Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Grand Archmage Sion
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The windows were all shrouded in thick cloth, leaving the room in pitch darkness without a single ray of sunlight.
-Kiiiiiiek...
With a rusty hinge screech that sounded like someone's scream, a figure entered the room.
The figure was cloaked head to toe in a dark navy robe, face hidden behind a mask.
As if to prove ownership of the room, the masked figure kicked off their shoes the moment they entered and flung themselves onto the bed.
While the room's owner lay there, face buried in the bed...
"Another failure, huh?"
A voice echoed from within the room, which had clearly been empty moments before.
"Didn't I tell you? You'd never succeed looking like that."
The voice was clear and mystical, like a ringing bell, yet the tone was bluntly rigid and honest.
The voice came from among the clutter scattered carelessly around the room.
A bracelet among the mess began to glow on its own, soon transforming into the shape of a small cat that padded over to the bed's buried occupant.
"...Yeah..."
The room's owner petted the approaching cat as if its presence was nothing unusual.
"What's the problem... I did exactly what the book said."
Unlike the cat's crystalline voice, the owner's was a grating, metallic rasp that set listeners on edge.
Hearing it, the cat let out a sharp 'Haaak!' and scolded its owner.
"When you're in the room, please take off that mask. Didn't I tell you I can't stand hearing that hideous voice anymore?"
"Oh, right."
Still face-down in the bed, the owner lifted their head just enough to remove the mask.
"Sorry, I keep forgetting."
Without the mask, the owner's voice, while not matching the cat's, had its own charm.
If a third party were present besides the cat and owner, they might have been startled by the unexpectedly pleasant voice.
Or more precisely, they wouldn't have even heard it—too mesmerized by the owner's appearance.
The owner was a woman. A strikingly beautiful one at that.
Somehow maintaining flawless skin and hair in this filthy room.
Silver hair spilled from beneath the mask, at first glance suggesting an aged crone, but as she removed it, it framed her features perfectly.
Her eyes, glowing brighter with denser mana, shone deep blue—revealing at once the vast magical power she wielded.
Of course, this didn't mean she was a world-shattering beauty, but it was certainly a face too fine to hide behind a mask.
"The problem...? Sion, I'm asking seriously out of curiosity, but are you sure your species is human?"
The room's owner was none other than Grand Archmage Sion.
One of the Seven Stars who vanquished the Demon King.
The epicenter of all the bizarre rumors swirling around the continent's most shunned mage.
"...Yeah...?"
All those tales stemmed from mere lack of information and misunderstandings, but Sion lacked both the will and means to dispel them.
"So why do you struggle with something as simple as chatting with another human for five minutes? Different language maybe?"
"Th-that's—"
The reason was her abysmal communication skills—she was what you'd call a total 'lone wolf loner' who found even five minutes of talk exhausting.
She wore the mask and robe to hide her identity and avoid attention.
She distorted her voice to cut conversations short.
All measures Sion had devised to dodge human interaction.
"Or is basic chit-chat too daunting for the great Grand Archmage? Do you need to read a stack of 'Mastery of Communication' books? By the way, those are for kids."
"L-Lily... that's too harsh..."
Of course, this left her unable to hold proper conversations with anyone but the cat before her, Lily.
You could say that.
Did someone who'd risen to Grand Archmage really need to bother building relationships?
In a world with solid laws, maybe, but here—where magic and monsters roamed—the law of the jungle reigned.
It wasn't Sion bending to others; it was others bending to her, careful not to offend.
Like a proud lion forced to graze with sheep.
But Sion had a reason she had to do it.
To return to her original world, this one was telling her, 'Tough it out raw!'
Damn jerks.
"Sion, still sulking?"
Oh, and that foul-mouthed cat was included in those 'jerks.'
After I saved her, she repays me by mocking my personality flaws.
No, wait—I don't even see my antisocial nature as a flaw.
It's just optimizing my limited time and energy by skipping pointless social ties—
Wait, what's this texture?
"S-so f-fluffy..."
This devious cat Lily.
Taking advantage of my weakness for soft fur and squishy jelly paws with this cuddle attack.
"Feeling better now, Sion?"
"Y-yeah..."
Some resentment lingered, but I'd let it slide this once and show mercy.
Lily's blunt talk wasn't new, and cats are capricious by nature—owners just have to deal.
Not a real cat, though.
"So—"
As I stroked Lily nestled in my arms, she raised a paw to block my hand and spoke.
Tch, wanted to pet more.
"—what's your plan now, Sion? Time's already passed, and you haven't even cleared a tenth of the achievements you mentioned."
Lily was right.
Weeks had flown since defeating the Demon King, and in that time, I'd only notched a few simple achievements.
Even those few simple ones had been a real ordeal for me.
Still, I'd worked tirelessly on achievements, but plenty remained.
With over 400 total, the road ahead was long.
"You know this pace won't cut it, Sion. We need a more fundamental strategy."
As Lily said, sticking to the current method felt inefficient.
"What's your idea, Lily?"
"Why ask me first? This is your problem."
Tch, Lily always does this.
Whenever I seek advice, she brushes me off coldly, urging me to think for myself.
Something about spoon-feeding leading to indecisiveness.
Still, Lily was the one being in this world I could truly trust.
The only one in Rilteia who knew my true self, while everyone else shunned or feared me.
"Tch... help a little, would ya? You're my artificial spirit—it's your job."
Artificial spirit.
Spirits artificially created by the Magic Tower to assist mages in research and activities.
That was Lily—one of them.
"Sorry, Sion, but did you forget? We've never formed a contract."
"Wha... you're so cold!"
Of course, my bond with Lily was a bit different from the norm.
"Fine, one piece of advice: don't fixate on single achievements. Group similar ones together."
"Huh? Group how?"
"For example... those ridiculous ones you've tried so far."
The few I'd cleared came to mind easily.
"Like 'Chat with a stranger for 5 minutes' or 'Ask a stranger for directions'—you could knock those out together."
"Uh... yeah."
"Same for 'Camp in the mountains' or 'Yell from a mountaintop.' Bundle them and tackle at once."
...Oh, right?
Until now, I'd hyper-focused on one achievement at a time.
Starting easy wasn't bad, but it ate up more time than expected.
By Lily's method? I could clear two at minimum, dozens at max—saving extreme time.
Me, the efficiency nut, missing this? Embarrassing.
Guess I'd never done achievement-hunting content before—bound to be rusty.
Speaking of which—
"Lily, you're a genius as always!"
Good job, pretty kitty—hug time!
"Haaaak!"
...Ow.
"That hurt..."
No need for claws...