“I was annoyed that you were doing everything on your own and carrying all the burden.”
That was the sole reason Ur fought.
No other reason came to mind, no matter how much he thought.
“…………That’s it?”
Hearing this, Diz was momentarily speechless, then shook Ur’s shoulders and asked again, incredulous.
“Eh…just that!? You came all the way here and did something so reckless!?”
“Yeah, that’s it.”
“You entrusted your life to a woman who was trying to kill your sister!?”
“Ah, right, I was trying to kill Akane. I forgot.”
“Forgot…”
[Stupid niitan!]
At this outrageous statement, Diz’s face twitched, and Akane, who had returned to her fairy form from the sword, smacked Ur repeatedly. While apologizing, Ur shrugged at Diz.
“By the way, are you in any position to comment on the lightness of my reason, oh great hero?”
“────”
There was no need to die.
That was the only reason Diz had come this far and continued to fight with her life on the line. She couldn’t retort to Ur’s blunt rebuttal and fell silent.
“…Pfft.”
“Rose?”
“Ha, ahahahahahahahahaha!!”
Then, seeing Diz’s utterly bewildered expression up close, Rose burst into uncontrollable laughter.
As if freed from long-held chains, she pointed at Diz with a radiant expression, tears streaming from the corners of her eyes as she laughed loudly.
“What a face, great hero! Ahahahahahahahaha!!”
“The hostage seems to be doing well, that’s good…”
Rose continued to laugh uproariously, while Ur watched and muttered a vague comment. Left behind, Diz was silently joined by Akane, who floated over and sympathetically patted her shoulder.
[See, You’re an idiot, aren’t you? Niitan]
Diz, having her shoulder patted, remained silent and looked up at the ceiling she had blown open, then spread her arms and fell flat on her back.
“Hey, what’s wrong, Diz?”
“I’m…so…tired…………!”
She replied lazily to Ur’s question. Her voice sounded somewhat sulky, but maybe that was just his imagination. She lay there, looking at Ur.
“Now, I’m going to sleep. Carry me back.”
“Can you at least put on some clothes first?”
She was in quite a state. With Akane no longer serving as her armor, the clothes she wore were tattered, leaving her half-naked.
“Too much trouble.”
Ignoring Ur’s request, she fell asleep. Ur’s face twitched.
“How am I supposed to carry this half-naked…Akane, can you turn into a cloak?”
[I’m tired too, so I’m going to sleep.]
Ignoring Ur’s plea, Akane landed on Diz and started sleeping in the same position.
“…There’s no way to change clothes here in this pile of rubble.”
Ur lamented, but only Rose, who was still laughing merrily, was there to hear him.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.GITHUB.IO
“Are you okay? Be careful.”
“Yes, I’m fine. Thank you, adventurer.”
After finding some cloth to cover Diz, Ur carried her on his back and led Rose down from the command tower. On the way down, no bandits or undead soldiers appeared, and the fortress of Canaan was enveloped in a silence that made the recent chaos seem like a lie.
When they reached the courtyard on the first floor, Shizuku and the others were gathered there.
“Sir Ur, are you all right?”
“It’s you who should be. Shizuku.”
Nearby were Nina and Laura. Nina was lying down, perhaps having received treatment, but she raised her hand slightly when she saw Ur, so she wasn’t dead, and Ur felt relieved.
Shizuku ran up to Ur, looked at Rose, and then turned her gaze to Diz, whom Ur was carrying.
“Rose-sama is safe. Is Diz-sama and Akane-sama all right?”
“They’re fine. Neither of them is dead. They’re just sleeping.”
“That’s good…………It was unbelievable, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
Shizuku seemed to have seen and heard everything from outside. Gazing at the command tower, now with a massive hole and an unimaginable appearance, she whispered.
“I must become like her.”
“Yeah, me too.”
If she was the pinnacle of power in this world, then that was exactly where Ur and Shizuku aimed to be. It was an utterly daunting thought, but they couldn’t give up.
“──Well then. Let’s fulfill our promise.”
After a moment, Shizuku turned around as if switching gears. Her gaze fell on the undead knight sitting a little distance away from Nina and the others.
[Kakkakka, you didn’t die, kid!]
The undead knight laughed, though he was in a sorry state.
At that time, Ur had rushed into the command tower, and the knight must have prepared a foothold for him before falling along with the collapsing [Great Evil Spirit Tree Gigant-Trent]. His skull was cracked, but,
“I’m not a kid, I’m Ur. Rock”
[Rock. Is that what you call me?]
“I can’t keep calling you bones or old man. If you don’t like it, think of something yourself.”
[No, no! It’s fine, Rock! Kakkakka!!]
The undead knight, Rock, laughed heartily. But even as he laughed, his body was gradually crumbling. His master, the necromancer, had completely vanished. If this continued, he would meet the same fate as the other undead soldiers. But,
“Rock-sama.”
“Ah, girl. You’re in a sorry state too, huh?”
“I’m Shizuku. Yes, I’m completely exhausted.”
Shizuku smiled weakly. Indeed, even with Laura’s help, she had performed the reckless act of using advanced magic Second twice in a row. It wouldn’t be strange if she collapsed right now.
But Shizuku paid no heed. She took her last mana replenishing potion, took a deep breath, and tightly gripped her staff.
“Then let’s make the contract.”
With that, Shizuku began constructing the spell.
Reconnecting a contract with someone else’s familiar, especially an undead one, was something never taught at the Greed training grounds.
So she was improvising now.
“【────】”
“Wow……”
She sang, played, and repeatedly revised the spell as she created a new one. Watching this, Laura let out a sigh of admiration.
Ur didn’t fully understand how amazing it was. But seeing the lines of light gradually connecting, breaking, and reconnecting between Shizuku and the undead knight, he realized that even with her talent, this was a tremendous effort.
[You look tired.]
“A little…tired.”
[Well, it’s fine if it doesn’t work.]
The undead knight sat there, seemingly unconcerned. If she couldn’t complete the spell, he would simply vanish, but he showed no urgency.
[I don’t remember anything. I have no lingering attachments to this world. I don’t care if I disappear.]
The reason was clear. He had no purpose. No reason to cling to life.
He had chosen to oppose Ur and the others, driven by fleeting pleasures. That was the reason. Surrendering to those pleasures was all he could do. So, even if he were to disappear here, it wouldn’t matter to him.
To Ur, it seemed like a lonely existence. But he couldn’t find the right words to say. As he pondered what to do—
“Then, shall I become your family?”
[Huh?]
Shizuku casually said something unexpected. Rock let out a bewildered sound, and Ur made a strange face.
“If you have no reason to live, then you can just create one, right?”
[What? Are you gonna be my mom or somethin’?]
“Well, it seems You’ve gained a big son.”
[Or a daughter?]
“You’d make a dependable father, Sir Ur.”
[A lover?]
“How lovely. Ah, but—”
Shizuku placed a hand on her chest and chuckled softly.
“I am Sir Ur’s possession, so I must ask you to forgive me for that.”
Rock turned to Ur and pointed at Shizuku.
[Hey, kid. This girl’s dangerous.]
“I’ll scold her later.”
“My, my.”
Shizuku made a troubled face.
“I thought that building a new relationship might give you a reason to live.”
Though her proposal sounded like a joke, she seemed completely serious.
[I can’t think of any reason for you to go that far for me. Or is there somethin’ else?]
The Death Knight’s skull, stripped of flesh, rattled ominously as it swayed.
[Do you really want to bind me to your service that badly?]
The dark hollows of his eyeless sockets glared at Shizuku.
“Yes, very much so.”
In response to his probing, almost angry question, Shizuku smiled a captivating, radiant smile.
“——”
Her utterly shameless, breathtaking smile left Rock speechless. To Ur, it seemed as if the dark aura surrounding him had been swallowed up by her smile.
“A body that never tires as long as it has magic, capable of regenerating even if shattered, and the skills and insight of a master swordsman. You are truly wonderful, Rock-sama.”
Shizuku sang a magical incantation. After only a few attempts, she had completed the ritual for a new contract. The surrounding magic energy flickered like light, creating a fantastical scene as if spirits were dancing.
“Please become my servant, Rock-sama. In return, I shall become the master you desire.”
Shizuku extended the back of her hand. The gesture was both bewitching and as elegant as a noble’s.
For a while, Rock didn’t move. But then, he suddenly rattled his bones. He was laughing. Heartily, as if holding his stomach.
[Hey, kid. This girl’s dangerous.]
“I’ll scold her later.”
“My, my.”
Shizuku made a troubled face again.
[I see? I don’t know if it’ll give me a reason to live, but it sounds interestin’, doesn’t it? Becomin’ your servant.]
Far more than a false family, she herself seemed interesting and captivating.
He laughed like that, then knelt before Shizuku and took her hand.
“[O wind, sing as my guide, weave the path for those who wish to submit their souls to me.]”
A line of light connected the two. Shizuku’s magic flowed through the Death Knight’s crumbling body. The revived Death Knight remained kneeling, lifting only his head, and rattled his bones.
[Kaka, I look forward to servin’ you from now on, my master.]
“I look forward to it as well, my knight.”
In the heart of the ruined fortress, a fleshless Death Knight pledged his loyalty to a silver-haired, peerlessly beautiful woman.
The scene was as beautiful as a masterpiece—yet it sent an indescribable chill down one’s spine.
It felt as if they were witnessing something decisively momentous.
Ur shook off the chill. This wasn’t the time to think about it. For now—
“Well, for the time being—it seems things worked out.”
He should bask in the afterglow of victory, even if just a little.
The great commotion that began with the attack of the Moving Fortress Island Devouring Turtle had finally come to an end in this manner.
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