused on Rishir once more.
"Hm...?"
That's when they noticed the difference.
Rishir.
He alone had no spot on his neck.
They didn't dwell on it much.
Rishir had handled most demands solo.
They assumed the Asking Left Hand was giving him special treatment, and thought nothing more.
"?"
But the Asking Left Hand looked off.
The thing on the desk feebly beckoned toward Rishir.
The Asking Left Hand trembled and spasmed violently.
As if squeezing out its last strength.
"Sure. Three days."
Rishir replied calmly.
In the end, no spot appeared on his neck.
The Asking Left Hand slumped limply.
"""..."""
Special treatment.
Had to be.
They decided to shelve unnecessary questions.
More pressing matters at hand.
"Phew..."
As the situation settled, sighs of relief escaped here and there with easing tension.
"Rishir!"
Felix moved first.
He approached and grabbed Rishir's shoulder.
"Thank you! It's all thanks to you! We avoided the worst because of you! If Tilla had been harmed, I... I..."
Next, Felix's comrade Tilla approached Rishir.
Her bold personality shone in her expression for a moment.
"Thank you."
Tilla bowed deeply to Rishir.
"Without you, I... no, our party would have been in grave danger."
Felix's face darkened at Tilla's words.
His usual flippant smile was gone.
"Damn... Sorry. Dragging you into this shitty mess."
"..."
Jane tried to muster his signature flawless smile.
It came out awkward.
It's fine.
Too dire to say that.
Felix's goodwill in sharing the relic had led to this nightmare for all.
And moreover—
"A being wielding black magic with pure, unstained energy... Does such a thing even exist in this world?"
Jane's elf comrade Camilla muttered.
Everyone's faces twisted.
Could they find that absurd entity in three days and bring it before the Asking Left Hand?
"Hm..."
Even the Hero of Heroes, who never doubted himself, couldn't casually affirm it.
Couldn't comfort Felix.
His own party had been endangered too. Natural.
Even holding his tongue was impressive.
As Felix's group darkened further.
"Let's think positively."
Empty air. Or the floor.
Their dazed gazes turned back to that man.
"If we resolve this safely, it'll be thanks to us being here together. Felix. Lucky you didn't use this thing just among yourselves."
"""...!"""
The Sword of Advance no longer glowed.
Yet their eyes on Rishir shone with brilliance.
"...Ha."
Jane let out a wry chuckle.
"Rishir. If you say that, what does that make me?"
He approached Felix and patted his shoulder.
"Felix. Sorry. Showed you an embarrassing side. You offered out of kindness, and I was the one who said yes—"
"...No. It's my fault. An ancient relic, no less. Should've been more cautious. Arrogant. Blinded by greed."
"Phila, you okay?"
"Ah, yes. Thanks to Rishir... the Asking Left Hand's constraints feel much weaker."
"Still, better check. Bellota?"
"Yeah."
The ominous air weighing them down lifted gradually.
Then.
Felix gave a small, self-mocking laugh tinged with his usual levity.
"Jane, you know? At first, I thought you yielded the Sword of Advance to Rishir."
"What? What're you—"
"You're the type to do that. And more than anything— he looked unreliable to me. But I'll admit it. I was wrong. You, your group were right."
Felix smiled at Rishir again.
Patted Jane's shoulder and said.
"You knew he had this insane talent, right?"
"..."
"What the hell was that? How'd you pull it off?"
"..."
"?"
Jane's eyes trembled.
I don't know either. I'm scared.
Hallucination?
Felix eyed Camilla.
"..."
Camilla averted her gaze.
Felix eyed Bellota.
"..."
Bellota averted her gaze.
"...?"
Felix tilted his head.
Oh, that just now?
How the heck did that happen?
Jane's group, who witnessed Rishir's prowess in the holy sword trial, should've explained clearly—
But they reacted oppositely to expectations.
Felix had no choice but to ask Rishir directly.
How he satisfied the Asking Left Hand.
What trick he used.
"Black magic, huh..."
But Rishir was already deep in thought.
Pondering how to fulfill the demand.
"...!"
Their party's eyes lit up.
Unshaken even now, pressing forward.
"Right..."
Can't give up with only three days left,
Can't slack just because three days remain.
In their eyes, that man shone like a beacon.
"Pozena!"
Felix drew on his Insight authority with all his might.
The girl's momentum surged in her inner world, already seeking answers.
Black magic.
That profane power corrupts all it touches.
No way one's aura stays pure wielding it.
Defies logic.
Pozena thought.
Maybe this time the Asking Left Hand demanded not just near-impossible, but truly impossible?
"Even Pozena doesn't know..."
Pozena undoubtedly held the broadest knowledge here.
Perhaps more than everyone combined.
Even she had no solid answer.
"..."
Normally, they'd despair.
But—
"..."
Rishir.
Even now, lost in thought.
Not giving up.
"..."
Soon Felix and Jane nodded at each other.
"Jane, got any ideas!? Anyone nearby we can ask for help—"
Insight Hero Felix cast aside all pride.
"...Frozen Breath and the Talent Collector."
Answered by Jane's party scholar, Bellota.
"They might know something...!"
Consensus formed quickly.
They bustled into action.
To request aid from the two at Goose Mansion.
"Rishir?"
One person alone.
Only Rishir stayed put.
"Not coming?"
"Pardon? Ah. I'll stay here... and seek answers my way."
"..."
They asked no more.
Just nodded in full trust.
Soon, only Rishir remained.
He muttered as if consulting someone.
"The others' black spots... My power didn't affect them. Magical contract effect? If so, no exploits..."
He addressed the holy sword Jarak, treating it as speaking to him.
Jarak's voice carried slight worry and immense expectation.
Tricked it.
Jarak said.
Like everyone else, he thought Rishir used some clever ruse on the Asking Left Hand.
His aura was fully under Rishir's control.
Unlike other holy swords knowing their master's all, Jarak knew nothing of Rishir.
Thus, Jarak startled and went on alert.
A gray-white fire spirit appeared without warning.
"Ah, it's fine. Jarak. Stand down. I summoned it."
As Jarak struggled to keep up.
Rishir addressed the gray-white fire spirit, Dangaleon.
"Dangaleon."
"I mentioned it before. Want to learn to wield your power?"
Kraaaaaah!!!
What pinnacle of ecstasy!!!
This Dangaleon!!! No regrets even in total annihilation!!!
The gray-white fireball writhed fiercely with its roar.
The holy sword could only flail in bewilderment, watching it all.
Same time.
The two hero parties arrived at Goose Mansion's guest quarters, facing them.
Great noble and grand magus.
Talent collector and Frozen Breath.
Fortunately in the mansion conversing together, the heroes sat with them immediately.
Felix explained the ordeal on behalf of his group.
"Rishir's there too?"
The part that first caught their interest amid the shocking tale.
Dray shrugged.
"Then no worries, right? While we're dithering, that guy's probably solved it already."
Palrag stroked his bushy beard and nodded.
Their demeanor made Felix's group praise their snap decision to seek help.
Truly exceptional like heroes sans holy sword.
Their words oozed leisure and confidence.
Even on-site, they'd act the same?
Felix continued hopefully.
"As you said, Rishir's already helped us immensely."
Of course.
Knew it, the two nodded satisfied.
"But even he seems to have hit a wall. His tricks worked on all other demands, but not the last one."
They shot up.
"You said even Rishir couldn't act!?"
The grand magus's eyes widened in utmost shock.
'Suddenly...?'
Their prior nonchalance vanished.
"No time to waste!"
"We need measures now!"
Dray and Palrag fidgeted, rapidly conferring.
The heroes found their reaction odd but felt relief.
The great noble and magus grasped the gravity— in their own way— and seemed fully committed.
"You two! Instead of that, how about discussing with our Pozena— Insight holy sword!?"
As they tried joining the talk.
"Uh, wait. Felix...?"
Jane stared blankly at Felix.
"Jane, you...?"
Felix mirrored back.
The Asking Left Hand's sentence-curse.
The black spots on their necks had vanished.
They bolted up.
The hero parties dashed off desperately.
"..."
"..."
Dray and Palrag exchanged looks, then followed.
"Rishir!?"
"Ah, you're back."
Felix's group arrived, first confirming Rishir safe, sighed in relief.
"Eh...? Wait, Felix. That—"
"...!?"
Then Tilla pointed, and they gasped.
The Asking Left Hand on the desk.
It had lost all ominous aura and form, reduced to a withered husk.
Felix's group grasped it instantly.
"Rishir! My god, you found it again! A way to trick it!!!"
The Insight Hero's eyes sparkled as he approached Rishir.
To the end, Rishir was right.
The Asking Left Hand's unreasonable demand was a riddle with a hidden solution.
Rishir knew the answer.
Knew how to exploit its loophole and deceive it.
"..."
Rishir smiled faintly.
What happened in that short time?
Exhaustion plain on his face.
"How'd you do it!? How'd you trick it!?"
The Hero of Heroes approached and asked.
Rishir replied with relief.
"Luckily, I have a devil companion who taught me black magic."
"I see! A devil companion..."
Eh?
They sensed something off in Rishir's words.