Chapter 9: The Legendary Shield
In Oria, a country known for its art, Mario was struggling to make ends meet. Although he was once a promising young painter, the prolonged war against the Demon King’s army had drastically reduced the number of people willing to buy paintings.
“Why has it come to this… Do I have no choice but to give up painting and find a job?”
Mario had been praised as a genius since childhood for his artistic talent. However, if he couldn’t make a living from it, it seemed he had no choice but to abandon his life as a painter.
But then, some good news came his way.
“What’s this competition? The grand prize is 1,000 gold coins! Even 100th place gets 100 gold coins! This is amazing! The subject is… limited to the God Aegis. Well, Aigis is the god of beauty, so I suppose that makes sense.”
The competition was being held by an unfamiliar company called Trao Trading Company, and the winning works would be displayed in a newly constructed art museum. It accepted a wide range of artistic works, from paintings and sculptures to music.
Mario couldn’t let this opportunity slip away. From that day on, he devoted himself entirely to creating his entry for the competition.
On the day of the competition, Mario brought his painting to the venue and was overwhelmed by the number of entries. Due to the recent economic downturn, art competitions with such high prize money were rare, and thousands of works had been submitted from both within the country and abroad.
“Damn these money-grubbers! They don’t even understand what art is, lured in by the prize money!”
Mario criticized the other entrants, conveniently forgetting his own motivations.
The panel of judges consisted of ten renowned critics with discerning eyes. Surely no one could argue with the aesthetic judgment of these judges.
And the result of the judging was… Mario was selected for first place.
“I did it! Now I can live as a painter!”
Mario thanked the gods, especially Aegis.
The man presenting the grand prize was Trao, the president of Trao Trading.
He had a slightly plump build typical of a merchant and wore a genial, diplomatic smile.
“It’s a wonderful piece. I’m sure the God Aegis will be pleased.”
(Aegis will be pleased? What does he mean by that?)
Mario wondered but interpreted it as praise for the excellence of his work.
“So, this time we’re going to have Dominique level up to receive the blessing of Aegis,”
Trao announced casually, as if it were a foregone conclusion.
When Dominique, the mage, heard they were going to the temple of Aegis, the god of magic and art, she had been mentally preparing herself. However, hearing it stated so plainly still dampened ger spirits.
After all, the last time Rio received a god’s blessing, dhe had to fight for three days and nights, constantly drinking high-grade potions, and ended up completely devoted to Trao. The thought of possibly ending up like that was a bit unpleasant.
It’s not that Dominique disliked Trao. In fact, Trao’s consistently rational decisions were somewhat similar to a mage’s way of thinking, and Dominique could understand him to some extent.
However, even from the perspective of a mage who often deviated from common ethical standards, Trao sometimes went too far.
As human, Dominique couldn’t quite understand Trao’s appeal. He was about four years older, with a slightly chubby but sturdy build, and couldn’t be described as handsome by any stretch of the imagination. However, Dominique knew he wasn’t a bad person.
Trao had reached out to Garnet when they were just starting out and struggling, teaching them many things and providing equipment and items.
Of course, in return, they had to accept the requests Trao brought, but even considering that, Dominique thought they had benefited more overall.
All things considered, Trao felt like a reliable Senpai figure.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
“Um, what am I supposed to do?”
Dominique asked about her fate in a few hours, her chest tight with fear and anxiety.
“Well, this time we’re going underwater. Swords won’t be very useful there. In other words, we’re counting on you, Dominique.”
…The responsibility weighed heavily. Indeed, it would be physically difficult to move underwater, but magic would also be limited. Fire and wind spells probably wouldn’t work, and lightning spells would dissipate quickly. The degree of freedom would be quite low.
“I think magic will also be significantly weakened underwater…”
Dominique honestly expressed her concern.
“No, magic depends more on the caster’s imagination than physical phenomena. If you have a strong image, you can use fire magic even underwater,”
Dominique had to admit Trao was right. If magic were purely a physical phenomenon, there would be no way to create fire or wind out of nothing.
However, imagining a roaring fire underwater would naturally be quite challenging.
“I’ll do my best…”
was all Dominique could manage in response.
“Alright, everyone drink this,”
Trao said, handing round pills to the three members of Garnet as they stood before the sea where the Temple of Aegis was said to have sunk.
“Once you take this, you’ll be able to breathe underwater.”
The pills were extremely valuable items. They were made with rare ingredients and could only be concocted by skilled apothecaries. One pill was worth enough to buy a house.
The three carefully placed the pills in their mouths, while Trao swallowed his casually.
Trao immediately dove into the sea with a splash to confirm the pill’s effect.
Dominique thought it was quite remarkable how Trao could put himself on the line without hesitation in such situations.
After diving for a bit, Trao’s face resurfaced.
“Yes, breathing is no problem. Everyone, get in the water. We’ll walk along the seafloor to the Temple of Aegis.”
Rio jumped into the sea without hesitation, while Lilith and Dominique held hands and jumped in together.
Dominique unconsciously held her breath at first but soon had to exhale.
…It wasn’t painful. It was a strange sensation, but she could breathe just like she was on land.
Surprisingly, they could even communicate by voice. Dominique wondered what kind of effect made this possible.
The four regrouped on the seafloor where they had jumped in and set off towards the Temple of Aegis.
After walking for about an hour, the water became much deeper, and sunlight no longer reached them, making their surroundings dim.
Trao took out a torch-like magical rod that worked underwater and lit it. He then produced two more and handed them to Rio and Lilith.
Dominique didn’t need one as she had lit the tip of her staff. Even if she had received one, it would only get in the way during battle.
They continued for another hour, with only a faint light from the sun visible far above, and darkness all around them.
Relying solely on the magical light, that’s when it appeared.
(How disgusting…)
Dominique thought as he saw what approached.
It was a fish-man. A being that looked like a cross between a human and a fish. It was said that long ago, the people of a nation that angered the sea god were transformed into these creatures.
While the truth of this was uncertain, they undeniably hated humans.
As proof, they attacked Garnet with faces twisted in hatred.
(They were probably originally human and hate their half-fish appearance, so they attack normal humans out of jealousy and self-loathing,)
Dominique analyzed as she began chanting a spell she had devised for underwater use.
“Water, freeze and become ice spears…”
Taking advantage of being in the sea, she froze the water into ice spears and launched them to pierce the enemies.
It was easier to imagine and more efficient than when on land.
The ten or so fish-men were quickly impaled by the ice spears and wiped out.
That part went well, but…
Perhaps attracted by the blood of the fish-men, a giant fish-like monster approached.
Called a Megalodon, this huge fish was, accurately speaking, unclear whether it was a fish or a monster, but it was definitely a dangerous sea creature.
With a body about the size of a small ship and a large mouth filled with teeth, if it bit you, you wouldn’t survive even if wearing armor – you’d be crushed.
The Megalodon quickly devoured the fish-men’s corpses, and seemingly unsatisfied, advanced on the members of Garnet.
Dominique immediately began chanting, launching ice spears at the Megalodon.
However, although the icicle did pierce the megalodon, its body was too large for it to be a fatal wound. Instead, it continued charging forward with the icicle still stuck in it, without slowing down.
(This is why I hate lower life forms with poor sense of pain!)
Dominique panicked as the megalodon approached with its jaw wide open.
Suddenly, Trao and Rio stepped in front of Dominique and swung their swords at the megalodon.
Trao, an S-rank adventurer, and Rio, blessed by the god Kusanagi, moved just as swiftly underwater as they did on land.
Unable to keep up with their quick movements, the megalodon was slashed several times on its head and temporarily retreated to regain its composure.
“Now’s your chance, Dominique,”
Trao urged Dominique to cast the finishing spell.
“Dominique, we’re counting on you!”
Rio gave Dominique a thumbs up.
(Everyone’s expectations are so heavy…)
For Dominique, the two’s consideration was a mixed blessing.
If they could fight as well underwater as on land, she wished they would just finish it themselves. After all, if the spell she cast earlier didn’t work, Dominique had no other options.
However, Dominique was the protagonist of this journey. Trao and the others probably wanted Dominique to defeat the enemy herself.
(Ah, fine, I’ll do it, damn it!)
Visit the request page If there’s a Japanese Light Novel (LN) or Web Novel (WN) you’d like me to translate
When the donation goal progress bar above hit 100% one novel will be chosen for translation
| Table of Contents | Next* |
Support the Author by Buying the Original Books!
