Episode 6: Zubibi
“Isn’t it true that all the achievements attributed to Hero Ryuguin in this world are actually yours, Holy Knight Yamada Ichiro?”
Though I had heard some of this from Sensei, Pulmy-san’s question was a direct hit. My answer to her was—
“That’s right. Just as Pulmy-san said.”
There was no need to hide anything.
“I was the one who cleared the seven Newly Constructed Ultimate Labyrinths.”
Upon hearing my confession, she quietly closed her eyes. It seemed as if she was lost in thought. Eventually, she opened her eyes and said,
“I believe it is quite rude to ask this of you, but could you show me some proof of your Labyrinth Conquest that I might understand?”
Being asked so suddenly… I was at a loss. It would be difficult to convince her with something half-hearted. Hmm, what would be good? Would showing her an incredible treasure be the most straightforward approach? No, unless Pulmy-san was an item appraiser, it would be hard to convince her on the spot… Then again, since she excels in martial arts—
“Pulmy-san, please watch.”
I took a magic stone of suitable size from my Magic Bag. After confirming her nod, I flicked the stone into the air with my thumb.
“Autobahn!”
My fist, reaching the speed of light, shattered the falling magic stone in an instant.
“I couldn’t follow it with my eyes—”
Pulmy-san trembled in awe.
I had heard that Pulmy-san was particularly gifted among elves with exceptional dynamic vision. If she couldn’t even track what had happened, then my Autobahn was surely a testament to my abilities.
“Wow, Ichiro-kun, that was amazing! I just witnessed something fascinating. That’s a feat that the Hero could never replicate.”
With that, I was able to have Pulmy-san recognize me as the true conqueror of the Newly Constructed Ultimate Labyrinth.
“Ah, I’m so relieved! If you hadn’t accepted that technique, I would have had to show you my prized item!”
Pulmy-san, intrigued by my sigh-laden complaint, asked,
“By the way, what kind of item are we talking about?”
She inquired with genuine curiosity.
“Well… I have various items, but… what would be good?”
I rummaged through my Magic Bag for a moment, then pulled out a container resembling a lantern with white flames flickering inside.
Te-te-re-te-tte-re!
In my mind, the fanfare from a national anime echoed, reminiscent of the iconic blue raccoon pulling out a national tool from his pocket.
“This is an item called Absolute Freeze, obtained when I conquered the Ice Labyrinth.”
This thing was so outrageous that even a high-level item appraiser had nearly vomited upon identifying it.
According to him, “By using this item, it is possible to transform a space with a radius centered around it into an absolute zero ice prison.”
As I explained the time and place of acquisition along with its effects, Pulmy-san interrupted,
“Ichiro-kun, wait a moment! What kind of disaster-level item is that?! What is an Ice Prison?! I’ve never heard of such a term! It sounds like it would annihilate the land and all life within it! You absolutely must seal that away! Absolutely, I mean it!”
“Alright, alright,” I replied, nodding along. However, Pulmy-san’s final insistence felt like a setup to use it instead.
Someday, I resolved to toss this item into the boss room from outside, activate it, and then close the door behind me.
As I pondered the uses of Absolute Freeze and other deadstock items, Pulmy-san seemed to lose her composure and murmured,
“Oh, I’m so glad… so glad…”
Then she slumped over the desk, becoming motionless.
We waited for her to reboot.
We waited, but…
Eventually, we heard a soft suu, suu sound.
It was unmistakably the sound of someone sleeping.
“Excuse me, Pulmy-san?”
“!!”
At my call, she shot her face up in surprise.
“Were you sleeping?”
“I wasn’t sleeping.”
“No, you were definitely sleeping.”
“I wasn’t sleeping.”
“No, it’s not ‘I wasn’t sleeping.'”
“There is no fact that I was sleeping.”
“You were sleeping, ohhhh! Just admit it already!”
“When you shout at me right after waking up, it echoes in my head.”
“That just proves you were sleeping!!”
Her cheeks flushed as she wiped the drool threatening to spill from the corner of her mouth with her sleeve, making a zubibi sound.
“Alright, I understand.”
She was clearly exhausted. In that case, I should take the adult approach.
“You weren’t sleeping, right? Then how about we each grab a cup of coffee and continue our conversation?”
I proposed.