Chapter 454: O Dragon, O Dragon! Part 31

Author's Preface

Uhm, within this year... uhm, am I going to be okay? (Talking to myself)

"Just asking by the way, I'm tagging along mostly on momentum here, but do you actually have a chance of winning against Siegwurm?"

"Well... through personal connections... well, let's just say I've heard some things from an expert."

"Oh?"

I won't drop Vash's name, but sharing this information is probably necessary.Well ultimately, even without this information, we'd manage somehow, but...

"Siegwurm is an artificial dragon made entirely of something like magic that kills magic? Built around a reactor core... something like a core. So ultimately, he's the type of enemy you can't just beat normally."

"...If that became widely known, the number of people trying to defeat Siegwurm would drastically plummet, so you kept quiet about it?"

"Wrong, I'm not done talking. According to the expert, there are two ways to halt his activity. One is to make him use up his magic until he can't move anymore... basically, gas him out. And the other is to pierce the reverse scale of a 'desperate' Siegwurm."

"Desperate... basically like a final form?"

"Probably, and there's only one way to get Siegwurm in that mood."

And the answer to that had been here from the very beginning... Ah, right, from the exact moment Siegwurm appeared at this frontline base, he had already deployed his golden gravity zone.

"Roleplay. Raising his tension through heroic actions... that's the strategy to beat this Unique."

"Well, that's..."

It sounds simple but is actually difficult, yet absolutely not impossible. And knowing this condition while evaluating the current situation, you start to notice certain people making strangely suspicious moves.

"Is something the matter?"

"No? Nothing at all."

The Shining Knights of the Holy Shield (Saint-chan Imperial Guard) are hardcore roleplayers. And if people who refuse to budge from protecting Saint-chan even in the middle of an EX Scenario get involved... at the very least, just having Josette, the "Defense Holder," participate in the battle should mean the B.I.G. evaluation won't go negative.
Did the AI figure that out and act accordingly? Is it even capable of doing that? No, it actually feels like it could...

Perhaps vaguely sensing my thoughts, Josette didn't say anything. As long as she continued her roleplay, she clearly had no intention of leaving Saint-chan's side.
Standing quietly amidst the battlefield, Saint-chan smiled serenely, extending her slender arm and pointing a finger at Siegwurm.

"I came here because I had something to ask the Dragon King... but it seems I now have something to ask of that Black Dragon as well. Josette, will you protect me from Siegwurm during that time?"

"If it is your order."

"Then, let it be so. Sunraku-sama, Yashirobird-sama... and Saina-sama, is this acceptable?"

"I was planning to go smack him down from the start, so nothing's changed."

"I followed along on momentum, but my clan's objective is targeting Siegwurm anyway, so... ahem, understood, Saint-sama."

"There are no changes to the mission execution parameters."

In response to the confirmation from the important NPC, everyone gave their respective answers.
It's an impromptu party, but pick-up groups are a totally standard element in online games. As long as everyone is looking in the same direction, things will work themselves out.

"Alright, time to rai─."

"Ah, please wait a moment, Sunraku-sama."

"d!?"

Are we killing the momentum right here?! Isn't this the part where we charge in while shrieking bizarre cries like mad warriors?! We're totally cutting out this lame scene, you idiot.

"No, I still have yet to thank you for granting my wish previously... allow me to offer some small assistance to you who throws himself into battle."

"And that would be?"

"Those scars were carved into you by the Emperor of the Night along with intense emotion... A prayer from someone like me could never hope to overcome it... but even so, I can pacify the lingering shadow of those raging fangs for just a brief moment."

Press. Saint-chan's finger touched the savage, tattoo-like scars running across my torso. In the background, Josette is making a face like a Hannya demon, so I'd really appreciate it if you spared me, or rather, it feels like I might need to start drafting a Beg For Life command right now. Whether she knew this or not, Saint-chan stared earnestly at my scars with a serious expression.

"───O Wolf King of the Night Raid who permits none to conceal your proof, please, for just this brief moment, grant this warrior the absolution to don his armor... 【────】"

At that moment, not even I, at point-blank range, could catch what Saint-chan said. But I knew what happened.

"Whoa."

From the tips of Saint-chan's fingers touching me, some kind of light crawled out across my body. Visually, it was a pretty questionable sight, but it didn't have any sticky, tentacle-like feeling. When the light settled, a mysterious pattern—like flowers intertwined with chains—had spread out, covering over Lycaon's Scars.

"For just a brief moment, a fleeting time until this dragon calamity ends, I have sealed the influence brought about by these scars. However, at the same time, I had no choice but to seal the blessings granted by these scars as well..."

"No, no, this is excellent. This is absolutely wonderful, where do I drop my donation?"

Who was the guy treating her like some suspiciously strong character just a moment ago? I'll punch him for you. But unfortunately, I don't happen to have a time machine on hand, so I'll just lower my fist for now.

Temporarily nullifying the Scars?! To say that's a long-held dream of mine is an understatement. The fact that the visual appearance has taken on a floral vibe makes it feel even more perverse—or to put it mildly, straight-up perverted—but at this exact moment, I couldn't care less about what's happening to my bare skin.

"What is this... the feeling of having beaten the game, just from the sheer fact that I can put on armor without it breaking...!!"

I don't really get it, but my tension is skyrocketing! I've got no choice but to bust out my best outfit right now, have I?!

Countless encounters, countless defeats, and then victory. The fact that I was able to wholesale a massive amount of scorpion materials to the "Golden Scale" trading company wasn't solely by my own power.
Scorpions are my best buds, but among them, the one I'm particularly close with... specifically, because we're both belligerent, I'd go beat it down on sight: the cannibal scorpion. If Siegwurm is the sole, unique gold among Unique Monsters, this is a rare gold that shines under the light of the moon.

Using an abundance of those materials, I had dreamed of the day I would finally wear it while it slept continuously inside my Inventoria... This armor───!!

"Whoa, that looks ridiculously flashy."

"Behold, the 'Exile Cloth' series, crafted from the materials of the Golden Scorpion!"

According to Bilac, the base is a golden cloth made via the secret technique of a Catzerian jeweler—who "for some reason" accepted the request incredibly smoothly—to weave minerals and cloth together, generously utilizing a bunch of materials obtained from all sorts of terrible ideas to make a black and gold... well, it's clothes.

I mean, I had no choice! When I told Bilac, "Basically I don't care about defense, just make it as easy to move in as possible!", she arbitrarily flipped out and seriously just made me armor that looks like a long-sleeved shirt and jeans!!
I mean, sure, there are protector-like armored bits in crucial spots! But the overall silhouette completely gives off the vibe of "How to spend a slightly chilly day off"!!

"It just looks like clothes to me..."

"Just so you know, the equipment VIT is higher than a poorly made suit of heavy armor."

"What kind of materials are you using?"

"A bunch of rare materials from the Goldie Scorpion and various rare ores. Just selling off the materials used would probably fetch you around two hundred million Mani, wouldn't it?"

"Two hundred million."

"Haaah... to think this is worth that much..."

I obviously couldn't muster the resolve to actually use this and wear it down, so I had stashed it in the back of my closet (Inventoria)... but if I don't have to fear the Scars, then I'll use it as my Sunday best.

"If I just throw on the Star Cloak of Lapistella over it, doesn't it kind of give off a warrior vibe?"

"...If you squint hard enough?"

"Well, with a face like that, no one's gonna mistake you for a normal citizen anyway."

"Alrighty then, let's go raid this place for real this time!!"

With a gupoon, I let the iron mask modeled after eight eyes shine, and set off into the fray, fair and square.

...Wait, didn't I just change from an exhibitionist to a suspicious person?

Author's Afterword
Saint-chan played it off casually, but you'll find out what exactly she did in the next chapter.