Chapter 53.1

Chapter 53.1: Strange Grief Wants to Retire ~ The Weakest Hunter’s Hero Dream Chapter 53.1 \nOnly the sound of the black tea being poured is echoing in the room where everything was cleaned up, leaving nothing but a table. Even if she knows that it is an emergency, Sofia’s expression is the same as always. At least on the surface she looks calms.\n

As if being pulled by her, Noto becomes calmer. A Mage must always keep a calm demeanor. Magic power depends on your mental state. It is possible that magics are not activated if you are extremely excited.

After taking a deep breath, I noticed that my whole body is heavy. Did I forgot about it because I was too angry and excited or is it because of the fear I feel facing Infinite Variety? At the very least, I should have a terrible expression as Sofia could point out that I was tired at a first glance.

Sofia puts a cup of tea in front of Noto and place a beautifully wrapped box of chocolate she brought from somewhere. Where on earth did she go… He curves his eyebrow, but it is no time to think about it in the current situation. On the contrary, it could be said to be good luck that she left the Imperial Capital as it has cleared her of the suspicion of been a traitor.

I didn’t talk in detail about what happened today. It is to avoid any information leakage. I briefly explain to Sofia who was sitting in front of me.

“Hunters have been sent above the 【White Wolves Den】. Our existence has been exposed. We are now in a position of being chased.”

We were in the worst situation. We wouldn’t have imagined it a month ago.

The 【Tower of Akasha】 is a big organization. They have influence, money and power. However, this time their experiment should have never been revealed.

No, in the first place, there was no way it could have been discovered. The technique to disturb a part of the Earth’s veins and causing a disturbance on the mana material is the culmination of Noto Cochlear research studies. You wouldn’t usually think that a powerful phantom suddenly appearing is artificially created.

Up until now, there was no one who sniffed out Noto and the others. Looking back now, I should have suspected the existence of an insider among us when Infinite Variety went to the 【White Wolves Den】 the first time.

But it is no longer useful to make past assumption. Since I dispose of all the disciples except Sofia, there was no sign of Infinite Variety making a move. I should see that as the insider been disposed of.

Even after listening to Noto’s explanation, there was no change in her complexion. When he compared his former disciples, who were shaking and frightened with her, Noto made a small sigh.

“Is this place safe?”

“It should still be okay, but I don’t know when an attack can occur. We may need to change our base of operation. We might even need to leave the Imperial Capital.”\n

On those word, Sofia slightly changes her expression for the first time. She opens her eyes, put her hand on her mouth and made a thoughtful expression.

In a lot of meaning, the Imperial Capital was convenient for Noto research. Its localization, as it is surrounded by multiple Shrine. Powerful Hunters gathering wealth. There are as many customers as he wanted. The slum… Or also called the 『Abandoned Metropolitan Area』is out of reach for the Knights, and if we are careful, there is no shortage of bodies for human experiments. It wouldn’t go this well even if we go to a big city with a similar size.

Sofia opens her lips and said with a quivering voice.

“… Isn’t there anything the 『Tower of Akasha』 can do?”

“The intercepting Golem『Akasha』 lost.”

“Wha!?”

This time, Sofia’s expression obviously changed. She widely opens her eyes and carefully look at Noto as if to get a confirmation.

『Akasha』 is masterpiece created by Noto and the others, it is the gathering of the result of many researchers on Mana Material manipulation. Even Sofia was deeply involved in its production. There is no other Alchemist who can create such a powerful golem.

Its defeat is even more shocking to Sofia as she knows about its performance. Sofia asks Noto a question, as he was deep down feeling relieved to see a changed in her expression.

“…That was… It should have the power to crush any Knight in the Imperial Capital it is facing against.”

“The opponent… wasn’t Knights. It was Hunters.”

“Even against Hunters.”

Sofia answer immediately. To those word who was said without any doubt, Noto suddenly remembered the word she said when she made 『Akasha』.\n“Speaking of which, it was you who said that it could even defeat 『The Lamenting Ghost』.”

“… Yes.”

“… Can you still affirm it now?”

『Akasha』 is not something that can be beaten by a human being alone. Even against a High-Level Hunter it has the power to easily know them down if they are facing them from the front. If Noto and the others faced Infinite Variety with Akasha, at the place where he discovers them, the outcome of the battle might have been different. However, in reality, the Golem couldn’t finish off Severed Shadow. She couldn’t destroy it but the time she bought allow Infinite Variety to overturn everything with one magical attack.

Sofia asks her Teacher with a thoughtful look.

“… It has been almost a year that I create it. High-Level Hunter grow every day. …But even so, if you handle it well, it should have been powerful enough to deal with the opponent. Even if the other party was 『Strange Grief | The Lamenting Ghost1』or 『Ark Brave | The Heaven’s Son』2. That was filled with the best product I can possibly think of.”

“… So are you saying that the operator was the incompetent one…”

“… … Even so, it should have been possible to beat most of its opponent.”

Sofia has a frustrating look. I can’t detect any lie on what she said. In the first place, even Noto had an absolute confidence on that Golem. We spend a lot of money to create it with the best material possible, it is a product that took a lot of time to produce.

But it has lost. If the result is here, then they can only accept it. Moreover, as expected they couldn’t afford to collect 『Akasha』. They can’t go back and get it now. They can’t count on it right now.

“… Well whatever. We have the blueprints. If we have money and time, we can make as many Golems as we want. Right now, our priority is to deal with the situation first.”

“Please keep your calm. Teacher, what’s important isn’t the equipment. As long as you are alive, you can make a comeback as many times as you want.”

“Did you think of a plan?”\n\nNow that I think about it, Sofia has always seen 『The Lamenting Ghost』 as an enemy. When she was creating Akasha, she quoted them and suggested to improve its performance. It seems that my best disciple has already picture Akasha fighting and triumphing against 『The Lamenting Ghost』.

Full of hatred I say his name.

“This time, the one who are hunting us… Are someone you know very well… It is『Strange Grief | The Lamenting Ghost』. It is the 『Infinite Variety』.

“…”

She didn’t say anything but the change in her expression was dramatic. The gentle smile she was showing disappears and a serious expression replace it.

She made a sharp gaze as if her usual expression she shows to Noto was a lie. However, you can’t see any fear in her eyes.

In that case, her reaction won’t be slowed down. Noto hit the table and speak with a loud voice.

“His purposes are… Unknown. We don’t know since when he was searching for us… And even after defeating 『Akasha』, we don’t know the reason he let us go! But we know one thing for sure! Unless we defeat that man, we… Don’t have any future!”

“It is… True…”

Sofia replied in a small voice to my angry and spiteful words.

There wasn’t much power in her voice. Sofia’s composure is lost. She put her hand on her forehead.

Thank you for reading this! Woow I just notice that Liz alias is the same as Mikoto in Danmachi “Zetsu Ei”. XD I changed Arch Brave name to Ark Brave because I found that the Ark family was some noble in England and as he is also a noble, I change it. Tchao à plus!

1. In Japanese sometimes they put the name in Japanese and on the top the Engrish translation. So now when they do that I will put “|” to separate the Kanji and Engrish translation. Example: Raw:『嘆きの亡霊 (ストレンジ・グリーフ)』=『Nageki no Borei (Strange Grief)』= 『Strange Grief | The Lamenting Ghost』in my translation. 2.『聖天の御子(アーク・ブレイブ)』=『Shoten no miko (Ark Brave)』= 『Ark Brave | The Heaven’s Son』.