Translatorâs Corner (Cast an English Clown and a French Pierrot)
Clown: Wow, that was fun chapter to read! Iâm really enjoying the story so far.
Pierrot: The one about the flame giant or this one?
Clown: Both! (((o(*?�*)o)))
Pierrot: Oh my god⊠did you just input an⊠emoji?! (江ăĐă)江
Clown: Yep! Cause we still donât have an image dedicated to how we look.
Pierrot: RightâŠ
Clown: Oh, on a side noteâour editor goes by the name AncientKaiser, AK for short. And I think weâll be cooperating with Wuxia-sama as well from now on.
Pierrot: Good. Iâll finally see the end of your bad grammar.
Clown: Why are you always so mean to me?!
Pierrot: You know what they sayâŠ
Clown: What?
Pierrot: Never mind.
Clown: Fine! Be that way! Iâll just proceed straight to todayâs joke, then!  Here we go:
âMama, thereâs a man at the door,â said little Johnny.
âHe says heâs collecting for senior citizens. Do you think we should hide Grandpa?â
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Empowerment Arc
Chapter 24 â Reminiscence~ Funeral March
Fire pouring from the sky like rain⊠thatâs the first scene I remember.
My motherâs hand, that I held so dearly, seemed far too light.
I was afraid to look above it.
The napalm bursting in the air turns my surroundings into a sea of flames.
Should I run someplace?
Everything is covered in fireâŠ
Izawa Shizue was slowly drowning in despair.
And then, she felt she was bathed in strong lightâŠ
Ah⊠so this is where I dieâŠ
She was just a young girl, but that much she could understand.
She was four at the time.
With no relatives, she lived alone with her mother.
Her father was drafted, and his face she could not recall.
She felt neither blessed nor unfortunate. That being the norm, she could do naught but accept.
âDo you wish to live? If you desire life, answer my call!â
A voice resounded in her head.
Do I want to live? Why? I donât understand.
She was too young to answer such a question.
However⊠looking at her mother who was reduced to nothing but a hand⊠I want to live! She screamed.
ïŒïŒAcknowledged. Answering the summonerâs request⊠successïŒïŒ
I want to live without having to fear the fire!
ïŒïŒAcknowledged. Acquiring Extra Skill [Fire Manipulation]⊠successïŒïŒ
The next time I opened my eyes I was in a demonâs lair.
The one in front of me, was a beautiful Demon Lord.
Long golden hair, blue eyes. A well ordered face, almond shaped eyes.
And skin so pale itâs almost transparent.
So beautiful that it wouldnât be strange to mistake him for a woman.
Leon Cromwell.
He is whom the humans call the Demon Lord. Also known as the Blond Devil.
ăAah⊠failed again.ă
He so muttered, losing interest in her.
However, he did not kill the girl whose body was covered in burns.
She did not matter to him.
And the girl, found that fact vexing.
Even now she sometimes recalls. That beautiful face. And, the arrogant eyes, devoid of interest.
But at the time, she could only survive by clinging to him,
In the end, she was saved by the Demon Lordâs whim.
ăWait a secondâŠă
She reached out to him.
âMaybe he, beautiful like an angel, would heal my pain?â So she thought, butâŠ
ăThought it was just trash, but this thing is suitable with fire, huh.ă
With those words, he called forth the Flame Giant Ifrit. With no incantation, as if he were breathing.
And the summoned Ifrit, obeyed without question.
ăI bestow upon you flesh. Use it!ă
Those words, to the girl, became undeniable proof dashing her hopes.
And thus, the pain she felt turned into hatredâ
As this curse (trauma) engraved itself upon her heart.
However, is can also be said that this possession enabled her to keep her life.
Since then, how much time had passed�
As a flame demon, she ruled over one of the Demon Lordâs castle. By his side, as a high demon.
*Gotsun gotsun gotsun*
The footsteps reverberated through the castle halls.
The Demon Lord had already ran away. Abandoning this castle.
The girl was the rear guard. A sacrificial piece.
The Demon Lord had treated her as a tool until the very end. Nothing had indicated otherwise.
The one who was approaching was the âHeroâ.
Long black hair gathered into a ponytail, and covering her bodyâblack light armor.
A beauty that would rival the Demon Lord. The only difference, the hero was a woman.
With one glance, she was certain.
I canât win!
When that thought overpowered Ifritâs minds, a little of the girlâs ego had returned.
She looked the hero in the eyes.
ăHeâŠ. help meâŠă
Words that oneâd easily ignored. Whoâd trust the words of a demonâŠ?
However,
ăItâll be fine from now on. Good job enduring this far!ă
And from then on she was cared by the hero.
The âAnti-demon Maskâ she wore restrained Ifrit and hid her burns.
Her whole body she covered with a robe, and thus she followed the hero.
And one day, she came to be called the âExplosion Monarchâ.
Then one day the Hero left on a journey.
Her reason she did not understand. It was probably a reason the Hero could not ignore.
The girl as well planned similar action. That one day sheâd set of on a journey.
To kill the Demon Lord.
Who had saved her life, and then threw her away.
That is, killing the demon lord Leon Cromwell became her lifeâs goal.
Therefore, the girl hardly found the heroâs actions reproachable.
But there was one regret leftâshe had never seen the heroâs smile.
Since then, the girl became famous for her heroic deeds.
Sometimes called one of the founders of the Freedom Association, she had worked for the expansion and benefit of the Adventurer Cooperation Union.
She also took part training adventurers and her successors.
At one time, she had taught excellent pupils.
With a sincere, pure gazeâa boy. Kagurazaka Yuuki.
With a depressed gazeâ a girl. Sakaguchi Hinata.
These two were excellent students and fellow Japanese World Travelers.
These two were polar opposites.
The bright and optimistic Yuuki, and the grudge-against-the-world Hinata.
âThatâs probably because Hinata was attacked the moment she came here.â
So thought Shizue.
She was able to kill the assailants, and thus escaped safely, but probably made some frightening memories as a result.
She thought that Hinata was somehow similar to herself, and thus grew sympathetic.
But, that was a mistake.
ăSensei, thank you for the care you have shown. I fear there is nothing else I can learn from you. Nor shall we meet again, I think.ă
With those words, and without a second glance, Hinata had left.
She, in a mere month, had surpassed Shizue in strength. Such overwhelming excellenceâŠ
After a few years, Hinata had received an important post within the empire, but was not satisfied.
Rather, she had treated the promotion with mild indifferenceâŠ
In comparison, Yuuki was a sweet boy.
After the Adventurers Cooperation Union had formally changed its name to Freedom Association, Yuuki had introduced the current ranking system.
As a result of it, casualties during subjugation missions greatly decreased.
And thus, to this day.
Shizue had been supporting Yuuki behind the scenes.
That is, she no longer could do anything but guide new adventurers.
And, recently,
The time she spent as a demon have begun to haunt her in her dreams.
As her lifespan dwindled, she felt she was unable to restrain Ifritâs consciousness any longer.
However, the âanti-demon maskâ has yet to fail her.
So she told herself, âI donât have long to live!â
âSo, letâs at least shoot an arrow at the demon lord.â
Thus, she decided to set off.
Which she reported to Yuuki.
Without a word, he acknowledged her resolve. Perhaps he had wanted to stop her, butâŠ
At the time, a message came from the the Farmas Kingdomâs guild.
Veldoraâs disappearance confirmed. Will continue investigation!
Was it perhaps some divine guidance?
In any case, they needed help to break into the forest.
Someone needed to slip in with the trio.
Their specialties she had heard from Yuuki. And as she had heard, they were a cheerful bunch.
She was glad to have met such good companions on her last journey.
A strange city.
Saved by monsters, they were brought there.
Well, it wasnât really a city, though; lacking a single building, everyone lived in tents. Clearly a temporary measure.
Even so, it was full of life and monsters (!) happily worked there. A bizarre city.
It was unthinkable, in the first place, to be saved by monsters.
Had she used her flame power she could have easily burned away the giant ants; but, she felt that she shouldnât.
That is, each time she used her powers, Ifritâs consciousness would strengthen.
Her negligence could lead to her powers running wild.
Thus, she met a strange monster, with the attitude of a king, arrogantly carrying itself.
Amusing.
Although the monster could speak, the words uttered were,
âAlthough I am a slime, I am not an evil slimeâ and such!
A line that no one would ever believe.
The fun times abruptly ended.
I still havenât achieved my goalâŠ
At the moment her life force seemed to have finally ran out, Ifrit took over her consciousness.
Again⊠Iâll cause problems forâŠ
As if sneering at her thoughts and hopes, the demon had manifested.
And she lost her consciousness.
âŠâŠâŠ.
âŠ..
..
I tried to check on the womanâs condition.
Chances are, no matter how long I wait,
She will probably not awaken.
However, as a compatriot of mine, I want to see her through to the end. Those were my thoughts.
The three injured adventurers were in high spirits.
âI wonât be paying your hospital bills!â I wanted to shout, but,
ăWhat is this? The burns have completely disappeared⊠and my skin feels smooth and shiny!ă
ăAwesome⊠with those injuries, I thought weâd be bedridden for weeksâŠă
ăWell, Iâll be⊠these guys have some amazing medicine.ă
They seem to have healed without issue.
However,
ăBut, with this, we wonât be getting any injury compensation, will we?ă
ăYeah⊠No one weâll believe usâŠă
ăYup⊠but Iâd take this over being left with injuries!ă
Suddenly they had started to discuss their financial worries.
They canât read the mood at all.
Letâs tell them to come hang out here sometime,
ăWhat should we report to the guild master?ă
But instead, they were the ones who asked.
I happily left a message for them to deliver.
I admire adventurers. But, since I probably wonât be able to avoid a background check, registering with the guild may prove hard for a monster.
Thus, to repay his debt, Cabal will mention the name Rimuru to the guild master upon their return.
Really, what a great guy.
Being pleased with them, I decided to give them some parting gifts,
Spider robe,
Scalemail,
Hard-leather armor,
I handed to them those goods along with 10 pieces of the restoration medicine.
ăWha!!! Whatâs with this robe!!! So light, but sturdy! Actually, very sturdy!ă
ăWhoa!!! The famous Scalemail!!! Wait, isnât this master Garmâs product?! Iâll make it my family heirloom!!!ă
ăEeh! Is this fine? This is clearly wasted on someone like me. And to have used the skin of fang wolvesâŠă
What to say, a noisier reaction than expect.
And well, I gave it to them cause they lost their equipment in that fire, and I wouldnât be able to buy them replacements either.
It was clearly not my fault, but I can sympathize a bit.
And besides, what I gave them is naught but a test product.
Which, of course, I wonât tell them.
Cause they are so happy with the gifts. No need to disappoint.
No problem. No need to tell them either.
Since, even as a test product, itâs good quality!
Well, if they are this happy, theyâll definitely deliver the message.
In the end, the three would call me Danna (Benefactor), and were quite attached.
And although they did worry greatly for Shizu-san, they set off three days later.
And a week had passed.
Shizu-san has awoken.
ăThis is⊠I see⊠sorry for the troubleă
Sheâs fully conscious.
Seems like she clearly remembers her time as the demon.
ăI saw a dreamâŠ
A nostalgic dream. Of a city⊠to which I can no longer returnă
In Japan?
ăHey, Slime-san. Could you tell me your name?ă
I thought I already introduced myself as Rimuru.
ăRimuruă
She closed her eyes as if in deep thought.
ăCould you tell me your real name?ă
So she asked.
Had she noticed? And after a moment of hesitation.
ăFine. You wonât last long anyways. Itâs Mikami Satoru.ă
My real name. Didnât think Iâd ever say it again.
ăAs I thought, youâre Japanese, huh⊠I wondered if that was the case. That air you carry, you knowă
Silence. And then,
ăI also asked this of my disciples. What do you think became of that beautiful city? The one that turned into a sea of flamesâŠ?ă
ăOh. Let me show you.ă
Having said so, I conveyed my memories with [Telepathic Communication].
A truly useful skill at times like this.
ăAhâŠă
A tear rolled down her cheek. And,
ă⊠Slime-san⊠no, Satoru-san. Would you listen to my request?ă
ăWhat is it?ă
Probably some pointless request anyways.
But, since I decided to look after her to the end, I can at least listen to her request.
ăPlease eat meâŠ!ă
What? What did this granny just say?
ăYou ate the curse placed upon me⊠It made me so happy. Well, I did want to beat the guy who cursed me senseless, butâŠ
In any case, it would have been impossible for me.
My last request. Could you put me to rest within yourself?
You know, I⊠hated to be in this world. But, I couldnât bring myself to hate this world⊠just like that guyâŠ
Thereâs a chance I someday⊠meet that guy againâŠ
So, I donât want to be reborn in this world.
Please. I beg you, eat me!ă
Hmph.
What a request. Itâs far too simple for me.
For me to become her seal. For me, to succeed her hatred.
Am I unsure? To put her heart at ease, and to send her off peacefully.. I made my decision.
ăFine. Iâll carry out your vengeance. What is his name? ă
She opened her eyes wide to my question, revealing the burn marks, and with tears flowing downâŠ
ăLeon Cromwell. The strongest Demon LordâŠă
As if in a prayer, she looks me in the eyes.
ăI swear! By the name Mikami Satoru⊠no, by the name Rimuru Tempest!
Iâll force Leon Cromwell to regret having incurred your hatred.ă
Thank you⊠she muttered.
And, she closed her eyes. And as if falling asleep, her last breath escaped her.