Chapter 86 - The assassin discovers Tarte’s power
Translator: VALIANT
After we finished checking out Dia’s skills, it was finally Tarte’s turn.
I already thought Dia was amazing, but her skills were just as impressive. They worked nicely with the skills I gave her through【My Loyal Knights】.
And as for Tarte’s…
[My skills are so cool!] (Tarte)
[Rather than cool, I’d say they’re appropriate for you.] (Lugh)
[Yeah, they kinda suit you so perfectly it’s almost scary.] (Dia)
The three of us took a look at her appraisal sheet.
Except for the ones I granted her through【My Loyal Knights】, her skills were written as follows.
?【Squire’s Devotion】
A-rank.
Can be activated by making a contract with an individual that the user has acknowledged as their master from the bottom of their soul.
The contract is made by confirming the master-servant relationship after direct mucous membrane contact, and accepting it. The contract will fail if the other party is not acknowledged by the user’s soul. Changing masters is impossible.
While this ability is active, every ability of both the user and the master is enhanced. Additionally, should the master die, the user can revive and heal them in exchange for their own life.
?【Spearmanship】
C-rank.
Enhances the user’s physical abilities when equipped with a spear, as well as the power, speed, and accuracy of spear attacks.
?【Effort】
D-rank.
Grants the user with a talent for effort, a personality inclined to hard work, and easy recovery of concentration and mental strength.
[【Squire’s Devotion】. It would work just fine with a member of the opposite sex, but how would this go with someone of the same sex…?] (Lugh)
[It would still work between two men.] (Dia)
[You’re not wrong, but…] (Lugh)
…This is another skill you can’t activate unless you know how to do it.
After all, this wouldn’t work unless you had a deep relationship with the one you recognized as your master to begin with.
And I couldn’t think of any kind of situation where one would bother to confirm that a master-servant relationship had been established after doing that sort of thing.
[Um, Lugh-sama, we should use this skill immediately! Because it would make us both stronger together!] (Tarte)
Tarte was looking at me with her eyes full of hope.
It’s true that while the conditions were strict, a skill that enhanced all the abilities of two people was extraordinary.
But the reason it stood out so much among the other A-rank skills was because it was disposable.
Once you had designated someone as your master, you couldn’t choose anybody else. If your master died or you cut ties with them, the skill would become completely dead at that point.
Also, the fact that the enhancement didn’t last constantly, but only during activation was also a bad point.
That’s why it was treated as an A-rank skill, unlike【My Loyal Knights】.
[Tarte, you have to promise me one thing. You should actively enhance all your abilities.] (Lugh)
Although we needed to verify the strength and mana consumption at the time of and during activation, it wasn’t a bad idea to use it.
However…
[That last part. The one about how you could save my life in exchange for your own. Promise me you’ll never use that ability.] (Lugh)
No doubt that last part was the main point of this skill, given the name.
But I didn’t want her to use that.
[…My deepest apologies. But I cannot promise you that. Because if the need ever arises, I will not hesitate to use it. I cannot lie to you about this.] (Tarte)
Tarte hung her head.
[In that case, I can’t accept the contract.] (Lugh)
Tarte was no longer just a tool. I didn’t need a skill that required me to sacrifice my family.
[Lugh, isn’t that a little weird?] (Dia)
[What’s weird?] (Lugh)
[The fact that you don’t want to make use of this skill because you don’t want to sacrifice Tarte. That means you’ll use it only when you die. Are you planning to die?] (Dia)
[Of course not.] (Lugh)
[Then there’s nothing to worry about.【Squire’s Devotion】will make you stronger and less likely to die, right? It’s weird that although you don’t want to die, thinking about what would happen after your death makes you more likely to die.] (Dia)
She sure said a lot.
But it did make sense.
[Lugh-sama!] (Tarte)
When I turned my attention to Tarte, she was staring at me with a determined look. Then, she put her hands on the back of my neck and forcibly locked her lips with mine. She gave me an adult kiss.
I could’ve avoided it if I wanted to.
But when I saw the look on Tarte’s face, I lost the will to dodge.
Then, the long kiss ended.
[Please be my master. And then, please don’t die so as not to let me die. Even without this skill, if you died, I would die too.] (Tarte)
“Please don’t die so as not to let me die”, huh.
…That’s not fair. If you tell me something like that, then how can I get out of this?
[Alright. Then I ask you once again. I want you to be my squire.] (Lugh)
The moment I said those words, Tarte’s soul and mine were united by something hot.
A master-servant bond. It firmly tied us together.
I could feel Tarte in my soul.
[Lugh-sama, I can feel you flowing into me. I feel like I can use this skill now.【Squire’s Devotion】!] (Tarte)
Tarte activated her skill.
At that same moment, I began to feel her presence more strongly.
I could feel my physical abilities, mana, kinetic vision, reflexes, thinking ability, calculating ability, and every other ability improving.
[I… I feel stronger. Also, I feel so close to you, it puts me at ease. I wish this could last forever.] (Tarte)
[Yeah, it’s a pleasant feeling.] (Lugh)
It wasn’t just power. I could feel Tarte’s feelings being conveyed to me.
…No, this was beyond that kind of level. I could actually hear what Tarte was thinking.
『Was it too daring of me to kiss him like that? What if Lugh-sama thinks of me as a lewd girl because of that? But it felt really good. I want to do it again. I feel so hot from kissing him. I think I’ll go to his room lat— …Huh? I can hear Lugh-sama thinking ‘I can hear everything’? What the…? Eh? Eh? Huh? Ah, so you would like a meat dish for dinner? Yes, certa— WAITWHAAAAAAAATTT!?』(Tarte)
It appears that we can overhear each other’s thoughts when this ability is active.
In that case, let’s try one more experiment.
『Tarte, if you can hear my thoughts, raise your right hand.』
『Tarte, if you can hear my thoughts, kiss me again.』
I ran those two thoughts in parallel.
Tarte raised her right hand.
But she didn’t kiss me.
I see, the superficial thoughts are shared, but not the deeper thoughts.
Assassins used different thoughts and memories on the outside and on the inside as a countermeasure against torture and truth serum.
Even if the latter was used, the inquisitors would only be able to dig up the outer layer of truths, not the deeper layer.
This was a technique that could be mastered with special training.
…It seems that with this skill, the thoughts you don’t want others to hear can’t be heard.
On the other hand, Tarte’s face turned deep red and was blowing smoke.
『Uugghh…! How embarrassing… I need to stop having creepy thoughts. Especially the naughty ones— But wait! He can hear me trying not to have dirty thoughts right now! That’s also embarrassing. I should stop thinking about not having perverted thoughts, and just focus on Lugh-sama’s pectoral musc— Wait no, this doesn’t work. The more I try not to think about that, the more my head is filled with— Aaaaahhh…!』(Tarte)
This power seemed to be dangerous for Tarte.
Though in my opinion, it was an interesting one.
Besides, it still had its advantages. Being able to use telepathy was convenient.
Real-time communication was a huge plus when working in tandem.
It could also be used for secret conversations.
[Lugh, you’ve been smirking for the past while now.] (Dia)
[I just find Tarte so funny.] (Lugh)
And so adorable.
[Tarte, do you feel tired when you activate this power?] (Lugh)
[Eh? N-No, I don’t feel tired at all.] (Tarte)
[I see, in that case, let’s continue the experiment.] (Lugh)
Now that she’s activated her power, we should try out some things.
First, I determined the area of effect.
When I moved away, the connection was cut off at about 200 meters.
Even when I turned back, the connection wasn’t automatically reestablished.
Tarte tried to activate the skill again, but it didn’t work.
So I suggested that she try to use it again every minute. It seemed to be the kind of skill that couldn’t be reactivated for a while after every use. I wanted to know how long the interval was.
[Um, Lugh-sama, I’m sorry for having so many inappropriate thoughts.] (Tarte)
[It’s okay, they were cute to hear. But you know, you should work a little harder on your mental training. So you can clear away any idle thoughts, that is.] (Lugh)
[Yes, sir! I will do my best!] (Tarte)
Whenever she was fighting, she could display excellent concentration, but not being able to do that at any time was a problem.
[Your remaining skills are【Spearmanship】and【Effort】, huh. Both of them are easy to use.] (Lugh)
[I always thought Tarte’s spearmanship was awesome, but I didn’t think it was a skill.] (Dia)
When I selected【Martial Arts】as my C-rank skill, I was putting emphasis on versatility, that is to say, the ability to properly use every kind of weapon, but if we were talking about using one specific weapon, then her skill was stronger than mine.
[Yes! I think I can have more confidence in my spearmanship from now on! And if I have the skill called【Effort】, then I need to work harder and harder. Because I can put in even more effort than others!] (Tarte)
I know Tarte would’ve still been a go-getter even if she didn’t have such a skill.
[What will you do from now on? Since you have the【Spearmanship】skill, you might want to stop training with guns and focus only on your spear.] (Lugh)
[Not at all. Guns are convenient to use on the spur of the moment. Like this, when it’s in my pocket!] (Tarte)
Tarte flipped up her skirt, pulled out a pistol set in a holster on her thigh, and held it up.
Fast and fluid. A quick draw at light speed.
You could see the effort that went into it.
[With your speed, it makes for a fine weapon.] (Lugh)
[Yes, if I am up against a spearman, I just have to reach for my pocket and fire at them. Also, it’s much faster than assembling my spear, which comes in handy when a battle suddenly breaks out.] (Tarte)
Her pistol had a short range, but it was easy to handle. It could be used for such feats.
[Hey Lugh, her skill activates itself when she uses a spear, right? In that case, why don’t you make her a spear that can shoot like a gun?] (Dia)
[Would that still count as a spear? …It’s not unfeasible. Alright, let’s give it a shot.] (Lugh)
This concept was exceedingly close to that of a bayonet.
The only thing was that if she used a weapon like that, rather than focusing on her spear and reaching for the gun in her pocket, she would be switching between the gun for long-range fights, and the spear for close-range ones.
[Please, by all means!] (Tarte)
[Don’t get your hopes too high. It’ll be impossible to make it foldable like your current spear, the structure would be too fragile. So its performance as a spear won’t be that great.] (Lugh)
[Even so, I would love to be able to attack at long range!] (Tarte)
In Tarte’s case, wind wasn’t a suitable affinity for attacking, and she didn’t have much talent for magic herself, so she could use long-range attacks with it.
That’s probably why she was envious of Dia and me, who were capable of it.
[Now we’ve got a good understanding of you girls’ skills.] (Lugh)
[Lugh, we don’t know yours yet! We told you about our skills, so tell us about yours too.] (Dia)
[Ah! I would like to know as well!] (Tarte)
I smiled and explained my skills to them.
I told them about【Rapid Recovery】,【Spell Weaver】,【Limitless Growth】【Martial Arts】, and the ones I got from the Hero.
[This is insane! How come you have skills of every rank!? I’ve never heard of anything like that!] (Dia)
[I was just lucky.] (Lugh)
[Huh? You didn’t explain your D-rank skill. You taught me long ago that absolutely everyone was born with a D-rank skill, Lugh-sama.] (Tarte)
[That one is a secret. …It’s a trump card that I’m saving for a one-time surprise attack. That’s why I’ve decided never to tell anyone about it.] (Lugh)
I decided so the instant I acquired this skill.
Should anyone ever find out about this skill, it would become worthless.
But as long as nobody knew, it was my ace in the hole. Even if Tarte and Dia were the ones asking me about it, I wouldn’t tell them.
[Wow, you’re keeping it a secret from us after we revealed everything to you? That’s just foul play. Now I’m dying to know!] (Dia)
[So am I… But if Lugh-sama decided to keep it a secret, then…] (Tarte)
They both complained about it, but I couldn’t tell what I couldn’t tell.
[Well then, we’d better go back to the mansion. Maha sent us some delicious and interesting sweets from abroad.] (Lugh)
[Ah! He’s running away!] (Dia)
[Please wait for me, Lugh-sama!] (Tarte)
We now had a good grasp of the girls’ skills.
Knowing them and using them more effectively would make us even stronger.
Now, all that’s left to do is hatch our【Possibility Eggs】.
I was also proceeding with my research on that matter.
My efforts would surely pay off before long.
But for now, let’s just relax with some good tea and sweets.
Rest is important too.