MV – Chapter 175: Rest – Mira’s True Day

“Looks like the Transcendental skill isn’t activating.”

After breakfast, Pla-san looked at me with a puzzled expression as I relaxed with a cup of coffee. I placed a hand on my chin thoughtfully while the cushion beneath him flailed around like some occult phenomenon.

In the living room, it was just me, Pla-san, and the flailing cushion. Chihiro was at work, and the two young girls had gone off to play at the temporary academy set up in this district. So the only ones with nothing to do were Pla-san and me. Well, it is not like I have nothing to do though.

Pla-san wiggled his hands, tilting his head about his strange status, but to me, it was all perfectly natural.

“That’s expected. Transcendental is a skill that surpasses human limits, surpasses gods, surpasses demons; it’s for minor villains. Ultimately, it ends with getting arrested, becoming the prison boss, and sitting on tatami mats to meet your end.” (Mira)

“The minor villain end sounds like a recipe for outrage. So, in simpler terms?” (Lanpeach)

“You alone can’t withstand Transcendental. You’ll hit a wall without using Divine Spirit Fusion. Small boosts are fine, but significant stat increases will be impossible.” (Mira)

“Hmm. Won’t this make the status display look bugged? On my end, it shows a 10x multiplier.” (Lanpeach)

“Well, that’s fine as it is. Once you reach stats unattainable by humans, it doesn’t matter if it’s 2x or 10x. More importantly, is it snack time yet?” (Mira)

“Mira-san, you just ate breakfast.” (Lanpeach)

Even after looking at the beautiful girl who dropped her gaze sadly at the now empty coffee cup, the tactless minor villain-san treated me like a senile old woman, but he seemed convinced by my words and nodded earnestly.

“I see… It was different in the game, though. And Divine Spirit Fusion didn’t even exist.” (Lanpeach)

“That’s…b-because…my meeting with Soldier transcended fate!”  

The cushion began to lift me up with a groaning sound. Oh, what a surprise. Is it a miracle that something with mere stats of 3 could lift me?

“Hun-nu! Toh-yaa!” 

The girl let out a cute, determined shout, and I rolled off the cushion and tumbled over. The cushion squirmed its way out and glared at me.

“Why are you treating me like a cushion all morning?! Isn’t that mean? Where’s my breakfast~?” 

The cushion turned out to be none other than the Artificial Spirit, Libra. What a surprise. For some reason, she was puffing with anger.

“Do you really want me to explain why? Do you remember what happened yesterday?” (Mira)

When I let out a sigh and gave her a sharp glare, Libra tilted her head and touched her cheek, deep in thought.

“Yesterday… I was reading ancient manga. You know, the officer in front of the park who could foresee the future? I was thinking up a whole lot of ideas. If he’d gone for patents instead of manga, he could’ve been rich. What a waste.” (Libra)

“Thank you for your wonderful analysis. Didn’t I tell you to check the elemental stream and locate the demon stronghold?” (Mira)

Libra nodded enthusiastically, but when I looked away, I found an Artificial Spirit lying around already, surrounded by manga, laughing as she read.

“Ah. Um, you see, while analyzing the information, I stumbled across old bookstore data. Then I found some manga that caught my eye, so I thought I’d finish reading them before getting back to work. It’s true, really!” (Libra)

“How many volumes? Look me in the eyes and tell me, and I’ll smile back.” (Mira)

Only Libra and I have access to the knowledge repository of the Space Library.

“I just remembered I promised to play tag with Koume and the others! Missing one or two meals isn’t a big deal!” (Libra)

Libra avoided my gaze and dashed away hurriedly. I let out a tired sigh as I watched her go.

“She’s such a Libra. That one’s getting lazier by the day.” (Libra)

“That’s Libra indeed. For an Artificial Spirit created from scratch without memories, she’s more human than any Artificial Spirit. And a pretty lousy human, at that. She’s been too influenced by minor villain-san.” (Mira)

“Eh? My fault? Wasn’t she like that from the start?” (Lanpeach)

The minor villain-san sprawled on the couch, grabbed a manga volume sitting in the corner, and began reading. He is living quite the leisurely life while everyone else is working. 

“I do work, you know? I made everyone breakfast.” (Lanpeach)

“That sounds like something a lazy NEET would say. Like doing laundry or cleaning the bath once in a while and then calling it ‘work’.” (Mira)

“I make money, so it’s fine. Besides, true rich people earn big money even while drinking coffee.” (Lanpeach)

Unlike Libra, Pla-san responded casually, showing no signs of guilt or discomfort.

“More importantly, Mira, are you based on someone’s memory? Could it be that you were human before?” (Lanpeach)

“Could you ask that question with a bit more seriousness? We’re not talking about tonight’s dinner. I’d like hotpot with yellowtail for dinner.” (Mira)

“That’s a pretty hardboiled request again… But fine, sure.” (Lanpeach)

For all his faults, Pla-san can be surprisingly accommodating. Still, “Were you human before?” huh…

“Actually, I’m not based on anyone’s memory. My body is still alive.” (Mira)

Pla-san, now quite strong, deserved to know the truth. His eyes widened in surprise as I answered a bit seriously. Looks like he didn’t expect that.

“Wait… Your body’s in some kind of time-stasis capsule?” (Lanpeach)

“No… During the Ancient Spirit War, when I was at my peak, I was trapped by a cunning trap mid-battle. Just before being sealed, I separated my consciousness and had the Space Library prepare this Artificial Spirit avatar. So I’m half Artificial Spirit, half human.” (Mira)

“A cunning trap?” (Lanpeach)

“Yes, though I can’t discuss it here, it was a cunningly laid trap. However, a long time has passed since then. Even if my main body is freed from the seal, it’s likely no longer the same as it was before. It’s more like the me from my dream world separated from me.” (Mira)

Looking back, it truly was a clever trap. I let my guard down, thinking I could escape at any time.

I gazed sorrowfully into the distance, and even Pla-san scratched his cheek awkwardly, looking uncomfortable.

“Ah, my bad. Can the seal be lifted?” (Lanpeach)

“I’ll explain that in more detail when the time comes. For now, just remember that there’s my sealed body somewhere.” (Mira)

I smiled faintly, a fragile expression that made me seem like a tragic heroine. Pla-san’s eyes were laced with doubt for some reason, but it really had been a cunning trap.

“Well, putting that aside, let’s get to work. Let’s have pizza for lunch.” (Mira)

Feeling too lazy to return to the colony, I flicked my fingers in the air. A translucent board appeared, displaying the entire map of the area, which included not only Lanpeach City but also the Surface District. With the 3D map, any visible location could be examined down to the finest detail.

Now, it was time for me to work.

A fragmented image of Earth appeared beside the area map, flowing with golden currents split into small blocks. A fantastical sight.

One of my jobs is managing the Elemental Stream. It had been a chaotic mess until recently, but thanks to Pla-san, things have significantly improved.

“Take a look at this. By releasing two Elemental Kings, the generation of wind and earth-type monsters has drastically decreased.” (Mira)

I explained while showing graphs of monster occurrences across the regions. Pla-san, noticing the sharp decline in the rates for two types of monsters, nodded in appreciation.

“Does this mean peace is finally approaching?” (Lanpeach)

“Yes, while there are still many pre-existing monsters, we’ll gradually eliminate them. Eventually, earth and wind-type monsters will disappear almost completely.” (Mira)

“Fumu, so we just need to release the remaining five. Once the Onodera family’s Vapula issue is resolved, I’ll focus on releasing the Fire Element.” (Lanpeach)

Reality often complicates things with additional quests in between, Pla-san grumbled, exasperated. But that’s just how life works. Out of a hundred plans, only one or two go smoothly. Still, this time, we might be headed toward a favorable outcome.

“On that note, take a look at this.” (Mira)

With a flick of my fingers, I brought up an image of a chocolate fondue waterfall. Chocolate cascaded down in a tantalizing flow, looking absolutely delicious.

“It looks so good. I missed the chance to eat it last time, so please make it for me next time. Chocolate fondue was the only thing I couldn’t take back with me. It was the first time the word ‘impossible’ was engraved in my dictionary.” (Mira)

“I thought you would just say you picked the wrong menu screen!” (Lanpeach)

“Even in serious discussions, a true hunter never forgets to request snacks. That is what defines a true hunter.” (Mira)

Even though I gave a particularly serious answer, Pla-san squawked angrily like a vulture, which was a bit troublesome.

I ignored him and continued operating the board. The image of Vapula appeared: a creature resembling a massive rocky mountain, just as before.

“This demon consists of a chimera-like outer shell that relies on mass and hardness, as well as a core that forms the true demon. As you’re aware, elemental energy has been rapidly accumulating recently. However, the rate is far beyond our predictions.” (Mira)

“You said it would take about a month, right? How much has it sped up?”

Pla-san adopted a serious expression, realizing the gravity of the situation. I tapped the board and replied.

“Approximately one week from now. And this is the reason.” (Mira)

The Elemental Stream showed a concentration of fire energy. Moreover, an immense, extraordinary amount.

“Fire energy?” (Lanpeach)

“Yes. It seems the Fire Elemental King is sealed inside Vapula. We focused on subjugating Vapula and failed to notice this. It appears we’ve been deceived.” (Mira)

“Fumu… Clever. No one would suspect a base containing the Fire Elemental King to be hidden within a monster. But we still have time, right?” (Lanpeach)

“Of course. We have plenty of time. Let’s make preparations and set out in five days.” (Mira)

I brushed my black hair back and smiled, and Pla-san returned the gesture with a sly grin.

“Alright then. By the way, bananas don’t count as snacks.” (Lanpeach)

“Stealing my punchline. How very villainous of you!” (Mira)

And so, it was decided that we would set out to defeat Vapula. Massive profit was practically guaranteed. Fufufu.

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