Worthless Skill Escape (WN)

Chapter 226

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TL: ALT

Chapter 226 – The Corridor of Fixation Part 2

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

It was about an hour after Hayato Harukawamiya had defeated the boss that he spoke to me.

Hayato and I were positioned at opposite ends of the huge dam-like boss room, killing time in our own ways.

I extracted the slime macrophage from my body and observed its changes while playing around with various variables in the Experimental Space.

This boss room is a large, square room with a rough-hewn, concrete-like texture (although there is no concrete that won’t get scratched, even when a rank-A dungeon boss is rampaging around).

I set up a microscope on a rectangular ledge at the right height for my workspace and took my time enjoying the micro-monster ecology.

Hayato Harukawamiya was surprisingly reading a book.

The paperback, which looked especially small in Hayato’s large hands, was Radiguet’s “The Devil in the Flesh.”

It was surprising that this rough man had a taste for literature.

…Or maybe not.

Considering that he was born into a legitimate imperial family, it would not be surprising if he was given a liberal arts education from an early age.

When Hayato finished reading Radiguet and started with Mishima Yukio, a visitor arrived at the boss’s office.

“You’re late, Princess.”

Hayato said as he threw the orange paperback into his Item Box and stood up.

“I’m sorry. I had to do some urgent work.”

The person who answered was a famous woman who was surely known by everyone in the country.

Or rather, is it correct to call her a celebrity?

She is undoubtedly famous, but whether she is a celebrity “person” is debatable.

She looks to be in her early twenties.

She has blonde hair and blue eyes and is tall and slender.

Even under her suit―or perhaps because of her suit―her voluptuous body, seemingly designed to attract men, stands out.

Her silky, long blonde hair falls to her waist, but it doesn’t feel heavy or oppressive, as long hair often does.

She doesn’t have a particular expression on her face right now, but it’s clear that she has a graceful and gentle face.

When I look at her, a word naturally comes to mind that is at the top of the list of words I don’t want to say in my position.

That is motherhood.

“Princess Halkafia… Or was it Haruka Shinozaki?”

Without even raising an eyebrow at her beauty or the spiritual magnetism that draws people to her, Hayato confirms her identity.

That’s right.

Her name is Haruka Shinozaki.

She is an elf who came from the other world of Spring Raven.

Ever since she appeared in that person’s speech as living proof that the other world really exists, she’s been the talk of the media.

If it’s a hard news program, they’ll report on that person’s speech, what they’ve done about it, and their predictions for the future, but even on those programs, I hear that the ratings go up just because of her appearance.

And on a variety show, it’s natural for the focus to be on the new footage of her rather than the person’s policies.

After that day, she was appointed as a special public relations officer for the government.

This is not a job with a nominal title. She assists his administration as a member of the Prime Minister’s Office, responding to media interviews and inquiries from other countries.

There were some concerns about whether such a heavy responsibility could be handled by someone so young.

However, these concerns were largely unfounded in two respects.

First, she is not as old as she looks.

According to her own statement, she is 124 years old.

This means that her age is so old that there are hardly any people in this country who would consider her young.

If anything, she has the right to challenge the “experts” who make such comments based on their superficial impressions of her as a young person.

The other reason is that she is the daughter of the chief of an elven village from another world.

Even in this aging Japanese political world, the average age is probably half or a third of that of the long-lived elven village.

Japan is often said to be a village society, but the atmosphere of the elven village seems to be a village society boiled down even further.

Having grown up as a political elite in such an environment, they have a unique sensitivity when it comes to political maneuvering.

In addition, the spiritual presence of the elven race has a powerful influence on humans.

Even I, a high-level explorer, cannot escape its influence, so it is even more so for ordinary people.

In terms of influence, that person also has a unique charisma, but Haruka Shinozaki appeals to people’s senses more directly.

In short, the heightened spiritual presence of elves is said to charm humans who have no resistance.

If that person’s uniqueness lies in the fact that his grandmother completely removed his human ego, then Haruka Shinozaki is the opposite.

That’s when I realized that a magical beast was following her.

The Thunder Gryphon―the magical beast once ridden by the exiled Elf King Clovis.

Haruka Shinozaki herself is said to be an excellent explorer, but she’s probably not good enough to clear an A-rank dungeon on her own.

Was it the power of that magical beast that allowed her to clear the Okutama Lake dungeon by herself?

At the same time, Haruka Shinozaki, despite having such a conspicuous magical beast following her, managed to draw my attention to her own existence and make me forget about the magical beast.

When I thought about it,

“…Are you sure?”

She asked me.

“It’s already decided.”

“But…”

“Shut up. If the person in question says it’s okay, then it’s okay.”

Hayato interrupted, looking irritated as he ran his hand through his hair.

“…I see.”

She said, taking a piece of paper out of her Item Box.

“From Prime Minister Tozaki.”

I took the cold, inorganic paper from her white, delicate fingers.

It was a summary of the policies to be implemented from now on.

But it was not like a manifesto.

Among the points I had requested of that person, those that could be implemented immediately and those that would be introduced in stages were listed in the sober lines of the document.

“Oh? What’s this? ‘Require all released or probationary sex offenders to wear a GPS device at all times,’ ‘Require sex education programs to prevent sex crimes in junior high schools,’ ‘Establish new strict penalties for attacks on female explorers in dungeons and set up a counseling service for victims in cooperation with the Explorers Association’… Oh man, there are too many on the list.”

“Don’t look without permission.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s a policy that will be implemented anyway.”

Despite my protests to Hayato, who has come to lean over and look, he has a point.

“Hmm? Aren’t there any policies related to the protection of women? ‘Establish an international fund to research cures for intractable diseases’, ‘Use the inventory of designated strategic search objects for the treatment of intractable diseases’.”

Hayato gives me a mischievous smile and takes a quick look at my face.

“So that’s what you got from that puppet king in exchange for your life, huh?”

“Don’t mock him.”

“I wasn’t mocking him. I was impressed by both of you.”

“Impressed?”

“In this day and age, how many people are willing to give their lives for their beliefs? Even if I don’t understand those beliefs, I respect you for that alone.”

I’m surprised by Hayato’s unexpected words.

“Respect?

“Yes. When you grow up, people become more and more boring. Even the most rebellious students calm down when they get a job. And it’s even worse when they get married and have a family. They start to judge things based on whether it’s in their own interest or not, instead of whether it’s right or not.”

“That’s…”

I thought back to the scene at the hospital.

The junior colleague, who had been well aware of the issues, had now become a pitiful woman, living in fear of the pressure to conform from those around her.

Well, from her point of view, I guess I’m the “pathetic” woman.

“This is where I approve of that self-centered bastard. He’s clearly not working for himself. He’s got a lot of money. He could live a life of leisure doing nothing. And yet he’s decided to become the servant of all the people and take on the heavy responsibility of serving the nation. In this case, he completely disregarded his own interests. He put the fulfillment of the hidden desires of the people and becoming a mechanical god unique to this country above his own interests. As a human being, he is crazy, but I don’t hate his single-minded spirit.”

“…That’s unexpected. I thought you admired him for trying to make this country strong.”

“Of course, that’s part of it. Since I was born into the imperial family, I have a mission to make this imperial nation the strongest nation in the world. I will wrest the right of succession from my laid-back cousin, establish direct imperial rule, and make this imperial nation the ruler of the world. If I can’t do that, what was the point of my being born?”

“I don’t know what your purpose in life is. Men are naturally a threat to women, so it is a nuisance for women to have any social influence. I would have preferred you to live a comfortable life as a member of the Imperial Family, quietly out of my sight.”

“Hah, you don’t waver at all, do you?”

I look down at the document again when Hayato says this in a tone that is neither annoyed nor impressed.

In order to realize the above policy, I hereby pledge to make every effort to do so.

At the end of that sentence is the signature of ‘Prime Minister Seiji Tozaki.’

“…What is this pattern-like thing at the bottom?”

At first glance, it looks like a cursive script in a European language, but it is a much more complex and intricate pattern.

It looks like intertwined ivy―or perhaps a magic circle from a fantasy novel.

“It’s a signature for a spirit contract.”

“A spirit contract?”

“Yes. It’s something elves use to formalize their oaths. If they break their oaths, the elves are punished by the spirits.”

“Even though that person is not an elf…”

“Still, it has a certain effect. Being abandoned by the spirits means that you will no longer be able to receive the blessings of nature in this world. In a world where science and technology have developed so much, it’s easy to forget, but humans are still creatures of nature.”

“What kind of inconvenience would there be if you were abandoned by the spirits?”

“Well, for example, all spiritual beings need to sleep. During sleep, spiritual beings receive gifts from nature and repair the ether and astral that have been disrupted or damaged by their daytime activities. Of course, humans are the most important of these spiritual beings.

As I was confused by the sudden occult explanation,

“Oh, that. That’s the phenomenon where your MP recovers faster when you sleep. In this world, though, the amount of recovery is a bit lacking.”

Hayato interjects again.

This member of the Imperial Family claims (among those involved) that he was summoned to another world when he was fifteen years old, defeated the Demon King there, and returned to this world.

No one has confirmed whether or not this is true, but there is no doubt that he has the power to make people accept his story.

“Over there, I was able to regain all my energy and strength after taking a nap in a safe place. Skills that have a limited number of uses can be restored, and status abnormalities can be cured just by sleeping.”

“In this world where science has spread, it doesn’t have as much of an effect, but there are still effects that can only be obtained by sleeping. I think everyone can feel that.”

“So if he breaks his promise to Ms. Kandori, that empty bastard won’t be able to sleep at night? Ah, no, he’ll accumulate damage to his etheric and astral bodies from being deprived of sleep. If that’s the case, he’ll die sooner or later. …Still, the fact that he’s not guaranteed to die is the scary thing about this bastard.

“In short, it’s like a curse that uses the power of spirits.”

“I don’t like that expression, but it’s not too far off the mark. Nature isn’t just there to heal people. In fact, it’s more often a threat to people.”

“Even without that risk, I would have believed what he said.”

“The Prime Minister said it wasn’t enough just to be believed. For those who are dying, it is necessary to ‘promise’ them salvation and make them ‘believe’ in it.”

“Huh, I don’t know about that. Isn’t it just that he doesn’t want to be distracted from repairing the ‘corridor’?”

“…I suppose there are such concerns.”

Haruka Shinozaki admitted this matter-of-factly.

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