Worthless Skill Escape (WN)

Chapter 242

TN: Please read my translations only on my website since I never give my permission to any site to host my translations. And if you like my translations, please support this site on Ko-fi and Patreon to read several chapters ahead!

Sponsored chapter by our Patreon. Enjoy~

TL: ALT

Chapter 242 – To the Asylum

When I enter the blue portal, I enter a small stone chamber.

On either side of the stone chamber, the Karakuri soldiers I created stand in a row, motionless and alert, guarding against anyone who might enter from outside.

This time, I was the one who entered, so the Karakuri soldiers gave me a smart, well-timed salute. It’s the kind of thing police and Self-Defense Force personnel do when they put their hands on the brim of their hats.

“Good work.”

The Karakuri soldiers never get tired, but I still say a few words of appreciation.

There is a saying that when a superior thanks a subordinate, he should say “Gokurousama,” but I always say “Otsukaresama” to everyone, regardless of their rank. [T/n: “Otsukaresama” (お疲れ様) is a general expression of appreciation for someone’s hard work, while “Gokurosama” (ご苦労様) is a more formal expression and is typically used by superiors when addressing subordinates to acknowledge their efforts.]

This is because I think to myself, “Am I really in a position where I can use words of thanks to gain a higher status?

“Did you take care of Shaina-san?”

I ordered those Karakuri soldiers to check those coming out of the blue portal.

The Blue Portal appears before those who are desperate to escape their despair, but this specification has a problem.

Anyone can enter the Blue Portal if they want to.

This means that not only those who want to escape but also the employers’ explorers can jump into the blue portal.

As a countermeasure, the exit of the blue portal is not directly connected to the Asylum but is set to go through this stone room first.

I can’t let those explorers who have become slave drivers into the Asylum, which is a refuge for people from the other world and my base of operations.

Shaina, whom I protected earlier, must have entered this stone chamber at some point.

One of the Karakuri soldiers nodded at my question.

“I see. Thank you.”

I slipped past the Karakuri soldiers and opened the door at the back of the stone chamber.

This door is the same type found in the boss rooms of normal dungeons, and it’s not easy to break down.

Behind the door is a small square room.

In addition to the Karakuri soldiers standing at the four corners, one of the mini-slimes I created―Lachesis―was standing in front of the portal on the raised platform at the back of the room.

Lachesis jumped up and down when he saw me enter the room.

“Was there nothing?”

I know it’s not necessary to ask, but… well, it’s all part of the communication.

I nod at Lachesis, who is shaking.

Atropos, who is on my shoulder, Lachesis, and Clotho, who is currently on duty, are primarily responsible for protecting the Blue Portal.

I used to have one of these at my parent’s house, but I’ve switched to a different size.

If someone tries to use my parents as hostages against me or tries to harm them as a threat, I would be ready to intercept them.

Of course, the other party is this country itself.

There may be ways to exert pressure that I can’t even imagine, and I can’t say for sure that they’re completely safe.

If things get really bad, I’ll protect them directly, but my parents also have a social life. Even if they’re physically safe, living a life completely cut off from the world will cause problems in other ways.

After stroking Lachesis’s head (?), I jumped into the blue portal on the stage.

After a moment of dizziness, I appeared in a large domed room.

It must be about the size of the Tokyo Dome. The bare earth on the walls is rather desolate, so they’re covered with cobalt blue tiles.

A large, clear blue crystal floats in the center of the dome, which is shaped like a perfect hemisphere.

The crystal, with its beautiful crystalline structure, looks like something you’d see on the title screen of a famous role-playing game. It slowly rotates on its side as it floats in the air.

“It’s grown a lot.”

I muttered as I looked up at the crystal.

The crystal was about 3 or 4 meters long.

The crystal in front of me is the result of extracting pure energy from the resources I collected―things like DP, MP, mana coins, and unnecessary items―and crystallizing them.

It doesn’t have a name, but I call it the Escape Crystal.

The blue portal―the Escape Portal―is also a source of power for this crystal because the feeling of being “saved” by those who have escaped through it also gives it power.

When the souls of those crushed by despair create dungeons, the energy corresponding to the energy saved from despair must have disappeared.

This crystal stores that energy.

Of course, it’s not as simple as that.

If you look down from the crystal and look at the ground, you’ll see a complex and detailed magic circle drawn on the ground.

I couldn’t have drawn such a large magic circle with the Magic Circle skill alone.

So what did I do? I borrowed the help of others.

I can correspond with “me” in the job world through the Item Box we share.

I asked Sayuki in the job world to monitor the magic circle.

Once I know the pattern I need to draw, my Magic Circle skill will be enough to get the job done.

“According to the calculations, this crystal should be about half the size of the dome.”

What do I need?

Let’s keep that a secret for now.

Let’s just say that I have a secret plan to turn the situation around.

“Yuto-san!”

Honoka-chan appeared from the outer rim of the dome.

At her side was the Princess of Erythusia, Shaina-Reze, whom I had just saved.

Honoka-chan ran up to me and said,

“I was worried about you getting home so late.”

“Sorry, I had some business to take care of.”

I won’t mention that I was attacked by a Russian with a unique skill on the surface.

It would only worry her.

By the way, I’ve already turned the Russian, Mikhail Uspensky, over to the appropriate person.

The people on the surface aren’t all my enemies.

I’ve freed the people I think I can trust from Tozaki’s “strategy” using Force Release, told them what’s going on, and asked them to cooperate.

As for the “people I think I can trust” part, I’m just following Serika and Haitani-san’s advice.

The person I turned Uspensky over to was a police officer, and he said he was in a department that could not reveal its affiliation.

Uspensky’s title was a frightening one: “Counselor at the Russian Embassy, Head of the Tokyo Branch of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service. ” It appears that he was essentially the control tower for Russian espionage activities in Japan.

He said that it would be difficult to punish him legally because the victim (i.e., me) couldn’t come forward, but that in the current atmosphere in Japan, some kind of action would be taken without hesitation.

At present, many people in this country are suspicious and afraid that other countries might try to invade to open a gate to another world.

As a result, the wind blowing against people suspected of being spies seems to be much harsher than it was a generation ago.

And then there’s the counterintelligence law that former Prime Minister Orimura passed before he resigned.

But that doesn’t mean I feel sorry for Uspensky.

He used his unique skill, Storyteller, to try to trap my spirit in a world of delusion.

In a way, he was almost making me suffer worse than he was killing me, so I couldn’t bring myself to ask that he be treated gently.

When I looked back through the history of Storyteller’s use, I found that there were other victims.

I used the Force Release function in the history, but I don’t know if the people who have been trapped in the delusional world for a long time are safe.

There’s no need to worry Honoka-chan, who has a lot of worries, by telling her something like that.

“How are you, Shaina-san? Are you tired or injured in any way?”

“I am exhausted, but I am not injured.”

Shaina answers with a firm voice.

“Do you have your translation stone yet?”

“Translation stone…?”

Oh, sorry, you don’t have it yet.”

Honoka-chan says to Shaina, who tilts her head.

Honoka-chan takes a blue gem out of her Item Box and says, “Here, take it.”

“I want you to have this stone. You can choose between a pendant and a bracelet; which one do you want?”

“What is this stone?”

“It’s a magic stone that has the effect of Translation skill. The Freedom Contract Collar has a basic translation function, but you don’t want to wear something like that all the time, do you?”

I think a pendant would be less annoying, but since they were forced to wear the collar before, they might be reluctant to wear something around their neck.

With that in mind, we also prepared a bracelet-like stone.

Well, I prepared the stone, but the people in the production department prepared the pendant and the bracelet, and Honoka-chan said it would be better to have a bracelet as well as a pendant.

I’d like to make these stones smaller and make them into rings, but if I’m thinking about making something that will hold its magic power for a certain amount of time, then it’s necessary to make them a certain size.

If I use a higher-purity magic stone as the material, it’s not impossible, but the growth of the Escape crystals will slow down.

“A-a translation magic tool…? Such an expensive thing?”

“It’s even on the collar.”

“This is really just a simple device, and all it does is amplify and communicate emotions.”

“It seems like you communicate quite well, Shaina-san…”

“I’ve been studying Japanese separately from the magic device.”

In fact, the government’s program for accepting people from the other world includes short-term Japanese lessons.

It is said that combined with the simple translation of the collar, it is possible to communicate during exploration.

However, it seems that more complex everyday conversations are difficult, and I hear that frequent problems result from communication difficulties.

“Shaina-san is so talented. Wow, was that rude to the court magician?”

“No, you are my savior. Whatever you do with my life is up to you.”

“I respect the culture of the other world, but I’d rather you didn’t. I’m just doing what I can, and I’m not looking for gratitude.

If anything, I’d rather people not feel indebted to me all the time. It’s a nuisance.

The fact that I feel stifled when close human relationships develop based on feelings of gratitude and indebtedness is probably the limit of my experience as a former shut-in.

“I am deeply moved. What a noble aspiration. There are heroes in this world, aren’t there?”

“Stop it. I’m not the hero type.”

“But it would be cruel not to return such a favor. Is there anything I can do?”

“Well… you’re the princess of Erythusia and a court mage, so I’m sure there are many things you’d like to consult about. But first, you have to get used to life here.”

“Here…?”

“Honoka-chan, have you shown her around the asylum yet?”

“I’m sorry, I haven’t. I’m worried because Yuto-san hasn’t come back yet…”

“Ah, that’s right.”

I got stuck with Harukawamiya Hayato.

Of course, Honoka-chan is worried about me, so she can’t be bothered to show Shaina around.

“In that case, let’s show her around the asylum first. We can’t talk about anything else until she knows this place.”

If you like my translations, please support me on Ko-Fi and subscribe my Patreon to read several chapters ahead!