175 To Survive

 

「I know full well that neither Marge-done nor Koe-dono are the type to joke about such things, and I don’t doubt your sincerity. But… if we don’t know what this coming threat actually is, how are we supposed to prepare for it? If it’s another Dungeon Break, or a natural disaster like an earthquake, or—heaven forbid—the sun itself comes crashing down from the sky, then surely even the best of us can’t do anything about that, can we…?」

Bellman voiced his concern, and Angelina followed up, arms folded in thought.

「There’s too much we don’t know at this point. Thinking about it is pointless until we do. For one, if this all happened a bit over two thousand years ago, there should be at least some historical record of this so-called Sage, and yet there’s practically nothing. That alone is unnatural. We’ll need to investigate from there.」

「If there’s one thing I can say for sure, it’s that the ‘King’ of The Vigil’s End’ was a terrible miser.」

「Seriously! If he’d just opened up more of those memories, we wouldn’t have to sit around scratching our heads. So stingy!」

Bellman and Angelina grumbled at the now-vanished ‘King’ who had vanished inside the [Tears of Heaven]. And while their frustration was understandable, the outline of the Sage’s plan was more or less clear to me.

When the crisis draws near, a person with the Skill [Skill Lender]—in other words, me—will appear.

That person will lend and retrieve skills repeatedly, absorbing all the dispersed power across the world and growing stronger. With that strength, they will overcome the coming catastrophe and save humanity.

If [Skill Lender] is used solely as a means of combat, there’s no question that this approach is the most powerful. Angelina nodded, seemingly satisfied with the reasoning. Shizuku was also leaning in, clearly doing her best to keep up.

「I see, I see. So the key is that it doesn’t just absorb skill points—it lends them out and reclaims them with interest. That’s the clever part.」

「Uh, what’s the problem with absorbing them directly? Wouldn’t that be faster?」

「If you’re just some leech sucking up power from others, you’re just a menace. It’s too easy to become the enemy of the entire world. But if you lend the power, then there’ll be people who think they can use you. Like the difference between a tax collector and a loan shark, if that helps?」

What if my Unique Skill hadn’t been [Skill Lender] but [Skill Theft] instead? If I could only steal skill points directly—and it still took six years to drain the same amount from someone like Altora?

「…They would’ve killed me long before I finished. So that’s why it was designed as interest-based lending.」

「Exactly. Gelli thinks that Sage guy was smart—but maybe kind of a jerk…」

Angelina trailed off mid-sentence as Koe-san cut her off with a gentle smile.

「Angelina-san, the white wolf did say Master might be the Sage reborn.」

「Oops. My bad.」

「Whether or not we like the Sage’s personality, the disaster he feared was real. We should prepare for it. But if possible…」

The Sage—and the ‘King’—probably intended a specific course of action.

But I wanted to go against that grain, and I shared that with the people who’d been with me through everything.

「Instead of sucking everything dry myself, I want to find another way. I don’t want to rob every person in the world of the skills they worked so hard to earn. Even if that saves the world, all that’s left behind would be a broken, empty shell.」

If someone were to monopolize all the swords in the world, what would happen? People would lose the means to protect themselves from monsters, to challenge dungeons, to survive at all. No matter how strong the one hoarding all the power, once they die, it’s over.

Seemingly understanding my intention, Shizuku and Angelina gave small nods.

「So, what you’re saying is—」
「Yeah. I want strength not as one man, but as a group, a force, a nation. That’s what I want to build.」

Gathering many demihumans, forming bonds with skill holders of every stripe, and building power that doesn’t rely solely on [Skill Lender]—a power capable of responding to any crisis.

「Founding a nation for demihumans is only the first step. I want all of you to keep working with me toward that goal.」

Shizuku stood tall and answered clearly.

「Don’t ask us. Command us. I’ll give everything, even my life, if you say the word. You’re our king, Marge.」

Angelina laced her fingers and spoke with an intrigued expression.

「Gelli’s in. Whether humanity can truly survive a disaster like this is a fascinating question. I’d love to find the answer alongside Skill Lender-san.」

And Koe-san, as always, with her calm smile and unwavering voice.

「Naturally. I’ll follow Master wherever he goes.」

Asagi and Bellman nodded as well, though with slightly exasperated expressions.

「Good grief, sounds like we’re in for another busy stretch.」

「Hah hah hah! Well, that’s what makes it worth doing, isn’t it?」

And it’s not just the people here in the Werewolves’ Hidden Village.

Azula, Remonde, Duke Abik.

Rinono, Geran, and the folks of Kinue—maybe even demihumans we haven’t met yet. Even that tiny serpentine dragon that just hatched in the depths might one day join our ranks. As for Altora and the rest… that’s still uncertain.

But if I can turn every bond I’ve made into strength—if I can fight alongside all of them—I know we can overcome whatever lies ahead. The world still holds enough strength to believe that.

「Let’s fight together. So we can live in this world.」

 

 

TN: With this, the third arc is finished, and we have caught up with the Japanese raws. It’s been a couple of years since the author has posted new chapters, but according to him, he is preparing the fourth arc. Once the author resumes posting, we’ll also resume the translation.