Chapter 155 - Ruphas Used Pay Day![1]
Raw link: (2017/01/29)
Translator: twomorefreethoughts / TpstT (2020/03/23)
Editor 1: Hand of Vecna (2020//)
Editor 2: Keii (2020//)
Translation link:
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(Author note)
Laws of Physics-san: "Yeehaw! It's finally the great me's turn to shine!"
Laws of Fantasy: "Well, actually…"
Laws of Physics-san: "What… why…?"
Laws of Fantasy: "I came along with Ruphas and Benet. So they'll still be able to move around the way they've been doing up until now in Midgard, kk?"[2]
Laws of Physics: "…"
* It's similar to the effects of the Lunar Robe from Night Wizard!. They're bringing the laws of their world into another world.[3]
Q: Does that mean that even if they move at Mach velocity, it'd all be fine?
A: Ruphas and Benet would be fine, but for everyone else except for the two of them, the laws of physics would still apply. Therefore, there would be a major catastrophe.
(Author note end)
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"…By the looks of it, it's checkmate. Seems we were a little too slow in noticing it."
At the summit of the Mafahl Tower, a woman was sitting on the throne and muttered as if she had gotten tired of it all.
Her eyes had no glimmer. There was no longer any of the brightness or cheeriness on the face of that girl as she once had as an adventurer when she was still young.
She had believed that if she continued to kill, kill and kill her enemies, there would one day be peace.
If it was for the sake of that peace, she would do anything that she needed to. By now, she was long used to being called a devil, a monster or an inhumane person.
But it seemed she had far underestimated the might of her own rades.
By being too overzealous and engrossed with what was in front of her, she failed to take notice of the discontent and unhappiness of the ones who were following behind her.
The Goddess utilised that very misgiving to her advantage, such that their hatred and loathing for the woman sitting on the throne had gotten to the point of no return.
Perhaps the only one who was not affected and had not changed was the Vampire Princess alone. In respect of her willpower which was unyielding like steel, the woman sitting down on the throne felt respect from the bottom of her heart. In contrast, it could be said that the other six individuals were not as strong-willed as the Vampire Princess.
The fact that she was unable to take notice of that difference was perhaps a fault attributable to her on its own.
What was happening now was an oute resulting from choosing to abandon the thinking process under the guise of a convenient word known as trust.
The eyes of the ones whom she called friends were now clouded with hatred and loathing. It had gotten to the point where any attempt at persuading them was likely to be rendered futile.
Although on the surface, they were still being subservient to her, she knew that, behind the scenes, they were steadily preparing for insurrection.
Furthermore, she had already ascertained and was aware of the fact that more than half of those in her army held the same opinion as them and were gleefully waiting for that to happen.
"It isn't a checkmate yet. If it's you, it should very well be possible to pletely turn the tables around and start all over again."
"Hmm, yeah, it's possible. But you know, Ophiuchus… even assuming that I end up winning, what would happen then? Who exactly in their right minds do you think would end up following a ruler who massacres her own friends and allies? After all, a ruler who kills over half of her own subordinates is nothing but a tyrant. No one would recognise that individual. On top of that… once I do end up killing a lot of my allies and subordinates, even if I were to e out victorious, there'll be nothing left in my hands. … Whether I win or not, I'll only end up losing everything. From the moment it had gotten to this point, it was my loss."
The ruler with the black wings mocked herself and laughed cynically.
She was sneering at herself for her own inpetence.
Until now, if it was for the sake of world peace, she did not mind being labelled as an evil ruler.
She believed it was fine for her enemies to consider her a terrifying slaughterer.
But in the end, she was feared even by her own allies. She was told that she was unworthy to be a ruler. With how things had developed, she was no longer a ruler at all.
She had bee nothing more than a delusional fool who called herself a ruler.
"At the very least, the Twelve Stars will be left. And myself."
"You're right. I guess that's the only silver lining."
The black-winged ruler faintly smiled and chuckled. At that point, she was feeling ever so thankful for her dearest loyal followers who remained under her even in this situation.
And exactly because of that feeling, she thought that any further battle should not e to fruition.
If she fought seriously, it was not a battle that she would not be able to win. If she really felt like it, it was possible for her to suppress everyone and massacre them all.
However, heroes would not readily yield while they were roused under the influence of the Goddess. If she was able to pletely suppress everyone and everything through the use of Coercion, she would have had an easy time. But the enemy would definitely be expecting Coercion and recognise its threat. Therefore, one could be sure that they would have some kind of countermeasure against it.
After all, it was not as if there were no skills or techniques which could render Coercion ineffective. Coercion was by no means an unparalleled and undefeatable skill.
Nevertheless, even if the heroes under the protection of the Goddess all came assaulting her, there was no way she could lose. But among the Twelve Stars… there would most definitely be a fatality.
For the sake of preventing that from happening, the most optimal solution was for her to promptly leave the stage.
Alternatively, she could swiftly massacre Alioth and everyone else before the Twelve Stars could be defeated and it would be a problem solved… but she knew that she was unable to put that into practice.
If she were to do so, it would mean that she was no longer herself but merely an empty shell which had abandoned all emotion and sentiment.
"… Looks like there's no other way but to think of 'a way to lose'."
"A way to lose… did you say?"
"Yeah. If what the people desire is for me to step down as ruler, then, I shall answer by granting it to them. I will stage the loss and investigate the one who caused all of that to happen in the meantime."
"That's…"
"For you, it will most likely be a painful and audacious road. If you want to defect from me, now is the perfect time, you know?"
Even if she were to leave, she would not be blamed.
The king was hinting this to her. However, in response, the young girl called Ophiuchus merely smiled courageously.
"No thank you, Ruphas-sama. I have no intention of going back to being a doll. Until I met you, I was nothing more than a doll that didn't possess an ego of my own… You were the one who turned me into 'me'. In return for that, I'll fool even the Goddess-sama herself."
Replying as such - a young blue-haired girl displayed her unwavering loyalty.
*
During the very brief instance as I passed between the worlds, a strange memory ran through my head.
In that memory, I was exchanging a conversation… but I wondered who exactly it was with.
As if I was having a dream, the face that I saw was very hazy and I was unable to make out who it was.
It was just that… recalling that blue hair, I could not help but associate it with the woman that I was currently chasing after.
In any event, it seemed we were able to successfully cross over to the other world. I was no longer able to feel either arcane or divine power.
This was a world devoid of any fantasy elements. A world ruled entirely by the laws of physics and science.
Yet, it was a place far more developed as a civilisation than the fantasy-filled Midgard. There were many high-rise buildings lined up next to each other. In a way, perhaps this was a place that was more fantasy-like than Midgard.
In other words - this was Earth. And just now, Benet and I had set our feet down on the land of Japan.
"…… So this is another world."
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