Chapter 107
#Chapter 107: Demonic Sword Forte (9) - How to Deal with Corruption
One of the easiest ways to become close to someone is to spend time with that person.
People grow close by talking face-to-face, working together, and sharing hardships and joys.
Conversely.
If you cannot stay by the side of the person you want to become close to, then friendship or anything resembling it is impossible.
“Ghhheeeurk…!”
《Wow….》
Divana watched her contractor vomit into the toilet with an awkward expression.
The main reason she had chosen the young man as her contractor was his handsome appearance, but even the attractive face that made countless women’s hearts flutter was meaningless at this moment. Although the young man was handsome, his appearance was not enough to overturn cause and effect.
Divana wanted nothing more than to move somewhere else and avoid this assault on her eyes, but there was no other way at present.
After passing through the entrance to Sky Academy, one had to be careful about one’s conduct at all times.
The moment she stepped outside the accessory she had made her temporary residence, the academy’s system would immediately detect her presence, and that information would be passed straight to the professors.
“Huff, huff. I-I’m sorry, Lady Divana. I showed you something disgraceful.”
《Well, whatever.》
To prevent any misunderstanding, Divana had not offered those words of comfort because she was particularly kindhearted.
She had simply thought about it rationally.
The strange one was the lunatic who hunted in the maze all day except when eating and sleeping, not someone who could not keep up with him.
In fact, compared to his other companions, the young man had lasted relatively long.
《But this is a headache. How are we supposed to seduce a woman who’s holed up in a dungeon doing nothing but swinging her sword?》
What good was a handsome face when she only looked at her enemies?
What good was excellent conversational skill when she never held a conversation?
After pondering for a moment, Divana soon gave the young man an order.
《You said you knew some of the students who used to attend here, right?》
“Yes. Several former retainers of our family and a few relatives are currently enrolled here as upperclassmen. Some of them have deliberately delayed graduation and been here for more than ten years because they intend to gain power here.”
《Then ask them about areas where monsters well suited to swordsmen appear, or areas with powerful traps.》
A sinister smile appeared on the young man’s face as he understood Divana’s intention.
“You intend to make her suffer.”
《She’s rampaging because she has power, right? If her arms and legs were crushed and she couldn’t even move around, she wouldn’t be able to do that. Then we could grow closer to her under the pretext of nursing her.》
“Understood. Then I shall attend to her devotedly.”
Two days later.
Boom. Crash!
Boom. Crash!
At the sight of the enormous steel giant striding forward with heavy steps, its massive frame displayed without restraint, the party cried out in shock.
“I-Iron Golem!? That’s the monster that sword aura doesn’t even affect!”
“We can’t fight something like that! Unless we have a mage of at least the fourth tier, we won’t even be able to scratch it!”
In battles against golems, warriors do not play a particularly significant role.
Even the lowest-grade Wood Golem is made entirely of wood, and anyone who has chopped firewood knows that wood is both soft and hard.
You can scratch or hack at it with a blade, but cutting it down in a single stroke is difficult.
When the material rises to something like stone or metal, the creature itself becomes a warrior’s natural enemy.
In RPG terms, that meant its physical defense was ridiculously high.
Mage spells worked somewhat better, but that only meant they were relatively efficient; it was not as though the golem could be attacked as if it had a weakness.
No matter how you looked at it, this was not an enemy that students could beat down, but that was only natural.
It had not been created for students to beat down in the first place.
‘You said they were entities meant to prevent students from staying on one floor for too long and slaughtering the monsters that respawned there as though they were performing repetitive farming.’
If the Crown Prince had heard that, he would have thought of the term ‘preventing endless farming,’ but the contractor did not know that much.
All he knew was that starting from a certain floor of the labyrinth, there were monsters that could not be defeated normally, and that when facing such monsters, one had to either flee or use a specific item or something similar.
Unlike his astonished companions, Pina readied herself to fight the Iron Golem with her sword in hand, and the young man inwardly cheered at the sight.
Of course, outwardly, he did not forget to lay the groundwork in advance.
“No, Miss Pina! We have to retreat now!!”
The young man himself had lured the golem out by camping in one place under the pretext of completing a quest, but he could not allow Pina’s resentment to be directed at him.
Although the young man tried to stop her, Pina ignored him and stubbornly continued the battle.
That setup had to be established so that he would have a plausible reason to nurse Pina later.
The young man had made preparations so that he could intervene at the proper moment and keep Pina barely alive.
Slash!
He froze at the sight of Pina slicing through the Iron Golem’s sturdy body as easily as cutting tofu.
The other companions, who had been enthusiastically explaining how strong and frightening the Iron Golem was, froze as well.
Ignoring their desire to deny what they were seeing as a dream, the message window rang out brightly.
【You have defeated the Iron Golem!】
【You have acquired 1,000p!】
When you defeat a boss that you were not originally supposed to defeat, the rewards are generous.
There were countless enemies in reality that were absurdly strong yet offered little benefit even after being defeated, but at least that was not the case in this realm created by the Sage of the Sky.
Of course, the system was harsh toward those who did not put in the effort.
【Your contribution to the golem extermination is low!】
【990p has been reclaimed!】
While the young man merely blinked, Pina casually withdrew her sword.
Then, after tilting her head at the sight of her frozen companions, she suddenly began to fumble around.
“S-sorry. Did you perhaps say something? I didn’t hear you because I was concentrating on the battle.”
Strictly speaking, it was because she had been absorbed in a conversation with the demonic sword, but that was not important in the current situation.
The young man desperately maintained a calm expression as he answered.
“N-no, it’s fine. In any case, that was incredible. I heard that an Iron Golem cannot be defeated alone unless one can even use sword aura….”
The young man’s words implied that she might be a fifth-tier fighter, and Pina shook her head vigorously. Her long hair fluttered behind her like a tail.
“I-it’s because I have a good sword! My skill is only around that level, yes.”
“I see.”
“……”
“……”
“…Shall we go to the next floor?”
“…Yes.”
***
The young man and Divana prepared another plan.
“It seems we chose the wrong opponent. Her attack power is overwhelmingly strong, so relying on defense does not seem particularly meaningful.”
《Yes, we’d better go on the offensive as well. No matter how sharp a sword is, there must be limits to using it to block attacks.》
“We should lure her into an area filled with traps that fire poisoned needles. I hear it is normally designed on the assumption that the warrior will be struck first and the other companions will heal them afterward, so we can control the treatment on our end.”
《Good! How can she block poisoned needles firing from every direction with a single sword?》
And time passed.
Fffft!
The spherical barrier that appeared around Pina’s body deflected every kind of needle fired from the surroundings.
Watching that, the young man asked with a twitch at the corner of his mouth,
“Y-your ability is incredible. Is that perhaps the legendary Aura Armor?”
When the young man asked whether she had used the fifth-tier secret art that materialized mana and wrapped it around her like armor, Pina waved her hands.
“N-no! It’s the Demonic Sword’s ability! I can’t do anything like that!”
“I see. Haha, truly amazing. Yes, truly.”
***
“It seems physical attacks do not work. We should lure her into a trap involving poisonous gas.”
《But wouldn’t you be affected too?》
“We can prepare antidote potions in advance. We only need to slightly adjust the potion’s mixture so that she is the only one left with side effects.”
《Hehe, good. But how can she block poisonous gas with a single sword?》
And time passed.
“I-I can’t breathe, I-I…!”
“Cough! Cough! Ghuurk!”
“M-my body is numb…!”
“Waaaaaah, i-is everyone all right!? What should we do, what should we do!?”
While all the other parties lay collapsed and trembling, the young man asked Pina, who was flapping about alone in an entirely different sense,
“H-how are you still f-fine?”
“I-it’s the sword’s effect! Just holding it gives me some resistance to poison! No, that’s not important right now!”
Pina lifted her companions one by one, carried them outside the gas’s range, and gave them potions.
Then she even gave the young man, whose fingertips were strangely trembling, her own share of the potion.
“Ghuuuurk!”
“P-please stay calm! I gave you a potion, so you’ll be fine soon!”
***
“…Thank you for healing me. If not for Lady Divana’s grace, I would probably be unable even to stand by now because of the side effects.”
《…Well, whatever.》
“This time, we can definitely bury that damned— I mean, the hero’s descendant. I hear there’s a trap that forcibly makes you equip the cursed item inside the chest the moment you open it.”
《That’s good, but don’t bury her, okay? We have use for her elsewhere.》
“…Ahem, yes.”
And time passed.
Crack!
“Phew, what a relief! If not for the curse-detection function attached to the Demonic Sword, I would have opened it without realizing it was a trap!”
“You damn—”
“Yes?”
“…I was going to say your performance was good enough to hold a victory celebration. You truly are remarkably skilled, Miss Pina.”
“N-no, it was thanks to everyone’s help!”
***
“I’ve realized that dealing with her physically is impossible. However, physical attacks are not the only kind of attack. We’ll spread negative rumors about her socially, isolate her, and wear down her mental strength!”
《But doesn’t she normally have no one to talk to besides you people?》
“…Probably?”
《If she has no one to interact with, how is she supposed to hear other people bad-mouthing her?》
“……”
《…….》
“I’ll find another way.”
《Right.》
Since the operation had been scrapped, time did not pass.
***
Bang!
The young man slammed his fist down on the table.
His eyes were bloodshot, and the hollows around them were dark enough to make him look like a panda.
It was the price he had paid for steadfastly keeping up with Pina’s lunatic schedule while the companions he had lured in with money, connections, and good looks dropped out, saying they could not keep up any longer.
“We’ll target the holidays! If I can somehow stick close to her during the holiday and make her heart mine, what use will physical strength be?!”
《Sounds good, but can you manage it? It’s not as though there haven’t been holidays before, but you were busy sleeping all day, weren’t you?》
“I’ve prepared a powerful stimulant. There’s nothing to fear from working overtime!”
Divana did not point out whether it was appropriate to call staying awake during a holiday working overtime.
That was because the young man’s eyes had already gone far beyond the point of no return.
《All right, do your best.》
“Leave it to me!!”
And on the day of the operation.
The young man was about to knock on Pina’s door when he happened to notice the sign hanging in front of it.
[A soundproofing magic tool is currently in use for proper rest. If you have business, please leave a note.]
“Tsk.”
The young man clicked his tongue, but soon steadied his breathing.
《What are you going to do?》
“It’s fine. The only problem is that I came too early in the morning. Once some time passes, she’ll come outside too.”
Morning passed.
“It seems she’s sleeping in. Well, she does push herself so hard normally, so it’s understandable.”
Lunchtime passed.
“She seems to eat only one meal a day. Still, she’ll come out in the evening.”
Evening passed.
“…Could she not be in her room? No, no. I told my acquaintances to notify me immediately if they saw her, so I would have heard right away wherever she was.”
Night fell.
“……”
“You there, student! Loitering outside a female student’s room at this hour isn’t proper! Go home!”
“…Yes.”
The young man wanted to die.
***
《We’ll have to steal the sword.》
“I don’t think we can do anything unless we take the sword away.”