Editing Skill Tree Goddess:Volume1 Chapter1 (section)

===Part 3===

“So instead of relying so much on the payback, you need to actually think it through for yourself. Got that?”

“Yeah, yeah. Urp.”

The black-haired boy managed a weary response. He honestly hadn’t been listening. That overly-helpful young woman’s lectures could go on so long he felt like his soul was leaving his body.

When they departed the inn, they were nearly pushed back in by the bustling energy of the city street.

It was hard to believe only a few years before the kingdom had been locked in a large-scale civil war against the monsters…but if he said that aloud, the experts might get after him, insisting this was only a temporary lull in hostilities and they were still at war with the Demon Lord’s army.

The adults were discussing all sorts of things out on the stone-paved main street.

“According to the sky forecaster, a Sky Territory will be passing directly over the capital this afternoon. It’s apparently a water source, so we need to bring our laundry in. We don’t want waterfall water drenching it.”

“Hey, at least there’s a chance some surprise waterfall training will leave a young girl all wet and see-through.”

“Old man, there’s a furious-looking old woman approaching you from behind. And now that I warned you, the rest is in your hands.”

The goddess looked exasperated (while ignoring the old man’s screams).

The street was about the same as always.

Walking side by side, Seliphenia was the taller of the two. More than a whole head taller. …Which really bothered the boy who couldn’t quite reach 140 centemetora.

“So you need money, hm? What a sad life you’ve chosen, Gilbezos. So are you going to visit the guild again and accept another hunting job? Such an inefficient way to live.”

“Do you have a better idea of how I can earn money?”

“Visit Shirayuri’s lab and offer yourself as a subject for human experimentation?”

“No! I am not letting her slather me with plaster so she can make a detailed mold for a new golem!!”

While taking the stone-paved main street to the combat guild, they passed the royal castle which picture book artists the kingdom over would kill to get a chance to see for themselves. Gilbezos ran into a familiar face at the entrance there.

“Oh?  Good morning, Gilbezos.”

“Saezuri.”

Saezuri Ferslona. The 17-year-old older sister of the shut-in was leader of the Undine Knights, one of the kingdom’s five elite fighting forces. Gilbezos liked her because she was polite to him even though he was younger than her. And shorter than her. What an angel!

Unlike Shirayuri’s long and unkempt black hair, hers was cut short and maturely set. Her sharply intellectual face and the brutally enormous sword on her back felt at odds with each other.

Goddess Seliphenia’s lips curled up. But into a nasty grin, not a pleasant smile.

“(A retaliatory force that targets enemy commanders and traitors who threaten the kingdom’s interests is a nice peek at the darker side that allowed the Limonfarbe Kingdom to lay claim to an entire continent.)”

…Please stop. How am I supposed to respond to that?

In Saezuri’s defense, actual revenge was not the main purpose of her knights. Supposedly, the idea was to use the very existence of that trump card to prevent the brutal acts from happening in the first place. But they did do their job when it was necessary. He heard they had no qualms about carrying out what they called “unauthorized cross-border missions” as an example to others.

The lively knight with greenish-black hair asked a question.

“Have you seen my sister? Whenever she learns I am looking for her, she folds up her shop and makes herself scarce. I need to drag that foolish girl outside so she can get some sun. Before the mildew sets in.”

“Hmm…”

“That look means you have seen her, doesn’t it?”

Gilbezos couldn’t see why it mattered so much, but he didn’t think any harm was meant by the extreme meathead who had risen among the knights until she led an entire group of them (while wearing miniskirt armor and wielding a giant sword). She was only assuming what had worked to her would work for her sister. But he was certain ''this'' was the reason Shirayuri’s shut-in tendencies had been growing year by year. Saezuri’s solution was a horrendously poor match for someone as thoroughly indoorsy as her sister.

Seliphenia spoke up while teasing her long blonde hair with a finger. So that she could tease more than just her hair.

“Oh? But doesn’t a good guardian watch silently over their loved one while they live the life they want to live?”

In fact, Shirayuri ran her Necessities Emporium on her own and made a living selling weapons, armor, equipment, medicines, foodstuffs, and more, so she wasn’t causing anyone any trouble. The way Gilbezos saw it, she only seemed to be continuing down the path of a merchant.

But the miniskirt knight glared over at Seliphenia (who she saw as someone of unknown occupation).

“That is called being irresponsible. Your initial skill choices and their arrangement have a major effect on the rest of your life. The roots of the skill tree are the very direction your life will take, so if you realize later on it was a mistake to learn nothing but boring earth type magic, it’s too late to switch over to hot-blooded fire type or elegant water type.”

Saezuri gave a snort from her lovely nose and pushed her chest out.

The lack of jiggling was due to her overly sturdy breastplate. And that sister really needed to apologize to the earth type specialists.

…Also, Seliphenia was supposedly the most beloved of the many gods in this kingdom’s pantheon, yet none of the ordinary people reacted or responded when they heard her name. With so many statues of her, people apparently assumed she had based her look on that and was publicly practicing to play that role in a mythological play.

“Once you learn a skill, it’s with you for life – it can never be taken back. No matter how great your regret, the LAW paid into the Skill Tree is never coming back. That is why it is so crucial to acquire skills according to a plan, not on a whim. If you do not look past the bad influences and learn effective skills, you can ruin your entire life!”

“I feel like it’s even worse to ignore a goddess’s most generous advice.”

“Our Ferslona family worships War God Megalogweleba, not Goddess Seliphenia.”

“So is that flat chest due to the family genetics, or was the entire family cursed after earning the wrath of a goddess? But it’s not too late for you, Shirayuri. You still have time to grow.”

While the knight burned bright with fist clenched, the skill goddess smiled peacefully, her smile even less sincere than a songstress’s fan service.



A learned skill could never be unlearned. The LAW spent to acquire it could not be taken back.



That was why people lived pure, upright lives and aimed to learn the optimal skills. And when they lacked the necessary skills, they would form a party and work with their party members to overcome whatever hardship they faced.

Those righteous and moving stories were formed by that foundational rule that supported all this world’s people and their society.

The small boy sighed softly.

…That did appear to be the rule. ''Just not for him.'' He could freely receive a payback for his skills, regaining the LAW he spent so he could rearrange his skills as many times as he liked.

Seliphenia, who had complete control over the Skill Tree, said this was not some blessing of hers – it was a mysterious trait Gilbezos had been born with.

“Anyway, I assume you’re visiting the guild for the same reason everyone else is today?”

“?”

“For the new suicidal hope of the poor. I do not envy your having to work for money if it means challenging a mountain of a monster like that. Still, I do respect anyone who has the will to fight.”

Bghwhhh!!?

H-how could a knight who ate on the government’s gold possibly understand his troubles!?

“That said, Gilbezos, whatever that woman of unknown occupation might say, I recommend extreme caution if you are going to accept that hunting job. I feel like this recent target is simply too powerful.”

“Hm? Why do you make it sound like this is none of your concern?” asked Seliphenia.

“Because monsters are not my domain. My targets are all human.”

…She had a way of saying terrifying things like that with complete composure.

“What do you mean by too powerful?”

“If you haven’t already heard, you will know what I mean once you check the bounty posters inside.”

It was plain on her face that she had a headache.

It was unusual for that all-physical meathead to complain, but apparently this warranted it.

“His Majesty has personally posted a job. For the immediate slaying of ''Balsta, an S-rank Lindworm-form dragon'' who has taken up residence at the abandoned casino near the capital’s city limits.”