“You being together with a beauty like her and saying that nothing has happened between you two is weird, don’t you think? I really thought you guys were a couple or something like that.”
「……親しい友人ではあるが、恋人ではない」
“… She’s a close friend, not a lover. ”
「だけどよケイ、お前あんな娘と一緒に寝て、何とも思わねえのかよ?」
“But Kei, how can you sleep with a girl and not think anything?”
信じらんねえ、という顔のままでダグマルがぐいと体を乗り出した。
Dagmar wore an expression of doubt on his face.
「普通、あれだけの美人が無防備にしてりゃ、突っ込むだろ? 男なら」
“Normally, seeing a beautiful, defenseless woman, you’d rush in, right? It’s your duty as a man!”
左手で輪っかを作り、右手の指を差し込むジェスチャー。
Dagmar made a circle with his left hand and delicately inserted his right index finger.
「いや、それは……」
“No, that’s… ”
僅かに顔を赤らめて、ごにょごにょとケイの返事は、要領を得ない。
Blushing slightly, Kei became flustered, not knowing how to respond.
正直なところ。
Honestly.
ケイも男だ。
In the end, Kei was a man too.
アイリーンのような美少女を前にして、何も思わないわけがない。
In front of a beauty like Aileen, it was impossible not to have amorous thoughts.
そしてこれは、目下のところ、ケイが直面している最大の問題でもあった。
And it was these thoughts that were quickly growing on Kei’s consciousness.
Kei could think of plenty of words to describe his feelings, but he felt that certainly the most visceral and powerful of them all would be “jealousy.”
It couldn’t be helped if he thought like that. After all, wasn’t it just the result of being swayed by libido? Thinking that he liked Aileen would just be a way to vent this unknown feeling.
だとすれば、それは――彼女に対して失礼だと、ケイは思う。
If that was the case, Kei thought it was incredibly disrespectful towards her.
元々、『こちら』に来る前のケイは、それほど性欲が強いタイプではなかった。
Originally, before coming here, Kei was not so sexually conscious.
Those desires probably peaked in his mid-teen years. After that, his genitals began to stabilize his hormone levels, but they suddenly peaked after about twenty again. Just before being transported, Kei had been mildly interested, but not to the point of feeling horny. One could say he was biding his time, waiting to become a ‘Sage.’ (ED Note: ‘Sages’ are how Japanese people humorously refer to a thirty-plus year old male who is still a virgin.)
しかし、この世界で新たな肉体を得て、十日と少しが経過しようとしている。
However, barely ten days have passed since Kei had gained a new body in this world.
He had nothing to complain about his it. It was healthy: too healthy, in fact. Kei felt as if his desires were increasing by the day. Back in Satyna, he had managed to handle it―Kei had managed to “do it” by himself somehow―but caravans were a different story, with basically no privacy whatsoever. This was a very perilous situation indeed.
Still, what little endurance he had built up was about to collapse with the appearance of Alexei. Kei wanted to split up Alexei and Aileen. To have Aileen only look at him. To talk with Aileen more. To submit himself to his impulsive desires. (ED Joke: It’s the emergence of a yandere… ?) (PR Joke: Kei is slowly turning into a yandere.)
Kei had been with Aileen―or rather, Andrei―for roughly two years now. They had been through a lot, and even though it was a virtual space, they had enjoyed their time together.
“The density of the trees is thin here, and there’s no dangerous beasts. But, I can’t say much about the threat from humans… ”
「夜番は、気合を入れていこう。皆を三組に分けて、ローテーションで三か所に一人ずつでいいと思うが」
“Alright boys, be lively now. Split up into three groups. It’s fine to have just one person at each of the three locations, just rotate in shifts later.”
Holland, Dagmar, etc., the heads of the had gathered to talk about the night watch. Kei, watching them with a sideways gaze, steadily pounded away at the tent state with his hammer.
「さて、今日はオレも流石に番をするのかな?」
“Now, I wonder if I’ll get a shift today… ”
ケイがロープを結ぶ間、反対側から布地を支えながら、心なしかワクワクしたような顔でアイリーンが言う。
As Kei tied the rope, Aileen wondered aloud excitedly while holding down the tarp on the other side.
Because the camp last night was in a village, it was relatively safe, and thus, the night shift was sufficient with a small number of people. Kei had been one of those unlucky few who drew the short straw, but Aileen seemed to have had plenty of sleep, not having to keep watch at night. Nevertheless, she appeared wholly unsatisfied, like a child deprived of staying up late on a camping trip.
アイリーンは変わらないな、と和んだケイは、穏やかな笑みを浮かべて首肯した。
Relieved that Aileen had not changed a bit, Kei gently shook his head as his mouth broke into a gentle smile.
“According to the bosses, it seems they’re going to increase the number of lookouts tonight, but seeing how you slept like a rock yesterday, won’t you have a hard time?”
「ゲエー。そいつは勘弁!」
“Geez, you’re so mean!”
朗らかに笑いながら、テントを張り終える。ぱんぱん、とマントの裾をはたいて立ち上がったケイは、
The pair finished assembling the tent in cheerful banter. Patting down his coat, Kei stood up and stretched, suggesting,
「さて、と……。んじゃあそろそろ飯かな。マリーの婆様は――」
“Well then… I suppose it’s dinnertime now. The rice granny Marie makes is―”
「ヘイ、アイリーン!!」
“Hey, Aileen!”
威勢のいい呼びかけに、ケイの言葉は上書きされた。
Unfortunately, his words were drowned out by an enthusiastic call.
To the effusive Alexei, Aileen smiled along accordingly. On the other hand, Kei watched the whole scene unfold in a state of appalled stupor. All the while, unbeknownst to them, the rest of the caravan were observing the trio from afar with great interest.
「――それじゃあまあ、ローテーションはこんなところか」
“So then, we’re to set up a rotation?”
「そうだな。盗賊は恐ろしい、用心するに越したことはない……」
“That’s rights. The bandits are horrible, you can never be too careful… ”
As usual, Holland and group were discussing the arrangements for the night. While listening to the conversation, Kei stared at the dancing flames of the bonfire. Seeing the swaying shadows, a mischievous idea sprouted in his mind.
「…………」
“… ”
にやり、と意地の悪い笑みを浮かべて、アイリーンに向き直る。
With a mean smile, Kei turned to Aileen.
『なあ、アイリーン。話し込んでるところを済まないが、ちょっといいか』
『Hey, Aileen. I’m sorry for disturbing your conversation, but can you listen to me for a sec?』(ED Note: These brackets now denote Esperanto, the spirit language.)
「うぇっ?」
“Yeah?”
アレクセイに構わず、強引に話に割り込んできたケイに、アイリーンはぱちぱちと目を瞬かせた。
Looking away from Alexei, Aileen blinked confusedly at Kei who had forcibly interrupted the Alexei’s story.
Aileen smacks her forehead, having completely forgotten about her promise. Meanwhile, from the edge of his vision, Kei could see Alexei’s eyes widen at the introduction of a foreign language he didn’t know.
『まあ後でいいや。それで?』
『Well, I’ll do that later. What did you want to talk about?』
『そうだな、エッダの話にも関連するが、お前の魔術に関してだ』
『Right, actually it’s partially related to your promise to Edda, I came to ask you about your magic.』
The magic of Demondal is a little different compared to that of other games. For the Japanese, it might be more appropriate to call it ‘summoning’ as opposed to ‘magic,’ the difference being that the contracted spirit, not the player, was the one that actually would cast the magic.
In the game, there are NPCs called ‘spirits,’ and players could contract them by clearing certain conditions. The crux of the system was that spirits who have entered a contract with a player could exercise their power upon being offered magical power and a catalyst.
In the tutorials, this feature was often compared to the relationship between an artisan and a customer. The ‘artisan’ was the spirit, the ‘customer’ was the player, and the ‘customer’ paid the ‘artisan’ for their work with magical power.
For example, suppose there was a confectioner, and the customer ordered some pastries. Given sufficient money, covering for both the labor and material costs, the artisan would make the sweets and deliver them to the customer. This transfer of money was analogous to the magic flow in spirit contracting in Demondal.
However, the customer could give the baker not only money, but also flour and butter, negotiating with them to make the overall price a bit cheaper; that would be how catalysts works in magic. The artisan would receive the raw materials if they wanted it, but if they didn’t need it, they could reject it and collect the money mercilessly. Also, if magic was cast, but the net balance remained negative even after payment, the caster’s internal organs would be pawn off, and evidently, they would die. This was the mechanism behind death from the lack of magic.
By the way, it was possible to negotiate with the confectionary artisan, to take wood to them and say, “I will pay you, so build a house with this please.” While the artisan could accept, it was up to them whether they do so or not. Furthermore, even if they do, the quality was not guaranteed as it was not their field of expertise. Inversely, if the request was of a similar field―asking a Western confectioner to make Japanese sweets, etc.―the product could end up turning out unexpectedly well.
Additionally, all of these interactions must be done in the spirit language: Esperanto. The spirits only understood Esperanto―official, textbook Esperanto―and because there was no other way to communicate with them, the player’s grammar and vocabulary were directly linked to the complexity and flexibility of their ‘magic’ casting.
Moreover, because the spirit AIs were intentionally designed to be childlike, the instructions had to be clear and concise. The system itself was a hassle; players often had to rely on their own experience for knowledge in navigating the poor translation softwares.
『But, that seems to not be the case now. Some way or another, I feel that Kelstein’s understanding has improved, and the spirit can communicate better.』
そう言うアイリーンに、ケイは重々しく頷いた。
Kei nodded in agreement to Aileen’s assertion.
『ああ。だから、警戒アラームみたいな高度な術も、抽象的な指示でこなせるんじゃないかと思ってな……』
『Yeah, that’s why I think that advanced skills like warning systems can be done with more abstract instructions… 』
If a player had wanted to build the skill Kei wanted in-game, they would have to consider various parameters like how to distinguish between friend and foe, range, duration, etc., making such a process comparable to programming.
だが、精霊がアホの子AIではなく、柔軟な思考が可能になった今ならば――。
However, if the spirits were no longer stupid child AIs, more flexible thinking should theoretically be possible.
『なるほど……幸い、触媒は腐るほどある。試してみる価値はありそうだな』
『I see… Fortunately, we still have quite a few catalysts on-hand. At least, it’s worth a try.』
にやりと笑って、アイリーンは胸元から、水晶の欠片の入った巾着袋を取り出した。
Grinning from apprehension, Aileen removed a small drawstring bag with a piece of crystal from the chest.
「よーし、じゃ、やってみるか!」
“Okay, let’s do it then!”
「ああ。ただその前に、とりあえずホランドに相談しておくか……」
“Oh, before that, we should probably talk to Holland… ”
「おう、だな!」
“Oh, you’re right!”
二人は意気揚々と、ホランドのところへ向かっていく。
The two headed triumphantly off towards Holland.
「…………」
“ … ”
あとには、ポカンとした表情の、アレクセイ一人が残された。
With that, Alexei was left alone, mouth agape at the drastic turn of events. (ED Note: The specific expression used was ‘pokan’ (ポカン), which looks something like this.)
The way the skill worked was that it allowed Kelstein to teach the other shadow spirits to alert them if beasts or outsiders came within a radius of fifty meters surrounding the circle of caravans. It seemed to only be effective until sunrise the next day, but considering that the risk of a surprise attack could be greatly reduced, it had an excellent cost performance.
Edda jumped around in delight, watching the spectacle of the shadows swallowing the crystal and the faint, dancing figure of Kelstein who twirled about in the darkness. Seeing her daughter delighted so, Holland dejectedly thought of the cost of the magic catalyst that the magic would cost to be cast again. Although Aileen still had a sizeable stock of the crystal catalysts, they were easily worth a small fortune.
Also, because this method immensely reduced the amount of manpower needed during the night, Aileen, who had become something akin to a celebrity among the escorts, was removed from the night shift rotation. Kei was exempt too, having had his tenure the day before.
After dinner, once again, Alexei eagerly rushed over to talk with Aileen, which annoyed Kei, but not to the point of being angry about it. After all, he had successfully exacted his petty form of revenge against Alexei.
比較的、穏やかな気持ちのまま、ケイは眠りに落ちていくのだった――
Thus, with a moderately restored peace of mind, Kei fell asleep―