Chapter 031 – Thank You for Deeply Thinking about the Side of me that I Didn’t Know

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Sybilla suggested for to me get more sleep as it will help to get rid of my fatigue.

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[Seriously? Isn’t it still too early?]

[This kind of carelessness will haunt us back, you know? A person who thinks he is definitely fine will not be able to do his best when he needed it the most. You see, people who think they can’t be fooled are the most favorite dish of scammers.]

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Just as I was going to talk back, I had to stop because of a sudden memory of Jannet stopping Vince for almost buying a fake magic sword. It is as what she said. The more someone thinks they are fine the more they could be in trouble.

…Then, is such thing applicable as well to Jannet who’s the smartest of all of us and the person everyone is relying on? Well, I don’t think so.

I don’t know but maybe Jannet is unexpectedly someone isn’t thinking that she is smart.

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I suddenly recall as well the unsatisfied expression on that sage’s face as she launches her offensive magic.

I don’t know if you’re just that driven to get stronger or you don’t believe you have enough power but in the middle levels where heals are already enough, I can’t think anything of it but sarcasm.

She’s a girl who is considered to be one of the highest users of offensive magic in the city and on top of that, has the ability to use recovery magic.

I still feel I am a step behind her when it comes to a mage’s patience and hardship without showing it.

Such personality is one of the reasons I envy her from the bottom of my heart.

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Let’s stop thinking of the past from here.

It’ll just keep my head awake.

I lied down to the bed and let my body succumb to sleep.

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The skies are still dark when I woke up.

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[…The color of the skies looks the same during dusk.]

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It’s the time where the night ends and the morning will come.

A quiet moment where nothing else is shining sure is calming.

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[The Goddess of Dusk, huh.]

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I remember the girl as I started to do an early light training which I haven’t done for a while.

I held the newly broad sword into my hand.

It’s blade shines silver but it looks like it emits bluish light from somewhere.

Is this how a fang of a dragon is?

I held the sword using my two hands as I wonder about it.

It isn’t as heavy as it looks.

I can’t get familiar with this feeling but it’s still sure is impressive.

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[Are you thinking about the mythril? It isn’t that bad, no?]

[Sybilla?]

[Look who’s working hard. Morning, Russell]

[Oh. Morning.]

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Sybilla’s voice came from behind followed by her appearance wearing plain clothes.

She’s wearing black from head to bottom. It’s a pair of worn out long sleeves and pants. To be exact, she’s still in her sleepwear. 

Being pretty sure makes it easy. She still looks beautiful even with that kind of clothing.

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[…N? Ara-ra? Look who’s fascinated with my beauty so early in the morning.]

[I was thinking that even if you wear stuff that would be laughed at if worn by others you can still confidently go out. It sure is convenient being a beauty.]

[…It felt like you’re trying to compliment me at first but would it hurt you to just honestly praise me?]

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Sybilla came closer and look at the sword while I can see her cheeks twitch.

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[By the way, you said that this sword is coated with mythril earlier, right?]

[Yep. As you know, mythril allows strengthening and magic given to it to pass through. It’s a very expensive metal.]

[…I felt like it was given to me by free though…]

[It’s because the dwarves squeezed out every single bit of the materials so they must have thought that giving a coating would make it enough.]

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That’s true. It didn’t come up to me that they wouldn’t be able to do anything without the materials in the first place.

Even the armor is filled with lots of the materials from the fire dragon.

But even so, they didn’t have to do things to get bigger.

…It must have caused a huge uproar in the city.

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[Anyway, I’m done checking the equipment. Let’s go and have some breakfast.]

[Sure. But it seems I would be taking a break from the breakfast duty for a bit while.]

[Today is… Ah, I see.]

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I immediately realized why and headed to the cafeteria with Sybilla.

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[Morning, Russell-chan!]

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Inside is the sister from yesterday who wore a sad look but now has a refreshingly bright face that everyone in the orphanage is used to.

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[Hm. Morning, Fredrica.]

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Fredrica loves to cook and everyone likes her dishes as well.

She comes up with different ways to fill everyone’s stomachs even if we don’t have enough ingredients. She cultivates some herbs too and uses them in her cooking.

Even today, she used the rosemary grown from the garden to cook the meat together with black pepper and pink salt bought from the capital.

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[And, it’s done! Sybilla-chan, can you please call the children?]

[Leave it to me, Frechie!]

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Did I hear that correctly?

Is it my imagination or these girls had gotten close without me knowing?…

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[Okay. Don’t push each other you kids. The meat won’t go anywhere.]

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Sybilla returns with the children in tow.

It seems that Gemma-baa-san had been awake all this time as well.

She looks at me then briefly tapped my body.

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[N. Not bad. You’ve rested well.]

[Yep. I think I’ll be fine even if we extended a bit more inside the dungeon with this kind of rest. Besides, I won’t get that tired easily using my Saint magic.]

[Kakaka! What an amazing lad! That kid Russell became so reliable, eh~ Everyone, give thanks to Fredrica-onee-san.]

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Gemma-baa-san strokes the head of the children as she said it and have everyone start eating.

Reliable, huh. If it’s the me from a week ago then I would never believe it.

…But for me, this grandma who’s beating up Fredrica’s special jumbo steak so early in the morning is much more amazing.

Looks like it will take a hundred years more for this grandma to bite the dust.

If it’s like this then this orphanage should be safe for a while longer.

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..

After eating breakfast, me and Sybilla immediately changed our clothes and began to gear up to head to the dungeon.

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[Russell-chan]

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And then, Fredrica called me out all of a sudden.

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[What’s up?]

[Nothing much. I just wanted to call you out.]

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What’s up with that?

I tilt my head in wonder why Fredrica is laughing. But suddenly…Her eyes started to get serious and used her both hands to embrace me.

I’m wearing an armor inside but… Even without the sensation, I can still tell ‘those’ now that we are in so close contact.

Fredrica’s pink hair swayed as it hides her eyes.

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[Please come back safely.]

[Hm. Ofcoruse. I’m a saint with an inexhaustible mana. I won’t die unless it’s instant. I even have an armor today so it would be safer than before.]

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Fredrica then took a step back and look into my eyes.

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[N. I understand. I trust you.]

[Got it. If you’d be able to, can you please take the children away from here while I’m away?]

[You have your reasons, right? Un. I’ll do.]

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She said ‘Take care’ at the end and returned inside the orphanage.

Even I think that it’s a bit exaggerated but… I guess that’s how much she worries about me.

Well, I guess it’s natural since I did not tell them that I can use dark magic. For now, I don’t look anything but a recovery mage with good equipment.

Even if she took care of me growing up, I can’t just tell her how I am now with the Dusk’s Goddess as she is a sister from the church of the Sun’s Goddess. I am not that insensitive.

And once she knew it and covered it up, perhaps Fredrica herself could be in danger.

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On the side, that goddess mutters meaningless crap like ‘I only thought I only have those childhood friends as rivals but to be facing up against a hot sister sure is a surprise…’. It’s so stupid I just ignore it.

The dungeon crawl is going smooth as expected.

I don’t feel like losing no matter how many goblins appeared with my new equipment. I don’t feel like losing but… Thinking along those lines could lead to recklessness so I’ll cast wind barrier just to be safe.

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[About the equipment]

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Sybilla called out all of a sudden.

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[‘Gradually improving equipment one at a time is fine but getting the best ones all of a sudden feels so incredible!’ Or so what you feel now, no?]

[Ofcourse. But thinking that I got these things all of sudden from the battle with the fire dragon, I can’t help but recall that terrifying experience…]

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Sybilla is probably talking about the armor when she said getting the ‘best one’. And I do understand too how good it feels to get one all of a sudden.

I, who was once so useless back in the middle levels, learned dark magic and defeated a dragon belonging to a monster from the lower levels but I still think it isn’t a joyful memory. Perhaps we will agree to this point.

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I familiarize myself with the sensation of my new armor and the weapon in my hand as we gradually explore the second floor.

The living armors in the second floor are far slower compared to the monsters in the first floor so it’s somehow easier for us to deal with them and so we thoroughly wiped the armors with chantless magic.

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[By the way, why do you think Fredrica looked at me that way yesterday?]

[Eh? Don’t tell me you really don’t have any idea?]

[…Do you?]

[Ofcourse.]

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How can Sybilla understand Fredrica when she just met her yesterday… Is this what they call women’s intuition?

I don’t want to deal with her haughtiness so I just signaled her to go on with my chin.

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[Comparing Russell with his childhood friend Vince, he is someone who’s taking care not to look at a girl’s big chest, or so I heard.]

[–! Where the heck did you hear that!?]

[The three of us girls talked when you slept. Ofcourse, Gemma-baa-san is also classified as a girl. No matter how old a woman is, she’ll always be a girl.]

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Thi-this girl!

I thought she was right and all when she urged me to sleep but… The truth is she just wanted to hear things about me from from Fredrica while I’m asleep!

She had figured it out immediately with just a bit of conversation from yesterday, huh…

I’m already feeling so tired keeping up with this girl’s cheekiness that I can’t help but think that getting irritated is just me wasting energy.

…Those two didn’t say anything strange, right?

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[Hey, I’m not trying to tease you or anything. ‘Russell-chan’ had undergone something bad and started to speak blunt. However, Rusell now is someone who isn’t ‘taking leisure in staring to women’ but someone who is ‘blunt but doing his best to avert his gaze’ and it makes me feel relieved, or so she said.]

[…ah, so that’s it…]

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I know she is moving them on purpose but I guess she isn’t just fooling around when she did that.

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[After that, well, we talked and laughed with each other. She isn’t that depress so perhaps she really is relieved someway or another. Isn’t she a really nice onee-san?]

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I see. It seems Fredrica had been really worried that I became someone else as she didn’t know how much I had changed.

However, she still believes that I am still that very same person deep inside.

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[You’re really being loved, huh.]

[Haa. I know.]

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Even if I was someone who wasn’t able to see a glimpse of my parents, I was able to grow in a good environment.

And, no matter what… I have to thank Sybilla too… even if in a roundabout way.

She prepared for both of us at the best of abilities and is a partner who cares on her own way when she felt like it.

Probably, she is looking at me now getting worried how I fight.

I’ll fight in away that won’t let her think that I am risking my life in this battle.

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Really… I didn’t know such thing until it was pointed out so I can’t help but hate myself for being so dense.

Thanks to you, I am reminded – I can’t allow myself to die.

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[Talking ends here. Let’s deal with the next one.]

[Okay! The second time will be easier!]

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And so, we have renewed our determination and went to the place where the cavalry living armor is.

Ofcourse, the second time is as easy as a walk in the park.

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Translator’s Notes:

1. This is release number 5/5! This chapter is sponsored by C. Kogut and D. Palacios!
2. I arrived safely! Thanks to your well wishes! And yeah, what I’ve seen when I arrived is a disaster so I need to spend the remaining days of lockdown here. Hopefully, no further interruption occur.
3. No teasers for the next chapter. See you all on weekend!

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