Chapter 17: Training and Reward

Chapter 17:
Training and Reward

 

THE JESTER GOLEM WIELDER, Ginem Bari, smiled, and his eyes narrowed. I didn’t think we were going to KO this guy in one hit, not like those punks. His strength was palpable as we stood off against each other.

His lavender golems crouched on either side of him. They were peculiarly built, with thin bodies and elongated arms relative to their height. Their basic structure resembled that of a mannequin, though their overall design was far more elaborate. They did somewhat remind me of a kind of clown. Their lavender breastplates perfectly matched each other’s, and they furthermore complemented the purple color scheme of their master, Ginem Bari.

Hm. I liked that idea, honestly. Maybe I could find a white robe to match my Gol.

Ah, but white dirties so easily and it really stands out in a crowd…

Since they were able to hide behind Ginem, these jester golems had small statures. Using Gol as a comparison, the height difference was like that of a female high school student versus four elementary school students. According to the Monkey-Meter System, which measured an enemy’s height and which I had developed specifically for this world, the jester golems were roughly 2.3 monkey-meters tall. In other words, they were as tall as 2.3 small monkeys, which meant that they were slightly larger than a medium monkey and smaller than a large monkey.

For those who need the size based on the meters of my original world, a small monkey would be roughly that of a Japanese macaque. Please do the rest of the conversion based on that unit.

……

Pl-please understand. I can’t help it! The number of monkeys I’ve encountered in this world far exceeds the number of humans. When trying to gauge size instinctively, I can’t help but think in terms of monkeys! Monkeys are my only standard…

Anyway, the jester golems were short in stature, so although they left an oddly sharp impression, they didn’t seem that strong. I mean, they were li’l. They did appear to be a kind of threat, but it was really only because there were four of them.

Mr. Chotos had called Ginem Bari a “multiple golem wielder.” I guessed that meant he owned several golems? Big whoop. Gol had won her one-on-six duel against the busty shrine golem death squad. She would have absolutely no problem with a mere four. Of course, these clowns were said to be faster than those well-endowed ladies, so I couldn’t be entirely certain.

And…I admit I was a bit worried.

Mr. Chotos seemed especially anxious about this “multiple golem wielder,” even though he had already witnessed Gol’s combat capabilities that time she instantly destroyed dozens of punks.

“Mister, is a multiple golem wielder that dangerous?”

“A multiple golem wielder exerts complete control over each of their golems. They can manipulate their golems as easily as their own limbs—their own fingers. It isn’t nearly the same as simply facing four opponents.”

Mr. Chotos’s explanation was actually pretty clear and thorough. He had developed a pretty solid understanding of my meager knowledge base due to all the conversations we’d had.

But what did he mean by “control” and “manipulate”? My old man sometimes used such nonsensical words. Could it be like the golem version of the commands you gave dogs, such as “shake” and “sit”?

“Listen, Nemaki. If you fight that man, you’ll be killed. Let me go negotiate. Do you understand? Don’t attack them.” As Mr. Chotos gave me this warning, he tightly held my arms back as if I were his stupid, delinquent son who was trying to butt heads with the yakuza.

Then he took a step forward.

Mister, do you really mean to talk to these guys?

He probably assumed there was room for negotiations, since Ginem and his group hadn’t attacked again. Normally, I would’ve done the same. But I had a feeling the only reason the group hadn’t made another move was because they were biding their time. Perhaps they were wary of Gol. They understood that if they carelessly charged us head-on, many of them would fall to Gol’s counterattack, even if they did manage to kill me.

There was a vicious frankness underlying this assessment that felt…brutal. Unlike me. That same instinct had continued to survey the surroundings with my heightened awareness, and through it, I had discovered two facts about our aggressors.

The first fact had been the four things lurking behind Ginem’s back.

The second fact was… I turned to stare at the forest to my right. There were more people out there: two of them. Moreover, one of them was quite large, exceeding three meters tall. They were probably a heavy-class golem. In that case, the other person was their golem wielder.

However, I couldn’t tell the type of golem yet. While I did sense this ambush, the darkness and lingering spell-created mist meant I couldn’t clearly identify them. Whoever had made the mist had likely left this remnant on purpose; they had perhaps chosen to do so when their surprise attack failed. Then the group showed off what they thought was the obviously superior golem wielder, all to divert my attention from the presence still hidden in the mist.

These weren’t haphazard, desperate tactics; these moves were deliberate and calculated.

I didn’t know when the ambush would come. Based on their position—increasingly behind me—they most likely intended to attack simultaneously with the group before us, I think… Or they were waiting for Gol and me to split up.

Well, at least I didn’t think the ambush party could fire off any spells from so far in the woods. They were farther from me than Ginem and his group were—completely out of range for any attack spell.

The firing range of spells in this world was kind of pathetic, honestly. Not only did a spell weaken and scatter over distance, its trajectory couldn’t be altered unless by sorcery. The greater the distance from the target, the lesser the accuracy.

From that perspective, I understood why Earth sorcery was considered so dangerous, since it could make hard objects that would never weaken fly freely through the air across any distance. This was the reason the monkeys’ stone bullets were so feared, despite their bland appearance.

Well, in my case, I couldn’t frivolously use sorcery like the wild monkeys and dinosaurs lest my identity be found out and an arrest warrant issued.

At any rate, since I knew of the ambush, I could now devise some counter against it.

“Still…” I peered into my robe at the battle-axe dyed that evil black.

Back in the wasteland, when I’d fought for my life against wild animals that thought nothing of using their full power, I hadn’t thought of my heightened spatial awareness as anything but a bonus to help me chuck rocks. However, it appeared that against people, this ability afforded a terrifying advantage. If this group had planned a more thorough surprise attack, they might have caught me off guard. Might have.

I glanced to my right again, where I found Gol right up against my arm, unwilling to move.

I see. So you also noticed the ambush in the mist.

Was that why she lingered instead of charging, so she could protect me from these uncertain foes? My kindhearted partner was worried about her weak master and couldn’t leave him.

Just as I was about to pat Gol’s head to comfort her, Mr. Chotos began his negotiation. “Ginem Bari, your business is with me. I have the shop’s deed right here!”

Oh? By offering the deed to his shop, Mr. Chotos was playing his ace. For a stingy old man, he was being quite generous.

“I apologize for the disgrace the uproar in Tibar brought to the Company. But, you know, this golem wielder here is simply a bodyguard I hired. He attacked Dazu and his group on my order, and I even forced him to come with me to Zibil, even though he was unwilling. This guy doesn’t want any serious trouble with the Company, none at all!” he declared.

“H-hey, mister…?” I said. What was with that excuse? I didn’t really get what he was trying to do, but going by his tone, wouldn’t they mistake me for some cheap jerk who acted only for the sake of money? Furthermore, did he think my pride would allow me to obediently follow the orders of someone like him? I refuse to allow you to spew such slanderous gibberish about me. Listen here, hurry up and take it back!

However, Mr. Chotos ignored my silent glare of protest and continued. “The only person who acted against the Company is me.”

Mr. Chotos squeezed his eyes shut and took a short breath. Then he opened his eyes to glare at the spellcasters. “In exchange for the safety of the other three, I’ll give you the deed, and I’ll have my bodyguard stand down. It’s not a bad deal, right? In a fight like this, half of you won’t go home at all, unless in pieces. As fellow spellcasters, you must see this man’s strength can’t be underestimated.”

To a degree, Mr. Chotos’s expression was ghastly, even menacing. You would never have imagined such a face on the pitiful man who turned pale while being threatened by punks.

Ah, on closer inspection, Mr. Chotos’s legs were shaking… But, well, this was a good performance for someone like him. I just had this nagging feeling that Mr. Chotos had resolved himself for something terrible.

“If it’s revenge you want, I’ll go to the Company with you. After that…I don’t care what you do.”

Just as I thought. But mister, unfortunately, I don’t think the unappealing body of a middle-aged man like yourself has any real worth.

While I was processing my sensible and composed analysis, Mr. Chotos turned to me, his face full of conviction. Then, staring directly into my eyes, he said, “Nemaki…take care of Teru for me.”

“Excuse me?” I gaped. What the heck are you saying? You truly are an authentic idiot. Knocked me right off my feet. What kind of person tosses away guardianship and asks a stranger to raise their precious daughter?!

While I exploded internally with sensible and composed anger, Ginem Bari’s shoulders began to shake.

“Pfft, he he.” He was laughing. “He he. Oh wow, Mister…um, Mr. Chotos, right? That was a truly admirable show of self-sacrifice. But, you know, you’re just crashing our party.”

“Wh-what…? What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I said. Mr. Chotos, I’m afraid that you’re in no position to negotiate.”

Just as I’d thought. These guys had no intention of talking things over and never had. They probably thought they could do whatever they wanted now that they’d pinned me and Gol between the clowns and their lurking ambush.

“Pl-please hear out my request. I’ll do whatever you want. So, please, just those three…” Mr. Chotos continued to desperately cling to the possibility of a trade. He really didn’t know when to give up. Even when he was half-dead, he had clung to that punk’s leg when he attempted to embezzle all the sorcery cores.

Had this man been so persistent when he tried to court the wife from whom Teru had clearly inherited all her genes? Actually, in that case…maybe I needed to devote myself to learning from him?

Just as I was beginning to seriously consider adopting Mr. Chotos’s courting techniques, Ginem Bari’s eyes moved from Mr. Chotos to me.

“In the first place, Mr. Chotos… Just between the two of us, my client didn’t give me any orders about retrieving a deed or securing you. My top priority is to eliminate the wielder of the red-eyed golem over there.” Ginem Bari looked at me and snickered. “I guess that means he must have done quite a number on my client.”

Eh? Me?!

Well, that could well have been true. My Gol did bite the hell out of those subcontractors the other day. That had been an accident brought forth by my carelessness as her owner, and I was truly sorry. That suspicious, dashing branch manager hadn’t said anything at the office, but I guess he really had been furious on the inside.

“I beg of you. Please think it over. Everything has been my fault. He wouldn’t be involved if it weren’t for me!” Mr. Chotos cried.

“Well, I’m also here because I’m being paid a great deal of money. Obviously, I’d like to take it seriously. Pfft, he he,” Ginem Bari cackled in amusement.

On the other hand, Mr. Chotos was now literally crying.

This man really does cry a lot… You should learn from your Teru’s mental fortitude. Look, that little girl isn’t crying even now, see?

I turned to check on Teru. She was clinging to me, and although she wasn’t crying, she had crouched down, frozen in place. Ah. She was nervous after all.

Well, duh. Of course she would be scared. Her pitiful papa had broken down in tears… However, when Teru noticed I had turned to her, she stared up at me with her big, round eyes.

I was taken aback. This young girl’s eyes were unwaveringly bright. Augh. No good. These were the eyes of someone with complete faith. It was as if she were looking at a champion of justice who would never lose.

How could this be? This five-year-old who looked like a three-year-old couldn’t conceive of the possibility that I would lose. Ah, was this the reason why she hadn’t yet cried?!

Her faith was too heavy. I was being crushed by this innocent child’s eyes.

Please wait, Teru. I just mooch off Gol. I’m a mooching Sorcerer King who’s only good for refereeing. You must not put your trust in such a useless man!

 

***

 

I was flustered by the young girl’s direct stare, and Mr. Chotos was bawling. This two-man party was on the brink of annihilation.

In any case, it was safe to say that Mr. Chotos’s attempt to negotiate with our assailants had ended in complete failure. Well, he was only an old man. I couldn’t say I expected much from him.

While Mr. Chotos was negotiating, I had examined Ginem. That was why I hadn’t stopped Mr. Chotos, even though I had little hope for his attempt. Though I was sure his words would come to nothing, the time he bought me to assess Ginem was by no means useless. In fact, it yielded several new facts about our enemy.

As Mr. Chotos pleaded his case, Ginem and his group showed no signs of moving. Neither did they show signs of impatience. This group had said they wanted to make this attack look like the work of the Flame Bicorn. In short, while I supposed this was a given, it meant they didn’t want their crime to be made public. In that case, however, they should’ve killed us far earlier. The longer they took to commit their crime, the greater the chance of discovery.

But this group was utterly unbothered. To be fair, not a single person had passed on the road while the Wind flotation box was being repaired. While this wasn’t the type of place people and vehicles often passed through, it seemed likely this group had prepared for that eventuality.

I didn’t know of any spell to prevent passersby, but if the Paisley Company was supporting this group from behind the scenes, I didn’t think it would be difficult for them to shut down a portion of the road. Unfortunately, I had to give up on the strategy of trying to buy time for help to arrive.

Another thing had caught my attention. Once more, I casually glanced at the forest to my right. If anyone was buying time, it was Ginem and his group. While they remained stationary, the large golem and their owner were slowly moving—not behind me, but more directly to the right. They weren’t getting closer, but it unsettled me nevertheless.

While maintaining a fixed distance, they had moved a few dozen meters. They were practically directly horizontal to me now. They moved slowly, silently, stifling the least of their noises. But why did they continue to change their position in these seemingly minute, meaningless ways?

In any case, I wanted to avoid fighting them once they got into their preferred position. I needed to start the fight soon, even though I still hadn’t had any epiphanies about how to deal with them.

Likewise, as I made use of my sorcerous detection ability, I came to understand its limits. If the ambush party moved any further away, I didn’t think I’d be able to sense their movements unless I consciously searched for them. It seemed my accuracy dropped when challenged by things like distance and visibility.

Which is all to say, while this ability diminished the risk of surprise attack, it didn’t make me omniscient.

It seemed Gol’s detection was far superior to mine, if you took range into account. She could detect a monkey in her blind spot from an absurd distance. On the other hand, if something entered my blind spot, my sorcery radar wouldn’t even pick it up.

Conversely, it seemed I was particularly adept at calculating the threat of visible objects, even flying ones, provided they were in an open and unobstructed space. I could precisely tell a bird’s position and condition as it flew high in the air.

In other words, if Gol’s Surface Detection was a ground sonar, my ability was like an aircraft radar.

Did Gol always see the world like this? I glanced at Gol as she pressed herself close to me. Well, I likely perceived things a bit differently, but that feeling of being able to minutely grasp my surroundings was probably one she knew well.

And yet, even though Gol could read her enemies’ movements and was always quick to fight, she stuck close and refused to leave if she thought I was in danger. She really did worry about me.

However, we would only break this deadlock if Gol separated from me and started the fight. I just needed to convince her to do so.

Mr. Chotos was still desperately trying to appeal to Ginem Bari for my life. He really didn’t know when to give up.

I plopped my hand on his shoulder. “Mister, it’s fine.”

“N-Nemaki…?”

“That’s enough. You tried. Although what they’re doing is surely illegal, they came here under the pretense of fulfilling their duty, so I don’t think any amount of persuasion is gonna make them leave.”

“N-no, but…” Mr. Chotos looked like he wanted to continue, even so. This persistent desire of his to resolve every problem with words was truly noble. It was the mentality of a cultured man. Compared to every member of the opposing group, who took pride in their violence, I thought Mr. Chotos was far more elegant and—dare I say—cool.

But the time for talking has passed. You don’t have to keep pushing yourself, mister.

“It can’t be helped. Think of them as wild monkeys incapable of communication and give up,” I said.

You know, I’d once thought about becoming friends with the monkeys I encountered in the wasteland, but that had been an empty dream. The monkeys of this world didn’t possess the intelligence required to converse with humans. There was no need for Mr. Chotos to go through the same grief at missed connections that I had already suffered.

“Any effort you spend trying to communicate with monkeys of such low intelligence is spent in vain.” I emphasized the last few words.

My sorcery told me that veins were bursting in the foreheads of some of the spellcasters, while others’ eyebrows twitched in irritation.

Whoa, the arrogant busty lady looks like she’s gonna bite me. That’s kind of scary.

I lowered my voice and whispered to Mr. Chotos. “Hey, mister, take your daughter and the driver and move to the left and behind me. Do it slowly, and as naturally as possible. Once you’ve moved, huddle and stick close to me.”

“Wh-why?”

“If you don’t want to die, please do as I say.”

Ginem Bari had said before that I was his priority. However, I couldn’t take him at face value. In the first place, he hadn’t explicitly said he wouldn’t kill the other three once he was done with me. Also, there was no way a group of criminals who planned to use a Flame Bicorn as a cover-up would let any witnesses live. In the end, I still had to protect these three.

There was also the ambush stationed in the forest to my right. If it made its move before I could move my group to the left, there wouldn’t be much I could do with my level of athleticism. In other words, getting them behind me so I could act as their shield was our best option. Finally, I asked them to move naturally so as not to alert the ambush party. The last thing I needed was for Team Ambush to see what I had in mind and lose us the advantage.

“Nemaki…” Mr. Chotos had noticed something off as my tone was unusually forceful. He remained silent the whole time he shifted to my left.

Now I would have to take the full brunt of any attack. This wasn’t a particularly strange position, I thought. It just looked like I was being a responsible bodyguard-for-hire.

I monitored the movement of my party with my heightened senses and waited for them to get into position. Now I just had to convince Gol to act.

I whispered into Gol’s ear, “I noticed the ambush to our right, too. It’s fine. Even if they attack us, I’m sure I can handle them myself.” I showed her a glimpse of the Earth Battle-Axe in my sleeve. So, Gol, I need you to wipe out the enemies in front of us.

Gol was clever, so I was confident she would understand. In the worst-case scenario, where my true identity was revealed and I had to use a sorcery attack, even a peaceful, cultured man like me could probably at least buy some time for Gol to defeat the enemy and return.

While that might have been the case, I didn’t think my abilities could do much to the enemy’s heavy-class golem. After all, NTR had practically no effect on golems. Even my sorcery attacks hadn’t been able to scratch the main body of the ancient Earth Dragon, despite all those shots I rained down on it. All told, I was less than reliable.

But if I worked hard and kept focused, I figured I should be able to at least provide some support—like perhaps tripping the heavy golem. I would perform to the best of my abilities with the cards dealt to me.

I also hoped a huge golem wouldn’t be able to run fast or well through the forest. A slow golem would give me more time to adjust my plan before it reached us.

“You got it, Gol?”

Gol wavered, hesitant. She was so worried about me that she didn’t want to leave. She had been like this since our first encounter with the monkeys.

“It’s fine. Trust me,” I said as I stared directly into Gol’s eyes.

Gol remained conflicted. Her eyes flickered restlessly. It appeared her desire to grant my request wrestled with her desire to not separate from me.

No? Was it no good? Normally, this would be the emotional scene where I gave her the determination to fight… However, I really did understand her feelings. I had a damning track record.

“Relax. I’m your partner, right?” I spoke in the most gallant and honest tone I could muster.

Gol looked delighted as she stared at me. But her eyes also wavered, and she clung to my sleeve. She showed absolutely no signs of leaving.

That was strange. I would’ve thought that by now our friendship and mutual trust would have been reaffirmed and the fight would start. Anyway, I wouldn’t be discouraged; I continued my attempt to persuade her.

“Hey, have you forgotten, partner? I’m the man who defeated a dragon, remember?”

Well, now that I thought about it, that win might have been a fluke of beginner’s luck. Furthermore, at the time, I had become strangely furious and lost myself. If I were told to defeat the ancient Earth Dragon the same way again, I would declare it 100 percent impossible.

However, Gol unexpectedly accepted this statement. For a moment, she seemed to agree with me.

Oh? Did that work?

I had high hopes, but it seemed Gol immediately reconsidered and grabbed my sleeve again. Augh, it really was no good. Even I didn’t think I had been very persuasive just then. This was bad. My usual uselessness and Gol’s overprotectiveness made it extremely difficult to progress.

“It’s really all right, Gol. Just relax, okay? Can you trust me? If I think it’s dangerous, I’ll, um, make sure to run away…”

Gol heard my request, but her eyes couldn’t focus due to all her distress and conflicting feelings. In fact, her eyes were turning blue, like she was crying. The white hand grabbing my robe began to tremble. It didn’t seem like she would ever let go now.

What could I do? This was an utterly different development from what I’d expected. Perhaps I had misread Gol’s overprotectiveness. Far from dramatically and efficiently persuading my partner, the more I talked, the more I triggered Gol’s maternal instincts, further bogging down the situation.

At this rate, it was going to get bad.

I steeled myself. If possible, I didn’t want to use this move, since it wasn’t a very good method for training. But human lives were on the line. I had no more options. This was my last resort.

I softly whispered in Gol’s ear: “If you do well, I’ll wipe all over your body tonight as a reward.”

Gol’s beautiful profile slowly and quietly turned to face our enemies. Her crimson eyes burned with the fierce, scarlet flame of war, and her angelic, snow-white limbs shone with the weight of divinity as an intense pressure rolled off her entire body. Her majestic appearance resembled that of an alabaster war goddess descending to the battlefield.

Yeah, so… I knew this from my experience with owning a dog. Dogs will throw away every last drop of pride for the right reward.

Gol took a powerful step forward, and each step that followed overflowed with clarion determination.

“Don’t kill them,” I said, just in case. “We need them as witnesses to the crimes of the Paisley Company.”

It didn’t seem like she heard me as she moved in front of me, light and graceful as the breeze.

Hmm…I wonder if she really understood.

This marked the end of a difficult meeting with my partner. At last, the curtain rose on the battle against the Four Jester Wielder, Ginem Bari.