Maou – Chapter 6: Creeping Shadow

—Holy Light Kingdom: In the way to the Holy Capital.

(This is…a bathtub…!)

Since entering the base, Aku has been surprised left and right.

It is truly different from the houses he knows -he could feel sturdiness from it from the very beginning. For example; even if a boar or a bear were to lunge onto it, it wouldn’t budge a single bit.

Even if an atrocious monster were to attack, he didn’t feel like this place would fall.

There’s even beds and a kitchen in the base, and he unconsciously felt like he had become a part of the humans in that hemisphere.

In his house, the most he would have to sleep on would be straw with crude cloth on top.

Compared to that, this was practically heaven.

(To top it off, this bathtub…!)

Maou-sama said that this is a drum bath.

To his surprise, there was warm water inside of it! It was an unbelievable luxury, and even at this moment that he is inside of it, the trembling in his body wouldn’t stop.

Bath

(But Maou-sama was apologizing about something…)

Accurately speaking, he said: ‘Sorry, this is the best base I can bring out right now’, was it?

Honestly speaking, he didn’t understand what he was saying.

However, if this is his ‘best’, that’s a given. He couldn’t imagine luxury bigger than this one.

(Where did Maou-sama come from? I thought he came from hell…)

This Grand Empire that Maou-sama spoke of when he was drunk piqued the interest of Aku slightly.

Maybe that’s the homeland of Maou-sama.

When he was thinking that, he heard the voice of Maou-sama at the other side of the door.

“Sorry for it being so small. But just watch. In time, I will make a hot spring inn.” (Maou)

Saying only that, Maou-sama once again left with footsteps fading away.

The words of Maou-sama were incredibly difficult. If he had more knowledge, he might have understood, but there’s no helping what he doesn’t have right now.

(What is a hot supuring in?)

While having a simple question like that, Aku was enjoying the drum bath.

It was an incredibly peaceful sight.

On the other hand…

Maou was lying on the pipe bed, and was watching the night sky that could be seen from the window.

(So there’s a moon in this world too…)

After being a while like this, he had already sobered up.

A decent amount of time had passed since coming to this world, but it doesn’t seem like he can return to his original world by just waiting.

(If I get all my Rights back, will I truly be able to return?)

At the very least, the Admin Rights are related to the game, so there’s obviously no command like ‘return to your original world’.

If he has been called here by that Evil God-looking statue, maybe there’s no choice but to look for something similar and ask that one?

(The number one problem would be that if I really do manage to return, would it be in the same time frame?)

If he returns to the same day and time, there would be no problem.

However, if the time he spend in this world is the same as the one of his original world, that would be fatal.

If he were to return after one month, it would be a big ruckus with him being treated as missing. There’s no way me saying: ‘I was in another world, ehehe’ would work.

From that day on, he would go straight to an asylum.

(For now, should I aim to regain all my Rights?)

There’s still no knowing what’s needed for that.

Is it simply to gain SP? Get money? Gather items?

Whichever it is, nothing will progress if he stays spaced-out. It would be better to instead think of it as being in a trip and enjoy it, which would be healthier.

(Even if I were to return, it would be days of work…)

“Maou-sama~! Drum baths are great, aren’t they?!” (Aku)

That voice made him laugh out loud.

They are not in warring times, so reacting to being happy about a bathtub like that was troubling.

It is unknown what kind of destiny brought them together, but…once the Admin Rights are back, it might be a good idea to surprise him with a lot of things.

It looks like Aku hasn’t passed a happy life until now after all.

(Hot spring inn, huh… Since I am already doing that, should I bring back the Nightless Castle?)

The Nightless Castle is the last area of the game where Kunai Hakuto along with his close aides are all in.

Not only his close aides, there’s also 2,000 soldiers protecting it, and it is the last defense line.

If he showed Aku that place that’s the concentration of scientific prowess of the Grand Empire, how would he react?

It is a bloodstained place where many players have been defeated for more than a decade, but with the Nightless Castle, protection would be perfect.

That place has only fallen once in the past after all.

Also, if his close aides can come to this world, his perimeter of action will increase.

“Maou-sama, I have cleaned my body with the cleanser today as well!” (Aku)

“Hmm…you do smell nice.” (Maou)

“Really? Ehehe…” (Akuku)

Aku laughed happily and enters the bed just like that.

Poof

Because his hair is blonde, it felt as if a cat with nice fur had taken a liking to him.

“Are you planning on sleeping together with me?” (Maou)

“Can’t I?” (Aku)

“You are probably thinking of me as a father of sorts, but let me tell you something really important. Listen well, I am actually an Onii-san. I will say it once more, I am not an old man yet.” (Maou)

“Maou-sama, I don’t understand what you are saying.” (Aku)

Just like this, Maou’s efforts were futile, and the night passed.

■■ □□ ■■ □□

—A few days after: among the mountains of the Holy Light Kingdom.

Bandits with numbers close to 40 were moving around the mountains.

They heard information that the carriage of a Holy Maiden would be passing by in this area. There’s no way the bandits would let a chance like this pass by and were preparing to attack.

They are known as Moles around these areas, and they are a hated bunch.

They have no qualms in what prey they hunt.

Because of this, there’s times when they would be pushed back, but instead of reducing in numbers, they mostly increase. That’s just how warped the country is.

The boss commanding that daredevil of a group was leisurely sitting on a tree stump and was glaring at the base of the mountain.

He began highway robbery since he was 10 years old, and now he is a kind of boss that’s even known around the vicinity. He is already 51 years old now, but his body is sturdy and hasn’t changed at all from his prime.

The moment he tilted his bottle loosely, shadows of people could be seen below.

—It is not the target.

He immediately judged this and another thing surfaces in his mind.

The two of them were walking in this remote place that could even be called a wasteland, without using a carriage.

—A trap, huh.

If they were to bite the delicious bait, their main force would come from behind.

It is not unusual to be surrounded by the time they notice and be forced to escape.  

He didn’t know what was the objective of the Holy Maiden until now, but now he does. The Holy Maiden was trying to bait them out of hiding, and wipe them out.

“…Heh, looking down on me.”

“Boss, what should we do about those two?”

“Kill them. Then we withdraw before the main force arrives from the back.”

Maybe because of how long he has lived in this path, the Boss’s decision was incredibly fast.

That’s because there’s no time for hesitation when in the boiling pan, and if he doesn’t take action, he would die. He has witnessed many who have hesitated in important moments and died.

The underlings began to move without making a noise, and prepare their bows and arrows.

All of them releasing the arrows at the same time reflected just how lacking in hesitation they have of killing a person.

■■ □□ ■■ □□  

(How crude…)

Maou sighs while looking at the arrows that were flying their way.

If they don’t erase their presence, those arrows are just plain arrows.

—They have no power.

If this were the game, they would be shooting with an attribute skill [Arrow Rain] that would easily make 20 or more instant-death class arrows rain on them. In the eyes of Maou, this was a pathetic sight that could only be seen as them shooting at random against people that happened to pass by.

(Should I purposely get hit by them?)

Maou resolved himself and decided on getting hit.

He must have wanted to test just how much damage he would receive. Since the time he encountered that Devil, there has been no other enemy, so he hasn’t been able to properly test.

This was the best chance.

Maou had already disabled the automatic counterattack and automatic interception just in case.

Since he doesn’t know what kind of standards they activate in, he couldn’t put his trust in them all the time.

If he doesn’t take care, he might end up doing a fatal counterattack against actions that wouldn’t even be any problem. It would be one thing against monsters, but if this were to be directed at humans, it would be problematic.

“Aku, step back.” (Maou)

“…Eh?” (Aku)

In the eyes of Maou, the arrows flying their way were practically as if they had stopped in time.

Well, that’s a given. In the game, he could avoid the bullets of a machine gun, and he could even avoid the bucket shots of a shotgun.

When the arrows finally were right before the eyes of Maou, a light electric sound was made the moment before they stabbed into his body, and the arrows fell to the ground as if they lost power.

“Fumu, lower than level 30, huh… Trash.” (Maou)

The Maou that is the last boss of the game has a system where he can only be damaged by Players who are level 30 or higher. Any Player below that would have no choice but to retreat.

But well, even if you reach the level 30 requirement, you wouldn’t be able to have a decent fight with the Maou. Just like a last boss in an RPG, you won’t be able to inflict proper damage unless you use a variety of items, and his health is just abnormal.

“You are trying to kill someone, and yet, you are watching from high up?” (Maou)

The bandits finally show up at the words of Maou.

Surrounded

Those faces were all showing fear and confusion.

“You, what did you do?! Are you a mage?!”

“Don’t get conceited. A mage is just a mere scarecrow once their vitality runs out!”

“Hooh, scarecrow, huh… That’s a nice tip I got there.” (Maou)

Even though he is in the heat of battle, the face of Maou loosened.

He did hear the word magic from Aku, but because Aku didn’t know about the details of it, his understanding of it wasn’t much.

“If there’s a mage in your group, I would like to receive a hit from them.” (Maou)

Those words made the bandits burn.

This was not on the level of being looked down on. He was acting as if he were having miscellaneous experiments with insects.

Maybe they were unable to bear it anymore, the Boss appeared with beard swaying.

“Ooh, old man, getting ahead of yourself there, huh.”

Old man

“Who are you calling an old man?!” (Maou)

Maou reflexively shouts.

But no matter how one looks at his appearance, he couldn’t be called a young man. The Boss was the one who got shocked and shut up, and a strange atmosphere took place.

“I am the Boss of the Moles, O Ngol, what about y—”

“Own goal?” (Maou)

“O Ngol! Don’t call me in such a weird way!” (Own Goal)

“…And so, what’s up, Mr.Self-Defeat?” (Maou)

“Who are you calling Mr. Self-Defeat?! Are your ears already goners?!” (Own Goal)

It was the unsightly fight between two old men.

As if reflecting the anger of the Boss, bandits were coming out one after the other from the mountain, and surround the two.

“M-Maou-sama! It is dangerous… Lets run!” (Aku)

Aku, whose skin had gotten glossy after bathing in the drum bath these few days, shouted.

“Huuh? Maou, you say? O-san <old man>, are you having a child call you with such a grandiose name?”

One of the bandits laughs out loud, and the men around were also clapping and laughing their assess off.

A vein popped on the forehead of Maou, but it was natural for the bandits to laugh.

To the surroundings, it was as if saying ‘Playing Demon Lord at that age?’. The only problem here is that…that man is actually a real Demon Lord.

“Okay, you guys… Lets play a game.” (Maou)

Saying those words, Maou delivers a forehead flick onto the first man that laughed.

Flick

The man was blown to the back as if he were hit by a wild gale, and after bouncing several times, he falls pathetically.

The moment it stopped, the man’s body convulsed a few times, and then he completely fell unconscious.

“Hey, it is your turn now… Oya, can’t get up?” (Maou)

Maou made a smile as if he had eaten a person as he looks at the bandits.

Everyone fell silent as if they had gulped their breaths, but in time they returned to their senses and began to make a ruckus. Seeing this, this time Maou was the one who laughed.

“As expected of a group under Own Goal. Was the direction that guy flew where your own goal was?” (Maou)

“Don’t joke around! What in the world did you do?!”

“He has some sort of magic in his finger!”

What was that about magic?” (???)

Hearing this, the bandits directed their gazes to where the sudden voice came from.

Soon after they directed their gazes, shouts and screams reverberated in the mountains.

Golden light flew about from the owner of the voice, and it…tore the body of the bandits in a flashy way.

□ □ ■ ■ □ ■ ■ □ □□ □ ■ ■ □ ■ ■ □ □

A part of the data is now available.

[Attribute Skill]

At the time of a preemptive attack, it can be activated at will.

A hellish combo where the First Skill – Second Skill – Third Skill are connected. With the attack power of Kunai, if he manages to connect till the Third Skill, even a ferocious demon would run away with their tail between their legs.

In the game, this feature was strong, but it consumed a remarkable amount of the weapons, so it was a double-edged sword.
If the weapon utilized was a gun, it would be completely empty after use.
In a heated battlefield, it isn’t strange to be killed in the time you are reloading.
The weapon of Kunai is an NPC exclusive, so the number of uses is infinite.

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0 thoughts on “Maou – Chapter 6: Creeping Shadow

  1. Rather than “If he were more intelligent” try “If he were more knowledgeable”.

    Intelligence has to do with the ability to think and reason. This is pretty much set, and doesn’t change over time once the brain is fully mature. Well, unless you suffer a head injury, in which case it can decrease.
    Knowledge has to do with what you know. This changes constantly, based upon your previous experience and the current situation.
    Intelligence utilizes Knowledge to determine how to react in a given situation.

    So, in this case, it’s that Aku has no knowledge of Hot Springs or related things, and thus cannot grasp what Maō is referring to.
    His previous experience provides him with no context within which to exercise his intelligence.
    Everything to do with his knowledge level in this area, nothing to do with his intelligence.

  2. Just a drum bath and explosive weapon-resistant? Such a shit base, man. You’d better do better next time, Kunai!

    The Essence of [Common Sense Break]: Everything is relative.

    I have to say, I appreciate Maou Dad using his head. Maybe it’s nothing special, but considering time gaps, considering counterattack conditions, and jumping right into the idea of magic.

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