Kays Translations

Chapter 113: Extra Edition — Thor, Rukie, and the “Pen That Can Record for 10,000 Years”

This time, it seems that Thor has made a certain writing instrument…

──────────────────

“I tried making something called a ‘fountain pen’ from the Hero World.”

One afternoon.

I said this to Rukie, who had come to the workshop to have some tea.

“By the way, a ‘fountain pen’ is a writing tool from the Hero World.”

“Interesting. What kind of item is it?”

“It’s a pen that stores ink in the barrel. In this world, we dip quills or metal pens into ink to write, but this one doesn’t require that.”

“I see. That sounds wonderful. You’ve recreated it?”

“Yes, I’ve recreated it—at least to some extent…”

I placed a metal pen in front of Rukie.

“The barrel contains concentrated ink and a ‘Water Magic Stone.’ When you channel magic into the grip, water comes out from the ‘Water Magic Stone’ and dilutes the ink to supply it to the pen.”

“So that’s how you can write with it?”

Rukie took out a piece of parchment and smoothly wrote with the ‘fountain pen.’

“The color’s a bit pale, but it can be improved. The issue is that it requires a ‘Water Magic Stone,’ so mass production might not be feasible. Still, it’s not bad.”

“That’s not it. This is a failed prototype.”

“…A failed prototype?”

“Yes. It’s a completely useless defective product.”

“Wait, but you can write with it just fine?”

“That’s true, but this is a fountain pen.”

“Yes, that’s what the item is called, right?”

“But writing on parchment won’t last ten thousand years.”

“…?”

“Even under ideal preservation conditions, it’ll last maybe several hundred to a thousand years at best. That’s nowhere near ten thousand. So this is a completely flawed failure—”

“Wait, wait, wait! Hold on, Thor!”

Rukie looked at me in astonishment.

“Just because it’s called a fountain pen doesn’t mean the writing lasts ten thousand years!”

“Rukie-sama, this is an item from the Hero World.”

“…Hmm?”

“The Hero wouldn’t give something a meaningless name.”

“Th-that might be true, but…”

“So I assume it either means the pen lasts ten thousand years, or the writing it produces lasts ten thousand years.”

“But storing writing for ten thousand years is impossible, isn’t it?”

“That’s why I came up with a method.”

I took the fountain pen back from Rukie.

Then I opened the ‘Ultra-Compact Portable Storage’ and pulled out a stone I had stored as a material.

It was about the size of a fist. Just an ordinary rock with a flat surface.

“Rukie-sama. You know that water drops can wear away stonea over time, yes?”

“I do. If you keep dripping water on the same spot, it creates a dent or even a hole in the stone, right?”

“Exactly. That means water has that much power. And characters carved into stone don’t fade easily, do they? If preserved well, they can last thousands of years. So—”

“Wait. Don’t tell me you’re planning to…?”

“Yes. I made it so that by changing the point where you infuse magic, you can switch to ‘Ten-Thousand-Year Writing Mode.'”

I channeled magic into the back end of the pen.

Then, pressing the tip to the surface of the stone, I fully released the magic from the ‘Water Magic Stone’—

Fsssh!

A hole opened in the stone.

“And that’s what happens. As expected, it’s a defective product.”

“……”

“I can’t get the output adjustment right. Ideally, I’d want to be able to write on the surface while etching into the stone, but it just blasts holes instead…”

“…………”

“I’m forcing a water stream using a large number of Water Magic Stones and compressing it with a Wind Magic Stone. It’s really overkill. Of course, I included safety measures. Using an Earth Magic Stone, I made sure the ‘Ten-Thousand-Year Writing Mode’ only works on rock.”

“………………….”

“But it consumes all the magic from the Water Magic Stone in one go. You can keep writing if you swap out the stones, but it’s very inefficient, right? Plus, depending on the stone’s composition, it might just shatter—”

“Thor.”

“Yes, Rukie-sama?”

“Have you been up all night?”

“Huh? How did you know?”

“Look closely—you have dark circles under your eyes. And your body’s swaying. Don’t tell me… you remembered the ‘fountain pen’ while you were sleeping and finished it in one go with your midnight enthusiasm?”

“Did you see me?”

“I didn’t have to! It’s obvious! Honestly…”

Rukie muttered in exasperation.

Then she put on the mask and robe of “Cognitive Obstruction,” transforming into her Demon Lord style.

“I’ll take you to the dining hall. First, drink some hot milk, then put something in your stomach. That way, you’ll be able to sleep well. Come along now.”

“No… I mustn’t trouble you, Rukie-sama…”

“You’re swaying on your feet, aren’t you? Just come on, out into the hallway… ah, you fell over. It can’t be helped. I’ll have Mabel bring the milk to your room. I’ll walk you to your bed, so sleep. Just go to sleep. Really, I can’t leave you alone, can I? Thor.”

With the help of Demon Lord Rukie, I stood up.

We returned to the room from the hallway, I got into bed—

After drinking the milk Mabel brought, my consciousness faded.

—A few minutes later—

“Oh? There’s a pen I don’t recognize lying here.”

In a hallway he happened to pass by, Chancellor Kelve picked up a metal pen.

“Is it someone’s belonging? Or perhaps a new item Thor-sama created? I suppose it would be best to ask him directly…”

“Chancellor!”

“Oh my, you’re one of General Reisenga’s men. What is it?”

“A magical beast, a Rock Lizard, has been spotted in the outskirts.”

“A Rock Lizard? That’s the large, swift lizard covered entirely in rock, correct?”

“Yes. The subjugation is already complete, but we’d like you to conduct an inspection, Chancellor.”

“Understood. That creature has a strong life force. Have you confirmed whether it’s truly dead?”

“It was fought by a rookie unit, but they’ve been trained. I believe there’s no problem.”

“I see. Let’s head there immediately.”

And so, Chancellor Kelve departed for the outskirts together with the military officers.

A few hours later.

The military officers confirmed the death of the magical beast, Rock Lizard.

The injuries sustained were due to the rookie unit underestimating the Rock Lizard. They had forgotten that this magical beast has a powerful vitality and sometimes pretends to be dead.

The beast, thought to be lifeless, suddenly rampaged and attacked them.

At that moment, Chancellor Kelve happened to be there.

He had just taken out a piece of parchment to record the scene and was raising his pen.

Immediately after, the Rock Lizard’s head was pierced by black ink, killing it instantly.

Later, the military officers who were present said the following:

“—Noticing the beast’s charge, Chancellor Kelve concentrated a great amount of magic power into his hand.”

“—In the next moment, high-pressure black water was ejected, destroying the Rock Lizard’s head.”

“—It happened just before the beast’s claw could stab Chancellor Kelve.”

“—If he hadn’t had a fountain pen in his chest pocket, he would have died.”

Afterward, a ban on the use of “Ten-Thousand-Year Writing Mode” was issued by Demon Lord Rukie and Chancellor Kelve, but the military officers had no way of knowing this.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter