Kays Translations

Chapter 126: Extra Story— Thor, Rukie, and the “10,000-Year Recording Pen: Revised”

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

──────────────────

One afternoon after lunch.

I was with Demon Lord Rukie, at 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.”

“Well, that’s true. But that ‘fountain pen’ saved Kelve’s life, after all.”

“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 through it, 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. Creating a powerful water stream would require a large number of ‘water magic stones’. On top of that, wind would affect it outdoors. It would be hard 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 out from my ‘Ultra-Compact Portable Storage’.

It was a ‘laser pointer’, modeled after the ‘mail-order catalog’ from the Hero’s World.

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

“I know of it. I used one during the battle with the ‘Magic Beast Gargarossa’.”

“Your elegant handling in wiping out that spider swarm was truly worthy of the Demon Lord’s name. It’s a shame I couldn’t see 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 a low-power ‘dark magic’ at the rock wall, it will create an indentation. Furthermore, the ‘laser pointer’ can move ‘dark magic’ around while it’s active.”

“…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, by combining ‘dark magic’ and the ‘laser pointer’, we can create a writing tool that only Rukie-sama can use!”

Rukie’s ‘dark magic’ can 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 will wear down over time.

Compared to a ‘fountain pen’ from the Hero’s World, the degradation will happen faster.

It might last only a few hundred years—or less than a hundred, depending on conditions.

Still, the idea of a writing tool that only Demon Lord Rukie can use—it has a certain romantic appeal, doesn’t it?

—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 is 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 are 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 had a thoughtful look on her face,

“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 move, Void Flame, the most powerful Dark Magic spell possessed by the 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!!”

Shuboh.

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 along with it — drawing a line on 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 writing, the laser pointer and the Dark Magic remain active — in other words, Lukie had to write in a single stroke. So the letters are connected by lines, and their shapes are 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 hmph.

“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?”

“You can’t.”

I said.

Rukie’s eyes went blank. Huh?

I explained it properly, didn’t I?

This is 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 supposed to be the Demon Lord’s official bulletin board, wasn’t it?”

“That’s right.”

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

“That’s right… In that case, how about writing ‘Demon Lord’s subordinate’ below your name? Then we can also write names like Prime Minister Kelve, General Reisenga, Mabel, Agnis, and even the Minotaur and Elf divisions — that way, it won’t feel strange at all.”

“No, no! A bulletin board listing all the Demon King’s subordinates is ridiculous! If something is posted under the names of both ruler and all their retainers, the people would see it as an official order! We wouldn’t be able to casually write anything!”

“—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 wrote all the subordinates’ names on it… anything posted there would become an important decree to the people of the Demon Lord’s realm. Actually, we don’t even have enough space to list every subordinate in the first place.

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 am an alchemist, after all.”

“So, how do we erase it?”

“Right. Then… Meteor Iron Arrow!”

I took out a single arrow from the “Ultra-Compact Simple Storage.”

It was a “Meteorite Iron Arrow” made using the “Meteorite Iron” I received from Agnis as material.

“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 Iron Arrow’ summons a ‘Pseudo-Meteor.’ It’s a meteor-drop spell that can wipe out two massive magical beasts without a trace.”

“…Hm?”

“If we use this, we can surely erase your writing mistake without leaving a single trace… Speaking of which, I heard there are also items in the Hero World that can erase writing. Apparently, they can even erase fountain pen ink—could it be they were also using ‘Meteor’?”

“…Hmmm?”

“Anyway, I got off track. In any case, this can erase writing mistakes. If you want it gone, Rukie-sama, we can obliterate that writing and launch it into oblivion. By the way, can you use a bow and arrow? If it’s difficult, 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 things. I’ll help you think of one too. Let’s talk it through carefully, Thor.”

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

In the end, we erased the writing Rukie had made using a “Laser Pointer” and “Dark Magic.”

It turned out to be surprisingly difficult.

I increased the output of the “Dark Magic” and caused the rock wall where the writing was to cave in, but it took time to make it look natural.

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 a “Role-Playing Pajama” so we wouldn’t raise suspicion if anyone 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—”

Anyway, this version of the “Fountain Pen – Modified” was a failure.

Using the “Laser Pointer” makes it too elaborate.

As a result, you can’t even afford a casual writing mistake. This isn’t even close to practical.

“Um… Rukie-sama.”

“…Nyaa—”

“Are you asleep?”

Wearing the “Role-Playing Pajama,” Rukie had turned 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 words. 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 tool that only I can use… it truly is romantic, isn’t it?’

“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 “Fountain Pen – Modified” in my room—

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

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter