Yeah, I'm posting two chapters today since this one is basically a free chapter I had almost entirely written down over the course of this arc. See you all again soon.
Chapter Eighty-Four: The Journal Entries Unveiled
They had won… the rogue Book Hero had been beaten, quite thoroughly.
For once, the Cursed Thoughts were gone from Kyo's mind entirely.
He looked down at his left hand. The spirit of the Book was resting in his palm. It was letting out a soft glow, one that gave him more warmth than what he'd felt in a long time…
…
The real face of the soul of Kyo Ethnina visibly saddened. Guilt flooded him like it never had before.
To think that he'd given up on everything… that he'd thought it'd be better to destroy it all instead of listening to Kizuna and Yomogi or the others… and here, Naofumi had shown not only the strength to beat his strongest form, but the kindness to also spare him.
He… words could not describe what was happening right now. Had he been in a body, tears might have been leaking from his eyes.
But… even with all that…
…
He knew it was too late for him to change. A harsh purple glow had already begun to appear around his left foot. And he could feel an immense pain beginning to spike deep within himself.
He knew what that meant. He knew what would soon happen.
It was too late for him to change… it was impossible for him to ever change…
…
"Becoming a martyr is something that you're allowed to do only when there are no other options left. That is my answer."
…
But as Kyo remembered the words Ethnobalt had told him long ago, he realized it wasn't too late for him to do something meaningful with the time he had left.
And so, Kyo Ethnina settled on the ground. His Book, sensing his thoughts, became saddened. But he gently rubbed his hand over it, comforting it, and eventually, the Book summoned an ethereal pen that allowed him to start writing in it.
"So, now that everything's out of the way, do you want to spill the beans on how to reverse that monster transformation process of yours?" Naofumi snarked. "Because I am not hauling your petrified %^& back to Sickle, if its going to be this heavy. Although, I guess we could just have Ethnobalt's boat tow you behind it and drag you along the ground all the way home."
"Naofumi…" Raphtalia crossed her arms.
"What? It's not like he'd feel anything. And I'm sure Ethnobalt would avoid hitting him into too many mountains along the way since he's such a softie." Naofumi teased his girlfriend.
Raphtalia rolled her eyes. Not even bothering to respond.
…
The Book Hero didn't answer the taunting question, however. He just stayed looking down at the ground, writing as fast as his left hand would allow.
"Oi, what's with the silent treatment? You're usually much chattier than this." Naofumi said, now sounding tired and annoyed.
Kyo again didn't answer. He kept on looking down with a focused expression, even as the ominous purple haze began to creep further up his leg.
Naofumi was about to speak out again when Raph-Chan hopped up. "Rafu?" She tilted her head, studying the purple haze before her face saddened. "Rafu…"
"Raph-Chan, what is it?" Naofumi asked worriedly.
"It appears that your shikigami has deduced what you could not." Kyo finally answered, though he didn't turn his attention away from what he was doing. "Fascinating. When did it ever have the chance to study souls in such depth? And to think that she even managed to summon the former musician hero, Azura, to our battle."
"What the hell are you going on about now?" Naofumi asked, sounding only a little annoyed at the fact Kyo was talking now. Azura? Who the hell was that? Apparently, Naofumi and the others hadn't noticed the past Musical Instruments Hero being summoned to the battlefield.
"Come now. You all are smart enough to piece it together." Kyo continued quietly.
"Look at what's happening to me and tell me you haven't seen it before."
…
Naofumi was confused, but then he finally took note of that strange purple haze that was slowly surrounding Kyo's form.
It was traveling further up Kyo's left leg, slowly and carefully past his knee. It was also beginning to appear around his right foot, the one stuck to the stone.
It wasn't like those parts of his soul were gone, they were just tinted a different color. But Naofumi didn't…
No. He suddenly realized it. But it was Rishia who beat him to saying it. "Your soul is dissolving… just like Trash's did earlier."
Kyo laughed, but it was a hollow laugh. "Right on the money, Rishia Ivyred."
Rishia's face twisted in horror at that realization. "B-But I thought you claimed that the serum you drank didn't have the same side effects since you'd improved on it?"
"Yes, it was much more powerful, wasn't it?" Kyo's chuckling died. "But no, I planned to hop into my ultimate body, once I was done taking care of you lot. It would repair my soul and cleanse it of the serum during the merging process.
"But that's not going to happen now. My soul is dissolving. In a few moments, I will meet my permanent end."
Unlike with Trash, it appeared this process was slower. It'd taken the whole battle for it to finally kick in.
But then that purple haze appeared at the top of Kyo's head, and then in his left hand. Slowly moving down to the other parts of his body. Soon after that, Kyo's face took on an extremely pained look. But he did not stop writing even with the spike in his own personal torture.
"Yes, my soul will now slowly dissolve, just like that one puppet girl from that game everyone loved to play back home." Kyo then said, his voice trying to sound normal yet failing. "Too bad for me though. It's more painful than I imagined. This is what I put Albert and Kenshiro's nephew through, huh?
"Strange how karma works like that."
Naofumi's eyes narrowed, trying to see what Kyo was writing. But he couldn't see what the Book Hero was writing at all, or if he really was writing anything.
For all he knew, this could be a trick. Yet… somehow, he knew it wasn't.
Maybe it was because the look of pain on the Book Hero's face felt real. Or maybe it was because Naofumi could see the regret in Kyo's blue eyes.
A regret he knew all too well, as he'd seen it so many times when looking at himself in the mirror.
"Maybe… maybe it isn't too late. We could find a way to stop the process and find another way to heal your soul. And then-" Naofumi started to say.
Kyo's hand stopped moving on the book, only for a brief moment. Then, he continued writing in it. "No... The corruptive influence of the Demon Dragon's essence is too strong. If it had been another guardian beast's then perhaps... But no, even if there was a way to stop this, I would not pursue it still.
Naofumi furrowed his eyes. "Don't give me some bull &^%$ or whatever about deserving this! There could be a way to heal you. A way for you to go back to Kizuna and the others to apologize. To accept Yomogi's love for you.
"Yes, you've done terrible things. But that isn't an excuse to give up and stop trying!"
"Terrible things… a sextuple kill count in your world, thousands upon thousands more in my world, dead from my actions… Ost's death." Kyo chuckled in a deadpan. The pain he was feeling briefly receded just a bit.
No, it hadn't been that the pain had stopped. He'd merely stopped feeling it from parts of his body. The parts that were beginning to slowly dissolve before everyone's eyes.
"Perhaps you're right." He continued to write. "Maybe there is a way to heal my soul. Maybe it is possible to reverse the monstification process and bring my human body before Kizuna and the others for them to judge me as they see fit. Maybe… maybe there is even a chance that they'd forgive me and allow me to help them save our world…"
"And… maybe Yomogi still does love me and wants to help me… and maybe even after everything I've done, I might desire more than anything else to make amends with her before I die…"
"But that isn't in the cards for people like me. It is not something I deserve. It's not something that I'll ever deserve.
"I can't deserve it... And even if I did, I would never be able to take that option, ever."
…
Kyo's hand stopped moving at last, and he settled the ethereal pen back in the Book's Spirit. He wished he had time to write more, but flecks of his soul began to peel off his hand like paper. What he'd put down would have to be good enough.
"Shield Hero, fulfill this last request for me, at least." Kyo finally looked up, his tired eyes staring into Naofumi's own. "Please, have one of your companions kill me right now."
"This pain… having to watch my soul fragment bit by bit… I'd rather it all end quickly, then slowly and drawn out, as it's happening now."
Naofumi's frown deepened on his face. But Kyo continued before he could say something in protest.
"What do people claim to kill others for these days? Justice for those they murdered, perhaps? I killed more than my share of people. I went so far as to claim that the strong were the ones that enforced justice when we first met,
"But that was a lie. The strong may enforce their brand of justice, but it is the world and fate that ultimately decide right from wrong; who will live and who will die."
"I was wrong. My plan turned out to be meaningless in the end. Had you not stopped me, everyone in this world would have died, and nothing would have been gained from it.
"I would not deserve forgiveness for that great sin, even if I had a million lifetimes to repent for it."
"But… but you still have something to live for, don't you?" Naofumi tried.
"Not any longer. It'd be better if I died."
"Yet Kizuna and Yomogi-"
"Wouldn't be able to redeem me anyway."
…
Kyo was smiling sadly. "Shield Hero. Even if my Cursed Series hadn't enveloped my mind. Even if my body hadn't turned into a monster. Even if my soul wasn't dissolving painfully right now… even if I hadn't killed all those people… even if I wasn't the one who killed the Spirit Tortoise…
"Even if I'd wanted nothing more than to save the world that Kizuna loved and allow everyone the chance to smile and laugh… it is meaningless. Kizuna, Yomogi, you… no one could ever hope to have a chance to help me."
"... why?" Naofumi couldn't help but ask.
…
"Because 'They' would have never allowed me to become someone good."
…
For the briefest of moments, Naofumi could have sworn that he saw the outline of a pitch-black chain flicker into existence around the soul in front of him in a burst of static. But it was gone so quickly, that the Shield Hero wasn't sure if it was real or just his exhaustion catching up to him.
…
"... who are they?" Naofumi asked, a cold feeling going down his spine at what Kyo had said.
…
…
"Hmhmhmhmhm…" Kyo's face fell. When he said the words, it was not with the same smugness as before. Rather, it was in a voice of defeat, one that wished that it could answer more than anything else.
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
…
…
…
…
The cold presence that Naofumi felt earlier vanished. Yet the Shield Hero stared at Kyo for a moment more, before finally letting out a sigh. "Raphtalia… please do it."
The half-tanuki girl looked at him in surprise. "A-Are you sure?"
"... You heard what he said." Naofumi turned away, crossing his arms. "He killed countless people in both his world and ours. He is dying, and there is nothing we can do."
"Let Kyo at least get a quick execution, so they can be avenged…" Naofumi's face fell. "And because it is his final request."
…
Raphtalia wordlessly switched her weapon form to the Soul Eater Katana and walked over next to Kyo's soul. She felt conflicted, but, at the same time, despite what Naofumi had said, this wasn't an execution at this point.
This was a mercy kill. More of the Book Hero's soul was flaking away before their eyes.
"... Kyo. The reason you summoned that wave... you planned for this, didn't you?" Raphtalia asked. "To take your friends out of danger. So you wouldn't have to fight them."
…
Kyo chuckled in response without looking up. "What an interesting theory. It is completely false, however.
"I just wanted to split you all up. Taking your group alone was hard enough as it was."
…
Raphtalia frowned sadly as she brought her weapon above her head.
"Kyo... Ethnobalt was right. You are a terrible liar."
"...perhaps." The Book Hero closed his eyes.
…
"I always hated doing it."
Slash!
Raphtalia's blade cut through the neck of the Book Hero's soul.
Kyo didn't even cry out as his form instantly fragmented into many different pieces. Some of which began to disappear as they fell to the ground.
"Rafu!" Raph-Chan leaped through the falling remains of the soul. Landing on Raphtalia's shoulder as she did so.
Behind them, the statue of Kyo's monstrous audibly cracked and then rapidly crumbled to the ground in a pile of dust.
Naofumi's various debuffs all disappeared at the same time.
…
It was over now…
They'd won for good.
Kyo Ethnina was dead.
No one was certain what to think or feel at that point.
It felt like they'd won, but also lost simultaneously.
They'd defeated the Book Hero and stopped his plot… and yet, they'd also failed to save him as Kizuna had wanted.
Their faces were all a mess of different emotions. Frustration, sadness, exhaustion, and so much more. None of them had a solid thought to attach to what'd happened. To what they were supposed to do next.
But then… as if to help snap everyone back to reality…
"Wait, guys...did that Book Guy's statue just drop a bunch of loot?" Daitan suddenly voiced aloud.
"What are you talking about-" Akane turned and began to ask the Blunt Hero, only to stop as her eyes widened in horror. "WHY THE &^%$ ARE YOU STILL NAKED?!"
A censor bar was still slapped over the Blunt Hero's groin area, but yes, the manlet was still as nude as ever. "Oh? I just didn't want to interrupt what was going on with everyone and-" Daitan began to answer.
SLAP!
Unlike previous times, Akane didn't drive his head to the ground and instead slapped him hard across the face. "Just, get dressed, now! Before you really start to piss me off you stupid thickskulled-!"
"Fine, FINE, sorry! Sorry! I was serious though, it looks like that guy's statue dropped some stuff after it crumbled apart, look!" Daitan pointed while starting to pull his clothes out of his weapon.
"Mommy?" Filo finally spoke.
"Yes, honey?" Raphtalia responded.
"Filo takes back everything Filo ever said about Spear Uncle being super weird," Filo said in a dry voice.
…
You know what? Wiser words had never been spoken by Naofumi and Raphtalia's daughter before that moment.
Daitan was clearly deserving of the blonde simp's place in that regard.
"Hey now! You guys can't tell me you didn't think the same thing as me!"
"You were the only one who thought that," Naofumi said in a deadpan. "Now shut up and get dressed before I stone you next for being a deviant."
"Does it work like that?" Raphtalia whispered into his ear.
"He doesn't have to know that," Naofumi responded just as quietly while Daitan fumed in his spot.
"Alright, alright, geez. Don't need to be such a grouch about it." Daitan pouted as he began pulling on his undergarments.
While he was busy doing that, and just so everyone could look away from the lovable idiot, they finally walked over to the remains of the statue.
Amazingly, Daitan turned out to be correct. The Vassal Book was hovering over the area, still looking down at its former wielder with a deep sadness emanating from it. But directly beneath it were a bunch of glowing pages, as well as a leatherbound book with Kyo's name printed on the front in Japanese characters.
"Hey, they're not even scratched," Maya commented as she picked her kunai up from the remains of the stone statue. However, the raccoon woman's upbeat attitude didn't help to improve everyone's mood that much.
"What are these?" Naofumi picked up the pages one at a time. But he couldn't read anything on them for some reason.
"Rafu." Raph-Chan picked up something from amongst the rubble and put it in her tail. Naofumi didn't see what it was though.
"Oh…" But before he could ponder on it more, Raphtalia let out a sound of surprise as she picked a page up. When she did so, the page glowed in her hands, and then text appeared on it. "It… looks like a message, for me?" She said in confusion.
"What's on it?" Naofumi asked. He looked at the page she was holding, but he couldn't see anything on it.
"Something about the vassal Katana and its full skill list...? I think this is his theory on what weapon forms to search for, the amount of stats I'll need before one of these skills becomes available, and so on." Raphtalia explained with a frown as she continued to study the page's contents.
"Huh…" Did it mean that these pages would only reveal their contents when they were held by the right person?
…
Had that been what he was writing earlier in his Book? Things for the other Heroes in this world…?
Naofumi briefly wondered if there was a page meant for him in the pile too. But right now, it was the leather-bound journal that was grabbing his attention.
It was written in Japanese, so only the Cardinal heroes would be capable of reading it right now.
Though looking back, he saw that the Bow Hero was still unconscious where he lay. Akane still looked flustered, Hoshi was trying to look anywhere but where everyone was, and Daitan was somehow still struggling to pull his pants on.
Was it seriously that hard?! Why was he prolonging this stupid act of his?!
…
Naofumi unclasped the belt on the front cover and flipped the journal open. He found more Japanese writing scrawled out on its pages.
"Is that your world's language?" Raphtalia asked as she peeked over his shoulder.
"Yeah… it looks like this was his journal," Naofumi noted sourly.
He flipped through it some more. He wasn't sure how much they'd learn about Kyo from this.
…
However, as he learned, the Book Hero had written down quite a bit, and any unpleasant thoughts he might have still been holding on to passed as he read what his former enemy had written down:
- Foreword -
Strange. Ever since appearing in this world, I've felt the urge to keep a record of my life.
Due to the violent outbursts I suffered in my youth, my High School anger management counselor suggested I write my daily activities as a way to release my stress. However, I never went through with it, since my parents never allowed me any privacy, and any attempts to keep a journal back then angered them for some reason.
Now that I have access to the (perfect journal) that no one except me can read without my permission, I think I'll give it a shot. The idea from that guy isn't entirely without merit. Not to mention he was… nice.
To start, I'll remind myself of my core. I have never been one to shy away from acquiring knowledge. And I have never been one to say no to preserving knowledge. It is one of the few things I absolutely do not agree with my bosses on whatsoever. I don't care if my duty is to weaken this world in any way possible.
Knowledge, all knowledge, is sacred. It shouldn't be destroyed but should be kept in the right hands.
My hands, to be specific.
With that out of the way, I, Kyo Ethnina, document my life till now.
- ENTRY #1 -
I wasn't born in this world. Not originally, at least.
I was born on Earth in a country known as Japan in a time of great turmoil.
However, despite my world being ravaged by plagues, wars, famines and death, my parents have done everything in their power to shield me from the worst of it.
Even if the way they did it was not always pleasant.
I was made to understand from an early age that my parents had expectations from me. That nothing in this world was free. That everything had a price and had to be fought for with tooth and nail, including my safety and continued survival. In my case, the price they demanded from me was excellence.
Whether it be sports, music, academic pursuits or anything else they wanted. I had to be the best. Nothing short of perfection was acceptable.
Love and affection had to be earned.
I remember how early on I tried to object to this treatment. To argue. To rebel. But it was always swiftly put down. By force, if necessary.
I vividly recall one particular day when I got a 99/100 on one of the end-year tests. It was the best result in class. And it was tied for the best result in the school's history.
Father was furious.
He did not care that I was the top student of my year. My efforts did not matter. I was supposed to get full marks on everything. This was the first time in my life when I had lost my temper. I had trouble controlling my emotions back then. I shouted back at him, arguing my points and challenging his unreasonable behavior.
I was made to understand that his will was absolute.
My mother was not any better.
She controlled my social life, or its absence, rather. She instilled her rhetoric into me about the worthlessness of human interactions and friendship in particular.
The few friends that I tried to make were quickly removed from my presence for not being "good enough". I had to seek out and interact with those of superior social standing to my own, as was the norm that I had to live up to. Because that's what it all boiled down to, the most basic pecking order. Those without power only approached those with it to steal it and take it for themselves. It was my duty to not allow those beneath me to get on my level. My excellence was meant only for myself. And I had to do everything to crawl further up from my own station in life using every leverage available to me.
I was not successful in such endeavors, unfortunately, despite my mother's best attempts at matchmaking, she simply lacked the resources and clout necessary to allow me to meet truly influential people and their children. Not that she ever admitted it. It was always my fault. I was not trying hard enough. I was a bad son for failing her.
I wasn't strong in my musical talents either, which only frustrated her further and soon, the few scraps of her attention I used to be able to receive had disappeared.
Thankfully, what I was good at was studying, especially after the encounter that I had with my father. Clearly, fear has proven to be a much stronger motivator than emotional manipulation.
I don't know if I can blame them for my warped perception of the world and people in general now. But after being raised by my parents in this world, I can't help but wonder why my original parents were so hard on me.
After all, it certainly didn't help me out later in life.
- ENTRY #2 -
Because of my upbringing, I focused everything on learning.
Economics. Mathematics. The sciences. Everything and anything I could get my hands on that'd help me progress further above my classmates.
I didn't focus much on History, as History is the human race repeating the same mistakes that've occured ever since the time one ape slapped another. Nor did I waste time with extracurriculars like cooking, since they were irrelevant to my endgoal of becoming the breadwinner in my family. Even if I was forced to learn those skills later in life.
I didn't talk to my peers, nor did I interact with them after those disastrous early attempts my mom tried to instigate. I was fine with that. On some level, I think they were fine with it too, since none of them ever tried to get close to me.
Not that I would have allowed them.
By this point, my parents had hammered into me that to talk with lesser folk would be a waste of my time and talents. While they were cruel and unaffectionate, my efforts were rewarded as they got me into the top school in Japan at the time. There, I was able to foster my growing talents and intellectual prowess with all sorts of teachers who were experts in their fields.
I didn't waste time with school festivals or the weird shenanigans my lesser peers got into. I couldn't. For I was destined for great things, and not a second could be wasted on such vulgarity.
My efforts throughout High School eventually landed me into one of the top colleges in Japan. Where I graduated in less than three years with a degree in Engineering and then another in Bio-Engineering after another year.
I was the top of my class. Truly, I was smarter than even some of my professors who were amazed that I wasn't the one teaching the class. It was perfect. For once, everything in my life was looking up.
- ENTRY #3 -
It took no more than two days for my life to come crashing down.
You'd think that my parents would finally be proud of me after my graduation from the University of Tokyo with the highest scores in its history, along with countless honors, merits, and certificates of recognition to my name.
However, I never learned if that was the case. They'd died from an illness before I got home.
As shocking as that was, I didn't grieve for them. I was just left with an empty feeling of not knowing if I'd finally done something to earn their love and affection or not. A mere afterthought in the &^%$storm that occurred soon after.
Funeral services needed to be arranged. And then came the other members of the family who I never saw growing up. Those who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, wanting a piece of what my parents had in their will as if they were entitled to it.
How funny it was when they learned that my parents had nothing to their names. Not even the house was theirs anymore. Without my knowledge, they'd put themselves deeply into debt to fund my education and scientific pursuits. And they'd taken their loans from banks that were less than credible.
I still laugh when I remember the looks on my relative's faces when the loan sharks showed up, demanding payment. That got them out of the house real quick. None of them bothered to give me even a single (yen) to help me out as they walked out the door, leaving me alone with those savages.
It was only because I was quick on my feet that they didn't kill me then. Instead, my parent's debt was thrust upon me. They were… generous, enough, to give me a couple of weeks to find a job before they'd start hiking up the already high interest rates for when I couldn't pay. That time was purchased by everything in the house being taken. And finally, by me being thrown out of my home with nothing more than the shirt on my back and a laptop in hand, being forced to live in a downtrodden apartment complex.
Most people would find this situation sad, but it was the norm in my (Japan). And to be honest, I just found their constant appearances while I was searching for a job annoying at best. I had to put my brilliant intellect to good use, after all. And I didn't have time to waste with these mud scrapers.
Only, as it turns out, it's much harder to find a job in the modern job market than one would realize when one has no experience or connections and only a few days to get the money flowing. That was how long it took for those sick &^%$s to get impatient, and to threaten me with death if I didn't pay them what they were owed.
With my education, I could have easily been an executive for a small time company, or a manager in a much larger one. I could have been designing buildings and patenting inventions no one else had ever come up with. If I'd only been given the time to look. If I'd only been given the time to apply.
…
Heh. I ended up in mindless cubicle slavery, just like many of my peers from school. All my knowledge and talents were for naught. From that point on, I was just another blank face salaryman, struggling to make ends meet while paying off the debt I was saddled with by my parents.
Life was a cruel joke from that point on.
- ENTRY #4 -
As I have grown older, the words of my mother have continued to ring true: Everywhere I went, I was faced with nothing but Cronyism, corruption, and greed. Every person, no matter how kind they had initially appeared to be, always possessed some personal agenda to elevate themselves in one way or another.
I was met with it even at my job. I struggled day to day with the monotony of being put on worthless government projects designed to waste tax payer's money and to fish for more grants to launder. I sat through endless meetings with idiots where nothing was accomplished. I got to see the credit for my hard work on the projects that I did finish going to someone else on the team who was far less deserving of it, only because they were 'friends' with the higher-ups.
I couldn't even play the financial markets like I initially wanted. It would have required me to possess some serious starting capital to try that option in the first place. And besides the randomness and 'predictability' of the markets, the ones who truly profited off them were the ones already artificially pushing the market in whatever direction gave them the most profit. Not to mention, every spare yen I got from my measly paychecks that wasn't used to pay my bills was going towards those loan sharks, with the debt increasing despite my continued payments.
Within a couple of years, I knew I'd need to take drastic measures. Even someone like me couldn't continue living like this. I needed to make more money, and fast. Else I would never escape from this poverty hole that my parents had dragged me into.
The main problem though wasn't just the higher-ups not promoting me. It was also my fellow co-workers. Some laughed at me for trying to 'jump over my head' with my projects. Others not only mocked me but actively tried to sabotage my work when they realized that what I was doing could put me ahead of them in terms of the pecking order.
If anything, they taught me to keep my plans secret. To wait until they were finished before I made my great reveal.
And thanks to all those years that I spent learning to expand my knowledge as an engineer, my work finally paid off as I developed a new type of engine that was far more efficient than any of the leading brands on the market. And I did this in a way that would keep the manufacturing costs low too. It could be used in both civilian and military vehicles. Everything about it was a net gain. Any fool that had eyes and a single brain cell to spare would be able see it for what it was.
And so, with my magnum opus in hand, I cornered my company's CEO at the bar that he and the other executives would usually hang out at during the weekend. I presented them with my new and amazing creation. I painstakingly explained how it'd not only cut our costs but make our products far more desirable to our customers as it'd help them to save money too. This would be a boon for our company! A golden goose that'd lay golden eggs for as long as it took for the competition to catch up to it!
It could make millions overnight. And it would, just not for me…
When I presented it to that group of fat, greedy blobs, they laughed at me. They told me that my invention was worthless. That I was worthless. They ordered me to stop wasting their time and to go back to my job and put in more overtime on projects that'd ultimately make me only a few hundred yen more than I made an hour. If I was even rewarded for them in the first place.
I… struck the CEO with my new engine. The lessons that I'd had with my anger-management counselor in college were forgotten at that moment. I was angry. And as I viciously beat him, I yelled about how I knew that they were siphoning money out of the company. How they were laundering it with fellows I knew at work. How only half of their government contracts ever got completed due to either sheer incompetency or corruption and that it was only because of my efforts that we hadn't gone bankrupt.
I beat that man within an inch of his life in my fury. I had never been one to possess a predisposition toward violence. But I was too angry to care then… up until the others, after they'd recovered from their shock, managed to drag me off him and throw me out of the bar.
I was fired the next day.
And by the next year, I saw cars driving around with 'my' engine in them.
They'd made millions overnight, just like I'd promised. And my hard work put them at the forefront of the industry for years. But I wasn't given a single ounce of credit.
My attempts to sue them for stealing my invention were only met with me getting blacklisted from the industry. The corrupt justice system of Japan sided with my former employers time and time again, until I had run out of appeal opportunities.
All my hard work had been for naught.
- ENTRY #5 -
I still had my debt to pay. But instead of mindless cubicle slavery, I ended up someplace even worse. Working a job that no person deserves to be forced into.
A convenience store clerk.
I tried to find any other job I could at night. Literally, anything would have been better than that. But because I got blacklisted, nobody was willing to have me work for them. My talents as an engineer were being squandered by a midnight shift of watching over a stupid store. No company would hire me, not even to clean their toilets.
On top of the debt that I owed those loan sharks, I was also fined heavily for almost killing my former CEO. I guess I should have been grateful that they didn't throw me in jail. But then, at least that would have improved my situation. It would have made it impossible for those goons to demand money for a debt that kept growing bigger and bigger under their greedy influence.
I have no doubt that this was the exact reason why I wasn't thrown in a cell. It'd make sense, with how corrupt my Japan was.
As my debt grew, so did my apathy toward my situation. As my paycheck became smaller and smaller, I grew increasingly demoralized. I understood it then: nothing I could do would change or improve my world.
The only thing that I could still feel was my hatred for humanity. For my fellow flesh bags who harassed me day in and day out. For every ounce of suffering that I was forced to endure in one form or another over the course of my life. For those who grouped together with other stupid people to push smart people like myself who deserved to be on top, to the bottom heaps of society.
On my thirtieth birthday, only eight years after I'd graduated from college, I had been fired, or 'let go' as they liked to call it, again. The economy was in bad shape, they said. It was not viable to keep human workers for such mundane tasks in the age of automation. A point of view that I would have normally shared, had I not been dependent on such jobs just to survive.
Regardless, those idiot loan sharks cornered me in an alleyway shortly after. Demanding that I pay them in full, or else.
I couldn't take their stupidity anymore. And I couldn't take being stepped on either. In my anger, I lashed out at the nearest one, trying to land a punch on his smug face.
I didn't even come close. Two more of their goons grabbed me from behind. They'd known I wouldn't be able to pay and wanted me to sign an agreement to sell some of my organs. And then, when I refused to comply, they proceeded to give me the beating of my life.
They laughed as they did so. They told me that if I pleaded for mercy, they'd let me live another day. I didn't give them the pleasure though. I continued to glare at them.
The look of glee in their eyes gradually disappeared, and they continued beating me until several of my bones had broken and I was covered in bruises.
They likely would have continued, killing me in the process, if not for the sound of a police car approaching. They fled after that, and the car parked nearby.
Even after all that I'd been through, a small part of me thought that, maybe, I'd finally have some help. That I'd be able to get justice for myself. That I'd be able to escape my situation. That…
Well, the thought quickly died. The officer didn't see me on the ground. Or maybe they saw me but didn't want to deal with me and drove away. Leaving me there, broken, and done with life.
I could not take the cruelty of my world anymore. I could not endure one more second of it. I tried to scream at the sky for every bad thing that'd ever happened to me, from the parents I was born to, to the people that stomped me down to the ground; only for it to hurt too much to take in that much air. I tried to cry in frustration and agony, only to find that hurt too.
I didn't move as the cold of the night came across my city. Those stupid loan sharks, while having done all that damage to my body, hadn't hurt me badly enough that I'd bleed out or anything before they fled. So I had to wait for the cold to do me in. Or for some thug to find me and finish the job they started.
Not like I cared. I was done with living. I didn't care about anything anymore.
And then…
… I met one of them.
I wish I could say more about that encounter. About the moment when my life had been changed forever. About the ones who'd saved me that night. But I cannot. The contract that I signed with them back then, as part of our deal, included a nondisclosure agreement. And breaching it would spell total destruction of my soul on the spot.
I have seen the consequences of not respecting the contract firsthand when a fellow reincarnator who was a bit stupider than most tried to talk about our employers while he was drunk. Something that I can only describe as a miniature black hole opened in the middle of his chest, where his heart was.
I saw every agonizing second of it.
I heard the poor bastard's screams as he was turned inside out before getting crushed, compressed, collapsed, and finally sucked into the black abyss with his body, soul, and everything. It was a type of destruction so complete that when it was all over, there was not even a sign left that he had ever existed.
Even if nobody else will see this, even if this is only meant for me to detail my life till now as a way of coming to terms with what happened to me, I'd rather be safe and sorry.
But what I can say is this: that night, 'they' gave me a choice. To either continue living out my life in my cruel world that did everything and anything to push me down. Or, I could wish for the power I most desired, and be reborn with it in another world. One where I'd be able to thrive, to do what I always wanted, and someday, even make it my own; as long as I would continue to fulfill my contractual obligations.
I'd already been abused by my world for thirty, long years. I'd been surrounded by Cronyism, corruption, and greed for as long as I could remember. My own parents hadn't loved me. Nothing I ever did had garnered support or sympathy from anyone. Not even my own relatives wanted anything to do with me. My knowledge was wasted on the idiots of my world.
In short, I had nothing left to live for.
Was it any wonder that I swallowed their bait hook, line, and sinker; and immediately agreed to the offer given to me?
- ENTRY #6 -
After accepting the deal, I was reborn into a new world. I became the son of a somewhat well off noble family in Luvar. They weren't rich enough to afford all the luxuries of life, but at least they weren't deep in debt like my original parents.
I will not bore myself writing down the details of my early years, as I was very much aware of what I was doing even after I was born. Perhaps it would be considered a strange thing to have memories from so early on. But for me, it just meant I could put my knowledge to good use all the sooner.
I could innovate so much in this backwater world. I already had my extensive knowledge as an engineer. But with the power that I'd wished for, something I'll call "Search Engine" since it allowed me to look up anything I didn't know, I was really able to do more than just develop an engine for cars. I just had to grow up more quickly so my new parents would give me more leeway to do what I wanted.
It was a pleasant change, compared to my first childhood. My new parents did not seem to care or hold any strong expectations for me early on. I was fed, clothed and guaranteed to have a roof over my head with no demands for it, for whatever reason.
They supported my pursuits to the best of their ability, but never got in my way, aside from some token attempts of social bonding. I tolerated those for the sake of maintaining the favorable status quo that I was in. I might not have cared much for them due to my previous upbringing, but I can say I hold them in higher regard compared to my original parents in my mind.
When I was around ten, making me forty in total, I met Yomogi. She was an annoying brat back then. An orphan from some piss-ant village the name and location of which has long since been erased from history, after being torched by some bandits.
Ever since the day we met outside the town while I was doing some field work, she clung to me like a damn leech. Always following me around wherever I went and being annoying. I thought back then that it was because she wanted a handout or something.
The words of my first mother continued to echo in my head, warning me against associating with such a lowly wretch. That she had nothing to offer and only wanted to take things away from me. But, surprisingly, that hadn't been the case as I later found out.
One day, I was out on a stroll in the nearby woods collecting some potion ingredients. Yomogi was with me as usual, acting as a pack mule to carry my stuff. It was the only useful service that she was capable of. Or it would have been if she wasn't always clumsily stumbling everywhere on her stubby legs and spilling my precious ingredients all over the place. She managed to do it again, for the second time that day and I rolled my eyes at the noise before turning around. This time, however, she actually did have an excuse. A monster had ambushed us.
I'd known monsters sometimes prowled the area, and I had a couple of trinkets I'd developed to drive them away. Before I could use any of them though, Yomogi pushed me out of the way and tried to fight it with her own fists.
It went about as well as you'd expect.
I was able to use the potions I had on hand to send the beast running. And then while I was healing the stupid girl since I still needed her to carry my stuff back, I asked her if she was an idiot. Seriously, what did she expect to do against that thing as a god damn eight year old? And why had she pushed me out of the way anyway?
…
I can still remember her response, as she sniffled at my feet:
"Because you are smart."
…
When I asked her to elaborate after a moment, she told me a little bit about her life.
Apparently, she was at the bottom of the pecking order in her orphanage, because she was stupid and a useless good-for-nothing. Everything she ever tried to do always backfired, angering the people around her.
No one liked her. Not her caretakers, nor the other children and especially not the townspeople. She couldn't even read.
It turned out that I was the first person who had even given her the time of day without calling her names or throwing stones at her for fun.
That still didn't answer my question, so I pressed her more and her following words shook me to the core.
"Smart people's lives are worth more."
This was not something that a little girl should have been saying, especially not with such a mature and sobering clarity ringing in those words. Even though I shared such a notion myself, when I was confronted with my vision of what an ideal world would have been like, I could not bring myself to look directly at it.
As I carefully asked her to elaborate again, my suspicions proved to be correct. She genuinely believed the words that have been thrown at her time and time again, ever since she arrived in my new hometown. That she was stupid and worthless. That she should listen to and obey people smarter than her. And that their lives were worth infinitely more than her own.
After all that I'd been through, I hadn't been ready to believe her back then. I was briefly shocked and speechless by her words, but then I merely scoffed it off and took her back to the village. Taking the potion ingredients I'd gathered from her without even saying thanks before going back to my house.
I thought that'd be the end of it… but the next week, when I needed to gather ingredients again, she was there, waiting for me. And without saying a word of complaint, I let her follow me.
I think even if I hadn't wanted to think about it back then… it was the first time in either of my lives when I wondered if the answer that I got from my first life was wrong.
- ENTRY #7 -
My teenage years in this world, or my mid-life crisis years if I still counted my age from my original world, went by much more smoothly than they had in my original world. A lot of different things also came together for me during this time.
One thing I found annoying and bothersome about this time of my life was Puberty. I hadn't really had too much of a problem with it in my previous life, but here it was like those damn sexual thoughts were coming up every other minute. It was almost as if my current body was purposefully designed to be hornier than my original body or something?
I have noticed this strange behavior exhibited by other reincarnators over the years. Every last one of them has been intent on gathering a harem of young women around them as soon as they were old enough to 'get it up.'
I have no idea why. Maybe the increased libido was something 'they' did for us to make our lives in these worlds more enjoyable.
Either way, I didn't let the thoughts of puberty distract me as I was much more interested in continuing to build my way up in this world. I'd made several simple inventions by this point, which I sold off with help from my parents to make some cash.
They'd begun to realize how much of a genius I was, and despite me still being young, not counting my age in the other world, they began to actively take steps to make sure I had everything I needed to succeed. From trade deals with the right merchants that traveled through their lands, to connections with the Capital to ensure my work was patented under my name.
I didn't have a repeat of what'd happened with my engine. And I was more than okay with that.
My father even bought Yomogi as a 'slave' for me at my insistence. As it never did hurt to have an extra bit of muscle around.
The girl still followed me like a damn dog everywhere. But I didn't mind that so much anymore.
Despite her low self-esteem, she wasn't near as stupid as she believed herself to be. She learned to read very quickly after I took her in, and she was surprisingly good at math. She can be very naive and follow her heart more than her mind, and she also believes anything I tell her without question, but despite all this, she is not stupid.
I did not tell her this, however, as the last thing I needed was for her to grow an ego. It's bad enough dealing with that whenever I have to meet another reincarnator.
During our later teenage years, Yomogi began to nag me about using my inventions to help people. I'll admit, I did not see much point in doing that. I have the heart of a capitalist. I'd rather make money selling my goods than waste my time being a good Samaritan.
Those corporations that did this in my world anyway were just a sham. Providing meals for the poor? I guess nobody reads the fine print about how around ten U.S. pennies are considered a 'meal.' When they said they helped donate several million meals to starving people poor worldwide, they hadn't even put a million dollars towards that stupid crap.
Anyway, I guess in an effort to show me what she meant, she made me a pair of cheap crappy glasses for my birthday.
I hated them as soon as I saw them. They reminded me of my past life with the name-calling and the talking behind my back. I demanded that she tell me why she made them for me.
Again, her response surprised me:
"I noticed how you're always squinting. And I read that people do that when they find it hard to see things."
I asked her why that should matter. And again, her response silenced me.
"It makes it look like you're always annoyed when you're around people. And I think it might be hurting some of your trade deals. I thought fixing this might help with that."
…
I calmed down as I thought over what she'd pointed out and realized she was right. I'd recently had a few deals fall through, but I hadn't been sure why.
It still took a little convincing to put them on. After looking in a mirror, I said I looked stupid.
Yomogi smiled and then said: "I think they make you look cool and smart."
…
I wonder if that is why I still wear them today. Despite having managed to fix my vision through alchemy a couple of years ago…
The glasses did help. It was surprising how she managed to make the lenses just right for my eyesight. Yomogi was definitely more observant than I thought, and, when she dedicated herself to it, she could make some incredible things. My trade deals after that went much more smoothly, and I couldn't deny that it was thanks to her insight.
To reward her without telling her it was a reward, I put together an ice cream machine. I just inserted this world's version of cream, sugar, and other ingredients in one end, put some gems with ice properties in the other, and through a process where the machine magically induced the mixture and temperature required, ice cream came out of it.
It was pretty simple. I didn't even need to use my cheat power to learn how to make it. When I presented it to Yomogi, she pointed out that shaved ice already existed. I still had her try it though.
After one taste, she became instantly addicted to it. She claimed that it was the BEST. INVENTION. EVER.
As we ate ice cream, I asked her what she wanted. After the last few years and how kind and annoying she'd been, I still expected her to backstab me, or to take advantage of me, or whatever. But I wanted to ask anyway. Maybe to test her and see how she'd respond?
…
She wanted to see the sea. When I asked why she said it was because of the books she'd read about it in my library.
She didn't want riches. She didn't want a place in the world or anything. She just wanted to see the ocean with me…
Heh.
I arranged the trip with my parents and a week later, we were at the beach. I was eating ice cream from my machine while she played around in the sand like she was a little girl. It was annoying in some ways, but… good in others.
And I can admit that even though I'm not a fan of the outdoors, it was one of the most relaxing days in my entire life. In both my lives, to be honest. And it'd also been something I'd desperately needed. Genuine friendship.
"You should sell the design for this." She told me at the end of the day.
"What?" I responded.
"This ice cream is so good. You'd definitely make a ton of money selling this." She added to her previous statement.
…
I thought about it long and hard. Then I shook my head. "This is one thing I'll keep to myself."
She cocked her head at that. But I didn't elaborate further.
It was honestly the first time I'd invented something without the intention of making a profit.
I didn't want anybody else to ruin it. And this day had been special to me.
So I kept it between us, for whenever we went back to visit that beach. Something we did as often as circumstances allowed.
And thus I passed through the teenage phase of my new life.
- ENTRY #8 -
Finally, I get to the point I'm at now. This took a while to get to, and I had to pause on and off because of the things going on in the world right now. But I can finish detailing my life up till now at the very least.
By the time I was 18, I was pretty much independent. My parents had helped me all they could but when they realized they'd just be getting in my way, they went to living a quiet life back in our home while I took the reins of our family's affairs. I decided to take the world by storm this time.
Unlike before, I had a hefty amount of liquid assets thanks to some smart investments. With these funds, I managed to build myself a nice mansion and refurbished it. I'd always wanted a home out in the forest. And I finally got what I wanted.
At Yomogi's insistence, we traveled the world together. Peddling my inventions by demonstrating their effects and helping various groups of people. I was still reluctant to do so, but I suppose there are merits to a smart advertisement campaign even if it cuts into your profits initially. The people were happy to receive free help and became much much more interested in what I was selling afterward. It also got Yomogi off my back while making more money for me.
I got to deal with plagues. Natural disasters. Famines. Monster attacks. Etc. I worked with plenty of different folks. The Gem People were especially fun to work with.
They've been this world's most notorious pursuers of progress for centuries and made for some very good business partners. By working together with them, I managed to help improve crop payoffs at farms and advance medicines in certain areas with the right amount of machinery and gems.
In short, I was beginning to make a name for myself in this world.
Around the time I was 20, however, my employers started to become impatient. After all, I still had my contractual obligations to fulfill and I no longer had the excuse of being a powerless child. I'd raised my level somewhat by facing monsters with Yomogi. But if I truly wanted to stand a chance, I'd have to steal a Hero weapon.
That is another ability that was granted to me and other reincarnators. Once our level is high enough, we can steal a Hero weapon and force it to obey us with our power. Or at least, that is what should have happened.
Thanks to my connections, it was easy for me to get into Luvar's Capital and enter the building where the Vassal Book sat on a lone pedestal. It was in the middle of a library with some of the shelves dedicated to stories about the past Book Heroes.
It didn't look like much. But I was going to get elevated in status even further if I 'made' it choose me. I could even take some of those other books and destroy them. Since that was also something that my employers wanted me to do.
It was supposed to be a simple matter, but…
The Book disappeared from the pedestal in a flash of light, only to reappear directly in my hand. It chose me to be its wielder willingly.
I was speechless. Was it defective or something?! I didn't have to steal it or force it to obey my will or anything! It was ludicrous!
Though, then again, I have noticed that my attack stat has gotten a lot lower since getting it. So maybe it just did this so it could inflict me with its stat build or something?
Whatever. I normally let Yomogi or anyone else around me deal with monsters anyways. The Book is mainly useful as a support weapon. And more importantly, becoming its wielder elevated me into a very important position in Luvar. That was my main reason for wanting to steal it anyway.
The people in this world look at Heroes as political icons or tools depending on who they are and how they can be used. The Book and my connections in Luvar shot me to the top of the pecking order more quickly than any democratic process ever could have.
I consider it one of my greatest accomplishments. It was too easy. Even Yomogi looked at me with sincere happiness and…
That's right, there is one thing that I forgot to mention. She had confessed her love to me shortly before I became the Book Hero.
It was an uncomfortable conversation. I was aware of such concepts from my studies but I have never experienced the sensation myself. It was alien and confusing to me. But ultimately it was just another chemical reaction in humanity's collective lizard brain that made everyone feel good about themselves. So its absence had never bothered me.
Until now that is.
I contemplated marrying her to fulfill my social obligations, but the notion of a sexual relationship with Yomogi filled me with dread and disgust. I had no interest in her in that regard. She was physically attractive and her personality was a pleasant one, but watching her slowly grow up from a malnourished child into a beautiful young woman over the years killed all potential sexual thoughts I had regarding her.
So I rejected her as gently as I could, using that argument.
She'd looked destroyed back then when I rejected her, but it was better to make our relationship clear right now instead of stringing her along. Yomogi is a beautiful and smart girl. A bit annoying at times, but an overall good person. I am certain that she will find a suitable partner in time.
And if not, I suppose I could dedicate some of my time to play matchmaker for her eventually. She deserves that much for her exceptional work and dedication to me over the years.
Well, regardless, she got over it fairly quickly. And she even stuck around for some reason despite my rejection. I have long since terminated her slave ofuda, since it was pointless and detrimental to the kind of work I needed her to perform. She could have left at any time without any hard feelings, but she didn't.
I still wonder, why? Did she have some false hope that I'd change my mind? Such foolishness. I can't understand her at times.
Well, I am now caught up on my life in this world. I honestly can't say if the words of my anger management counselor have helped me out or not. I have no idea if I'll write in this stupid thing ever again. I still feel resentment toward my former life, and every day is another step forward to me conquering this place.
But given that I can store this Journal inside the Vassal Book, no one else, not even my employers, can access it while it is in here.
So maybe I'll continue to write my private thoughts in it? I don't know. That's what smart people do, right? It has also become easy to notice when 'they' are observing me and when they're not. This is one way for me to keep something over them.
It does appear that more trouble is starting to be stirred up in this world thanks to the Demon Dragon. So maybe some more interesting things will happen from here? I can guess my employers will want me to start taking out Heroes soon though. Maybe they'll have me take out the Hero that Sickle plans on summoning?
If not, well, I can at least detail how I took over the world through either economic or military force.
- ENTRY #9 -
And here, I thought I wouldn't be writing in this dumb thing again. And so soon after my last entry too.
A few days ago, the King of Sickle sent out a recruitment notice to all the Vassal Heroes in the world to help slay the Demon Dragon.
That creature has truly grown into a nuisance during these last couple of months. It's been raiding other countries increasingly often now. Not only that, it has empowered four monsters that it calls its 'Generals' to do its bidding.
One of them destroyed a major source of investment I had outside of Lazuli when it tried and failed to breach the city's walls. Another general killed the Katana Hero, though it was a rather short-lived triumph on its part. The weapon chose its wielder's younger brother as its new wielder right away. The new Katana Hero then proceeded to drive all the monsters out of his town. The last two generals have been wreaking havoc across other parts of the world as well. And that isn't including what the Demon Dragon itself has managed to accomplish.
That Dragon and its armies are really starting to become a threat to my own plans for world domination. King Berg requested for us 'Heroes' to band together to assist the Hunting Tools Hero, who was summoned a couple of months back to save the world from this threat. Back then, I had no idea why he chose to hold off on announcing the Hunting Hero's summoning. Seemed like a foolish move if you asked me…
Thankfully, I am not one to keep all of my eggs in one basket. Despite the losses that I suffered from that damn lizard, I still have quite a bit to my name, so much, in fact, that I decided to have Yomogi stay home and keep track of my lesser affairs while I'm gone. Since I have made her my official retainer and representative, she even has the authority to show up in my place for Luvar's political affairs now.
I'm not afraid to leave her be for a while. She has proven herself to be trustworthy enough to not drive a dagger in my back while I'm gone. And she is smart enough to not mess everything up. Worst case scenario, she can always give me a call to discuss important matters if any come up.
Now, because of my weapon's stat restrictions, I'm going to have to play a support role in this endeavor. But I am fine with that. It's much more preferable to stay back and let the fools throw themselves into danger in my place.
That's right, I ended up following up on King Berg's 'summons'. Not by choice, mind you. I would have preferred to deal with that dragon by myself.
However, my... 'employers' have contacted me personally on this matter as well. 'They' told me that the beast had to be dealt with quickly. It could prove to be a major obstacle in the way of the Waves of Catastrophe years from now if it were allowed to take over the world. The Demon Dragon is not only the "King of Monsters" in this world, but it also has humans loyal to it, as well as the ability to create loyal undead servants from amongst the living. If it were in control and summoned the other three Cardinal Heroes by itself when the Waves of Catastrophe hit…
Well, that is why my 'masters' have told me to deal with this creature immediately. It's a no-brainer, but I wish 'they' had informed me about it sooner.
…
'They' have also ordered me to kill the Hunting Tools Hero if I get the chance. I'd have the perfect opportunity to do so as I could easily get close to them under the guise of a 'support' Hero. And since the war with the Demon Dragon was going to impact my ability to take over the world, I thought, why not? And if I learned how it used magic to control its servants, that'd be an even bigger bonus for me when the time came for me to make my own bid for world domination.
So I decided to go along with their plan and went to meet this 'great' Hero everyone was talking about today. And she is the main reason I'm writing in this damn thing again.
You see, I thought that if I integrated myself into Sickle's coalition, I could make a name for myself amongst the idiots there, and make it easier to fool the other Vassal Heroes in attendance to boot. I could eliminate all of them in one fell swoop later on…
…
"Wow, mister! You look super smart! You must be the Book Hero that King Dad mentioned! I'm Kizuna, nice to meet you!"
Those were the exact words the Hunting Tools Hero said to me today.
The Hunting Tools Hero is a little girl. Not even a teenager.
That was why the King of Sickle had held off on announcing that her summoning was successful until now.
…
…
…
What the #$%& have I gotten myself into?
- ENTRY #10 -
Damn this brat! Just what the hell is wrong with her?! I thought I had seen some awful managers in my time, but never in my life would I have expected for a goddamn preteen to be this much of a slave driver! That stupid brat's bossiness is matched only by her sheer arrogance and ignorance. She is stubborn, stupidly innocent, and idealistic to a fault and it's driving me up the wall!
In short, she's the worst possible person we could have leading our forces right now!
She's never happy with any of the plans or the suggestions that I put forward! Not one! And only because they involve a high likelihood of people dying during them!
Even the freaking Boat Hero, the only other person in the war room besides myself who seems to have more than a single brain cell in his head, agrees with me about how my strategies would not only work, but that they're absolutely necessary for curbing the Demon Dragon's advances against the nations of our world!
Label has already lost half of its territory, and Mikikage is nearly entirely taken over! Its Capital is barely holding out! Lapis and other nations around the world are struggling to do their parts while we're over here twiddling our thumbs! At least my home country of Luvar is holding the monster hordes off, for the moment. In no small part thanks to Yomogi using her charisma to force the useless cretins at the Parliament to actually follow the orders that I send back to the letter. But even then, it's only a matter of time before the Demon Dragon's forces figure out some kind of weakness to exploit or straight up overwhelm the defense lines I set up to protect my assets and-
Anyway, as I wrote earlier the Boat Hero has been trying to convince the Hunting Tools Hero that sacrifices are sometimes necessary, but it's been to no avail! And despite her being a brat, the King of Sickle and most of the others besides the new Katana Hero basically give her free reign to tell everyone what to do, with only the barest minimum of restrictions! And even when Kenshiro is here to knock some sense into her, it only lasts for a short while since he's always on the front lines fighting the monsters back and trying to single-handedly liberate his country's occupied territories!
It's absolutely ridiculous! This War will never progress in humanity's favor so long as this girl is in charge! Maybe that's why my bosses told me to eliminate her?! We'll only be able to stall the Demon Dragon's advances at best if we're never willing to sacrifice people to gain an advantage!
Urgh! I'm so tempted to kill her right now! If nothing changes during these next few days, I might just do it! Forget about her being a child! She is not just useless, she is a detriment that needs to be removed!
- ENTRY #11 -
Looking back at this last entry makes me want to just erase it, but alas. Even I am prone to make the occasional miscalculation.
My frustration from before finally boiled over because of one of our previous meetings. Kizuna asked me how I can proclaim myself as the smartest person in the world when I can't even put together a plan that doesn't involve any planned casualties.
I got very angry, almost to the point where I was feeling deranged. I had never felt such a strong desire to prove somebody wrong before. So after writing down my previous journal entry, I spent all night working nonstop, fueled by my rage over how this stupid brat could call me out on my 'supposed' lack of intelligence when she was the one who was obviously in the wrong.
Anyway, I wanted to prove she was wrong just so I could rub it in her face. And in an interesting turn of events, the boat hero, Ethnobalt, visited me the following morning while I was beating my head against this problem and helped me out.
At first, he just appeared to be concerned, since I didn't show up for breakfast in the Sickle Castle's mess hall. He'd found my workspace in disarray, with notes and maps I'd pored over that night sprawled all over the place. And he just happened to pick one of my notes up and ask me why I'd discarded it. The plan I'd written on it had been feasible and would not only push the monsters out of Mikikage but simultaneously ease the burdens on Label and Luvar too.
There was a problem with it, however. And I begrudgingly explained to him that the area's layout was suboptimal for such a large movement of our troops, and that it wouldn't fit the 'no casualties' criteria that Kizuna had set for me. After studying it some more, however, the boat hero suddenly pointed out to me how the map of that area which I'd been using was actually somewhat inaccurate and outdated to boot. He then pulled a different one out from his weapon for me to look over.
The two of us spent the rest of that morning poring it over together. And he was right. The map I'd been using really had been outdated. It didn't account for hills we could position our troops on and rain ranged attacks down from. Valleys that we could use to sneak past enemy positions and ambush them behind their lines while our other forces kept the enemy distracted.
Suddenly, my job became a whole lot easier! And Ethnobalt helped me out a ton too, showing how his Boat could contribute to the plan in ways I'd never thought about before.
In the end, I was able to present a zero casualty, foolproof plan to Kizuna that'd cut off a part of the Demon Dragon's Army, reclaim a large chunk of Mikikage and Label to use as a staging area against the Demon Dragon's forces in the future, and alleviate pressure on my own nation from future attacks. I still remember how everyone in the room was shocked at its elegance and simplicity…
…
I'd planned on mocking Kizuna for her tantrum from the previous day. Now that I'd clearly shown how I actually was the smartest person they had in that room…
But instead of getting angry at being proven wrong, she beamed at me after I was finished.
"Thanks, Kyo! This is a miracle! I'm sorry for calling you stupid before! To think you were able to come up with a plan like this in so short a time! You definitely are the smartest in the world right now!"
…
Those were her exact words to me.
I was so stupefied that I wasn't even able to get in how Ethnobalt's contributions had helped me out, since his gathering of sources and data had been the only thing that'd made my job of drawing this plan up possible. But even when I tried to do that later in the conversation, Ethnobalt interrupted and kept me from speaking, telling me later that he'd only brought me reference materials and pointed out minor issues. I'd been the one doing all the brainstorming.
…
What is up with everyone here?
- ENTRY #12 -
It's been a week. The plan that I put forward went off without a hitch.
The Demon Dragon's Army suffered a crushing defeat. Kenshiro himself almost killed another one of the Generals with Prince L'Arc and Kizuna's help. And while our foe got away with her wind magic in the end, she's definitely far too injured to participate in any future battles anytime soon, so I'll count that as a win.
My plan went even better than expected too. All of Mikikage and Label's territory was liberated. What I thought had only been a weakness in the surrounding area had actually allowed our forces to penetrate deep behind the enemy defense lines. By the time they finally realized we'd cut them off from their allies, they'd been surrounded by our forces on all sides.
All the experts would say that our counteroffensive should have had double to triple the casualties than the other side. But that didn't happen. By the time it was over, we only lost a couple hundred men and women.
…
I actually expected Kizuna to throw another tantrum and complain about the fact that people had still died despite my brilliant plan working so well, but… she didn't.
She thanked me again instead, and hugged me after listening to the full report along with the other leaders of the alliance.
I really should have kept my mouth shut and just rolled with it, in retrospect. But my annoyance and anger at her hypocrisy reared its ugly head again. I could not help but bitterly and mockingly ask why she was not showing any reaction to the news about all the deaths. She used to make such a huge stink every time anyone would even remotely bring up the possibility of such a thing happening before. So why did I even bother putting in the effort into this plan then?
All the eyes in the room were on her. The others joined me in solidarity for once, even the king of Sickle who was the one responsible for letting Kizuna do whatever she wanted in the first place.
…
Her response made me rethink a lot of things.
It turned out that the reason why she was angry before was not because our actions would result in people's deaths. Rather, she was furious because we not only accepted such a thing as the norm, but were, in fact, actually planning around and for it, by using the lives of the soldiers as just another asset to use and gain an advantage.
She wasn't actually so stupid and ignorant that she thought that we could legitimately win without suffering any casualties. No, what she wanted was to eliminate this particular mindset at the war table; that our people are simply pieces on a chessboard to move around and sacrifice as we see fit.
"We shouldn't be planning out how we are going to die." She said. "We should be planning out how we're going to smile and live together!"
…
While I personally disagree with such sentiments, I have to admit that the brat is not as stupid as I thought her to be. Even if it was done in a rather crude and hamfisted way, her actions inspired everyone, including myself, to act and put more effort into our work. Which in turn improved both its overall quality and quantity.
I'm still annoyed by her overly positive attitude… but I can't help but concede now that her presence here is bringing an overwhelmingly positive impact on everyone's morale.
…
I wonder if even Kenshiro is starting to take notice of that too?
The Katana Hero seems to be going just a tad easier on her compared to before as of late.
- ENTRY #14 -
It has been several weeks, but the war continues.
My skills as a strategist have been more critical than ever. While Kizuna still grates my gears at times, I've learned to get used to her antics.
The plans I am producing now are my best attempts to reduce casualties among our soldiers as much as possible. It has helped that Kizuna and Prince L'Arc were able to go and personally clear the airspace around Lapis with Ethnobalt's help, freeing up their surprisingly superior airfleet in the process.
I have visited Lapis several times in the past, but not even my title as the Book Hero could grant me the credentials necessary to get access to the gem people's famed armaments. The reputation and quality of their enchanting and crafting techniques is only matched by how zealously Lapis protects the process of their manufacturing from outsiders. And while I could have used [Search Engine] to figure out all the details on my own, the engineer in me wanted to study these things for myself firsthand.
Even with the Demon Dragon's threat hanging over us, I would have found the probability of the Gem Empire spilling their secrets unlikely. But through a stroke of luck or perhaps something more, Kizuna somehow managed to gain the empire's full support by helping to end its succession crisis that started when one of the Demon Dragon's generals slayed its previous emperor. Out of all the successors available, she seemed to favor the one known as Corrin for some reason and derailed a good chunk of our resources into putting him and Hinoka on the throne.
He seems like a mediocre pick to me. Overly hesitant and with no ambitions to speak of. His military leadership skills are lacking too. When the matter was discussed I had suggested for Xander to take the throne instead. He would have been a far more useful ally in a military campaign, but my proposal was rejected because he was 'a big meanie'.
I sometimes forget that we are being led by a literal child. Normally I would be more angry, but Corrin has turned out to be rather open-minded compared to his predecessors. He actually granted me and the Boat Hero full access to his country's weapon designs at Kizuna's urging which brought up some... 'intriguing' developments. Beyond the obvious applications, it has also helped me with a fun side project me and Ethnobalt are working on to see if we can make him a ship with a high enough attack stat to allow him to support his friends on the battlefield.
Perhaps the designs will prove useful for my future fleet too.
Anyway, with Lapis's Air Fleet available to assist us, we've been steadily pushing the Demon Dragon's forces back on all fronts. It is only a matter of time before we've recaptured all the territory lost to that vicious beast. And then, we'll have to conduct an invasion of its continent to ensure that it doesn't come out against the world in battle ever again.
I look forward to when that happens. I've still been tasked with killing Kizuna if given the chance. However, since her weapon is our best way to slay the worm, I'm holding off on it for now. And besides, it's not like she'll be able to resist later on, no matter how high her level gets.
The legendary Hunting Tool prevents the user from harming other humans, making them easy pickings. Not to mention, she is still a child.
I'd still rather not kill a child if it came down to it. But orders are orders, and 'they' are not the kind of people you want to disobey.
Not without a death wish, at the very least.
Fortunately, there is still time.
- ENTRY #15 -
I… am unsure where to begin here, but let's give it a try.
There is an old holiday from my world, one that my parents never participated in called Christmas. Granted, not many families in Japan participated in it for obvious reasons outside of the money it raked in for the various corporations.
But anyway, it appears that the world Kizuna came from also celebrated Christmas. And she told King Berg about it, and he invited the rest of us to participate. Granted, I can see why, since we need all the morale we can get while we plan out the invasion of the Demon Dragon's homeland.
No plans I've come up with have been able to calculate how we'll be able to perform an aquatic or air landing without losing a lot of people. But then, I don't think such a thing is possible. Not without being able to fool a beast capable of seeing through every illusionary tactic out there. At this point, all of us know that this won't be a low-casualty affair and that there will be a lot more death ahead than ever before.
But still, even with that in mind, I wasn't sure if such a festivity would be worth going to or not.
I went anyway, I even made sure to get Kizuna a gift that'd be useful. Though only if she learned how to read. It was my way of picking at her lack of intelligence since she still hadn't learned the language since being summoned. But…
She accepted it. No, she LOVED it. She thought it was the greatest gift ever and was inspired to learn how to read because of it.
And of course, she hugged me again. She seems intent on giving those out like candy for some gods forsaken reason. I don't think that even my mother had hugged me as many times, back when I was just a baby in my previous life, as Kizuna has done in the last few months.
It feels awkward and uncomfortable every time she does it because it always brings a reminder up to the forefront of my mind that I am supposed to kill her. And that makes something in my chest twist horribly every time, despite me being perfectly healthy.
…
Why does she do it? Why does she always seem to only see the best in everyone around her? I would dismiss her as just another idiot but she has displayed ruthless cunning far beyond her age in other ways.
So why? I'm still going to have to kill her when this is all said and done.
I can't disobey my orders.
Because if I do. Then I'll…
- ENTRY #16
The war is over. We've won, which was inevitable with my contributions. The lizard had a few tricks up his sleeve right until the end, however.
Unlike previous battles, there were a lot of casualties. We were not only fighting the monsters, but the people serving under the Demon Dragon. Kizuna couldn't do anything to them and had to focus solely on her battle with the Demon Dragon while the rest of us fought the humans and monsters, as well as the hordes of undead serving under the Demon Dragon.
It was a rough campaign. From the initial landings all the way to the final confrontation. Not even the Gem People using the power of their ships to form a massive and honestly astounding illusion landing elsewhere on the continent diverted the Demon Dragon or its forces from our real landing spot.
Kenshiro got an ugly burn scar on the right half of his face from being forced to take a blast of dragon fire to protect Kizuna. He is growing alarmingly soft and complacent compared to before, but I suppose it doesn't matter anymore since we've already won.
The Harpoon and Mirror wielders both died during the battle. But in the end, Kizuna managed to slay the beast together with Prince L'Arc and Glass, and the Demon Dragon's remaining Generals and monsters all scattered while the humans and undead fought to the bitter end.
It was a massacre and all of them had to be put down. But now, even if the Demon Dragon is revived by some idiot, it'd take it hundreds of years to amass the forces it once had to launch an attack on the world again.
Hopefully, by the time that'd be possible, another dragon will have grown up and found its core. If the dragon's personality is strong enough, then it could overcome the Demon Dragon's personality and erase it from existence. Eliminating such a threat entirely.
I will probably consider this if I feel it becomes important enough for me.
Anyway, the war is over, and I am now back in my lab at my mansion for the first time in what feels like years.
My trip was not without its rewards. I have plenty of materials from the beast for future experiments if I so desire. Along with that, while having Kizuna alongside me while exploring its old castle, I found information relating to the Core Method of Kizuna's weapon. Information that she herself did not have till she read it alongside me due to 'their' interference prior to her summoning.
Had she had it, that fight could have been so much easier, but oh well. It allowed me to learn that Heroes were capable of sharing methods with each other. Something that Kizuna and the others have not realized as of yet. This could fit in well with my future plans. And while I might not have many offensive options still, being able to inflict double damage against monsters is a nice boon.
Besides what I took from my trip, I found that Yomogi kept everything clean and pristine, just the way I like it. She didn't interfere with any of my ongoing experiments either. She handled all my affairs to the letter while I was gone, and even somehow used her political influence as my proxy coupled with her natural charisma to discreetly secure me the rights to a mine in Luvar that had recently unearthed an adamantium ore vein. The mine is close to the Misty Forest too.
I went to check on it immediately since it sounded too good to be true, but it was real adamant ore and of high quality too. Normally, I would have to report this discovery to Lapis and sign a forced exclusivity contract to sell the ore only to them. It was part of a bunch of old international treaties.
I will do no such thing.
Besides having had enough bureaucratic red tape in my previous life, I am not planning to sell the ore to anyone on the black market in the first place. I already have plenty of perfectly legal sources of income. Oh no, something like this warrants to be kept for personal use.
Yes. Yomogi has done very well. She exceeded my every expectation for her…
…
Before I left Sickle, Kizuna said she wanted to honor me for all the hard work I put in to save everyone with my strategies. I'd felt envious of the others being honored when it was my hard work that made them so successful. And yet, when she said that…
I couldn't bring myself to accept it.
Thinking back on it now, this was also the perfect opportunity to kill her. She was far away from everyone else. I could have easily done the deed and made it to the hourglass before they could capture me. But the thought never crossed my mind.
All I could focus on was her indirectly calling me her friend when she invited me to go on a celebratory fishing trip later.
…
I said that I would think about it, but the answer is a firm no.
Planning out how to kill her is becoming hard enough as it is.
- ENTRY #20 -
It has been several months since the fall of the Demon Dragon.
'They' are getting impatient with me again since there is no more reason to keep Kizuna around anymore.
I've told 'them' repeatedly that I already have a plan to discreetly eliminate her. That I am merely just working on my experiments while I wait for the opportunity to kill her and all the other Vassals in one fell swoop.
The Mirror has already chosen a new wielder, and I learned that the Harpoon had also chosen another wielder during the Final Battle against the Demon Dragon. However, I have not been able to learn any details about the Mirror's summoning. As for the details of the original Harpoon wielder's death…
Regardless, I've told 'them' that I'm working on it. And that I just need a little more time to ensure that the brat will be gone. And so will the other vassals that aren't loyal to 'them'.
Kizuna invited me to come along on another one of her fishing trips again.
I had to come up with another reason to pass on it.
- ENTRY #24 -
Kizuna keeps on sending me letters, asking if I want to come on her latest planned fishing trip. The fact that she isn't choosing to send me an ofuda to contact me that way shows how personal this is to her.
She's long since learned to read, and has even learned how to write since these letters are no longer written by Glass or Prince L'Arc or even Ethnobalt. Her handwriting is a little messy at times, and she often uses the wrong characters to spell out a word, but despite that her writing shows clear signs of hard work and progress.
She keeps writing to me to tell me about the various adventures that she and the rest of her friends have gone on lately. The Demon Dragon might be gone, but there is always work to be done for Heroes. She is meeting new people and seeing new things every day, eager to experience everything this world has to offer. She has also gone through the whole book I gave her back when we celebrated Christmas together. And in her latest letter, she said she wants to ask for my help to find a certain fish off the coast of Mikikage that only appears when it is storming.
I've had to tell her repeatedly that I'm too busy with my own work. But that I'll consider it when I have time.
'They' are growing more impatient though. I'm sure, the next time I see Kizuna, they'll force me to kill her. Or else, it'll be my soul that gets destroyed.
…
In the past, I used to feel eager to work with 'them', because I thought that all worlds everywhere were full of scum and awful people. That some of them could be useful as tools to exploit, but nothing more.
But now?... Now I can't help but wonder. Did the world I come from really have no good people in it? Or was I just not paying enough attention to see them around me?
After reading over my old entries, I recalled fond memories of my professors and counselor. How they earnestly helped me to succeed. I wrote it off back then as them being only interested in networking and wanting to profit off the fruits of my labor. And yet, thinking back on my interactions with them now…
Was… was I wrong?
- ENTRY #25 -
I don't want to do it.
I don't want to kill Kizuna.
I don't want to be a part of this anymore.
I must find a way out.
- ENTRY #26 -
The Hunting Tools Hero has gone missing.
She disappeared during a shipwreck off the coast of Mikikage.
She was trying to find that stupid fish species she kept writing to me about.
I wondered why I haven't gotten any letters from her lately. Prince L'Arc sent me a message through an ofuda and gave me the news in his own voice.
Everyone is desperately looking for her. And the only clue they have that is pointing to the fact that Kizuna is still alive is the shikigami that Ethnobalt had made for her and the Fan Hero last Christmas. It would be able to tell if one of its 'parents' was dead.
…
I am going back to Sickle to help.
- ENTRY #30 -
Nothing.
There is nothing. No clue. No trace. No witnesses. No shipwreck. No evidence anywhere pointing to what happened.
King Berg is emptying Sickle's coffers trying to use every available means to find her.
Me and Ethnobalt are working day and night trying to use every available tracking, clairvoyance, and detection ritual this world has to offer to find her, but nothing is working!
Even the damn penguin is useless! The shikigami are supposed to be the ultimate tracking device used long, long ago by sailors from an ancient civilization! They would leave them with their families, so they wouldn't worry about their health and whereabouts during long voyages!
Or to give a definitive answer that they had perished.
The fact that Chris isn't able to do his job is not normal, no matter how you look at it.
I excused myself to return home to Luvar for a couple of days under the pretense that I needed a break. No one questioned it. Everyone in Sickle, including King Berg, trusts me explicitly, even without Kizuna around.
I have suspicions about what might have happened. But I need to confirm it away from prying eyes. It has been a while since I last used the cheat skill that 'they' granted me. [Search Engine]. It has lost its appeal to me as of late. And I fear the truth that it might reveal.
But this is an emergency. Time to put it to the test…
- ENTRY #31 -
I have made a mistake.
I should have known. They are always watching. This is all being shown in real time after all.
I should have known, yet I could not resist. When I asked [Search Engine] where Kizuna was, 'they' descended upon me with my punishment.
Of course they took her. Who else is able to interfere in the universe the way 'they' do? They realized that I had grown too close with those who I was meant to destroy. They waited for me to use their gift to catch me in the act of trying to find Kizuna and punished me greatly for it.
My mind feels foggy, there is little that I can remember about the event. Perhaps that in itself is a blessing, because every time I try to recall the details, I begin to vomit uncontrollably and experience symptoms usually associated with seizures.
Whatever had happened has destroyed half of my Mansion and left Yomogi's body scarred with Cursed fire. She was crying uncontrollably and clinging to my body when I finally snapped out of my madness.
What an idiot…
On the plus side, I finally have effective offensive skill options, thanks to the two new tomes I unlocked.
I will make sure 'they' pay for what they did.
- ENTRY #35 -
The main event has finally begun. The Waves of Destruction are here.
This is going to be f̶͓͈͚̂̚͠u̴͓̱̝̚n̶̫̣̪͊͘̕
- ENTRY #45 -
I said goodbye to Ethnobalt and the others today.
With Kenshiro's death and the newly summoned Cardinal Heroes refusing to participate in the Waves any longer, it is only a matter of time until this world implodes.
I guess it's up to me to save the world then. Since no one else will.
So that Yomogi, Ethnobalt, and the others will have somewhere to live in peace.
So that Kizuna would not be disappointed in me.
And so I can k̸̖͋̀̓̐̚ȉ̶͎͉̫̞͋̽͜ḷ̷̥̔͆̊̄͌̍͊̊͋͛̈́̉̈́̕ľ̸̟̩̜̜͎̮͚̭̘͙̌̅͐̆̈̽̈́ ̴̧̲̪̯̜͗̓̍̓̽̉̏̐̏͆'t̷̛̛̤͖̬̙̍̂̃̈́̑̏͝ḥ̴̨͚̹̯̤͇͛͛̓͛̒̂͊̔̾̽̐̓̚̕è̴̦̯͖͇͚͖̳̯̫̆̇m̶̯͎̏' for taking everything from me!
— ENTRY #57 —
All the Guardian Beasts are now slain. I decided to lend Sickle's coalition a hand once more to deal with them. Though I've parted ways with the others again.
It was almost too easy. We basically ambushed the three of them at the moment of their awakenings, before they could properly power up. Though, the fact is, a lot of people still died as they awoke near population centers. And even with our ambushes we were incapable of bringing them down immediately.
Either way, with their deaths, I have many new materials to work with.
I have a g̵̞̳̲̱̩̫̐̈́͆͝͠ǫ̶̝̠̰̤̦̋͗́̀̽͝o̶̢̼͋͠ḑ̷̘̝̗͚̞̰̏̿͘ ̶̬̙͈̽̏̄̈́͝f̵̠̜͍̗̀ę̴̗̦͎̺̣͊̏͆e̶̪̭͗̆̀̋̐̂̈́l̷͕̘̠̱̬̿͜ĭ̸̩n̵̦͈̬̥̩͓͇͑g̸̭͚̫̬̃̀̄͗͒̅ about this now!
- ENTRY #58 -
Amazing! I've spent all this time trying to figure the first part out, but my fellow reincarnator in Label already did so! Behind my back too! The jerk!
After stealing a few of his homunculi and dissecting them, it became clear that they were incomplete. However, that was hardly of any concern. It is much easier to finish something than it is to build it from scratch, after all.
Now that I have the basis for building homunculi, it should be easier to build myself a new vessel.
I just need to figure out how to sever my soul contract still.
What is the power needed to overcome it? If only I could ask Ethnobalt to help me again. He had been researching the Waves before I left with the books I didn't manage to steal from him. But he never gave me an answer to the riddle I left him with during the brief time we spent facing the Guardian Beasts together.
Perhaps he might find something useful to help overcome the power 'they' possess, something that I haven't managed to find in the texts I've gathered on 'them'.
— ENTRY #62 —
Yomogi has been checking in on me more lately. I get the feeling that she's worried for me. I hardly sleep and eat these days according to her. She tells me I'm pushing myself too hard.
I don't care though. I am more than able to handle it.
I'm the only one who can ş̴͓̗̮͈͂̀̿͜ͅa̸̡̢͍̰͓̣̘̝̗̝̣̎̌̏̆̄̄͘v̸̧̨̗̘̝̖̦̙͗̃̈́e̸͈͈̜̣̠̟̰͕͇͌̇̇̚ ̸̢̨̛̲̘̱̰̰͖̮̬͍̰͈͚̃͆̓̆̅̐̽͛̏́͛̚ư̸̧͈̭̱̰̻̲̦̩̠̞͌̌́͗̋̉̓̃̾͑̈́̚s̷̢̊͆̆́̂̎́̀ after all.
- ENTRY #69 -
Progression on the homunculi is proceeding as expected. I have fixed the development of the internal organs and a few even look like they could walk out of their pods at any moment.
Yet, while I've managed to accomplish this, and while I'm closer to my goal than I have ever been… I still have not yet found a power source for the ultimate body I'm trying to design. One that could free my soul from the contract that binds me to 'them'.
Things in the world are going from bad to worse. It is clear now that 'they' have put many more reincarnators than I expected in other positions of power. The politics of the world is turning into a true &^%$ show, and many countries have joined Label in blaming Sickle for Kenshiro's death.
I've even learned that L'Arc and Glass have started traveling to other worlds. Killing the Cardinal Heroes on them in an attempt to save our world.
They truly are foolish. Sacrificing other worlds isn't going to save ours. One might mistakenly think that if we give 'them' a good show of bloodshed and betrayal, that they might find us entertaining enough to leave us be this time for a future 'sequel'. I know better than that, however. I know what they are like.
Their petty cruelty. Their twisted sense of humor.
They will be far more likely to kill us all even if we bend over backwards to please them, just to subvert their fellows 'expectations' for some cheap shock value that will be forgotten in a moment like everything else they've ever done.
No, trying to play by their rules is only doing what 'they' want. And it's only a matter of time before the Vassals on those worlds that L'Arc, Glass and Therese have visited decide to come back for revenge and perpetuate the cycle of violence and death for the amusement of my employers.
Kizuna wouldn't have wanted this.
Kizuna wanted a world where the people could smile and live together in peace and harmony, didn't she?
Then I mustn't waste anymore time! I must focus all my efforts on s̶̡̕á̶̠̮̪̯͉̩̰̋v̶̛͉̭́̆̓̕͜į̶̱̱͎͒̋̉̋͝n̸̗̱̭̍̃͆̓̑̃g̶̲͕̞̩͑͐͝ ̵̝͖̣͌͌͐͗t̸̺̠̖͒͂̔̎͗h̶̺̅̽̒̾̈́̎͝į̵̱̝̅̐̀̓͑s̶̢̫̖̬̠͋͊̅̏͘͝ ̵̼͉͙̪̜̯̿w̴̲͇̫̰͗̿͠o̴̡̰͙̮̻͌́r̶͚̗̩̣̘̒͒͐ĺ̵̲̅͑͑d̵̰̱̯͈̹̰̻͐̿̑̏̾͒!
If only I could free my soul from this damn contract! I need a power that can counter even the gods, yet… what power could possibly do that?
I must research this further if I am ever to be free to save this world!
- ENTRY #78 -
I have done it.
I know what is needed now.
It's so simple. I even helped to fight them off since they could have threatened my research.
The Guardian Beasts.
The soul power they gather from destroying nations… I've done the calculations by hand in the Vassal Book itself to try and avoid drawing attention from 'them' to my plans. But it could be enough to power the ultimate body I'm designing.
That Adamantium mine… I originally played around with the ore samples I found there with the intent to make some new weapons to help combat the Waves. But in doing so, I found so many more interesting applications for it.
From my studies, I've found that Adamantium has the ability to not only act as a conduit for gem energy, but any form of energy. Perhaps, it could even be used to harness Soul Energy if I combined it with materials from the Guardian Beasts.
It… it could be enough to free my soul… to allow me to save the world from 'them'!
However, the Guardian Beasts of this world are dead, and the soul energy they'd acquired has long since been used up in meaningless barriers to protect our world from the Waves for a time. I could find and awaken the Fourth Beast possibly by convincing one of those three useless Cardinal Fools hiding in Lapis to awaken it for me, but that'd take too much effort, and put me in the line of fire too early with the others.
I'll need to find them somewhere else. Somewhere that's early in the Waves, where the Heroes won't be strong enough to interfere.
- ENTRY #80 -
I found the right world. Only a couple months into the Waves, and it has a large population of people to harvest too. Excellent!
I've informed 'them' of my plan to sacrifice it and steal the soul energy from that world to get 'them' off my back, and so that I'll be given the space and time from 'them' necessary to build this body without them interfering with desires for reports and the like.
My weapon is yelling at me that this could destroy my world. I have since used my powers to shut it up.
Like it could ever understand. As risky as it is, I'll never be able to live the life I want as long as I'm a slave to 'them'. I'll never be able to ş̵̧̢̪̣̲̝̐a̴̧̙̬̲̞̟̙͛̓̿̿́̀͆v̸̬͗͊͌̈́͌e̵̤̔ ̶̛̞̬̻̙̭̭͜o̵͈͚̦̳͎̊̆͋̋͐͑͜u̶̘̻̽r̵̡̭͍̿̓̓̑͜ ̸̨̛̥̻͖̩͆̃w̸̨̙̹͔͂̔o̷̡̐̈̓͠r̵̤̼̥̘̺̅l̷̝̀̚d̴̼̞̩̮͊̆́̏̓ͅͅ so long as it is on the verge of death.
Even… even if this means butchering an entire other world to fuel my ambitions.
There is no other way.
- ENTRY #83 -
I know what I'll do now.
The ultimate body. Harnessing the power of souls correctly could give me the power of 'them' for a long time… and yet, my Book was right.
No matter how many calculations and projections I run, the result is the same. This… this immense power. The power of the soul, the power of the life blood of a planet itself.
It's impossible to wield nor contain safely when fully unleashed.
The result is always the same.
Total annihilation of the world.
…
But that… that could present an opportunity perhaps?...
I could deliberately destroy the world with this process and then absorb the lingering soul energy that would be left behind.
And then… yes, I could use it to make something entirely new in the old world's place!
I was wondering about that before. But now, it's become clear to me, there are so many pathetic roaches everywhere in the world that Kizuna loved. So many that they put down everything good around them and corrupt what little there is left of the world's humanity.
While I've been tinkering with the beast known as the Spirit Tortoise here, I can't help but think how much better it'd be if it was all destroyed and allowed to begin again.
Yes, I thought about being careful, but I think I'll be better off doing it this way instead. Because this way, I'll be able to use my powers to take the souls of the ģ̵̻͖̤͎͗͝ơ̵͇̪̗̜̯̯̮̾̒̏͆̀̇̇͂̕̕͜͠ͅͅo̶̡̦̜͙̽͋̐̽̌́ḏ̴̖̝̥͈̂͘ ̷̢̰̥͚͓͔̖̝̝̽́̅̅̓̈́̂͗̌̈́̋̕͜͝p̴̧̝̪̘̒̓̓̀̊͊̾͂͠ȅ̴͙̩̲̲̯̤͓̈́͋̍̿̃͛̔͝͝͝ͅo̵̻̼̬̰̯̼̖̣͕̎p̶̫̹̘̙̍͋͒͘̚ĺ̸̲̮̏̏̽͛̐͌̽̽e̴͚̖̭̦̒̎ and give them new life in the world I'll create for them.
And at the same time, I'll punish the b̶̛͍̒̍̿̓͛͛̓̀̍̀̓͑̽̕a̶̢͍̺̺͇̭͖͓͙̫̜͎̔̌̑̂́̿̽͝d̶̫̬̰̤͔̦͕̩̓̀͑͂̏͝ͅ ̶̜̥͓̭͔͙̥̫̘̥͓̘̿̿́̒̄́̐͊͂̒̀́̓͜͜͠͝ͅp̶̛̲̜̮͙͈̲̓͂̾̈͜ȩ̷̪͕͎̼̮͉̍ȍ̸̜̻̕͜p̵̆̊̾̋̐͜ľ̵̢͖̫̠̮͚͈̹͓̙̳͕̮̗̇͆̔̃͑̿̽͜͝ȩ̷̗͖͔̱͊̒̎̓̀̉̌͌̒̀͗̋͑ by condemning them to the empty hell of nonexistence! Yes! It's b̴̻͔̫̱̈́r̸̢̺̤̬͕͉̯̹̱͓̮̙̀̀̔̄̃̾͊̑͛͋͠͠͠ͅȉ̸̝̮l̶͓̭͒̒́̐̀͌̂̍̒̂͆͠ľ̵͎͎̰̱̠̗̻̝̥̅̈́̓͑́̋͒i̵̡̘̪̜̫͈̭̞͉̭̞̭̪̒̊̓̾̒̑̂̈́̏̄̚ǎ̷̡̠͖͎̤͈̻̞̼͖͖̫͇͔̎̕n̶̨̟̤̞̜̘̺̝͗ͅt̶̢̨̬͓̰̯̗̤̙̩͋̎̌͂!̷̣͇̖͍̲̻̽͛̒́̏̆̂̐̌ͅ!
I'll be able to make a world where everyone is able to s̷̺͇͖̰̼̭̺̈̆̿́̾̐̓̈͆̕͝ͅm̸͇͐̂̐̽͝i̵̩̳̳̠̞̤̪̫̍ĺ̶̡̞͓̼̖̟̪̭̠͈̗͝e̴̜̤̦͎̼͇̱̬̦̓̽̑̈̇́̆̕̚͝ and l̸̛̼̖̰̼̟̱̋̆̅̇͗̈́͌̌͊̉͘̚̚͜͝a̴̢̟̼̣͖͊ü̷̩͔͕̿̓̄̆̈́̐͑́̑g̵̪͔̝̦͕͍̖̳̮̣͇͈̯̭̽̅̋́̎̑̐̀̈́͋̉̀̓̍͘ẖ̶̡͉͇̰͖͙̯͎͙̅… just like she wanted.
- ENTRY #85 -
AH! THE PAIN! I CAN BARELY FOCUS ENOUGH TO WRITE WITH MY LEFT HAND AS IT IS! WHY DID THAT FREAKING SWORD BRAT HAVE TO CUT OFF MY DOMINANT ARM!?
Oh well, it is no matter. I have succeeded in my designs in the end. Even… even if I had to kill so many people to accomplish them. And there's so much more death ahead before it's all said and done.
But at last, I am at the endgame.
My mind feels clearer than it has in years.
So why… what is this feeling gnawing through my chest again?
Why has it come back now after all these years?
- ENTRY #86 -
I just read through some of my previous journal entries.
What… what is going on? Destroy this world, what am I thinking?! That would be exactly what 'they' want!
And I remembered more of what happened while in that other world as well.
L'Arc, Glass, Therese, why did you guys have to be there too?
Why was I trying to kill them…!?
- ENTRY #87 -
Kizuna…
Kizuna… she was found… she's alive.
Somehow, that Shield Hero found her while trying to cross over.
She's… she's…
…
G̸̢̖̫͛̽̇͌̌̍͠ǫ̸̦̯͔̲̪͌̆̊̏̓̅̆̇̿̚͝͝i̷̧̛̪̖̰̥̋͐̐́͊̈́͆͂͑̎̌͆̚n̸̨̬̘̻̟̹̭͔̱̣̦̝͔̉͂̆̆ͅǵ̶̛̙̱̪͛́̂̾̆͐̏͜͝ ̶̡̬̹̫̰͙̣̲̀͑̌̅̇̊̓̈̀ͅt̸̞̩͓̻͇̦̭̝͌̇͆̎́̈́͆̈́͆͜͜͝ͅọ̵̈ ̶̛̙̠͊̔̃́͊͌̉̌̎̐̂̚͝r̶̛̰̝̅̅̒̾́͛̅͐̆̈́̽̄͑ũ̵̫̹̤̹̦̘̞̩͎̮͚͙̹̓͒̿̈́͝ǐ̷͉͚̗͓̖̮̩̦̼̃̿̀̊͊͂n̸̛̳̲͕̫͖͓̜̹͎̺͖̦̝̳͆͒́̍ ̵̫̹̲̬̘̋͗̌́̌́̑̊̎́̅̚̚͝͝ͅę̷͓̥̜̪̙͖͉̒͒̃̉͑͐͂̓̇̽͜v̴͕̘̺̣̣͙͍̟̠̮̩͍͍̖͍̈́̃̈̍̽e̷̯̹̳̼͛̉̌̉̈́̇͑̚r̶̨̮̩̦̗͖̩̝̠̻̤̫̝̉̀̎ͅý̴̛̞͓͉͔̳̘̖̳͇̱͙͇̟̓͆̂̎̈͌̅͘̚͜͠ͅt̸̥̓ĥ̸̡̢̻̼̹̣̰͉̏͐̄̑͂i̸̧͎͍͍̣͓̝͓̪̤͍̅̏̄̌̊̔̓̀͝ṋ̴͖̰͓̱͆̾͐̋͑͛́g̶̝̝̗̜̲̩̺̦̼̻̐͊́͂̍͠!̶̢̨̡̜̮̫̹̥̩̱̥̤̗̑
…
What?
What are these words?
Who wrote this in my journal in my handwriting?
This isn't me.
This shouldn't be coming from me!
- ENTRY #88 -
I found out how Kizuna disappeared all those years ago.
I paid a visit to Albert while conquering Mikakage to confirm the news.
He is getting the punishment he justly deserves from it.
My mind feels clearer again, but for how long?
Those thoughts won't leave me alone. The feeling in my chest won't go away.
I…
What is happening to me?
Yomogi, please, come back.
I'm scared…
- ENTRY #89 -
No… all of my work was for naught.
'They' knew. 'They' knew what I was planning all along.
They just haven't intervened because 'they' found my struggles to be entertaining. They just wanted to see me fail and destroy my world.
They laughed at me one last time, mocking my idea to use soul energy to break out of my soul contract. They said that even if I were to harvest a hundred or even a thousand worlds worth of it, it would not make a bit of difference. Nothing would ever break their hold on me. Or on the other pieces of Trash they use as their cannon fodder on all worlds.
Especially not while my mind was muddled by my Cursed Series.
…
That is why my past journal entries became so disturbed.
I just looked at my Book and confirmed that 'they' were right.
Those two tomes I unlocked that gave me offensive capabilities…
…
I just used [Search Engine] to finally verify it.
My only purpose in being born… our only purpose in serving them… is to destroy it all.
Everything… all that I've done up to this point… all that I did in the name of saving this world…
It was for nothing.
My plan will not work.
Because of me, everyone will die.
…
I never had a chance.
I
Never
Had
A
Chance…
- ENTRY #90 -
I remembered what happened that day now. After finding the pair of glasses Yomogi gave me.
They didn't punish me after all.
They never even appeared.
I punished myself when I fell into Despair after learning a twisted version of the truth from [Search Engine] and unlocked both of my Cursed Series at the same time.
Yomogi was trying to stop me. To snap me out of it before I went out to destroy everything in my path.
I remember her cries. Her stubbornness to bring me back to the light. She even hugged me when all else failed.
That's why she was hurt so badly when I came out of it.
That is why I have been slowly growing insane as of late.
I hurt her.
I was the one that hurt Yomogi, the first person to ever really care about me.
…
…
Guilt.
That is what the feeling in my chest was. I understand it now.
…
Yomogi…
I…
I wish that I could do better by you… but it is impossible.
I cannot beat 'them'. I will never be able to beat 'them'. I will never be able to give us the happy ending that you and our friends desire.
All I can do… is fulfill my purpose and destroy everything so we won't have to suffer any longer.
…
…
May you and Kizuna forgive me for what I do next.
Naofumi almost thought that was the end of it, as the next page was blank. But he found that turning the page afterward revealed more writing. Unlike previous pages, the writing was messy and scrawled as if in a hurry.
This… this was what Kyo had written after he'd been beaten by the Shield Hero and his allies.
-Final Entry-
Kizuna, I will not tarnish your eyes with empty words of apology over what I've done. Nothing I can say will ever absolve me of the sins that I have committed.
While I could blame my Cursed Series for my actions, I chose this path. I chose to go to that other world. To murder millions on it in the hopes of saving our world. To come back, to become a Demon Lord in the eyes of everyone, and then to end everything when I saw no way forward for our world.
I suppose after I learned the truth, a part of me wanted to stop. But I didn't… and you know the rest.
I implore you to read this all the same. If nothing else, then for the sake of the continued existence of our world and its people whom I know you love with all of your heart and who do not deserve to die.
I am writing this with a sound mind. My thoughts are more clear than they have ever been thanks to the Shield Hero's skill somehow sealing my cursed series away. I am writing this now as he is trying to speak to me. I cannot give him the answers he is asking for though. At least, not out loud, where anyone could hear them. I wish I could write down the answers to his questions, but alas…
That... [Blessed Series], seems to be able to naturally suppress curses of all kinds. What I am experiencing now happened earlier to a lesser extent when the Sword Hero cut my arm off. Whatever it is, you should take note of it for the future. It could be very important.
I regret many things, Kizuna. Things I wouldn't have ever regretted if not for you. I wish I could try to atone for them. But it's too late now.
I was wrong. Soul Energy is not infinite, and a planet's vitality can only last for so long.
To harness such power would be like harnessing the power of nuclear fission or even nuclear fusion. It is powerful, certainly but it is not everlasting. Stars eventually die, and galaxies collapse under their own weight if they're not careful enough.
Perhaps a safer way to use it could be developed in the future, but it will not be done by me. I can only hope that no one will ever try to do so again, however. It is not worth the lives that'd need to be sacrificed to allow it to happen.
Even now, I can't fully understand why this happened. The others who stole their weapons are able to control the Cursed Series their original wielders unlocked just fine. Whereas for me…
Perhaps it was because I unlocked them myself. Or perhaps, being around you, Ethnobalt, Yomogi, and everyone else has made me grow emotionally in ways the others were incapable of. Ways that made the Cursed Series able to affect me where it wouldn't for others.
No time for excuses left. The pain is becoming unbearable. So please, heed what I am about to write carefully. This is the important part.
…
…
If I am destined to die, then so be it. But as a martyr, I'm going to make sure I take 'them' and their plans down with me so you have the best possible chance at saving our world!
You will not find many written sources that mention 'them.' Because they make sure that us pawns go out and find these texts and destroy them on every world 'they' are active on. If you were to ever hope to find a text with even a glimpse of what 'they' are and how 'they' operate, it'd need to be inside a place not even 'they' are aware of. Or one so heavily guarded that no reincarnator would ever be able to enter it.
As for us reincarnators, for that is a label some of the agents of 'them' are called by, we cannot die by normal means. We die, yes, but we respawn as strong as ever soon after, just like in a video game. Killing us over and over again will do nothing to stop us. The only true way to kill us is by destroying our souls.
As for getting information on 'them' or their plans out of us, it is impossible. Speech, written, or otherwise, we are bound by contract never to reveal 'them' in any form. To do so would instantly destroy our souls on the spot. I believe I wrote about what the process was like in one of my earliest entries.
Old written texts from those who fought 'them' in the past are your only option. Do not worry, I have no doubt Ethnobalt will locate them eventually. None of those texts were in my mansion when I destroyed it. What I acquired is hidden somewhere safe. Find it, and learn how to fend 'them' off. It is closer than you think.
As for the state of our world, that is also thanks to reincarnators. That is the reason why I said that your contributions will amount to a net zero. Even if you beat the Waves now, these 'geniuses' as they're also called will continue to stir up trouble in this world and in other worlds long after your death. To regress every aspect of technology that they can get their hands on and put themselves into positions of power by any means necessary so that they can drive their nations to ruin.
This is by design. We are meant to be expendable. None of us start out knowing that our only purpose is to destroy it all. All we know is that the world was made for 'us' and 'us' alone. And as the scum of every society, that means we will go through any means necessary to make the world ours, regardless of how it affects everyone in the long term.
You know who these individuals are. They're all the same. You've already met the new Harpoon Hero, right? He is a reincarnator, just like me. I don't know what his cheat skill is, but I know that is also something all reincarnators also share. An ability that puts us ahead over all normal folks, be it the ability to create barriers out of thin air, to cast magic without a chant, to portal without the use of a weapon, or even something as simple as my [Search Engine]'s ability to look up any info that I should know nothing about.
The Musical Instruments Hero is a reincarnator too. Mikikage's representatives were reincarnators as well as Albert and Kenshiro's younger brother. Actually, to save you the trouble, I can safely say at this point that anyone who identifies themselves as a 'genius' and is placed in a position of power in our world is actually a reincarnator.
Not Ethnobalt, however. He is a true genius, someone who doesn't live with the word 'genius' as his title.
You are smart. You'll be able to easily tell which ones are true humble geniuses like Ethnobalt and which ones are reincarnators just like me. But just in case. Besides the assorted bonuses the page I've written for you will grant, it will also unlock a list of names and last known locations of certain people in the help menu of the Legendary Hunting Tools. It is not a full list, but it will be a good start.
Do not hesitate. They all act the same, and their only goal will be to kill you and those around you.
I'd know. I acted just like them not so long ago.
'Their' ultimate goal in conquering our world is to topple Lapis in the future. Tell Corrin to never modify those gem golem caretakers of his. They are the only reason why reincarnators are unable to be born from gems inside of his country. The first Gem Hero had installed a system in those constructs that is able to detect reincarnators from the moment of their birth and take care of them.
As horrible as what this exactly means, it is necessary to keep future generations safe. 'They' cannot be allowed to regress Lapis's technology back to the time of the Stone Age. To do so would spell disaster for everyone in the world. All the advantages the people have now would be wiped out within a generation if that were ever allowed to happen.
Though, you should tell him to restore their ability to scan the souls of adults again. I turned off that function at the main control hub to prevent them from killing me back when we were allied against the Demon Dragon. His engineers will know how to do it. It'll be more than obvious once they look closely enough to find where the energy is misaligned. And once that is fixed, he just has to give the golems the right order to put them back to action.
Lastly, as for why and how Hero weapons could ever choose reincarnators to wield them… they don't. All reincarnators have the ability to steal a Hero's weapon and submit it to their will. It doesn't matter if the weapon is being wielded by a Cardinal Hero or a Vassal Hero or even another reincarnator. The real Harpoon Hero died during that battle with the Demon Dragon's forces years ago to the Trash wielding his weapon today.
Using this ability requires the reincarnator to have a high enough level to both steal and subjugate the weapon's will with his/her own. And while I've never tested it, I believe if a reincarnator raised their level enough, the ability could evolve to allow them to steal multiple weapons from different wielders.
I didn't steal mine. I am an anomaly since the Vassal Book chose me that day.
I still can't understand why…
…
Kizuna… while I said I didn't want to, because I know how empty it'll sound… I'm sorry that I became your enemy.
You most likely realized it already, but I am Japanese, just like you. So I know what your name signifies.
'Bonds'
Bonds of love. Bonds of trust. Bonds of camaraderie and friendship. Bonds between people.
I couldn't think of a more splendid and fitting name for an amazing person such as yourself. You are truly a hero in every meaning of the word.
I would never be able to live up to your expectations of me. I could never share such a beautiful view of this world, knowing all that I know.
If you allow me to say but one thing in my defense. In defense of all the terrible things that I've done, in taking all of my sins upon myself…
I just wanted for all of us to live and smile together in a world where nobody had to die.
I'm sorry that I couldn't believe it was truly possible until it was too late.
Thank you for everything, Kizuna. May this world never darken your pure heart.
...
One last thing… she might have been my accomplice. But please do not hate Yomogi. She was ignorant of most of my despicable deeds. Please, do not judge her over my actions. She should not be forced to bear their consequences.
Please take care of her for me.
She deserves a life far better than what I had ever given her.
…
No matter what.
Above all else.
Please.
…
Beat 'them' and survive!
…
…
…
Naofumi slowly closed the book in his hands.
Looking up at everyone around him, who'd listened as he read along, he found similar looks of disbelief on their faces. As well as sadness and confusion.
"So… he really was from a world like yours." Rishia finally broke the silence first.
"Yeah…" As Naofumi stared at the journal in his hands, he remembered Itsuki telling him about that riddle Kyo had given Ethnobalt before he left.
It suddenly made a lot more sense. And yet, it left him with even more questions than ever before.
Who was this group Kyo had been working for? How were they the ones behind the Waves and most everything bad going on in Kizuna's world? Were they behind the Waves in his world too? Just how far did their influence extend if they had so many notable figures under their belt?
He thought back to earlier, how he'd thought he pictured that black chain surrounding Kyo's soul. And realized that hadn't been because of his exhaustion.
…
…
"Come on… we should get going." He finally said tiredly.
The others quietly nodded. As they walked off to help Itsuki up or to examine the panic room from which the casket from earlier had risen, Naofumi took an ofuda off his belt and activated it.
"Ethnobalt, we've finished up here. Do you and the others need help over there?" He asked.
The sky had lost its crimson sheen by that point, and everyone's levels had returned to normal.
Still, it didn't hurt to check.
…
…
It took a moment, but Ethnobalt's voice finally came on the other end. "Oh, thank the Gods! We were starting to fear the worst! I'm already on the way with Glass! Is everyone alright?"
"Yeah, we are," Naofumi said, almost in a deadpan.
"Good, good… and, Kyo?" The librarian rabbit asked.
"..."
"..."
"I… I see…" Ethnobalt took Naofumi's silence as confirmation. "We'll be there shortly."
"Got it." Naofumi turned the ofuda off and silently waited with everyone else.
Nobody said a word. Instead, they chose to ponder on everything that they had learned.
…
Eventually, Ethnobalt's ship landed in the area, with only the rabbitman as well as Glass coming off of it.
They were the only two who'd been on board. Everyone else was back in Luvar.
It took a short time for Naofumi to explain what'd happened to them. As well as to give Ethnobalt Kyo's journal, which the rabbit man was able to read since he'd learned Japanese long ago to help read some of the ancient hero texts he'd found over the years.
The boat hero said nothing as he quickly went through it with his superior reading speed. A solemn silence rested over his figure as he took it all in.
…
…
Finally, Glass was the one who broke the silence. "Kizuna isn't going to take this well."
"No… she won't." Naofumi couldn't say more.
Everyone boarded the ship soon after. And Naofumi went to the casket still lying on the ground to absorb the stolen Soul Energy from it. Finally fulfilling his task in Kizuna's world.
Despite the danger that the contents could potentially hold, he didn't destroy it. It was instead stored away in the Vassal Boat. For Ethnobalt to study at a later time.
Yet he still didn't feel as if he'd accomplished anything…
Instead of ending a long exciting journey… it felt like he'd just completed a long, windy side quest in some kusoge.
They hadn't progressed forward whatsoever.