NOVEL NEXT Chapter 242: If You Are a Man, You Will Do Everything In Your Power and Die at the End Part 2
Chapter 242: If You Are a Man, You Will Do Everything In Your Power and Die at the End Part 2
「Truth to be told, it does not really matter if you decide to use it now or not. These days its scream can no longer be heard. …… But the coordinates should still be there.」
「Coordinates?」
「That’s right. I am not going to tell you where to look, and no one else here knows, so don’t even try. However, the beacon will let you know once you start to get close to its location. But a small advice: watch your feet.」
「Oh, y-yeah, right……」
「Ohh, and before I forget: one more thing.」
Please give me a break, any more information and my head is literally going to explode.
「Those markings that the dog left on you…… There is a way, albeit only temporal…… to invalidate their effects. That is what “Meiki” is actually for.」
That was it. This was just too much. I felt as though I just got knocked out by that heavyweight piece of info, the heaviest piece of info that I have heard on that day.
「S-Sanraku-san…… About what Daddy said……」
「Honestly speaking, I would want to go to sleep and forget everything that happened today.」
After all, both “curse marks” and “scratches” are what is basically permanent debuffs. That is why when Weissash told me the details of the method to get rid of it, I had to sit down in disbelief, and the only thing that Emul did was ask “Can it really be done? Is thre no other way?” It would be truly difficult of a task.
「I guess that the only way to get rid of a dark color is to overwrite it with an even darker color……」
The place where Emul and I were heading towards right now was the top of the Bunny Court. If Weissash is the symbol of the Bunny Country as a whole, then the top of the Court is where we can find the other important NPC who keeps everything in order around here. And even though I have heard his name many times before thanks to Emul, I have never seen the man in question myself.
But it is the first time that I have actually went to see him there……
「So, this is the office, huh?」
「Yes, that’s right. This is the place where you can usually meet Edward Onii-chan.」
Judging from his name, out of all Weissashe’s children he must be pretty important. While trying to process every bit of information I have received from Weissash and Break, I open the door to the office and walk inside.
「Nhh, oh my…… Oh all the people to come here, if it isn’t Emul…… Hello there. And nice to meet you, too, Sanraku-dono.」
「Ah, yes, it’s nice to meet you, too…… Your Excellency……」
If the eldest daughter was a black bunny, and the second son was the white bunny, then this here bunny was like the mixture of the two. Meaning ,the color of his fur was “grey”. One of his ears were leaning downwards, and he was only slightly smaller than Weissash was. Once we entered, he lift his face from a pile of papers and smiled at us, greeting us with a polite tone. Ahh, so now we have the intelligent type, huh……?
「Now then, what kind of business would you have with me to go out of your way and visit me here?」
「Big Bro…… No, that title is reserved for Weissash specifically…… Anyways, we wanted to get some advice from you.」
Turns out that the permanent debuffs that the Unique Monster can bestow upon the players have ranks to them as well. For example, Luukan’s curse marks are bestowed only upon those who the wolf considers to be a worthy “prey”. And the debuff serves as a test of sorts, to see if one will be able to traverse all the hardships and emerge out of them even stronger than ever before.
And as a result of me being able to push its fangs and claws away, in order to respect my strength Luukan changed the curse marks to claw wounds, strengthening the curse’s effects.
Those claw wounds are both a test and invitation. A challenge for the player to become even stronger. From the gameplay perspective it is making things much worse for me, but from the perspective of the world building, it makes a surprisingly huge amount of sense.
And if so. Every thing that exists in this world has a polar opposite. Just like Kutanid was the embodiment of that concept.
If the curse marks are the results of the “claw wounds”, then there surely is a way to alleviate the wounds. Or to make them even worse than they were before.
And just today alone I have witnessed just how powerful the setting of this game is and what you need to do in order to embrace it fully. Those were the information that Library would kill to get a hold off, or to sell all their members and equipment, and even drive themselves into debt.
「I am not a Vorpal Bunny, I am just an early bird…… Still, I must say that being an honorary citizen of Rabbitz is the title I shall wear with pride and joy.」
「Thank you for saying that. We also appreciate all that you do for us.」
「And that is exactly why…… I feel like I should fulfill my duty towards this country, to thank it for all the kindness it has shown me.」
Weissash said that what you need to counteract a curse is simply an even stronger curse.
A stronger curse that finds its roots not in “curiosity” like the one Luukan put on me. It is not something quite like Kutanid’s “evaluation”. And it is certainly something completely different from Siegwurm’s “expectations”.
No, this curse is all about a more “fundamental” hate, the true hate. Hate towards everything: age, sex, weakness, strength, hostility, pacifism…… The true curse. The true curse that only one of the Seven can exhibit.
「Chancellor, add me to the “Bunny Defense Lines”…… otherwise this conflict with Goldunine will know no end.」
When Weissash says that…… It is someone who hates people. It is someone who detests bunnies. And it is someone who absolutely loathes the world. The mother of all “snakes”, the nemesis of all Vorpal Bunnies, someone who constantly tries to invade Rabbitz and raze it to the ground.
It was one of the seven “Unique Monsters”, the existence of which is known only to some of the members of the guild Library.