Chapter 39: A Cliché ‘Foolish Noble’ Appeared

Author’s Note:

Regarding Skill Sharing and the unique-ification stuff, the explanation seemed to be insufficient, resulting in some parts that are hard to understand.

Since I received some pointers from the readers, I changed some parts.

I published a detailed activity report, so please look at it for further information.

For those who say that looking at the activity report is troublesome, I also included a brief explanation in the afterword of this chapter.

The one who barged into the Guild Master’s room was a fat, sluggish, unhealthy looking man clad in silver armor.

… Who the heck is this? I didn’t see him on the way in — I couldn’t even sense his presence… Ah, maybe it’s an effect of his equipment?

Name ：Auguste Alsund Age ：29

Race ：Human

Occupation ：Soldier

State ：Normal

Status:

Level ：30

HP ：108 MP ：99 STR ：52 END ：53 AGI ：45 INT ：50 MGC ：47 DEX ：45

Skills:

Acting Lv.1, Singing Lv.1, Horsemanship Lv.1, Deceit Lv.1, Court Etiquette Lv.4, Sword Arts Lv.1, Arithmetic Lv.1, Socialising Lv.2, Poison Resistance Lv.1, Poison Knowledge Lv.2, Herbalism Lv.2

Unique Skills:

Law of Lies Lv5

Titles:

Viscount, Vice Commander of Aressa’s Knight Order

Equipment:

Mithril Longsword, Sturdy Silver Full-Body Armor, Red Lion Mantle, Ring of Presence Concealmen

He’s quite unbalanced, isn’t he… Despite being Level 30, his status values are low — probably around that of an E Rank Adventurer.

Besides that, his Skills are beyond lame. Things like Socializing are high, so he’s probably a noble of some sort, but something like Sword Arts Lv1… Isn’t that way too low for a Knight? And yet, despite that he has the title of Vice Commander?

「What exactly are you referring to with, Sir Auguste?」

「Exactly as should be expected! A Demon’s magic stone? A thing of such value… For a young girl to monopolize it is absolutely unacceptable!」

「I thought that’s what you were meaning, but… Regarding subjugations, the raw materials of Demonic Beasts defeated completely by oneself are granted wholly to the person in question. She, having defeated the demon, has the legal rights to the Magic Stone. Or rather, for giving the Demon’s raw materials to the Guild despite that, there isn’t a single reason why we should hold her at fault.」

「Nonsense! If it was something to the degree of Hobgoblin materials, then you could let her have as many as she wants, but high-ranking materials like the ones from a Demon — just handing it over to the likes of a low-class Adventurer would be absolutely absurd!」

In the end, it seems that the materials we obtained were even more amazing than I thought. I’m regretting giving that body away a bit, now…

「This young girl, didn’t she arbitrarily act on her own? That’s clearly a violation of orders! This sort of person, does she even have the right to receive a proper reward?!」

「Fuu… If we’re moving to the subject of ‘order violation’, then believe me when I say it really can’t be helped. Just about every Adventurer would end up as subject to that judgement, after all. In fact, it would be rather strange if Adventurers didn’t behave on their own accord. If you know of an Adventurer that hasn’t violated any rules or orders, then please, I would very much like to meet them.」

「So you’re all just a band of low lives after all…」

「Well, compared to the well-behaved gentlemen of the Knight Order, it’s a given that we’d end up looking like a gathering of crude ruffians.」

The Guild Master’s eyes aren’t smiling at all while he speaks… One can even feel the blood thirst being emitted. It’s gotten to the point that I’ve started admiring this fat noble for not noticing it at all. Maybe because his facial skin is so thick, he ended up being naturally thick-headed?

「Hmm. Then let me tell you something good. This lass is lying, alright?」

*Giku-*

Ah, is that this fellow’s unique skill?

Law of Lies

Allows the user to see through lies spoken by others, while making one’s own lies become harder to be seen through. Furthermore, the user’s lies will be easier to believe by others.

It’s an ideal Skill for crooks, dictators, and founders of questionable religious sects. How does this guy own such a Skill and still only have the rank of a Vice Commander in a local Knight Order? In regards to the type of position held by hated people in fantasy novels, isn’t the scale too small?

Depending on the way it’s used, it’s a skill capable of doing horrendous things, and yet… Well… I suppose this just goes to show you that no matter how excellent a Skill is, its power is fully reliant on its user.

It would seem that we’ve been driven into a corner… Or, we would be if his next words were what I expected. But they weren’t.

「She said that the Magic Stone was annihilated, but that was definitely a lie. There’s no doubt that she’s hiding it somewhere.」

Huh? No, that wasn’t a lie, you know? To say ‘it was annihilated’ was the truth.

「… Even if that’s the case, she owns the property rights to the Magic Stone.」

「No, a false report in this sort of situation can’t be tolerated! Besides, what if she’s hiding something else, too?」

「Really annihilated.」

「Are you still lying?」

What the heck is this guy saying? Since he can detect lies, he should know that what Fran said was the truth…

― No, that’s just it, isn’t it? It’s possible that he’s well known for having the Law of Lies Skill. In that case, if he says that someone is lying, then they’re automatically turned into a liar. Using that, he’s planning on setting Fran up.

「?」

『Fran, don’t talk for now』

（Understood.）

Now, the real question is ‘What’s his goal?’…

「This isn’t the site for official talks — she only came here to talk privately. Even if she spoke in jest, there isn’t any sort of law that would find fault in that, is there?」

The Guild Master is strangely covering for us. Perhaps he has a hatred of nobles? Well, regardless of his reasons, I’m grateful. Go for it, Guild Master!

「She attempted to steal from nobles like myself while we weren’t aware: no matter the place, that’s a crime!」

「I will say it once again: I wasn’t aware that something like telling a joke was a crime.」

「Regardless, this girl isn’t trustworthy! I’ve heard that you don’t even know her birthplace! She might be a foreign spy! Deliver all of her belongings to the Knight Order! If we receive and inspect the goods, no more will be said about her rude conduct today.」

Haa? This fellow, what did he just say? Deliver her belongings? Isn’t that just a cover up for extortion? Does he seriously think we’ll abide?

「What are you saying?!」

「To begin with, you bastards of the Adventurers Guild ignored our Knight Order and went to the Goblin Subjugation on your own, right? You loathed that us elite Knights would snatch away the gains — an appropriate behavior for vulgar Adventures. If you hand over the Demon’s raw materials, we just might overlook this slight.」

「Haa? We did contact the Knight Order. The date and time we planned on carrying out the Subjugation were properly conveyed.」

「Humph, don’t lie! At least half of the loot, all of the Demon’s materials, and this girl’s baggage: hand them over!」

「Half the gains? All of the Demon’s materials? There is no reason to give such things to the Knight Order that didn’t even do anything.」

「What are you saying?! You bastard Adventurers — too blinded by greed with what’s waved in front of you — made light of protecting the town and went towards the Goblin den! While you did so, we Knights carried the town’s public order on our backs!」

「So, you all got cold feet and didn’t want to participate, thus ignoring our request…」

「Oi, did you say anything?」

「No. Nothing.」

So it was like that… The Knight Order was scared of the Hobgoblins, so they deliberately ignored the appeal for participation in the Subjugation campaign. And so, the Adventurers went alone. When they returned, they not only had very few casualties, but also produced tremendous gains. Now, the Knights want in on those gains.

So, who’re the greedy ones again?

「Oi, kid! For starters, hand over that sword. It appears to be considerably beautiful, so where did you steal it? Speak the truth!」

The shitty, fat noble approached.

（Kill?）

『Wait, let’s observe a little while longer.』

I also want to beat him into the dirt and chop him up, but we should refrain.

「Inside the Guild, the Knight Order has no authority. Even so, do you still insist on ordering us around? To demand us to hand over half the gains that the Adventurers risked their lives for?」

「It’s our natural right.」

This bastard, he really said it. And now, even more tremendous bloodthirst is gushing out of the Guild Master. Uwa, after getting this angry, he’s done well for enduring the desire to start a fight. Instead, he’s just smiling cheerfully on the surface… This Guild Master is a man worthy of respect.

「First, hand over signed contracts. You, bastard, if you write your name here then the delivery of the raw material will be accepted.」

「Is this the consensus of the Knight Order? Or, to rephrase my question, the Commander also knows of this, right?」

「…… Of course.」

「Then, is it fine for me to inquire?」

「H-Huh? That… There is no need for such —」

「The one who decides that is me.」

It seems that the tides have changed.

「To inquire about something like this, is there any problems with that?」

「D-Don’t joke around! Are you saying that I’m lying? Un-Unbelievable. For today I will take my leave!」

Uwaa… He totally hit the nail on the head, huh. Whether it was for earning reputation among his peers or for indulging in embezzlement of profit, it’s certain that this guy came here without permission.

『Ok, let’s try it out on him.』

Try what, you ask? Skill Taker, of course. He even has a Unique Skill all nicely prepared, after all.

（I want to try too.）

『Mh. First, I will attempt it.』

The target is obviously the Unique Skill. Thinking about it, this Skill would be quite hard to use on an opponent if you didn’t have Appraisal, huh…

I’m mentioning that because the Demon didn’t have Appraisal. The Dungeon Master had said that he won the Demon through something like a gacha-automat[M1], so maybe the Demon’s Skills were strange because of that? Or perhaps Demonic Beasts won in the early stages of a Dungeon all have random Skills? Or maybe the Dungeon Master simply forgot to add Appraisal to its Skills…?

Yeah, that last one is the most likely.

「I will come again!」

Oops, the sucker almost left.

『Skill Taker!』

― ― Success. The best part of this Skill is that it has no visible effects, allowing it to secretly steal Skills. It’s truly villainous.

Law of Lies: Lv5, get! With this, we’ve verified that Unique Skills can be stolen. Furthermore, it seems that the Skill’s true danger is that the stolen Skill remains at the same level when it’s taken. If a high leveled Skill was stolen, you’d suddenly become an expert.

The flaw is that the Unique Skill that I gained doesn’t count as a Set Skill. Whether for good or bad, because it’s registered as mine, I can’t share it with Fran. The opposite will most likely hold true as well. In the future, we’ll have to choose who steals what depending on the situation.

「Skill Taker.」

Following me, Fran muttered in a tiny voice. Naturally, this was also a success. The next highest Skill, Court Etiquette Lv4, got stolen.

Kukukuku. It’ll be quite entertaining when he notices that his precious Skills are gone!

（Teacher. Did it.）

『Ou, it was a huge success.』

（Now: kill?）

『Can I kill him, can I kill him… Why do you want to put an end to him so much?』

（Hate him.）

I have a hunch that this child is gradually becoming dangerous… Right, shouldn’t she become more ladylike and refined now that Court Etiquette has been obtained? No? It’s impossible after all, huh…

「Haa… I’m very sorry about that.」

「Who was that?」

「A greenhorn son of a big noble, and also the Vice Commander of Aressa’s Knight Order. He’s a snob that bought his position with gold, and because his pedigree is good he’s hard to deal with. Around one year back he moved here, and ever since he’s been brandishing his social position at every opportunity. Because of that, he’s hated by most of the town. Showing such foolish behavior towards the Guild is a first, though.」

「Complain to the Knight Order?」

「Impossible. With people like him, their parents will suppress any complaints to the end. It’s because of that that he’s grown up to become such a fool, too. Moreover, he possesses a Skill called Law of Lies that can see through lies… To be frank, even I can’t deal with him, and he can’t be taken lightly.」

「Small fry, but Vice Commander? With money: it’s OK?」

「You should take complaints like that to the country itself. Anyways, small fry or not, his level is reasonably high. It’s often said that nobles party up with strong Knights and hunt Demonic Beasts to raise their level, so that’s likely the case for him.」

So, it’s real power-leveling huh. If it’s like that, then it’s no wonder that his combat-series Skills haven’t grown. In the end, he only has the appearance of a level 30 knight.

「Next time: beat to a pulp.」

「If possible, please don’t. The Vice Commander is a fool, but the Commander is a reasonable fellow, so if I report this event to him the Vice should behave for a short while.」

「Alright.」

「Really, don’t. If it becomes a situation where you started a fight, the troubles won’t end with you alone.」

It’s for your own sake after all, huh. Well, in this person’s case, a give-and-take relationship is probably more reliable than friendship anyways.

「Once again, for offering us the Demon’s raw materials: thank you very much. Thanks to that, the Guild has profited greatly.」

「Nn.」

「So, do you really have the Magic Stone?」

Es tu, Guild Master!?

「It’s a joke.」

「Dangerous.」

「What is?」

「Almost reached for it[M2].」

「Hahahaha! That’s quite scary! Well then, please take care around him. He abuses his Skill to see through lies and has been remorselessly tricking others.」

「It’s alright.」

「Is that so? If you say so, then it doesn’t matter, but…」

「Finished?」

「Yes, thank you again. Ah, but one last thing.」

「?」

「Please go rank up at reception. I’ve already processed the documents.」

「Again?」

「Yes, again. You raised outrageous accomplishments, after all. An Adventurer who exterminated a Demon alone… It’s not possible for such a person to claim to be Rank F. For now, your rank will be raised to D.」

「Not E?」

「I planned to raise it to C, but as expected I wasn’t able to obtain the other branches’ consent.」

Well, that should have been obvious. A 12 year-old girl who just became an Adventurer independently crushed a Rank B Demon? What kind of adventure novel would that situation come from? In fact, getting raised to D is already a stretch.

「Understood. Going to reception.」

「Please treat us well from now on. Your compensation will also be paid when you get there — alongside a bonus.」

「Nn.」

It seems that the rumor that we’d be ranking up at the reception spread, so the other Adventurers got noisy. Apparently, this was the fastest rank up in this Guild’s history. It’s only been 4 days since we registered, after all.

It started with betting on whether it was actually Fran that would be ranking up, but through skipping a rank, we appear to have caused some really heavy losses… Or rather, the racket we caused became even louder than originally expected.

「Haha! Thanks to the little miss, I made a killing!」

「Shiーt! Such a heavy loss…!」

「Wahahahaha!」

「So, how is it? Shall I treat you to a drink?」

「Idiot, as if such a small child could drink alcohol!」

「Thanks.」

「O-Oh! You can?」

「Then, let’s get you an Apple Juice!」

And with that, Fran’s rank went up to D. Rank D, huh… She’s already a splendidly ‘average’ Adventurer.

Thinking about today’s events, maybe it would be better if I reveal myself? There might be even more situations like the one from earlier, but if it’s a Rank D Adventurer, then having a slightly odd Magic Sword wouldn’t be all that strange.

A sword that grows stronger by absorbing magic stones… If that much was revealed, it would also become easier for Fran. Anything more than that… I don’t know. Next time, let’s try asking Old Man Gallus for some advice.

Anyways, in relation to the Demon’s Magic Stone, most of the fellows seem to think that Fran is secretly holding on to it, so revealing myself is no problem. Their understanding will simply change from 「She’s secretly holding onto it」to「Her sword absorbed it」. If it’s like that, then returning only the Demon’s raw materials to the Guild is fine. It’s also thanks to that that everyone got a bonus.

So… Next, shall we provide today’s alcohol on us? Accumulating small favors is important, after all.

「Today: my treat.」

「What’re ya sayin’? As if I’d let m’self be treated by such a small kid!]

「It’s okay. Also got a bonus」

「Ohh. How big of you!」

「Not fat[M3].」

「Gahaha, ain’t you amusing, lil’ miss!」

「Then, I’ll be regaining my losses through drinks!」

「Wahahaha!」

In the end, those drunkards managed to drown no less than 100,000 Gorudo…

Author Note: (modified)

Below, there’s a longer explanation, but the point is the MC’s and Fran’s Shareable Skills are only the ones obtained from absorbing the magic stones, called ‘Set Skills’. These Skills can be Normal, Extra, or Unique skills. Any others can’t be shared. However, any Set Skills (sharable) that go through a change and become Unique Skills can no longer be shared. (Just to note, Sword Arts → Master Sword Arts is not an example of a Skill changing from a Normal Skill to a Unique Skill)

Mllhild:

There’re a bunch of references to the chapters where explanations come from, but the important bits are these:

Any Skill taken with Skill Taker is theirs alone.

If Fran or Teacher develop/acquire a skill normally, it cannot be shared.

Because this doesn’t matter anywhere after this chapter: remember that only Teacher has Law of Lies Lv5, and only Fran has Court Etiquette Lv4.

[M1] Essentially, the Demon would have been won by something like a 7-7-7 line on Slots.

[M2] ‘It’ being her sword (meaning she almost considered the Guild Master an enemy and pulled the sword on him). It’s for this things that I love Fran.

[M3] Generous = futobbara, Fat Belly = futohara, so Fran thinks she got called fat.

Ensig: Thanks to lygarx for offering a suggestion on how to translate that joke over to English!