Chapter 35
Translator: Kell Editor: Weasalopes
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Reunion (One-Sided) with the Old World
Black-haired people were rare in this world . Those with black hair and black eyes were even rarer .
Hikaru quickly hid himself . The hotdog stand owner was staring in his direction . There’s a girl talking all high-and-mighty in front of you! Look at her, not me! he thought . But the owner kept his eyes on him . What’s wrong with you?!
Hikaru set his class to Stealth God: Darkness Wanderer, activated his Stealth skills, then stepped out into the open .
「Ah, hotdog! How I missed this! Though it’s not like I ate a lot of them before!」
The owner didn’t say a word, still staring at Hikaru’s general direction .
Why are you looking this way?! Can you see me?!
Hikaru moved left and right, but the man’s eyes kept following him . His Stealth should be on right now . As proof, the people walking down the road didn’t notice him at all . Yet the owner had his eyes fixed on Hikaru .
「Hey, mister! Are you listening?!」
「Yeah . 」
「What are you looking at?!」
「Yeah . 」
The fact that the man didn’t even answer properly scared Hikaru . An enemy who was immune to the effects of Stealth had appeared . He wanted to check the owner’s Soul Board, but right now the girl with the black hair and eyes was more important .
「What the…」
Hikaru froze from what he saw .
【Soul Board】Selica Tanoue
Age: 17 Soul Rank: 104
29
I expected a Japanese surname, but not that rank . Seriously, a hundred and four?! He had never seen such a number before . In fact, he didn’t know it was possible to go over a hundred . Her Skill tree was as follows…
【Vitality】
. . 【Natural Recovery】4
. . 【Stamina】4
. . 【Immunity】
… . 【Magic Resistance】5 (MAX)
… . 【Disease Immunity】1
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… . 【Toxic Immunity】3
【Magical Power】
. . 【Mana】19
. . 【Spirit Affinity】
… . 【Fire】5
… . 【Air】5
… . 【Earth】5
… . 【Water】5
……【Spirit’s Affection】3
……【Magic Principle】0
… . 【Magic Creation】2
【Dexterity】
. . 【Tool Mastery】
… . 【Pottery】3
He took a second look without thinking . Immunity-type Skills were probably maxed out at five points . That part was fine . The problem was her Mana which had 19 points on it . Lavia’s 11 points was already plenty and this girl had 1 . 5 times more than that . She’s a monster .
It was strange how all four of her elements had the same five points . Lavia had six on Fire which provided incredible firepower to her spells, and the reason why the king wanted her . But this girl had five points in all of them . She had three points on another Skill as well – Spirit’s Affection – that was unknown to him .
I guess this Spirit’s Affection balances her affinity to the elements?
Countless questions raced through his mind . Although her having zero points on Magic Principle most likely meant her mana consumption was awful .
But one thing’s clear: She’s Japanese . We’re probably in the same boat . The fact that she has plenty of unused points could also mean she can check Soul Boards .
She was only seventeen, yet her Soul Rank was a hundred and four . That meant she raised levels like crazy which was pretty much what a Japanese person would do .
Why would anyone raise their levels in RPGs? The answer was simple . Because they can .
A lot of Japanese people loved levelling . If I levelled up, something awesome is bound to happen . She seemed to believe in that which meant she probably played RPGs before .
She’s a member of the Four Stars of the East, for sure .
The high stats and the fact that she had no one else with her meant she was an adventurer . Someone this strong would be among the higher ranks . Hikaru wouldn’t be surprised if she was rank B . In fact she could even be higher than that .
A powerful adventurer like her being in Pond couldn’t have been a coincidence . It was safe to assume she was a member of the four-women party of B-ranked adventurers known as the Four Stars of the East .
Please don’t tell me the other three are Japanese as well . Just calm down, Hikaru . She might not be an enemy . Who knows, maybe we’ll get along since we’re both Japanese? Nah, I shouldn’t reveal my identity to her . Their party is famous . I can’t be linked with them or Lavia will be in danger . Wait a sec… Why are they even in Pond?
There was only one reason they would be in town . The request about escorting Count Morgstad’s daughter that they were supposed to take, but got stolen from them by rank C adventurers . What they thought about that, Hikaru could only guess . But wouldn’t it be safe to assume that they were interested in Lavia?
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I have to stay away from them for sure .
Hikaru backed away quietly .
「………」
Hey, hotdog guy . Why are you staring at me?!
Hikaru hightailed it away from the place .
「Hey, mister!」the girl said .
「Yeah . 」
「I asked what you were looking at . 」
「Cats . 」
「Cats? Oh, wow, you’re right!」
Hikaru didn’t notice the stray cats loitering by the roadside . The hotdog stand owner had his eyes on them . The cats dispersed quickly as soon as Selica started running towards them .
「…So there you have it . I’m curious about what their plans are, so I’m going to investigate for the rest of the day . 」
「I’m okay with that . Will you be okay? They’re strong people, right?」
Lavia looked worried as she ate her sandwich . She felt a bit disappointed when she laid eyes on her food as she somewhat expected Hikaru to buy hotdogs .
「I’ll be fine . They won’t notice me… I think . 」
The image of the hotdog stand owner’s eyes following him around made him doubt himself . What humiliation .
「I know you can’t move about, so I brought stuff you can read . 」
「Books?!」
「You’ve read most of the adventure novels so I got you something a bit different . 」
They were basically books for practical purposes . Botanical picture books, monster picture books, study on dungeons . Lavia’s eyes grew bright . They were books with no protagonists, but by using the knowledge she would gain by reading them, she could become a protagonist of her own adventure story .
「Thank you, Hikaru!」
「I didn’t expect you to be that happy . 」
Hikaru left the hotel, feeling warm inside . His first stop: the Adventurers Guild . The Four Stars of the East could be there . As they say, “Know yourself as well as your enemy” .
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「I apologize for taking some of your time, Guildmaster . You must be busy . 」
「It’s quite all right . We have to entertain rank B adventurers . 」
「I’m glad to hear that . 」
「So may I know what the Four Stars of the East is doing in Pond?」Unken asked as he took his teacup . He was seated on the couch in the Guildmaster’s office . Steam rose from his freshly-brewed tea .
「I believe you already know the answer to that . 」
「I don’t know which is why I’m asking you . 」
「…I see . 」
Unken tilted his cup of tea and took a sip, but his gaze was fixed on the woman in front of him . She looked to be less than twenty years old, with hair tied back and blue eyes that didn’t leave Unken . She was beautiful – the bridge of her nose slender, her lips a pinkish color . Young men wouldn’t be able to ignore her . Unken-san, however, was a Man Gnome over 200 years old – he was way past his prime .
Selyse Lande, also known as the Sun Maiden, was a B-ranked adventurer and the leader of the Four Stars of the East . Her silver breastplate looked like a work of art, with ornaments on the surface . She looked immaculate in her beige cloak and clothes .
In a way, her appearance was out of the ordinary . Wearing clothes of such color would normally be considered foolish for adventurers . Walking outdoors would kick up clouds of dust, and fighting sometimes meant getting covered in blood . They’d get dirty right away .
Yet she most likely wore such clothing on a daily basis . There were a few explanations for this . Either she was loaded enough that she could procure new clothes right away, or she frequently met with people of fairly high status .
「I was informed that it was the Pond branch that stole our job – the request to escort Count Morgstad’s daughter to the royal capital . 」
「“Stole” is a poor choice of words . I believe the whole matter went through regular procedure . I received a report as well that the royal capital branch agreed . 」
「It was the submaster that processed it, correct?」
「Yes . Though he’s not here at the moment . 」
Unken wore a sour expression . The submaster suddenly left Pond and went back home three days ago saying he had a summer cold and he needed to rest . In retrospect, he probably heard about the Four Stars of the East coming here so he ran away .
「I’m not here to ask for an apology, Sir . 」
「What do you want, then?」
「A do-over of the job . 」
「…What?」
It was an unexpected request . The Count’s daughter had either already been kidnapped or escaped . There was nothing to “do-over” .
「I take pride in our hundred percent success rate . It doesn’t sit right with me that our job, although stolen, resulted in a failure . 」
「But how can you redo the request when there’s no one to escort?」
「I want your permission to conduct an investigation on the daughter’s disappearance . We can operate better with the Adventurers Guild authorization . 」
It wasn’t a complicated request, and a part of Unken was still displeased about the case as well .
「Okay . We’ll do our best to cooperate . I’ll give the submaster a good talking-to once I see him . 」
「That sounds good . 」
The submaster must’ve wanted the spotlight so bad that he rushed things too much . A request from a noble . A designated job, but the requested adventurers weren’t available . If he pulled it off, he would earn himself a good reputation from the nobles . As for the rank C adventurers, he probably told those men he’d give them a high-paying job request and in exchange, they’ll be operating in the Pond branch for a while . After all, the highest ranked adventurers in Pond were only ranked D . It would be a great feat for him if he recruited C ranks to the local branch .
「Too much ambition will destroy you, I suppose . 」
「I agree . 」
「All right . Let’s get into specifics…」
Unken told Selyse the details about the case, the scope of her investigation, and agreed to lending her a map of Pond . After the discussion, Selyse got on her feet, saying she was going to meet up with her other party members .
「If you run into any problem, just come see me . 」
「I will . Goodbye . 」
As she was about to leave the room, she stopped .
「Is there any other room here on the second floor?」
「The submaster’s room is right over there . 」
「No one’s in there, right?」
「Yes . I would notice their presence if someone was in there . 」
「I see…」
「Is there something wrong?」
「I just felt like someone was there . It seems my desire to start the investigation quickly is affecting my composure . 」
「The girl’s tracks grow fainter with every passing hour . I can understand the pressure, but it wouldn’t do you any good if you panic . 」
「You’re right . If you’ll excuse me . 」
Selyse left the Adventurers Guild .