Chapter 38 – Benetnash Used Grudge!

Chapter 38 – Benetnash Used Grudge!

Raw link: http://ncode.syosetu.com/n2211cx/39/ (2015/12/21)

Translator: twomorefreethoughts / TpstT (2018/01/03)

Editor: Hands of Vecna / Vecna (2018/12/04)

Editor 2: Keii (2020/10/16)

Translation link: https://twomorefreethoughts.wordpress.com/awlba-c038/

__

__

__

 

In a dark capital city.

The vampire race’s kingdom of [Mjolnir] was eternally shrouded in darkness, as if daytime did not exist.

The vampires called themselves the rulers of the night, and even amongst the humanoids, they had the highest affinity with mana, so if anything, they were closer to demons than humans.

In the middle of the kingdom, a crimson red palace soared high above the buildings around it. And on its highest floor resided their eternal master, the Vampire Princess.

The only individual that the vampires swore their loyalty to, whether it be in the past, the present or the future, was this beautiful queen.

They did not have even a single thought of the Black-Winged Supreme Ruler or the Demon King. They lived solely to serve the Vampire Princess, and if she told them to die, they would die with pleasure.

A hoard of fanatics who were not even scared of death. Those were the citizens of Mjolnir.

At this moment, a young girl sat on the throne in the palace, and before her kneeled a single vampire.

 

“Reporting in. As Your Highness expected, Svalinn was indeed liberated from the threat of the Seven Luminaries, and the whereabouts of Aries of the Twelve Heavenly Stars was concealed.”

“Hmm. As I expected… That Megrez, he made a mistake in choosing not to inform me. He might be trying to cover up for someone else, but taking such an action only tells me that ‘she’ was there. …careless, isn’t he?”

 

The young girl who was sitting on the throne laughed with a “kusuri”.[1]

Her flowing hair was the color of platinum. Her vertically-slit pupils were scarlet red.[2]

Fangs were peeking out from between her lips, and her outer appearance was that of a mere 14-year-old girl.

However, when it came to vampires, who could live for eternity, trying to determine their age by their appearance was meaningless.

 

“I’ve waited far too long… ahh, I’ve waited for you for 200 years, my arch-rival. I knew for sure that, if it was you, you would definitely come back, even from hell.”

 

The young girl said that with great joy and stood up from her throne.

As she walked forward while stroking her hair, the black mantle that she was wearing waved in sync with her movement.

Walking towards a window which overlooked the whole kingdom, she gazed up at the sky, as if she was lovestruck.

 

“I’m anxiously waiting for you, Mafahl… If I don’t surpass you, my time will never flow. Ever since that moment when you disappeared back then, my time has remained frozen.”[3]

 

The corner of her mouth curled up, baring her fangs.

There was a fiery glint in her scarlet red eyes, and she clenched her fists, as if she couldn’t wait a moment longer to go into battle.

 

Who cares about that flock of weaklings called demons?

The Demon King? Like I care. He can do whatever the hell he wants to.

The future of the humanoids? Yeah, I really don’t care about that, because I’m not interested in them.

If you’re going to perish, go ahead and perish on your own. The only reason you guys are getting killed is because you are weak.

Those weaklings might cry about why I’m not helping them, but… I don’t know them, nor do I even hear them. I also don’t have any intention of listening to them. They’re simply worthless.

The world is always controlled by the strong. Only a handful of prodigies possess the right to dictate the future of the world.

I have absolutely no interest in weaklings and incompetent fools.

There is only one person that has captured these scarlet eyes.

That Black-Winged Angel alone. My arch-rival, and my long-time enemy.

 

“Let’s settle things properly this time… Between just you and I, without anyone else interfering. The one who will rule this world will not be you, nor the Demon King. I’ll make you feel the humiliation of defeat and teach you that the ruler of this world is going to be this Vampire Princess Benetnash!”

 

—Without fail, I’ll be the one to kill you… Ruphas Mafahl.

 

Saying that, the young girl – Benetnash held her palm towards the sky.

The conclusion that they were unable to reach on that day 200 years ago. This time for sure…

Yes, whilst feeling a strong desire…

 

*

 

“Haaaaaa…”

 

As I was leaving Gjallarhorn, since we had nothing left to do in that country, I deeply sighed.

 

Ahh, I ended up boasting quite a bit.

That’s going to become part of my dark past.

 

That probably looked quite uncool from a bystander’s point of view.

 

“Is anything wrong, Master?”

“No, I was just thinking that I had spoken out of character. I showed a side of me that was uncool.”

“I do not believe it was uncool. It was an awe-inspiring event that should be saved for eternity in my memory. It is truly unfortunate that we are unable to save the moment in a visual format.”

 

I trembled at the words “saved for eternity” that came out of Libra’s mouth.

I did not know if it was as a photo or a video, but either way, the result would be no different from being publicly executed.

Though… since she had said “unfortunate”, it looked like she had not gotten the chance to do so. However, I decided to check with her just in case.

 

“Libra. Don’t tell me that you took a photo or something of that incident… If you have it saved in any sort of form, dispose of it immediately.”

“…”

 

I asked her to delete it, but she did not answer.

Libra would usually instantly reply, but surprisingly, this time alone, she seemed to be hesitating.

 

What is it? She doesn’t want to dispose of it that much?

 

That was what I was thinking, but she answered with a reply that I was not expecting at all.

 

“Umm… what is a fhoto?”[4]

 

Upon hearing Libra’s reply, I froze a little.

 

Ahh, that makes sense.

 

There’s no such thing as photographs in this world to begin with.

Of course, even if I asked Libra to delete one, she would not understand what it was.

Just in case, I looked at Aries. It seemed that he also did not know what a photograph was, judging from the way he looked as he shook his head.

Looking at his reaction, I was satisfied that there really was no such thing as a photograph in this world.

How strange – was what I thought at the time.

It really gave off a fantastical feel/(that) “fantasy” feel when a metallic golem like Libra, who was plainly technologically superior even compared to the modern world, existed, yet photographs did not exist.

Well, in actuality, Libra was an existence that had been made using the skill of an alchemist, and thus she was technically not mechanical. If you thought about it that way, maybe it was not so strange?

 

However… Something… Something was not sitting well.

I felt as though I had missed something.

What was it? What had I forgotten?

What had I missed?

 

Remember… Yeah, it was on the first day back when I had arrived in this world.

 

— … but those were events of 200 years ago. In this world where there’s no photography, I doubt anyone would be able to recognise me.

— naïve, that’s too naïve Ruphas-sama. This trading city is where people of every corner of the world gather, you know? And races with long lifespans like elves aren’t exceptions. They may still remember you clearly.[5]

 

“——!”

 

I reflexively looked at Dina.

There’s no mistake. She “knows”!

Dina has knowledge about “photographs”, which do not exist in this world!

Perhaps Dina had also realised that she had slipped up, because she seemed to have been struck by a sudden realisation and quickly looked in my direction.

There was no doubt about it. It was certain. She had been caught red-handed.

I did not know why or how, but Dina was definitely an “irregular” just like me.

At the very least, she had knowledge of the “other” world.

 

“Dina… There are some things that I want to discuss with you in private. Can you come with me?”

“… Of course.”

 

I will not let you say no.

 

There was nothing wrong with my thought process.

That’s right, I had always overlooked Dina.

I would have figured it out if I had thought about it even a little. Or perhaps it was that I myself had looked away.

She was an adviser NPC that not even I could remember.

Ahh, yeah, of course, there had been one. I do remember setting down a background object that had no combat abilities.

However, Dina was far too competent to be something like that.

Her abilities did not dishonour the position of adviser.

Furthermore, it was impossible for people like Aries or Megrez to be unable to recall her existence at all.

 

I took Dina and went further into the forest.

Aries and Libra tried to come along, but I stopped them.

My discussion with Dina should be kept private.

Therefore, I also left Aigokeros with Aries and Libra and double-checked to make sure that no one else was in the surrounding area.

With that, I was able to take my time to speak freely.

 

“Now then, where should I start… No, let’s not be roundabout with this. I’ll cut straight to the chase. You, who are you? Your story about being my adviser from 200 years ago… that was a lie, right?”

“… Yes, it was a lie.”

 

In response to my question, Dina answered honestly without even trying to deceive me.

As I expected.

Dina was not a mere background NPC.

She was just someone who was using that position as a cover.

Of course she was.

 

“Because that tower was dirty.”

 

It clearly contradicted Dina’s statement of how she had been living and waiting in that tower for the past 200 years.

It was possible that she had been waiting in that one spot without ever cleaning the tower, but that kind of situation would be a bit strange.

If she had been waiting for her master to come back, she should and would have at least kept the top floor clean.

And yet, for her to not do such a thing meant that… She had not been living there at all for the past 200 years.

 

If you thought about it that way, it was easy to put the pieces together.

Yeah, it was something simple that I should have been able to figure out.

But I did not figure things out. I pretended to not put the pieces together.

I had unconsciously looked the other way.

Because I did not want to know. I did not want to figure things out.

 

“Who are you? A citizen under my rule…? No, that’s not it. If that was the case, then Libra would have remembered you. At the very least, you are someone who had not entered that tower until after I was sealed.”

“It is as you say. I am neither your adviser nor your subordinate. I am merely someone who found out about the settings of that tower’s NPC and exploited that information.”

 

– NPC, huh.

Looks like this woman finally decided to stop hiding things.

Nevertheless, that in itself raised yet another question.

Assuming that she was a player, if she had had enough influence to enter the tower… then it would not be strange for Libra to remember her.

Additionally, when Aries had first met Dina, he initially had no recollection of her, but was able to recognise that she was my “adviser”.

What was…

 

No, that’s right.

Dina has that thing.

 

“You tricked Aries and Aigokeros with memory manipulation, right?”

“Yes. I used it on Aries back when we first met and cornered him. For Aigokeros, it was… since we were both cooperating with the demons, it was during the time we were in their castle. I altered and inserted a fake memory in each of them respectively.”

“The reason that the golems were unable to recognise you as an ally… was because memory manipulation does not work on them?”

“That is correct. Golems do not have memories, only data. Therefore, a vague skill like memory manipulation does not work on them.”

 

A memory manipulation skill that worked even on people at high levels, huh.

She really possessed an ill-natured skill.

Which meant that there was also a possibility that I was also being manipulated myself.

Not only that, she mentioned the demon race’s castle?

I finally understood, I was gradually starting to see what was going on. Her real identity.

 

“Out of curiosity, how much of my memory did you fiddle with?”

“… I couldn’t.”

“What?”

“Your ego and will are far stronger than you yourself would like to believe. Even assuming that it was possible to plant a fake memory in you, to achieve such a feat, I would need to continually cast the spell on you for at least a year without rest. That was why I had to fake being your adviser NPC in order to fool you. The only thing that I barely managed to influence was to make you ‘unconsciously avoid doubting me’. It was only possible for me to guide your thought process a little bit.”

 

So my memory had not been fiddled with, huh.

I did not know to what extent she was telling the truth. However, it was reasonable to say that she had no reason to fake being in that kind of a risky position if she was able to tamper with my memory.

All she had to do was impersonate one of my citizens.

Or was she purposely aiming to to make me think that way?

 

“Since you know about that NPC, you’re a ‘player’, right?”

“Honestly, I’m surprised. To think that, other than me, there’s another player… and on top of that, it would be you. It really was a miscalculation on my end.”

 

With a cute motion, Dina made a sharp and evil smile.

It was significantly different from the high-class elegant smile that she had been making until now. Notwithstanding, it was a smile that was strangely fitting of her.

It seemed like this was her real face.

 

“Also, I’d like to make a correction. I am not a ‘player’.”

“… What?”

“It would be more accurate to call me a ‘test player’. I am a test player hired for the purpose of testing out the ‘half-elf race’ that was supposed to be added in a future patch.”

“Is that the reason why you know about the inside of the tower?”

“Yes. From the administrators’ computers, even if you are not a citizen of their country, you could take a look at a player’s power and their inner settings. I found out about that adviser NPC from there.”

 

Hey, are those kinds of things something that test players should be able to look at?

I’m guessing that she looked at those things without permission. How did she not get fired after all that?

 

“And… what do you mean by manipulating Aigokeros’s memory at the demons’ castle? That implies that you are able to freely enter their castle.”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying, Ruphas-sama. I am in a position where I can freely enter the demon race’s castle at will.”

 

After saying that, Dina “changed”.

Her ocean blue hair turned into a vibrant gold colour, and her calm and gentle face became belligerent.

Her lips curled into an arc, and her eyes thinned. It truly changed into a face that I had never seen before.

 

“Originally, I had planned to continue acting as your adviser, guiding you until you and the Demon King crushed each other. Having said that, now that it’s come to this… that plan is… it seems like I had underestimated you too much. Therefore, allow me to use an alternative method.”

“Hmm?”

“– I’ll make you submit to me right here and turn you into my pawn. I still need you to be useful… my loving master.”

 

The pressure that Dina was giving off significantly increased.

Due to the pressure of her magical powers, the trees in the surroundings trembled and the earth vibrated.

 

This is quite impressive.

 

There was no question about it, the pressure she was giving off was the greatest that I had ever felt since I had arrived in this world.

 

“Can you do it? With your level at 300?”

“Aha! Ahahahahahaha! You still believe in that? Something like that… of course that was a lie. That was also another feature that was going to be introduced in a future patch. It’s a simple skill that conceals your status by setting a false status. It was a well known fact in the community that Observing Eyes was far too convenient. For the purpose of balancing things out, it’s only reasonable that there would be a skill to counter that.”

“In other words, your real level is…”

“Of course, is there even a need for me to say it? I’m level 1000, just like you.”

 

Her transformation finished.

The person that was standing in front of me had the same facial features as Dina, yet she was definitely a different person.

She had dashing gold hair, and her magic power was gushing out.

And even after she stopped her deception, her beautiful countenance was not affected by her belligerence in the slightest.

 

“Allow me to re-introduce myself. I am Venus – one of the demon race’s Seven Luminaries, Venus of Metal. It’s nice to meet you.”

 

She spread her arms out, forming the shape of a cross, and smiled, as if she was mocking everything.

 

“—Now then, let’s kill each other. My lovely master – Ruphas Mafahl.”

 

__

(Author Note)

 

Vampire: “Reporting! A super Sa__an person appeared in Totokama Star!”[6]

Benet: “Dawut!? Run away…!”

Vampire: “Yuwut!?”

This time’s Vege__’s job was to create a rival character and show Benetnash’s face, as well as Dina’s true nature (?).[7]

 

I was thinking from the very beginning that there should at least be one person from the Seven Heroes who would be hostile to Ruphas, so Beneta is an enemy character. Her priorities are Ruphas > Insurmountable Wall > everything else.

If the Demon King was in front of her and Ruphas was 100m in front of her, she would ignore the Demon King and head straight towards Ruphas at full speed.

She is physically more troublesome than Merak.

But if you reconcile with her properly, she might say, “Don’t misunderstand, Ruphlotto. It’s not like I’m here to help you out or anything!” and completely become a tsundere… Nah, that’s totally impossible.

 

Eh? Dina suddenly showing her true nature seems too forced and planned out?

… Maybe it’s just your imagination. It’s not like I’m hiding anything.

 

(Author Note end)

__

 

[1] Err… it’s a chuckle-ish laugh, just imagine a laughing animation that you think fits “kusuri”… Yeah, Japanese is very descriptive…

[2] Think silver. & I imagine like a cat.

[3] “You” here is “kisama” (貴様). It’s a very rude version of “you”. It’s also used to look down on others in some contexts.

[4] The raw used “Syashin”. “Shashin” (シャシン) is “photo” but written in katakana, as opposed to “shashin” (写真) written in kanji. Think of it like a normal word like “alphabet” versus its phonetics/syllables.

[5] These two sentences are from chapter 4 “https://shurimtranslation.com/light-novels/a-last-boss-appeared/chapter-4-the-old-man-unleashes-golem/”. With Shurim’s permission, the translation for these two sentences have been taken from chapter 4 in order to keep things consistent. Do note that “picture” has been changed to “photograph” to better fit with the context.

[6] Dragon Ball Z reference

[7] (?) is part of the raw. Also, in case you haven’t noticed, the author seems to be referring to himself as Vegeta in the end of chapter author notes, as well as in Easter eggs in the middle of some chapters. (i.e. breaking the 4th Wall).

__

[Previous Chapter]

[Table of Content]

[Next Chapter]