Chapter 46 (2/2)
About this, there are parts that even I personally don’t understand but just like passive skills, their acquisition seems to be tied to fulfilling some sort of prerequisite.
Titles have varying effects, for example, the title 『Otherworlder』 earns the characteristic skill of 『Language Comprehension』 and the title 『Hero』 grants a growth correction to the experience points obtained and skill proficiencies.
Like before, these titles cannot be seen without the appraisal of the 【Eight Eyed Transparent Tome Sword], so essentially there should be no one who knew of them.
「As I thought, the titles were left as they were…」
I couldn’t confirm it as I didn’t have appraisal at the time, but even then with only a look at my stats and knowing the effects of the Soul Sword I thought that my Endurance, Agility, and Magic Resist stats were a little bit high? Now I can finally confirm it as such.
I closed the Data Board after having confirmed several things and coincidentally arrived at the hunter’s cabin that we made into our base.
「Ah, master. Welcome back.」
「Oi, didn’t I tell you to rest properly?」
I said with a slight frown to Minnalis who was lightly wiping away a fair bit of sweat.
The rabbit-brain that seemed to have forgotten how I had said to rest properly before I left, was practicing a few sword swings in the cleared land in front of the hunter’s cabin.
There’s no one to see right now so the fluffy rabbit ears and tail were swaying about with the illusion magic cancelled.
「I’m fine already, the ‘weakened’ abnormal status already wore off just a little less than an hour ago. More like, sleeping too much would be worse for my body.」
Said Minnalis nonchalantly, it certainly seems like her state of health had made a thorough 180-degree turn for the better.
Just in case, I have a look at it using the appraisal that I got just now.
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As expected of a beastkin, the recovery rate wasn’t average.
Incidentally, on the topic of recovery rate, whilst it was possible to raise it with spells and skills, normally veteran soldiers with experience in war were averaging an E rank.
「Certainly, it does look like the weakening already wore off, doesn’t it.」
Nevertheless, it would seem that Minnalis’ aptitude for Light, Darkness, Non-attribute magic was actually pretty high. Though normally it would be said that those with a magic aptitude of 40 and over should aim to become a magician of that particular attribute. However, the beastkin had their natural characteristic of easily having their mana dispersed, otherwise, they probably would have been trained as a backline artillery or even frontline magicians.
Even if mana was formed into spells, that dispersive nature of their mana wouldn’t change so that kind of outlook becomes voided.
「Well, let’s have food for now.」
「Yes, I’ve made the preparations.」
「Mm, thank you.」
「As a slave, it’s an obvious responsibility.」
Back when she was mana drunk, her face would turn red as if she was embarrassed when I praised her, but now with a thorough poker face like she had plastered herself (even though I praised her, it hurts to think that she had no interest in it at all), Minnalis showed me a face full of composure and walked into the cabin.
In the cabin were 2 beds (one of which was a bed made by piling up a mountain with the spoils of the hunters and covering it with a cloth making it an instant bed), a small table, and a small fireplace. It was a simple room.
After I did a little cleaning of the dust covered cabin that been disused for many years when we arrived for the first time 2 days ago, I had Minnalis sleep on the bed after giving her the relief potion for the weakened status. After which she repeated the cycle of eating and sleeping.
Due to her having beastkin’s high recovery rate, she’s already completely recovered as if the frailness on her body was swept away in one fell swoop.
Her skin and hair had their shine returned and there’s not a single sign of the deep pits carved around her eyes to be seen.
The only issue was that the size of her chest hasn’t returned to how it was before, (even though it’s obviously already larger than average), leaving her in a subtle state of sadness.
And so, these two days were spent fine tuning and understanding our desires for revenge.
Since the exchanged experiences leading to each of our reasons for revenge from the time of the contract feels like a summary, the emotions, and simple events have without fail burnt into our minds but the details for what lead to these experiences were impossible to be conveyed.
So first, we began with the reasons and targets of Minnalis’ revenge.
Betrayed by the one she saved, and those she trusted as friends became enemies.
I did think that anyone and everyone’s reasons for revenge would have some similarities but, it was definitely disgusting how exceedingly similar it was to my reason for revenge.
I had no words for Minnalis whilst I was listening to her, nor after she finished talking.
“It must’ve been tough” or “that’s unforgivable”, I had no such words of comfort to speak of.
Sympathy, pity, and the likes from the unrelated come off as nothing but scornful remarks to those beneath them. Even if the words comes from good intentions, the essence of those words won’t change.
That’s why, people who hold the same emotions understand more than anyone how humiliating those words of pity were, and that’s why they won’t say anything.
……The ones that can speak those words are able to only because they are people who have never been inflicted by this pain.
To speak further, this revenge may belong to Minnalis, but at the same time, it was already my own as well. Unfortunately, the time to pity ourselves about our own circumstances had already long since passed.
And so last night Minnalis and I finished our talk up to when we got acquainted. This time it was my turn and I spoke all the way back to my origins.
About how I’m a hero summoned from another world. Having experienced the world once over, betrayed by the princess and my friends, and how I swore revenge. About how I roflstomped the princess and her imperial knights and escaped after I started my second run.
When I finished the story from start to end, Minnalis couldn’t understand any more than about half of the story. With a little help from how she knew about the exchanged experiences, she finally understood it all after explaining in detail several times over.
If you think about it carefully, then with the standards of this world, just the fact that Minnalis who was nothing more than a simple village girl could read and write (it seems from time to time she had the peddlers and their guards teach her) was already excellent.
Most likely, it would make you think Minnalis might make a good lord, wouldn’t she?
Beautiful and smart, and on top of that, she’s athletic. To have someone who would be called an unattainable flower in the previous world become involved with me as an accomplice like this, such a mystery it is.
「Master, please eat before the food turns cold.」
「Nn, alright.」
While I rest my elbow on the table, I reflected a little as I sat on the seat cut from a log. A moment later Minnalis came out with a bowl of Green Boar soup garnished with some dried vegetables.
The soup that was made with a salt base had warm steam coming off it and looked very delicious. At the very least, it’s mostly likely without a doubt better than what I made for Minnalis.
「Hmmm, what’s with this cutlery?」
What we bought in town were forks and we didn’t bring any spoons. However, in front of the deep-bottomed wooden bowl holding the soup was a wooden spoon.
「I made these from the branches of a tree. I figured it would be easier to eat with than a fork.」
Certainly, because the meat and vegetables in the soup were cut so finely, it might be a little difficult to eat with a fork.
「Heeh, that’s quite handy. Did you also do this kind of stuff in your village?」
「Yes, during winter, it’s because I made wooden carvings to ease the household finances a little. Still, I can’t really make it all that well, so I’m planning on remaking it later.」
「Is that so? Though I thought it was a plenty easy to use spoon…」
In my eyes, I thought it was perfectly fine like that, but Minnalis seemed to have been left dissatisfied.
Well, even if I said it was good craftsmanship, the one concerned about the craftsmanship was Minnalis herself so I thought it was fine even if she personally couldn’t be satisfied with it.
Gathering my thoughts, I promptly began to eat the soup.
「Does it suit your taste? How is it?」
「Nnn, it’s good. Minnalis, so you can cook well, huh?」
Thinking about it carefully, if it were only by appearance, then the food on the first day did look delicious as well (even though it had monster-transformation poison and anti-monster poison in it).
Whilst I was eating the meat and vegetables that were soaked with flavor, without realizing I entered a trance and I ended up drinking up the entire bowl of soup.
「’Gochisousama’, it was delicious.」
「I’m glad that it suits your tastes but erm, what is this “gochisousama”……?」
「Ahh, it was an act of courtesy back in my former world.」
Having said that, Minnalis showed a little anxiety.
「Master’s former world… erm, will you return to your former world someday?」
「Ah, don’t worry. No matter what happens, as long as my revenge is not finished, I will not return.」
As I answered, Minnalis somehow looked somewhat relieved.
「About that, even if I finish my revenge, manage to put an end to various concerns within me and even discover a way to safely return without putting myself at risk, I most likely won’t be able to return. It’s already probably too late for me to ever reform [to my old self].」
Saying that, I stood up holding mine and Minnalis’ empty bowls.
「Now, it’ll be fine to postpone the unnecessary things until after we accomplish our revenge. Leaving that aside, we should start with solving the problems in front of us.」
「Master, I will clean up so please pass me the dishes.」
「Now, the very first thing that we must do is to increase our strength.」
「Master, I will clean up so please pass me the dishes.」
「Hello, Minnalis-san, are you… Are you listening to me?」
「Master, I will do the cleaning up so please pass me the dishes.」
「………」
Whilst I faintly smiled, as soon as I passed them over I was overpowered by Minnalis with her two hands stretched out in a manner that wasn’t pulling stubbornly but brought out a mysterious strength. Was the anxious look I saw not too long ago just an illusion I wonder?
「Master, the dishes—will—be—washed—by—me.」
I’m not sure what urged her, but Minnalis slowly informed me with a smile that didn’t even move so much as twitch.
Being pressed by this mysterious strength, I leave the dishes in Minnalis’ hands and with a nod that seemed satisfied, she pulled the dishes towards herself.
「And then, how do you propose we do that after this, Master?」
「A-ah, a-about that.」
To Minnalis who asked as if nothing had happened, for an instant, I thought “Hm? What was I trying to say again?” and with a cough I recollected my thoughts.
「Hmmm, ten days from now, a little further from here is an undiscovered dungeon, We will sweep every monster inside.」
「Eh?」
After the cabin was once again engulfed in silence, Minnalis’ voice unintentionally resounded.