CH 133.1

Chapter 133.1: Strong Man

When I opened my eyes after the dazzling light of the teleportation circle settled down, the ghastly expression of the gomas’ army was no more, it was replaced by the serene scenery of the fairy plaza.

「… It seems everyone has transferred properly.」

Tch, that shi*tty Reina returned right before we’re going to transfer.

Even though this shi*tty girl could return immediately, she deliberately delayed her return so that she wouldn’t get involved in a boss battle.

You think saying “I barely finished my jo~b” along with your childish acting could trick me, huh.

「Thank God you’re safe, Reina-chan… Thank Go~d!」

But since Yamada-kun celebrated that b*tch’s safe return like a grandpa celebrating the safety of his granddaughter, the atmosphere ended up preventing me from scolding her.

Whatever, I’ll overlook her fault just this once. Let’s blame all of it on the timing of the appearance of our opponent. I mean, I didn’t wish to create too much friction like Kenzaki Asuna and Souma Sakura’s case.

「Anyhow, that’s it for today, everyone. Let’s rest our tired bodies for now.」

Don’t ask for food and a bath please, I’m really tired right now. I mean, who fights at midnight, after all.

「Thank you for your effort too, Momokawa-kun. The fact that you defeated the boss by yourself is awesome too… And yet, none of us could be of any help to you at all.」

「It’s okay, everyone did their best in their own way after all. I just happen to have an effective way to kill the boss, that’s all.」

In fact, I used up the stock of my 『Spirog’s Poison』 in that battle. Now I wouldn’t be able to use it again unless I replenished my stock.

「But still, you’re amazing back then, Momokawa-kun. I don’t think we could achieve this result if it’s just us.」

Well, you almost got it right. I mean, like hell you could beat that guy with that kind of a mess party.

「Fuwaa…」

「Ah, sorry, it seems everyone is already dead tired. You may sleep Momokawa-kun, I’ll do the watch-out job.」

「A~h, sorry, I’ll leave the watch out to you.」

My mana consumption aside, it was only natural for anyone to wish for a long and comfortable sleep after running for their lives like me. Aah, I didn’t want to do anything anymo~re.

That’s why I accepted Yamajun’s offer, and bid a good ni~.

===

「… Long time no see.」

When I opened my eyes, I was already inside the space-time of a black god. The last time I came to this place was when I received 『Witch’s Kettle』 and 『Vessel of Poison』 for subjugating basilisk on my own.

「Our follower, Momokawa Kotaro.」

「Yes, it’s an honor to meet you after a long time, Ruinhilde-sama.」

The one who appeared along with the usual was the god of curse with a jet-black skull, Ruinhilde-sama. Since I could see her clearly in this space, I was not scared of her terrifying, death god-like face, and managed to show a proper manner towards my god’s patron.

「Uhm, good job on accomplishing what you should accomplish.」

「Thank you very much.」

Maybe because it was a compliment, it sounds like she was more lively than usual.

To be honest, it felt like a dream that I managed to lead that mess of a party to overcome the gomas’ fortress. Well, gaining her recognition was enough to make me happy.

「You managed to build your position in that place.」

「Yes!」

Maybe now was the moment, but was there some sort of taboo or creed about worshipping Ruinhilde-sama?

「I have imposed that upon myself, thus that covenant has become the source of my power. Whether it’s king or god, they have no choice but to abide.」

Uuhm, she turned out to be a personage who respects an individual’s freedom. Maybe it’s something like giving a handicap since you’re too OP.

「I shall grant thee a new curse.」

It finally came huh, my body stiffened once Ruinhilde-sama’s hands tapped my shoulders.

Eh, this… Somehow, I had a bad feeling about thi――BZZTTT!

「E–」

Before I noticed, I was staring at myself. My figure got split into two. Yes, my body was divided right into a half.

Wa-wait a minute, you must be kidding me right? I mean this pungent ta――

「UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!?」

===

「HAH!?」

The first thing I realized when I opened my eyes was the fact that I was wrapping my arms around my body.

Th-this experience was too shocking for me… I mean, the pain that came after the world-shaking shock of seeing myself split into a perfect half, yes, perfect which means my p*nis too. To be honest, I wanted Ruinhilde to stop with that gruesome ceremony whenever she wanted to grant me a new skill. But knowing her pattern up until now, I guess that was impossible.

I, who was experiencing a dilemma of wanting a brand new OP curse but wanted to be spared from the gruesome skill granting ceremony, really couldn’t do anything as long as I fight in this world.

And now, the new skill that I got after experiencing that gruesome experience was…

「Uhm?」

I heard someone speak.

U~hm, what made them speak in such a loud voice? I set aside my curiosity about the new curse that I wanted to try and looked at the source of that loud voice.

「… uhm?」

There, I saw an unfamiliar figure. What, who’s that?

The moment I saw that other figure, all my sleepiness was blown away that very moment. Since unknown guys suddenly appeared out of nowhere when I was sleeping like a log, it was only natural that my tension rose to MAX.

「Wait, the one who comes first is…」

「HAH?」

「Ah, have you woken up, Momokawa-kun. Fufufu, good morning, sleepyhead.」

There’re two of them. Both were men. As my sleepiness had already blown away, I looked at the situation, fully alert.

One man had a shaved head and rusty knife-like eyes. Though his grim air made him look very much like some sort of biker gang member from a long time ago, unlike Tendou-kun or Higuchi, he was a true sportsman.

He was a member of the karate club, Ooyama Daisuke.

The other man standing beside Ooyama-who, despite his name actually was of average height- a tall man, the tallest in class 2-7. Despite his soft Mohican hairdo, the eyes behind his round glasses that seemed to be always smiling gave him the exact opposite air from Ooyama-kun. But his smile always gave some sort of psychological pressure due to his height and bear-like physique.

He was a member of the judo club, Sugino Takashi.

「Why are you two… in this place?」

「Haah, are you still half-asleep or what? It’s you guys who suddenly occupied this place when we just got back.」

Frowning, Ooyama bit back upon hearing my question.

「Uhm, it seems you guys were transferred to this place while we’re out to explore the area, that’s what happened right?」

Sugino, on the other hand, was replying with a vain smile on his face while looking down at me. It couldn’t be helped, he really was taller than me after all.

「Ah, I see. So you guys arrived at this place first huh.」

I ignored their severe glances. My brain was working at the fastest speed to probe their situation while I feigned my ignorance.

I guess they didn’t need to lie just to claim this place. In short, Ooyama-Sugino and Co. had arrived before us in this place and were in the middle of exploring this area when we happened to arrive at this place and claiming to be the first.

Let’s calm down first, as long as I’m looking around the fairy plaza... There were indeed traces of people living in this place before us.

Dammit, because of the sudden sense of security after that deadly battle, I ended up sleeping like a log instead of properly inspecting the place. If only I had inspected this place beforehand, we would at least know and be fully prepared for the classmates who might return to this place but… Okay, let’s calm down first, the negotiation has just begun. I was just caught off guard, that’s all.

「Keh, you look like you’re still half-asleep there. Are you still sleeping, Momokawa?」

「Uhm, if it is negotiation, let’s leave it to Yamajun. Don’t mind us Momokawa, get some more sleep, you look like a dead tired salaryman.」

I had no idea whether they actually cared about me or were looking down on me. I mean, Ooyama looked like he was always angry and Sugino was always full of smiles. It was really hard to gauge their true feelings.

「I’m happy with your consideration, but I’m not the only one who should be involved in this negotiation. Our leader is Momokawa-kun, after all.」

As I expected, the one who spoke to the two was none other than Yamajun. The Totem Pole Trio was watching with a curious look on their faces from behind him, and Yamada-kun was watching from behind the trio.

And sure enough, Reina was hiding behind Yamada with a scared look on her face, using Yamada as her shield only in this kind of moment. What a b*tch! Oi, shi*ty NEET b*tch over there, this ain’t the time for hiding, come out and greet your fella.

「Hee, Momokawa huh? Oioi, ain’t yeh guys feeling ashamed for relying on that pipsqueak?」

「Huhm, so that’s mean he’s blessed with a strong vocation.」

From his tone, I knew that Ooyama was trying to dismiss me as a nobody, but I heard that he was overly fixated on 「Manliness」. Judging from that it was normal for him to hate someone like me whose gender could be mistaken, including my age.

Well, the misanthrope or mental trauma patient aside, dissing someone else like this right from the get-go was no different from looking for trouble.

On the other hand, though not as much as Yamajun, Sugino was quite sociable thanks to his mild personality which was the exact opposite of his face.

But he was also one of the people who survived the trial of this dungeon up until now. He had obviously raised his guard towards me.

「Uhm, no need to raise your vigilance, how about we start with introducing our vocation? Mine is 『Shaman』, yes, definitely not a combat-oriented vocation. Even if you say that I’m the leader, it is just the situation that forced me to take that role.」

「I’m a 『Healer』. There is no mistaking it, Momokawa-kun’s combat power is weak, but he is really proficient with the know-how to survive in this dungeon. We only managed to reach this place thanks to his wits, thus he’s the leader of our party both in name and reality.」

Heheh– whoopsie, this isn’t the time to get flustered. As expected of Yamajun, he gave a splendid follow-up to my suspicious introduction. After Yamajun explained to those two, they seemed to realize that I had become a leader due to my wits.

「… Hee, I see.」

「I see, mumumu, Momokawa’s unexpected talent blossomed in this place, huh. Then, I guess we’ve to introduce our vocations too.」

I saw it now. It seems the conversation was completely stirred by Sugino. This was clear from the fact that Ooyama didn’t pass any sarcastic remarks after Yamajun and I introduced our vocations.

In short, Ooyama was troubled whether he had to introduce his vocation or not.

As if to follow that, Sugino calmly rode on my suggestion.

Sugino was definitely far from being an idiot, despite his idiotically huge frame. It was easier to find his grade if you’re looking from above rather than below, and most of all, he had this poker-face smile which made it pretty much impossible to read his expression.

No doubt about it, he was rather similar to Higuchi, a black-bellied person.

===

TN: I’ll Take vacation next week 16th-22nd August. More details in foxaholic discord server.