Akatsuki Translations

“Wow! The snowy landscape of the Grand Canyon is amazing!” I exclaimed.

“Right? I often come here when I have free time. There’s no sound at all. It calms the soul,” Nagumo-san said.

Until just a moment ago, we were in New York, but now we were at the Grand Canyon. Snow blanketed the reddish-brown earth. It was a majestic natural scenery that couldn’t be seen in Japan. There were hardly any signs of living creatures, just pure silence. We were sightseeing on top of the canyon with Nagumo-san.

“And there are hardly any people here. I thought there would be more tourists,” I remarked.

“This area is difficult for ordinary people to enter. Hardly anyone comes here. Aren’t you glad you came?” he asked.

“I was surprised when there were women in the room earlier, though. Please spare me from being taken away in just my underwear,” I pleaded.

After all, I had just come out of the dungeon and hadn’t even taken a bath yet. I really wanted him to at least wait until I had bathed and gotten dressed. As for Misuzu… Honestly, if we had gone any further, it might have reached a point of no return, so I was relieved.

“I thought it wouldn’t matter since the transfer destination is always inside a room,” Nagumo-san shrugged.

“Who were those people?” I asked.

“What were their names again…?” he pondered.

There it was, the worst thing one could say. The women in Nagumo-san’s American room were 8 stark-naked blonde beauties, and it was obvious what kind of relationship they had. The fact that Nagumo-san didn’t have a preference for men was a relief to me, but still, shouldn’t he treat women with a bit more care?

“I remembered one of them. It was Aubrey. She’s a female explorer. They were an 8-person party. About 2 years ago, they were all violated by goblins on the 1st floor. Well, I helped them out and accompanied them until level 3, and they got attached to me,” he explained.

“Attached?”

“Yeah, they asked to be one of my lovers, which was a real pain. I turned them down, but they’re persistent. Even now that they’ve split into two parties of 4 and reached mid-level, they still cling to me. I tell them to give up, but they won’t,” he sighed.

“Are people over there really like that?” I asked.

“Well, they don’t listen to what I say very much. They occasionally ask me to accompany them, so I reluctantly do. Are you curious about them? Your women are prettier, you know,” he said.

“No, I’m not really curious, but…”

What I was more concerned about was that those women had blushed when they saw my face.

“Honestly, this face doesn’t really feel like my own,” I confessed.

“You’ll get used to your face eventually. I was the same. Look,” he said, changing his appearance.

“?!?!”

I nearly lost my balance and fell into the valley.

The person standing there was completely different from the rough, middle-aged face of Nagumo-san I had seen before. It was an androgynous, beautiful boy with such well-defined features that I wondered if a human could really look like that.

“This is my real face when I was human. Being like this is too much of a hassle, so I use a ring to have a different face,” he explained.

“That… That was your face?” I was stunned. Frankly, if that was his face, I could understand why he was cold to women. He was too cute. Nagumo-san himself was short and looked like a girl. In fact, if he told me he was actually a girl, I would believe it, that’s how cute he was. Just being stared at by those slightly droopy eyes made my heart race.

If such a cute girl existed, surely any man would be instantly smitten. He didn’t look like a man at all. With that face, he would probably be liked by both men and women. That’s how well-proportioned and adorable he looked, inspiring a desire to protect him. Wait, was there a small bulge under that T-shirt?

“H-how many charm points do you have?” I stammered.

“In this form, it’s 80,” he replied.

“T-that’s amazing.” Honestly, it was off the charts cute.

“What are you saying? You’ll be the same when you reach level 10,” he pointed out.

“T-that’s right.” Would I really become this beautiful?

“Heh, you’ll probably have a hell of a hard time too,” he chuckled.

“Sigh, as if conquering the dungeon wasn’t hard enough already…”

“Here, take this. Have one more,” Nagumo-san said, placing another Ring of Celestial Change on my palm.

“Is it really okay?” I asked.

“Well, if you make it to our floor, you’ll probably find them in abundance. But getting this ring was pretty tough until then. Everyone kept saying they liked me. It was annoying how they never paid attention to me before entering the dungeon. And my muscles didn’t develop at all. I thought anyone who entered the dungeon would become a muscular macho,” he complained.

“You have a feminine face, don’t you?” I observed. Or rather, wasn’t he a woman? Nagumo-san’s body had no visible muscles. A slender, cute girl… no, a feminine boy was Nagumo-san? Huh?

“Can’t be helped. I’ve always been short. No matter how much I trained, my slender body wouldn’t change. My face was the same. It’s not like I had such a cute face that anyone would like. I looked sickly and like a typical shut-in. But when my level started increasing, my charm suddenly rose abnormally,” he explained.

“That’s the same for me,” I related.

“You’re the same as me. Around level 7, my face was almost completely this creepily cute. I wonder if this is what my old face really looked like,” he mused, changing his appearance again.

The face that appeared was indeed sickly-looking and effeminate, giving off an aura that made you want to tell him to pull himself together. It was a child who could be described as neither male nor female.

“Things sure do change,” I remarked.

“You too, huh,” Nagumo-san agreed.

“I liked your previous appearance better,” I admitted.

“You too, huh. Tch.” Despite clicking his tongue, Nagumo-san returned to that cute form. Ah, there was an angel in front of me. It healed my soul. I even thought that this person might actually be a Fallen. And despite saying he would eventually get used to his face, he didn’t seem used to it at all.

“Honestly, I never thought my appearance would change this much. The explorers on TV seemed to have their faces change within more reasonable limits, but for me, it’s like I’m a completely different person. I wonder if there was really a possibility for me to have this kind of face,” I confessed.

“Me too. It’s like I’m some pretty boy from who knows where. My face doesn’t age even as my level increases. I’m very dissatisfied. Being 20 years old with this face, if I accidentally forget to change my appearance, women immediately come up to me and say things like ‘Embrace me, pretty boy.’ The women who know my past know this face. They always make a face that says they want me to have this appearance. I absolutely ignore them though,” Nagumo-san shared.

“Haha, but I can understand the feeling,” I sympathized.

“Well, I guess I’ll stay in my original form for today at least.” For some reason, Nagumo-san remained in the form he said he disliked. I wondered why this person was so kind to me. He was so kind that I couldn’t help but suspect he had a preference for men. If the current lovely angel Nagumo-san made a move on me, it seemed like a suspicious door might open.

“Are harem parties hard to make work?” I asked, changing the subject as I felt like I might really open a suspicious door.

“Honestly, they don’t work out well. It’s a common story for parties to disband due to incompatibility,” he replied.

“What happens to the people who end up like that?” I inquired.

“Those who can’t find compatible companions end up stagnating at low levels. Whether you can get along with your party members is also a watershed for whether you can become a high-level explorer. Well, among the 12 Heroes, there are a lot of weirdos like Kain, Bow God, Gale, that idiot Wang, and Taotie though,” Nagumo-san commented.

“Putting aside the 12 heroes, were you able to get along with your companions, Nagumo-san?”

“I’m strong because I can get along with them. But well, it was quite a struggle. Honestly, there were many times when the party was on the verge of disbanding. But in our party, there’s this damn old hag who acts as a mediator. Even now, when the other two and I are in trouble, we consult with that damn old hag,” he explained.

“And yet you call her a damn old hag?” I questioned.

“That’s right. Because, you know. Suddenly going from an old hag’s appearance to that. Having the highest charm among us, don’t screw with me.” It seemed like there was a lot going on, so I didn’t pry further into that matter. Still, hearing from Nagumo-san that any party could have conflicts serious enough to disband was a relief.

“Right now, I’m being seriously told ‘I love you’ by 3 girls. Because I like all 3 of them and show each of them a good face…” I trailed off.

“I know two of them. Who’s the other one?” Nagumo-san asked.

“It’s a girl named Imari who was my stepsister. Imari hasn’t joined the party yet,” I clarified.

“Ah, the girl who said she’d become a companion soon. Your stepsister, huh. Who do you like the most?”

“Misuzu,” I answered immediately. If asked who I liked, it was Misuzu. There was no mistake about that.

“Then isn’t it fine to go with that? Dealing with multiple partners is probably tough for you,” Nagumo-san suggested.

“I was pretty much abandoned by my parents, and it’s the same for Imari. I’ve been living together with Imari all this time, so I can’t possibly cut ties with her. And as for Evie, I don’t want to let her go either, how should I put it…” I struggled to explain.

“That’s quite a predicament,” Nagumo-san sympathized without calling me the worst or anything and listened to my story.

“What would you do in this situation, Nagumo-san?” I asked.

“…They won’t agree to a harem either, right?” he clarified.

“Evie seems okay with it. Misuzu is a bit ambiguous. I feel like she’s overlooking it one way or another. But whenever it becomes clear, she gets quite angry each time. Not at me, but at Evie… As for Imari…” I trailed off.

“It’s troublesome. Why not just let things happen as they will? Misuzu is the girl you were in the middle of doing it with, right?” Nagumo-san asked bluntly.

“Yes,” I confirmed.

“She’s fallen for you. If you assert yourself, she’ll almost certainly accept it even in that situation. I don’t know about this Imari girl, but it’s probably fine,” he advised.

“Is that how it is?” I doubted, finding the advice too convenient for me and forcing patience on the girls.

“That’s how it is. At least for me, no woman has ever run away because of that. Rather, I’m troubled because they won’t leave even when I tell them to go. It’s the same for you, right? If fighting all the time is troublesome, just ignore them,” Nagumo-san said nonchalantly.

“Ignore them, that’s…” I hesitated.

“Well, try it thinking you’ve been tricked. It unexpectedly works out,” he assured me. I wondered if that was okay as a human being. It was advice that made me think a lot.

“Is the time okay?” Nagumo-san suddenly asked.

“Huh?” While I was groaning and worrying, Nagumo-san showed me his watch.

“Crap. Classes are starting soon. Sorry, I have to go back,” I realized. I had told Nagumo-san that I wanted to be home by 7 AM Japan time. Nagumo-san’s watch was set to Japan time even while in America, and it was already 8 AM.

“If we had a bit more time, I would’ve taken you around to various tourist spots. Next time, let’s go to Las Vegas near here. Let’s spend about 100 million yen to take our minds off things. You have good gacha luck, so that much should be fine, right?” Nagumo-san suggested casually.

“Ha-haha, I’ll take you up on that offer next time,” I replied, wondering what kind of irresponsible thing he was saying. When I consulted with Nagumo-san, he always said crazy things, but strangely, I didn’t dislike it that much. Immediately after that, Nagumo-san took me home, waited for me to prepare for school, and even dropped me off at the school gate.

“Sorry for everything,” I said.

When I was forcibly taken from Misuzu’s place to America, I honestly thought it was a bit selfish of Nagumo-san, but after seeing various landscapes, that feeling had completely disappeared. More than anything, it was fun to realize that I had been in such an amazing place until just now.

“Let’s hang out again when I’m free,” Nagumo-san said.

“Yes. I’ll be counting on you then,” I replied.

“See ya.” “Ah, um…” As Nagumo-san was about to disappear, I hurriedly called out to him. I had been debating whether I should say it or not. But in the world of explorers, one wrong step could lead to actual death. If that was the case, there was something I wanted to say before dying.

“Yeah?” Nagumo-san responded.

“If I die in the dungeon, could you please take care of Imari?” I requested.

“You weren’t on good terms with your parents, right? Sure. If you die, I’ll at least look after that girl,” he agreed.

“Also, if I get killed by an explorer or something, could you make sure Evie and Misuzu aren’t harmed?” I added.

“An explorer… Are you having trouble with someone?” Nagumo-san’s demeanor suddenly changed drastically. His aura became so intimidating that even I found it scary. To avoid triggering Nagumo-san’s scary switch, I carefully chose my next words.

“Ah, no, that’s not it. I’m not having trouble with an explorer. It’s just that there’s someone I absolutely want to settle things with on my own,” I clarified.

“Who is it?” Nagumo-san asked.

“I can’t say,” I refused.

“Then what’s the other person’s level? I’ll tell you this, level difference is cruel. Even if you’re incredibly strong at level 7, if the difference is twice or more, you’ll die 99% of the time,” he warned.

“The other person’s level seems to be more than double mine, but I think I can somehow manage,” I stated.

“Oh, you’re saying that, huh. Are you in your right mind?” Nagumo-san questioned.

“Please don’t interfere,” I said seriously. No matter what, I wanted to settle things with Ikemoto by myself. If I could stick to my principles even if I died, that would be fine. I was just worried about Misuzu and the others being harmed afterward.

“I don’t know who you’re having trouble with or where they’re from, but if they try to lay a hand on the people around you, I’ll kill them the moment they do,” Nagumo-san declared.

“Kill them? You don’t have to go that far. The person isn’t the type to do something after being warned by you, Nagumo-san,” I assured him.

“Huh? What’s that? I’m not convinced,” Nagumo-san grumbled.

“Haha,” I laughed.

“What are you laughing at?” he asked.

“No, it’s just that when you say that with that face, it’s cute,” I explained.

“Are you an idiot?” Nagumo-san retorted, unfortunately returning to his rough middle-aged man appearance.

“I don’t know what circumstances are making you say such things. But if you’re going to be stubborn, then win. I’ll definitely kill that person the moment you die. The reason is that it pisses me off. The charge of murder is enough. If that person’s life is important, then you better win properly,” Nagumo-san declared.

The instant he left those words, Nagumo-san’s figure vanished. It seemed like he had no intention of letting me say anything more. I wondered if I shouldn’t have said it after all. But the idea of Ikemoto, who had killed me, living carefree was infuriating.

He was the one talking about killing people in the first place, so he couldn’t complain if I died, right? I decided to think that way.