Satou here. Since my office is located in the Holy Land of Sub-Cultures, the closest eatery is a maid café. After going there every day, I no longer object to being called ‘goshujin-sama’.
“More precisely, I am a former Japanese person who, without losing her memories as ‘Tachibana Arisa’, was reborn in Kuborke Kingdom. Are you the same? Wait, judging from your black hair, you must be a summoned Hero. Right,Sato-san?”
My own status, too, does not say anything about Japan or Suzuki Ichiro.
Upon hearing that, my eyes can’t help but dart towards Lulu sleeping on the other bed.
“How so? It’s true that Lulu has low self-esteem, but she’s probably quite popular even in Shiga Kingdom, no?”
“Did you use Mind Magic to—”
I was going to ask whether she used Mind Magic to make Lulu think badly of herself to protect her wellbeing, but I am immediately shut down.
Huh? If typical Japanese features are disliked, then wouldn’t I also be considered an ugly man?
“Though far from a handsome face, Sato-san, people just think you have the looks of a foreigner. But for Lulu, like gears perfectly misaligned by chance, she is considered not just ugly but almost hideous!”
It does not sit well with me, but let’s just say that people here don’t consider Lulu to be a beauty!
“So then, Sato-san, are you a Transmigrator or Translocator?”1
“Got~it, goshujin-sama.”
“Getting back on point, goshujin-sama, which one are you?”
I respond to Arisa’s question with a question. Even if she asks me whether I am a “Transmigrator” or a “Translocator”, I wouldn’t be able to tell without knowing what they mean.
Kidnapped…
“Must a Transmigrator start out as an infant?”
She’s quite certain about this. When I ask for confirmation with that in mind—
—I receive this kind of answer.
If I heard such talk in Japan, I would have quietly left pretending I don’t know the person, or at least question their sanity.
“People who are summoned would be wearing the same clothes. Of course, their appearances are also the same.”
“Is that all hearsay?”
Then could I find a way back if I go to Saga Empire?
And the other Japanese person Arisa mentioned, it’s that Hero right?
Though she’s someone who tried to control me with Mind Magic and assault me, she has told me some important clues.
“Did you not meet God?”
Arisa crosses her arm and grumbles. Then, while still naked, she says:
“No, I was alone in the wilderness.”
“I was Level 1 with ten mana at the start. No skills either!”
“The heck, just how unreasonable is this game?”
“Enough about me, this is about you. Tell me every one of your skills one by one. Including any Gifts. Just so you know, that’s an ‘order’.”
“First is Mind Magic, Level 5. Isn’t it cool? I put every skill point I got since birth in there.”
Arisa is Level 11. If she’s the same as me, she should have 110 skill points by now.
“Arisa, one question.”
Stuffing a pillow into Arisa’s face while she’s giving out unnecessary information, I continue my question.
“Mmm, sheesh, so violent! Skill points, is it? Every time I level up, I roll a 2d6. And by ‘2d6’, I mean the value from throwing two six-sided dice. Anywhere from two points to twelve, and seven points on average. The skill points needed to raise Mind Magic depends on the current level of the skill. More specifically—”3
—What’s going on?
Is my case unique? Or is there some sort of rule?
“No, it’s nothing.”
If what Arisa says is true, then I learn skills at several times the speed of others—dozens of times even.
I should wait until I can trust Arisa before telling her about this. I’ll keep it a secret for now.
“I just pick it out from a list!”
“And when are new skills added to that list?”
Yeah, this is different too.
Without mentioning my own situation, I tell Arisa that the beastgirls gain skills in a different way from her, but Arisa points out that Transmigrators and Translocators like us are the exception.
There was some digression, but now Arisa’s exposition of her skills continues.
Why she could choose any skill she likes from a list, seems to be the effect of “Self Status”.
Maybe Menu is a some kind of variant of this skill.
My Menu said “Skills: Unknown” though, so maybe it’s different from “Appraisal”-type skills?
I have her read out my status, but like with the Yamato Stone, it’s exactly the same as what I have set in the Social tab.
By the way, Arisa’s “Hide Skill” seems to be given by god, so no “Appraisal”-type skill can see through it.
If “Hide Skill” was learned normally, it can be seen through by “Status Check” that is at least one level higher.
“‘Item Box’ is just as its name says. An item storage like what you would see in games. There’s a limit to what I can store unlike the Inventory5 that Heroes normally have, but it still won’t take up space or get too heavy, very convenient~”
On the other hand, for things like water that don’t have a set shape, one liter counts as one unit.
My Storage is probably something similar to Inventory.
“I’ve talked too much, a little thirsty now.”
Arisa suggests using this chance to show off “Item Box”, so I give her the permission to use it.
As Arisa chants quietly, she raises her hand out in a dramatic manner, and a flat black hole opens in front of her.
When I use Storage, there aren’t any special effects like that flat black hole.
The water spills and runs down her bare chest. That intentionally flirtatious way of drinking water really doesn’t befit her age.
As her pose is too unseemly, I say, “At least use a cup”, but she answers that since taking things out or putting things in require mana, she keeps doing so to a minimum.
As Arisa is finished with the water jar, I ask her to let me try putting it back. How do I put this? It’s like reaching into a box where you can barely see the contents.
>>> Skill obtained: “Item Box”.
I don’t think I need a skill that’s strictly worse than Storage…
“Fufufu, how is it? Wasn’t I worth it? It’s not easy to find a slave with this many skills!”
“Uh…”
It pisses me off a little, so I give her a little chop on the head.
“No violence! Other than those, I have two Unique Skills, okay!”
Anyway, not Abilities but Unique Skills?
“Even Lulu doesn’t know about these! The first one is called ‘Overboost’. By consuming all of my mana and stamina, I can multiply the power of one hit by many fold! Isn’t it cool? It’s like a skill reserved for the heroine~”
“The other one is Never Give Up. It’s the power to never give up, no matter how strong the enemy is! More specifically, regardless of the target’s defense or the level gap between us, Magic and other attacks have at least a 10% chance of working! Isn’t it awesome?”
“But I can only use it three times at most. If I use any, I would recover one use each month. Since my spells just wouldn’t work on you, goshujin-sama, I use all 3 tries.”
According to her, even with this skill, it is meaningless if the opponent has complete resistance. For example, using “Flamethrower” against a fire dragon resistant all fire attacks.
“You want to know how many and not ‘what skills’?”
I thought she wanted to know, but she’s advising me not to reveal them.
This Menu display and the first Meteor Shower might count as “Unique Skills”, but how could I even tell?
Four items come up after opening it.
“Oh~ not bad. According to God, the more Unique Skills you have, the more powerful your soul.”
By the way, those four Abilities are “Menu”, “Unit Creation”, “Unit Deployment”, and “Undying”.
Since my Unique Skills don’t include Storage, Radar, and Map, those are probably all functions of Menu.
As for the two that start with “Unit”, they seem like what might appear in Strategy Games, and they’re currently grayed out. “Undying” is the same way, but if I consider it from a game design perspective, maybe I need to fulfill some condition before they become available.
Well, there’s no point getting my brain fried thinking about problems with no solutions, so I’ll shelf them for now.
“I want to confirm some things.”
“How did you use Mind Magic without chanting a spell?”
“Well~ it’s a part of Self Status, actually. As long as it is a spell I’ve learned, I can use it just by saying the Command Word in my head.”
Is using magic scrolls the only way?
“You mean you can’t use magic?”
Well, that’s not a lie.
“Well, duh~ When I first heard other people chant, I almost gave up. It took me one year to learn how to do it in the end.”
“What? That’s no time at all. If you could learn it that quickly, there would be a lot more magicians!”
While I remained silent, Arisa tries to hug me, claiming she is cold. I gently peel her off, and throw the clothing and blankets at the side of the bed at her.
“Next, tell me what is in your Item Box. It wouldn’t do if you try to poison or knife me in my sleep.”
“Let’s see~ Five ‘Mind Magic’ spellbooks.”
The Evaluation skill reveals the value of these spellbooks, which is far greater than the price of Arisa and Lulu combined.
“Since these are a slave’s property, it would be over if they are confiscated. What’s more, with my purple hair, I don’t know what might happen to me if I bring out these questionable books on Mind Magic…”
“Rather than this condemned type of magic, why didn’t you learn something else?”
Yeah, I know what it’s like to want to use magic.
“Purple hair is ominous?”
Now that she mentions it, the slave trader Nidoren did say something of that sort.
“Wh-, why did you have to make that comparison…”
Ah, we’re getting off topic. Let’s get back on point.
“There’s the water jar before and also several outfits. You want to see those?”
Seeing the outfits Arisa takes out is giving me a headache. From a yukata to a sailor uniform, as well as an unfinished maid maid outfit… She apparently sewed all those herself. Since Arisa doesn’t have the Sewing skill, it seems to be a talent from her previous life.
“You’re not going to confiscate these?”
As Arisa tilts her head astounded, I tell her clearly.
“Right, keep this in the Item Box too.”
“So heavy! Can I check inside?”
It’s not just Shiga Kingdom money, but also that of Saga Empire.
“Giving gold to a slave…goshujin-sama, are you secretly rich?”
Arisa is breathtaken by the brilliant sheen of gold and silver inside the bag.
“I shouldn’t have to say it, but don’t use it outside of an emergency, okay?”
Though Arisa seems to be intentionally giving an ambiguous answer, there’s no one else who can keep the money securely, so I choose to overlook it.
Since I have the Sewing skill, let’s sew gold coins into amulets for the other kids later.
“Arisa, one last question.”
Arisa answers lightheartedly like a baseball player.
After some hesitation, Arisa begins to slowly reveal her story.
‘Hey, I used to be a princess, you know!’ Arisa says, trying to be upbeat.
“What did you do?”
No idea what ‘administrative cheats’ is supposed to mean. Let’s just call it administrative reform.
“That’s why I said it was ‘unnatrual’. The mountains turned to wasteland after we collected leaf mold; fermenting compost released hoards of insect-type monsters; and planting clover and turnips didn’t enrich the soil but made it even less fertile.”
“Someone sabotaged you?”
So that’s how she got those titles.
“In that case, since the goal was to take over the country, wasn’t it pointless when there was nothing left? Wasn’t devastating the country counterproductive?”
Arisa resentfully gnaws on her fingers.
Tears start to gather on her indignant face.
I take out a handkerchief from Storage under the covers to wipe her tears.
“It was all for the ritual to revive that ‘Withered Dungeon’. As slaves, we could neither resist or run away. Unlike Contracts, there was only one person in the country who could cancel a Curse…”
“Every month, on the night of the full moon, one of us was sacrificed in the depths of that dungeon for that sinister ritual…”
“After a year, the dungeon seem to have been revived. The ritual sacrifices ended, but only I, with my ominously-colored hair, and Lulu, who is Father’s illegitimate child, were left. We were moved from the tower where we were imprisoned to another palace nearby. I didn’t know why they hadn’t gotten rid of us immediately. Now, I assume that we were insurance in case the dungeon withered again.”
Since they appear to be different ethnicities, I had thought Lulu and Arisa were not sisters by blood, but they turn out to actually be related.
Though Arisa was ordered never to leave, the traitor who was registered as her master had apparently died when the castle was destroyed, and she was able to leave.
As if trying to wrap around it, Arisa embraces my arm and gets on my lap. I can feel her hands trembling slightly, so I let her be.
She rests her head on my arm, where I can’t see her expression.
“That’s just it. I was so focused on getting on his good side, when I thought of that idea, we were already Nidoren’s slaves.”
“That would have violated the contract, and the collar would tighten up and might have killed me.”
I turn Arisa around to face me.
Her face looking up at me makes a cheeky smile.
—Whether it is day or night, I will strive to serve you right.
With her hands motioning me to come closer, while saying “So please embrace me~ Lust for my immature flesh!” she tries to pushing herself on me, so I take her down with a chop.
“Anyway, what was that Demon trying to do?”
It’s not a cuckoo that goes around leaving its eggs in nests.
“That’s the theory of some scholars, but the gods neither confirm nor deny it. Thing is, almost every Demon King that has ever appeared did so near a dungeon.”
Speaking of which, the Madam of Gateside Inn might have said the same thing.
“What?”
I nod in acknowledgement.
“Nope, didn’t.”
Maybe the entire city is inside the dungeon, or maybe it’s just sitting at the entrance of one? I want to go see it.
“No, there was a dungeon incident right here in Seiryuu City.”
“That’s the trouble Nidoren was caught in, a dungeon?!”
Pushing Arisa back, I tell her everything about the riot and how a demon created a dungeon.
“You’re saying, a demon created a new dungeon?”
Is this what surprised her?
“Since it was made by a Low Class Demon, I though dungeons are worth a dime a dozen.”
“Maybe to mass produce monsters to fight the Hero?”
I don’t mind her putting her hands around my neck, but could she not wrap her legs around my waist?
“Then, just as a diversion, or setting up for the future?”
“That’s possible.”
What the demons are planning, there is too little information to tell. At least there are no demons within the County or the dungeon right now, not even ones like the Eyeball Demon disguised like a Mimic9.
If I get bogged down by things like this I would start balding.
Arisa asks while looking upwards with a serious face—I don’t mind that, but why is she pressing her flat chest against me?
“I see…”
“Why do you want to go to the dungeon? What’s the point of going to that dangerous place full of monsters?”
“Do you have some beef with monsters?”
Raise her Level… This isn’t a game—no, she wants to raise her Level precisely because this is reality, doesn’t she?
Still, the average citizen is quite low-leveled. Even most soldiers are only Level 5 to 7.
I can’t stand seeing Arisa looking so dejected, so I throw her a bone.
“Yeah, I don’t know whether you actually can though, so don’t expect too much, okay?”
Seeing her break into a wide grin, I push the now-perky Arisa away, this time pulling a shirt over her head.
“Of course there is. The thing is, this is the most efficient!”
After all, I used to hunt more efficient high-experience monsters all the time.
If it were the same, there would probably be nobles who massacre commoners and slaves for experience points, and people who raise livestock solely to kill rather than to eat.
“I would have if I could! I raised my Level through reading. Did you know? You gain experience as you learn new knowledge! Thanks to that, I was able to raise my Level while huddled up in the palace.”
For the rest of the night, until Arisa nodded off, we talked about various aspects of this world’s system.
Transmigrator is “転生者 tensei-sha” meaning “one who reincarnated”, while Translocator is “転移者 ten’i-sha” or “one who transferred”. They’re used more or less as jargon here, so I chose rarely seen words to reflect that. Arisa has been using the kanji for “Sato” (佐藤). I don’t think the text ever make it clear how Satou knows whether someone is doing that,, but I’m guessing there’s a difference in stress. If you are at all interested, I’m guessing she has had about 60-80 skill points (7 points average per level * 10 levels raised = 70 points), and Mind Magic requires about 4 or 5 points * the next level to raise it it (60 or 75 points total). All “Appraisal”-type skills use the kanji “鑑定”, but may have different furigana (way of reading), so I just go by the latter. For example, Skills Check is written “能力鑑定” and Analyze is just “鑑定”. The kanji says “無限収納”, literally “Infinite Storage”. ¥ 50,000 ~ 100,000 is about $ 400 ~ 800 (USD). It’s really not much, but as he mentioned, the standard of living here is much lower. Spelled セリビーラ The kanji says “伝説級の秘宝”, or “Legendary Class Treasure”. One of the classic monsters in dungeon games that would disguise itself as a treasure chest or other seemingly harmless objects