Chapter 183: Future Measures
Link: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n7583de/
Author: Hirukuma
Translated by Zzonkedd
Edited by Gumihou
Gumihou: Let’s limit all those awkward sentences, yeah?
“So, Leader Keryoil and his party came to recruit you, but you refused and fled. You’re supposed to float away inside your shields but end up sinking to the bottom of the sea. Later, you were fished out and grilled over a fire… Is that right?”
“That’s… yes…”
Hevoy, who was still wearing the scum lover’s face, continue to question Pitee who nodded along quietly as she answered. She appeared to have calmed down a lot.
By the way, the reason why Hevoy’s ‘possession’ trick worked so well is because of something that scum lover had once said to her.
“You and I are connected through our souls, you know? No matter how far apart we are, I will always come and see you, [1] even once my mortal coils have been whittled away and only my soul is left.”
It was all nonsense, of course, but she ate it all up. The intensity of her delusion was rather frightening. Yup.
An outsider might think that these two were in a lovey-dovey relationship, but in fact, [2] according to those in the know (Shui), those two never even held hands. Apparently, he just appeared out of nowhere, love-bombed her and somehow persuaded her to give him money.
According to Shui, ‘He just treated her like a wallet’.
Let’s set aside her love life, or lack thereof, for something that has been bothering me for some time now. That heavy-looking shield… did she say that she had ‘floated out into the sea’ in it?
[2] Well, technically speaking, even a heavy metal warship could float given enough buoyancy, but still… It looked seriously heavy.
Maybe it just looked heavy.
“Nuoooooo!!! I can’t lift this thing!!!” [2] the face Hyurumi made as she tried to lift the shield was hilarious.
“Th-this is quite heavy!” Mishael looked shocked as he staggered while trying to lift one of the shields. Sure, he managed to get the shield off the ground, but that was it.
Is it really that heavy? To think that a slim woman with such shockingly thin arms could wield two of these heavy shields so easily… she must have the Gift of Super Strength, just like Ramis.
“Normal people can’t use the shield, Pitee must have the Gift of Weight Manipulation.”
“Weight Manipulation?
At times like this, everyone turned to Hyurumi for an answer.
“The Gift of Weight Manipulation allows the user to change the objects they touch. They freely make anything they touch lighter or heavier,” said Hyurumi.
“Yes… but… only, things touched by… hand…” said Pitee.
So, that explains how she could move those massive shields like they were nothing. As for her clothes, she wore light clothing instead of heavy armour because her ability to manipulate the weight of things was limited to things touched by her hands.
Was that also how she managed to get the shields to float on the sea?
“When did Leader come to recruit you?”
“My tummy… is empty now… so… maybe two days ago…”
In short, she had gone without food for two days while stuck in those shields. [2] I wonder what would happen to her if I had not fished her out? Anyway, please eat properly, you are too skinny. While it is not bad to be slim, not eating properly could have a negative impact on your health and beauty.
“Shu-i”
“Yeah?”
“Fo-od”
With that, I transformed into my <Convenience Store Vending Machince> form and prepared a line-up of different kinds of food. Since I don’t know what this person would like, Shui can choose for her.
“Hakkon wants to feed Pitee these things?” asked Shui as she looked confusedly at the various pictures of food.
Goodness, looks like we have a miss in communication. I forgot that Shui wasn’t quite well-versed in Hakkon-speak, but then again… I should try and think of a better way to explain things…
“I think Hakkon wants to know what Pitee would like to eat.”
As expected, Ramis gets me almost immediately. I shall grant you the title of Grandmaster of Hakkon-Speak.
“So that’s what he meant. Well, Pitee likes sweet things.”
If that’s the case, let’s increase the dessert options. Suddenly, all the ladies’ attention was on me. Well, well, looked what I fished up.
“Welcome”
After my usual greeting, I opened shop and the ladies bought the things they liked from me. Shui picked out a few things, presumably for Pitee [2] and passed them on to Hevoy.
“You must be hungry, right? Why don’t you try this? Hakkon’s products are all very delicious,” said Hevoy.
“Hakkon?”
“See that square metal box? It’s an incredible magical tool with a human soul in it. You can buy all kinds of things with money,” said Hevoy.
Pitee did not look like she understood Hevoy’s explanation, but she looked intrigued enough by the eclair he was holding out to her.
“Here, this is how you open it, and nom!”
Shui demonstrated how to eat the eclair by ripping the plastic cover and taking a huge bite out of the treat. Immediately, her face relaxes into an expression of pure joy.
Seeing this, Pitee lowered her guard enough to try the eclair.
“Ah… it’s delicious…”
Although her fringe obscured most of her face, her smile told me that she was very happy with the dessert.
That’s a relief. [2] I heard that eating chocolate is one way women get over men, so maybe this would help her. At the very least, let’s fill her stomach so that she may regain some energy.
“It’s the best, isn’t it? Especially the cream on the inside! I’m going to buy three more of this! This one too! And this!”
Easy there, Shui.
While everyone enjoyed their desserts, the fish and fish-monster-thing were done grilling. Let’s celebrate Pitee’s entry into our party with a proper meal.
I must say that even though everyone had dessert first, the fish and fish monster thing must be really good with my special vending machine soy sauce since everyone was quickly devouring the food with no trouble at all.
“Shall we discuss our next move over the meal?” someone said.
“Sure, since we managed to recruit Pitee, we have achieved one of our initial objectives. Hiss, now, all that’s left is to find Commander on this floor and seize or destroy their ring, or whatever,” said Hyurumi as she picked her teeth with a vegetable skewer.
Not that I mind, but don’t you think you are being rather unladylike?
“Do you think Leader Keryoil is still on this floor? What are the chances of encountering him?” Ramis wondered.
That’s right, those people failed to recruit Pitee, but if they were still looking for her, they could still be on this floor.
“What should we do once we find him? Beat him up and throw him in prison?”
“Even though he is cooperating with the King of the Netherworld, I doubt he knew much beyond the basic information about the organisation. However, if we don’t capture him, conquering this dungeon would be impossible.”
“As expected. It would be best to do something about this situation, isn’t that right? Master Hakkon?”
Ah, sure? But I’m not sure why my opinion would be of use here.
It would be great if we could capture him and eliminate one headache, but there’s one other thing…
“Pi-tii”
“Um, something about Pitee?”
“Ye-es”
Right, what should I say next?
“Fo-ur”
“Whi-te”
“Wo-man”
[3] “Four… people? Fourth floor? What could… white woman? Um…”
Ahh, looks like I’m not getting through. What else should I do…
“Th-is”
With that, I turned on my little LCD screen and showed the image of Sulrim, the Snow Spirit we encountered at the Desert Pillar.
“This person… yes… Pitee saw her…” she said darkly. [3]
“Wait, seriously? If that’s really Sulrim, then that changes things. They would have a way to move between floors without the Teleportation circles,” Hyurumi exclaimed.
In short, even Clearflow Lake could be in danger. I think it’s best to inform Director Bear and the others about this.
“My Roaring Strike isn’t enough to dispel the blizzard… looks like I still lacked training,” Mishael muttered.
“That’s right, that blizzard attack is pretty troublesome too. Especially in a place where water is abundant. Without Kikoyu, it’s best for us to avoid this opponent,” said Hevoy.
“Kinda tough to do that, isn’t it? Anyway, it looks like we’re going to need a bit more help going forward-su.”
Getting help might be a good idea. Let’s share this information with Director Bear and maybe he could send someone to assist us. That blizzard is probably a magical construct of some kind, so maybe having Old Man Shimerai would be good for us.
We don’t even have to get him to win against the Blizzard. So long as Sulrim could be stopped, we can handle the rest of the party on our own.
“So, shall we ask Director Bear to send someone?” asked Ramis.
There was no objection so we all split up to do our own thing while Hyurumi returned to Clearflow Lake Floor through the transfer circle. As for me, I started my business at Rocky Dog Mountain Floor.
Time to use the little blackboard I had gotten from Karios and Gors. It did not take long for me to write down some simple instructions and hang the sign up. Soon, people began to form a line and my sales went smoothly.
At such a humid place, the sale of ice-cream and water was pretty great. Some people buy juice, but most seem to want plain water.
Also, apparently, my bottled water tasted better than the well water here.
Sales were going on smoothly. Soon, I spotted Hyurumi through the thinning crowd. It looked like she was done with her errand. For some reason, she looked a bit downcast.
“Hey, Hakkon. Can I get something cold?”
“Welcome”
She even sounded listless. Well, maybe she’s just tired or could not get help. Please don’t worry too much, we’ll find a way. Thank you for your hard work.
“Haahhh… I was able to get the help we need, but I never thought… that person would come.”
Hm? If she did manage to get help, surely it’s fine? Even if it isn’t Old Man Shimerai, surely someone recommended by Director Bear can’t be that bad?
“Been a long time since I’d last been to this floor! Can’t beat the Scorching Sands when it comes to heat! That place is hot! But what’s with this sweltering heat! Too Ugh, it’s swealteringgggg!!!”
A booming voice rattled the floor.
Did Director Bear have to choose the Chairman of the Scorching Sand floor?
[Gumihou: Ahhh… this chapter is tricky in its own way…]
[1] Added some scum scammer details
[2] Added details
[3] Honestly? I have no idea how to work out a proper translation. Since there’s a convenient LCD screen projector after that, let’s go with a ‘whuh?’ reaction. Especially since Pitee did not bring up the ‘white woman’ at all in the first place
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