Akatsuki Translations

“Okay. If it looks bad, use the handgun immediately. Remember, there’s no coming back once you’re dead. You understand that, right?” -Evie

Evie repeatedly and worriedly instructs Lean. Today, they are going to level up Lean, and Evie was explaining the process to her. The plan is quite simple. First, Lean herself will use the Type 20 rifle to wipe out the horde of Goblin Riders, leaving only one behind.

From there, she will engage in a one-on-one battle. With an M17 in the holster, Evie repeatedly emphasized to use it to finish off the opponent when the time comes.

“Gya.” -Lean

“I get it, you don’t have to repeat it so many times. After all, you’re not that stupid. Don’t forget while walking.” -Evie

“Gyaa.” -Lean

Evie was completely in mom mode. Lean was getting fed up with Evie’s overprotectiveness. I was also quite worried, but I thought if I said anything more, it would just confuse Lean, so I quietly observed.

After Evie sufficiently cautioned Lean, Lean finally parted from our party. The little girl, who looked like she was wearing heavy equipment heavier than herself and carrying a halberd on her back that seemed too large for her not to fall over, approached the horde of Goblin Riders with no sign of tension.

Did she forget that she was almost killed by them? Even Misuzu seemed uneasy. If we wanted Lean to have a high-quality level up, we had no choice but to keep a distance where we absolutely couldn’t help her.

Although we concluded to keep our distance and watch over her, we couldn’t shake off the unease, especially since Lean was almost killed by a Goblin Rider yesterday.

“[Summon Beast Enhancement]” -Evie

Evie chanted a spell towards Lean as she walked away. Lean’s blue body then glowed reddish. Although it only looked like it was glowing and her muscles weren’t bulging up, we had confirmed that this would dramatically increase Lean’s abilities.

I was worried since she didn’t have magic or skills, but I thought if Summon Beast Enhancement was applied, she could handle a one-on-one fight with a Goblin Rider even at Level 3. Lean dashed off. The effect of Summon Beast Enhancement lasts for 3 minutes.

Since we had to keep a distance of about 500m where we absolutely couldn’t help her in order to have a good quality level up, Evie couldn’t reapply Summon Beast Enhancement on Lean.

Judging from the tendency of the dungeon so far, if we wanted her to have a quality level up, we shouldn’t provide any more support than that. Therefore, she had to finish within the 3-minute time limit.

Lean, who was running in a hurry and faintly glowing red, stood out and was noticed by the Goblin Riders. The Goblin Rider on lookout let out a loud cry. All 18 riders in the horde spotted Lean.

It seemed like Lean was judged as a human by the monsters, and as soon as she entered their field of vision, she was recognized as an enemy. All the Goblins mounted their lions and charged towards Lean. Even so, the little girl showed no sign of panic as she took out the Type 20 rifle from her magic bag and,

*Bang bang bang bang bang!*

She took down the Goblin Riders one after another. She instantly brought down 5 of them. However, she ran out of bullets. There were still 13 riders remaining. Lean threw the empty Type 20 rifle on the ground.

She took out another Type 20 rifle from the magic bag. As she fired bullets again, she continued to take down the Goblin Riders one by one. The sight of the little girl taking down the Goblin Riders with the Type 20 rifle was quite gruesome. As planned, only one Goblin Rider remained.

It was the Goblin Rider who was late to sortie due to being separated from the position of the lion it was riding. The last remaining Goblin Rider was furious after seeing all its companions killed by something incomprehensible.

“Gyaaaaaa!!!”

Its roar could be heard all the way here. The Goblin Rider, riding on the momentum of the lion, closed in on Lean. Lean threw the Type 20 rifle on the ground. She had a halberd made of iron attached to her back, which she drew out with one hand.

Although it seemed like the halberd might be heavier than the little girl herself, Lean raised it with one hand. The Goblin Rider swung down its sword, clashing with the blade of Lean’s halberd. Sparks scattered as they were evenly matched.

It was a wonder how Lean could withstand the downward swing from above. Lean wielded the halberd again. It clashed with the Goblin’s sword. Lean swung the halberd around with a ferocity that couldn’t be imagined from her little girl appearance.

It was a wild battle that didn’t match her looks. The sound of sword fighting seemed like it could be heard all the way here. Unable to endure, the Goblin Rider tried to put some distance between them. But Lean didn’t let it escape.

Lean took a firm step forward towards the Goblin Rider who tried to back away for a moment.

While swinging down the halberd with her right hand, she drew out a short sword with her left hand and cut off the lion’s leg. The Goblin Rider lost its balance. The little girl let go of the short sword as well. She switched to holding the halberd with both hands and slashed downwards.

*Slash!*

I thought I heard a sound like that. The Goblin was cut in two along with its armor, and she added more force with her left hand. Even the lion’s body was torn apart by the halberd. The blue blood of the Goblin and the fresh blood of the lion scattered. It was Lean’s overwhelming victory.

Name: Lean

Race: Blue Goblin

Level: 4→5

Job: Close Combat Type Summoned Monster

Title: Summoned Beast of Evie Nova Timberlake

HP: 26→33

Strength: 24→30

Agility: 24→29

Defense: 26→31

Dexterity: 17→19

Intelligence: 3→4

Charm: 37→38

Equipment:

Stone Grade 【Helmet】

Stone Grade 【Body Armor】

Stone Grade 【Greaves】

Stone Grade 【Gauntlets】

Stone Grade 【Underwear】

Stone Grade 【Amulet】×2

Stone Grade 【Halberd】

Stone Grade 【Short Sword】

Stone Grade 【Shoes】

Bronze Grade 【Aristo】(Barrier Value 100)

“Lean also leveled up quite well. This time even her intelligence went up.” -Yuuta

“Went up.” -Lean

“?” -Yuuta

I blinked for a moment. After spending 2 days leveling up Lean to Level 4, Lean became stable enough to participate in battles against Goblin Riders. And with the 4 of us, we were each able to reach Level 5 without much trouble.

“Lean, you can talk?” -Evie

The moment Lean’s level went up at the end, Lean spoke. Until now, no matter how hard she tried, she could only say “gya”, but she became able to speak, albeit brokenly.

“Can talk. A little.” -Lean

Although she was just stringing words together, the meaning of the words themselves was conveyed.

“Wow, don’t go learning Japanese before me.” -Evie

Evie, her master, relied on an item with translation functionality, so her Japanese wasn’t improving at all. The item was so good that she didn’t feel the need. However, its weakness was that it translated everything we said into English, so no matter how much we talked, her Japanese skill wouldn’t increase at all.

“Master, rely too much, on translator.” -Lean

“But… it can’t be helped. No one teaches me, and I don’t have the time. I heard that when you reach around Level 100, you can easily speak a language just by reading a book in that language for a day, so I thought it would be fine until then.” -Evie

“Well, it’s not inconvenient, but still.” -Yuuta

When you level up, your intelligence increases. And if the increase exceeds a certain point, it seems you can fluently speak any language within a day. Leveling up is frighteningly convenient.

“Looks like you didn’t get any new skills or magic this time. Want to compete with stats again?” -Evie

“No way. Yuuta’s not something to be gambled on.” -Misuzu

“Too bad.” -Evie

Evie and Misuzu have been on bad terms since that day. I think there’s no way Evie can stay calm, but even if Misuzu and I get along well, and even if they’re on bad terms, she doesn’t do anything about it.

A few days passed, and I got used to this situation. Or rather, I thought this was normal in the first place. There’s no way a beautiful girl like Evie would like me, and when I thought about it, it was just a momentary lapse in judgment.

“We finally have quests in the afternoon.” -Misuzu

“Yeah.” -Yuuta

“From whom should we start?” -Misuzu

“Rather than from whom, I have a proposal. Why don’t we each do quests separately?” -Evie

“What do you mean?” -Yuuta

“Just as I said. From here on, we each take solo action to complete quests. From my assessment, I think Yuuta can undoubtedly complete quests on his own. I’m teaming up with Lean, so it won’t be that difficult. The only one I’m most worried about is Misuzu, but her quest involves sniping from a distance. Even if she fails, she can wipe them out with the Type 20 rifle, so there shouldn’t be much danger.” -Evie

Evie stated logically. Indeed, what she was saying made sense. I myself was quite confident in completing quests alone. Moreover, unlike on the 1st floor, the Goblin Riders don’t launch surprise attacks. Just that makes the situation much easier.

“But even so, I don’t think we need to be alone.” -Yuuta

I said. We can each watch the others complete their quests from a distance. That should be fine too.

“For what purpose? The quests require us to do them alone. In other words, we need to be far enough apart that we absolutely can’t help each other. Does that make any sense?” -Evie

“That’s…” -Yuuta

Nagumo-san used teleportation magic to instantly appear several kilometers away. Even then, he looked as small as a grain of rice. The reason his voice still reached was probably because heshe could use telepathy. Of course, we can’t do that. So there’s no point in watching over each other.

“A distance where we can’t help no matter what happens. About 500m, I suppose. If we’re that far apart, there’s no point in watching. And if watching is not considered as completing the quest, we’ll have to redo it. Am I wrong?” -Evie

“You’re not wrong, but…” -Yuuta

“Misuzu, what about you? Will you do it alone? Or do you want us to watch over you?” -Evie

“…I get it. I’ll do it alone. Yuuta. It’s okay. I’ll be sniping from a distance, so considering the Type 20 rifle, it’s certainly not that dangerous, just as Evie says.” -Misuzu

“Are you sure?” -Yuuta

Evie’s proposal is provoking Misuzu’s pride. She’s saying she can do it. And I’m also confident I can do it. When it comes to that, Misuzu can’t back down. Evie may have given up on me, but she’s not happy about not being chosen.

“Yuuta, do you think I can complete the quest on my own?” -Misuzu

“That’s…” -Yuuta

I thought about it. Misuzu’s skills and magic. The magic to lower levels is for long-range sniping, so it’s hardly usable. But considering her skills, I didn’t think it was impossible.

“I think if you come up with a proper strategy, you can probably do it.” -Yuuta

“Then will you think it through with me, Yuuta?” -Misuzu

“Of course. But remember, it’s over if you die. That’s the only thing I want you to keep in mind.” -Yuuta

Misuzu sometimes does reckless things even when she shouldn’t. With how things are this time, I won’t be able to be by her side at those times. When I emphasized that, Misuzu understood, and we decided on a strategy after getting Evie’s opinion as well. Evie and I also discussed our strategies.

Then, on that day, the three of us checked the skills that had leveled up and confirmed the changes in movement due to the status changes. And the next morning, we defeated a horde of Goblin Riders together one more time. Once the final check was done, we each felt confident that we would be okay.

The three of us nodded to each other and parted ways. It became like searching for stairs again. In fact, while fighting the Goblin Riders, we were also searching for stairs leading down. So this time too, we decided to use the map app to search for stairs.

Thanks to that, about 1/5 of the exploration was complete. If we each judged that the remaining 4/5 was okay, we decided to continue exploring on our own.

“This is kind of lonely after all.” -Yuuta

Due to the characteristics of the Goblin Riders on the 2nd floor, once you defeat the Goblin Riders in their territory, the next Goblin Riders don’t show up there for a while. Rather, it seemed Goblin Riders don’t enter the territories of other hordes.

Apparently, until the dungeon respawns monsters, there are no Goblin Riders in that area. It’s said that dungeons respawn monsters every 24 hours, so once you defeat the Goblin Riders, that space becomes safe for 24 hours.

So they won’t come in contact with us even during toilet breaks. We can have lunch alone too, so we’re completely separated except when sleeping at night.

“Because of the stats, I guess everyone will do that.” -Yuuta

Misuzu and Evie are serious about being explorers. So the level limit on this floor. Reaching Level 7, and then exploring from there. They’ll probably choose to act alone.

“What Evie said, I guess we had to do it eventually anyway.” -Yuuta

“Did something happen to me?” -Evie

Suddenly, a voice made me turn around. Golden hair and blue eyes. It was the unmistakable beautiful girl.

“Evie. What are you doing?” -Yuuta

I unintentionally blurted out.

“You look surprised. I thought you had noticed, but you didn’t at all?” -Evie

About 30 minutes had passed since the four of us parted ways. By now, the distance between Evie and I should have been quite far.

“Noticed what?” -Yuuta

“That I would take this kind of action.” -Evie

Evie approached me as is. In the hot sunlight, she took off her armor. Her white skin was revealed. But I was puzzled. If she did this, Misuzu would instantly notice through the map app. The map app shows the locations of companions.

“Wait, wait a minute. There’s no need for toilet breaks on the 2nd floor. If you do this, Misuzu will definitely find out.” -Yuuta

“It’s okay. I left my smartphone with Lean. And I personally have another explorer’s smartphone that I purchased.” -Evie

Evie showed a smartphone from her magic bag while exposing her too-beautiful bare skin.

“I bought it in case I lost the other one, but it came in handy. This smartphone only syncs with the one Lean has. It’ll be easy to meet up with her later with this.” -Evie

“Unbelievable. You were planning this from that time?” -Yuuta

“That’s right. I mean, you had no choice but to say that to Misuzu at that time, Yuuta. I couldn’t seriously start fighting over you with Misuzu there either, and if I messed up, she might have left. So I endured it.” -Evie

“Endured it? Wasn’t I just a momentary lapse in judgment for you?” -Yuuta

“Don’t be silly. There’s no way that’s true. I’m not that fickle. You said you liked me, didn’t you? And I’ve decided that I’ll really have a relationship with only one man.” -Evie

Evie came closer and started removing my equipment. While I was pondering whether I should resist or not, she had already removed it. Then she hugged me. Our distance became zero under the blazing sun.

“Ah, I can finally enjoy your warmth. It’s cruel to say something like that. I was really about to cry.” -Evie

Tears were welling up in Evie’s eyes. When Evie, who was too beautiful, shed tears, I felt how terribly I had wronged her.

“S-sorry. But if I had to choose, I would’ve cho-” -Yuuta

Before I could say any more, she kissed me. Evie’s face was right in front of me. She put her arms around me tightly and hugged me. I couldn’t speak even if I wanted to, and I didn’t even have the energy to, as the kiss was so sweet and melting.

The girl was too beautiful. What is this? Why does such a beautiful girl like me? How much time had passed since then? I had no idea, as I was hugged for a really long time and kissed the whole time.

When we parted, Evie was really crying.

“Yuuta. Don’t make me hear those words. I’ll be more careful from now on so that we don’t end up in a situation where I have to choose. So don’t let me hear those words.” -Evie

“Don’t let you hear? Is that really okay?” -Yuuta

“It’s fine. I don’t want to give up on you. If I’m not your number one now, I’ll endure it, so please look at me properly. I’ll make you like me more, so please look at me properly.” -Evie

Evie kissed me again. I pushed Evie down onto the grass as is. It was as if I had been enchanted by a charm spell.