Chapter 243 A New Ability and a Narrow Escape
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Nocturnal-nyaru-sama! Nocturnal-nyaru-sama! Fluff me! Fluff meee!”
While Ayumu was busy investigating, he noticed Goddess Nocturnal kneeling on the floor, surrounded by human-sized cats. They crowded against her, demanding to be petted, while she stroked them with tender affection.
But Ayumu had questions.
There were things he needed to know, starting with why he had failed to receive the Heavenly Gift Skill when the others were declared Heroes.
According to Nocturnal, Ayumu’s body and mind had been above average, his brain function more refined than most humans. That very strength had triggered a kind of limiter. The system, designed by Ian Russell to push equality—a sort of political correctness filter (T/N: “policore” in Japanese internet slang)—had rejected him.
In short, Ayumu had escaped mutation into a Monstrous Beast precisely because the world’s “policore system” had blocked him.
Finally, he asked her why she had gone so far to give him access to magic seeds and other blessings.
Ayumu half-smirked, thinking, Heh, have I even charmed a goddess this beautiful?
But Nocturnal’s answer brought him back to reality.
”I don’t know,” she said softly. “Maybe it’s because the first person I saw was your relative? You feel… familiar, dear to me. Like imprinting.”
Imprinting—bonding with the first human she had seen. That was her explanation.
Ayumu thought back. His paternal Kensaki family had been a military line since before the Tokugawa shogunate. Some ancestors had defected during the late Edo period and moved to America. That much was history—though Ayumu still believed Nocturnal herself came from America, not knowing she was actually an Iranian-made, Russian-built construct that Turkey had later seized.
There was more. His great-grandfather had fought as a Japanese-American interpreter in World War II. His grandfather served in Korea. A great uncle in Vietnam. Cousins who fought in both. His uncles and cousins had joined the Gulf War, and younger cousins served in Iraq. The Kensaki family had always walked alongside America’s wars, even without glory.
”But surely,” Nocturnal smiled faintly, “you’ll be fine even without my blessing. I thought you had no skill at all, but… you do. Let me check.”
”What?!” Ayumu’s eyes widened. “I actually have a skill of my own?!”
After nearly dying countless times in this otherworld, finally, was his chance?
(Heh… heh-heh-heh… afraid, are you? Of my new power? Is this… the start of my isekai domination?)
But his joy was short-lived.
Innate Skill: Misfortune
Effect: Escapes instant-death events… but constant bad luck and near-fatal accidents will follow instead!
”Uwaaaaaaah!! Is there no god in this world?! This is a debuff, not a gift! I hate this world!!”
Ayumu threw himself on the floor, howling. The human-sized cats fluffed up, fur standing on end, hissing at him in fear.
”No wonder I’ve been cursed with endless disasters,” he raged. “It all makes sense now!”
”I’m doomed! Doomed!! This otherworld is nothing but a trash heap, a hell-world! The sheer unfairness makes me shake with rage! Ian Russell, apologize!! You fraud of sci-fi Narouppa!!”
Nocturnal, who had just been encouraging him, could only manage a stiff, forced smile.
Why hadn’t this been discovered earlier? She explained: first, humans rarely sought to know bad skills. And second, the system’s fairness design—again by Ian Russell—had likely set this misfortune as a weight against his high performance.
”The gods of this world must hate meee!!” Ayumu rolled and flailed on the ground like a child, wailing.
The cats whispered nervously, “Nocturnal-nyaru-sama! That guy’s dangerous, nya! He looks like a catnip addict, nya!”
Nocturnal simply patted their heads, soothing them gently.
Only after Ayumu had tired himself out did she finally offer a hand of mercy.
She could not erase the debuff. But she could grant him a new ability—to hear the inner voices of people’s hearts during life-or-death moments.
Ayumu clasped his hands in thanks. So there was a goddess here after all!
But then a chilling thought struck him.
Wait… when Alma of the Sky Runner joined, I thought the trouble came from her… but was it really me all along?
He shook his head quickly.
No. Impossible. It couldn’t be.
If anyone knew, they might kill him. Best to keep that secret buried deep in his heart.
The next day, Ayumu visited Danucool, the self-governing land of the Cath-sith.
Unlike humans, the Cath-sith could see Elyserium Particles—the light humans called Mana. They could manipulate it with a skill greater than any human.
Thankfully, translation ability was built into Ayumu’s system, so he understood their language. I’ll learn how to handle Mana from them! he thought with resolve.
But what he found shocked him.
Unlike the human-sized cats he had met before, the Cath-sith were normal cat-sized. The only difference—
They wore clothes, chef hats, sewed while rocking in chairs, kneaded bread, cooked with frying pans, even worked construction. It was surreal.
(What… what the hell is this…)
Word had it the elders lived in the Lusrith Temple. When Ayumu pushed open its doors, he stumbled into a scene like a sage’s tale: a cat balanced on a massive boulder—floating in the air.
It was beyond any cult trick of levitation.
”You there!” a small cat cried, leaping from the rock. It landed with a thunderous crash, the boulder slamming into the ground. Ayumu yelped. Too scary… maybe I should back out now… But it was too late. Training had begun.
”Don’t just look at Mana! Feel it, nya!”
A spiritual-sounding lecture. Impossible!
”Sense the Mana clinging to the stones, and dodge them, nya!”
”Gyaaaaaaa!!” Pebbles shot into the air, raining down like bullets toward him.
”How about now, nya? Starting to feel it?”
And at last came the final order: “Float yourself in the air with Mana, nya! If you don’t, you’ll get burned!” They tied his limbs, roasting him over a fire.
”Wait, stop! Don’t light it! I’ll die! You’ll kill meee!!”
It was nothing but hell. Brutal. Spartan.
There had been a proverb in the old world—”Even a rock can be moved with telekinesis.” But living through it meant being ordered to lift giant boulders like some psychic warrior.
For Ayumu, it was pure torment.
Days later—
”Here is today’s portion of Chuchu Bar, sensei.”
”Mm, delightful!” The Cath-sith purred, pupils blown wide as they devoured the liquid treats. Their eyes went perfectly round with bliss—it had to be delicious.
And then—astonishingly—Ayumu managed to shift the massive boulder by a mere 0.3 millimeters. Just a hair’s breadth, but real progress.
Of course, along with that tiny victory, he made himself a promise: Never again! I’m never coming back to this terrifying place!
Later, when he tried to fluff one of the small cats—thinking, There’s no way I’d lose to such tiny things—he was promptly blasted across the room by their magic.
The next day—an oasis of blue water, a white sandy beach.
Lying beneath the shade of a parasol, Ayumu cooled himself with chilled coconut juice. Ahhh, paradise…
Only problem—the juice tasted like a bad sports drink.
When nature called, he wandered over to the “toilet area.” The Lusrith way was simple: dig a hole in the sand and do your business, no matter who was around. Though, thankfully, Ayumu was alone.
He mused as he dug. It was said that when beastkin crossbred, occasionally humanoid children were born—probably remnants of the interpreter units designed long ago.
These hybrids could mate with both humans and beastkin, but their different appearance made others uneasy. Allowed to stay only until maturity, they were then pushed toward human settlements.
That explained why Ayumu had only ever seen such human-shaped beastkin in towns. Perhaps Oregano, his guard squad leader, and the nomads who had settled by Keldan’s tents were among their descendants.
Maybe that was why Goddess Nocturnal had treated him kindly—because he’d accepted such people, even half-heartedly. She had even thanked him. A reluctant good deed was still a good deed, it seemed.
His reflections were broken by the shouts of beastkin nearby.
”U-nyaaah?! I dug the sand and found someone’s poop!”
”Isn’t that the same place you went yesterday, nya?”
”Was it? I don’t remember, nya! What a wonderful memory I have, nya!”
Before he could laugh, the ground shook with a loud thud. Not an earthquake—Monstrous Beasts.
Ayumu barely had time to pull his trousers up and bolt when a creature the size of a building crawled out of the sand. A giant beetle, like a cross between a darkling beetle and a ground beetle. Its maw opened, releasing a torrent of fire.
The beastkin trembled. It was the Fire Flame Bug—the most feared of Lusrith.
Thankfully, it burrowed back into the sand and left, but Ayumu knew he’d nearly been burned alive.
”Seriously… this land is insane,” he muttered, crawling back under his parasol to resume his nap.
Meanwhile, in Yugan—
”Wh-what did you just say?!” Emperor Rai nearly fell from his throne, trembling as he read the letter.
It was from Ayumu.
”♪ Your Majesty, Lusrith is such a pleasant southern land, I’ve grown fond of it ♪
Therefore, I will return the territory, but in exchange, please acknowledge my ownership of the wealth I’ve built so far. I await your reply.
P.S. Once things are settled, I plan to invite Mr. Sashima and the others to Lusrith.
Your loyal servant, Sanai ♪”
The Emperor turned pale.
”Sergei! Sergei, where are you?!”
At once, Royal Knights Commander Sergei appeared, bowing. “Yes, Your Majesty?”
”Bring Sanai back! At any cost!”
Sergei frowned. “With respect, Majesty… if he wishes it, why not let him go? This could even dissolve his engagement to Lady Norfemina. That would lessen the risk of a coup. You trust him too much.”
But Rai snapped, “Silence! It is an imperial command—bring him back!”
Sergei sighed, resigned, and quietly set the imperial agents into motion.
The very next day—
Ayumu was enjoying palm wine brewed with buttam palm yeast when a squad suddenly surrounded him.
”Seize him!!”
Dragged back to Yugan, he now stood before Emperor Rai and Empress Sarendra, both glaring from the throne.
”Sanai!” Rai roared, waving the letter. “Explain this! Speak, or face judgment!”
Beside him, Sarendra shrieked, “And what about my sweet Aare?! You promised you’d heal her! Answer me, Sanai!!”
Ayumu felt cold sweat drip down his back. One wrong word, and I’ll be executed on the spot!
Then—another voice, faint, not Rai’s.
Focusing, he heard it clearly:
So he wasn’t after the throne through marriage to Norfemina? Hmph. No matter. He knows of the Armed Reconnaissance Directorate, the empire’s dark arm. He cannot be allowed to leave alive… Disappearance would be too suspicious. How should we arrange his “accident”…
It was Sergei’s thoughts.
Wait… this must be the ability Nocturnal gave me—the power to hear people’s hearts in crisis!
But it was also terrifying. This old man is planning to kill me! He’s a monster!
Desperate, Ayumu bowed low.
”Y-Your Majesty! That letter was a joke! In my homeland, it’s tradition to tell harmless lies to close friends! A sign of affection—an American joke—no, a Yugan joke! A joke, I swear!”
Rai and Sarendra exchanged glances.
Sarendra’s face softened. “Oh, a joke? Sanai, you silly thing, you had me worried!”
Rai huffed. “Hmph! Do not scare an old man like that! I thought my heart had stopped!”
It seemed, somehow, he had dodged death.
Sergei scowled in silence, but Ayumu could still hear his mind:
Tch. Confusing fool. He’s only bought himself time. The next attempt to leave this country will be his last.
Still—Ayumu lived to see another day.
Notes:
• Ian Russell – A foreign-born human mercenary who first appears at Aran Fortress under Imperial contract. Calm and pragmatic, he fights for pay, avoids politics, and never meets Kanata.
• Kensaki – Petro. Ayumu’s father.
• Danucool – Ket-see autonomous region in Lusrith Beastfolk Kingdom.
• Oregano – Half-rabbit Guard Captain; extorts and threatens but holds Keldan’s order. Ashamed of beastkin blood, yet Ayumu’s mercy secures her loyalty. Brutal, pragmatic, feared, she anchors his rule as enforcer bound by gratitude.
• Sashima – Family name of Hiyori. A quiet classmate summoned to the other world, she used barriers and storage magic to aid Misaki and Fuuka. After class betrayal, she left with Ayumu Sanai to the Valend Cave Kingdom.
• Sergei – Elderly but towering commander of the Royal Knights, hawk-eyed and authoritative. Holds powers equal to a Defense Minister, trusted by Emperor Rai as his most loyal and stabilizing force.
• Norfemina – First Imperial Princess. Blonde, blue-eyed, courteous and composed. Embodies imperial dignity during tours, observing from carriage. Known for grace and mercy toward servants, yet firm in rejecting scandal or improper advances. Serves as the gentle, diplomatic counterbalance to her harsher sister Ronafermia.
• Empress Sarendra – Aare’s mother who expresses quiet resentment towards Aare’s existence. But still love him.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply