Estimated reading time: ~10 minutes
Chapter 63
○○○
We gather in Ashley’s room.
Those present are me, Sensei, Anon, Ashley, and Mr. Justus.
First, I should explain why Mr. Justus is among this group.
After the mock battle, when Justus saw me carrying Ashley home on my back, he turned pale. When he heard that I was the reason Ashley was down, his face turned red with fury.
Faced with his blazing anger, I had to apologize countless times to both him and Ashley.
Later, when it was decided that we would gather in Ashley’s room—
「Normally, it would be unacceptable for you to be near the young lady, but… given the circumstances, it can’t be helped. However, I will be watching you to ensure you don’t harm the young lady.」
What does he think I am?
「Is that clear?」
「Yes, it’s clear…」
And that’s how it came to be.
○○○
Sensei smiles at Ashley on the bed.
「Don’t worry. The seal breaking doesn’t immediately mean trouble.」
Apparently, Sensei had helped Ashley recover.
While she’s still in bed, her complexion is clearly better than when she first woke up.
Even her strawberry blonde hair seems shinier than before.
「Well done, you. It’s because the Dame has been pouring her heart and soul into the Demon Seal skill that we didn’t face an emergency situation with the dungeon appearing as soon as the seal broke.」
Mr. Justus puffs out his chest as if to say, 「Of course.」
「Thank you, Omi. But I’ve only fulfilled my duty as a Holy Knight, inherited from my master,」 Ashley says.
「That’s not something just anyone can do.」
Sensei lets out a sigh. 「Well, that’s fine.」
「Omi, how do you know so much? The seal should be top secret, known only to a select few.」
Anon asks.
I’m curious about this too.
「Why I know about the seal— I’m not hiding anything, but talking about it now would be pointless.」
Sensei says, addressing not just Anon but me and Ashley as well.
「Rather than discussing that, it would be far more constructive to talk about the current situation and what we should do moving forward.」
That’s true, but it still feels like we’re being brushed off.
「What’s wrong, son-in-law? You look like you want to say something.」
「Son-in-law?」
Ashley reacts.
「Low, are you married?」
Ashley waves her hands in front of her face several times, saying, 「No, I don’t mean anything by it.」
「Yeah, Low. I wanted to hear more about that too,」
Anon says, his voice full of curiosity. It seems I won’t be able to move the conversation forward without an explanation.
So I explain, 「I’m not married, but there is someone I want to spend my life with.」 Satisfied with the explanation, Anon and Ashley finally stop pressing the issue.
「Hmm, I see—」
Anon mumbles something I can’t quite catch. As for Ashley, her eyes sparkle as she says,
「I’m surprised at your age. It’s nice that you can say it so clearly. If you don’t mind, could you tell me about how you met and about the girl?」
She’s just like my sister when she’s reading shoujo manga.
It might be rude to compare her to my middle school sister, but she looks every bit the gossip-loving girl.
「Maybe next time. I’ll tell you everything when things settle down,」 I say.
Ashley replies, 「Okay. I understand. I’ll look forward to it after this is over.」
That’s right. We’ll have plenty of time once this matter is resolved. I need to focus on this issue so I can gossip with them later. I make a firm resolution.
○○○
As the conversation progresses, Sensei puts a hand to her chin and casually asks, 「So Ash last applied the seal four days ago?」
I don’t miss it.
Sensei is calling Ashley 「Ash.」 Using a nickname for someone you’ve just met? Sensei’s way of getting close to people is intense. A total extrovert move.
If Sensei were the same age and in the same class as us, she’d probably say something like, 「Hey, nerd! I love manga too. One Piece is my favorite!」
While half my brain is occupied with these delusions, I ask Sensei,
「Sensei, did you just say ‘Ash’?」
「What’s wrong, son-in-law? Are you bothered that I called the Dame ‘Ash’?」
「No, it’s not that I’m bothered…」
I’m extremely bothered.
Putting it into words makes me realize how petty I’m being. It’s embarrassing.
「I like hard workers, you know. You do too, don’t you? You have a soft spot for the underdog, right?」
I can’t deny it. It’s infuriating how Sensei seems to read me completely.
「Grr…」
「If you don’t like it, I’ll stop.」
In response to Sensei’s words, Ashley interjects,
「No, it’s fine. Omi, I want you to keep calling me ‘Ash’.」
Ashley requests instead.
Next to me, Mr. Justus is biting his handkerchief, but I pretend not to notice.
「Actually, this might be good.
Not just Omi, but Low, I want you to call me ‘Ash’ from now on too.
We’re about to throw ourselves into a life-or-death battle. Because of that, I want to build a relationship without reservations with those I’ll be entrusting my back to. If we call each other by nicknames, we’ll become closer, right?」
Ashley looks at us, asking 「What do you think?」 She’s playing with her bangs, her cheeks slightly flushed.
「Nice to meet you, Ash.」
I say, extending my hand.
「Yeah, nice to meet you too.」
Ash replies, grasping my hand firmly.
Sensei narrows her eyes as if looking at something bright, glancing between us.
「Alright then, let’s get back to the topic at hand.
It’s been four days since Ash woke up. The last Demon Seal skill was interrupted by those fools before it could be completed, so I thought the seal would probably start to unravel in four to five days.」
Sensei’s gaze turns to me.
The atmosphere shifts abruptly from the previous warmth to a palpable tension.
「Son-in-law, you saw it today too, didn’t you? That mist creature. That’s the beginning of the seal unraveling.」
The mist creature.
The beginning of the seal unraveling.
The ominous words continue.
「Hmm, that’s right. First, we need to explain about the mist creatures to everyone.」
「Low, did you see something?」
Ashley asks in response to Sensei’s words.
「Yeah, this morning when I was with Sensei, we were attacked by a mist creature. It had a faint presence and was quite troublesome.」
「Mist creature… it matches what my master told me—」
Ash mutters.
The ominous feeling grows stronger.
「From now on, the number of mist creatures will probably gradually increase. That said, the combat ability of the mist creatures themselves isn’t that much of a threat. You can rest easy about that.」
Anon and Ash seem to relax a bit.
That’s understandable. An unknown monster has appeared. It would be more surprising if they could remain calm.
「I’ll now tell you what we need to do.」
The rest of us, including me, nod.
「The seal started to unravel today. From now on, what we absolutely must do is eliminate the mist that’s leaking out. In parallel with that, we need to contact the Holy Knights guarding the remaining two seals. We need to explain to them what’s about to happen and have them deal with it.」
Anon raises his hand.
「Leave that to me. While Ash was sleeping, I contacted Arrogance and Virtuous.」
「As expected, Anon. You’re quick to act.」
Ash praises him. There’s a clear sense of trust and years of history between them.
But how did he contact people so far away in such a short time? As if reading my question, Anon speaks up.
「Ah, Low. You’re probably wondering how I contacted them, right? Ashley and the other Holy Knights have been given a very valuable item for times like this, when something unusual might happen to the seal.」
Ash clears her throat, cutting off the chatty Anon’s explanation. She gives Anon a look that says, 「That’s enough.」
「I’ll explain. The item given to us Holy Knights— that’s this Contact Pearl. With this, we can contact the Contact Pearls of others we’ve registered our mana with if anything happens.」
It’s an orb about the size of my fist.
The smooth orb is decorated with even smaller jewels(?) or some kind of items, firmly set into a pedestal.
「Wow! That’s convenient! I want one too!」
With this, I could contact Sena even when I’m out in town. As expected of me. Great idea.
「Eh, you want one?」
Ash frowns, taking my words at face value.
「Low, these are very valuable… I can’t just give you one… no, but if my close friend Low wants one…」
「What are you worrying about, Ash? Of course you can’t give it to him! And when did you become close friends?!」
Anon grabs Ash’s shoulders and shakes her.
Apparently, I’ve become Ash’s close friend at some point.
This is bad! Really bad!
Ash is probably the type who, in modern society, would keep giving in to a no-good guy’s demands.
Someone needs to protect Ash!
「Sorry, Ash. I was just joking about wanting one.」
「Ah, oh, I thought so! Those kinds of jokes aren’t good, Low!」
My first impression of Holy Knight Ashley has completely disappeared.
From her way of speaking, her height that’s a bit lower than mine but tall for a woman, and the impression from combat, I had assumed she was a tomboyish woman.
But look at her now after actually conversing. With her drooping eyes that make her look troubled, I can’t help but feel she gives off the impression of a can’t-leave-her-alone big sister type.
「Are we done yet?」
Sensei asks exasperatedly, trying to bring the conversation back on track.
Sorry about that.
「The sealed one trying to break the seal is just that. So please contact the other two houses again and tell them to strengthen their defenses around the area.」
「Understood, Omi.」
「Also, it will take about two weeks after the seal breaks for the dungeon to fully manifest. In other words, we have about ten days of grace period.」
「How should we prepare during that time?」
「What we need to prepare, above all else, is defensive forces.」
「Defensive forces…」 I repeat like an idiot.
「We need to keep eliminating the mist until we finish conquering the Sealed Dungeon. We can predict that the mist will appear earlier and in greater numbers, especially in this area under Noble’s protection. Therefore, we need forces that can continuously eliminate the threat of the mist.」
「Ah, leave that to us. Ash and I will go talk to the lord of Boldaf,」 Anon says.
「There’s still time. No need to rush, just take it one step at a time,」 Sensei advises, tempering our urgency with the wisdom of age.
Well then, I’ll add one more thing.
「I agree with Sensei. So, let’s take a breather and have lunch now.」
Because of the serious conversation, everyone here, including me, has missed lunch.
That won’t do. You know what they say about an empty stomach.
With a feeling that the seasonings in my magic bag are about to play a big role, I head towards the kitchen.
If you enjoy it and wish to see more, please consider giving it a 5-star rating for the series on NU. Click Here.
Check out my Patreon for early access to upcoming updates. Patreon Link