The New Gate:Volume 2 Chapter 1

Shin, who let the young fox sit quietly on top of his head, walked toward the town. After he told the fox “retract your claws back into your paws” repeatedly, the young fox finally settled down. The claws that struck his face until then caused him to stagger.

As a result of having followed the request of the orphanage girl, Millie, a massive amount of Skull Faces were defeated by Shin. And he saved the young fox from the Shinto shrine, which became a battlefield. The forest, after the battle ended, became full of noise from living things, unlike when he first came to the shrine.

Possibly when Shin headed toward the shrine, the group of Skull Faces were already approaching, and the animals went into hiding. But the crowd of Skull Faces were indeed too many for it to occur naturally.

The number of undead appearances popping from tombs or underground dungeon areas might be caused by hazardous swirling miasma. He sighed while advancing forward, because if he didn’t report this, it would be bad.

First of all, how to conceal the Element Tail…while thinking about that, he called out to the young fox which was leisurely resting on top of his head.

“Hey, let’s have a discussion.”

“Kuu?”

The bark with question mark came from the young fox. From the communication a little while ago, it was already revealed that the young fox understood what Shin was saying.

“Because it is bad if your true identity was exposed, do you want to form a contract with me?”

The contract in this case was the partner contract that tamers make.

――Taming. Unlike the summoner who was able to make contracts with numerous summoned beasts without restriction, the tamer was able to do partner contracts only up to 5 per person. However, for other jobs than tamer, it was only possible to do partner contracts once. Even though, he could only contract once, he thought that it was satisfactory as a pet and as a little support personnel. Because Shin had a lot of support characters, he didn’t need a monster partner. But Cashmere, the tamer and summoner of Rokuten, recommended it to him, which was half the reason Shin performed the contract.

Nevertheless. Shin never thought that it would be useful in such a situation.

“Although there is no bonus compensation because I am not a tamer…Your level and race won’t be exposed to other guys, and we will able to communicate without the need of items, too.”

In THE NEW GATE, when there was too much a difference in level and stats, the low-level players would not be able to see the higher level player’s stats. And they must able to see the stats of the player who was the master, before being able to see a monster partner’s stats. In other words, if Shin, who had overwhelming power in this world, formed a contract with the young fox, almost no one could see the stats of the young fox.

By the way, communication (telepathy) became possible between the master and monster partner. While it seemed silent when observed from the outside, the monster partner was given instructions via telepathy during a battle. This was how a tamer fought with their monster partner.

“Kuu!? Ku~Ku~!”

“Really!? I will do it!” as if it said that, the young fox unleashed its claws again. Shin somehow came to understand the young fox even before the contract.

“I understand! I understand so don’t move for a moment!”

He said as he held the young fox facing him while reciting the keywords together.

“I, wish to walk with thee.” “Kuー…”

The young fox answered to Shin’s words. In this case, the contract would be completed if the monster said “I, vow to be on thy side”. When the bark stopped, a tattoo in the shape of a falcon formed respectively on their left arm and left foreleg. This was the mark of the contract which the player created, it was intended to distinguish the difference between a common monster and a monster partner. The monster partner that was raised by a player was basically stronger than a common monster.

“Then, again, I hope to get along with you.”

“Kuu!!”

“Thank you!!” as if it said, the young fox raised its right foreleg and barked. It was a heartwarming scene that would make anyone smile.

“Now then, first thing to do after contracting.”

“Ku?”

“It is to decide your name. Because Element Tail is a race name. It is natural to think about a name for you when you became my partner, I guess?”

“Kuu!? KuーKuー!!”

“And it…calm down! Or I will shake my head!!”

“Really!? What is it!!” As if the fox said that. While calming down the excited young fox, Shin announced the name that popped in his head.

“Yuzuha, how about it?”

“Kukukuu…kuu!!”

The small bark from the young fox fell silent for a while, thinking about the name ‘Yuzuha’. And then it yipped with a noticeably loud and high-pitched “kuu!!”, as if it said that it was pleased with the name.

Rather than a male name, it was a female name that came to Shin’s mind. Because when the Kyuubi quest was accepted, the Element Tail most often appeared as a female figure to the players.

“Well, actually, there is no gender, but…”

The Element Tail was a monster that didn’t have genders, it could become either man or woman and not be tied to either one. Even though it was usual that it appeared as a female figure before a player, he remembered that a male figure appeared very rarely in a walkthrough site. But he never actually saw it.

“Kuu?”

“Nothing. I guess you will become ‘Yuzuto’ when in male mode.”

As in novels, manga, and anime, there was a story such as naked beautiful women appearing the next morning after hugging an animal in bed. He didn’t know whether the Element Tail in this world would appear the same as in the game, but he prefer it to be a female figure anyway. It would be a nightmare for Shin if he woke up only to find that he was cuddling with another man, as he looking forward to an enjoyable sleep.

(My LUC is low. I hope the time when it becomes a person will never come.)

“Kuu?”

“There cannot be a strange good luck…” Shin muttered, and the young fox, Yuzuha, tilted its head. For some reason, he was acting strangely while feeling a little uneasiness, then he stopped thinking about it. Even if it’s called an Element Tail, its body was still that of a young fox. Thinking about difficult things were not of his characteristic, as he was not good at it.

As usual, Shin’s forehead was lightly hit by its paw that had retracted its claws. Moreover, its reaction was like “What happened?”, called out to Shin. For a long time, to Yuzuha, who had endured poison and a curse, a trivial thing such as communication might be nothing but a joyful experience.

◆◆◆◆◆◆

“Hmm?”

As soon as he left the northern forest, a familiar electronic sound, “Pon!”, was heard by Shin. It was the sound of level up, incoming email, event announcement, and so on, which he often heard in the game.

Judging from Yuzuha, who wasn’t reacting, it seemed that it was heard only by Shin.

“Incoming message. From Tiera.”

The semi-transparent letters 『You have a message』 at the edge of Shin’s view became clear. The obvious unrealistic game characteristic, to Shin who already spent a few days in this world, brought the illusion that he was still inside the game.

“There is a feeling of something wrong because of this half-baked system.”

Although he didn’t feel odd obviously because having seen the game screen through the VR (Virtual Reality), when it happens in reality, the feeling of something wrong couldn’t be shaken off. Is this the feeling when game and reality are mixed? Shin frowned, but it was certainly a convenient thing. He sighed as he had no choice but to get used to it, and opened the message.

『To Shin

When I tried it, I was able to send a message to master.

Though I don’t know whether master has a message card or not, when the reply comes, I will contact you again.

P.S.

Is it possible to send items via the message card?』

Tiera, who was Schnee’s acquaintance in this world, seemed to able to send the message card without any problems. Since Shin was not able to send the message card to Schnee himself, he didn’t think about the possibility that Tiera could communicate with Schnee before.

“Well because she already contacted her, it’s a good thing.”

He convinced himself that it was alright while looking at an unused message card to reply as an attachment. The message card became drops of light and was sucked into the letter paper of the reply. It appeared to be possible to attach only light items, but it was satisfactory and convenient.

“…Is this happening because it’s this world? The attaching items was not possible in the game.”

The game and reality are not the same, and the inspection of other items was necessary, he made a mental note of this. There were unexpected things likely to occur in this world other than the game.

Given the number of items in his Item Box, it would require a considerable amount of time for the inspection. Shin, while thought about it, had a slight headache.

“If Schnee reply something, contact me immediately.”

He replied to the message which included the method for item attachment, then he continued walking. He was heading towards the east gate of the town.

He decided to report about the army of nearly three digits worth of Skull Faces to the guild, and leave out Yuzuha from the report, even if he had to lie.

“Yo Shin. This time you brought something strange again.”

It was Beid who called out by the east gate. There was no formality like when they met at the first time, probably because they encountered each other pretty much every day.

“This is my partner, Yuzuha. I would like to confirm something, when I take a monster partner with me, is there any restriction or something?”

Even if it was accompanied by a tamer, Shin expected that it would be difficult to just let a monster into the town.

“There are various restrictions in case of aggressive monsters or monsters that have huge body’s, but there is no problem if it’s that small, I guess. Just in case, I will have you to write the necessary document for preparation here for the time being. After that, your companion has to show the mark of your contract to complete the registration process.”

“This is unexpectedly lenient.”

Because he thought it would be strict, he was a little disappointed.

“Of course, it is strict when a guy appears to act violently and dangerous. In addition, a tamer must take all the responsibility if their monster partner causes some trouble. And be careful, because there are such guys who start fights on purpose, and demand a payment from the tamer.”

“Ah, such guys exist too.”

“Yes, unfortunately. Moreover, the monster partner was only aimed at when the tamer ability was restricted at that time. The regulations are difficult around there.”

“I’m thinking whether it is lenient or not…”

Because there were people who tried to catch and sell rare monsters, Shin understood Beid’s words of caution.

Just in case, counterattacking seemed to be permitted for the time being if he was going to arrest them with brute force. But the processing afterward seemed to be troublesome, “Do it thoroughly in a place where it won’t be found out if you do it” said Beid. He didn’t know whether it was fine for a guard to say that, but he understood about the monster partner and start of a fight, and since most of the criminals belonged to the monster’s trade organization, it was said that they didn’t need pardon.

“Name is Yuzuha, race is demon fox. The rest is…”

He wrote the necessary words on the document which Beid brought.

Demon fox was a race to which a type of fox monster belonged to, and there were many players who made it their pet in the game.

Element Tail was classified as a first class boss, and categorized as an ‘Element Tail’ race while at the same time being of the demon fox tribe. One could say that it was a higher kind, like High Human or High Elf.

So the race that Shin wrote in the document was not completely random. Though it was not the whole truth either.

“…Yosh, I have finished filling out the document. Please confirm it.”

“…Hmm. There aren’t any problems. Then, the registration of the contract mark is completed. Please touch with the arm and foreleg that have the contract mark on this.”

When Beid confirmed there was no discrepancy, he handed the document to another guard and held out a purple sphere with the size of a baseball.

Shin and Yuzuha touched the globe with their left arm and left foreleg respectively. Thereupon the globe slightly shined, and the contract mark with falcon design appeared inside the globe.

“The registration process has ended with this. And though I don’t want it to happen, in case your monster partner dies or has been kidnapped, there is the procedure of registration cancellation. Please remember it, just in case.”

“I understand. I hope it will not happen.”

He nodded to Beid’s detailed circumstance speech that turned a little businesslike, then Shin left the gate.

Since Yuzuha was sitting on top of his head, the passersby were glancing at Shin as he walked on the street without minding it. Because Shin already predicted it would become like that. Small children and the like, pointed “it’s fox-san” and Shin, were warned by their parents. Though it was not necessary to place the fox on his head, Shin judged that it might be a little dangerous if Yuzuha walked on the ground where there was a lot of pedestrian traffic. Of course, the one who clashed with Yuzuha would be the one in danger.

He endured the glances from the surrounding onlookers, and passed through beneath the signboard of the adventurers’ guild. Here, also without exception, Yuzuha, who resided on Shin’s head, was attracting glances.

There were the appearances of two miss receptionists who resembled each other like two peas in a pod. They were the twin sisters Celica and Cilica.

“Excuse me. I would like to report something.”

“I will receive it.”

Two people answered at the same time. The timing almost identical. Both were glancing at Yuzuha for a moment, but it was the feeling of mere confirmation rather than the eyes of curiosity.

“Well, errr, which one should I report to?”

“I will ――”

“Receive it!”

The one who interrupted elder sister Celica’s answer, was the younger sister Cilica. The diligent elder sister and the mischievous younger sister ―― Shin right away judged from their hairstyle, and he didn’t seem to be mistaken about it.

“…Cilica”

“What?”

“Shin-sama came to me first, therefore I will receive it.”

“Eh, am I no good?”

“It’s no good, I will do it.”

“Somehow your mood is different than usual.”

“What’s different?”

“Yes yes, I understand. I will behave myself.”

In the end, Celica seemed to be declared as the winner. For Shin it didn’t matter which one he reported to, as it was all the same to him.

“…Uhm, the report?”

“Yes, sorry for the fuss. Your report please.”

“Today, near the center of the northern forest, I encountered a large amount of Skull Faces. I confirmed that I defeated all of those within my range, but because a stray monster might remain, I’m reporting it just in case.”

“A large amount…what do you mean by that?”

“I don’t know the exact number because I never counted them, but I think it was near 100 bodies.”

“Huh?…”

Nearly 100 Skull Faces bodies ―― There was the matter of the Jack class subjugation the other day too, so the remark of “I defeated them” caused a weak response from Celica, but as expected, it was not possible to hide her shock because of that large number.

“Don’t tell me it is what I think it is, is it the same strong individual like the other day?”

“No, this time the ones I encountered didn’t exceed the general knowledge of level and equipment. The class is a mixed of Jack and Pawn class, and they moved to surround a certain building.”

“A building?”

“Yes. A Shinto shrine…it was a facility to worship a God.”

Since he wasn’t sure whether she would understand the words Shinto shrine, he roughly explain it.

“Shinto shrine…I have heard that there was such a thing in the Hinomoto country, but I didn’t know that there was one in the northern forest.”

It seemed to be the result of the barrier which prevented living things to come near. Furthermore, the barrier wasn’t spread widely, so it was hard to notice.

“I was anxious when I heard the sound of something cracking as I approached, and at the same time the Skull Faces emerged. Perhaps a barrier or something was erected, I think.”

“So did you find something?”

“Though there were a few things inside the building, something like a magic formation was drawn on the floor. That’s all the features I can think of.”

The matter of Yuzuha was concealed, in addition, he cited where the worrisome place was to others.

“Thank you for your report. Including the matter of the Jack class on the other day, I will investigate this one too. Besides, if you noticed anything else, please contact me again. I might not able to understand it if Shin-sama is not present.”

“I understand. I will come again if I remember something else.”

Then he shifted his attention to the bulletin board where the requests were pasted. When he took the request of Hillock Herb before, he only looked at the G rank requests. This time Shin looked over the large amount of requests which he couldn’t take at his current rank. And then incidentally, he found that another bulletin board existed, hidden beside the main bulletin board.

Its size was about 30 cemels in length and width. It had a handmade feeling from the pasted on requests. And it couldn’t be compared with the adjacent bulletin board.

Shin, who took a little fancy to it, took a look at the requests which were pasted in a disorderly manner. Then, he found a word that caught his eye in the request that was mixed with others. He took it in his hand and scanned it properly.

―― Requesting a skill successor.

―― The one who accepted this request, please contact the church’s orphanage at east district.

―― Reward negotiable.

The contents of the request was seen, and Shin noticed that the request was not covered by rank.

There were requests that were not covered by rank, like the request related to criminals or the request from poor children that were put on the bulletin board, according to Cilica’s explanation about the request.

If one asked why set up such things, the answer would be any person has the freedom to do requests.

“I have a feeling that this is a special circumstances request. That rumor is not necessarily a mistake, is it?”

Shin said while thinking about that. He recalled some of the information he collected while using the hearing skill. Though it was only a rumor, the content made him a little worried.

It was the connection between the guilds; especially the relation between the ones called as the underground guilds and the adventurers’ guild. To be precise, the normal guilds, like the adventurers’ guild or merchant guild, were accepted by the society, and the underground guilds undertook crimes such as assassination and kidnapping.

According to the rumor, the underground guilds were performing purges for the nobles and the like, such as forcing unreasonable demands and violent requests, and the normal guilds were said to overlook the crimes of these underground guilds. Though the truth was uncertain, it was not laughable matter if there was ‘something’.

“Even if it’s the orphanage. If I am not mistaken, it’s the orphanage where Millie was.”

He recalled what Wilhelm said before parting the other day. When Shin thought that there might be a relation with the girl who brought the opportunity for him to meet Yuzuha, it would leave a bad aftertaste if he left it as it was.

“…I should go and check.”

Because originally Shin intended to ask Millie about Yuzuha, at the same time, he would listen to the contents of the request. Shin decided to head over to the orphanage.

◆◆◆◆◆◆

After he asked Celica how to get to the church from there, he walked for several minutes. Later, Shin was in front of the church.

Shin imagined it was a place of worship combined with stained glass when he heard about the church, and it was exactly as he imagined it. There was a big open door, worshipers who sat on the bench inside, and a ray of light that shined from the stained glass could be seen. The sun seemed to rise from the other side of the stained glass. The light, which shined into the little dim chapel like a halo, was indeed mysterious.

There were two sisters inside if the worshipers were excluded. No figure such as a pastor or priest could be seen.

(There are a few differences in the interior design, but this is certainly an architectural skill 『Church』.)

He thought about such things while looking around the chapel. Architectural skill was a skill necessary for constructing a building, just as its name implied.

Because he was brought up by Cain, who was both a magician and an architect of Rokuten, Shin’s architectural skill level was raised to VI. Thanks to that, Shin understood a little bit about bad and good points in buildings.

He understood that the interior was old, but it was carefully taken care of. With that alone, he more or less knew the personality of the person managing the church.

“May I help you?”

“Hmm? Ah, sorry. This is my first time coming to this place.”

Shin was observing the church near the entrance. One of the sisters saw him and right away approached him. It was a young women with a dark eyes and chignon, light brown hair.

Though he came to the church, he was not praying and just standing near the entrance, which was quite suspicious. Yet, there was no wary tone from the sister toward Shin.

Because he didn’t have business with the church, he decided to ask about the orphanage.

“I have a business with the orphanage.”

“Are you the one who saw the request!”

The sister voiced an exaggerated surprise. There must be very few people who accepted the request she put on the bulletin board. Either that or she didn’t expect anyone to accept the request for her to be that surprised.

“Well, shall I listen to the story first? And then, is there a child beast named Millie in this orphanage? This young fox…Yuzuha, I want to confirm it with Millie.”

Shin said and pointed to Yuzuha above his head. Although the sister was staring in wonder at Yuzuha, whom she had just noticed, but she turned to Shin shortly after that while giving him a cautious look.

“That kid, what?”

“When I met her yesterday, I was interested in what she said to me. Besides, I want her to confirm a few things about Yuzuha and about the request at the same time.”

From the sister’s attitude, was there any special circumstances with Millie? While Shin thought about that, he lowered his voice so other people didn’t hear it.

“…Okay. Come this way, please. Sister Rashia, please take over here.”

After having slightly considered it, the sister who was cautious of Shin, left the place and prompted him to follow her after she entrusted the place to other sister.

When the sister went out through the door, he went around to the back of the church. There was an old building there. The building, which reminded him of an apartment, had traces of repairs in several places, but Shin didn’t pay attention to the shabby impression. This appeared to be the orphanage.

“Please wait here while I get Millie.”

He entered a place that was supposedly a reception office. When Shin sat on a sofa and looked around, the sister brought Millie shortly afterwards.

“…It’s Shin-nii”

Millie who was hiding behind the sister, ran to Shin and sat next to him when she found out that it was Shin who sat on the sofa.

“…It seems like you really aren’t a bad guy after all.”

The sister smiled and sat on a sofa in front of Shin.

“I’m embarrassed if I am suddenly being looked at by those kind eyes…”

“Fufu, I’m sorry. It’s been a long time since Millie became attached to someone.”

“Wilhelm said the same thing too. Oh, I am Shin. An adventurer.”

“This time it seems that you have accepted Millie’s request, thank you very much. I am Thoria Serias. I am in charge of management of the sisters in the church and the orphanage.”

This sister seemed to be the person in charge. Shin, who didn’t know about the personnel affair of the church in the meantime, was convinced.

“There is a little thing I want to confirm today. Hey Millie, when you said ‘fox-san’ yesterday, is it this fellow?”

“Yes, it is. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Yuzuha, say thanks too. It was all thanks to Millie that you were helped.”

“Kuu!”

While patting Millie’s head, Shin didn’t forget to make Yuzuha said her gratitude. In fact, he didn’t know what would have happened to Yuzuha if not for Millie’s words.

Yuzuha got down to the floor and lowered its head, and after satisfied with Millie’s confirmation, Shin turned to face toward the sister.

While patting Millie’s head, Shin didn’t forget to make Yuzuha said her gratitude. In fact, he didn’t know what would have happened to Yuzuha if not for Millie’s words.

The sister, who was watching the exchange between Millie and Yuzuha, straightened her posture while smiling.

“There is one more thing I need to confirm. It’s about the request in the guild. Can I hear more details about it?”

“Yes. Because Shin-san looks like a person I can trust.”

Thoria nodded with serious face. After all, there seemed to be a reason, as it was a request outside the rank.

“Having read the request means Shin-san is a skill successor, right?”

“Well, you could say I am.”

Though it differed from the truth, Shin nodded as he didn’t want the talk to become confusing.

“The reason I’m looking for a skill successor is, though I think it is impudent, I want you to teach the skill if possible.”

Shin heard from Tiera that just having a skill could gain you preferential treatment, although it was said that a considerable amount of effort and money were necessary for the succession. Shin hadn’t seen it yet, but apparently there were degraded versions of skills which were called arts.

As the sister talked about the skill, several necessary skills appeared in Shin’s mind.

“After all, is it the【Heal】 and 【Cure】 system?”

“No, It’s different. Those are certainly necessary skills, but the circumstances are different this time.”

“Circumstances?”

Because they were necessary skills for the recovery job, could you teach me those? Shin thought the sister would say that, but it seemed to be different for some reason.

“Then, what is the skill that Thoria-san was looking for?”

“…Tion, it is.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear it properly.”

“…【Purification】, it is.”

“Ahh, it is【Purification】.”

Thoria said as she was ready to give up, because she knew she was asking the impossible.

“I know this is absurd…”

“Because it is troublesome, right?”

“Yes troublesome…what?”

A few seconds after Shin’s remark, for the first time, Thoria noticed that Shin’s response was odd.

“Errr…what did you say just now?”

“No, it is troublesome. I said.”

Thoria was having a face trying to squeeze the words, in contrast to Shin who said what came to his mind.

“Erm, to acquire the skill, do you know it?”

“Yes, I know it.”

“…The request, can you accept it?…”

“It depends.”

Shin changed into a serious expression from those words.

Though Shin spoke in a thoughtless tone, he calmly analyzed the information in his head. He thought he understood something about Millie, but he didn’t have even a fragment of information about her. Instead, he got to know about the trouble in the church. In addition, he didn’t expect that the skill would be 【Purification】, but he daringly said that he had the information about 【Purification】. Although he had poor knowledge about this world, he wasn’t that foolish to teach the skill to the sister during their first meeting.

“I would like some time to think about the reward.”

“No, the monetary things are fine. Instead, there are some conditions.”

Conditions, Thoria stiffens by that word. As if she knew what Shin would say next.

“Conditions?”

“Yes, first of all, about Millie’s power. Subsequently, I want the information you obtained in the church, the term for the condition is one year. Finally, I want it to be a secret that I accepted this request. Even from the higher-ups in the church . Please say it was a volunteer service by me.”

The church was a place where various people regardless of age or sex gathered. There might be some information that came out before God, Shin thought. And since Thoria seemed like a good person, this type of conversation seemed to be unfamiliar to her.

Apart from that, Shin’s preference was about Millie’s power. It might be something like future foresight or crisis perception. Shin’s nature as a gamer spontaneously thought about it. That thought, if in his former world, would be laughed off.

“These conditions are the rewards I wish for.”

On the other hand, Thoria, who was asked, seemed to hesitate for what she should do.

From Thoria’s point of view, it was accompanied with a great risk to reveal Millie’s power to a person whom she didn’t know and who appeared suddenly. There was no conclusive proof that Shin wasn’t going to expose this story either.

In addition, she even had to defy the higher-up of the church in some cases. It couldn’t be helped but to say that the conditions were relentless in exchange for the 【Purification】 skill. To make matters worse, there was no evidence that Shin really knew the acquisition method of 【Purification】. And if Millie’s power was known to someone powerful and greedy, Millie herself would be in danger. It was not an agreement that she could consent to thoughtlessly.

Silence filled the reception room.

Shin was waiting for an answer and Thoria was keeping quiet.

“…It’s alright.”

It was Millie’s words who broke the silence between the two people.

It’s alright. Millie said while looking at Thoria. Her eyes were not the eyes of a young child, they harboured mysterious glows.

“Millie?”

“If it is Shin-nii, it’s alright.”

“…………”

Though Thoria still kept silent considering it, having made up her mind after looking at Millie’s appearance, she opened her mouth slowly and nodded.

“I understand. I accept the conditions. However, even though you might say information, we are amateurs. I don’t know whether we can be helpful by investigating or doing something for you.”

“You don’t have to act strangely. You can inform me if someone comes to the church and says something worrisome. The real nature of Millie’s power is more important to me.”

Shin explained that she didn’t need to imitate the information seller. It would be dangerous if it was done unskillfully. He urged that the power of Millie was by far the main issue.

“…Millie has had the title 『Hoshiyomi』 since birth. From Millie’s story, the scenery abruptly differentiates from her normal view. Actually, nothing Millie has said was wrong as long as one did not do something. I think the reason why she requested Shin-san is because she saw something with that power.”

“ 『Hoshiyomi』? For Millie to have such power…”

“Yes…Do you know something about it? As for this title, even I don’t know much about it. And title holders are fewer than skill successors, since they almost never exposed their ability. I only know it from Millie’s story.”

Hmm, Shin pondered.

『Hoshiyomi』 was originally a title which could be obtained from a quest with a simple hint. It was a rare title, but it was not something to be worried about.

When Shin was there Millie’s power, which Thoria told him about, didn’t manifest. There might be certain conditions, but it didn’t come to Shin’s mind at all. Although there were no powers in THE NEW GATE that Shin didn’t know about.

Possibly it might have become the clue as to how to return to his original world.

(Not only the message card, there is a change even in the title, too? Though it was not useless to try to understand it, the title is hard to confirm because it cannot be activated voluntarily. The 『Hoshiyomi』 effect for future foresight is not certain either.)

Titles in particular were divided between random activation type and regular activation type.『Hoshiyomi』 was occasionally activated when a quest was generated, so it was in the middle between the two types.

Then――

“Kidnapping, abduction, confinement. It was too scary if Millie’s power was found out. People who thought about such dangerous things are likely to appear. What about this side?”

Only worrisome words had appeared in his mind. The lighter tone probably comes from his past experiences.

By the way, this time he talked close to Millie’s ear.

“I will tell the person concerned not to talk about it carelessly, so it won’t spread easily. That person is someone who left here and become an adventurer, he will cooperates with me.”

“Is it Wilhelm?”

“Yes, there are others, but he is the best for protection. The people who want to put their hands on the children here are almost all gone because of their fear of his ability.”

That small children were likely to be the target of evil deeds didn’t seem to change anywhere.

Although Wilhelm was feared by the adventurers, it seemed that Wilhelm was not a bad person, Shin thought. He protected the orphanage by gaining fame, whether it was good or bad.

Even though the drawback was that there was the possibility that someone had a grudge against Wilhelm and would therefore target the orphanage, somehow other adventurers would do something about it. Since there were not many things he could do alone.

“Then, because I received the reward, I want to formally accept the request. Is it agreeable with Thoria-san to acquire the 【Purification】?”

“No, It’s not for me to acquire, I want to request it for Rashia. You saw another sister in the church, right? That girl, please teach it to her.”

“Is that so? I certainly thought it was Thoria-san in this case.”

“That girl is the grandchild to a person who served as a priest here. Because if the plan goes smoothly, the church will be handed over to her by inheritance.”

Apparently, there seemed to be some circumstances other than the 【Purification】. Shin had a wry smile while stroking Yuzuha, as it was likely to turn into a complicated development.

A minute discussion with the person concerned was proposed by Thoria and Shin accepted, he would have to wait in the orphanage until the church closed. It was understandable because she couldn’t afford to neglect her work. Furthermore, he intended to keep the children company, too.

“Fox!?”

“It’s fox-san!”

“I want to hold it!”

“Me too!”

“Kuu~…”

The children of the orphanage were interested in Yuzuha.

Though it was bad for it to be made into a toy, he asked Yuzuha to put up with it this time. Shin intended to join in if he saw the opportunity.

In contrast to Yuzuha, the children didn’t approach Shin at all. Only Millie was near Shin.

“Although it is understandable, what is this feeling of defeat…”

“…Don’t give up?”

The consolation caused his eyes to sting.

“…Well, to be attached to a guy who suddenly came and had a conversation is unreasonable, huh?”

As for the children, their wariness was strong. They would not trust him, no matter how much he was introduced by Thoria. All the more to the orphans who had lost their parents or siblings.

“Millie doesn’t want to join in?”

“I lose.”

“Lose what?”

“Yeah…”

Though a somewhat unexpected answer came back, the point was that she was defeated by a stronger opponent.

Millie remained anxious on whether or not to jump into the group that surrounded Yuzuha.

When he thought about that, Yuzuha was not able to endure anymore. It slipped through between the children, rushed to Shin and climbed up to on top of his head. Its fur was somehow bristled up, as if it was being cautious.

“Yuu-chan, come.”

“…Kuu.”

When Millie called, after pausing a little while, Yuzuha barked and settled itself into Millie’s arms.

Yuzuha’s wariness seemed to have faded compared to when it met them the first time. And its nickname seemed to be Yuu-chan.

“With this, only I hold it.”

“What a schemer!?”

“Without effort, victory.”

“You are saying something like that!?”

She seemed to have foreseen that Yuzuha would not be able to endure it and would run away.

“Millie, you’re a frightening girl!!”

Shin retorted. In the middle of such an exchange, from a distance, the children started to look at Shin.

Now a relatively serious girl, who appeared to be the oldest, stood before Shin as he thought ‘What’s up with that?’ There seemed to be courage in this girl. She might be a child in an elder sister position because she said, “Hey boy!” And she was not one of the children who had gathered around Yuzuha.

The girl had evenly cut, grey hair that extended down to her shoulders. If the children who gathered around Yuzuha were around lower grade elementary school students, this girl looked like an upper grade junior high school student. Her green eyes were tense, with an -ask something- look.

“…Hello.”

“Hello. You might already have heard it from Thoria, but I am Shin. I am an adventurer. Nice to meet you.”

“Kua, it is. Nice to meet you, too.”

To make sure, he introduced himself again. Was it the result of her being fearless? She introduced herself without feeling pressured.

“By the way, this fox is Yuzuha. Please excuse my partner from too much whisker and tail pulling.”

“Are you the person who came to help us?”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

Shin would understand if she said, “person who came to help the Sisters”, but what about the remark “us”?

“Because the Sister told us that the place here might be lost.”

“The church will be lost?”

“No, only the orphanage.”

“Only the orphanage?”

Shin, who thought the church and the orphanage were a set, was surprised at Kua’s words.

What will happen to all the children who live here if the orphanage is lost? From Kua’s perspective, it was not a nice premonition

“May I hear the story for the time being? I don’t really know the details.”

“…I understand.”

Was Shin’s determination transmitted? Kua began to speak calmly.

And, he understood several things from Kua’s story.

First, the management of this church was not entrusted to someone unless they were a priest with a certain extent of ability, and Thoria didn’t meet the qualifications. The priest, in this case, referred to a job. Father and sister were similar to the priest job, they just differed in name.

Second, when one couldn’t meet the qualification as it was, another priest would take over the management here. Apparently, the man who was the next candidate would demolish the orphanage. It was really doubtful whether the man was a real Priest or not.

Third, a relative of the former manager. In the case of identical qualification holders, the relative would be put in a higher priority for the succession order. And this was the reason Thoria pushed it to the other Sister, Rashia. If Rashia succeeded this church, the current problem would be solved.

Shin, who didn’t think that the child was well-informed about the circumstances, was a little surprised while he heard the story.

“Even so, why is that Priest not going to keep the orphanage, even though it’s the same church?”

Judging from the actions of Thoria and Rashia, the church was an independent organization that helped other people.

However, the next candidate Priest’s actions were strange in this situation.

“We hate that person.”

“What kind of person is he?”

The children behind her were nodding at Kua’s words.

He asked what kind of person he was, yet Shin was somehow able to predict Kua’s answer.

“That pig is blinded by money.”

“…Ah, yes. Just that alone is enough.”

When a child said an abusive remark, one could imagine what kind of person that man was.

Though he understood that it was rash to judge only from one viewpoint, it was unreasonable in this state of affair.

By all means, there were always corrupt members somewhere in an organization. Shin had a distant look.

“In other words, the acquisition of 【Purification】 is required so that Rashia can take over the church?”

As Els from the guild said, 【Purification】 was a skill, a very special one for a priest.

“Because Shin-nii will help, it will be all right.”

“It can’t be asserted with only this.”

He warned Millie who was full of confidence in herself.

This time he intended to teach by the original method without using the secret book. In this case, if the person in question didn’t make any effort, it would not have much effect, even with Shin’s help.

He didn’t want to use 【Secret Books Creation】, because he didn’t know what kind of significance 【Secret Books Creation】 had in this world. Besides, he wanted Rashia to get used to fighting scenes.

From Kua’s story, he didn’t think that the problem of the church would be solved just by acquiring the 【Purification】skill. In 9 out of 10 cases, the predicament was that it would become a fighting scene. Although it was likely to end when Wilhelm started to rampage.

“But, if Millie-chan said so, I wonder if it’s really all right?”

Kua muttered and Shin asked about it.

“Is what Millie says always right on the money?”

“Yes, although she seldom tells me something about when the shop is cheap or where the sweets are put away.”

“No, wait, that is something different.”

Shin worried about Millie for being seen as weird because of her good intuition, but the unexpected reply about food came back.

“Weird?”

Millie looked up at Shin.

“No, it is not weird. But it’s rather a good thing…?”

Because he thought he should cover the one he should conceal, he questioned if it might be good.

He felt that she had a grown-up mentality, which Shin thought might be caused by 『Hoshiyomi』, as she had seen various things with that power.

“Well, it’s good if you don’t overdo it.”

He said while patting Millie’s head.

Initially Millie showed a face of wondering, but she looked comfortable after being patted.

“Being patted, love it.”

Afterwards, there were children of the beast race that looked enviously at Millie, who seemed very comfortable.

◆◆◆◆◆◆

They played together for several hours while Millie broke the ice with the other children. By the time Thoria returned to the orphanage, all of the younger children and some of the older ones were inside their dreams, leaving the other children behind.

“When I see the children sleeping…”

The words she was about to say stopped. It seemed that Thoria’s strength came from seeing the children who slept peacefully. As one might expect, she would hesitate to have Shin, whom she just met today, take care of the children.

“…these children seem to be completely off guard, too.”

“That’s right, and it’s nice to see.”

There was the figure of the girl called Rashia in the church behind Thoria. She had gray hair and the same chignon as Thoria. From her brown eyes, Shin could perceive the same tension as Kua had not long ago.

“Is that Rashia-san?”

“Ye-yes! This time I hope to get along with zu…iyai”

It appeared that she bit her tongue.

“Uhm, are you alright?”

“Though she has a little careless side to her, I can assure you she will do her best.”

This was followed by Thoria who showed a little bitter smile.

“Uu, I’m sorry. It was an unsightly scene.”

“Well, let’s be at ease. I’m Shin. An Adventurer. I will instruct you in how to learn the skill 【Purification】. However, whether it can be mastered is up to Rashia-san. Don’t forget that.”

“Yes!!”

She returned an answer clearly this time. Those eyes showed earnestness itself.

“Then, let’s move on to the finer details. First of all, I want to ask you two; Do you know of a place where undead monsters with high levels appear in large quantities? If not, I will check with the guild.”

There were essential conditions for the acquisition of 【Purification】. Generally, how long it took for acquiring it would depend on the place.

“I think the famous one is ‘Wraith Plains’.”

“Wraith Plains?”

Shin looked puzzled at the name of the place that came out from Thoria’s mouth, as he had never heard of it before.

“Yes. After you leave the country, the plains are located in the north. Originally, there seemed to have been a dungeon there, but a part of it rose above the ground due to the former natural disasters.”

“A dungeon is above ground? Is there such a thing?”

“I heard that there are other, similar cases, but the details are…”

“Well, since this time the task requires undead monsters, I’d say it’s perfect.”

In this case, he felt it was too timely, but decided to not to worry about it. He was saved the trouble of looking for such place one by one. He didn’t seem to have much time according to the story he heard. It would be better to start early, Shin thought.

“So, how long do you need to travel to arrive there?”

“You can expect ――”

“5 or 6 days by carriage.”

“…Ara, Will, did you just return?”

The one who interrupted Thoria’s words was Wilhelm, who had shown up at the entrance. He was carrying Venom in his hand, and was quietly raising his fighting spirit.

“Yo, I’m interfering.”

“Are you the adventurer who responded to the request?”

Though Wilhelm seemed calm on the surface, Shin knew that Wilhelm was openly prepared for battle.

“That’s correct, since I have received the rewards, I don’t mind teaching 【Purification】.

“…What did you hear?”

Wilhelm saw through Shin’s answer that the reward was not some kind of money or goods. His eyes were saying ‘I will not forgive a lie.’

Shin took a short pause and replied.

“…Millie’s title, and what kind of power she has. Afterwards, the talk of to make sure the information didn’t leak with the adventurers of orphanage alumni.

“Is it okay to put this much trust in him?”

The words were directed to Thoria.

“It’s okay. I don’t see him as a bad person. Besides, Millie also assured it. That it was all right.”

Wilhelm, who knew Millie’s power, was like “No way!” as he looked at Millie.

“…Did you see it…?”

“Yeah.”

“…I see.”

Millie’s word rendered him silent momentarily, and respond with a few words. He seemed to agree for the time being.

“Ah, did you settle the dispute?”

“Yes, since Millie said so, I will trust you for now.”

Shin could do nothing but shrug his shoulders to that reaction.

“I never thought of spreading what I heard, abusing Millie’s power or anything like that.”

“Indeed. If someone dares to do such things, I will kill that guy.”

Wilhelm told the joke while waving Venom, but his eyes were completely serious. There was a hint that the spear could be sent flying anytime.

“Mu~, quarrel, cannot!”

“Oops.”

“Uu”

Millie, who sensed the tense atmosphere, sweetly interrupted it. Wilhelm, who appeared to not be in a mood to press any further, let go of his fighting spirit.

“I’m sorry, I’ve never been a patient person.”

“Will doesn’t have the habit of patience.”

“Impatience Will-nii.”

Thoria and Rashia followed up casually. It seemed like it was more to criticize than to follow up.

“They told you…”

“You bastard…”

Shin had a hunch that if an ordinary man felt his fighting spirit, they would be completely frightened, yet Thoria and Rashia still remained calm despite being commoners.

“Well it’s fine. From the various things I’ve heard, in this case, they will receive information about 【Purification】, huh?”

“Just in case, keep it a secret from others.”

“Don’t worry. The information is about the church’s secret, it would be dangerous if someone were to talk about it.”

Others were nodding to Wilhelm’s remark. Apparently. Shin thought the church had a large influence.

“Did you put up the eavesdrop prevention magic just to make sure?…Well then, the main subject. The acquisition method for 【Purification】 is to defeat at least 200 undead monsters whose levels are higher than 150, while having the item called 【Prayer of Saint Sphere】. Because it only counts the decisive blow that defeats the enemy, I will weaken the monsters first so that Rashia can defeat them.”

“…Oi, is it true, seriously?”

“I’m serious. The truth is, obtaining the 【Prayer of Saint Sphere】 is really difficult, but it’s okay this time, because I have it.”

Shin talked about it like it was nothing.

Though he didn’t realize it, monsters whose level exceeds 150 were very dangerous existences to an ordinary person of this world. Rashia, who heard that she was required to defeat at least 200 monsters, was dumbfounded like her soul froze.

“Oi, Rashia!”

“Hahi!!”

“Oioi, are you alright?…”

Wilhelm tapped her shoulder and Rashia returned to her sanity. Besides, Rashia had no other option but to persevere.

“Oi Shin. I will also go together with you this time.”

“Yes, it does not matter, but she might be more at ease if she had someone with her whom she knows.”

If they were only 2 people, he guessed it would be severe. Shin who considered Rashia’s mental state.

Although he saw Rashia’s reaction, even if it was an adventurer in this world, it would be difficult to clear the trial Shin talked about. Shin thought he himself was prudent, but he unconsciously based it on the standard from the game era.

“Then, Rashia, try your best.”

“Yes, I will do my best!”

While Shin was thinking, Rashia somehow appeared to have recovered, too. Since she held responsibility for the church, she had to get over this.

After Rashia settled on her resolution, the discussion of minor things came to an end.

While it’s better to move quickly, the preparation time for each person was considered. The meeting place was decided to be in front of the east gate.

◆◆◆◆◆◆

After Shin left the church, the others started preparing for tomorrow. Rashia and Thoria explained to the children while preparing for the journey.

Wilhelm had gone out to purchase the necessary food and goods for the long journey.

He called out to trusted adventurers who were orphanage alumni, while at the same time, walking along the main street to buy the necessary things. It was because the Priest who tried to demolish the orphanage was not likely to make a move if someone was there.

Even if it was the adventurers from the orphanage, the people who knew about Millie’s power were limited. He had to convey all members to be on the lookout, since there was the possibility of a long time absence. While busy, Wilhelm kept thinking about a certain man.

Needless to say, it was Shin.

He met him for the first time in his favorite restaurant and shared a table by chance. Though Shin just became an adventurer, Wilhelm was surprised that Shin was talking to him without fear, despite him having Venom. Thus he was able to recall him immediately when they met again in the orphanage.

He heard that Thoria talked about Millie’s power with Shin in the church, and thought that no matter how he looked at it, Shin was being trusted too much, but he consented for the time being since Millie asserted that it was all right. Moreover, Millie said “I saw it”. Somehow, though he couldn’t say so himself, at least he was sure that Shin was not a dangerous person. Otherwise, he didn’t think that Millie would support Shin.

However, it didn’t change the fact that he didn’t know Shin’s true character.

If he thought about it carefully, he noticed that there were many odd things or spots. Especially the remark “Did you appraise it?”, and when he asked about the appraiser’s skill level, too.

Now that he thought about it, Shin’s expression at that time was like saying, “Then it is impossible”.

And then the 【Purification】 acquisition requirement. Shin said “defeat at least 200 undead monsters whose levels are higher than 150”. And then afterwards, he continued with “I will weaken the monsters so that Rashia can deal the finishing blow.” Judging from the way Shin talked, it didn’t seem that Wilhelm was included in the combat capability.

If what he said was not a lie, then that means that he has the ability to defeat opponents of Lv. 150 or more by himself. In addition to that, he was able to take Rashia along, who would be a burden in that situation.

(Did he really just become an adventurer?)

When they shared a table, he sounded like he had some battle experience before he became an adventurer, and it was not strange if the information for his skill was circulated. But no such information were found, even when Wilhelm asked the information dealer of the orphanage connection.

To be able to defeat monsters level 150 or more, the rank of adventurer would be at least B or higher. It would not be unusual if it was in the case of rank A.

What kind of person was he, that he was unknown until now?

(Possibly, that guy…)

He unintentionally stopped walking.

Words appeared in Wilhelm’s mind. Certain words that only a few people know.

Words that indicated the existence of a power that was not conceivable within the common society.

A person who had kept a lot of skills and knowledge, and deviated from the concept of level in this society, a ‘Chosen One’ as its generic term. Furthermore, Wilhelm had a deep connection with a Chosen One himself.

“A Chosen One…huh?”

Wilhelm’s spontaneous muttering was not heard by anyone, as it disappeared in the clamor of the town.

At dawn the next day.

Shin quickly finished his breakfast, and told Tsugumi that he wanted to check out of the room since he would be out for a long time. The remainder of the inn fee, which he had paid in advance, was received. Because all of the baggage was put inside the Item Box, he didn’t need packing and was able to leave without spending too much time. It was because Tsugumi didn’t want to let go of Yuzuha that he couldn’t depart immediately. Shin felt that it was the movement of a hunter who had found their prey. After all, was it because of the family name ‘Bear’? Shin guessed so.

As usual, Yuzuha rode on his head while he walked down the road where the pedestrian traffic was sparse. He arrived at the east gate at the appointed place at an earlier time than usual, probably because it was not crowded like it was in the daytime. Though Shin thought he was a little early, there was already a waiting member there.

“Yo.”

“Good morning, you are early.”

Shin replied, while feeling a little surprised that it was Wilhelm who came early and was waiting.

The way to know the time in this town was to hear the sound of the bell which basically rang at regular intervals. It was difficult to match the meeting perfectly, so either one would have to wait. The merchants were an exception because they have their own clocks, but adventurers were unexpectedly poor when it came to timing. Tsugumi and Douma said that rushing at the last moment was not unusual.

There were still 20 min before the appointed time. Shin understood that thanks to the game system. Somehow, he regretted that he went out too early.

“Are you always this early?”

“No, I just want to confirm one thing before departing. Just follow me for a moment.”

Shin was at a loss at Wilhelm’s frightfully serious look. He followed after Wilhelm while thinking, “What’s the matter?”. Yuzuha was still relaxing on top of Shin’s head. It didn’t seem to feel the danger in particular.

“Come to think of, where is Rashia?”

“She was asked for a trivial errand. She will be late.”

It looked like he didn’t want to be asked by Shin about Rashia somehow.

They began to walk for several minutes. Wilhelm stopped in front of a certain shop.

It looked like a restaurant judging from the signboard. The signboard had a glass and a spoon combined drawn on it.

After knocking on the door three times at fixed intervals, Wilhelm opened the door. The inside of the shop was dim, but the brightness was kept at a level where it was not inconvenient to walk. Three tables, five counters seats and a bottle of sake were displayed in an orderly manner inside the shop as they entered his sight. And then, a bartender polishing a glass.

It appeared that this shop was like a bar.

“Sorry. I’m going to borrow this place.”

“…………”

The bartender nodded at Wilhelm’s words, opened the back door and left the shop. He should have noticed Yuzuha, but didn’t say anything. Shin thought on whether animals were going to be declined due to hygiene, but it seemed to not be a worry about in this world. He might have thought that Shin was a tamer in this case.

“Someone you know?”

“It’s one of the orphanage connections. Didn’t you hear about such fellows from Thoria?”

“Oh. The bartender from a while ago is an adventurer?”

“Something like that.”

The two of them were chatting while standing, before sitting on a seat in front of the counter.

Then, Wilhelm suddenly began to talk.

“I want to confirm one thing. Are you a Chosen One?”

“…What, is that?”

Shin asked back as he had never heard of those words in his memory, while tilting his head. The reason for his slight pause was due to him trying to search his memory for that title by the name. However, there was no title called the ‘Chosen One’ as far as Shin knew.

“You don’t know?”

“No, not in the least.”

“…………”

Wilhelm observed Shin’s state after he replied, and began to talk calmly after a short time.

“A chosen one has skills and titles since birth, and they have knowledge that is not supposed to be known. The person himself has strength not conceivable for their level.”

“Since birth? You don’t say! Did the baby talk or fire some magic?”

From Wilhelm’s speech, Shin imagined the mysterious phenomenon of a baby being able to talk due to a restart from reincarnation, which he read about occasionally in web novels.

“I’ve never heard of such a story. Instead, there are numerous stories, such as a boy with a single digit age killing a Tetra Grizzly with his bare hands, or suddenly being able to use a secret skill.”

“A person strong since birth, huh? How should I say, like normally being branded as a monster.”

Though the ability was influenced since birth, it was strange to acquire skills and knowledge from the beginning. Though it depends on the point of view, the dwellers of this world surely have said such thing to a chosen one.

“With all of that knowledge, does the Chosen One have the memories from their previous life?”

“No, mostly item and monster knowledge, but the story of a fellow who remembered their past life is unheard of.”

“I see.”

While hearing Wilhelm talk, one possibility popped up in Shin’s mind.

(Several skills can be used from the beginning, has a title, and the ability is high…could it be, the reincarnation system is still functioning?)

Originally the reincarnation was conducted in the temple inside THE NEW GATE, so a start over for a baby inside this reality world was not that strange. He couldn’t deny that there was the possibility that he would be born normally in some family if it could happen.

It depended on the reincarnation frequency, but there were a lot of reincarnation benefits, such as titles and skills inheritance, bonus stats, and so on. Shin thought that this possibility was the highest if he overlooked some of the contradictions.

However, the place where the temple was became a danger zone because of the monsters, so it was hard to enter now, and the confirmation seemed to be difficult.

“Do you happen to know about it?”

“Yes or rather no.”

Shin was at loss for that answer.

He himself had reincarnated too, but that was the story in the game, and one was not reborn as a baby like in this world. But the ability of Shin might only be explainable as the chosen one to the humans in this world. In addition, it was not possible to make an excuse that his abilities were high because he was some long life species, since Shin stuck to being a human in the guild.

He didn’t know whether Wilhelm would believe him if he spoke honestly, and even if Wilhelm believed it, Shin would be in trouble. Since High Humans were supposed to have gone extinct.

“It’s dull…well whatever, I don’t have any reason to make you spit out everything. I wouldn’t want to say either, I guess.”

“I am relieved when you said so.”

“Because you seem to not be aware of it. But to take on a level 150 alone is what an advanced level adventurer does. It seems thoughtless when it comes from you, a rank G.”

“Now that you mention it, that’s right. No, thoughtlessly!!”

Oops, Shin let out a wry smile while scratching his head. In this world, where level became the evaluation standard, Shin’s judgment of the importance of stats might be unconventional. Though he roughly understood just in case, it was already found out.

Shin had a little flashy reaction, and his mind was not calm. Even though he intended to be careful when he saw the reaction of Rashia for 【Purification】, he had done it again. However, it was not long ago since Shin came to this world, so he didn’t completely understand the way this world worked. In a sense, it was a severe world compared to the time of the game. It was not possible, even if he already spent a few days, to adapt to the sense of values and common sense.

“A Chosen One’s given name is not known by many people either, since trouble would follow around when their ability was exposed. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“…That…might already too late.”

“Oi, did you do something?”

“I guess that I might have had a match with the guild master and won, reported that I defeated a Skull Face which had the level of a King class, and even defeated a near three-digit amount of Skull Faces, where Pawn and Jack classes were combined…alone.”

“…Oi, that’s too ridiculous to respond too. What is this, these insanely strong topics?”

“It can’t be helped I guess. Even I didn’t expect all of this stuff to have happened. Or rather, it’s not that I voluntarily invite myself into trouble.”

Certainly it was Shin who approached the unique monster Skull Face, but the introduction letter of Tsuki no Hokora was the cause of the fight with Barlux, and even the near three digits amount of Skull Faces appeared when he was just saving Yuzuha. Shin insisted that it was not his fault. Especially the Skull Face, where he couldn’t just choose to leave it alone.

“Good grief, although something makes me feel that this is not a joke. Be careful, seriously. The Chosen Ones tend to be respected for their ability. But from what you said just now, it’s like you were treated as a taboo child.”

“That’s only natural, I think.”

“There was also this guy who prattled that he descended from an oracle…actually, the ability’s strength might be restricted while growing up, as there are fair differences from the environment. Well you might say, most chosen ones are protected by the church or the country so it isn’t a serious problem up until there.”

“Is that so? Even if I feel worried about it, but how many of the chosen ones are in the different countries?”

If the chosen ones were the existences that experienced the reincarnation as Shin thought, the person might be able to destroy a country in some cases. It was the number that he was worried about.

“It depends on the country. If you accept published information, there are 4 chosen ones in this country, including the guild master. Generally, there is 1 person in the neighboring countries. In each countries power relationship, there is a considerable difference in individuals, as for the power of the chosen one, some fellows only specialize in combat, and they are said to be the superior ones. Even if Bayreuth is at the top in ability for battle, the neighboring countries will form an alliance and oppose Bayreuth if they conducts tyranny. No matter how powerful a chosen one is, they can’t wipe out an army alone. Even if after they used their secret weapon. So now, balance is maintained. Well, there is also an unspoken agreement that all countries will conceal their chosen ones, too.”

“The countries won’t show their trump cards, huh? Even so, it is difficult for the chosen ones to annihilate an army. By the way, how much power does the strongest person have?”

“As far as I know, the strongest is the second princess, well the second princess, if in melee, the first princess if in magic. For the first princess, her magic could cover a wide range of 1000 enemies, but somehow she is ‘out’ if approached. The second princess depends on physical strength and strategy to defeat the enemy. Even if there are multiple combat specialized chosen ones, there is a considerable difference in the individual strength of their abilities, the combination of Bayreuth’s princess is excellent.”

Shin calculated the abilities of the chosen ones while listening to Wilhelm’s words. Since ordinary soldiers didn’t have the benefit from the reincarnation system, their stats would not reach 300, even if they were max level. Of course the limit was not dependant on the abilities of the equipment, but still, only a few stats would reach 300.

When he thought about it, since human was another race that had high magic resistance, the INT of the first princess who was able to take on 1000 opponents would exceed 500, and even her MP would be quite large. It was extraordinary in this world to be able to use several magic attacks at once. And then the second princess who paired with her, probably had high HP, and one of STR, VIT, AGI values was near 500. He couldn’t help but smile wryly as he divided the warrior type and magician type splendidly.

“It’s somewhat easy to understand. In a sense, the duo princesses are unrivaled as a set, huh?”

The first princess defeated the enemy with magic, the second princess defeated the enemy who approached them. He had the feeling that the success in battle would rise if both of them came, as it would be interesting to a match with a thousand.

“That’s right. No matter how many combinations are made, it’s those two people after all. If similar chosen ones appear and compete, the victory or defeat will be decided by the difference between the ordinary soldiers. Because all countries also have a similar condition, it’s the reason why they cannot easily reveal their hand.”

“I see.”

In other words, the chosen ones with ability probably didn’t have much of a difference in stats. Though there was no conclusive evidence, Shin’s definition of the chosen ones was that they had the stats of reincarnated people, which were around 500.

A justifiable request would come to Schnee, Shin thought. All her stats exceeded 800. He didn’t know what weapon she was using now, but with added compensation, her STR would be close to 900.

If Shin used the wide area magic he had learned before, he could annihilate not just 1000 but 10,000 enemies in a single horse ride. It’s easy to imagine the neighboring countries being annexed in a flash, if he served the country.

(Come to think of it, neither Els nor Celica-san asked me about the chosen one.)

Because they were guild staff, he thought that they would know about it. However, going from Wilhelm’s speech, there was the possibility that only the high-ranking staff and adventurers were informed about it. Well, they were likely to forget since the impression of dispelling Tiera’s curse and the Skull Face subjugation were too strong.

“Thank you for the advice. Although it’s too late, I will be careful.”

“Please do so.”

“Even so, it’s nice that Wilhelm is unexpectedly taking care of me. Is it really true that you are feared?”

Shin talked about what he felt. Shin sensed an unusual gap between the impression that he heard about and the impression he got when he actually met Wilhelm.

“That is because the surrounding people just think as they please, I guess. Even I don’t understand it.”

“But you are protecting the orphanage, right?”

“Other fellows are just not enthusiastic. Even when the Father was about to kick the bucket, that greedy pig guy was still meddling in the church. Because of that, the brats were crying. And a brat’s cry is harsh on my ears.”

Wilhelm said, while grimacing. However, it was probably because of a sense of incongruity he had acquired a long time ago that he felt irritated in the situation where a child was crying. Or otherwise, Shin guessed.

“So, did you silence the guy who tried to meddle?”

“Just that. Recently, I think the brats came up with strange ideas. A kid should be a kid, they should run, sleep, and eat without worries.”

(Darn, this person is a good guy.)

Shin thought, when Wilhelm talked bluntly.

In other words, a child should act like an innocent child and Wilhelm would not forgive the guy who was letting them cry. The title of ‘big brother’ suited him really well.

“Good gracious! You are not being honest aren’t you?”

It was so amusing that Shin unintentionally smirked.

“Aaah?”

“Sorry, it’s nothing. By the way, I am little worried, is it a good if I intervene in the inheritance of the church when that pig guy can use 【Purification】?”

He tightened his face to show his worries. Though the opponent was not to be liked, he shouldn’t be underestimated if he acquired the 【Purification】 by himself. A pig that was able to fight was not just a plain pig.

“It is damn annoying, but that pig indeed possess 【Purification】. But that scoundrel’s fighting power is like, to be frank, a small fry. The method you mentioned yesterday is impossible for him. It was not possible with his level.”

“Do you know his specific level?”

“I heard it was 40.”

“It is indeed impossible. Then, it is from 【Secret Books Creation】 huh?”

As expected, it seemed that he acquired that skill from an item. Otherwise, it was impossible for such a low-level to learn 【Purification】. A reincarnation person ― A chosen one in this world ― Though it was possible, from Wilhelm’s way of speaking, it was different from Shin’s thought.

“The church has secrets, one way or another. Even if there are such things, it is improper. More like, it was clearly unpleasant. The high-ranking priest at the headquarters’ seem to be a skill successor from a conversation I heard.”

“But even then, why is it that fat guy was let loose, is there not an eye for people? Is it the power of money?…It is the latter no matter how much I think about it.”

Certainly, for a leader’s position, there is no way that people could turn a blind eye. Besides, after thinking various things, money was indeed one of the comprehensible power.

“At first, I thought you were one of that scoundrel’s underling.”

“Is that so?, Come to think of it, isn’t it strange?”

An adventurer with 【Purification】 skill turns up with this timing. It was impossible not to doubt Shin without Millie. All the more, she know the circumstances.

If there was no Millie, he didn’t know what would happen.

“Millie too, on her own accords, was seen talking to other people about something. I was thinking about what kind of relation they have.”

“Really? What kind of people does Millie talk to?”

“Are you interested?”

“Millie approached me as well.”

“That’s right… I cannot say in detail, but it was a black dragnil, a pixie with blond hair, and an elf with silver hair.”

“Right.”

While Shin was lightly replying with an agreeing response, he suddenly had an idea one of the descriptions.

(Black dragnil, blond hair pixie, silver hair elf…it was a feature I heard somewhere. No, this combination itself is not that rare. However, one of the three people seems familiar.)

Though it was insufficient details for a person, “Is it that person?” question appeared in his head.

“Hey, for the last silver hair elf, is it Schnee Raizar?”

“Huh? Why do you think so?”

“Intuition…I cannot say, but I just have a hunch.”

“Intuition, huh?”

Shin look straight into Wilhelm’s eyes.

“May I hear what Millie said to the elf at that time?”

“…‘Soon, coming back’. I don’t understand what she meant by that.”

“I see.”

“Do you know anything about it?”

“No, I don’t know.”

“You don’t know, even though your face looks convinced?”

“That I cannot say too.”

Still, Shin who wasn’t able to say it himself, was surprised at Wilhelm who unexpectedly informed him of the contents of the conversation. By some chance, Millie already expected Shin to come here.

“Well. Hmm?”

“You have to tell me next time no matter what.”

“Sorry, please wait for a moment.”

A message suddenly started blinking on the edge of his view. It seemed like a message from Tiera.

He told Wilhelm to wait, and opened the message.

『To Shin

The reply from Master arrived.

For some reason, I was asked a lot of questions, so I only answered what I knew.

She will return home in a great hurry, as soon as her work has ended.

In case you are leaving Bayreuth, please let me know.

P.S.

There were a lot of questions and I was a little scared, what on earth did you do to Master?』

“…………”

The amount of questions became too scary, he thought while sending a consent message. Whether it was the result of became worried after 500 years of no news, Shin decided to meet first to make sure so there was no problem when they were traveling together.

In the place where he was about to close the menu screen while having a bitter smile, he noticed that the column of 『Important Things』 was flashing. He opened to see the 『Tsuki no Hokora Letter of Introduction』 shining silver.

“Hmm? …Ah!”

Shin thought about why it was shining, and the time when he met Barlux suddenly crossed his mind. It was said that the letters of introduction of Tsuki no Hokora resonated with each other with magic and was how one knew whether it was a genuine thing.

“That means…”

He took out the letter of introduction which in this state was formed into a card. Because he didn’t know what design would appear, he covered it by hand to prevent it from being seen just in case.

The letter of introduction emitted silver light in the state which formed into a card.

“This is…”

“Oi, don’t tell me, do you have the letter of introduction of Tsuki no Hokora?”

What? Wilhelm asked what Shin was about to say.

Then Shin noticed and asked back.

For that a letter of introduction to emit light, that means ――

“You too, do you have it?”

“The letter of introduction shined after all!”

Wilhelm took out a piece of card from the open space with surprise look on his face. Similar to Shin’s, Wilhelm’s card emitted silver light.

“…that is, no way!”

“…It surely is.”

Shin and Wilhelm looked at each other.

An indescribable atmosphere filled the place.

◆◆◆◆◆◆

The two of them regained their composure after a while and materialized the card. Then they properly confirmed that it were the genuine article.

“So you really are a letter of introduction holder.”

“I guess we both are.”

Wilhelm showed a little weariness while Shin returned it with a wry smile.

Even with Millie’s mediation, he was wary of Shin…Wilhelm was still cautious of Shin’s ability even with the assumption that ‘Millie’s power wouldn’t be abused’. Though Wilhelm’s outward appearance was no problem, there was a little distrust remaining in the corner of his mind. Then both of the letters of introduction in their hand vanished.

“There is nothing more reliable than this. That explains why you know about Schnee Raizar.”

“In my case, I got it from Tiera. Did you get it from Schnee?”

“I got it after I received hellish training from her. But I was beaten up one-sidedly even if it was training.”

“Ah…she is still that serious, huh?”

Even though it was Shin who set the character, he only decided the personality aspect roughly at the last moment. When he heard Wilhelm’s story, he thought that she had hardly changed. Although he was prepared, it would not be strange if Schnee differed from the game era in various ways. She originally had a fixed character, like all AI’s, but it didn’t mean that she had not acquired something, so her personality was nothing more than his impression of her at this point.

“Well then, stop slacking and let’s go meet Rashia. We can continue this while we walk.”

“Is it that time already?”

Wilhelm looked at the clock on the wall, and stood up. He didn’t mean to stay for a long time, but it took longer than he thought because of the unexpected situation where Shin had a letter of introduction. But it was worth the time since he was satisfied with the result.

While each one of the letter of introduction holders had their own special ability, almost none of the holders has caused anyone else to have a character breakdown. Wilhelm probably felt that Shin would cause trouble for the church in one go if that wasn’t the case.

“Even if I know we can trust each other, from what I heard, Wilhelm is a Chosen One too, right?”

“I don’t have the intention to hide it at this time, but why do you think so? Not all adventurers with a rank A are Chosen Ones, you know?”

“No, it was from the weapon you hold, because an ordinary person would not be able to equip that. Therefore, when I saw you holding Venom normally, I thought ‘Ahh, so he isn’t an ordinary guy’.”

“Huh? So that’s the reason. No wonder you desperately asked the skill level of the appraiser. You bastard, acting like you didn’t know about from the beginning.”

It was Wilhelm’s 《Legend》 grade devil spear 『Venom』.

This was an item that couldn’t be equipped if the player’s STR didn’t exceed 500. When Shin met Wilhelm for the first time, he had reasons as to why he looked toward the weapon, too.

Basically, for any equipment of the《Legend》 grade, they required specific stats to exceed about 350 in order to it be equipped. If he thought about it, the stat requirements for 『Venom』 were abnormally high. But it was not necessarily a bug, because there was a reason for it.

“I couldn’t just talk about it in front of so many people. And a while ago, when you took out a card from an empty space, did you use an Item Box? I heard there are very few people who have one.”

“Oh, so you actually saw my little trick, huh? I used an item called, 『Expansion Kit』, it has the capacity of an Item Box imitation…so it looked like I’m using the real deal. But that doesn’t mean that every Chosen One has one.”

“Heh, is that so?”

Shin thought that the function remained after all, as he responded with agreeing words. It has the function to give a support character and/or a monster partner the ability to hold a large quantity of items, and players eventually expanded it until it almost had the same capacity as an Item Box. A lot of players used one or two 『Expansion Kit』 to make sure their support characters were able to carry items, this way the support characters were able to use recovery items themselves in the case of an emergency.

In Shin’s case, all of his support characters were expanded to the limit. There was no particular reason for this. It was just his obsession about it.

“That aside, it seems that you also used an Item Box.”

“In my case, I was able to use it from the beginning.”

“You are a Chosen One after all.”

“Hmm…for now, that’s fine I guess.”

Because Wilhelm seemed to be convinced that Shin was a Chosen One without asking for a detailed explanation, Shin gave up and said it was fine for now. Since it was troublesome to think about the setting in detail, and contradictions might appear somewhere, he decided to pass as a Chosen One on this occasion.

While continuing the conversation, they returned back to the appointed place. When the two returned to the east gate, Rashia was looking around restlessly.

“Hey! Hey Will. I was forced to go shopping, where have you been?!”

“Sorry, sorry. I had some business to take care of.”

“When you say things like that, I hope you didn’t go to that indecent shop again.”

“Go to that shop!? Are you still half-asleep?”

“Shin-san. Please don’t follow Wilhelm even if he invites you. Good grief…you will have a painful experience.”

“I can hear your conversation! Saying such things will lead to misunderstandings!!”

“Calm down both of you.”

Shin calmed the couple who had started some kind of lover’s quarrel, and departed immediately. Secretly, he was a little envious of their relationship, where they were able to freely dispute without reservations.

The means of transportation this time was to use horses. Wilhelm seemed to have borrowed them from the guild. The two horses had remarkable bodies and a splendid chestnut color, so that even Shin, who was an amateur about horses, understood it.

The moment it saw Yuzuha, who was laying on top of Shin’s head, the horse’s movements stopped. Yuzuha let out a small “Kuu” bark, and the horse replied with a small “Hururu” neigh, and became quiet. For some reason, Shin didn’t understand the exchange of words that was being carried out.

Wilhelm and Rashia were on one of the horses, while Shin and Yuzuha rode the other one. Though it was the first time Shin was riding a real horse, somehow the 【Riding】 skill compensated for that, so he didn’t have any problems riding it. Since he had the opportunity to ride not only horses but various monsters, including griffins and dragons, in the game, the skill level was up considerably.

It would take 5 or 6 days by a carriages’ slow speed, but it seemed like they would arrive quicker at the current speed, Shin thought. Of course, Shin could run much faster than this, but didn’t talk about it because he would’ve had to carry Rashia, who was an ordinary person.

They advanced without any problems, while letting the horses rest occasionally along the way. There were 2 Item Box holders, so there was almost no luggage, and they were able to gain more distance because of that. In addition, because they could take with them various utensils, they didn’t have to eat preserved dull foods during camping. Because she could enjoy the meal which was one of the hardest things on a journey, Rahsia who was inexperienced in a travel didn’t seem to be affected.

While traveling by horse for 4 days, they deepened their friendship to the extent that they could speak in a casual tone. Shin and his group arrived at the region that was called the Wraith Plains before noon.

Nevertheless, the plains region was gloomy despite the sun hanging high in the sky. It was as if there was an invisible wall in the gap between the forest and the plains since the sunlight was blocked. When they looked at it closely, there was a deep violet haze slowly rising from the earth’s surface, like it was welling up. It wrapped the plains zone like a boundary line.

Since nothing was displayed by 【Analyze】 when he used it, there seemed to be no effect that would be causing an abnormal state.

“There is no reaction even when I touch it, huh? It doesn’t seem like a mistake that the border line is here.”

“Yes, that’s right. It is said that the monsters won’t chase you if you leave from inside this place. They are forbidden from leaving, as if they are being restricted inside there.”

“Is that so?”

“It happened once. There is no mistake about it, their equipment were tattered in an instant, even if it was daytime.”

“Just escape outside in case of an emergency, huh?”

Since Rashia was there, the escape route was secured in case of an unexpected situation. It would be different if it was only Shin and Wilhelm, but they had to keep the dangerous monsters away from Rashia from now on.

“For the time being, let’s prepare our base so that we can take shelter if we succeed in escaping. And this is the【Prayer of Saint Sphere】. It will be useless if you don’t have this. And then, this is extra. This will repel even a dragon’s breath.”

“U-Understood! Thank…hyai…”

As expected, Rashia appeared to be nervous and felt the cold that drifted from the Wraith Plains. Though she had always snapped at Wilhelm during the journey, it was probably Rashia’s own way to relax.

What Shin handed over together with the【Prayer of Saint Sphere】 was a magic item of the bracelet type. It has the effect to nullify damage under a certain value and reduce the damage if above said certain value. Because it was one of Shin’s handmade items, one would be unperturbed even if hit by a King class Skull Face. It’s durability was guaranteed too. Therefore, though it could be said that the tension was unnecessary, there was no other way but to give it to Rashia, who was not used to fighting scenes.

By the way, Rashia’s casual tone toward Wilhelm was due to them being childhood friends, so there was no need for them to act reserved.

“(I entrust her to you, Yuzuha.)”

“Kuu.”

He talked to Yuzuha, who was on top of his head, via telepathy. Previously it became possible to use telepathy shortly after he entered the country. It was discovered that the words Shin thought in his mind would be transmitted to Yuzuha. Some simple emotions, beside simple thoughts such as approval, refusal and so forth, were transmitted from Yuzuha in return.

Yuzuha, who received the telepathy, got off Shin’s head, and then rubbed its face on Rashia’s cheeks after it jumped onto her shoulder.

“J-Just a moment Yuu-chan! That tickles.”

“Kuu~”

“Full of spirit, aren’t you?”

“Ah…Yuu-chan, thank you.”

“Kuu!”

Whether or not she had cheered up a little, a somewhat awkward but understandable smile was expressed on Rashia’s face. While Shin was transmitting a feeling of gratitude toward Yuzuha, who moved according to his expectations, Wilhelm emerged from the thickets.

“Wilhelm, how about the base location?”

“I have set up the tent in the vicinity as told, but that, what is that?”

Wilhelm pointed with his eyes toward the forest ahead. Though it wasn’t seen from the place where Shin was, there was a jewel with a diameter of around 10 cemels that enclosed all sides of the tent. Even if the monsters couldn’t come out anyway, the tent was set up a certain distance from the plains for caution’s sake.

“That is just a trifling interception item. When a monster approaches, it will attack with magic. Because it was possible to put up with a barrier where the monsters couldn’t go in, it’s satisfactory for a simple base.

“I have never heard of such an item!”

Shin would normally only erect a 【Barrier】, but he thought that he would be doubted again, no matter how much of a Chosen One he was. Therefore, he decided to use an item for interception. Although he understood that a Chosen One was outside of the norm, there was a limit for that, so it would be bad to show a power beyond it. He was worried about his uncertainty of that limit.

While he was at it, he didn’t forget to put up 【Wall】, since the danger was not necessarily comprised of only monsters.

“You are a Chosen One too, Wilhelm, so you have no choice but to consent.”

“Don’t use that name for your own convenience, man.”

“What? Shin-san is a Chosen One, too!?”

Apparently, Rashia seemed to know about Chosen Ones somehow. She probably heard it from Wilhelm.

“Eh? You didn’t tell her that yet?”

“I missed the timing.”

Wilhelm smiled wryly.

“Did you two perhaps confirm it on the day of departure?”

“Something like that.”

“Then you should have said it from the beginning!”

Rashia pouted when she thought she had been excluded.

“I thought you could guess it even if I hadn’t told you. If Shin was not strong enough, he wouldn’t have proposed this harsh requirement, understand?”

“But Will, you said you wanted to do it too, so I thought it was normal.”

“Absolutely not!”

Wilhelm was a little astounded by Rashia, who said so while looking doubtful.

“B-But even if you say Chosen One, the only one I know is Will. I know Will is strong, but I don’t know how strong you are.”

Even if she knew about the existence of Chosen Ones, if she didn’t actually witness their power, she was not likely to understand their true significance. In the first place, no one would be able to bring Rashia to this place, even if Wilhelm put in some serious effort; it was too much. It could be said that it couldn’t be helped.

“Oi~, I know it’s bad interrupting you guys, but let’s start soon. We don’t have time for leisure either.”

Shin who was contemplating the two people, lightly called out to them.

“That’s a good idea. Let’s go then. I feel a little bit better now.”

“What? Eh! Wait a moment!”

Because he understood that Wilhelm was trying to loosen Rashia’s tension, Shin picked the right time. In addition, they could continue happily.

“Now then, I wonder which one of these creeps will appear first.”

“Since it is daytime, it might be a Skull Face, a Bio Hound or a Mad Zombie. These monsters are more abundant while the sun is up.”

“When you think about the level range, the right time is at night, right? Well, now is a good time to get her some experience before the real deal starts at night.”

“The rest will depend on Rashia…well then, they are appearing already.”

They appeared in front of Rashia who was trembling while holding her staff. Shin and Wilhelm shifted their gazes to the shadows that approached them. Their view was limited to a degree due to the haze, but it wasn’t a problem for the perception ability of these two people.

What appeared from the haze were 2 Jack class Skull Faces and 3 Bio Hounds. After seeing that half of the Bio Hounds’ bodies was rotting, Rashia covered her mouth with her hand. It was hard to look straight at it, even for Shin, as it became too realistic to some degree.

“This is so-so for a warm-up battle.”

“That Bio Hounds’ smell is awful.”

Shin drew his katana from his waist and Wilhelm prepared with『Venom』. While Rashia’s resolution would be decided here, she held her staff while having a slightly bad complexion and began to chant.

The Bio Hounds moved first, at a rate of speed that seemed slow to Shin.

Shin stepped forward before the 3 of them leaped at him straight on, which was probably because of their lack of intelligence. With one hand facing toward them, he invoked magic system skill 【Ichiyou no Misogi】.

At the same time, a semi-transparent barrier was created in front of him. The charging Bio Hounds crashed into the barrier and a crushing sound was made as they fell to the ground.

In magic system skill, a lot of the skills were effective against undead monsters, and the one he used was a skill for defense. The HP of the Bio Hounds, who were basically conducting the act of suicide, instantly went down to the red zone as a result of the anti-undead skill. And then, without Shin missing it, the barrier was released and at the same time, he gave instructions to Rashia.

“Attack the Bio Hounds!”

“Yes!”

Rashia immediately reacted to Shin’s instructions and completed her chanting.

White light emitted from the staff she held and shined upon the Bio Hounds. It was the magic system art 【Heal】. Though it was not as powerful as the magic system skill, the recovery magic was effective in damaging undead monsters as well. The remaining HP disappeared, and the bodies of the Bio Hounds disappeared.

Seeing that, Shin confirmed that the rule of monsters not leaving a corpse behind in a dungeon was applied even now. Apparently, the whole area of the Wraith Plains was regarded as a dungeon.

“The next ones are coming!”

From Wilhelms words, they prepared for the next attack. Similar to Bio Hounds, the 2 Skull Faces charged straight forward while the sound of armor scraping together was reverberating. However, they were prepared with a shield in front of them.

“【Shield Bash】, huh?”

Then Wilhelm called out the muttering Shin.

“Oi, can your barrier also stop their blow?”

“Leave it to me. And cut their arms and legs so that they can’t counter-attack once you have the chance! Or I guess that you can’t do it?”

“Ha! Who the hell do you think I am!?”

Wilhelm said confidently, and again Shin invoked 【Ichiyou no Misogi】. The Skull Faces crashed into the barrier which was deployed, but there was no damage because they used a shield unlike the Bio Hounds. However the Skull Faces, who probably didn’t think the 【Shield Bash】 would be defended against, greatly broke their posture. Shin removed the barrier right after he confirmed that the Skull Faces’ charge was stopped, and Wilhelm with the devil spear, instantaneously stepped forward between the two Skull Faces and jumped.

“SoRyAa!”

While drawing a big arc in the air, he used the spearmanship system martial arts skill, 【Spark Blossom】.

A single blow that hit both legs of the two Skull Faces and shattered them into pieces and the attack didn’t end there.

Without changing his momentum, Wilhelm rotated once with his spear. The Skull Face on the right side had its sword and shield blown away by the centrifugal force. The Skull Faces which had lost both feet and weapon fell down to the ground.

“It’s done!”

Shin, who released the barrier, had already crushed both arms of the Skull Face on the left side with the sword system martial art skill 【Blade Breaker】, while watching the movements of Wilhelm. He held a new katana in his hand.

It was a katana with a crimson red blade named 『Red Chidori』. The katana’s cutting ability had a lighting attribute, it was a 《Legend》 grade katana that easily surpassed the durability of 『Several Strokes』 he used before.

The Skull Faces only had a head and torso left, and no significant damage was dealt to its core. But its HP was shaved vigorously whenever the scarlet electric shock ran from the blade of the katana. The additional damage from the lighting attribute occurred because of the weak electric shocks that ran through the monster’s body, and its HP could be shaved without directly hitting its core. It was effective against a monster that couldn’t be damaged in other parts except for its core, such as a Skull Face. That was one of the reasons that Shin chose to use 『Red Chidori』, too.

“Rashia! Heal this fellow in front of me!!”

“Y-Yes!!”

As Wilhelm came into view, he instructed Rashia to finish her chant.

While restraining the Skull Face which tried to struggle despite only having a head and torso, Wilhelm extended the perception sense beyond the his view. He could not check visually because of the haze, but he sensed multiple presences heading toward them with 【Sign Perception】, which were probably drawn in by the combat sounds.

“More will come. Please be quick.”

“It’s impossible to go any faster!!”

As might be expected, it seemed to take time for Rashia’s art to reduce the Skull Face’s HP since they had more than a 100 level difference.

“That【Heal】art won’t do, huh? Oi, Shin! Can we attack from inside the barrier now?”

“That is not possible. Even if it’s possible, I don’t know how.”

It would be convenient if they could attack from inside the barrier as Wilhelm said, but the barrier skill completely blocked the inside and outside of the deployed barrier. Therefore, the way of attacking one-sidedly was unusable. However, there was a possibility to be able to do it in this world which was somewhat adaptable, unlike in the game. And in this case, it was not possible for Shin to understand the barrier skill in such a short amount of time.

“That is not possible. Even if it’s possible, I don’t know how.”

“Damn, it can’t be helped. It’s faster to beat the hell out of them, huh?”

“It’s not our goal to defeat them, but we don’t have a choice.”

“Wait a moment! Though we are in desperate situation right now, why are you two still composed like that!?”

The unexpected trouble stopped the plan of holding the enemies down, though it was understandable. Even though there would be not much composure when an ordinary adventurer did something like that, the speech that leaked from the mouth of the two people was “It’s annoying to do that.”, although not audible. As for these kinds of things, they maintained a moderate tension while preparing their weapons, although there was a complaint from Rashia toward those two people.

“The monster’s level is not high right here since we are on the edge of the plains.”

“We don’t know whether it’s necessary to advance a little deeper, right? Let’s wait a while until Rashia becomes a little stronger.”

“From the beginning, 10 level rises are quick. Just now it’s 24, because the level of the Bio Hounds is about 60. After that, it became 40 in one go. It is easier to raise the level when there is a level difference of 100 or more.”

Though there was the complaint of “Hey, are you fucking kidding me!!” from Wilhelm, Shin ignored it as he couldn’t spend time waiting for months.

With a loud voice, Rashia continued to chant 【Heal】 although she was trembling, which could be said to be cruel. Because it was natural for an ordinary person to be running away or have an absent-minded reaction in such a situation. Even if she was protected, a single blow from such a monster from an opening under their very noses would kill her. Accordingly for Rashia, she wasn’t constantly exposed to the fear of death at all. For a person who didn’t make a living out of fighting, they would feel a sense of fear far above what an adventurer felt. If mental stress was measured in a numerical value, it would probably hit an abnormal value.

“But Wilhelm, looks like her willpower has reached its limits. Her MP ―― magic power is running out, huh? After all, the Bio Hounds are difficult to defeat all of a sudden.”

Shin abruptly express the word MP in different words as magic power. He had heard the word magic power occasionally, but never heard the word MP which he noticed at the last moment.

“They’re damn grotesque than I expected. It’s a good thing that she didn’t faint.”

Fortunately (or unfortunately), Wilhelm didn’t seem to notice.

“If Rashia falls here, we will have come for nothing. Let’s take a break now while I drive them away.”

“Let’s do that! Even if her level rises without pausing, her magic power isn’t restoring either.”

Still, because the attack in the first match failed, they decided to temporarily go back to their base.

In the game, when a level rises, all the stats would be restored, but somehow it seems to be different in this world. He planned on using the restoration from the level up, but his expectations fell through.

(The restoration here is not yet complete, that is bad. If it’s not possible to restore it by leveling, I need to be careful of the MP amount remaining.)

Since he couldn’t depend too much on potions, he couldn’t do anything but go with a natural recovery. Shin thought about revising the plan in the future while cutting down a monster, because it was likely to take more time than he thought.

Translator's Notes and References

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