It all happenedââââ
[Fo fo fo! Nothing stands between us now! Let us discuss your thoughts on Miraâs future with swords! Mad Emperor!]
ââ-just as this one was about to take the Imperial Throne.
For this one, it was certainly a surprise.
An insignificant being.
An existence that could never be a threat to this one.
An extremely weak being.
Who would care about a roadside stone over which one held no fear of tripping?
It was right in front of our destination that she had been eagerly waiting.
Her existence does not fit where she stands.
A carefree attitude unbefitting this stage before the decisive battle.
It was as if she was but taking a normal stroll.
No nervousness.
No fear.
Disproportionateâââ- She was out of place.
A girl who seemed to have appeared behind a pillar.
The girl then shortly strolled before me.
Thereupon, in a manner as if she was casually greeting someone her equal, the girl touched this one.
[ââââ ââââ]
(T/N: The Queenâs Weakening Touch / Queen Bee)
[ ? What is it, young ladyâ¦â¦, â¦â¦!?]
A feeling of discomfort.
The sensation of power draining out of me descended on this oneâs entire body.
To express it in another way, it was as if I had âregressedâ to a long time agoâ¦â¦
This feeling reminds me of a distant memoryâ¦â¦
It was just like that time I had not become the Emperor yetââââ
[And ââââ Ohh, it was effective huh. Seems like it was a success. Umu, just like the experiment we did before, the effects do stack. Onya? Somehowâ¦â¦ Doesnât it seem like youâre becoming less intimidating, Exiled Emperor-sanya? Guess that means my âstingerâ is working properly, right?]
(T/N: Focused Weakening / Queen Bee)
[What didâ¦â¦ you do to me, young lady?]
[Now then, the question here is what will Asagi-chan do to you now!? I have one minute! â¦â¦Kobato-chaaaaaan.]
[Ah, unnnâ¦â¦]
As the girl called out, another girl appeared behind a pillar.
Unlike the girl who had touched this one earlier, she seemed to be a cowardly girl.
[Ahhâ¦â¦ Please leave Asagi-san and everyoneâs status management to meâ¦â¦! Itâs alright!]
Suddenly, an emotion overtook this oneâs entire body.
This wasâ¦â¦ anxiety.
I wonder when was it that I last felt such an emotion?
I think it was when I was unreliableâ¦â¦
Extremely unreliable.
[This isâ¦â¦? Mhmm?]
Behind the pillars, girls of about the same age also began appearing.
All of them are beings that I would not have taken a notice of in the past.
They were just beings this one would never have felt more than âtheyâre thereâ.
I didnât care who was behind the pillars.
None of them had the presence of a potential threat.
There shouldnât have been anyone who was a threat.
[Welcome to our worldââââ the world of the weak!]
The expression on the face of the girl who touched this oneâ¦â¦
For a moment, this one feels as if what was reflected before my eyes is something other than a human.
For this one could tellâ¦â¦
The expression she had just nowâ¦â¦
Those eyes she hadâ¦â¦ They were the eyes of one who does not recognize a human as one.
Thereupon, the girl gives an order that is too listless to be an order.
[Well then, itâs time for a beating!]
Anyhow.
The cause of this feeling of powerlessness is no doubt this young girl who just gave the order.
[Young ladyâ¦â¦ This is your doing, isnât it?]
[Hyiiih, someone help meeeehhh~~]
This one quickly brandished my sword to the side to finish off the girl.
Kiiin!
However, it was blocked by one of the armed girls, intervening from the side. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
For such a little girl to block my attackâ¦â¦
It was too obvious how much I had weakened.
My speed.
My strength.
Everything had unusually weakened.
[Ohh, thank you for saving me, Atsukooo~~! I love ya!]
[No, even though you could actually see what heâs doing yourself, youâre still acting scared like thatâ¦â¦ But wellâââ-]
The girl named Atsuko fought back.
Sheâs fast.
[Nghh!?]
Before I knew it, I had been slashed.
[Whatâ¦â¦ is this?]
Iâm not even able to defend myself in time huh.
Astonished by this weakness, I involuntarily looked at my handsâ¦â¦
[Nyufufun, you see, the you right nowâ¦â¦ have the same status as I do. Including the status correction value, that is. And since I added a debuff on top of thatâ¦â¦ In terms of status, the current Zera-chanya is weaker than me.]
[ ! I see, young ladyâ¦â¦ That face, that flippant and fickle personalityâ¦â¦ Youâre Asagi Ikusaba!]
[Oryo? You know about me? Did you hear about me from Vysis-chin?]
[So you have sided with Mira huhâ¦â¦]
[Ahh, Zine-chin.]
Without turning around, Asagi spoke.
[Asagi-chan thinks it would be better to kill this guy. If the effect of my inherent skill wears off, heâd be unstoppable. As expected, without the debuffs, this grandpa is just too strong.]
Keeping a cool-headed expression on his face, Zine responded.
[Very well.]
The expression on Zineâs faceâ¦â¦
It was as if he didnât care about me at all.
[ ! Zineâ¦â¦]
[When you, my trump card, said youâd wait behind the pillars in case of emergency, I wondered what was going onâ¦â¦ but in the end, such a decision may have saved me, Asagi Ikusaba.]
[Well~~ Even though we may be the trump card, if Zine-chin died, we would have no one to turn to, you know? Well, if Zine-chin hadnât âcharmedâ this grandpa so much, I wouldnât have been able to carefreely come out, you know? Geez, this grandpa sure is completely charmed by his descendant?]
[This normality even in this situationâ¦â¦ I donât know if I should say youâre great or youâre brokenâ¦â¦]
[Look at me, Zine!]
Slightly tilting his head, Zine turns towards meâ¦â¦ as if he was looking at an insect.
[â¦â¦Hmph. You and I, talk about Miraâs future? Stop talking nonsenseâ¦â¦ I have no time to talk with you. As a pitiful weak man lost in the world, you may die this time with regret in your heart. I will at least see to it that you do.]
[Zineâ¦â¦!]
[I donât know what you were expecting from me. And I donât want to know what you wanted to discuss with me. Zeraâ¦â¦ Your time has âcome to an endâ. You have been defeated. Accept your end with open arms.]
At that moment, with her gaze kept on me the whole time, Asagi declared.
[Alrighty, we got the permission! Well thenâ¦â¦ Beat him to death! Here, an extra ! This status difference canât be overturned! Nyahaha, everyone, charge!]
(T/N: Group Enhancement / Queen Bee)
The armed girls surrounded me.
Offensive Techniques began flying in.
[Nghh!? For me to be unable to block techniques this meagerâ¦â¦]
[I wonder if weâll get some EXP from him? He had golden eyes, so weâd probably get someâ¦â¦ If possible, Atsuko, can you deal the last hit? If I get stronger here, we wonât be able to continue with this strat.]
I kept on brandishing my sword around me, as if this one was brushing away annoying bugs.
However, these girls swarmed in one after another, blocking my swordâ¦â¦
Just like the annoying bugs they are.
[Wahaha, itâs a group battle, just as the Drunken Sword Party had taught us! Have your fill with everyoneâs attacks! Enjoy!]
These girls have no technieu, but their basic physical abilities are overwhelming me.
Fear.
Being outnumbered by beings stronger than youâââ- is something this one didnât know could be so terrifying.
[Nghhâ¦â¦ Grahhhh!?]
Zakk! Zubaa! Zakk, zakk! Zashu! Supaaa!
[Ohh, nasty, nasty. This is just too nasty for a pictureâ¦â¦ Hyiii, this just looks terrible. Too terrible. Iâm sorry, okay? Exiled Emperor-san? We donât really have a grudge against you, but weâll have you die hereâ¦â¦ Amen to that, yeah?]
White bodily fluids mixed with the redness of my blood danced in the air without pause.
Even at that moment, Zine looked down on me with a completely disinterested look in his face.
[Zineâ¦â¦ W- Weâ¦.. arenât doneâ¦â¦ yetâ¦â¦ We still havenâtâ¦â¦ discussed Miraâs mattersâ¦â¦ discussed about meâ¦â¦ C- Could you at leastâ¦â¦ Nghh!? Iâm disappearingâ¦â¦? My soul powerâ¦â¦ Not like thisâ¦â¦ My final momentsâ¦â¦ unsuitably interruptedâ¦â¦ Young ladyâ¦â¦ Gruoooohhhh!]
Zashu! Zakk, zakk,zakk,zakk! Zakk, zakk,zakk,zakk, zakk,zakk,zakk, zakk! Zashu, zashuâââ- Zshaaaaak!
After this, around 12 mn, the final chapter of Volume 9 will be updated.