Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 19: [Absorption]
*(Helen changed to Helene)
“Are you calm now?”
A few minutes had passed since then. Once the sobs had finally stopped, Hyde gently called out to her.
Helene slowly stood up while wiping her eyes.
“…I’m sorry, I must have looked so disgraceful.”
“No, I should be the one apologizing.”
“…? Why are you apologizing?”
She tilted her head slightly.
As she did, her pointed ears wiggled, and Hyde couldn’t help but follow them with his gaze.
“~~”
Noticing his gaze, Helene hurriedly adjusted her hood, pulling it down deeper to hide her eyes, which had become even redder than before.
(So she’s an elf… I knew it…)
In this world, there are many different races aside from humans. Elves, one of these races, are characterized by their long, pointed ears and well-proportioned features.
They dislike crowded places and prefer to live in areas with abundant nature. It is rare for them to appear in bustling towns, and even more so for them to settle in such places.
(I never thought I’d meet one so soon…)
As Hyde felt a subtle sense of awe, the 【All-seeing god’s eye】 once again detected a disturbance.
The stone brick floor, which had suddenly collapsed earlier, began to reconstruct itself, as if being reversed or played in reverse.
“Dungeons sometimes experience structural collapses when monsters are spawned. The fact that it has been repaired means that monsters have already spawned.”
As Hyde looked at the now pristine floor, Helene explained.
Indeed, the presence of monsters had increased.
(What’s that? It’s like a natural trap.)
One step too late, and it would be the bottom of an abyss.
As long as the【All-seeing god’s eye】 and the 【Guidance of the Martial god】 are with him, he shouldn’t be caught up in it, but how are the other adventurers dealing with it?
“Um, Helene, in that case, I think we should stay close and not stray too far. I understand that you don’t want me to get close, but safety comes first.”
“…Yeah.”
When he spoke to her directly, staring at her face, Helene lowered her head.
“Hey.”
“Yes?”
“Are you really okay with me being close?”
“…? Yes, of course.”
Hyde answered with confusion, sensing a faint tone of fear in her voice.
(That’s more like something I’d say…)
It was Helene who had said she didn’t want to be near him, so he felt unsettled.
“……”
Helene seemed to make up her mind and took a step toward Hyde.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Still unsure of what was happening, Hyde nodded in return. Then, she took another step, closing the distance between them.
“Are you really sure?”
“Of course, I am.”
Another step closer.
“Are you really, really sure?”
“I said, I’m fine!”
Hyde couldn’t help but feel a bit irritated, but by then, Helene was already standing right in front of him.
She was a head shorter than him, looking up at his face.
With her eyes, now red but sparkling, she gazed up at him with an intense look.
“I’m not lying… Since a while ago, I’ve been feeling an incredible flow of power, but you seem completely unaffected. Shou, who exactly are you?”
“Sorry, I’ve been left out of this conversation. What are you talking about?”
When Hyde asked, Helene seemed to ponder for a moment, then finally nodded, as if having made up her mind.
“Right. I should tell you, Shou.”
After that brief introduction, she removed her hood and fixed her translucent, sapphire eyes on Hyde before speaking.
“My skill is [Absorption]. It allows me to absorb the surrounding mana and turn it into my own.”
◆ ◆ ◆
The content of the story Helene shared was quite shocking.
Her skill, [Absorption], was unlike typical skills; it continuously absorbs the surrounding mana, regardless of her will, and turns it into her own power.
(Thinking back, I did feel that strange sensation of my mana being drained. The [Fountain of Divine Blessings] was replenishing it, so I had forgotten about it after a while.)
Now that he thought about it, when he had picked up Helene to help her, he had felt a significant drain on his mana. He had assumed it was because he had been using [Guidance of the Martial god] to its fullest… but now…
“So that’s why you told me not to get too close.”
The closer one was to her, the more mana she would absorb. That had apparently been her way of preventing it from happening.
Ad
While relieved that she didn’t dislike him, Hyde couldn’t help but think about the life she must have lived as an adventurer to arrive at such a decision.
Now, he finally understood the story he had heard from Nick at the guild hall.
It was likely that the adventurers who had teamed up with her had all been drained of their mana. When mana is depleted, not only does one lose the ability to use skills, but their body becomes heavy and their mental clarity dulls.
It made sense now. When partnering with Helene, one couldn’t perform at their full potential. That’s why rumors started spreading that adventurers were cursed when they teamed up with her.
“I’ve been absorbing your mana this whole time. A normal person would have run out of mana by now. But you’re not tired at all… That’s why I asked who you are.”
It was needless to say that it was all thanks to [Fountain of Divine Blessings].
It wasn’t an exaggeration—he truly could handle mana endlessly.
Hyde returned a vague smile in response to Helene’s inquiry.
“I have a similar skill, so don’t worry. You don’t have to worry about me running out of mana just because you’re close.”
“…Your combat skills with goblins, your detection ability to notice the dungeon collapse faster than I did, and your skill that produces an enormous amount of mana… Could it be, Shou, that you’re amazing?”
The straightforward question left me at a loss.
That being said, the answer is already decided.
“I’m not amazing.”
What’s amazing is the skill, not myself.
Hyde had sworn to himself that, when wielding power as Shou, he would never forget that fact.
Ad
“You’re humble. But being too humble isn’t good. Especially if you’re going to live as an adventurer.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“…Well, knowing Shou, I’m sure you’ll forget it anyway.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because Shou always ignores his seniors’ advice.”
“Well… I can’t exactly deny that…”
The painful observation made me fluster, yet I couldn’t help but feel happy that I had gotten closer to Helene.
“Still, we make a great team, don’t we?”
A skill that absorbs mana and a skill that continuously produces mana.
Effectively, both of us can handle mana without limit.
“~~~~~! Ah, uh, yeah.”
At Hyde’s casual words, Helene tightly pressed her lips together and hid her face in the shadow of her hood.