Akatsuki Translations

Echelle Loine Raleigh’s morning was truly the worst.

Her body felt as heavy as if weighted down by stones. Her head throbbed as if it was about to split open. Despite a full day having passed since returning from the dungeon, her body remained heavy.

The reason was clear. It was the backlash from drawing upon the power of the spirit Miralphyne for the first time in years.

The power of spirits, different from magic, is a supernatural force bestowed by the spirits themselves. But no matter how miraculous the power, it is the body itself that must invoke it. Overexertion leads to strong backlash, especially since Echelle had been avoiding using Miralphyne’s power for a long time, refraining from invoking the spirit’s power.

There were times she used a portion of that power reflexively, without intending to, but it had been a really long time since she had drawn on it through her own will. The backlash was inevitable.

The recovery potion that Kalkara had prepared helped her regain a little strength, but no matter how much her physical condition improved, her mood did not clear at all.

The reason was obvious. The monsterification of Dragon-Devoured Uuga.

The city she was supposed to govern had turned into a monster. When Echelle witnessed that horrific sight, her consciousness began to fade from exhaustion. She had felt faint just from being covered by that eerie barrier-like thing, but this was too much.

“A day has passed, what’s the situation in the temporary temple…” -Echelle

In response to Echelle’s question, Kalkara answered in her usual indifferent manner.

“Using the Nameless stationed here as guards, about 30% ran away early on. The rest are in a state of panic, wondering when to flee.” -Kalkara

“Is that so…” -Echelle

Echelle was not surprised by this. Shortly after the abnormal situation began, the temple’s 【attendants 】had fallen into a state of panic.

Though they were indeed a frivolous and careless bunch, even if they had been diligent attendants, it’s normal to flee in such a situation. Echelle would have done the same if she wasn’t in charge here.

“What will you do, Kalkara?” -Echelle

“I still have a mission. Besides, I would never leave Echelle-sama and flee.” -Kalkara

“Sorry…” -Echelle

Echelle smiled weakly at Kalkara’s unchanged demeanor.

They had been together for a long time.

Since before Echelle became a Sun Knight, when she was still at her family home, so it had been over ten years.

Kalkara had always been with her, a girl who was in a difficult position due to being possessed by an evil spirit at a young age. There’s no doubt she had been with her longer than any blood-related family. She had often been caught up in the ill will directed at Echelle by her siblings, but her dedication had never wavered until today.

And Echelle was deeply grateful to her for performing the duties of a priestess on her behalf, and trusted her, even though Kalkara was always aloof, her words quite harsh, and a bit scary.

“Echelle-sama?” -Kalkara

“No, I was just reminiscing about the past a little.” -Echelle

“Ever since I’ve been with Echelle-sama, I’ve been involved in various matters, but I think this is the first time it’s been this bad.” -Kalkara

“Yes, indeed… Worse than when I was made a test subject because of the powers granted to me by the spirit.” -Echelle

“I thought they were trying to kill you under the guise of an experiment, that time.” -Kalkara

Echelle smiled wryly at Kalkara’s straightforward statement. It wasn’t a joke; there was a real possibility of that. The attitude of Echelle’s family, those supposed to be connected by blood, was closer to hatred than mere dislike. Echelle wouldn’t be surprised if they had intended to kill her. To her, that’s what family meant.

That’s why she found herself relying on Kalkara all the more.

And that’s why she couldn’t afford to depend on her now, or rely on her too much.

Especially since, from the construction of Uuga’s city to reinforcing the temporary city after evacuation and dealing with the whimsically appearing monsters, she had no choice but to rely on Kalkara. She had to produce some results, at least. She couldn’t face her or anyone else otherwise.

With that resolve, Echelle managed to stand up.

“Call Ur and the others for me.” -Echelle

　　　　　　　　　　◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

Temporary Temple, Office

“……What a mess this has turned into.” -Ur

Having somewhat recovered and escaped the hospital room, Ur summarized the current situation in a single, blunt remark.

It was a mess, to say the least. Even in Ur’s tumultuous life, he had never encountered a situation like this. The others probably felt the same. No, even silver or gold-ranked adventurers wouldn’t have experienced anything like this. There’s no way.

A city, a human habitation zone, turning into a monster.

“What’s the situation in Uuga?” -Ur

At Ur’s question, Shizuku nodded. She had been conducting the investigation while Ur was fully recovering.

“It’s the same as when we observed it from a distance. Except for the eyeball-like things on the barrier looking around, there hasn’t been any notable activity. That black barrier-like thing is still there.” -Shizuku

“Can’t we get inside?” -Ur

“Based on sound checks, there doesn’t seem to be any physical barrier, so we should be able to enter through the main gate as before. However, compared to before, there’s much more movement inside.” -Shizuku

『Indeed, it was like being inside a living creature’s stomach. Well, at least we weren’t dissolved by stomach acid right away, so rest easy, HAHA! 』-Rock

Rock, who had gone ahead to scout inside following Shizuku’s instructions, laughed. In times like these, Rock’s body, which could easily repair even significant physical damage, was incredibly handy.

“I also spoke to the Great Eagle of Dawn, but it seems they are in disarray as well, and it appears this situation is unknown to them too.” -Shizuku

“That figures…” -Ur

Ur agreed with Shizuku’s report. There are not many who have an understanding or knowledge of this situation. After all, the Great Eagle of Dawn is a trade guild. Experts in monster extermination are different.

“What about the folks from the White Serpent?” -Ur

“I checked their campsite, but nobody was there.” -Shizuku

“…Could they have been inside the city when the anomaly happened?” -Ur

They had been hunting magic stones around the Dragon-Devoured city of Uuga. It was definitely a possibility. However, she shook her head.

“At the very least, other Nameless saw them return.” -Shizuku

“So, they fled?” -Ur

“Their supplies were left at the campsite. It doesn’t seem like they ran away leaving everything behind.” -Shizuku

“Hmm…” -Ur

Ur would have liked to hear the opinion of the monster hunting guild, but there’s no use relying on those who are absent. He temporarily put aside any thoughts of the White Serpent.

“What’s the situation here at the temporary temple?” -Ur

At Ur’s question, Echelle looked up. She was pale, her hair unkempt as if she hadn’t been able to properly wash herself. Honestly, Ur wanted to tell her not to overdo it, but the situation didn’t allow for such considerations. He swallowed the words of concern he was about to express.

Echelle understood that now was the time she had to push herself. She somehow managed to lift her head and look at Ur and the others.

“The situation is the worst. The Nameless and the attendants are fleeing one after another. Those who are still here will either run away soon or are just unable to find a way to escape the city. It’s fair to say this place is collapsing.” -Echelle

“Truly the worst…” -Ur

“Resuming the city’s construction is out of the question… It was already a hopeless cause.” -Echelle

Echelle’s self-mocking smile was painfully strained, but in a way, it seemed like a burden had been lifted off her shoulders. Like trying to uphold a castle built on sand that was finally crumbling. In a sense, there might be some relief in it.

“I’ll contact the Sun Knight Order of the City of Sin, Gradol and report that due to the abnormal situation, it’s difficult to revert the city’s transformation into a dungeon and ask for their judgment.”  -Echelle

“Is that okay?” -Ur

“There’s no good or bad about it anymore. There are no options left. I just have to take responsibility for the failure.” -Echelle

Echelle smiled weakly. Indeed, under the current circumstances, that was about all Echelle could do. The temporary city was originally operating on a fine balance. It was foreseeable that any disturbance could lead to this.

If only the attendants hadn’t scattered, there might have been other options—

“Echelle-sama,” -Shizuku

At that moment, Shizuku, who had been silent, spoke up. Instead of looking at Echelle, her gaze was fixed on a corner of the room, at seemingly nothing. Her action resembled a cat staring into the void, but when she did this, it meant she was picking up on “sounds” that Ur and the others couldn’t hear.

“I’m not sure if this counts as good news, but I’ll report it anyway.” -Shizuku

With this rather ominous lead-in, she delivered her message.

“The fleeing attendants are coming back… covered in wounds.” -Shizuku

“………..What?” -Echelle

Echelle would soon learn that her misfortunes were far from over.