Ch.411Collapsed Daily Life of an NPC. (5)

Two Months into Neity’s Restoration.

*Swish. Slash!!!*

“Wow! That’s an incredibly clean cut!!”

“Is this far enough?”

“Ah! Yes, yes! Thank you, young lady!!”

“Alright. Good luck with your work.”

After the Behemoth’s death, harvesting materials from its corpse has become a daily routine for our group, including Jack. Moreover, since I leveled up after its death, I can now cut up its body without using Herald Release, so I’ve been focusing on carving up the beast every morning. And then…

*Tap tap tap!*

“Master.”

“Hmm? Ah, is it that time already? But you’ve been cutting up the Behemoth since dawn every day for two months without a break…”

“It’s fine. I’m doing it because it’s necessary. More importantly, please train me today as well.”

“Hmm, don’t push yourself too hard.”

In the afternoons, I go straight to Elder Green Stone, my swordsmanship master who stands guard on the mountain, to learn swordsmanship. If what I learned before—forms 1 through 4—was the basic elven wind-riding swordsmanship, what I’m learning now is advanced. It’s my daily routine to receive the secret techniques of wind-riding like Master Green Stone, and to become stronger. After completing today’s training…

“Huff, huff. Your sword’s speed and accuracy are already far superior to mine, so it doesn’t even feel like I’m teaching anymore.”

“But your sword forms, trajectories, and techniques are still overwhelmingly better, Master. According to Jack, the level difference between us is almost double, and even now my sword can’t reach you.”

“Do you know how hard I’m working to keep it that way?” my master says with genuine exasperation. I smile awkwardly before turning away. I have somewhere to go today as well.

“…At this rate, you’ll inherit all the vision swordsmanship within a month. Honestly, I never thought a human who won’t even live a hundred years could come this far.”

“You’re being too slow. I’d appreciate it if we could finish within a week.”

“Don’t be so impatient. That battle wasn’t your fault.”

“……”

My master’s words stop me in my tracks. When I turn my head, Elder Green Stone has already pulled out a bottle of alcohol, takes a swig, and tosses it to me. I catch it and stare at him blankly.

“You’re going there again, aren’t you? I have no intention of going, and since I heard she’s not dead, I don’t plan to pay my respects either. But you’re dwelling too much on what happened that day. Go have a drink and cool your head a bit.”

“That’s…”

Because your position and mine are different. I unconsciously think this as my words trail off, and my master curls his lips and continues.

“Jack told me that I should have talked properly when I had the chance. I once cut down my own master with my own hands, you know? Jack was even there beside me. Ha! I was completely blindsided by a youngster who hasn’t lived even a tenth of my life. And now, you’re my disciple. I don’t intend to make the same mistake.

So, clear your mind a bit and catch your breath. I don’t want someone precious to Jack to be swinging around burning winds like that.”

“…I see. I understand. I’ll take your words—and Jack’s—to heart.”

“Hmm… Taking it to heart because it’s Jack’s words, I see. Well, off you go.”

“Yes.”

With a slightly sulky expression, he waves his hand dismissively. I leave him behind and run back down the mountain. After sprinting for a few minutes, I arrive at my destination.

“…I’m sorry. I’m late again today.”

A grave made from the magic sword Jack bought for me and that I broke, with a piece of Gor’s arm placed beside it.

Jack said she’s not dead and that she’s properly with us. But in my heart, I feel I failed to protect her. Of course, Jack said Gor is begging me to stop doing this.

“I’ll keep doing this until you’re resurrected and kick this grave down yourself. Remember that.”

*Swish.*

This is a ritual where I resolve to myself and make a promise to your broken self. A commitment to never lose my initial determination to never create such a grave again becau—

*Tap tap tap!! Clang!!!*

“…Kuh!”

“Ha!”

*Clang clang clang clang!!*

I deflect the suddenly flying sword and strike down all seven sword trajectories that appear abruptly. Then, with a short applause, seductive crimson eyes turn toward me.

“Chikuyo?”

“Bingo~ Rei, you’re here again.”

“What’s with the sudden…”

“Jack asked me to. More precisely, Gor begged me to stop you from coming here again, so today I~”

With a “You know?” and a playful smile, she approaches me and wraps her fluffy tail around my arm. Huh?

“Come on, let’s go home. My little sister prepared dinner today.”

“Ah, but it’s my turn today…”

“Too late~ If you start cooking now, Ira and Jack will be back before it’s ready. I understand how the second child feels sorry for the third, but she’s not even dead. Let’s not drag this out, okay? Besides, Jack said he has something important to talk about today.”

“Important? Could it be…!!”

As I try to ask while sheathing my sword, she pulls me with her tail as if refusing to hear my question and starts running.

“Come on, let’s hear it directly at home~ I’m sure it’s good news~!”

“Alright!”

As we leave the mountain together, the night view of Neity, completely transformed from before, unfolds before our eyes.

*

“Miho, Chikuyo. Thank you both for your hard work until today. Thanks to you two, ‘the plan’ is going very smoothly.”

“Fufu. I gratefully accept the eldest’s praise~”

“I told you to call me Ragni.”

“Sorry my sister is an idiot…”

“Bingo?!!”

When I enter the house, Miho, Chikuyo, Rei, and Ragni are sitting at their places, having prepared dinner and waiting.

“Sisters, good work!!”

“”””Ira!””””

Welcoming Ira who came in with me, Chikuyo naturally seats her on her tail. I sit down next to Ira, who pats the chair beside her, and dinner begins.

Haa, it’s been a while since we’ve all gathered for dinner during these two months. But Luxuria couldn’t make it today either.

“She’s really busy right now. When I checked in with the communication crystal at lunch, she still hasn’t found a trace of where the previous generation’s soul is.”

“I see. She needs to find it soon.”

“Um, Jack? You said you had something important to talk about.”

“Ah, I’ll tell you after dinner.”

Did you hear from Chikuyo? Well, it is important, but since it’s just the beginning of something that might hurt you who’s still grieving over Gor, I don’t want to get your hopes up too much. Though…

[Rei, he went to my non-existent grave again today. Please tell him to stop being so melodramatic. Please!!]

Since Gor can only speak to me right now, I think that’s unavoidable. No, but it’s not melodrama. Anyway, your body is shattered now. Treating you like a dead person—or rather, a dead golem—is correct, right?

Anyway, after finishing dinner while exchanging stories about what happened to each other over the past few days, I hold Ira in my arms and begin to speak.

“Ragni already knows this, but we’ve finally made contact with [Aiti]. They smoothly asked if they could buy Behemoth materials. And in return, they said they might be able to help with what we’ve requested.”

“…Might? They want to buy Behemoth materials, but they’re reluctant to help us. That’s how it sounds.”

“Exactly. Honestly, when I was listening through the crystal ball, I wanted to tell them to get lost.”

“But! Since we absolutely need Aiti’s power to resurrect Gor! That’s why big brother talked with a smile!! The veins in his neck were popping out like crazy!!”

Since Ira was also listening to that conversation, she puffed air through her nose and pointed at my neck with her finger. Seriously, talking to them was disgustingly difficult.

“Honestly, if they’re maintaining a neutral city under the name of [Magic Engineering City], I’m sure they can fully restore a broken golem. But in Aiti’s case, they’re still ‘gray.’ We don’t know if they’ve sided with the Church, so we had to be careful in approaching them. I’m sorry it took so long, even though I’m the acting headmaster.”

“No. Ragni is doing the best job possible. Neity has been restored so quickly because Ragni has been working day and night, right?”

“…Yes. When you say it like that, Rei, I feel like my efforts are being rewarded.”

Ragni, who could only watch from afar when Gor was shattered, also feels considerable responsibility. But she was also the first to find an answer regarding her restoration. She read every golem-related book in Neity and found [Methods to Restore a Golem with a Broken Core] in just two weeks. I felt so grateful that it was almost embarrassing.

[When my body returns, I will definitely repay Ragni.]

“Anyway. So someone from Aiti will come in a month. Until then, we need…”

“The Behemoth’s core.”

“You still haven’t found it, right?”

“…Actually, Guild Master Devil seems to have found it around lunchtime today.”

“What?!”

“Really?!!”

“Then, we should immediately extract that core…!!”

“But, there’s a bit of a problem.”

At my words, Chikuyo, Rei, and even Miho pounced on me like they were going to eat me alive. But at the mention of a problem, all three of them wore blank expressions.

Of course, our group was the one who defeated the monster. And we can claim ownership of the core, but…

Feeling frustrated by the awkward situation, I looked at Ragni, who pulled out a piece of paper with a slightly grumpy “Do I have to be the one to say the difficult things?” attitude, but still proudly puffed out her chest and began to speak on my behalf.

“The reported size of the core is as big as the Academy practice hall. Forget about removing it—we have no idea how to use this to create ‘Gor’s core.'”

The Academy practice hall, which could hold an army of 3,000 people. At the news that the Behemoth’s core matched that size, everyone’s faces went blank with stupefaction.