Chapter 31 – Venus Used Nasty Plot!

Chapter 31 – Venus Used Nasty Plot![1]

Raw link: http://ncode.syosetu.com/n2211cx/32/ (2015/11/29)

Translator: twomorefreethoughts / TpstT (2018/11/29)

Editor 1: Hands of Vecna / Vecna (2018/12/10)

Editor 2: Keii (2020/06/16)

Translation link: https://twomorefreethoughts.wordpress.com/awlba-c031/

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Update 1: Hi everyone, I’m back! For anyone who hasn’t seen my announcement after chapter 20, please take a look if you have a minute or two of free time. It contains the details of how this series’ translation will go and all the changes to terms I previously used. I will be serving as the main translator for Chapter 31-40, please let me know if there are any inconsistencies.

Update 2: The release schedule, for now, is set to 1 chapter every 3 days. I’ll post the schedule on the side of the page as a note. Currently, I’m translating chapter 35 and Vecna is translating chapter 41.

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(Author Note)

I also wrote it in the activity report, but the publication has been decided.

(Author Note End)

 

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Well, this is getting pretty complicated.

 

I sighed out loud as I used alchemy to make weapons and bullets for Libra.

If I were to put into words all that I wanted to do whilst I was in this country, it would be to meet with one of the Seven Heroes, Merak, and determine if he was a player on the inside, just like me.

Once I was able to determine that, I intended to quickly leave this place, yet things just didn’t work out the way I wanted them to.

For some reason, things had progressed to such a degree that they were just one step away from having a civil war. If I left things alone, this place looked like it would self-destruct.

 

Self-destruction is no good. And if you asked me why self-destruction is no good, it’s because if this country gets destroyed and Merak gets taken down, the humanoids will lose a guardian pillar and get further pushed into a corner.

And… half of the reason for that civil war is me. So I can’t just ignore it.

Putting things simply, because I – or rather, Ruphas – had been defeated 200 years ago, the relationship between the White Wings Supremacists and the Mixed Wings Advocates, which was already strained to begin with, had reached the point of no return, to where it wouldn’t be weird for them to start fighting at any time.

… so yeahhhh, nahh, this is no good at all.

 

In any case, something had to be done about this situation first.

I had requested Libra to capture someone named Jupiter or whatever, but it was probably best to take additional steps to do what we could in the meantime.

That being the case, the first thing that came to mind was making sure that Merak was properly keeping both camps under control.

Honestly speaking, this was the best case scenario with the least amount of effort required.

I personally thought that all of this was happening partly because he was indecisively sitting on the fence.

So if I could somehow manage to motivate him to act, then it shouldn’t be impossible to stop the civil war before it happened.

However, I just happened to be known throughout the nation as a “bad guy”. Furthermore, the people in this country had a long life-span, so they were sure to remember my face.

 

Or more like, there’s even a bronze statue of me!

 

In other words, it was completely out of the question for me to brazenly act in the open.

 

Having said that, a full-body robe is also a bad idea. I just look like a suspicious person, no matter how I’m looked at.

 

So in the end, I should try cross-dressing the way I thought of the other day.

The problem regarding clothing could be solved with alchemy.

Firstly, I tied my hair behind my neck, then I put on fake glasses.

I topped it off with a black hat, and my overall impression changed a bit.

I tightly bandaged my chest and put a white T-shirt on.

 

For the pants… black should be fine.

 

Finally, I wore a red mantle as an overcoat and hid my wings with the stealth bandage.

 

“Hmm….. after this is… the way I speak, huh…..”[2]

 

After putting on my disguise, I stood in front of the mirror and looked at myself.

 

Um, how do I put it? Although it’s a bit weird to say it myself, because this body originally look super beautiful, even after cross-dressing, I still somewhat look like a maiden.

The face just looks too beautiful to be a man.

Maybe something like facial hair would…. Nope, I suppose with these facial features, it would only look unnatural.

 

If I had known that something like this was going to happen, I would have taken Strider’s Disguise skill… It was an interesting skill that allowed the user to change their outer appearance for a set amount of time.

 

Damn it, on top of being a P2W skill, it was merely an appearance changer, so I thought “I don’t need it” and ignored it, but if I’d known this was going to happen, I would have taken it.[3]

 

And there was still my manner of speech. Even if I put the effort in, it didn’t change at all.

It was as if something was working against it. The way I spoke stubbornly stayed the way it was.

Unfortunately, I might have no other choice but to be a mute character.

 

“Ruphas-sama, is now a good time?”

“Mmm? Yes, what is it?”

 

While I was taking various poses in front of the mirror, Libra opened the door and came in.

Not that it mattered, but my current location was a small room inside the room of an inn.

Surprisingly, each room in this inn came with another small room within it.

 

No, please don’t say it’s normal. In this world, this kind of setup is actually fairly rare.

 

Anyways, that was where I was changing into my disguise… was what I was trying to say.

Initially, Libra had wanted to help me get changed, but I rejected that proposal.

I was scared that she was going to make me wear something weird if I left it up to her.

 

“What do you think, Libra? Does it suit me?”

“You look good in whatever you decide to wear, Ruphas-sama. However, if I may be permitted to be rude, I am of the opinion that your current appearance might make you the target of this and that from a gentleman who may be interested in others of the same gender.”

“… So what you are trying to say is I don’t look like a man at all?”

“You at least look more like a man than Aries.”

 

For real though, she really had that kind of personality where she would just say whatever the hell she wanted to.

Well, it’s still better than being overly reserved though.

Or rather, Aries just said whatever he wanted to as well and so did Dina, so perhaps none of my subordinates even knew the meaning of the word “restraint”.

 

“If I had to point anything out, I’d recommend sunglasses over normal glasses.”

“I see, there’s that too.”

 

Indeed, my face was well-known and there was still a concern that normal glasses alone would be insufficient.

I agreed and nodded at Libra’s suggestion, and pointed my finger towards the room’s corner.

 

I’ll make the sunglasses later.

 

“By the way, I finished transmuting the bullets. They’re over there, so take whatever you like.”

“Thank you very much.”

 

Libra thanked me and walked towards where the ammunition was.

Libra then made some ‘gacha-gacha’ sound and everything was stored in her body.

 

….wait, hang on, how did she just do that?

 

There was clearly far more ammunition than the size of her body would allow.

 

“With this, the probability of successfully capturing Jupiter has increased. The next time he encounters me will be his last.”

 

Libra said a very promising thing indeed.

I was not trying to raise a flag or anything, but I really could not foresee losing at all.[4]

Based on the strength of the Seven Luminaries that we had previously fought (LOL), Jupiter’s level should be at most around level 300. Furthermore, Libra had the attribute advantage over him.

No matter how I thought about it, it should be an overwhelming victory for Libra.

Anyways, I should leave this Jupiter-san to Libra and think about how to make Merak act.

As for Aries and Dina, I should send them around to check up on the extremists.

I was also interested in what the White Wings Supremacists’ “Volunteer Army” was planning.

 

“By the way, Ruphas-sama, I haven’t seen Dina around for a while. Do you have any idea where she might be?”

“Huh? Are you not able to detect her using your sensor?”

“Negative, there is no response from her within a 100km radius of me. The only conclusion I can reach is she is outside of the country.”

 

Whilst Libra questioned the oddity of the situation, I thought, “Ahh”, and put my hands together.

She had probably returned to the tower using teleportation magic.

That reminded me, Libra was not aware that Dina knew teleportation magic.

 

“There is no need to worry about that. She can use teleportation magic. I suspect that she’s returned back to the tower in order to manage our finances.”

“Teleportation magic…. Are you perhaps talking about… X-Gate?”

“Hm? No, but I haven’t heard about it in detail yet.”

“I am surprised. Is there really teleportation magic aside from X-Gate in this day and age?”

 

In response to Libra’s remark, I felt a slight headache.

 

What is it….. something is, something feels off…

… but, whatever it is, it doesn’t really matter right now. Though, it’s true that I can understand Libra’s surprise.

 

After all, no such thing as “teleportation magic” had existed 200 years ago.

Yes, exactly, such convenient magic didn’t exist in [X-Gate Online].

There were many modes of travel, and of course, there was also a command which allowed for instantaneous movement from one map to another. However, that was just a command to move across the map instantaneously and as such, it was treated as if the character had “travelled” normally and not “teleported”.

The only exception in the game was the existence of [X-Gate]. However, that was merely treated as part of the setting that never appeared in the actual game. Needless to say, it was unacquirable.

Therefore, Dina’s “Teleportation Magic” was either an X-Gate or some new type of magic which had been newly created and introduced during the past 200 years.

 

But why… Why is it that, after all this time, I’m only recalling this now?

Why had I accepted it as a matter of fact until now?

 

“Ruphas-sama?”

“Ah! Ahh, that’s right. Now that you mention it, Dina hasn’t explained how it works to me yet. Let’s ask her about it when she’s back.”

When I thought about it, there was a lot about Dina that we didn’t know.

It was a known fact that she was originally a “mob”, or basically a background NPC, but other than that particular information, I did not really know anything else about her.

She was not a golem that had been created by me like Libra, nor was she a captured monster like Aries.

Not that it mat…. No, I didn’t feel too good about it, but we needed to sit down and have a talk about things at least once.

 

*

 

“Shit… that golem, she just went full-on….”

 

Inside a forest that was some distance away from the city, Jupiter was screaming insults whilst treating his own injuries.

Everything had been going according to plan until today.

Calling himself ‘Jupitar’, he had successfully infiltrated the white side of the city and he had even successfully set up the civil war.

All that remained for him to do was to wait for the white and the black camps to destroy each other, then take out Merak after the country had perished.

Of course, when it came to one of the Seven Heroes, it would not be an easy win even if they had the [Loser’s Stigma].

However, he had the confidence to win if Merak became separated from his guards amidst the chaos caused by the civil war.

This was especially because Merak specialised in the [Earth] attribute. Therefore, as someone with an affinity for the [Wood] element, he stood in an advantageous position.

 

His current location was approximately 500km from the city.

 

I don’t know what that maid golem’s detection range is, but I’ve heard from the legends that even if you were 100km away from her, she could still pursue you. There are even stories of her sniping enemies from 200km away, so I’m going to be extra cautious and stay a few times that distance away, and hold my breath on top of that while hiding in this forest.

Travelling is a bit of a bother, but I can easily cover that distance with my ability.

But anyway, it’s become a bit troublesome.

As long as that golem’s in the city, I’m going to get detected as soon as I get close to it and get chased down.

And if I decide to fight her, I stand absolutely no chance of winning.

Truly, how did it turn out like this….. No, I know the reason already.

That golem is there because Ruphas Mafahl brought her along into the city.

But why now of all times? Why did this have to happen at the worst possible timing?

Seriously, just what is that person doing?

I thought you were supposed to be monitoring Ruphas to prevent something like this from happening.

 

“Why, hello there, you don’t look like you’re doing too well.”

 

There was a cute chuckle as if there was something funny.

When Jupiter turned his murderous stare towards the direction of the voice, he saw exactly the person that he had been thinking about, laughing at him with pleasure whilst putting her hands on her lips.

Moonlight shone onto her long golden hair which reached her knees. Her beauty seemed overly maintained.

Wearing a pure white robe, a completely enigmatic colleague walked towards Jupiter.

— One of the Seven Luminaries, Venus.

With the appearance of a beautiful young girl, she was the devilish witch who possessed the title of Metal.

Her skin, as if there was some form of camouflage, was a shade of white that almost seemed transparent – something one could not think of as belonging to a demon.

She was an existence who had been brought in by the leader, the one who possessed the title of the [Sun]. According to him, she was a real demon, but she was an entity that was shrouded in mystery.

It seemed that the leader fully trusted her, but Jupiter had persistently felt some reservations about her.

 

“You bastard…. You still have the guts to show up like nothing’s wrong!?”

“Oh, you’re so scary. Don’t get angry, I don’t like it.”

“Shut up! Why didn’t you come help me out!? And on top of that, why didn’t you stop Ruphas Mafahl from coming to this city or at least make a report about it! Thanks to you, I’m in this condition!”

“Oh, aren’t you one to talk? I was waiting at the meeting place for you the whole time. Not only did you make a lady wait for you, you even stood me up. You’re a failure as a man, you know.”

 

Whilst staring daggers at the girl who was purposefully making it obvious that she was faking tears, Jupiter’s expression was so full of hatred that he felt like his teeth were going to shatter from grinding them too much.

However, she was completely unconcerned about that and piled on even more words.

 

“I had planned to make a report, you know. I seem to recall that the person who didn’t come to the important meeting place was you, wasn’t it?”

“Guu…. Then, then why, why did you just let them come to the city!? If it’s you, shouldn’t you have been able to stop them!?”

“Please don’t say such unreasonable things. There’s no way someone like me would be able to stop that Supreme Ruler. The only thing that someone like me can do is just keep a lookout for where they’re going, that’s it.”

 

In response to what Venus just said, Jupiter clicked his tongue in a way that was clearly audible to her.

 

This bitch is always like this. She’s always so slippery and gets away from the pursuit. She’s truly so detestable.

 

“But I also feel bad about it, you know. So tonight, I thought that I should help you, hence, I have come before you.”

“Help me, you say?”

“Yeah. It’s in the way, right? That golem. If it’s for just a small amount of time, I can handle that thing.”

 

Jupiter was suspicious towards this suggestion.

He was thankful for the suggestion itself. It was a saving grace.

No, if anything, he really had no other option but to cling onto that suggestion.[5]

 

“…..is it even possible?”

“If it’s for about 20 minutes, it’s absolutely possible.”

“…..20 minutes, huh.”

 

20 minutes…. is a short amount of time.

But if I’m given that much time, as long as I get fairly close to the city from the start, I can make the round trip.

With that, I can go to the country, randomly attack the White Town and then simply tell those idiots, “It’s an attack from the Black City,” and it would be fine.

After I do that, those guys will simply crush each other for me.

Merak…. As for Merak, I’ll let it slide.

Once the country gets destroyed, I’ll wait for Ruphas’ group to leave first.

Even if it’s that person, as long as the country is gone, she should lose interest and leave.

Ruphas is an enemy of the demons, but she should also be the Seven Heroes’ enemy… so she should leave.

After that happens, I can just assassinate Merak somehow.

 

“Okay, fine…. make sure things happen properly. As for the signal, send it using this magic stone!”

“This is a magic stone of the wind.”

“That’s right, if you use this then I’ll know. Understand? Do it properly!”

 

After saying that, Jupiter pushed the stone onto Venus, then sat back down on the spot.

Venus also did not say anything else and silently left that place.

On her face was a smile filled with contempt, even though he was supposed to be her ally–.

 

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(Author Note) – skit / skipped – (TLN: refer to the end of my chapter 17)

(TLN:This author likes to break sentences up into small parts and separate them using a comma.)

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[1] Nasty Plot: “https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Nasty_Plot_(move)”.

[2] Remember that Ruphas as a character speaks down to others. I don’t know about the UK or US, but here in Australia, whether you are speaking to a boss, friend, elder, family or younger generation, there’s not much difference in the way we speak – yes, there’s a few differences, but not as many compared to Japan. However, in Japan there’s “tiers” – if you will – of speech. You speak differently to elders, senior, junior, boss, friend, family, younger sibling, older sibling, etc. English just doesn’t have that many tones or ways of speech to accurately convey the way Ruphas speaks.

[3] P2W (aka pay-to-win) is a term often used in gaming to mean paying with real-life money to win (either by obtaining P2W exclusive items or gaining an unfair advantage with consumables, equipment, stats, etc). Nowadays the term has gotten a little loose and also includes anything you can buy from the in-game “cash shop” using real-life money even if it’s available to other players by playing the game. If you play mobile games, think of it as micro-transactions.

[4] “Flag” is a Japanese slang often used by the younger generations to mean something that might happen in the future. There can be multiple meanings to flags which can be denoted by putting a word before the word “flag” itself, but by default, it usually means something negative, i.e. death flag.

[5] The raw used 渡りに舟, which is a Japanese proverb that literally means something like “Ship to cross”. It signifies something like a “saving grace”.

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