Kays Translations

Part 2, Volume 1 – A New Goal

Chapter 129

The light completely faded.

Standing there was unmistakably one of my own characters, Sheele.

Her rose-pink eyes sparkled beautifully as they caught the sunlight.

Her hair, touched by the slightly reddish evening glow, shimmered as if silver and crimson had been melted together.

It was definitely Sheele, standing there without a word, without a flicker of expression.

“Sheele! Huh!? But Same is here too! What’s going on!?”
“Sheele, can you hear me?”

She didn’t move. Like a doll… no, like an NPC.

…Could it be that this function really is nothing more than summoning them as NPCs—only able to receive instructions for things like 【Gathering】 or 【Gatekeeping】 or 【Production】 with their skills?

“Sheele? Hey, Sheele…! Same… what do we do? Sheele’s acting strange.”
“Y-Yeah…”

On the menu screen, I selected 【Gathering】.

Sheele immediately strode off briskly and disappeared into the nearby forest.

“Ah! Sheele, where are you going!?”
“Let’s follow her, Melt.”

She was probably really heading out to gather.

Normally, in-game, you would assign them to a gathering spot and they’d return with random production materials from that location. But here in this world, she might just gather from whatever’s nearby.

“…Sheele’s picking mushrooms… and she’s actually choosing edible ones.”
“Hm… so Sheele studied this world’s plants to some degree as well…”
“Hey, hey, what does this mean?”
“Sheele right now… probably doesn’t have a heart, and can only carry out simple commands. Her soul is still dwelling within me… Only her form is summoned, able to execute simple orders. That’s the new ability I awakened while tinkering with the Core earlier… that’s what it feels like.”
“I see… I get it. But it feels a little lonely. I wanted to talk with Sheele.”
“Ha ha… yeah.”

Even when I become Sheele, her personality doesn’t come out anymore.

But Hash, even if not completely, managed to show some of his own self, and Still was able to fully express his own personality.

So maybe Sheele could do it too, if she tried…?

No… maybe not. At her core, she’s a different person from me.

Now that her soul has merged with mine, she probably can’t shove my personality aside anymore.

It’s because it’s “my personality + the character’s personality” that Still could surface so strongly. And her original personality must have been very forceful to begin with.

And Sheele also had a separate soul at her root, which allowed her to take control of the body to some degree.

But now that her soul has merged with mine, she can’t move as freely as before, and since she’s fundamentally a different person, she doesn’t have the strength to push me out… That’s the most natural way to see it.

Besides… she herself chose to merge her soul with mine and live together with the other personalities.

I don’t want to selfishly drag her out to the surface.

But if Sheele’s personality could dwell in this external body that I just summoned… then maybe she wouldn’t feel lonely, and we could all be together…

Me, Melt, and Sheele. Always together… if only.

“It’s going to get dark soon. Let’s sleep in the bus tonight.”
“Mm, yeah. That makes sense. It’s way more comfortable than a tent, right?”
“Not something we can use where people might see, though.”
“True… Oh! But no, wait! If I use my magic to cover it with earth, people will just think, ‘Huh, a little hill appeared here.’ Genius, right? I’m so smart!”
“I see… then burying it in dirt like with the bath would make it even less noticeable.”
“…Same’s smarter than me after all…”

…Sorry about that.

“Hey, hey… can I sleep together with Sheele?”

Melt was holding Sheele’s hand—expressionless and unresponsive as ever—and brought her over, asking me that.

Hmm. If nothing bad happens, I suppose it’s fine. But as things stand, Sheele looks human, even if unresponsive.

I don’t know how much she can act on her own. To put it bluntly, she’s in a state of “who knows what she might do.”

“Hm… we don’t know how much Sheele can act on her own. What if she can’t move even if she’s uncomfortable, can’t sleep even if she’s tired, or can’t go to the bathroom by herself? We don’t know the limits of her behavior. So… after we test it out, maybe. But just for tonight, let’s send her back, okay?”
“Mm… I wish there was a way to make Sheele… Sheele again.”
“Yeah…”

I regret disappointing her when she seemed so reluctant, but I sent Sheele back.

As expected, the display returned to “Orderable Characters: 0/1.”

I’ll need to think about why the maximum number is only one…

For now, I summoned the bus, and we decided to sleep inside it tonight.

“Hey… it won’t suddenly go ‘vroom vroom!’ in the middle of the night, will it…?”
“Ha ha, don’t worry. It won’t move on its own.”

Hmm… I wonder if the air conditioning works without starting the engine.

I do have blankets, but if we could use the heater, it would be more comfortable.

Wait… does that need gas? Or was that the A/C?

…Honestly, I don’t know.

“Huh? But the lights turn on normally. They work without starting the engine.”
“Whoa! They lit up, they lit up! Such a tiny but bright magic tool for illumination!”
“It’s not a magic tool—it’s running on a different kind of energy.”
“Wow! The world you lived in, Shizuma, really is amazing.”

From my perspective, magic is the amazing one.

Hmmm… I guess the battery will eventually run out though.

“Hm? Hey, Shizuma, there’s something here by the seat.”

Just then, Melt—who had been lying down in the back seat under a blanket—pulled out a white plastic bag, saying she’d found something.

So we missed collecting this. Must’ve been from someone who went shopping during a trip.

The nostalgic logo of a convenience store was printed on it.

“Melt, the stuff inside is probably spoiled, so let’s throw it away outside.”

If it was something like hot snacks or rice balls from a convenience store… yikes, I don’t even want to look inside that bag…!

“Huh? Throw it away? …But it smells kinda good. Seems like a waste?”
“Eh? No way, that can’t be…”

Melt held out a plastic bag from some convenience store.

When I took it, sure enough… the aroma of hot snacks—fried chicken—drifted out.

And not just that—when I touched it, it was still faintly warm.

“Why…!? That shouldn’t be possible…!”

Suddenly, I pulled out my backpack and retrieved an unopened sports drink that had been stashed inside.

“…It’s definitely cold. But isn’t that just because it was left in the winter forest…?”

But what if it wasn’t? Right before we were summoned along with the bus, we had stopped by a convenience store. If this drink had retained the same temperature from when I bought it… then this still-warm fried chicken might be the same case…

“…Alright.”

I made up my mind and popped a piece of fried chicken into my mouth.

It was still crispy, still warm, the juices of the meat intact.

In other words… it hadn’t been long since it was purchased.

“Ahh! You ate it! I was the one who found it!”

“N-no… I just needed to check something…”

“Then let me help check too!”

With that, Melt snatched the fried chicken and popped one into her mouth.

“Delicious! It’s like da ji pai! Easy to eat in one bite!”

“Y-yeah… you’re right.”

What’s going on…?
I knew that items stored in an Item Box had their time frozen.

But this stuff should have just been abandoned in the forest along with the bus.

Which meant the Item Box theory shouldn’t apply here.

“Now I’ve got even more to think about… Alright, I’m going to sleep for today!”

“Wahaha!”

“Melt, just to be safe, let’s stop eating there, okay? It’s time for bed.”

“Mmgh… fine. Thanks for the food.”

She handed me the now-empty container of fried chicken.

…Too late!

“Well then, good night, Same.”

“Yeah. Good night, Melt.”

I turned off the light and closed my eyes.

It was a little chilly, but I wrapped the blanket tightly around myself and let my consciousness fade—

I’d already learned this much: this sensation meant I was in that place again. A dream, but not just a dream—my mental world.

I opened my eyes. This wasn’t inside the bus. It was that shadowy world with the round table I’d seen before.

When I met with Still, it had just been a world of darkness. So what was the difference this time?

Had Sheele called me here again? I glanced around.

But only the round table was there—no figures, no presence.

Then who had summoned me?

“…The number of chairs matches the number of characters…”

Once again, I instinctively sat down in the one chair with different ornamentation.

I could feel it—this was the seat of honor, the place meant for me.

“Yo, finally we can talk face-to-face, Shizuma.”

“—!?”

A sudden voice came from right beside me.

I jolted in shock and spun around. Standing there was a familiar figure—Silent.

“Silent!? You’re the one who called me here this time!?”

“No, not me. Us.”

The moment I registered his words, the seats at the round table began to fill one after another—

As if those sitting had been there from the beginning.

Silent, Rent, Sheele, Same, Seira, Hash, and… Still.

The seats filled one by one, but not in order. And yet, I immediately understood the logic behind it.

It was the order they’d been created. And… the characters I’d actually used in this world.

…Wait. Then why was Rent here? I was pretty sure that on the first day in this world, I’d taken Rent out of the dungeon, saw her briefly, and immediately put her back.

“Ah! Shizuma, I can tell what you’re thinking right now! You’re wondering why I’m here, right? Well, I’d like to know that myself!”

“Uh… Rent, why are you angry?”

“…Put your hand on your chest and think about it properly.”

“…I’m sorry for just making you, playing dress-up with you, and then abandoning you all this time…”

“Hmph. That’s better.”

I-I’m sorry… my poor neglected second character…

“Back to the point, Shizuma.”

Beside me, Silent’s tone sharpened, cutting through the mood.

“This is about the new power you’ve obtained. When something major happens within your heart, we can sense it as well. The shock from this ‘Housing Function Limit Release’ reached us too. We wanted to talk it through with you.”

“…I see. Talking like this with everyone feels refreshing. It doesn’t really feel like a first meeting, though.”

It felt almost like meeting family after a long time—there was a sense of warmth, familiarity, and trust.

“We’ve always been together. We are of one mind and body, always by your side.”

“Indeed. We are like a symphony with Shizuma as the main melody. Constantly accompanying, playing through life together as comrades.”

Seira and Hash spoke with happy smiles on their faces.

Also, looking at Hash up close like this… wow, his quirks really stand out.

“So, then. Sheele has summarized our opinions. Will you report them?”

“Yes, understood. Shizuma, you summoned me just a little while ago, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I did.”

Sheele began to speak with a serious expression.

“During that time, apparently my consciousness completely disappeared from this location. However, the rest of you were able to observe Shizuma’s emotions here at the round table. In other words, nothing was different from usual. From this, I should have been residing in the summoned body, but I have no memory of it, and Shizuma couldn’t sense the presence of life or consciousness from me, correct?”

“That’s right. You only went to gather things nearby as instructed. You did follow along to some extent when called.”

“I see. And one more thing: regarding the current situation where only one person can be given orders, perhaps this is related to the number of Dungeon Cores you possess? This ability was unlocked by using a Dungeon Core in its proper location, so it may not be unrelated.”

“I see… Well, there’s the malformed core obtained in the artificial dungeon, and the core Still extracted from Isaka’s chest… but I guess those don’t count.”

“That seems likely, as they are not rooted in a dungeon.”

Hmm… this could be a reason to clear other dungeons.

“By the way, the one who’s been glancing at us occasionally just now was the first to point out that the number of cores might relate to the number of summons.”

At that moment, Sheele let out a sigh and, looking exasperated, glanced behind me.

Hmm? I wondered what she was looking at and turned to follow her gaze—

“Whoa!”

“Fufufu, good evening, my master.”

I turned and there was Still standing very close, beaming from ear to ear.

Whoa… scary! The pressure is intense! And up close, his face is stunningly attractive! But that just makes it scarier!

“We meet again so soon! Look, see? I was able to come to this place… which means I have been recognized by my master! We cannot overcome our anxieties like caution or fear of the unknown! Those who cannot come here are either being watched by their master or fear what they don’t know! But I am here! Ah… my master Shizuma, I thank you!”

…Scary doesn’t even cover it; I was more than a little intimidated.

“So, why did you think the number of cores is linked to the number of summons? It does seem related, though.”

“It’s simple. Summoning a hero from another world is likely no easy task, even for a Dungeon Master. Therefore, a sacrifice is probably required. Summoning ‘someone not from this world’ is extremely difficult. Even if it’s just a character summon, it’s no different from summoning a human. In other words, a vessel—something to act as a conduit—is needed. And that, I believe, is none other than the core of a powerful Dungeon Master capable of hero summoning. That’s my deduction.”

…This one may act wild, but he really is sharp and quick-thinking.

“I see. Still, you really notice things well. Thank you.”

“Fufu, you’re welcome. After all, I am one of the ‘Three Strongest’ of my master, aren’t I? This is nothing to me.”

Still looked around triumphantly, while the others wore faces like they’d just bitten into something bitter.

…Do these people fight all the time? Or is that just his personality…?

“Now, there are still other things of interest. But this time, ‘he’ has something to say to the master. Please listen.”

“Hm?”

Still then pointed in a direction.

There was Rent, looking hesitant and uneasy.

I wonder… what could she want to say?

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