233. Aftermath and the Alliance with the Wolf King

Previous Synopsis:

The magic sword I picked up was cursed.

“Break! Break! Break alreadyyyyy!”

“Wan wan!”

『Guaaaaaah! It hurts, it hurts! Stop! Don’t slam me anymore!』

Arrogance’s screams echo in my brain.

What an ear-piercing noise.

I wanted to shut him up quickly, so for a while now, I’ve been slamming the sword into rubble over and over, and even hitting it with Momo’s Darkness Bullets, but it won’t break at all.

There’s a limit to how sturdy something should be. What is up with this magic sword?

『Hmph, it’s useless to try to break me. In the first place, the reason we are given grand names like “Magic Sword” is because we don’t break so easily.』

Arrogance’s voice echoing in my head is extremely annoying.

I slam it into the ground one more time and try the Battering Ram for good measure.

『I told you it hurts, so stop! Even if I don’t break, I still feel pain!』

“It’s your fault for not breaking.”

『True.』

『That’s right.』

“Wan.”

“Kyuu.”

“…… (Nod nod)”

The opinion is unanimous; everyone nods.

“Anyway, why is your consciousness residing in a magic sword? Weren’t you dead?”

『…Who knows. Honestly, this was unexpected for me as well. I’m the one who wants an explanation.』

I thought for sure it was the effect of a “parting gift,” but apparently, this situation was an unexpected turn of events for Arrogance too.

(It comes out on its own even if I put it in the Item Box, and it returns to my hand on its own even if I throw it away. This is a complete piece of cursed equipment…)

What a troublesome item.

There isn’t a chance I’ll be mentally dominated by this, right?

『…There’s no way I could do such a thing in this state. It seems some of my skills were carried over to the magic sword, but the right to decide all of them lies with you, not me. What a humiliation…』

“Wait, seriously?”

Then, information on “How to use the magic sword” flowed into my head.

Heh, I see. The built-in skills are… Eh? Is this for real?

It even carried over this skill?

“Hey, what do you mean it carried over ‘Arrogance’ too?”

『I told you I don’t know. Ah, why did it turn out like this…』

Arrogance’s voice is certainly irritating, but even taking that into account, the magic sword’s performance was exceptional.

(…I was thinking of using it as a material for Ichinose-san’s Weapon Creation if I couldn’t break it, but I’d better put that on hold.)

While I was thinking that, shadows spread and Ichinose-san and the others appeared.

“Kudo-san! Are you safe?”

“I managed. It was rough on your end too, wasn’t it?”

We’ve communicated our situations via email, but we check with each other one more time.

Both sides were in a real tightrope situation.

So, I give the magic sword another thwack.

(Ah, I got an email from Nijo too…)

It seems things ended safely over there as well.

She wrote stuff like “I did my best!” and “Are you okay, Senpai?” but I’ll reply later. It’s a hassle.

I’m just glad everyone is safe.

“…So, what about that?”

“……”

“Ehehe~ Big sis, big sis♪”

Clinging to Igarashi-san and refusing to let go is the monster tamer girl—Sayaka Katsuragi.

Ensnared by “Charm,” she looks nothing like the person I met at the school, which left me… well, quite taken aback.

Apparently, it started with “Touka-oneesama,” but now she’s using an even closer nickname.

She behaves as if they’ve been childhood friends forever.

Even Igarashi-san has a troubled look on her face.

“…Katsuragi-san, would you mind letting go soon? It’s hard to move.”

“Ehh, no way~”

Who is this kid?

Her character changed way too much.

Igarashi-san slumps her shoulders and lets out a sigh.

“…Well, I can’t exactly undo the skill, so I’ll bear with this much.”

“D-Do your best.”

I could only say that to Igarashi-san, who had reached a state of resignation.

By the way, when she evolved into a “Celestial,” the name of the skill she acquired by high-tier conversion of “Charm” is “Allure.” It’s a powerful skill with a brainwashing effect even stronger than Charm.

The extent of its effect is exactly what you see here.

“…Igarashi-san, I’m sure you know, but…”

“Yes, I have no intention of using a skill like this indiscriminately. The effect is too strong; it even alters the original personality like hers. If I recklessly increase the numbers, the shape of the organization won’t be maintained. I don’t want that either.”

There’s the term “femme fatale,” and her skill is exactly that.

It’s truly a terrifying skill.

Well, I think I can trust her for now.

“By the way, I thought you could upgrade three skills when you became a Celestial. What did you upgrade besides ‘Charm’?”

“I’m still holding off on that. Candidates are Spirit Summoning or Appraisal, but I thought it would be better to decide after having you, Kazuto-san, look up the high-tier versions of the skills I possess.”

“Ah, certainly, that would be more reliable.”

The “Question Right” I had until now has been integrated into the newly acquired “Administrator Privileges,” but the function of the Question Right apparently remains.

There are still mountains of things I want to investigate, so this is honestly a help.

“…Using his first name? H-How overfamiliar. Ugugu…”

“…? Is something wrong, Ichinose-san?”

“I-It’s nothing!”

For some reason, Ichinose-san is glaring at Igarashi-san like she’s a sworn enemy, but I wonder what happened?

In contrast, Igarashi-san adjusts her glasses and looks rather smug.

What’s up?

“W-Well? Igarashi-san isn’t a party member, right? There’s no need to care about how she calls him at this point. Truly, there’s absolutely no need to care! Yes, I really don’t care at all!”

“…Nat-tsun, let’s be a little more honest with yourself. Big brother is dense to begin with, and his senses in that area are probably mostly dead due to the influence of his resistance skills.”

“R-Ri-chan, shut up!”

…? I wonder what they’re talking about?

Well, it doesn’t seem like a big deal, so whatever.

I hit the magic sword with the Battering Ram for the time being.

“Now there’s Libera-san and Schwarz…”

I stare at the sphere of light floating a little distance away.

That sphere of light is the subspace created by Libera-san’s skill “Holy Territory.”

Libera-san trapped herself and the Wolf King Schwarz—who was under Katsuragi’s control—inside that space to stall him.

(…I tried to send an email, but it couldn’t be sent.)

The space created by “Holy Territory” is likely a world completely isolated from this one.

Schwarz is probably still under the influence of Katsuragi’s skill—no, still under orders.

Since she can’t check the situation here and doesn’t accept influences from reality, she won’t come out of that space until the very last second of the time limit.

Suddenly, a crack ran through the sphere of light.

“Ts—! Everyone, that’s enough chatting! Here they come!”

“””Ts—!”””

In that instant, tension runs through everyone.

Presumably, the moment they exit the Holy Territory, the orders Katsuragi gave to Schwarz will be canceled, and the combat state will end… hopefully.

But since there’s a slight time lag, I can’t let my guard down.

After all, Schwarz’s attacks can literally destroy everything with darkness in an instant.

The cracks spread across the entire sphere, it shattered with a ping sound, and a dazzling light overflowed.

“——Looks like you did well…”

“…Won.”

As the light subsided, the battered figures of Libera-san and Schwarz appeared.

It was clear they had been engaged in a considerably intense battle.

“The situation is—heh…”

Libera-san looked at me, the magic sword I held, and then at Katsuragi clinging to Igarashi-san in order, and nodded as if she understood everything.

“I see, so that was the trick…”

“You could tell just by looking?”

“…Yes. It’s certainly not impossible for a human who was originally contracted with the Wolf King to form a re-contract. I never imagined there was a human who had formed a contract with one of the Six Kings…”

That’s true.

In the first place, Katsuragi had contracted with Schwarz before he became the Wolf King.

Through a series of coincidences, the Dark Wolf evolved into Schwarz and obtained the “Wolf King” title. It’s a method that could be called the exception of exceptions, born because the order was reversed.

It’s no wonder Libera-san didn’t know.

“Also, that magic sword… it seems things have taken a quite interesting turn.”

“Yeah, well…”

It’s not interesting at all to me, though.

But Libera-san looked at me and gave a short laugh.

“But you did well… You’ve become strong, Kazuto.”

“…”

Being told that so directly is a bit embarrassing.

“There are many things I want to talk about now, but would you mind giving me a little time first? To be honest, I’m… at my limit.”

In that instant, Libera-san collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

I hurriedly supported her body, and then heard the sound of steady, peaceful breathing.

“…She’s asleep.”

“So undead do sleep…”

“Well, she must have been exhausted.”

She was handling Schwarz alone while holding back her power. It’s no wonder.

I’ll let her sleep like this.

“Now then——”

Holding Libera-san, I look toward Schwarz.

By the way, the magic sword keeps coming out of the Item Box, so it’s currently tucked into my waist.

“…Uuu.”

Schwarz let out a low growl and glared at Katsuragi, not me.

He’s probably telling her to hurry up and release her control.

But I can’t do that yet.

“Schwarz, we need to talk.”

“Guru…?”

I feel bad for Schwarz, but in a situation like this, he probably wouldn’t listen to me properly otherwise.

I talked to Schwarz about everything that had happened, what I heard from Libera-san, and the upcoming war with the people from the other world.

“The Sea King promised to cooperate with us. Sora and Shiro here are our allies too. It might be infuriating for you, having been used by Arrogance—that zombie—as he pleased, but I’m asking despite that. Just until the war with the otherworlders is over, won’t you cooperate with us?”

“……”

If the ultimate shield is the Sea King Shuram, then the Wolf King Schwarz is the ultimate spear.

If he becomes an ally, there would be no more powerful supporter.

Furthermore, we can overturn the otherworlders’ premise from the board—the idea that humans and monsters never join forces.

“……”

Schwarz doesn’t answer.

Then, Momo stepped forward.

“Wan.”

“Gururu…?”

“Wan! Wan wan!”

“Ts…! Garo? Garururu!”

“Wan!”

“……”

Um, what are they talking about?

Schwarz has a strangely surprised expression on his face.

“Waon.”

Momo spread her shadows.

Then, Schwarz’s subordinates appeared one after another.

“Ki, kishi! Kishikishi!”

“Waon! Hah hah hah!”

“Goruru…”

“Pigii”

The Queen Ant, the Dark Wolves, and various other types of monsters.

“Ts!?”

Seeing them, Schwarz’s eyes went wide in shock.

Released from Katsuragi’s mental domination, they all rushed to Schwarz’s side and huddled together in their own ways.

“…Uuu.”

Schwarz looked extremely annoyed, but he didn’t try to shake them off.

Apparently, this Wolf King is very well-loved by his pack.

Momo steps forward again.

“Wan! Waon!”

“……”

“…Wan? Waon? Wafufu…?”

“Ts! Garurururu! Garooooooon!”

“Wan, wan wan.”

“Ts…! Garuu.”

Then, Schwarz ground his teeth and glared at me.

W-What? Why are you wearing such a frustrated expression?

“…Garuru.”

Then, something emerged from the darkness at Schwarz’s feet.

It was a pitch-black ring.

He tossed it toward me, and I caught it.

“Garuru… Garoon.”

Does he mean for me to put it on?

“Wan.”

When I looked at Momo, she gave a firm nod.

She seems to be saying it’s okay.

Heck with it! I put on the ring.

Given the magic sword incident, I was a bit hesitant, but I’ll trust Momo.

“————Ts!”

Then, through the ring, fragments of Schwarz’s thoughts flowed into me.

To summarize: he accepts the alliance. The duration is until the conclusion with the otherworlders. After everything is settled, we will settle things between us. That kind of content.

“You…”

“…Garuru.”

Schwarz averted his eyes from me and stared at Katsuragi.

He’s telling her to hurry up and release the control.

“Igarashi-san, if you would.”

“A-Are you sure it’s okay?”

“Yes, please trust me.”

“…Understood. Katsuragi-san, please.”

“Yes.”

Asked by Igarashi-san, Katsuragi obediently releases the control over Schwarz.

Countless chains materialized at Schwarz’s feet, and in the next instant, they all shattered.

The control has been undone.

“Garoon…”

“Ts…!”

For a second, we brace ourselves, but Schwarz turned around and vanished into the darkness along with his subordinates.

Silence returns.

The battle is finally over.

The realization begins to sink in.

“Haaaaaa~~~~~~”

I let out a long breath.

I’m tired…

Like Libera-san, I just want to rest.

Then Ichinose-san ran over.

“Good work, Kudo-san.”

“Good work to you too, Ichinose-san.”

“Wan.”

“Kyuu.”

“…… (Nod nod)”

Momo and the others rub against me too.

They’re appealing so much that they did their best too, so I set Libera-san down on the ground and give them a good fluffing.

Aaah, so healing.

(I’m sleepy, but there are things I have to check…)

I want to investigate the Administrator Privileges, and “Evolution” became possible in the previous battle.

Come to think of it, what kind of new high-tier races are there?

I’ll check just that for now.

When I touch the Evolution item on the status plate, the new high-tier races are displayed.

『Evolution Options』

・Overhuman

・Hermit

・Origin

・High Elf

・High Shadow

・Demi-God

There seem to be six evolution options in total.

Now, which one should I choose…?

Thank you for reading.

I’ve also updated the side story, so please check that out too.

Volume 1-4 of the light novel and Volume 1-5 of the comic are also on sale.

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