154 Those Who Gather

 

「Yeah. We don’t need any high-and-mighty help from some alchemist lord. Take her to the dungeon instead.」

Rely on no one but yourself. That’s just how it is—according to this man, now a dweller of the backstreets.

Even if Angelina and I stayed behind, it’d be meddling as far as the thugs from the slums were concerned. That left Remondee and the Elves. But what I needed them to do was simple.

「Remonde, take your people and run.」

「My, how kind of you.」

It wasn’t out of kindness. There was a proper reason.

「What the enemy wants to erase are the traces of the drug trade. The Elves are walking proof. If you flee en masse, the enemy will be forced to pursue. I’m sure my mentor anticipated that the Elves would bolt. That pursuit will be relentless.」

「But the fact that Altora and his group are fighting to keep the monsters from spilling into the city wasn’t part of the plan. The enemy’ll have to choose—go after physical evidence left in the city, or you, the living witnesses. It’ll throw them off their rhythm.」

Remonde caught my intent and grinned fearlessly.

Would the enemy chase after the scattering Elves like a swarm of spiders, or prioritize wiping out the backstreets where evidence remained? With their main force gone and troops limited, they’d be forced to make a decision.

「Unexpected decisions on a battlefield where info is scarce breed confusion and fatigue. This’ll hit hard.」

「Yeah. If it’s my mentor, he’ll still make the right call. But from what you told me, Remonde, that guy may have influence in the army, but he doesn’t have the authority to give orders when chaos erupts. He can’t just bark a command and have it followed.」

「That’s good. He’ll know what the right move is, read you perfectly, and still be unable to steer the army. Shame we won’t get to see the look on his face.」

And while that time was being bought, I’d clear the dungeon and stop the monster flood. Once that happened, the Narshe army would lose any power to control the situation.

And we’d only win because we could count on Altora and his group as combat assets.

Just then, Koe-san raised her hand.

「Master, there is one minor issue. A small thing, really…」

「An issue?」

「There is a possibility that Altora and the others’ brains may explode when we lend them skills.」

「How the hell is that minor?」

「…Oh, right. That did happen.」

Altora and the others had their skill points drained down to the bare minimum. If I gave back all the skill points I’d reclaimed from them, they’d be returned to their former power—the same as when the party Divine Silver Sword broke up.

In other words, they’d be hit with an enormous volume of skill points all at once.

「That’s a good thing, isn’t it? More’s better, right?」

「Unfortunately, an overwhelming influx of information can place an immense burden on the brain. For reference, Master’s brain exploded when he reclaimed seven common skills, including [Hawk’s Eye].」

Koe-san helpfully added, ‘I immediately repaired it with healing skills’, but Gordon was already staring at her in horror, mouth agape.

「W-We’ll explode too…?」

「A 90% probability, yes.」

Skills are bundles of data. The more skill points a skill has, the more massive the information it contains.

When I was exiled from the Divine Silver Sword, I reclaimed the skills I had lent. The one with the longest loan period was [Hawk’s Eye]—six years. At a compound interest rate of 116,144,339,696%, the skill points I got back were astronomical and blew out my brain on the spot.

「Wait, wait. It’s just like pouring a full barrel of booze back into an empty one, right? Why would it explode?」

「Even if it’s only one barrel’s worth, what happens if you pour it in with the force of a dragon’s breath?」

「…You’ll either punch out the bottom or the whole thing explodes. Can’t you put in, like, a valve?」

「There is none. That’s what I and the protective domain are for—to prepare for the inevitable rupture.」

「Your goddamn skill really is a piece of work.」

Even Eria had gone pale, grasping how close to death she might be.

「So in conclusion… we die?」

「Frankly speaking, yes. If the recipient dies, the skill can’t be reclaimed, which is also a risk for Master.」

「You’re more worried about your precious skills than our lives, huh?」

「Indeed. Master might forgive you for your transgressions against him, but I will not forget. Oh, and as for [Sword Saint], I wouldn’t mind if that one disappeared due to, say, ‘unforeseen circumstances.’」

「You said that way too casually! Damn, if only Tina were here…」

I could handle the damage to the brain problem myself, but we still needed someone in Fathie with healing abilities. Ideally, someone with the Unique Skill [Angel’s White Wings]—Tina’s power.

Just as I was thinking that, Altora’s face lit up like he had an idea.

「It’s gotta be someone who knows a bit about Tina and her skill, yeah?」

「That’d be best. A blood relative would be ideal, but we’re not that lucky. Angelina, can I ask you?」

「Can’t be helped. Gelli’ll manifest the Fourteenth Head of our family—Fuga the Merciful—as a healing golem and leave her behind.」

「We don’t need that, you little gremlin.」

「Hah?」

「Don’t drop your voice like that outta nowhere.」

Startled by Angelina’s rare low tone, Altora instead spoke up smugly.

「Anyway, listen up, Marge. Things got hectic earlier, so I didn’t say this, but the owner and maid at our place, Mina? Her full name is Mina Rayleigh.」

Mina Rayleigh. I vaguely remembered the lively blonde girl at Fancy Mina wearing a name tag that just said Mina.

But Rayleigh?

「You don’t mean—she’s Tina’s…?」

「You got it. Her little sister.」

「That’s way too much of a coincidence.」

「It happened, so deal with it.」

「Still, even if she’s Tina’s sister, she’s just a barmaid. You really think she’ll go along with being thrown into all this?」

It seemed like a fair concern—but Altora and the others just looked at each other like the thought had never occurred to them.

Thinking it might not go so smoothly, I used [Space Jump] to pop over to the bar and bring Mina back. After hearing the story, she nodded without hesitation.

「I’ll do it! To protect the bar!」

「The interest rate…」

「Ten percent on the spot, right? Outrageous!」

「Quick on the uptake. Alright, she’s Tina’s stand-in.」

I figured she’d be shocked to learn her sister had fought alongside Altora and the others—but apparently, Eria had already let that slip, and we avoided wasting time.

「I kinda suspected something like that, since Altora-san always acted awkward when her name came up. I figured it was some messy ex thing or something.」

「Oi, Eria. Got anything to say for yourself? Try ‘I’m sorry’?」

「No comment.」

「You little—! Fine, whatever. Time’s short, so I’ll be quick. Mina, when I say ‘on the battlefield,’ I don’t mean front lines. Just use healing to keep our brains from popping when the skills transfer, then stay put in the bar. If we’re hurt, we’ll come to you.」

An unexpected party member, but the team was now assembled.

First, I’d lend [Angel’s White Wings] to Mina. Then I’d return [Sword Saint] and the others to Altora’s group.

「[Skill Lender]—activate.」

Beginning lending process. Please select skill recipient and skills to lend.