Volume 8 Chapter 149, Steady Advance ~ 02
Today's breakfast was a large amount of steamed potatoes. They may be potatoes, but they have a slightly different flavor from the potatoes Satoru is used to. They are a little less starchy and have a hint of sweetness. The bacon was added as an accompaniment. The addition of bacon adds a salty flavor to the dish and makes it very tasty.
Satoru thought that he would like to eat potato salad with mayonnaise, but come to think of it, he has never seen mayonnaise in this world.
After the meal, over a cup of herbal tea, Satoru heard various stories from Isolde. The information from her was still unorganized.
Isolde was extremely clear about the point that Isolde was scolded about, that there is probably no problem if the Holy Sword is broken.
「We have taken care of a lot of famous demons in the last few thousand years. I don't think the Demon King will come back after all this time, and I would even go so far as to say that the Holy Sword has completed its role. Therefore, I can say that there is no need for you to worry.」
「Is that so? But there was a demon race in the labyrinth of the World Tree in the Deep Green Forest as Lord, wasn't there?」
「Ingolsheness, right? I heard that from Leia-dono. Elves do not leak information to the outside world. Especially when it comes to the labyrinth at the foot of the World Tree, which was the object of their faith. If we had known, we would have gone to defeat it.」
Satoru was convinced and felt his depression lifted a little. He is not sure how many generations Isolde has been in the clan, but since Isolde, who was the head of the clan, says so, there is no doubt about it.
「Ingolsheness, middle to upper-class demon general. He was one of the few generals whose whereabouts were unknown, but if he was defeated by Lord, there can be no mistake.」
Huh? Satoru raised his voice. Looking back, he had not thought that Ingolshenes was that strong.
「That's the middle of the pack, huh? Then the demon race is no big deal either.」
「No, I think so because it's the Lord who defeated it. From the point of view of those who live in this world, they are a formidable opponent.」
The actuality that there are Leia and Solor around, and now Isolde, who has excellent swordsmanship, is right next to him, it's hard to feel it. But Rico's soul is now well above the average.
「So, how many missing named demon races are there that Isolde's Holy Sword Clan and others were aware of?」
「Six. Now that Ingolshenes has fallen, there are five more. Two of them are known opponents, though. If the other three had been eliminated, there would have been no need to worry about the future.」
If only one hand is left, it is certainly understandable to declare that you have roughly eliminated all of them(?). However, as Leia said, the remaining demons, even if only a few are left, are still the natural 「enemy of the human race and are a terrifying existence.
「Hmmm,......Then, if I could afford it, I'd like to find them and exterminate them. It's kind of the responsibility of those who have broken the system of this world. ......」
Satoru has a sense of responsibility for having destroyed the existence that has protected human society since the world began its history. Isolde says that he does not need to worry about this burden, but Satoru also thinks that if there is a tear, even a small one, it is the responsibility of the one who destroyed it to pick up the pieces.
But Isolde shakes her head.
「I appreciate your concern. For hundreds of years, our clan ― well, that's not the right word anymore. The clan has been looking for them for hundreds of years, but they haven't come out. I don't think they will come out. There is a strong possibility that they are already dead.」
Satoru looked at Isolde with a reluctant look on his face. The Holy Sword Clan had established their own information network in this world, and although their numbers were limited, it could be said that they covered almost all the land. Even so, the demons could not be found. It was not something that Satoru would be able to find on a casual search.
「There were three remainings. I should at least get their names.」
「But first―I'd like to confirm this with Leia-dono.」
Isolde turned her sharp gaze toward the first magical slave.
「...... I have a good guess. It;s about Iblis, right?」(TLN: イヴリース = Ivuriisu)
「Indeed.」
The other people are also stumped, as well as Satoru. They can only guess that there is something in Leia's past that is related to the demon race. Isolde's expression was serious, and Leia's expression was heavy as well. Leia glanced at Satoru.
「To tell the truth. I haven't told my Lord about the situation yet.」
「My words」
「Well, that's all right. I'll just say the conclusion. Iblis has been taken care of without a problem. So you can rule it out.」
Until now, Satoru had never asked about Leia's past, which was probably known to the whole world. Leia's past is quite complicated, and he has kept the promise he made at the beginning of the journey that he would not ask about it unless Leia herself told him.
There is probably information there that only Isolde and Leia know, but Satoru still does not intervene. Whatever her past, Satoru has already accepted the very existence of Leia.
「......Very well. I'll believe you.」
Isolde nodded gravely. She seemed a little unconvinced, but if Leia had not even told her Lord, Satoru, then it was not Isolde place to question her further.
「That leaves two remainings: one is Brodsson, a mid-level demon general on par with Ingolsheness, and the other, if this one remains, is a problem, the upper demon general Hyalvas.」
Let's just leave the name in the corner of my memories for now, Solor raised her hand toward Satoru, who was working hard to carve it into his low-capacity brain.
「Um, Demon General Brodsson is already dead.」
「What?」
Isolde raised her voice in astonishment. Solor was only told the fact.
「It is in my data. In the year 960 of the Magical Calendar, when he was asleep, he was discovered by a wizard of the Castile Kingdom at that time, and after taking a lot of data, he was killed.」
「Is this true? Ummm......... 960 years of the Magical Calendar is three years before the Seven Days of Disaster. I heard that there was a lot of mixed information in those days, and I'm not sure if the story reached the clan.」
Umu-umu, Isolde is convinced by herself. Frankly, it's all gibberish except for Leia and Solor, but if it's one less thing to learn, so much the better. Only one person needs to be remembered ― I don't know if it is correct to call it one person against a demon race.
「【Empress of Flame】, Hyalvas, is a beautiful goddess of death who manipulates thousands of flames and leads an Immortal Family of flames ― estimated she has a 40,000 soul, she is one of the Four Great Demons Generals. Even in my data, her life or death has not been confirmed.」
Solor's voice, which sounded as if she was reading out the information in an indifferent manner, made everyone except Satoru horrified. The estimated 40,000 soul is a figure that has only been heard of in the Five Dragons class. Were the people of the time before the Ancient Magic Kingdom waging war against such a monster?
However, if it is simply a number, Solor is superior. It's just that she can't use advanced sorcery and magic, which is probably restricted, but from Satoru's point of view, who doesn't even have a problem with Solor, he doesn't particularly care about the size of her soul value right now.
「40,000 ...... Empress means it's a woman, huh」
「More accurately, it's a female body. There is no definite gender for demons above the general level.」
Hoo, Satoru groans. Ingolsheness was also a demon general, which means that he(?) is also a gender-neutral being―a huge, well-trained physique with a goat head and horns, which can be considered a symbol. I think he was a male because he has a male body. It is surprising.
「That guy is hermaphrodite, huh? It certainly looks like a demon race.」
「Herma, phrodite?」
Satoru strokes and rubs his chin in response to Rico's question.
「Ahh, let's see ......Like a male and female living together in one body. Like worms and stuff.」
「My words. I didn't know that. My Lord is a fount of knowledge, isn't he?」
「Not at all. It's called the difference in world common sense.」
Satoru blurted out with a bitter smile. To be honest, Satoru is not very smart. Even so, the people of this world call him a treasure trove of knowledge because the common sense of the world is different. Even the level of knowledge learned in compulsory elementary and junior high school education is truly knowledge of another dimension from the perspective of this world. It is only natural that this would be the case considering the level of education in this world, where even the four arithmetic rules and letters are questionable.
「Hyalvas, huh? I'll keep that in mind. Well, if I could, I would like to exterminate her.」
「If you could have found her, we wouldn't have gone through all that trouble.」
Isolde returned discouraged. Even with a tremendous class of 40,000 soul spirit value, there would have been no problem if a Holy Sword existed, but that sword, which could be said to be the natural enemy of the demon race, does not exist in this world now.
If those Hyalvas or whatever appeared after Satoru was able to return to his original world. There is no way for the human race to resist. We need to think about this a little―Satoru groaned.
By the way, all of them are in the shack drinking tea and talking, but Minerva is rowing out of the boat(nodded off), perhaps because of the difficult conversation going on.
At the same time, information was brought about the 【Immortal King】 Yarth.
Although not a demon, the feared 【Immortal King】 Yarth is an existence that the Holy Sword Clan has of course been checking out. Since his existence was confirmed, he has not caused any harm to the general public and has remained quiet, but it is said that his activities have been spreading around the world. However, rumors of his activities were heard especially in the southeastern part of the continent, and it was said that Rothfort was probably his base of operations.
「I knew it, Rothfort, huh. ......」
Satoru glanced at Leia. Leia also noticed his glance but did not raise her voice.
It is clear that Leia was a royal presence related to Rothfort. The fact that Isolde said this to Leia at the beginning of the fight with Satoru is not a mistake.
The problem is that even at this point in time, Leia is still keeping her past a secret from Satoru. Would it be a good idea to go to Rothfort and confront Yarth if they were to become enemies? Satoru has not yet made that decision.
Satoru shook his head and drove the thought away. In any case, Rothfort is the exact opposite of the land that occupies most of this world. In Eurasia, their current location is in Central Europe, while Rothfort is in Southeast Asia. Although the roads are well-developed to some extent, it is not a place that can be reached in a few days, so there will be opportunities to hear stories along the way.
「Also, the secret of your strength. I know you suck up magic power with your Holy Sword, but that's not so bad.」
「I'm no match for Milord, though.」
With a discouraged expression, Isolde raised her brittle hands. Immediately after she and Satoru had cut the ice, Isolde had spoken as Satoru spoke, but that had been Isolde's way of buying time. Satoru was outside of Leia's 【Isolation Ward】, and if he had gained that much time under the influence of the circle, a normal human being should have collapsed, or at the very least been shaken, but Satoru was not daunted at all.
Isolde shivered, perhaps remembering her gradual fear of Satoru, who had not changed in the least over time.
「But I think you are so strong that it is hard to explain if you simply strengthened your body with sorcery.」
「Of course, the clan has its own techniques.」
Hou, Leia hummed in admiration.
「The Holy Sword Clan's own techniques, huh? There were many mysteries about this clan.」
「I say clan, though. In fact, there are only a few blood relatives. It does not mean that the blood of the first generation has continued uninterruptedly.」
「Hou...」
「The clan trained in hidden places. Especially in the physical arts, there are many techniques that have developed on their own, and when it comes to the physical arts alone, there are many techniques that even the Academy of the Wise has not yet perfected.」
The formation of the Holy Sword Clan was also discussed. Many of them came from refugee or slave backgrounds and were raised and nurtured by gathering children under the age of 5 with a soul of 130 or more, a body of intermediate level or higher, and a talent of elementary level or higher in the art of rijutsu―In other words, Isolde also does not have an exceptional soul, but only achieved her position as the head of the clan through rigorous training and discipline.
Satoru came to realize that there was no blood relationship between the first and second generations.
The Holy Sword Clan is a clan that has continuously passed down swordsmanship that makes full use of its unique physical arts.
「To put it simply, it is a way to efficiently send magic power into the body. Since I no longer have the Holy Sword, the soul inside me can only do about a dozen things.」
Isolde says it lightly, but the difficulty must not be half as great as it seems, since they are going to gather children under the age of five and train them thoroughly.
Isolde also talks about the Holy Sword, although there is nothing more that can be done about it now that it has been destroyed.
As for the technology to absorb magic power, it is not clear how it was brought about. Many of the Ancient Magical Kingdoms tried to solve the mystery of the Holy Sword, but since the Holy Sword was withdrawn from the Holy Sword Clan, it could not be used as research material, and the only thing that could be done was the inverted magic circle used by the Academy of the Wise against Satoru. The technology of magic stone may be an application of this, but magic stone cannot be created with modern technology. The technology was also lost across the board during the Seven Days Disaster. All existing magic stones are from the Ancient Magic Kingdom period.
The method of giving pure magic power to certain ores and turning them into magic stones was developed in recent years at the Academy of the Wise, but there are many problems with it, such as poor efficiency.
As if remembering, Leia looked up.
「Isolde, your soul is...」
「about 180.」
「Not very high, I see.」
Satoru reminds himself that he has done so after speaking this out reflexively. The vessel of the soul is almost absolute in this world, and 180 is higher than the general average, which is considered to be around 100, but much lower than Satoru's surroundings, which are all in a different league―Even so, it is not something that should be spoken of lightly as low.
However, Isolde did not seem to be bothered by it.
「In fact, it is hard to get a sense of the subtleties of the art if your soul is too high up. Besides, using the art requires unimaginable training. Once you get a feel for it, all you have to do is sharpen your senses, and from then on, the more magic power you have, the better.」
Yeah, Satoru agreed with Isolde. Satoru's own soul is so vast that it takes a lot of nerve to adjust the power of the art. The inability to exercise the art as thin as a needle is a problem. In that sense, it must be difficult for Leia and Solor to learn.
「I think the most suitable person for the job is you, Rico-dono.」
「Me?」
Rico raised her voice in surprise. Certainly, Rico would be most suitable, since she now has a soul that is neither too high nor too low and a talent for physical and logic. Minerva, who had been slumped over leaning on Rico's shoulder, looked up with a small startle at the sound of Rico's voice, which brought laughter from everyone.
「Also.....The other thing that interests me is the fact that Solor-dono can adjust her magic power at will. If she could master it, it could be tremendous.」
Solor tilted her head slightly, her expression is as expressionless as ever.
Indeed, as Isolde said, Solor can freely adjust the output of her magic power. The fact that all of her vital activities are supplemented by magic power may be one of its characteristics, but if it were to be further sharpened, it could become something extraordinary, with a maximum of 50,000 magic powers.
A small sigh escaped.
「......As expected, am I not good enough?」
Isolde tilts her head slightly at the lament of the half-elf girl, the youngest and smallest soul in the group.
「Liz-dono, about the physical arts...」
「I have no idea.」
Isolde is unsure of what to say to Liz, who has said it out loud and clearly. Isolde smiled at her without effort. She laughs at such Isolde without effort.
「The right direction is given by God. It can't be helped.」
「But I think it wouldn't hurt to learn how to channel magic power into your body. Not only Liz-dono, but also Milord, Leia-dono, and Minerva-dono.」
The reason why Holy Sword Clan members are so strong is because they have mastered the art of channeling magic power efficiently into their bodies. Of course, it is not something that can be learned overnight, but if it is going to increase their strength, there is nothing better than training them.
Leia put her hand on Liz's shoulder.
「The talent of each person is different. It can't be helped. From what I have seen so far, Liz seems to have a certain talent for wind and logic, so it would be good to train them little by little. As long as you have a physical relationship with my Lord, your soul will increase, so training...」
「...... wait a minute, will you?」
「What is it?」
Leia showed her reluctance when her words of comfort and encouragement were interrupted in mid-sentence, but Isolde's expression was colored with astonishment, showing no sign that she cared.
「Leia-dono said, "As long as you have a physical relationship with my Lord, your soul will increase". What does that mean?」
Satoru let his gaze wander a bit. Another content to show his own abnormality. Leia had not explained that to Isolde, apparently.
「Come to think of it, I haven't mentioned it, didn't I? I don't know the principle, but it's just as I said. The more you receive the Lord's essence(semen) in your body, the more your soul increases.」
「...... What the heck is that?」
Isolde's voice was not only half in doubt, but was as doubtful as two or eight doubts. The soul given by God as a predisposition is almost an absolute number. It is possible to increase it by 20% through training and other means, but there are only two special conditions under which it can be increased. Since this premise has been destroyed, Isolde's upset is understandable.
The difference between the common people and the royalty and nobility also lies here. The royalty and nobility have a history of favoring those with superior soul for generations. The average of 100 is for the common people; for the nobility, the average is 200, and for royalty, the average is said to be 350.
Leia took out a piece of parchment from her pocket.
「I already told Sheryl, but I think she would be surprised if she could confirm it by now. The most obvious of us is Rico. When we first met Rico, her soul was around 80. You were about 70 when you were born, right?」
Rico nodded.
「Now it is 200.」
「70 from birth to 200!?」
「No way!? I've reached it!?」
Isolde, who had never heard of this before, was shocked at the fact that it was so casually whispered to her, and Rico was even more surprised at the unexpected number. After having sexual intercourse with Satoru, it is Leia who manages the soul values of the magical slaves in the 【Soul Search】. However, since she doesn't often tell the subjects themselves, they often realize that they have exceeded their soul spirit values only when they are told.
There is a good reason for this, and it is because Leia knows from experience that the use of sorcery is a sensory experience, and if one is conscious of the numbers, it is easy for one's senses to become distorted. This is also because she has experienced that it took her a long time to get used to her quadrupled soul when she manifested herself as the 【Immortal King】.
「Indeed. Solor, who has a special condition, is not a soul, so her number has not increased, but the others, their number soul has increased.」
Isolde folds her arms with a difficult look on her face and snarls at Leia, who happily boasts.
「.....It is inconceivable. I suppose that's how exceptional Milord's soul is.」
「If you receive my Lord's essence in your body, your soul will increase, too.」
Just like that. But Isolde, who understood the meaning of those words about two tempos later, suddenly turned bright red on her slightly tightened face.
「Eh. Oh, no, th-that's...」
Liz and Rico both half laughed as she was literally flustered. Solor has her usual expressionless face, while Minerva is completely sleepy and is about to make a snot bubble.
All of them knew that this Isolde was an uncommunicative woman. And apparently, she also has an aversion to sex itself.
As long as she descended as a magical slave and her gender was different from that of her Lord, Isolde would have known that she could be used in such a way, but it was out of her imagination in the first place.
Isolde noticed Satoru's indescribable gaze and flapped her arms even more.
「Aahhh, umm, no, ummm, no, no, it's not that I don't want to have a physical relationship with Milord, umm...」
「Or rather, your wrist.」
Isolde blushed, even more, when Leia pointed out that her right wrist was not perfectly healed. She fidgeted, crossing her arms behind her back as she violently waved her arms, not the kind of behavior one would expect from a woman of dignified, sharp good looks over 20 years of age.
Satoru was more than half-amused and reminded her again.
「I don't mind it. I don't even want to hold a woman who doesn't have that intention.」
「......I'm, very sorry」
He must have felt that he was being taken advantage of. Satoru looked up at the ceiling and breathed a single sigh at Isolde, who was seriously depressed.
「I told you I don't mind, ......so? How am I supposed to train that body to channel magic power?」
Leia held out her hand to Satoru, who had no choice but to drop the subject.
「Wait a minute. Before that. This is an opportunity. My Lord.」
「What is it?」
「I would like to give you a sermon.」
「A sermon?」
Satoru looks at Leia with a puzzled look. Leia is certainly an important person for Satoru. Although they are in the position of magical slave and lord, Satoru does not refuse to allow magical slaves to speak directly to him, not just Leia. However, he thinks a little about Leia's comments. Did I make a mistake that would cause her to lecture me?
Leia sighs in exasperation at Satoru, who doesn't seem to really get it.
「Certainly, my Lord's soul is so large that it cannot be seen in numbers. But you see.」
With a bang on the cheaply made desk, Leia turns her sad, yet angry gaze on her beloved Lord. Minerva, who was dozing off at the sudden noise, woke up in surprise.
「It was an incredibly dangerous gamble to compare soul against a Holy Sword, you know!?」
Satoru broke out in a cold sweat as he remembered that.
「N-no, that was ......」
「I guess my Lord did it because you thought you could do it. If you had lost, you would have lost the chance to see your sister forever, you know!? I wish you would think a little more!」
Leia's scream, with tears in her voice, made Satoru choke.
Satoru decided that it was possible, and he also thought that Isolde would not be convinced otherwise, so he did so.
「But, you know...」
「There was no "but"! I can't tell you how anxious I was at that moment!」
Leia's voice, which had been so sharply silenced, was completely fearful as if she was remembering that moment.
Satoru, who had been blocked from refuting her, looked around as if seeking help. Minerva and Liz were in the area at that time. Minerva was confused when she woke up from sleep and saw Satoru getting scolded by Leia. Liz, on the other hand, was just staring at Satoru.
「...... I think Leia-san's opinion is correct」
Liz did not realize the danger of Satoru's choice at that moment, but considering Leia's point, Satoru's choice at that moment can certainly be called shallow.
Satoru, immediately judging that he had no allies, shrunk his large body down to a small size and said a few words.
「.....I'm sorry」
「You should be reflected on what you have done for making us feel so rushed.」
Rico and Liz exchanged glances and giggled at Satoru, who was unusually small.
Although Satoru is the Lord of the magical slaves, he does not act arrogant. He listens carefully to the opinions of his slaves. The fact that Leia has accompanied Satoru on his journey from the beginning of his journey, of course, she is probably the most comfortable with him, but there is no such thing as a magical slave who is so angry with their Lord. And also the Lord, Satoru takes their words seriously and reflects on them.
Isolde, who had witnessed the heterogeneous relationship between Satoru and his magical slaves, had a strange expression on her face, but when she saw that the conversation had calmed down, she taught Satoru how to channel magic power into his body.
The basis is meditation. The Holy Sword Clan's art is to be aware of the pool of magic power below the navel, draw magic power from it, and channel it into the body, and the accuracy of this art has been raised to the utmost limit. Minerva, who is not very good at imagining, and Liz, who is not physically gifted, had a particularly hard time with it, but in any case, it is not something that can be done overnight. Satoru himself is unable to be aware of the magic power and sighs as he undoes the full lotus position.
「I guess there are some things you're just not suited for.」
「Yes, there is. For example,......, you are good at 【Shukuchi】, right, Rico-dono?」
「Y-yeah」
Rico suddenly raised her voice as if she was puzzled by the conversation.
「In the case of Rico-dono, sending magic power to your limbs, especially to your feet, is probably what you are best suited for. I think you have been able to use it even before you were aware that it was art?」
「Right.」
Rico used 【Shukuchi】 even before she was aware that it was an art. This is not particularly unusual. It is said that physical art is often used without being aware that it is an art.
「That is also a talent. Perhaps, but I think that once you get used to it to some extent, you will be able to sustain more than twice as long at one and a half times the speed you can now. Eventually, I think you can double your current speed.」
「D-doubling my current speed........I can't imagine it」
As a result of the increase in soul due to repeated intercourse with Satoru, even so, both the speed and the duration of maintenance have increased dramatically. It doesn't ring a bell when Rico was told that it will be further extended. However, the Holy Sword Clan was probably strong because of their mastery of these things. The running speed of Zelphys and other members of the clan who had received their last orders from Isolde as the last head was certainly faster than that of Rico.
「And the rest, well, let's see. Swordsmanship? I didn't learn kendo either.」
「Kendo? A fighting style that uses swords? Huh? But I thought Satoru's world was peaceful.」
「Not for killing each other, but some kind of practice.」
In high school, where Satoru spent only a year or so, he did judo in a physical education class and swimming in the club. The only other things he had ever done were bare-knuckle fights.
「And that's how the moves, which, to be honest, is a bit irresistible.」
Isolde only laughed bitterly. Even when Isolde used her Holy Sword and gave it her all, she was still no match for Satoru. As expected, Satoru had an overwhelming advantage in physical strength, but even Isolde did not expect Satoru to surpass her in speed. No one in this world can match Isolde with a sword. It is so clear, and yet Satoru surpasses even her.
「Well, I will teach you as much as I can.」
Rico is a self-taught fighter who learned it naturally in the Thieves' Guild, and Minerva and Liz have no knowledge of fighting arts. Leia and Solor seem to know a little bit, but they are sorcerers. Even if they don't have to fight mainly with sorcery or swords, it is not a bad idea to learn how to move their bodies and how to avoid an attack.
Isolde was thrilled that her knowledge would be useful in those areas.
「In any case, after your injuries are healed.」
「Ugh.......U-understood」
Isolde broke out in a cold sweat when she remembered that her wrist was not in perfect condition at that point. Since she forgets so easily, she covers the affected area with a cloth and Satoru warns her not to use it for the rest of the day. Isolde looked frustrated, but Satoru was aware that she would soon forget, so she simply accepted the situation as it was.
「Well, it's going to be a long journey. At the very least, you'll have to put up with it today and tomorrow.」
Isolde nodded her head in agreement to the words of Satoru, the man who had torn her to pieces.
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