NOVEL WEB Chapter 36 - Beasts Sprinkling Gold☆ (1)
It was something that happened between me and Hilde in our first year, on an early summer day.
As you walk away from the grounds surrounding each school, passing through rapidly diminishing buildings. You come to a wilderness where only groups of students camping to conquer dungeon gates or delinquent students’ hideouts are sparsely visible.
Hilde and I had met by chance in that wilderness and were traveling together.
“Hello―☆ Brunhilde―♪ Did you have any results♪”
“Not particularly. It was still difficult to find a dungeon matching my level.”
“Hey☆ A first-year freshman already pushing through high-level dungeons―☆”
“Anyway, I was looking for a high-level dungeon with new terrain and structure.”
“Hmm♪ The dungeons generated around here all―☆ have structures favorable only to girls with magic skills, but to challenge them ignoring that―☆ Brunhilde is really amazing―♪”
Hilde looked at me with puzzled eyes at those words and said:
“That’s not something Clara, who draws with me, should say though.”
“Th-That’s thanks to a girl’s intuition―☆ Thanks to that I still haven’t become a strong cute girl who can win everything alone―♪”
“Why are strong and cute together?”
“Because cuteness is strength―☆”
“…”
Hilde shook her head.
Hilde, who had been quite prickly whenever I approached, finally surrendered to me who had been pretending to be close for months. So we developed to the point of accompanying each other when we happened to meet.
Hilde suddenly sighed and said:
“Really… I don’t understand the reason for approaching someone like me who neglects their family’s mission and only wanders around, turning their back on school.”
“Ahaha―☆ Just a girl’s intuition♪”
“If you truly want to become strong. It would be better to request teachings from third-year students or second-year seniors of each school, or go to a school that nurtures practical fighters like
“Hmm~ I wonder about that~♪ Eir always comes to pick fights even if I don’t go to meet her―☆”
“That’s true.”
I vaguely answered those words while evading.
Though I still didn’t feel much emotion towards
‘To begin with, if it’s a world similar to the game, the only ones I truly want to beat are you guys…’
I secretly glanced sideways at Hilde.
“…”
“What is it?”
But Hilde had already noticed my gaze and looked back.
‘Ah…’
The silver-white eyes looking straight were truly beautiful.
A nobility that makes you unconsciously lose yourself staring.
Even with her face dirtied by dust, those two jewel-like eyes never lost their light. Perhaps if I were still a man, I might have run away with my face turning bright red just from looking at those eyes.
‘Somehow when I’m near, it seems like there’s a nice smell…’
Ah.
This was a bit perverse.
To be conscious of the other person’s scent.
‘Even if I’m wearing Clara’s mask, that’s not okay…’
Somehow feeling embarrassed about that, I turned my gaze forward again.
“…?”
“Umm―♪”
You are destined to become the strongest in academy city history someday, and I want to directly challenge and beat you. If I said that, I would surely be treated as crazy and have my permission to accompany revoked.
‘Traveling together with the future strongest was… more enjoyable than expected.’
Since both Hilde and I preferred wandering outside rather than staying at school, it became our daily routine to meet and travel together about once every three days.
We were walking side by side through the windy wilderness and outskirts of the central area like that.
Trudge
Trudge
Due to the weight of the lance Hilde carried around, we couldn’t ride Red Hare together. So as we moved slowly pulling the red bicycle by hand, I inevitably felt drawn to the pretty filter.
Hurry and have girls’ talk!
This is a precious opportunity like no other!
You need to gather information to become close quickly!
A kind of intuition like that.
But the pretty filter didn’t always give advice like this.
Telling me to collect stuffed animals when passing a doll shop.
Telling me to eat up all the sweet desserts placed in front.
Sometimes it would give strange instructions and make me act impulsively.
As I gained satisfaction following those impulsive actions and tendencies, sometimes I would act like Clara on my own without the pretty filter’s pull.
As if Clara and I were gradually merging…
‘Sometimes at times like this the pretty filter feels like another self, but no matter how much I try talking to myself, there’s no response.’
I had often been scared, considering it the remnants of ‘Clara’ trying to make my soul disappear from this body. But now that that sense of discomfort had largely disappeared, I didn’t particularly think it was bad that I came to like many things because of the pretty filter.
‘If I had to say, it feels like having a friend with firm tastes…’
Close to ink, black.
Close to vermilion, red.
If it had been a Cao Cao filter instead of a pretty filter, would I have also shared that dangerous and gloomy taste in women along with average stats of 90?
Perhaps that is also Cao Cao’s taste.
Thinking that, I feel newly grateful to the pretty filter with its wholesome tastes.
‘Thank you for not having peculiar tastes… Clara!’
I also preferred spending time learning about the future strongest rather than an awkward atmosphere filled with silence. So I rambled on to Hilde following the pull of the pretty filter.
“Phew―♪ It’s hot it’s hot―☆ Come to think of it, the seniors this time, they got along well with the people in the shopping district and would you believe it☆ They brought back very very fragrant tea leaves and when we drank it would you believe it☆ Wow♪ That aroma is on a completely different level from the ordinary compressed tea leaves tightly packed in cans, you know?”
“Cans? Clara, why are tea leaves in cans?”
Hilde tilted her head as if she really didn’t understand.
‘Hey, for you who’s originally a game world resident not to know that is a bit…’
I answered flustered by that obvious question.
“U-Um…? Well of course, except for
“I see. I didn’t know because I’ve never seen canned compressed tea leaves. Generally, the tea prepared in the
“…”
“I didn’t know well because I don’t indulge in luxuries following the seniors, but… it was a great learning. I remember throwing away boxes of things distributed in the name of maintaining dignity.”
“…”
“From now on I should taste them instead of discarding. No wonder the maid volunteers looked so dejected…”
“…”
I quietly shuddered.
In the academy city where there weren’t many entertainment options besides martial arts tournaments, tea time belonged to universal and popular hobbies. So non-canned tea leaves cost at least 20 times more, and it was extremely difficult to obtain the items in the first place.
‘Even that I drank 10 or 20 times with the seniors, steeping it again and again…’
And what? Private room? Maid volunteer? Maintaining dignity?
What kind of world is Hilde living in?
I glanced at Hilde’s face again. She was nodding her head and muttering that she had gained good knowledge.
‘Well, even in the game she was from a long-established warlord family. And
Even though we’re walking side by side dripping with sweat like this now, in the end, Hilde and I are characters living in different worlds.
The only world she shares with me living in a noble world is fighting.
I sighed as that fact suddenly felt real.
“Hooah―☆”
“…?”
It was then.
Both Hilde and I sensed a presence and looked in the same direction. There were dozens of elegant spear blades made of red ether floating in the air pointing at us.
Swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh―
Magic projectiles. Fired while swinging a staff from afar.
The method used by those magic skill firing station furry bastards.
Among them, using the forms of the 5 weapons left behind by [Golden Witch] were students from the prestigious
‘The furry bastards from
Of course, there were kind and friendly characters like the main character ‘Rota’, but…
‘That child wouldn’t have enrolled yet at this point in time.’
The magic of this world can’t be used unless one is a student with magic skills.
Moreover, due to the characteristics of magic skills that require calculating ether manipulation with the head rather than instinct. Those who could use it freely like this in combat situations were even rarer.
‘Using it in spear blade form like this is a 3rd stage level strong one… There’s no way student council presidents or executives would come here… The only ones free at this time would be 1st years without any special positions.’
While scanning through the numerous furry lists that came to mind.
I recalled drooping purple cat ears.
“…!”
There was one.
One who became stronger at a rapid pace like us from the first year.
That one was one of the five strongest in the future.
Paaaat―!!
A timid voice was heard through the spear blades approaching with a threatening momentum, closing in from all directions. A female student wearing the
“Th-This is… um… I… first discovered… a dungeon gate here… S-So… that is…”
Drooping purple curly hair.
Drooping purple cat ears.
What dwelled in the spiritless eyes was timidity.
But she was arrogant.
“Um… you nobodies… C-Could you… please… g-get lost…?”
“…”
“…”
I said to Hilde:
“Left? Right? I’m fine with either―♪”
“I’ll take the right.”
“Okay―☆”
“Wh-What are you saying… you rude girls… Won’t you leave…”
Hilde and I sprang up from our spots and started striking down all the spear blades in our assigned areas.
Tatatatatang―!!
Dozens of spear blades disappearing with a barrage of punches.
Kugugugung―!!
The lance deflecting numerous spear blades swung like a club.
“Uh… Huh?!”
The projectiles that had instantly dominated the space were being nullified.
The female student who had been flustered for a moment replenished the instantly disappearing spear blades, but befitting a magic skill firing station, her reflexes were hopelessly inadequate. Before she knew it, she was cornered and trembling in front of us.
“Ahaha―☆ Brunhilde♪ If you glare with such scary eyes we can’t have a talk with that child―☆”
“Haa, Clara. For that point, it would be more convincing if the one saying it unclenched their fist first.”
“Heek…! P-Please spare me.”
“Hmm♪ Shall we start with the tickling punishment first―☆”
“Heek…?!”
That day I learned for the first time that a person can pee themselves if they laugh too much. But even after that, I didn’t show mercy to arrogant furry bastards.
I often called her by the nickname ‘Pissing Cat’ whenever I met her again.
That was my first meeting with ‘Freya’, the genius who would later be called [Purple Spinning Wheel].
The explorer of the Bana magic school.
* * *
A passage where countless memories pass by.
The process of waking from a deep dream was like surfacing from the abyss after finishing a dive.
Hands placed together like mirror images.
Starlight pouring down under the dark sky.
The girls’ story that ended with a vigorous clap.
I was lost in thought, recalling the sense of reality gradually felt from the darkness.
‘I unexpectedly succeeded in talking with the original Clara… no, ‘Urd’, but the situation of this game possession and the changed world are still unknown.’
The prophecy spoken by
The unstable situation of
The important things now were still shrouded in mystery.
What I received from Urd was only…
-Do your best!
“…”
But somehow with just that, I felt like I could get through the journey ahead.
It was like ‘Clara’ who was incompetent, but just her presence gave strength.
‘But the situation has become a bit difficult.’
I checked the condition of my whole body in my gradually surfacing consciousness.
The impurities and others’ fates accepted to exert over 300% power. The realm and body condition that had been precarious to the point of breaking due to those had stabilized. But the brutally large total amount of ether that existed in my body had also all flown away.
A miraculously repaired vehicle.
An empty fuel tank.
If I had to make a comparison, it was that kind of situation.
“…”
Actually, considering I barely avoided becoming disabled thanks to Urd’s help, it would be really shameless to regret this, but. Inevitably, it was painful that all the dungeon buffs I had gathered through a year of travel had disappeared.
‘All I could do was increase the total amount of ether.’
Since I had increased the total amount to a degree that couldn’t be handled by natural recovery, it would take far too long just sitting still.
‘To recover naturally would take 3 months…’
It’s troublesome, but.
There were many ways to quickly recover the total amount of ether.
And my realm and perception abilities still remained.
But…
But I couldn’t help but be excited about a fact more important than such ‘things’.
‘Weapon aptitude… has appeared.’
It’s only at the level of [Basic Ether] for now, but.
Rather, recovering in the original way would be faster, but.
Clearly, the energy of weapon aptitude that didn’t exist for ‘Clara’ has appeared.
“…!”
When I realized that fact, I felt like crying even though it was a dream.
‘I can… become stronger on my own…!!’
It’s just one step, but – I have finally started walking on the path of righteousness, not tricks.
‘My path is not over yet…!!’
Thump
Thump
Clutching my chest that felt like it would burst like that.
Thinking about what I need to do from now on.
As I escaped from the passage of unconsciousness, light began to appear.
I opened my eyes.
And what I saw in front of me was…
Silver-white hair rushing into my vision like waves.
A doll-like neat girl was burying her face in my hair as I lay down.
“…Suu.”
“Hilde?”
“La…ra…?”
“What… are you doing☆”
“…”
“…”
I felt like I had mistimed something.
“Ku-Kuu―☆”
“…”
So I fell asleep again.