Routier frowned deeply. “Leaving him here would be dangerous. What if he causes more trouble?”
“Then, should we just kill him? I mean, my attacks didn’t work, so we’d have to ask the glutton to do it.”
“Hey. Why should I have to go through the trouble—”
“There’s unknown food in it for you.”
“I’ll crush his skull right now.”
“Waaait!! Stop right there!” I barely managed to stop Lulune, who’d been tempted by Origa’s bait and was already charging toward the cultist, brimming with enthusiasm. “We should take him to Landzelf-san and have him dig deeper into the Cult of the Wicked One. Last time those cultists attacked, the Apostle was taken away by someone else before we could question him.”
“Oh, right… Now that you mention it, after Seiichi disappeared, we brought that guy Destora to the king, too. This is probably a good idea.”
“But… this guy’s power is the real deal. What if he wakes up while we’re transporting him?”
“That’s where Seiichi comes in. He can just neutralize his ability, right?”
“Then we’re safe.”
“Wait, we’re just assuming I can do that?!”
No, I mean… I get it! It’s better if he doesn’t have that kind of terrifying power in the first place, but still!
Saria tilted her head, puzzled by my reaction, and spoke with innocent curiosity.
“You can do it, Seiichi. Right?”
Yeah, yeah!
“I do not appreciate that kind of confidence!”
The moment Saria said it, everyone nodded in agreement. Which… only made it worse! That’s basically just saying I’m not even human anymore, isn’t it?!
And where did they get the idea that just because they could do it, I could too? When did we decide I operated under the same logic as everyone else? There’s no way it would just work like that!
>Skill: Synchronization has been activated. This time, the skill has synchronized with nearby stones as the base medium. Target: Vitor. Status: Synchronization successful.
“Wait, seriously?!”
And that’s the result?!
So that guy just got synced with a rock?! One of the random pebbles lying around?! From executive officer of the Cult of the Wicked One, to a literal stone?!
I mean, I can’t even begin to imagine what kind of stats a rock has. He probably can’t even talk anymore. Then again… maybe he can? Either way, all his powers are gone. No more special abilities, no spells, no skills; just a rock’s status now. Not that I’ve ever checked what that is.
Al must’ve picked up on the absurdity of the situation from my outburst, because he shot me a half-lidded glare full of suspicion.
“I don’t know what just happened, but, did one of your busted Skills go off again?”
“Uh, well… kinda. That cultist over there? From the Cult of the Wicked One? My Skill synced him with a rock or something, so now it looks like he can’t use any of his abilities.”
“What the hell are you even talking about?”
That’s exactly what I want to know!
Seriously, the same status as a rock? I can’t believe those words actually came out of my mouth. I’d be laughing if I weren’t the one saying them.
“A-Anyway! Looks like he’s powerless now, so I’m gonna go drop him off with Landzelf-san real quick!”
“Wait, hey!”
I didn’t give him a chance to stop me. If I let this conversation drag on, it was only going to cement the idea that I wasn’t even human anymore. So, before anyone could say another word, I hoisted the limp man off the ground and cast my teleportation spell, vanishing in an instant and reappearing in the royal capital, Terbelle.
Technically, I could’ve teleported directly into the royal castle… but yeah, that definitely would have crossed the line. I’m pretty sure that counts as trespassing. And besides, Landzelf is the king. I may be getting desensitized to a lot of things, but even I know better than to just drop in on royalty unannounced.
Still, walking through the city with a grown man slung over my shoulder wasn’t exactly subtle.
“After him! Don’t let that maniac get away!”
“Aha ha ha! Gentlemen, weighed down by your heavy armor. Do you truly believe you can defeat me? Come now! Show yourselves before the truth!”
“Shut up, you damn pervert! Today’s the day you go down!”
“C-Captain! A suspicious man is trying to talk to little girls in the plaza!”
“Aaaaaargh! Why is everyone unhinged today?!”
Yeah, maybe I was fine.
Compared to those guys, I barely registered on the threat scale. The city guards were already doing their best to chase down far more troubling individuals. Honestly, good for them. It’s almost heartwarming. Yep, looks like another peaceful day in the kingdom.
Feeling weirdly reassured by that, I finally arrived at the royal castle. And, for some reason… the guards just let me walk in. No questions. No checks.
Wait, really?
I mean, yeah, I just said things seemed peaceful, but come on, that’s all it takes to get into the palace?
Still scratching my head over it, I spotted someone running toward me from deeper inside the grounds. It was Louisse, looking worried.
“Teacher! What’s going on?”
“Oh, ran into what looked like a high-ranking guy from the Cult of the Wicked One while I was out. Lulune already took him down, so I brought him back.”
“I-I see… But if he’s really an executive, restraining him must’ve been incredibly difficult.”
“Nah, it’s fine. My skill synced him with a rock or something. His status is basically… stone-level now.”
“As expected of you, Teacher. You exist in a realm far beyond my understanding!”
HA HA HA! Same here! I’ve got no clue what’s going on either!
With a far-off look in her eyes, Louisse called over a few guards, and I handed off the limp cultist to them. As they carried him away, I glanced back at the entrance, still wondering about how I got in so easily.
“Come to think of it, when I got here, I just walked right into the castle. Nobody stopped me. Is that… normal?”
“Oh, that’s because of who you are, Teacher.”
“That doesn’t even start to address the question!!”
“But it is a valid reason, Teacher,” Louisse said with complete sincerity. “First of all, every soldier stationed in this castle knows who you are. And if, hypothetically, you were to go on a rampage, well… we’d have no choice but to give up.”
“Wait, what?! You’re telling me they let me through because they’ve already given up on stopping me?! I wouldn’t rampage in the first place! And even if I did, you should still try to stop me!”
“At the very least,” she continued, unfazed, “we know that anyone capable of reducing someone’s status to that of a rock… is far beyond our ability to handle.”
“Yeah… I’ve got nothing to say to that.”
Louisse wasn’t wrong. Not even a little.
And once again, I’m being treated like I’m not even human…
Unable to take any more of this weird, respectful fear, I made a quick exit. With a flash of magic, I activated my teleportation spell and returned to where Al and the others were waiting.