civilwarnovels Chapter 1009 The Last Routine 188
Chapter 1009 The Last Routine 188
Chapter 1009 The Last Routine 188
In order to investigate the guidance of the land, Kobayashi and the others had no choice but to return to Brech City. However, after searching for a long time, they did not obtain any relevant information and instead became exhausted.
Finally, Aqua complained somewhat discontentedly, "I said, I'm already tired..."
"Even after inquiring, we haven't gotten any useful information." Darkness sighed helplessly, looking distressed, and whispered, "What should we do..."
Kobayashi casually remarked, "Then why don't you just keep living like this? As long as you're prepared to live dressed like this, there shouldn't be any problems, right?"
"Stop joking!!" Aqua yelled in annoyance, "If that's the case, I'll never be able to go to a luxury bubble hotel for the rest of my life!!"
Darkness felt the same way. Somewhat resentfully, she said, "Being groveled by the lewd looks of a wicked nobleman is one thing, but to live like this for the rest of my life is really a bit..."
“Even if you say that…” Kobayashi shrugged and said, “If anyone knows a lot about this… ah.”
He suddenly thought of someone, someone who had been searching for artifacts in the vicinity lately. That's right, it was Chris!
“…I see, I understand now.” Chris nodded after hearing their explanation, and said, “But regarding the guidance of that land, I regret to say I also…”
“I think this is probably some kind of curse.” Aqua was also a little angry, and asked, “Is there any magical item that can easily remove it? I’ve tried my own magic, but it didn’t work.”
If a goddess cannot break the curse, then one cannot help but wonder if it really is a curse.
Chris also said, "I do have some potions to remove low-level curses, but... I don't think they'll work."
"No matter what, we should give it a try." Kobayashi took the potion from Chris and said, "Here, Darkness, have a taste."
"This red color is really scary..." Darkness was also a little scared when she saw the potion, but there was no room for hesitation now. She gritted her teeth and said, "But there's no other way... Ugh!"
Darkness drank the potion that lifted the curse with great gusto, then after a few seconds opened his eyes wide and shouted, "So spicy—!"
Then she lay on the ground and rolled around, a sudden change that shocked everyone. Huihui quickly brought over a glass of water and said, "Are you alright?! Stop rolling around... Here's water, please have some!"
"...Ah, thank you, Megumin." Darkness looked much better after drinking the water, but her eyes were still a little red and swollen. She didn't know if it was because of the curse or because of the spiciness.
"Hmm, it hasn't recovered after all."
Aqua sighed.
“Sorry, Chris,” Darkness said, looking around the room. “You’ve made a mess of this place because of rolling around.”
“It’s just a book that fell down, don’t worry about it.” Chris waved her hand dismissively and said, “...Besides, it looks really spicy, I need to make sure I don’t drink it.”
She muttered softly, letting Kobayashi know that this guy hadn't drunk the potion either, unknowingly making Darkness a test subject.
"Wait a minute, this book..."
Xiaolin picked up a book from the ground, her expression changing slightly.
"The Guide of the Earth: The Prison of Deception...?" Huihui read the title of the book softly, and said somewhat strangely, thinking about why they had come to find her earlier, "What an intriguing title."
Aqua pointed at the book and shouted, "Isn't that book about that guy?"
"I have something like that?" Chris said with a slight surprise. "I probably brought it out of some ruins. I didn't expect to forget about it."
It looks like it's been a really long time.
Kobayashi and the others didn't waste any time either. Perhaps the information about the guidance of the earth was in there, so they immediately opened it to look for information.
"The ancient, dark messenger of the heavens has appeared. Utterly treacherous and cruel… What is this expression?!" Kobayashi immediately shouted, "The guy who wrote this book is definitely a member of the Crimson Demon Clan!!"
"Hmph, leave this to me!" Megumin, the Crimson Demon, also joined in, staring at the contents of the book as she continued reading: "What... Hmm, it seems there have been similar flying objects in the past. Although the earth's guidance emerged from there, the strengthening time was short and annoying, so it was sealed deep in the mine here."
Thanks to Huihui, the Crimson Demon Clan translator, many of their steps were skipped, allowing them to quickly grasp the content of the book.
"So, someone freed it, right?" Aqua put her hands on her hips, clearly annoyed, and complained, "Honestly, it caused so much trouble!!"
Huihui continued, "According to this book, it is sealed within a precious secret stone and enshrined in a shrine deep within the mine..."
"That must be a very valuable stone," Kobayashi said instinctively, then suddenly realized the crux of the problem, "...Huh? Valuable, stone...?"
That happened shortly after they arrived in this town. It was when Kobayashi and Aqua were building a wall, and he had said something to Aqua. Their conversation was still echoing in his mind.
"Speaking of which, the quality of this cement is really good. It sets quickly, and I feel like I can build a beautiful wall with it."
"Right? Because we accidentally obtained valuable stones from deep within the mine, we processed and mixed them together!"
—End of flashback—
"Could it be...!" Kobayashi suddenly realized something, and then said in a gentle and kind tone to the idiot goddess beside her who was still throwing a tantrum, "Tell me, Aqua... how did you get the materials to make cement?"
“Because the children taught by Axis worked in the mines, Cecily brought it here.” Aqua was a little puzzled, but she still honestly told her the origin of the stone.
That was when she was building the wall.
"Lady Aqua, I stole this valuable stone from my subordinate... and he gave it to me so readily! I'll accept it; I'll definitely be of help!"
Cecily proudly presented the treasure.
"Oh dear, I'm so sorry." Aqua blinked as she looked at the valuable stone and said, "Although I always feel that this stone has an ominous aura, that's precisely what makes it a good material."
—End of flashback—
After hearing Aqua's explanation, Kobayashi finally couldn't contain his anger any longer. He growled, "Aaaaaah!!! It's happening again!!!"
"Hey, stop yelling all of a sudden!" Aqua rubbed her ears and complained, "I almost couldn't hear you!"
"What are you talking about, you culprit! It's because you used strange stones to make cement that this happened!?" Kobayashi angrily berated her, growing more and more furious as she spoke. "What are you going to do? A nobleman's house has been destroyed, and they're looking for the culprit. If they find out...!"
His expression grew increasingly uneasy. He could already see a huge amount of debt looming over him. Damn it, wouldn't that mean he'd be burdened with even more debt?!
"What!?" Darkness also screamed suddenly, "That guidance of the earth, was it released by Aqua!?"
"Huh!? I didn't do anything wrong! I just wanted to see the foreman's happy expression!" Aqua refused to admit that she was wrong.
"That guy says his memory is hazy, but if he remembers who gave him his freedom..." Kobayashi sighed, rubbing his forehead, "It's compensation again... Until then, I have to keep him in line!!"
"This book says that as long as you show strength and make the other party submit, they will obey," Huihui offered a suitable solution.
"But I don't know where it is... Whoa!!?" Before Kobayashi could finish speaking, he suddenly felt the ground shake. Unsteady on his feet, he grabbed the table for support. "What's going on? An earthquake!?"
Suddenly, a burst of white light erupted in the room, only to vanish in a second. But unexpectedly, the ball of light—the guide of the earth—reappeared before everyone, catching them completely off guard.
"Hahaha!!" The guide of the earth laughed heartily, and said loudly, "Yes, I remember now, it was the blue-haired girl there who liberated me!"
"You, you! What time is this...!!" Darkness said, feeling a headache coming on. They were just about to go to find the Earth's guidance when the other party unexpectedly came to their door first.
"Hahaha!" The guide of the earth laughed heartily, then said to the crowd, "Come on, let's play a game here!"
"game?"
“I have created a special maze for you outside the city. If you can demonstrate your power through it, I will grant your wish. I will be waiting for you at the deepest part.”
Then, with a whoosh, it disappeared again. It's a terrifying man to be able to come and go so freely.
"Just as I wish!" Huihui shouted loudly, and said triumphantly, "I'm definitely going to make it give me a cool outfit too!"
Then she ran out quickly. Clearly, she was very unhappy about being the only one left behind.
"Hey, Megumin!?" Aqua didn't have time to stop her. Seeing Megumin dash off like lightning, she said helplessly, "Fine, go ahead anyway! It's all for that fancy sparkling wine...!!"
"Ah, everyone...!" Chris was also too late to stop them. Kobayashi and the others quickly caught up. She pouted somewhat dejectedly and said, "...They're gone."
Then they arrived outside the town and, as expected, saw a maze, inexplicably standing there. Kobayashi and the others, of course, didn't waste any time and decisively set off to explore the maze, but…
"Waaah...that was a foul, wasn't it?"
Aqua said this while crying.
Chris, who arrived late, was already prepared to retort when she saw her like this: "You came right back..."
"That's outrageous." Huihui pouted and said, "It's because you're usually too lazy that you've become like this."
"Strange?" Chris said with some surprise, "I heard that the Explosion Magic was underestimated, which is why Miss Megumin rushed into the maze..."
"...Anyway, we need help." Ignoring Chris's mocking expression, Megumin addressed the group, "Recruit people from the guilds here who can help—"
"Aqua-sama!!!"
Before she could finish speaking, someone rushed over from afar. He was wearing armor and had a powerful magic sword at his waist. Upon seeing the group, he shouted, "Finally found you, Lady Aqua! Now that I'm here, you can rest easy!!"
The man who pledges his loyalty the moment he appears—you don't even need to guess who he is.
"Strange, isn't this Hibiki?...Matsuura...the one with the Demon Sword, what's wrong?" Hmm, only that idiot goddess Aqua doesn't remember the other party's name.
“It’s Mitsurugi.” Mitsurugi Hibiki said with a hint of helplessness and discouragement, but quickly rallied, “I heard that Lady Aqua encountered some difficulties, so I’ve been looking for you. I’ve asked many people to investigate—”
"Eh, that's... a stalker?" Aqua's expression of disgust deeply hurt Mikage Hibiki.
"Alright, alright." Kobayashi quickly stepped forward and said, "Putting aside humanity for now, this guy's power is genuine. Lend us his power... Yu Jian?"
"It's Mitsurugi!!" Mitsurugi Hibiki snorted unhappily, seeing Kobayashi's extremely impatient expression. "I don't want you talking about humanity! Anyway, for Lady Aqua's sake, I'll help!"
As expected of Aqua's loyal dog, I can just relax with him around.
“Ah, I definitely have to go this time too!” Chris echoed, smiling as she said to the others, “There might be some strange magical artifacts inside the labyrinth.”
"Thank you so much if you can help." Darkness was happy that his friend was willing to come along. Then, bolstering his spirits, he shouted to the group, "Come on, let's challenge the maze again!"
Then, the group arrived at the maze once again.
"Drink up!"
Mikage Hibiki and Chris are indeed dungeon experts. One can easily see through the traps here, and the other can deal with all the monsters encountered on the way. Kobayashi and the others are like accessories following behind them.
"You two are both amazing!" Aqua said happily. "At this rate, that guy will be speechless!"
"Lady Aqua, there's a mechanism in the ceiling that can drop things down, but I've disabled the activation."
"I don't know why the armor slashed at me, but I fought back!"
Mikage Hibiki and Chris seemed determined to outdo each other, inexplicably starting a contest to see who could exert more strength. Kobayashi, of course, was happy to see this healthy competition, because he could finally relax and do nothing.
"Oh, it's so good to have you guys here... Hmm?" He noticed a letter at his feet and wondered, "It looks like a letter fell down. What does it mean? What... The real trial is yet to come. Contort your face in pain..."
It's a little unsettling.
(End of this chapter)