Chapter 32: Fran’s Side

「Fu…… Ha……」

Baths are the best. When I told teacher that I loved them, he was somewhat surprised. 『You’re a cat, though?』he said.

Do cats dislike baths? I’m from the Black Cat tribe, but I’ve never seen a cat before. Nobles in the capital seem to keep them. Mother had said that they live better lives than us.

I want to see one with Teacher sometime.

Teacher is a very wonderful sword. He’s the first sword I’ve talked to, but if he’s judged by his voice, he’d be similar to a Human I suppose.

He’s very strong. He made me strong, too. I won’t be outdone by a Demonic Beast. But as I am now is no good. I can’t constantly be managed by Teacher. I’ll become a burden to him.

Even for the Goblins we fought today, if Teacher fought alone not only would the fight have been easier, it would have ended quicker as well.

Mastering the powers I got from Teacher should be my first priority. After that, I’ll become even stronger. Training like that, I think I’ll surely be able to break through the Wall.

And so, today I spoke a bit selfishly and fought against the Goblins. Teacher scolded me at first, but then he forgave and even praised me.

I was very glad. I’ll be fighting the day after tomorrow, too. It’s another chance to become stronger.

「Oh, Fran?」

「Nn?」

「We met at noon. Because the Guild is allied with this Inn, all members of the Guild staff can use the bathhouse.」

Aah, this person is one of the receptionists.

「Are you staying here?」

「Nn.」

「Aーah, still cute as ever, huh~」

「 ? 」

「Kyaー your head tilt rally is the best!」

When she was working, she was giving off a much quieter feeling. Was she hiding her true nature?[1]

「Hey, is calling you Fran-chan[2] no good?」

「Don’t mind.」

「Thank you very much! Fran-chan!」

All of a sudden she clung to me. I don’t mind, but it was a bit surprising. Her chest made a slight *funii* and it’s comfortable, so I’ll permit it.

「The big subjugation war will be happening tomorrow, huh.」

「Nn.」

「Did you hear the announcement?」

「 ? 」

「It seems that you haven’t. Apparently the Goblins seem to be overflowing from a dungeon of some sort.」

「Dungeon nearby?」

Dungeons are naturally famous once they’re discovered, but I’ve never heard of one being near Aressa.

「It seems to have appeared only recently… Up until now there was only a cave there.」

「Dungeons can be built that quickly?」

「Mhm. That’s right.」

「 ? 」

「Ahh, you don’t know? As a trial of sorts against mankind, the God of Chaos makes them appear in various places every so often.」

「Didn’t know. God of Chaos and Evil God: different?」

「My, you don’t know that either, huh. Your elder sister here’ll explain it all to you.」

And so, the receptionist explained the legends.

「To put it simply, this world has 88 Gods. Among them, there were 10 that were especially strong.」

[3]First, the God of the Sun, the God of the Moon, the God of the Sea, the God of the Land, the God of Flames, the God of Storms, the God of Forests, and the God of Beasts created the world and all its inhabitants.

The God of Hades created the Ring of Samsara[4], and the laws of the world were made.

The 78 Children Gods made various materials, and brought them to the world the Parent Gods had made, thus making the world larger.

「Children Gods?」

「That’s right. The God of Blacksmithing, God of Swords, God of Darkness and God of Cooking are good examples of those.」

Finally, the God of Chaos did as its name suggested, and spread chaos into the world. But it was a necessary evil to prevent the stagnation of the world… Or so the receptionist says. Its job seems like quite the challenge.

I understood it well. Surpassing adversity leads to growth. Fighting against the Goblins, I was able to grow.

「And the Evil God?」

「Originally, the Evil God was the God of War. But after indulging itself too much in its power and attempting to rule the world, the other Gods struck it down. It’s said that evil beings are born due to its excessive grudge — through a curse that it scattered across the lands.」

「I see.」

So, in the end, the God of Chaos is good. The Evil God is bad. He’s like the Slave Traders that kidnapped me.

「Anyways, as I said: Dungeons are one of the trials that the God of Chaos created. Dungeon Masters are followers of the God of Chaos, and actively create chaos because of it.」

Dungeon Master… Would they have any Magic Stones for Teacher to eat? They’re sure o have a lot of great Skills.

「It’s still being researched, but it seems that the first thing done in creating a dungeon is the creation of its core. The creature that is closest to the Core when its created becomes the Dungeon Master.」

「Weak and strong ones, then.」

「Yep. The difficulty of the Dungeon depends on the strength of the Dungeon Master, so when an animal ends up being the Dungeon Master its difficulty tends to be lower.」

「Strange Dungeon Masters too?」

「Dragons, Orcs, Wolves, Cockatrices… So long as they emit a life force, they can be a Dungeon Master.」

「People?」

「Of course. Human Dungeon Masters have popped up several times in the past.」

Man-made Dungeons… Interesting.

「Well… Even if it’s called a trial from God, it isn’t any less troublesome.」

Because people will end up dying, that can’t be helped. The people looking for a fight like me are the minority.

「In the case of rare Demonic Beasts inhabiting a Dungeon, however, it can be used to make a living as an Adventurer.」

Dungeons aren’t purely bad things. There are people who can become rich because of them.

「There’re Treasure Chests, strong weapons, and magical items too.」

There’s a legend of a Hero who defeated an Evil Dragon with a weapon found in a dungeon; he later went on to found a country. But because I have Teacher, things like that aren’t necessary.

「But in the end, some items from Dungeons are too strong〜 They can be used in wars to cause just as much harm as good, don’t you think〜?」

In the end, the conversation shifted to the complaints of the receptionist.

I don’t hate the God of Chaos for letting me get stronger in Dungeons.

「Day after tomorrow: looking forward to it.」

[1] Fran made a pun here. Essentially, she used “Neko” as the start of what would have essentially translated to “Wolf in sheep’s clothing/hiding one’s true self” — or in this case, the closest would be “hiding one’s true cat”. She then followed up with “She’s a human, though.” It doesn’t translate over very well (as in at all), so I edited the line. The pun disappeared, but that can’t be helped.

[2] The receptionist (and many other people, such as the Adventurer parties up until this point) have used -san up until this point. -chan is more familiar, if you didn’t know.

[3] Regarding the Gods’ names:

“God of the Silver Moon” (銀月の神) was kept as just “Moon”, but I’ll change it if it turns out there’s more than just a single moon (and other Gods of other moons, respectively).

“God of Storms” = “God of wind and rain” (風雨の神)

“God of Beasts” = “God of animals and insects” (獣蟲の神が)

“God of Hades” = Literally “God of Hades” or “God of the realm of the dead” (冥界の神が).

[4] Samsara = Endless cycle of death and rebirth. Buddhism, I think.