NOVEL NEXT Ch27 - Second Quest 2★
Chapter 27: Second Quest 2★
“Not Cool”
“Gwaaaahh!”
“You messed up the wall without cleaning it and left Mari-san to pay for it. That’s just the worst.”
“You…! You’re actually calling out our sins!? …Wait, that kinda sounded like a pun…”
“Hey, dude, that was not cool…”
“Shut up! We’re the Sin Squad! We’re, like, super evil, alright!? The words of the real world can’t even reach us…muwahaha…”
“Your choice of words is weird, and your delivery is clumsy. Trying too hard to combine fancy words when you can’t handle them just makes you sound lame… Ugh…”
Lena looked at the boys, sending a gaze of utter disapproval.
“Uwaaahh?!”
Critical hit!
The boys collapsed!
…Well done.
Brutal. Lena’s lethal “Mind Crush” and the boys’ half-baked dark personalities both pack quite a punch.
Sister Mari stood there, basket of baked goods in hand, looking stunned. Meanwhile, the familiars were caught up in their own chuunibyou-inspired techniques: “Darkness Messenger Kick!”, “Saint Barrier!”, “Mwahahaha!” – courtesy of Izumi, Kureha, and Lily, respectively. Hamal, shrunken in size, served as the barrier team member for Kureha, happily joining in the fun, even if all he faced was a harmless slime.
In the back garden of the church, chaos reigned.
Mortified at having their chuunibyou antics so thoroughly exposed, the boys tossed aside their prized eyepatches and black wraps, rolling around in embarrassment. The homemade chainmail hidden under their black outfits struck them in the chaos, and they cried, “Ouch!” and “It stabbed me!” Truly unfortunate.
Looking down at them coldly was Lady Lena herself. At this moment, her ruthless demeanor warranted a respectful title: “Your Majesty, the Queen!”
There was a reason for Lena’s harsh words. It was a tale as old as time. Even Lena bore scars from this “disease” herself. Her old wounds…they ached. A sigh of regret.
Let’s briefly revisit her past. It was a self-inflicted incident from her middle school days. Having fallen head over heels for a certain magical girl anime long after it was popular, Lena went to school with her hair styled in twin buns like the protagonist. Though excited to feel “special,” she realized the embarrassment when her friends, out of kindness, ignored her hairstyle. She scrambled to fix it, but the bun marks lingered, refusing to be combed out. Her solution became the braided style she still wears today, a reminder never to go down that path again.
With enlightened eyes, Lena gazed at the boys again. Both flinched.
If they continued down this “dark” path, disappointment from others and a life of regret awaited them. She had to nip this chuunibyou bud now.
Drawing a breath, she went for it.
“…No one here thinks you’re cool, you know? Wearing black during the day just makes you stand out in a bad way! And spouting evil lines with your high-pitched voices – it’s just not intimidating! Causing trouble just to annoy adults? That’s childish! Not cool! So lame! Go reflect on yourselves!”
Lena’s cutting critique hit all the right spots! Painful but powerful!
The boys, now beet red, seemed too embarrassed to apologize, throwing one last childish retort.
“You… you dummy! You ugly!!”
That was all they could muster.
“Ugh!”
The braided girl sighed, puffing her cheeks as she glared at them.
And at that moment, the temperature in the air dropped to freezing. “Ugly” and “dummy”… Some presences don’t let those insults slide.
“…?!”
Lena’s shoulders shivered as the cold made her skin prickle. She hugged her arms to keep warm, wondering why the chill felt real.
Then, scorching heat flared.
Realizing the connection, Lena turned around. Her familiars were glaring daggers at the two boys, wrapped in a black aura and radiating a fierce energy that made her skin tingle.
Their fury was palpable; even Sister Mari had taken a step back toward the wall.
The familiars were furious after hearing their beloved master insulted. Though they understood that the boys’ words were clearly out of bitterness, anger continued to consume their minds.
“Did they just call her ugly?” “Talking that nonsense about our adorable master… I won’t forgive this!”
“Muttering nonsense… dissolve them with [Acid], drain them until they’re dried up with [Bloodsuck]… or maybe just crush them. Which to choose… hehehe…”
“…Crush.”
Oh no! Although only Lena could hear these words, they were obviously dangerous. She quickly stepped forward to confront her enraged familiars, protecting the boys.
“Everyone, calm down! I’m not bothered by such obvious last-minute jabs. Being called things like ‘ugly’ or ‘dumb’ doesn’t matter to me. Hey, no growing giant, Haa-kun! And Lily, don’t use [Charm] to summon bugs! Kureha and Izumi, what dance is that…?”
Despite the situation, Lena continued to break the boys’ delusional pride. Yet the familiars barely reacted to her voice, something unprecedented that made her uneasy. It seemed the effects of her [Encouragement] skill were still lingering, pushing them into a dangerous high-energy state, with anger feeding their confusion. Frustrated, Lena bit her lip.
“『Dance of Spite! Frenzy of Wrath!』”
It seemed the slimes had caught the middle-school syndrome too.
“You all… Stop that! You’ll regret this later, trust me! It’s embarrassing! …Fine, if it’s come to this, I’ll have to use that…”
Lena sighed as her stress mounted. Haa-kun was growing gigantic again, Lily had summoned a swarm of noisy insects (were those wasps?!), and the slimes, well, they were just doing an elaborate dance with a fancy name. Lena knew she had to restore calm quickly before it became a bigger problem—otherwise, the familiars might be deemed dangerous and hunted down.
Having grasped the seriousness, Lena made up her mind. She took a deep breath, focused, and looked straight at her familiars.
“—[Big Sister] Mode: Activated!”
The familiars froze, sensing a shift. With her “Big Sister” title now active, Lena’s usually gentle black eyes sharpened with an air of elegance, commanding respect. The familiars looked at her, catching the smirk of a girl confidently facing them.
“Is she mad at us?!” “…So nerve-wracking!”
Then, she used her [Obedience] skill, coupled with a haughty “big sister” tone.
“…My, my! Ignoring your master’s words? How unbecoming. Are you truly my familiars? How embarrassing! Maybe I should cancel our contracts here and now. I’ll even let you apologize if you want to. Though if you’re gone, I may just cry out of loneliness. But, I could make that sacrifice for the sake of discipline. So, what will you do? Could you survive without me…?”
“『W-We’re so sorry! We’ll obey!』”
The familiars instantly made their choice, bowing as respectfully as possible. Lena chuckled triumphantly, the expression on her face mirroring her “Big Sister” title’s effects.
“Wise choice! Very well, I’ll forgive you this time. But there won’t be a second chance, understood?”
“『Yes, ma’am!』” “A mix of sweetness… and severity! I’m captivated…” “Queen!”
Lena’s “big sister” demeanor, paired with her regained control over her familiars, made for an oddly touching scene. Although they were all quite small, they embraced her tightly. Sister Marie watched with a warm smile and a little laugh, remarking, “Youthful spirits!”
Meanwhile, the boys, enchanted by the “big sister” title’s charm effect, gazed at Lena with admiration. They muttered, “She’s so cool…”
“Lena has gained the boys’ respect!”
The fact that she could tame such terrifying monsters only added to her appeal. However, when they tried to imitate her “queen” manner of speaking, Lena had to talk them out of it, as they sounded more like caricatures. Sister Marie chuckled at the sight, and the familiars clung happily to Lena.
With this, Lena successfully completed her second quest: “Church Exterior & Window Cleaning” and received her reward of 500 Lils (with a bonus) and five pastries.
The two boys looked at Lena, as if wanting to join her team.
“Not a chance!”
“「So cool!」”
Although her scolding had slightly improved them, the boys’ dramatic streaks persisted. But it’s worth noting that they went on to lead happy lives.
Later, the two former goth-clad boys, having decided that their future partners would be small, strong-willed girls, strolled lightly through the alleyways, wearing casual clothes and feeling great.
“Man, wasn’t Lena so cool…?”
One person sighed with a blush as they muttered, and another joined in with a smile.
“Yeah. Real coolness is what she has, huh? I’m finally seeing the light! She’s way cooler than that guy in all black we saw in the forest!”
“Yeah. Back then, we were just kids, huh? We went all dark mode over that guy’s edgy look and those grotesquely cool monsters. No way I’m getting pulled into something like that again—time to disband the ‘Darkness Hell Flame Syndicate’ for good. Just like Lady Lena said, we’ll live pure, proper lives with no more mischief!”
“You got it! She might not have taken us on as followers, but let’s go buy some whips as fan merch!”
“…That’s genius. You’re a mastermind!”
With slightly misguided logic, they’d taken Lena’s lecture to heart and resolved to steer clear of trouble from now on, though their “edgy” vibe remained intact.
“Kindness isn’t for others, it’s for yourself,” they recalled Lena’s words, feeling determined to live a better life from here on out. With renewed cheer, they ran out, bursting from the shadowy alley into the bustling main street. Under the bright sunlight, they smiled, feeling as though even their shadows had become brighter. The image of a dark-clad figure with a grotesque creature had vanished from their minds.
Back at the inn, Lena and her familiars were happily munching on some pastries Sister Marie had given them—rich, buttery financiers. Thanks to domesticated dairy cows, butter and other dairy products were reasonably affordable here. Even the flour came in light, medium, and strong varieties, just like on Earth. Contrary to the image of undeveloped food cultures in otherworlds, Lena realized that in Ranash, there were plenty of options for sweets, much to her delight as a cooking enthusiast.
Only eggs seemed to be a luxury item. The local breed of chickens, called Kokkos, were raised primarily for meat and didn’t lay eggs daily. Adventurers often took up requests from the guild to gather wild eggs. Lena gratefully savored the last piece of the precious egg-based pastry, licking a bit of butter from her lips and putting her hands together.
“…Ahhh, that was delicious! Thank you so much!”
“Thank you!!” chorused her familiars, copying her after-meal greeting—a testament to their training.
“Good job, good job,” Lena praised them with a warm smile.
With their meal done, they all returned to their monster forms to relax on the bed. It was easier for them to be comfortable this way rather than in human form. All of them nestled up to their master to rest.
“…Hey, Master? Since I worked hard cleaning the walls, could you pet me? Please?”
“I helped, too! Please pet me, Lady Lena!”
“Feel free to squeeze Coo and Izu’s squishy parts too!”
Each familiar made their request for pets. Laughing, Lena sat up and started by gently stroking the head of Lily, who was sitting on her lap. Then she gave Hamal’s golden fur a thorough ruffling. Both seemed content. She also wanted to pet the slime but, unfortunately, only had two hands. “Just a little longer, okay?” she told the waiting slime apologetically.
Since she had praised the slime first last time, it was only fair that the others went first this time, and they understood, waiting patiently with a little dance. Eventually, however, they got bored and climbed onto Lena’s shoulders, pushing her cheeks playfully from either side, making her look like a King Slime.
“…Hey! You guys! Enough of this!”
“Kyaaa~!”
After enjoying some time with Lily and Hamal, Lena finally turned to the slime and grabbed its squishy body with a grin, giving it a playful tickling. The slime laughed, even as it was stretched out like mochi and occasionally popped back to its original shape, bouncing back with a cheerful plop.
“Lily! Ha-kun! Help me out here!”
▽ Lena has requested backup!
“Hehe, this looks fun! Leave it to me!” “At your service! Brace yourself, junior!”
▽ Backup squad, Lily and Hamal, have arrived!
“Oh, a rebellion, is it?” “Bring it on!”
With plenty of laughs and stretching slime bodies, the whole crew played around until their stomachs hurt. It was yet another peaceful day.
▽ Next! The Master and Us (from the familiars’ perspective)