Chapter 177
The morning after the banquet at the guest mansion.
We gathered at the harbor reserved for people from other countries, state guests.
A single battle can sometimes change a nation’s policy.
That night, the fragment of power I displayed ended up significantly altering the Empire’s stance.
Something along the lines of: Perhaps the military strength of the Holy Principality of Lendia should be considered on par with the Consold Empire. This is a country we should deal with carefully, and certainly not one we should approach with a high-handed attitude.
That was probably the gist of it. Marquis Veil said that since that night, Duke Asimov’s attitude had clearly stopped looking down on Lendia.
Even if the fight had been half driven by personal grudges, if it ended up benefiting the country in the end, then that was fine.
My own resentment had been vented as well…but more than that, it had been such a disastrous result that the Empire’s prestige could have easily fallen.
“Your Excellency! Transport is complete!”
“Good work. Do not let them out of their cells until they arrive in the homeland.” In the distance, I watched as part of the Imperial delegation boarded the ship.
Aside from Duke Asimov and some of the merchants, the rest were apparently returning to the Empire.
Naturally, that included Angares, whom I defeated.
As for the Imperial explorers hospitalized at the clinic, it was decided they would remain on this island for now.
Of course, all medical expenses would be taken care of by the Empire, and after discharge they were free either to return to the Empire or to stay in Lendia.
Unfortunately for them, though, the promise of being treated as nobles upon their return seemed to have fallen through.
Once the duke finished his business, he returned to us, led by Marquis Veil as Lendia’s representative.
“So, you were called Seimu, was it? To be honest, I underestimated you…no, I underestimated the people of this country. It seems I was the one who did not know how vast the world truly is.” (Asimov)
“Yes, the world really is wide. There are still countless lands I haven’t set foot in yet. I’d very much like to visit the Empire myself someday.” (Shizuma)
“That would be splendid. When you do, be sure to inform me. Well, I’ll be staying in this country for a while, but still.” (Asimov)
“I’ll be sure to.” (Shizuma)
Perhaps I have already been added to his list of people to be wary of, because Duke Asimov was clearly conscious of my presence now.
Still, maybe this outcome wasn’t so bad.
And so, the ship carrying Angares departed Yasha Island and headed back to the homeland.
“Then I shall also begin preparations to board the ship bound for Lindblum. Marquis Veil, thank you for the finest hospitality on this occasion. I expect business proposals from the merchants later as well. I would appreciate it if you could handle those.” (Asimov)
“Understood. I hope we can continue to build a good relationship going forward.” (Veil)
He was surely harboring grim emotions within, but even so, the duke did not abandon his cordial attitude. Leaving those words behind, he returned to the guest mansion ahead of us.
“Seimu-kun. In the end, our country’s diplomacy seems to be headed in a favorable direction thanks to you. I truly appreciate you accepting my daughter’s request this time.” (Veil)
“No, as I said before, it turned into something like a personal feud on my part halfway through. I don’t think I did anything deserving of thanks.” (Shizuma)
“Nevertheless, things have improved like this. Please accept my gratitude honestly.” (Veil)
I grasped the hand he offered, and we exchanged a firm handshake.
He too wore a satisfied smile before returning to the guest mansion.
Left behind were just Shuris-san and me.
“In the end, whether the worries I had actually came to pass or not…it was a bit of a gray area, wasn’t it?” (Shuris)
“Yes. But I think they were probably planning to bring Angares and you together and make him take some sort of action.” (Shizuma)
“That’s true. He might have even attacked me somewhere secluded.” (Shuris)
“Please don’t say things like that, even as a joke. You’re a lady.” (Shizuma)
“Fufu, sorry. Perhaps I’m a little carried away myself. After all, we managed to show that great power what kind of man my friend is. I’m happy.” (Shuris)
She smiled as she said that.
In this morning’s pier, the sparkling sunlight reflecting off the sea illuminated her face again and again.
This must be what it means to make a man fall for you, I thought.
It was that kind of smile.
“I’ll continue to work hard so I can live up to those expectations.” (Shizuma)
“Yes, I’m counting on you. Now then, my request has been safely fulfilled, but what will you do next, Seimu-san? Will you challenge the dungeon?” (Shuris)
“No, I’m going to return to Lindblum once. I might stop by the main group first, though. Shizuma is probably on his way to this island right now, so I need to report to the main group that we arrived safely.” (Shizuma)
“The other summoned hero from another world whom your brigade is looking after…was it? Is he alright? In a sense, hasn’t he lost a comrade?” (Shuris)
She seemed to have heard about me, because she voiced that concern.
But honestly, I no longer cared. Whatever happened to the survivors didn’t matter to me.
Though I was curious about what had become of Inami, the only one who escaped.
Wasn’t she cursed by Still’s attack?
“By the way, I’d like to apologize directly to Melt-kun later. Because she helped with our clan’s work, she ended up being harmed by Angares. I want to formally apologize for that.” (Shuris)
“In that case, she’s probably hanging out at the clan base. She seems to be really into darts lately.” (Shizuma)
“Fufu, I see. Then I’ll drop by later.” (Shuris)
I already reported Angares’s defeat when I returned to the hotel yesterday, but Melt didn’t seem particularly concerned…she just said “I see, got it” and lost interest.
So I figured she’d accept the apology without issue.
“Well then…this may be repetitive, but thank you again for everything this time, Seimu-san. You could say this was my selfish request. Even so, I was truly happy that you moved for my sake.” (Shuris)
“You’re welcome, Shuris-san.” (Shizuma)
“I’ll be staying here a while longer, but when you return to Lindblum, I’d like to do something to thank you.” (Shuris)
“Understood. This time I’ll properly accept it without holding back.” (Shizuma)
“Haha, please do. Well then…are you heading off now?” (Shuris)
“Yes. I’ll be going straight to the harbor.” (Shizuma)
“I see. Then, I don’t think there’s anything to worry about, but take care on the way.” (Shuris)
“You as well.” (Shizuma)
And so, after parting with Shuris-san at the pier, I headed toward the harbor, circling along the coast and walking as if to make a half loop around the island.
Once her figure disappeared from view and there was no sign of anyone around, I slipped into the coastal forest and completely concealed myself.
…From here on, it was the start of my turn to act as myself again.
I selected [Logout] on the menu screen and returned to my original form: Shizuma.
“Phew… Still in all-black gear. Evasion-specialized build. I guess this is fine.” (Shizuma)
It wasn’t an especially flashy design, so I headed for the harbor as is.
I am going to challenge a natural dungeon, after all. Then it makes sense to go with my strongest current build, specialized in evasion and speed.
—————–
“Ooh, looks like the regular ferry just departed.” (Shizuma)
When I arrived at the harbor, the ship heading back to the port town was just setting sail.
I will treat it as if Seimu boarded that ship, and I just landed now.
Alright then, since I changed appearances on short notice, I need to reunite with Melt and re-sign the hotel contract.
—————–
Walking through the city, perhaps thanks to the recent crackdowns by Glory Knights, Seimu, and Melt, there didn’t seem to be any major disturbances.
Before, there were open sword fights in broad daylight, and dine-and-dash incidents were common. That was how bad the security had gotten with so many people gathering on Yasha Island.
This time, with most of the Imperial explorers hospitalized and the troublemaking Angares sent back, further deterioration of public order had been avoided…but that wouldn’t last forever.
Explorers unrelated to the delegation might come from the Empire next after all.
“…Either way, we need to clear the dungeon as soon as possible.” (Shizuma)
There’s also the issue of whirlpools forming due to changes in the seabed terrain.
Heading through the city, I made for the Glory Knights’ base, where Melt was likely to be, before stopping by the hotel.
If we cleared the dungeon and it entered a dormant state, many of the people here would leave the island.
When that happened, what would become of this place?
I found myself thinking about that.
Would it turn into nothing more than a summer resort, a tourist spot? Or would it develop some other appeal? That was something that needed consideration.
That’s what clearing a dungeon really means.
In my case, once it was cleared, I planned to take the Dungeon Core for myself, no questions asked.
I arrived at the base while lost in thought. I called out while facing the entrance.
“Excuse me! Has a girl named Melt come by here?” (Shizuma)
A lot of people visited this base regularly. True to that, a clan member responded to my call almost immediately.
“Hm? What’s up, bro? If you’re looking for Melt-jochan, she’s in the back. What do you need her for?”
“I’m an acquaintance of Melt…well, also of Seimu. I just arrived on the island, so I came to say hello.” (Shizuma)
“Oh, a friend of Seimu-san, huh! Then wait here, I’ll go call Melt-jochan right away.”
Melt was already well-liked by the members of this clan.
She was basically hanging out here every day and playing around, after all.
Then, soon enough, I heard hurried footsteps from the back of the building…
“Shizuma! You’re here already, Shizuma!? Then that means…’Seimu has gone back, right’?” (Melt)
“Yeah. He boarded the ship back, we passed each other.” (Shizuma)
“I see. Then starting today, I’m with Shizuma again?” (Melt)
I already declared that I’d switch from Seimu back to my own form within a day or two, so the explanation went through smoothly.
For some reason, Melt always seemed about one level more energetic when I was in this form.
Maybe it had something to do with us being closer in age?
“I need to redo the hotel contract in Seimu’s place, so I’d like you to come with me if possible. Do you have time right now?” (Shizuma)
“Yeah, I’m good. Let’s head back to the hotel then.” (Melt)
“Sounds good. Excuse us.” (Melt)
“Oh, so it really seems like you’re Seimu-san’s and Melt-jochan’s friend. Mind telling me your name?”
“It’s Shizuma. I belong to the Brigade that Seimu originally came from.” (Shizuma)
“Ohh, you’re from the famous Brigade! Man, you look young, but I thought you had a real presence about you. See you around, Shizuma-san. If anything comes up, contact the clan.”
Perhaps the influence of Seimu and the Brigade had grown more than I expected, because I got a very favorable response.
It really drove home that my somewhat roundabout approach as Seimu had been the right call.
…Yeah. If I do end up obtaining this Dungeon Core and can properly house a personality within it, then I should summon Seimu and Shire first.
Walking through the city with Melt.
Seeing her skip along happily made my own steps feel lighter as well.
“Shizuma, we’ve got time until Killcrawler arrives, right!?” (Melt)
“Yeah, we’ve got some leeway time-wise.” (Shizuma)
“Then I want to check out this island’s markets and shops! This island has apparently always had goods from other countries and items from dungeons circulating around!” (Melt)
“I see. There might be more unusual things than in a regular port town.” (Shizuma)
“Exactly. I used up a lot of ingredients for my medicine this time, so it’d be nice if I could find some rare materials too.” (Melt)
“Oh, come to think of it, you were mixing medicines at the hotel too. Are you feeling unwell somewhere? If so, I’ll do anything I can.” (Shizuma)
Lately, back in Izbel too, I noticed Melt secretly mixing medicines and searching for ingredients more often.
It was about her body, so I didn’t want to pry too deeply, but if there’s any concern about her health…
I am prepared to offer all the medicine I have, and if it could only be solved with something from this world, I am willing to spend a fortune to help.
When I conveyed that to her…
“Uh… N-No, that’s not it? What I mixed this time was really just to solve a personal issue, and it’s already over. The other precious ingredient is for research. It’s not that there’s something wrong with my body or anything like that. Really. Sorry for making you worry.” (Melt)
“Is that so? Then that’s fine…but if there’s anything I can help with, tell me, okay? I’m your family. I’ll do anything for my family.” (Shizuma)
“Yeah, you sent that guy flying into the sky for me! That was amazing!” (Melt)
“Yeah, I sent him flying—wait? How do you know about that?” (Shizuma)
“Huh? Ah! Um, actually… I kind of snuck over to watch! I was curious how it’d turn out.” (Melt)
What…! She’d secretly gone to the guest mansion to watch!?
So that was why she reacted so indifferently when I reported about Angares.
She’d already seen it firsthand.
“L-Let’s head back to the hotel, okay? We need to make a new contract.” (Melt)
“Yeah. Then after the contract, let’s go check out the market.” (Shizuma)
Somehow, seeing Melt start to keep little secrets made me think she was growing up, and with that thought, I headed back to the hotel with her.
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