The Existence Named Leona 1
My hands froze up.
Why’s Leona here? Wasn’t she staying inside the dungeon together with the Succubi?
I wasn’t using [Super Transformation], so I’d die if she killed me. Let’s flip [Blackout Resistance] ON just in case.
“Here is your C-Rank meal, it’s crowded right now, so please don’t take too long in eating it.”
“Oh! This, this is it! I’ve been wanting to eat some since I heard about it~”
Today’s C-Rank meal is some grilled ginger pork with rice instead of bread.
Rei placed the C-Rank meal in front of Leona, not taking notice of the sweat waterfall taking place in my mind.
‘So please don’t take too long in eating it’—huh, how formal. Also, help please?
I was begging for help in my mind, but she obviously wouldn’t be able to hear it.
Rei wouldn’t be able to due anything to Leona with her nonexistent offensive power anyway. Rather, she should escape while she can.
“Ufufu, how many years has it been since I’ve had rice? Did I eat it back when I was seventeen…? Ooh, that would’ve been only recently then, wouldn’t it? Tehee~♪”
Is that joke about being seventeen your trademark or something?
… Wait, I still haven’t actually met Leona directly. There’s a good chance that she just happened to come to the seat across me by chance, I can just slip away at some point. As for how I’ll slip away, well, I don’t know.
“Well now, Golem-san.”
“Bugofu—”
“Ah, do you prefer Keima-san?”
Yep, she found me out. I understand that perfectly.
It’d be alright if she just used my name even without me telling her, I’m the Village Chief. It wouldn’t be hard to get my name and using perfect Japanese diction for it could’ve just been happenchance. But Golem-san is an out.
“Hahahaha… … … please spare me my life.”
“Why are you suddenly asking this lovely young girl something so weird? It’s alright, I just want to talk today—[Isolation], [Camouflage], there we go. Alright, now it’ll just look like we’re having a fun little conversation to anyone else, so being blunt’s OK~”
When Leona snapped her fingers, I couldn’t hear any sounds coming from all of the people around us. It looks like she used some skill to produce a space that we can talk privately… which also means that I can’t call for help.
“Umm…”
“I came as a friend today, so don’t worry about honorifics. Golem-san’s way of talking would be good… The next time you speak overly polite, I’ll flick you in the forehead, alright?”
“… Alright.”
Leona smiled. Actually, I think ‘grinned’ might be a better way to put it?
At any rate, her forehead flick sounds like it might cause my head to straight up vanish so being overly polite is hereby banned!
“Oh, wondering about my skill? I guess we could’ve moved to a room, but I’m not some cheap woman that would let some strange man bring me to his room so easily~”
“Today’s my treat! Everyone, feel free to eat and drink all you want!”
I called out, but the people around us didn’t pay me any attention and just kept on eating.
“… Yeah, no reaction at all. Alright, sure. I’ll trust you.”
“Heeh, that’s amusing. It’s the first time I saw someone react like that, it’s usually ‘please save me~’ and stuff.”
“So, what’s up? Rather, how’d you know who I am?”
“Oh? It’s hard to like men that are too hasty, you know? … Well, I don’t mind telling you.”
Leona pointed to her red eyes and spoke.
“I have [Super Appraisal]… I can see your everything.”
An appraisal-type skill. I’d thought that she’d have one, but seeing as how it has ‘Super’ tacked on, it’s a Hero Skill?
“Fufufu, isn’t it a standard? I could see that that Golem’s name was Euma, and that it was manufactured by ‘Keima-san’. Also that you’re older than the seventeen year old me.”
“… I don’t know if it’s a standard or not, but I don’t have an appraisal-type skill.”
“Hoh? Then couldn’t you transform into me with your [Super Transformation] for a taste of it?”
So she even found out about my Hero skill huh… [Super Appraisal] is a frightening skill.
I wonder if she could even see me as having [Occupation: Village Chief (Dungeon Master-cum-Hero)]?
“But I don’t recommend transforming into me, you’d probably go mad and end up dying… You have Lv 3 though, so maybe you’ll respawn?”
“… Go mad? Wow. Why would that happen?”
“You’d also have my abilities, but you would get juuuuuust a little cursed. I’m fine—rather, I guess it’s more like I become alright?—because I have [Magic Absorption], but the curse will just flow over to you when you take on my form.” [1]
Seriously? … I didn’t transform into Leona with [Super Transformation] like how I did with Setsuna because I had some information beforehand, but holy crap. That saved me.
“Do you know what cursed you?”
“Do you keep track of how many grams of meat you eat every day? I sure don’t. It’s like that. Ufufu, just think of it like the whole world’s cursing me, isn’t it thrilling?”
So there’s just too many sources?
“So, how have you been, Golem-san?”
Relaxed, Leona asked me a question like she was wanting to do some small talk.
“Please call me Village Chief-san, not Golem-san… right, I just recently started feeling like some lion was staring me dead in the eyes.”
“Well, it definitely must be a cute, everyday lion then. Ah, how about you call me [Leonan♪] then? Like a boyfriend, with affection and love.”
“Leonan, I’m the type to use honorifics for lovers and juniors.”
“Then we’ll just use our names, Keima-san.”
Leona gulped down the rice while eating the grilled ginger pork.
“Mmm! Rice really is the soul food of Japan! Why is it this world doesn’t have any? I gave up after trying to make it didn’t work out, even turning rocks into orichalcum was easier. Did you know that rice isn’t even on the Lv 10 recipe list for [Super Alchemy]? Even though something like the Philosopher Stone was listed at Lv 1… Well, [Super Alchemy] itself is derived from the Philosopher’s Stone though.”
“Oooh, so you’re a Japanese after all?”
“Oh? You’re one too, Keima-san? My eyes being red is because of my skill.”
“[Super Massage]? Or [Super Appraisal]?”
“So you heard about that from Setsuna? Neither, it’s a common [Magic Sight]-type skill. With it, I can even see things like the flow of magical power within a dungeon’s domain… Haku-chan has it too, you kno? Haku-chan’s eyes were red to begin with though.”
Wow, it looks like I just learned something good. She isn’t planning on erasing me now, right?
“You don’t need to be so scared, I’m just speaking so freely since it’s fun to speak with another Japanese… So, how long has it been since you came here, Keima-san?”
“… About one year.”
“It’s been around five hundred for me, I think? I look younger than my age because I have eternal youth though. Oh dear, a woman shouldn’t talk about her age, how inconsiderate of me.”
What are you going off saying on your own now?
“I’m not interested in your age, so please don’t worry.”
“Really really? Weren’t you a lolicon that’s only interested in gachi loli? Ah, I was thinking that that information was a countermeasure for the Succubi, but you really fooled me! My evaluation of you got a super UP!” [2]
I don’t recall deceiving anyone, but it looks like she went and got deceived on her own. I don’t know if my evaluation being improved is a good or bad thing though.
“Should I ask you straight up then? What’s your goal?”
“My goal? Hmm, alright, I’ll tell you.”
With a complacent smile, Leona assumed an important air about her.
At that moment, the air around her felt like it literally turned black.
“I want to become the [Final Boss].”
Footnotes:
I’m assuming by ‘also have my abilities’, she’s meaning super, super reduced versions? Leona has mentioned the past two times she mentioned it that Keima would in fact be able to use her [Super XXX] abilities to some minor degree. Return
As a result of diving into 2ch for quite a long time, I’ve discovered that [Gachi Loli = ‘genuine lolis ONLY, no look-alikes, nothing else mixed in’]. No one ever seems to explain it explicitly, though.