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Chapter 133: All the villains are all in the same house is a silly trope, but when they’re all in the same country, you have to wonder about the country’s state

[“… So it’s Extus again…”]

Seimei-san’s voice echoes through the room.

I have the Friend Chat settings to speaker call, so Troy-san can also hear him.

As for him being able to hear Troy-san, as long as Troy-san speaks somewhat loudly, it seems to go through alright.

After I got Seimei-san on the line, Troy-san explained various things about the situation he was in.

The main parts are that there appears to be quite a few people from Earth who have gotten transported here as well, and that Extus, a very tyrannical nation, are buying up all the Asian-looking slaves they could find.

Is it just me or does Seimei-san sound exasperated?

“Seimei-san, what is it?”

When in doubt, just ask.

[“Ah… it’s nothing much, but Extus definitely has a finger in the trouble I’ve been dealing with lately. Their ambitions are quite large, it seems.”]

Some troubles Seimei-san’s having?

I don’t really know what that could be, but I know he’s taken over a few farms that grow the ingredients for mana pots, an extremely important yet scarce resource, as well as working with demons, so I can’t say that it’s surprising to hear that Seimei-san has been running into ‘trouble’.

“Ah… the cases of mana deficiency sickness in Extus have been skyrocketing lately. They also have some other uses for the herbs, mostly involved in manufacturing artifacts or replenishing mana in people so they can use magic longer and more often.”

Troy-san said.

It seems that he’s been making use of his sneakiness to hear all sorts of rumors when he was still in Extus.

As for why he didn’t get enslaved or otherwise abused once he got transported to this world, well… it’s definitely because he doesn’t look Asian.

It appears that the rumors floating around behind the scenes is that all of the people of the ‘other world’ are Asians, so Troy-san was easily overlooked.

It seems like most of the people in this world look like westerners after all, so the concept of ethnicities doesn’t seem to exist.

Although there are differences in appearances between the races, so except for the people who know about otherworlders, even people with East Asian appearances don’t stand out drastically.

Most people just assume it’s a clan family trait, or something.

But for the people who do know, an Asian face is something to keep an eye on.

Or at least, that’s what Troy-san believes he understands from the bits and pieces he’s picked up.

As for how he’s able to run unchecked, poking his nose into places it really, really shouldn’t be, not only does he have the super cheat sneaky abilities that are clearly traited for being undetected, compared to Hibiki-chan’s traits that more focused on sneak-attacks, Troy-san has been acting as a deaf-and-dumb mute.

Sure, people don’t treat him well because of it, especially in a place that looks down on the weak, like Extus, but conversely, no on bothers worrying about his whereabouts or if he’s eavesdropping.

As for why he’s even still hanging around Extusians, well…

“Her name is Suzako, and she used to be my team member.”

It was the woman we saw earlier.

A Japanese woman with a short bob haircut.

A young widow he had gotten close to in game. Although she played a male character.

So, basically, Troy-san has a thing for mature women … I mean, he’s been playing the fool and putting up with the arrogant Extusians so he can stay close to her and try to help her escape.

“The problem is … I’m a fucking huge coward. Even in the game, I always specced out more for running away compared to fighting. I-I mean, I get we have some Cheat powers, but…”

Troy-san became somewhat flustered.

I guess my disapproval showed on my face, even though I didn’t mean to.

Look, I understand that different people will react differently to the same situation, but in this situation, as a man, staying out of danger and not rescuing the woman you is really low, so I can’t approve of it.

Troy-san scratched the side of his face awkwardly.

“I guess as a woman, you think I’m just making excuses, right? … Well, maybe I am. I just didn’t know what to do. There’s just no way Extus would let a precious and expensive ‘slave’ like Suzako go without a fuss, and sure, I know I could break her out by myself, but … I don’t know enough about the other slaves from our world yet. If I broke Suzako out by myself, I would definitely break my cover too.”

[“… So you mean to say, you want to break every one of them free?”]

“Yes.”

Troy-san has a firm look on his face.

“Actually, I want to dismantle the Extus Courts entirely.”

… How did we get from ‘doesn’t want to risk releasing slaves’ to ‘wants to overthrow a country’?

I’m not following the logic on how one relates to the other, either.

“My fighting strength may be high compared to the average soldier, but overall, it’s low when you’re comparing it to the strong men and women in this world. Although I could get away with one, maybe two breakouts, there’s a limit to what I can do alone. Of course, the people I can free can become my allies, but that also comes with high risks of being able to be found out quickly, since Extus already knows their magic power signatures. Furthermore, I’ve heard that there are powers that no one detects at work behind the scenes. If I rush in haphazardly, I’m worried that I’ll just be rushing the transmigrated people to their deaths faster.”

[“… So am I correct in assuming that what you’re worried about is that Extus is willing to wage wars against the rest of the world in order to recapture gamer slaves?”]

“I’m not just worried about it. I know that’s what they’re doing. Truthfully speaking, I haven’t been able to crack all the secrets in the Extus Courts despite being an OP sneak rogue, but what I have uncovered is already enough to make the other countries and Unaffiliateds tremble. Extus has been preparing for war for a long time now, through taboo means as well as other means.”

“Taboo means… like what?”

Troy-san’s face suddenly turns ashen and his expression twists in disgust.

“Have you ever heard of mana farms?”

[“…”]

“…”

The only thing I can think of is the herb farms out with Seimei-san in the south, but it doesn’t take a genius to know that’s not what Troy-san is talking about.

“The Extusians are draining prisoners of their mana in order to support some sort of research. That’s all I really know.”

Just from hearing that kind of vague explanation, you have to know it’s NG. This world just twisted to become a dark fantasy just from his statement.

“The other gamers-”

“Right now, they’re only using it on war prisoners and criminals. So they say. But transmigrated slaves are far too valuable. That fat Lord Fyle, too; if he does anything more than petty sexual harrassment to Suzako, his head will fly.”

Even though he says so, Troy-san’s disgusted expression becomes even uglier.

The hatred he has for that Lord Fyle is so strong it seems like Troy-san would go to kill him in a heartbeat if it weren’t for his self-restraint keeping him from potentially sabotaging his other goals.

[“… I see. So could it be that you weren’t confident that Suzako would be safe if she escaped? Like, maybe her safety would be better ensured if she remained a slave?”]

Troy-san deflates from his anger, looking a lot more self-reproaching as he says,

“… You see, we appeared in Extus. Extus … is not a kind country. And even if we left the country, how far is it to the border? And how much better are the other countries? What about the diplomatic relations? This… is the first time I’ve been able to leave Extus to confirm things.”

I see… It’s not the choice I would have made, but he was properly thinking about her safety.

Then I guess I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.

Although if it were me, I wouldn’t let the woman I love be subjected to any humiliation, and even if it cost me my life, I would protect her even if it means forever.

But, like he said, that isn’t something that should be done without resolution.

Actually, thinking about it like that, it probably shows his good qualities that he’s unwilling to do something rash if he isn’t willing to follow through.

[“… Wait a minute, hang on. You couldn’t leave the country by yourself? Even though you have OP cheat skills (so you say)?”]

Troy-san’s face grows dark again.

“… … You don’t know how terrifyingly advanced magic research can grow if the people behind it don’t care about committing taboos. After passing through so many countries, I guarantee that, if Extus started a war against the rest of the world, they may not be able to win it, but there won’t be many countries left in Orelia. I probably could have gotten out, but not undetected. Honestly, they’re a little like a gunpowder barrel. Any little spark could set Extus off on the path of war, and I didn’t want to be the start of it just because I wanted to look around.”

[“So basically, Extus is in a precarious situation… and, so? Now that you’re out of the country, you were planning to break your friend out?”]

“Y-yes! Although… even though I’ve planned and re-planned various aspects, I still haven’t been able to bring myself to act on any of them. I’m pretty unreliable, huh?”

Troy-san scratches the back of his head and laughs awkwardly.

[“I don’t know how Jun-kun thinks about it, but not acting when you’re not confident of success isn’t necessarily a bad move.”]

“Why bring me into it?”

I grumbled at Seimei-san, but he ignored me.

[“Of course, never acting would be a fool’s move, but I think you’re carefully building your hand before you make a move.”]

“It would be good if that’s the case.

[“Well, it would be good if you decided to move now. You’ve recruited an impatient one already, after all.”]

“… Why bring me into it…”

I can’t help but grumble at Seimei-san again.

[“Oh? Am I wrong? You’re just going to stand and watch?”]

“Of course … not!”

Hmph!

I can’t help but lift my head sharply with my hands on my hips.

[“Right~? Ah, but you have things to do, so it’s not like you can get started right away.”]

“Things to do?”

[“… That secret something or other you can’t tell me about in the Labyrinth?”]

“… Ah!”

[“Haa… I know Masaki said you have selective memory, but are you sure it’s not dementia?”]

“How rude. There’s just been a lot going on.”

It’s not like I completely forgot about the Forge.

It’s more like, I decided that talking about it to people other than the ones involved would be crossing a line regarding my priorities on what to reveal to whom, and so I purposefully put it out of my mind during this discussion in case I accidentally let it slip.

It’s not just the Forge, but also the Demon King stuff.

I mean, Seimei-san knows about it, but I still don’t know about how much we should be trusting Troy-san.

“Something secret in Ploids Labyrinth? That Forge thing?”

When Seimei-san said that, Troy-san suddenly frowned, furrowing his brows.

…Ah. He already knew about it.

“That’s… also what Lord Fyle’s company is aiming for.”

Heh… this is starting to sound troublesome.

I’m not sure exactly what is troublesome, but this definitely is.

[“Forge? What forge?”]

“…You didn’t hear it from me.”

I have to make it obvious that I’m not the one who spilled the beans this time.

Although I definitely hold my allegiance to the Mourning Star gamers more than any of my other allegiances, Guild work is still Guild work so I’d like to keep them separate unless it’s necessary to do otherwise.

And, yeah, now it feels a little necessary, but still.

I didn’t let it leak, okay?

“I didn’t understand too much, other than that it’s a mysterious artifact, but whatever it is, it’s better to keep it out of Extus’ hands. That’s kind of all I know about it.”

“Yeah, it is. It killed a lot of people, somehow, but it’s got a lot of ancient elven technologies in it. That’s not really the secret bit to it, though, Seimei-san. It’s more about the fact that it’s been sighted.”

[“Ah, so it’s like a legendary pokemon. So the Guild doesn’t want people running in and making a mess of things?”]

“Well… something like that.”

I say. Close enough.

“But… it’s been difficult to unravel the Forge ever since … forever. Is Extus just that sure that they can do it?”

Come to think of it, I wonder if the other countries sent out squads to investigate the Forge previously.

It feels more like the Guild would call the shots but … the Guild is an Unaffiliated organization that’s more about balancing the world powers, not controlling a territory, even if it’s a Labyrinth.

They were only able to control access to the Labyrinth in Nyl because the Guild Hall was literally the Labyrinth entrance, but not all the Labyrinths are so convenient.

In fact, there are side entrances even in Nyl Labyrinth that aren’t so tightly regulated, although those entrances are much less convenient and tended to shift and change locations from time to time. As I wondered aloud, Troy-san sighed.

“They think they can do it now because of Suzako. Her crafting abilities make her extremely valuable.”

“Crafting?”

[“Crafting? Our crafting skills from the didn’t work, though. Is Suzako-san a weirdo like the one in front of you?”]

My ears perk up a bit, but Seimei-san derailed my excitement.

What do you mean, weirdo?

“Ah… as you might expect, skills that make things don’t work, but some of her skills as an appraiser and tinkerer do still work. More specifically, the ones that can analysis and decompose various elements and items.”

“I see. So they’re expecting her to be able to dismantle the mystery.”

I feel like I can agree with the Extusians’ thoughts.

The game skills got really OP upgrades based on … the… will of the world…?

Anyway, the skills seemed to have been based on some sort of universal absolute.

I just wish the fake system that this world applied to me would stop trying to figure me out.

Maybe because I got transferred over while still in character creation, but the world keeps trying to add Skills, and sometimes removes or combines them, in some kind of attempt to make sense of me.

I mean, I ‘accidentally’ trigger most of the Skills I have just by manipulating magic, so there’s no way I’d bother trying to memorize that mess.

Although it is nice to be able to use some ‘pre-loaded’ magic, like <Sever>, <Keen Edge>, <Emblazon>, and <Magic Dispersion> without having to overthink things too much.

… They’re all the crafting-type Skills…

I guess the difference between my crafting Skills and the gamers’ crafting Skills is mainly that I learned them here, based on experience and knowledge.

That said,

“But, well, I feel like her super-analysis isn’t really going to be much help…”

I’m not sure why I feel that way, but I just don’t think the key here is going to be identification.

The Forge is dangerous, and is an ancient elven … ruin? Artifact?

Identification of mechanical or material things will only get you so far in a race full of lost magics.

“…I don’t really understand what they’re trying to do either.”

Troy-san makes a somewhat apologetic look.

[“If this forge thing really is so high stakes, I wonder if the Extus Nobles in this company are even aware of what the plan is.”]

“That’s … a very Extus thing. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were right,”

Troy-san said with a sigh.

“… Well, if they’re bringing Suzako-san to hunt for the Forge, it wouldn’t be impossible for her to go ‘missing,’ though, right?”

I ask.

[“…That’s it! Alright Jun-kun, feel free to run wild in the Labyrinth-!”]

“…”

I mean, that’s what my intentions were to begin with, but it bothers me when Seimei-san says it like that.

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<a/n: Ooh thank God the random strands of story are finally starting to come together again. No, seriously, for wfb, I have all (er, most. some.) of the various storylines roughed out but not in relation to each other, so it’s a relief they’re starting to mesh a bit.

Sorry for the downtime… again. I’m struggling with my schedule atm. There’s been some more personal things going on, but I have begun taking measures to actually deal with the wild mood swings, which is mostly about regulating hormones.

Exercise, regular water intake, and cutting out over-indulgence in media and games (instead of food, I binge media in depression) is legitimately doing me good, as well as some back-to-God soul searching.

Seriously, just because I’m the type who can’t gain weight or change shape, I really let myself go… I bet I’d be lucky to run a 15 minute mile at this rate.

I am also having a bit of trouble balancing comic and novel time, since producing a comic is extremely different from producing a novel, not just in the obvious ways but also in the basic pacing and writing. It’s been a frustrating time all around.

That said, I’ve just made the move to putting novels as my priority. It may be obvious to everyone else that that’s the way to go, but it sometimes takes me way longer to understand some basic concepts.

Also, not being able to go to a coffee shop to do my typing does not help my focus.

As for the riot situation in the USA, first of all, it’s over now. It was horrible due to what happened and the insensibility of it all, both undermining the protesters’ actual agenda and completely ruining many small business that were already in dire straits due to the business shutdowns from covid, but it didn’t actually last that long.
Although I live near a major city that was a site of a rampant looting and mayhem, we are far enough outside the city that there wasn’t much going on here. Of course, that doesn’t change the fact that we do know people who live in major US cities, including one who owned multiple restaurants right in the heart of the hotspots, so I can’t say it didn’t affect us at all, but everyone’s safe and fine.
That said, we did just have a death in the family.

—

As a side note, thank you to all my patrons and ko-fi supporters. I counted the money, and I now have enough money saved up to buy a replacement cintiq (or other comparable product) if mine dies, something I’ve been worried about since mine is about a decade old from before windows 10, AND I can take down the huge dead tree that is looming right over my living room, which I’ve been worried about because… I like having a roof.
I don’t need the drawing tablet right away, because I don’t like replacing something that mostly still works, but having that option there is extremely reassuring.

HOWEVER, please note that Patreon is now charging sales tax. I will not hold it against anyone to adjust their … pledges? Is that what it’s called? Anyway, during this period of time, where money might be tight and the tax is now being applied, please feel free to do what you need to.

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