Kays Translations

Chapter 126: Extra Story: Thor, Rukie, and the “Ten-Thousand-Year Recording Pen: Revised”

This time, it seems that Thor has come up with a solution to a certain problem…

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One afternoon after lunch.

I was with Demon Lord Rukie in a rocky area near the Demon Lord’s Castle.

“I’m sorry to bring you all the way out here, Rukie-sama.”

“It’s fine. You’re going to experiment with a new magic item, aren’t you?”

“Yes. It’s an improved version of the ‘Fountain Pen’ I showed you before.”

“…The ‘Fountain Pen’, huh.”

Rukie tilted her head.

She seemed to be recalling the previous incident.

“That was a failure, after all. I wouldn’t blame you for being disappointed, Rukie-sama.”

“That’s true. But the Fountain Pen saved Chancellor Kelve’s life.”

“I’m glad it proved useful.”

“So this improved version—meaning, you’re experimenting with a new writing tool, right? But why come to such a rocky area?”

It was no wonder Rukie found it puzzling.

This was a quarry used by the people of the Demon Lord’s Domain.

Before us was a massive rock wall.

It was about the same height as the Demon Lord’s Castle. Its surface was flat, with no footholds for climbing.

Even if I said, “I’m going to test a writing tool here,” it wouldn’t make much sense.

“Please hear me out, Rukie-sama.”

“Very well.”

“The last ‘Fountain Pen’ failed because I tried to combine portability and long-term record keeping.”

“That’s true.”

“I should have chosen either ease of use on parchment or durability through engraving into stone. Learning from that, this time I focused on a writing tool designed specifically to preserve records for a long time.”

“I see what you’re planning, Thor.”

Rukie’s eyes glowed beneath her mask.

“You’ve built a giant ‘Fountain Pen’, haven’t you? One that produces an extremely powerful stream of water to carve into this rock wall and write letters?”

“As expected of you, Rukie-sama. You’re half correct.”

“Half?”

“Yes. I considered that idea as well. But using water is just too inefficient.”

“Indeed. Producing such a powerful stream would require many Water Magic Stones. Wind would also affect it outdoors, making it difficult to write on a rock wall.”

“Exactly. So I took the idea one step further and made a leap in thinking.”

“A leap is fine, but have you considered where you’ll land? Flying off in the wrong direction would be troublesome.”

“Of course. This time, I’ll be using this.”

I took a black cylinder from my Miniature Simple Storage.

It was a Laser Pointer modeled after one in the Mail-Order Catalog from the Heroes’ world.

“This is a ‘laser pointer’ that can focus released magic, increasing its accuracy.”

“I know it. I used one during the battle against Magical Beast Gargarossa.”

“The elegant way you annihilated that spider swarm was truly worthy of the Demon Lord. It’s a pity I couldn’t witness it up close.”

“S-Spare me the flattery. But do you really need a ‘laser pointer’ to write letters?”

“Yes. Please watch.”

I activated the ‘laser pointer’ and aimed it at the rock wall.

A red dot appeared on the black stone.

When I moved it quickly, the red dot began to travel as if drawing a line.

“As you can see, with a ‘laser pointer’, you can decide where to write without being affected by wind.”

“…Hmm.”

“And Rukie-sama, your ‘dark magic’ can erase matter, correct?”

“…Hm?”

“If you release low-powered dark magic at the rock wall, it’ll carve a groove. The Laser Pointer can then guide the active spell.”

“…Hm, hmm?”

“In other words, by moving active ‘dark magic’ with the ‘laser pointer’, we can easily draw lines on the rock wall. With some control, we can even write characters.”

I pointed sharply at the rock wall.

“In short, combining dark magic with the Laser Pointer creates a writing instrument only Rukie-sama can use!”

Rukie’s dark magic could erase physical matter.

Creating holes in stone would be easy.

By guiding that magic with the laser pointer, we could draw lines on the rock wall.

With more precise control, it should be possible to write characters too.

Of course, the rock wall would still weather over time.

Compared with writing made by a Fountain Pen from the Heroes’ world, it would deteriorate more quickly.

It might last only a few centuries—or less than one, depending on the conditions.

Still, a writing instrument only Demon Lord Rukie could use had a certain romantic appeal.

—That’s what I explained to Rukie, but…

“Romance is important.”

“Yes, very much so.”

“But… how practical is it?”

Rukie tilted her head.

“Certainly, using a ‘laser pointer’ and ‘dark magic’, we could carve letters into a rock wall. But what’s the benefit of doing that?”

“Let’s see…”

Practicality, huh. That’s important.

The benefit of drawing letters on a rock wall… that would be…

“We can communicate your words to a large number of people, Rukie-sama.”

I said.

“For example, we could designate this rock wall as Rukie-sama’s personal message board. If you write on it, many people can see it at once. Wouldn’t it be perfect for conveying the will of the Demon Lord?”

“That’s… surprisingly practical!?”

“Moreover, only Rukie-sama can write this way. In other words, if there are words on the wall, it proves that they were written directly by you. Everyone will know and trust that they’re truly your words.”

“That… makes perfect sense!?”

“In time, this rock wall might become a famous attraction in the Demon Lord’s Domain. That could lead to more traffic, boosting the economy and enriching everyone.”

“…Hmm. Indeed. You might be right, Thor.”

Rukie looked thoughtful.

“But… I feel like I’m being talked into something.”

“It’s just your imagination.”

“Is that so?”

“It is.”

“…………”

“…………”

“A-anyway, why don’t we try an experiment?”

I handed Rukie the laser pointer.

“Could you try writing with it and see how it feels? If it’s difficult to use, I’ll make a more ergonomic version for you.”

“…That makes sense.”

Rukie accepted the laser pointer with her small hands and nodded.

“We won’t know unless we try. Very well, let’s conduct the experiment.”

Saying that, Rukie began chanting a spell.

It was her signature spell, Void Flame—the most powerful dark magic wielded by Demon Lord Rukie Evergard.

Rukie continued the chant in a sing-song voice.

Her slender fingers pointed to the sky.

She brought her arm down in a sweeping motion and activated the magic.

“Appear, my jet-black flame! Void Flame!!”

Fwoom.

Riding the light of the laser pointer, black flames struck the rock wall.

The flames burned through the rock, creating a fist-sized hole.

Rukie quickly moved the laser pointer itself.

Slowly, horizontally.

The flame moved with it, carving a line into the rock.

“…It’s possible after all.”

Muttering in a cheerful voice, Rukie continued moving the laser pointer.

Vertically, horizontally, diagonally.

In doing so, she wrote characters on the rock wall.

“Hmm. This should suffice as a test run.”

“Magnificent, Rukie-sama.”

Amazing.

It’s clearly legible.

While she wrote, the Laser Pointer and dark magic had to remain active. In other words, Rukie had to form the entire inscription in one continuous stroke, so the characters were joined by lines and slightly distorted.

Even so, it forms a coherent sentence.

This should be her first time writing with the laser pointer.

As expected of Rukie.

“Hmm. Quite interesting.”

Rukie looked excitedly at the letters on the wall.

“Indeed, this is a writing tool only I can use. Plus, it requires no effort to write. It uses very little magic power as well. It may be quite practical.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I’d be happy if you continued using it.”

“Yes. I’ll rewrite it properly later so everyone can see.”

“This was just a test, after all.”

“Exactly. This isn’t something to show to others.”

On the rock wall, two large names were written.

At the top: Rukie Evergard
Beneath it: Thor Canaan

—They were Rukie’s and my names.

“I-it’s not like there’s any special meaning! Since it was just a test, I ended up writing whatever came to mind!”

“I understand.”

“…It’s kind of troubling that you understood so quickly.”

Rukie puffed out her cheeks with a huff.

“Anyway, the test writing is over. Let’s write something we can show everyone.”

“Right.”

“So, Thor.”

“Yes, Rukie-sama?”

“I’d like to erase those letters somehow. How can we do that?”

“It can’t be erased.”

I said.

Rukie’s eyes went blank. Huh?

I explained it properly, didn’t I?

This was an improved version of a Fountain Pen, designed to preserve writing for centuries.

There’s no way the writing from such a pen can be easily erased.

“…Can’t be erased, you say?”

“Yes. That writing will last for hundreds of years.”

“This rock wall was meant to become the Demon Lord’s official bulletin board, was it not?”

“That’s right.”

“My name and Thor’s name… will remain there forever?”

“That’s true… Then how about writing ‘Demon Lord’s subordinate’ beneath my name? We could add Chancellor Kelve, General Raisenga, Mabel, Agnis, and even the Minotaur and elf divisions. Then it wouldn’t seem strange.”

“No! A bulletin board listing all of the Demon Lord’s subordinates would be absurd. Anything posted beneath the names of the ruler and all her retainers would be interpreted as an official decree. We could never write on it casually!”

“—Ah.”

That’s right.

This rock wall was supposed to serve as the bulletin board to convey Rukie’s words to everyone.

But if we listed all her subordinates, anything written there would become an important decree to the people of the Demon Lord’s Domain. In any case, there wasn’t enough space to list them all.

We really should have practiced more somewhere else before using this rock wall.

…That was my mistake. I need to reflect on that.

“What should we do now? Seeing our names side by side… it’s—if I think about it calmly—it’s really embarrassing—no, some people might even start suspecting something! I-isn’t there some way to erase it, Thor?”

“Please rest assured, Rukie-sama.”

“What?”

“I anticipated this possibility and prepared a countermeasure.”

“Ohh! As expected of Thor!”

“What I said earlier was that it couldn’t be erased by normal means. With an emergency method, we can erase it completely without a trace.”

“Yes, yes, you’re always so well-prepared, Thor!”

“I’m an alchemist, after all.”

“So, how do we erase it?”

“Right. Then… Meteorite Arrow!”

I took a single arrow from the Miniature Simple Storage.

It was a Meteorite Arrow made from the meteoric iron Agnis had given me.

“This is a last resort… but if we use this, we can erase any writing mistakes without a trace.”

“…”

“As you know, Rukie-sama, this Meteorite Arrow summons a Meteor Replica. It’s a meteor-fall attack capable of erasing two gigantic magical beasts without a trace.”

“…Hm?”

“If we use it, we can erase the mistake without leaving a trace. Come to think of it, I heard that the Heroes’ world has tools capable of erasing writing—even Fountain Pen ink. Could they also use meteors?”

“…Hmmm?”

“In any case, this can erase the mistake. If you want it gone, Rukie-sama, we can obliterate the inscription completely. By the way, can you use a bow? If not, I can call Mabel—”

“…Sit down for a moment, Thor.”

“Yes.”

I sat on the ground as instructed.

Rukie grabbed both my shoulders tightly.

Then, with her bright red eyes glaring straight into mine—

“…Think of a gentler way to erase it. I’ll help you. Let us discuss it carefully, Thor.”

With a terrifyingly demon-lord-like expression, Rukie said that.

In the end, we removed the inscription Rukie had carved with the Laser Pointer and her dark magic.

It turned out to be surprisingly difficult.

Rukie increased the output of her dark magic and hollowed out the section of wall containing the writing, but making the altered surface look natural took considerable time.

The work was finally done after the sun had set.

I ended up giving Rukie a piggyback ride home, as she was completely exhausted.

I dressed her in Transforming Pajamas so no one would suspect anything if they saw us.

“…This is an emergency measure. I don’t normally do things like this.”

“Yes, Rukie-sama.”

“…The piggyback ride is only until halfway. Once the castle is in sight, I’ll switch back to Demon Lord mode.”

“I understand.”

“…Nyaa—”

In any case, this version of the Ten-Thousand-Year Recording Pen: Revised was a failure.

Using a Laser Pointer made the process too elaborate.

A casual writing mistake became almost impossible to correct. The tool was nowhere near practical.

“Um… Rukie-sama.”

“…Nyaa—”

“Are you asleep?”

Wearing the Transforming Pajamas, Rukie had transformed into a cat on my back.

All I got was a sleepy-sounding response. Well, that’s fine.

“Maybe it would be best to write using the ‘Laser Pointer’ and ‘Dark Magic’ in a place where you feel safe, Rukie-sama.”

I said.

“A place where you can write what you want, and it’s okay if someone sees your mistakes… please try practicing in a place that makes you feel at ease. Once you’re used to it, maybe we can officially make it your personal writing tool.”

“…………”

As expected, no reply. Maybe she really did fall asleep.

“If you ever need my help, just let me know. I’ll lend a hand.”

With that conversation, we returned to the castle.

The next day.

After collecting materials and returning to my room—

“…If it’s here, I suppose I can write secret messages. May I practice here, Thor?”

Those words were engraved on a large board leaning against the wall.

Properly preserved, the writing looked like it could last over a hundred years.

I see—

So Rukie was actually awake yesterday, huh.

And she used the “Laser Pointer” and “Dark Magic” to engrave those words onto this board.

“P.S. A writing instrument only I can use… It truly is romantic, is it not?”

“I understand, Rukie-sama. Romance is important, isn’t it?”

Nodding repeatedly, I agreed.

And… yesterday I told Rukie, ‘Try writing with the Laser Pointer and Dark Magic in a place where you feel safe.’

To Rukie, this room must have felt like a safe space.

That’s a little embarrassing… but it makes me happy.

As I looked at the board Rukie had engraved—

“…Huh? There’s something small written at the bottom too. Let’s see—”

‘P.S. Part 2: Thor, maintain a regular lifestyle. All-nighters are forbidden. Don’t make Mabel worry.’

…You’ve already mastered this, haven’t you, Rukie-sama?

And so Rukie began practicing with the Ten-Thousand-Year Recording Pen: Revised in my room.

And for a while, I started receiving secret messages from her.

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