Akatsuki Translations

Within the abandoned small dungeon, once conquered and forsaken, resided the renowned golem master Magika. The sound of thunder reverberated through the heart of her abode. 

“Hahaha~~! Spirit-bound are ama~zing! How exhilarating~!” -Magika 

《This person’s loud and noisyyyy 》-Akane 

The thunderous noise continued, seemingly drowning out Magika’s laughter. 

She was currently conducting a test fire of her 【Dragon Fang Spear】, a weapon wielded by her golems. But it was no ordinary test fire. Akane, a spirit-bound, utilized her powers to enhance the test. 

The Dragon Fang Cannon was a “cannon” that utilized magic cores to launch powerful destructive spells. Its spear-like exterior split into two when fired, serving as rails to control the trajectory of the discharged energy. 

Akane’s role was to be those rails. She transformed herself flawlessly, down to the last detail, to match Magika’s requirements, and then… 

“Fireー!!” -Magika 

She shot. The dazzling white flash unleashed from the Dragon Fang Cannon struck the walls of the dungeon, causing the entire structure to tremble. It carved into the dungeon’s walls, veering to the right, splitting into multiple forms, relentlessly eroding its structure. 

To be honest, watching from the sidelines, Ur was on edge, wondering when the dungeon would collapse. 

“Akane~, are you alright? Did you get hurt~?” -Magika 

『It’s hooot, noisyyyy… Nii-tan, let’s switch. 』 -Akane 

“That’s impossible—do your best, Akane!” -Ur 

Amidst the booming sound, Ur could only send encouragement to Akane. 

“The energy seems to be gathering gradually,” Shizuku observed amidst the thunderous cacophony. The energy released by Akane was gradually converging. The scattered lights transformed into a single, thick beam, coinciding with the increasing intensity of the resonating sound within the dungeon. And finally… 

“Fireー!!” -Magika 

The last shot released by Akane shook the dungeon with tremendous force. Even Ur and Shizuku, accustomed to the noise, instinctively covered their ears due to the impact. The golems serving as the foundation were severed and immediately crumbled. Seeing this, Magika smiled with satisfaction. 

“This design… Perfect! Hooray! Thank you~~, Akane-chan!” Magika exclaimed excitedly, before dashing into her house. 

Left behind were Ur, Shizuku, and a fatigued Akane, who staggered out from the Dragon Fang Cannon after a moment of silence. 

“…So does this mean she’s satisfied for the time being?” -Ur 

“I’m t-i-r-e-d~… Juice~.” -Akane 

“Afterward, let’s go together to buy some lemonade,” Shizuku consoled Akane. 

Observing Magika’s contented expression, Ur quietly breathed a sigh of relief. 

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After returning home following their encounter with Magika, Ur and the others continued to wait as she worked in the back room. Several hours passed, during which Magika occasionally emerged outside, and Akane was snatched away by her, accompanied by a few resounding explosions. Finally, they were able to resume their conversation. 

“We~ll, thanks to Akane-chan, we managed to save quite a bit of time~. I’m grateful~,” Magika said, wearing a satisfied smile on her face, which was different from her initial sluggish and nonchalant demeanor when they first met. 

“That’s great… I didn’t realize she would be so helpful.” -Ur  

“It’s amazing that she can directly output what’s in her mind, right~? No wonder I was made to write ‘this’ down.” -Magika  

In front of her desk lay a pile of papers. These were no ordinary documents – they were the solemn 【Blood Contract】, bearing severe penalties should their contents be violated. When Diz mentioned lending Akane, these were the conditions she laid out. 

　――”You’re dealing with a golem user, so if you’re going to reveal the existence of a spirit-bound to someone as skilled as her, insurance is necessary, right?” 

Thus, Diz had prepared this contract. By the way, Ur decided to forget the fact that several gold coins had vanished with the completion of this contract. 

“Spirit-binding is truly amazing~… It’s much more limitless than I had imagined~.” -Akane 

“I’m glad you’re satisfied… Now then.” -Ur 

“Sure thing~. I’ll pay a reward to the Golden Phoenix, but is just information enough for you guys?” -Magika 

“The reward for Akane’s labor is not mine to claim.” -Ur 

Akane was ultimately Diz’s possession, and her reward belonged to him. However, since it was Ur and Shizuku who connected Diz to her, they would receive a bonus for their efforts. 

“By the way, in our deal, I managed to secure a sum that far exceeds the prize for the Crystal Golem. Are you curious about it?” -Magika  

“I’m fine,” Ur declined politely, rejecting the proposal of Magika who seemed to be having fun. 

“Hehe~, it’s quite intriguing, isn’t it? How is it that you find yourself in such a predicament, despite having a ludicrous joker like a spirit-bound as your family? That child is a source of making money, you kno~w?” -Magika 

《Me, a joker? 》-Akane 

“She was too much of a joker to handle, so a poor person like me could handle her.” -Ur 

During the trade with Magika, Diz had spent an immense amount of money to ensure safety. Neither Ur nor Ur’s father could afford such expenses. That’s why Ur could only hide Akane from the eyes of others, and the foolish father who tried to take advantage of her ended up dead after only grasping a small amount of money. 

Money flows to those who already have it, as someone somewhere said with a smug smile. It seemed to be a fact. 

“Well, enough about that. We’ll also receive our reward.” -Ur 

The present problem was more important than regrets. They had bowed to Diz multiple times and managed to bring Akane with them. They had to claim what they were owed. 

“Su~re. Although it’s quite simple. Here,” Magika said, extending her hand, holding a crystal. It was slightly larger than the palm of Ur’s hand, a white crystal reflecting the image of the dungeon and the Crystal Golem. It was a white crystal used to project and stabilize sceneries. Ur could understand that much, but… 

“…So, what is this Crystal Golem?” Ur asked. 

As far as he can see, only the crystal golem is being projected. Its meaning eludes him. 

“Ahhh, no, no, not the golem. Look closely~.” -Magika 

Saying that, she pointed to the lower part of the crystal, where the image shifted. The crystal picture showed the feet of a large crystal golem extending beyond its boundaries. Naturally, there were only the giant feet of the golem, nothing else… 

“Hmm? What’s this?” -Ur 

“Ara, isn’t it a small… mouse?” -Shizuku 

Indeed, upon closer inspection, near those massive feet, a small mouse figure was reflected. It was unusual to see anything other than monsters or adventurers within the dungeon, and a mere mouse, not even a giant rat, was uncommon but not unheard of. Faced with the image of this relatively ordinary mouse in the crystal, Ur, Shizuku, and Akane furrowed their brows in perplexity. 

“…So, what is this?” -Ur 

“I told you, ‘That’s it~.’” -Magika 

The repeated words of Magika. Ur couldn’t grasp their meaning for a while, so he peered into the crystal once again. After a brief moment of contemplation, he suddenly realized. 

The crystal golem is standing there, protecting the mouse. 

“…Wait, you mean that?” -Ur 

“That’s what I’ve been saying from the beginning. This ‘mouse’ is the objective of the crystal golem’s actions~.” -Magika 

The objective. 

The command formulas engraved on the golems, which were born in the dungeon without human intervention, were random. Sometimes, they would receive entirely reasonable orders befitting a guardian, while in other cases, they would endlessly repeat meaningless actions. 

Therefore, it wouldn’t be strange to have a golem faithfully following the command to “protect the mouse.” 

“Then, the reason the crystal golem that was supposed to be in the middle layer came up…” -Ur 

“It’s not because of the crystal golem, but because this mouse went up to the upper layer, so the golem followed~. Probably the dungeon was in a state of confusion during the active period, thanks to the mouse.” -Magika 

The golem’s action, which was the only one considered inexplicable, suddenly invading the upper layer, made sense according to her explanation. 

“…You noticed that well.” -Ur 

“It’s not such a difficult concept~. If it suddenly went up to the upper layer but didn’t go outside, it’s not hard to think it would stay in the upper layer. We just have to investigate further…” -Magika 

And the result of that investigation was this. 

The crystal golem was indeed pursuing the figure of the mouse. However, it wasn’t attacking the mouse. The golem always acted to protect the mouse. It relentlessly eliminated any humans or creatures (even if it wasn’t targeting the mouse itself but something aimed at the golem). The mystery of the golem’s sudden invasion of the upper layer and its subsequent aggressive behavior towards all living beings was now explained. And its weakness, too. 

[Destruction], [Rampage], [Function Disablement]. Out of these three, the third one could render the golem unable to move by achieving its objective or destroying it. 

“In that case…” -Shizuku 

“We can defeat the crystal golem ourselves.” -Ur 

Shizuku and Ur exchanged glances. Finally, they could see a breakthrough that had eluded them until now. It might be challenging to directly strike the golem, but defeating a small mouse should be within their capabilities. They would have to slip past the golem’s hands, but it was still more realistic than a direct confrontation. 

A glimmer of hope appeared. That’s what the two of them thought. 

“Weeeell, it won’t be that easy, though~~.” -Magika 

The one who dampened their spirits was the Magika who had brought them good tidings. For a moment, Ur was elated, but her words furrowed his brow. 

“…You mean?” -Ur 

“It’s about what we just talked about. What do you think?” -Magika 

“What do I think…” -Ur 

He thought it was a very promising idea. Although not definitive, the information was presented by a first-class golem user, one who was temporarily lending her skills as compensation for lending her a spirit-bound. The accuracy would be high. 

Anyone could do it. Even Ur and Shizuku, who had become adventurers only a month ago, could aim for it. It was truly something anyone could do, something simple… 

“…Anyone?” -Ur 

“Yeaaaah, anyone~~.” -Magika 

Magika muttered nonchalantly while peering at Akane’s small palm through some sort of lens. 

“You guys are aiming for the ‘Copper Rings,’ aren’t you~~?” -Magika 

“Yeah, so?” -Ur 

“In that case, if you aim for ‘Function Disablement,’ the Adventurers’ Guild might not evaluate it favorably~.” -Magika 

Function Disablement involved exploiting the opponent’s weakness to defeat them. It was a highly rational tactic. However, the fact that the existence of that little mouse had remained undiscovered until now was why the crystal golem had become a bounty target. Just because the mouse was discovered didn’t mean the bounty would be rescinded. Such a thing would not happen at this point. 

But how would it affect the Adventurers’ Guild, which evaluated adventurers’ capabilities? 

“I found and killed the golem’s guardian mouse, causing it to shut down~. Well, that mean’s it’s weak, doesn’t it~?” -Magika 

“Weak.” -Ur 

The Adventurers’ Guild required several things to consider someone worthy of reliance. Their character, everyday conduct, ability to make split-second decisions, and achievements were all necessary. 

However, above all else, combat ability was the most important. 

Without the power to confront the ever-increasing threat of monsters overflowing from the dungeon, one couldn’t qualify as an adventurer. However, ‘Function Disablement’ couldn’t demonstrate that crucial point. 

“The lower the difficulty, the lower the evaluation points…” -Ur 

“It might be a li~~ttle too arrogant to say, ‘I defeated the crystal golem, so give me the Copper Ring.’ The Adventurers’ Guild is quite strict, you know~~?” -Magika 

“How can we demonstrate that then?” -Ur 

“I don’t know. My reward ends here~.” -Magika 

“Ri~ght?” With that, Magika, who tilted her head together with Akane, seemed to lose interest in the pair. Ur and Shizuku fell silent and continued to gaze at the crystal that reflected the golem and the mouse. The insignificant little mouse that didn’t seem like much, but also appeared to be aging. 

This insignificant mouse held Ur and Shizuku’s fate in its hands, shaking it to the core.