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Chapter 6Vol. 2 - .8 - Hill of Bliss (8)
"…Damn–!"
Lying on his back on a modest bed, Takashi vented his frustration to the ceiling. The old wooden hut was a vacant house provided by Zhaviest. Because Excella and Aina were women, Takashi was given a private hut away from the women.
Takashi looked at the package containing the holy garment that he had placed on the corner of his bed.
(Would I have won if I had worn this…? No, there's no way that's possible! If I wore such an outfit and lost, I would have been even more miserable than I am now!)
It was the right decision not to wear it, Takashi told himself. At that time, suddenly, without knocking, the door opened with a bang. When he was surprised and turned his head to look, Zhaviest was standing there.
"Sorry to interrupt your rest. Are you alone, Lord Hero?"
"Y-Yes"
"I was so focused on the battle that I was slow to stop the attack. I am truly sorry."
As he closed the door, Zhaviest put his hand on his hairless head in embarrassment. Takashi returned a friendly smile.
"No. It's my fault for being so weak."
Zhaviest brought a wooden chair from the corner of the room and sat down near Takashi's bed.
"It's a little hot in here, so please excuse me."
Then he took off his heavy-looking priestly robes. Zhaviest was wearing light gear similar to chainmail armor. Zhaviest was much more muscular than Takashi had imagined. However, what caught Takashi's attention more than that was…
"T-Tattoos?"
Zhaviest's exposed arms were tattooed with tree peonies. Zhaviest laughed cheerfully.
"Ka– ka–ka. It is different from a tattoo. It is something that emerged spontaneously when I received the bestowal of Tengen's aura from god. I call them divine crests."
"Oh… indeed"
(Not good, me. I get scared when I see this kind of thing. It's not the same world as I was before.)
There was a reason Takashi was disturbed when he saw Zhaviest's arm. Zhaviest's divine crests looked very similar to the tattoo that Sasaki, a yakuza man he had met before his transmigration, had tattooed on his body.
"I have told Miss Aina and the others about this, but just in case, I thought I would let Lord Hero know as well…"
After this preamble, Zhaviest, next to Takashi, began to explain.
"In two days, the Imperial Capital will be engulfed in war. Therefore, I would like Lord Hero and his companions to stay as far away from the Imperial Capital as possible!"
"That's…"
"Let me put it simply. I will use the might of my own Heavenly Power to retake the Imperial Capital from the forces of the Demon Lord Army."
"Retake the Imperial Capital!? I-If that's the case, I'll also participate!!"
Takashi tried to get up from the bed, but he still was unable to muster the strength. The best he could do was raise the upper part of his body.
"I do not need to borrow Lord Hero's power for help. Leave the affairs of the Imperial Capital to me and enjoy your peaceful time in Leirune."
"B-But! I mean, I am the hero! My power, can help a little,"
In the middle of his words, Zhaviest leaned forward from his chair and brought his face close to Takashi's. Zhaviest, still smiling with his same good-natured smile, said.
"It is useless, you know! That shitty-looking power."
"Eh…"
"I thought that the life force of a hero must be really amazing, but it is no different than that of an ordinary human being, you know—. In fact, it's even weaker than the average. I don't have any use for you, you know, pal."
"Mr. Zhaviest…"
"Since you're only a little urchin, I'll give you a firm warning, so don't butt in uninvited."
While Takashi was in a daze, Zhaviest continued to talk indifferently.
"Listen, will you? Neither you nor Tartanin... no, I don't even need a single soldier, you know. I alone will retake the Imperial Capital."
"O-Only yourself!? That's absurd and reckless!!"
"It's not reckless, you know! For me, it's not. And, I'm already finished with my preparations."
Zhaviest showed Takashi two sake flasks that were in some kind of holster hanging from his armpits.
"Cove and Leaven vials. With this, I can wipe out the Demon Lord's army forces stationed around the Imperial Capital.
"What are you talking about…?"
Cove and Leaven. Certainly, those were the names of a town and village that was destroyed by the Demon Lord's Army. Yes, by a fiend that used drain———
(DRAIN!?)
At that moment, Takashi realized. The very exact situation that he was in right now. It was as if all his strength has been sucked out of him…
"I-Is the heavenly power, the power to drain!?"
"It is a little wrong. Drain is only siphoning, right? 'Siphon the life force out of humans, increased by a factor of ten times and convert it into an attacking force'——— That is the Heavenly Power… no, the applied technique of Heavenly Power that I came up with."
"Then, you killed all those people for that!? Cove Town, Leaven town too, you did!?"
"Ka–kaka. A necessary evil. But you don't need to worry about it, though. With the mind manipulation of the heavenly power, you can die laughing as if you were smoking weed. It's God's mercy!"
Takashi's body trembled with anger as Zhaviest said this without a trace of remorse.
(W-What priest!? What holy light energy!? This fellow, he's a very bad guy, isn't he?!)
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