Chapter 36: This sickle is for self-defense, so it’s okay

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Translator: Soafp

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After returning from the dungeon, let me explain what happened.

Using the teleportation magic circle, we escaped the dungeon and arrived in a hidden underground chamber beneath the royal castle.

Since it was a secret room even the king didn't know about, it caused a huge uproar, and in the confusion we managed to slip away unnoticed.

Oh, and apparently there was a small earthquake on the surface due to the ground collapsing.

It seems a lot of houses were destroyed, so it was a big deal.

“I'm tired… Ask, Onee-chan is exhausted.”

“Good job.”

I offered some words of comfort to Nee-san, who threw herself onto the bed still wearing her plague mask and black coat.

After escaping the castle, we headed to the base prepared for the activities of the “Indiscriminate Healing Magicians, Nightingale” in the royal capital this time.

It looks like just an old house, but it has that secret base vibe, and I kind of like it.

“…Ask. Onee-chan is tired. Very, very tired.”

“Good job.”

“Acting as No-Face, treating all the patients, giving orders to those crazed kids… So comfort me more!! Pat the head of your hardworking sister!!”

“Yeah yeah, good job.”

I casually patted her head.

…Come to think of it, those crazed kids she mentioned are probably the members of “The Indiscriminate Healing Magicians”

“King Ask!! Pat Luu's head too!!”

“…Luu. Ask is comforting me right now. You wait your turn.”

“No!! King Ask!! Pat me!!”

She was being noisy, so I patted Luu's head as well.

“Mufufu~!! King Ask's pats feel so good!!”

“…It really is a miracle nobody died with a collapse that massive.”

“What about the wounded?”

“There were many, but they've all been healed now, so don't worry.”

“That's good. I'm relieved.”

The collapse happened because Belchika and I fought, after all.

Oh, and speaking of that—

Belchika was happy that she managed to bring back enough gold to repay her student loan… but it seems she might be charged twenty million Manis in compensation for this collapse.

It's just a rumor, but still—she only fought me because Christina ordered her to, so I feel bad for her.

Well, in comparison to the scale of the damage, that amount is probably cheap.

“But still, Ask. You brought back quite a shocking item, didn't you?”

“Did I?”

“That scythe—how did it get smaller?”

Nee-san's gaze shifted to the now-small scythe in my hand.

That's right. The scythe I recovered in the dungeon had shrunk to the size of a regular sickle thanks to some mysterious ancient technology.

It won't leave my hand, but at this size I can probably pass it off as self-defense.

Huh? Nobody uses a scythe for self-defense? …Don't sweat the small stuff. You'll go bald if you worry too much. It's for self-defense, so it's fine.

Oh, and the silver chain I used to carry the robot—

Turns out that chain is also an artifact that moves exactly how I want when I channel magic into it.

I can hold the scythe in my right hand, wrap the chain around my left arm, or even connect the chain to the scythe to make a chained-scythe weapon. It looks insanely cool.

“I have lots of chains anyway, so take one as thanks for everything you did this time.”

“Oh? Then I'll accept it… Wait. This chain was supposed to have been retrieved by No-Face, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then if I carry this around, won't I be suspected of being No-Face?”

“Yeah.”

Oops.

I didn't intend to frame Nee-san as No-Face's true identity.

Really. I didn't.

“So, what about this golem?”

“There's someone in Nai nai chin chin Village who knows a lot about golems, so I thought I'd ask them to repair it.”

My village really is full of talented people.

“Well, in any case, I'm glad everything ended safely.”

“Are you going back to the academy dorms to rest tonight?”

“Yes, let's do that before anyone gets suspicious.”

And so we returned to the academy.

A few days later.

For some reason, I was summoned to the student council room by Victoria.

“Ask, are you… No-Face?”

“I'm not.”

“Mhm. Say that while looking me in the eyes.”

“I'm not.”

How in the world did she figure it out?

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The Belhart Empire has several forts built to repel the demon forces that attack from the north.

One of them is the Kaime Fortress.

With a hundred heroes wielding imitation holy swords—holy weapons—and five thousand disciples whose abilities rival heroes even without holy weapons, the fortress's strength should have been overwhelming.

Even if a flock of dragons attacked, they could've annihilated them easily—

Or so it should have been.

“Th-this can't be… A hundred heroes… And five thousand disciples, each with power rivaling a hero… All wiped out by a single person!!?”

“Mmm!! Reality can be cruel, right, I get it, I get it. I got scolded so unfairly too, you know, when I secretly ate Greed's pudding. Well then, regret meeting me, the embodiment of unfairness!!”

A beautiful woman stood before the man whose limbs had been severed but who was barely still alive.

Her marigold-colored hair was cut at her shoulders, and one of her locks was braided like an antenna.

Two twisted horns grew from the sides of her head, and she had a voluptuous chest, a slender waist, supple limbs, and an overwhelmingly beautiful face.

She was the perfect embodiment of a peerless beauty.

If the revealing dress she wore weren't soaked in blood, she would have captivated anyone who saw her.

The empire's strongest force—the heroes—had been annihilated by this single woman.

She smirked wickedly.

“But still, strong people taste so good. The quality of the meat is totally different, like it's full of protein—great for dieting!! Mmm!! I should've come to the empire sooner!!”

With a squish and crunch, she chewed the “something” in her hand.

It was a human leg.

“Mmm!! They say thigh meat is best deep-fried, but I wonder if that applies to human legs too? Ah, not that I can cook or anything. Not that I'm bad at it!! But raw is better, you know? Munch munch.”

“P-please… Just spare my comrades…”

“Oh!! As expected of the commander of the Brave Division, the pride of the Empire! You are the kind of guy who doesn’t care what happens to yourself, but only your comrades, aren’t you? Hmm!! I love lines like that, like the classic protagonist of a story! Well, I guess I’ll have no choice but to grant your request!!”

At her words, the captain relaxed in relief for a moment—only for his face to twist in despair.

“As if I'd actually do that!! You believed it, how cute!! Mmm!! Here, your comrades' heads.”

“No… Guine, Aus, even Zarla…!!”

“Mmm!! Nice!! That expression!! Humans' despair is seriously the best spice!!”

“You monster… How dare you… How dare you kill my comrades!!”

Seeing his comrades' mutilated remains lined before him, the captain cried in grief and anger.

The woman grinned.

“Oh come on, it's just a little joke. Sorry sorry, don't be mad. Ah, but your dead buddies? I'll eat them later, so don't worry. I'm doing the ‘How many people can I eat while Belchika the goody-two-shoes is away?' challenge right now.”

“Bel…chika? You mean Belchika, the hero candidate!?”

“Oh, you know her? Whoops. ‘Wrath' is scary when she's really mad, you know? Well, I'll just eat everyone here, so no problem!!”

“W-what are you…? No mere demon could have this much power!!”

“Me? Mmm!! I guess I never introduced myself.”

She lifted the hem of her dress and curtsied elegantly.

“I am the ‘Eater of Life', the bottomless stomach. Right now I go by the name of Zenapart, Cardinal of the White Church—Gluttony. Oh, wait, I wasn't supposed to introduce myself since we're a secret organization. Ah well. You're gonna be food anyway!!”

“S-stay back!! I… I can't die yet!!”

“A minute ago you were telling me to kill only you, wasn't that contradictory?”

“I can't accept… such a meaningless death—”

Before he could finish, the captain's head parted from his body.

Zenapart gulped down the dripping blood.

“Mmm!! This is why I can't stop massacring people!! And fresh human blood really is the best!! …Well, if I'm honest, I prefer the blood of strong young virgins, but I'm not Greed, so I can endure it!!”

Zenapart laughed wickedly.

She had caused a massacre at the Kaime Fortress—

But she did not yet know.

That taking lives for pleasure is the one unforgivable act that will absolutely set off a certain wandering healer's deadliest trigger.