Ch. 52 Rechallenge
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 52 – Rechallenge
Jump down? He said it so casually that for a moment, I thought I misheard.
I couldn’t hide my awkward expression and asked.
“Hu-Huh, is that pit not very deep…?”
“Not at all. When you look inside, it’s so dark you can’t even guess how deep it is. I threw a torch in once, and it became a red dot, endlessly receding before disappearing into the darkness.”
“Heeek…”
“Now that I think about it, it might have disappeared when it was moved to the boss room. Anyway, we can no longer search with the assumption that the boss room will be on the ground like before. So, what does this mean?”
“Huh? Uh, um…”
“It means it will take more people and time to find the boss room from now on.”
“Ah, I-I see…”
I stuttered, trying to choose an answer to the sudden question. But Hosanna announced the answer before I could.
He wasn’t expecting my answer in the first place. I nodded, awkwardly responding to Hosanna’s words, but then tilted my head.
So, what does that have to do with supporting me? If people are needed, wouldn’t it be more certain to recruit from the northern area, where there are more people, than to hold onto me?
As I was thinking that, Hosanna smiled and said.
“You’re probably wondering what this has to do with supporting you, right?”
“Heok. Ho-How did you…”
“There are ways.”
Could he read people’s minds with magic? I leaned back against the chair, adjusted my posture, and shouted in a stiff manner.
“I-I’m not thinking anything weird…!”
“Who said anything? You seem to be misunderstanding something, but it’s not like I have mind-reading abilities, so you don’t have to be so alarmed.”
“Ho-How did you know that too…!”
“Never mind…”
Hosanna sighed, leaned forward slightly, and said to me.
“To cut to the chase, I’m supporting you because of your doll.”
“Doll… Are you talking about Doll 505?”
“Doll 505 or whatever. First, I want to ask you something: how many dolls can you make?”
“Well, I don’t really know about that…”
I only have Doll 505, so how would I know how many I can make? Besides, I’ve been failing to make new ones, so it’s impossible to find out.
But Hosanna wasn’t disappointed by my weak answer and tapped the table with his finger, saying.
“Okay, let’s just assume the maximum is 10. Then, Mari, just by supporting you, we’re already adding the manpower of ten people. Of course, right now you can only control one and there’s only one core to move the doll, but that’s something money and time can solve.”
“Ri-Right…”
“And it won’t stay so crude forever, will it? Right?”
“Cr-Crude…”
I know Doll 505 was crudely made, but how dare he state the facts so bluntly…! As I trailed off, unable to hide my gloomy expression, Hosanna cleared his throat and continued.
“…Of course, it’s true that the quality is outstanding even in that state, but it still feels more like a toy than a doll. You know that too, right?”
“Yeees… Right…”
“But what if your puppetry grows even more? It will definitely show more power than that. It’s not just any doll, but one made with a unique skill. Besides, this is only assuming the limit of what you can make is 10, what if it’s more than that… You might be able to perfectly break through a whole floor by yourself.”
Hosanna spoke as if he were talking about something great, but as someone who has only tasted the dungeon, I didn’t really understand.
But if I stayed quiet, Hosanna would feel awkward, so I cheered softly and clapped my hands.
“Wow, waah…”
“…You can say you don’t understand if you don’t.”
I was trying to make him feel less awkward, but Hosanna looked even more awkward and cleared his throat. Uh oh, is that not it…?
“Anyway. I ended up talking for a long time, but to put it simply, it’s the same as when we met in the forest last time. I’m supporting you because you have potential. Of course, it’s also because of the location of the boss room we found this time.”
“You said it was found underground, right?”
“Yes. It’s still close to the village, so even if we find it that way, we can quickly share the information and prepare to go down… But what if something similar happens when we go down to deeper floors? The person who found the boss room will have to revive and come back down, while the others will have to wander around looking for the already discovered boss room without knowing anything.”
“So that’s why you need my doll… Because it can be a way to get information without spending a lot of time or risking your life.”
“That’s right. Even if you can’t control many dolls, that’s why I want to go down into the dungeon with you.”
I turned my head away with an awkward face at Hosanna’s gaze, which was full of passion.
I feel very burdened because I’m getting too much expectation…
“Of course, I’m not saying you have to come down to my floor in a month or two. You wouldn’t be able to anyway.”
“Ri-Right… I can only control one right now…”
“Don’t think of it as just one. If you think of that one as a person’s life, it’s definitely not a small number.”
One doll is one person’s life… It felt too heavy. Whether he knew what I was thinking or not, Hosanna leaned back in his chair and continued.
“Anyway. I ended up talking for too long. But I think you can understand why I’m supporting you now, right? What do you think?”
“Huh? Ah, yes. I-I think it’s enough…”
“You don’t look very relieved for someone who says that.”
“…You’re not really using mind-reading, are you?”
“I told you, I’m not.”
It looks like he is though… As I looked at him suspiciously, Hosanna chuckled and said.
“Tell me. What else are you worried about?”
“It’s not so much worry as… I’m worried about what will happen if I don’t do well after receiving this support…”
If I fail after trying my best, it’s still heartbreaking, but it’s only my heart that hurts.
But if I fail after receiving help from others, it’s not just me who feels bad, but also the person who helped me.
And if I think about that person being disappointed in me… My stomach hurts just imagining it.
As I spoke worriedly, Hosanna scoffed and said.
“That’s really just unnecessary worry. I’m telling you in advance, there’s no way I’ll be disappointed in you.”
“Re-Really…?”
“Of course. Disappointment is an emotion that comes from expectation in the first place. I know your personality, how could I be disappointed?”
Huh? I blinked, not understanding what he meant for a moment. Hosanna pushed two leather pouches on the table towards me and continued.
“So, put aside your worries about failing or me being disappointed, and let’s start by trying.”
“Ah, yees…”
Something’s weird, but I don’t know what’s weird, so I took the leather pouches from Hosanna and immediately started making a core as he told me to.
[Core Crafting]
[The grade of the core that can be crafted is Basic.]
[To craft a Core (Basic), 30,000 gold and magic stones (the number varies depending on the type) are required.]
[Marionette currently possesses 614,000 gold (614,000/30,000) and 400 low-grade magic stones (400/20).]
Gulp.
The sound of me swallowing in rising tension was loud.
The number of times I could try was a whopping twenty, but I wasn’t relieved at all.
I already failed seven times, so it would be strange if I could be relieved just because I could try twenty times.
Still, I have to do it. I looked at Hosanna with trembling eyes and asked.
“Th-Then I’ll try from now on.”
“I doubt it will happen, but do it with the mindset that it doesn’t matter if you fail all of them. You have plenty of spare funds anyway… Even though it’s U.P. operating funds.”
“…Isn’t that embezzlement if you use that?”
“It’s okay. You can just fill it back up after using it.”
He’s not just an embezzler, he’s saying he can just win it back.
It’s a bit absurd, but it relieved some of my tension.
I took a deep breath and shouted immediately.
“Then, here I go…!”
Author Note
A/N (Author’s note):
Thank you for reading today too!!!I don’t like the space bar being broken
The level of usage… I need to change the keyboard quickly for a day.
Otherwise, I’d get carpal tunnel and die.
Translator Note
T/N (Translator’s note):
Save me and stop using the space!!!!!Smh, bratty author and girlfailure both needs correction brutal!!!
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