Volume 4 Chapter 18-2 Judgment of Causality
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
This knightly guy’s name is Justice? That’s a pretty funny character name. Is he planning to play the justice’s ally or something?
”If you have any confessions, you can say them in the capital’s court. Behave and come quietly.”
That’s what Justice said as he pulled out a skill orb.
”Here, swallow this.”
”A subjugation skill orb, huh? You slipped up and said too much. If you’re aiming for a fair trial, you can’t make someone a slave, right?”
Once someone’s been made a slave with a subjugation skill, there’s no way to undo it. They’ll become a living robot, obeying their master’s orders for the rest of their life. So, Justice never had any intention of holding a real trial.
”You’re a clever one, but don’t cause too much trouble. I can crush you with my fingertips if I have to.”
Justice talks pretty calmly, there’s a big gap between his words and his actions. He’s not the type to shout rough words like a bandit, but maybe this quiet threat is effective too. Still, if you think about it, most people would choose death over being a slave. After all, even death can’t cancel a subjugation skill.
”Forcing a subjugation skill is clearly an act of battle. You know the valley’s rule of non-combat, right? Are you planning to break that rule?”
Now, let’s see how our clever Mr. Justice will act. Got the guts to break the rules set by a dragon?
”Rules? Don’t make me laugh. That’s just made-up nonsense. What’s the point of us, stronger than dragons, following rules made by dragons?”
He’s putting up a brave front, but he’s gotta be scared of the dragon. His calm mask is starting to crack a bit, revealing a hysterical creature underneath. His eyes are darting around, and his whole body is trembling slightly.
”For someone trying to look tough, your legs are shaking.”
”Shut up! ──Musashi! What are you doing? Hurry up and do it!”
Ah, this guy’s a sneaky one. He’s trying to make his underling break the rules first. The thief-like man named Musashi is forcing a skill orb into Ms. Claire’s mouth, but nothing’s happening.
After making sure it’s safe to break the rules, Justice use his strength to force me to swallow the orb. I’m weaker in both ability and level, so there’s no real competition in strength. I was ready, but it’s a shock to be taken down so easily. I didn’t even need to put up a show of resistance.
The skill orb tastes gross. As soon as I swallow it, something like an electric current shoots from my chest to my head.
”Don’t move. Don’t even think about resisting. Just stay still and don’t overthink it. You’re my slave, and slaves don’t need a heart. That’s right, let it break.”
Listening to Justice, my head gets all foggy. It’s like I’m sleepy, but not tired… my thoughts won’t come together. Is my mind breaking? This is bad.
”If you’ve cleared the dungeon, you should have the Dragon God’s Herb. Hand it over.”
Dragon God’s Herb… what is it again? My arm moves on its own, pulling a plant from my waist pouch to give to my master. I seem happy. I feel sort of… happy too.
”Mr. Justice, can I take this mare for myself? She’s got a nice body, after all.”
”Stop dawdling. We’re still in dragon territory. There’s no point lingering here once we’re done.”
Now, I ride a horse, following my master’s orders. I’m glad I can ride a horse well. There are so many horses, 4 of them. And Ms. Claire is here too, even if she’s not a horse. I can hear my master’s voice, but I don’t understand what he’s saying. It’s okay if I don’t get it, as long as it’s not an order. I can be happy if I just follow orders.
”Let’s turn the guy into money and enjoy the horse girl without selling her. Even though she’s a horse, she has a really nice face, I like it. Her breasts look like they’d be fun to massage…where’s the hole in her?”
”Hey, we also need the MPK culprit. We didn’t abandon our buddy to run away; we saw through the criminal’s trap and went to make the arrest.”
”Come on, that’s gotta be a stretch. There’s no way they’ll buy that story.”
”It doesn’t matter. If those 2 get lost, good. If they’re resurrected, then I get a cut, and that’s that. Make them accomplices, and they won’t complain.”
”You giving those guys money? No way. That cuts into my share.”
”Then, I’ll let you have your way with that horse girl you love.”
”As expected of Mr. Justice. I’ll follow you forever.”
I can see Mana’s flow. The moment we crossed the invisible barrier around the valley’s edge, a rush of glowing particles burst out around us. They swirling around, flowing in a spiral.
My mind clears up completely. I feel super smart, like I’ve become a genius.
When I look around, I realize I’m sitting on a slowly moving horse’s back. Wait, what’s going on? I get a bit confused. I remember being controlled with the subjugation skill, but it’s fuzzy──like a dream I try to recall but it slips away.
”Master… what is this?”
Ms. Claire rushes over.
”Yeah, it’s a long story. I’ll explain later.”
I help gather the horses with her. Justice and Musashi are still on their horses, their faces blank. They look mentally broken. This must be what it’s like when your heart’s shattered. They’ll probably spend their whole lives like puppets. Well, it’s their own fault──can’t cry about it now.
It’s all because of Uno’s curse of causality on the valley’s barrier. Breaking the rules and hurting others somehow twists causality back around when you leave the barrier.
I don’t totally get causality, but it’s like a super-strong version of karma──a curse that counters your actions. It’s different from magic. All I know is──–it can activate without MP, and it works well with counter techniques. In Japan, they say “curse someone, and you double hurt yourself,” because once causality links you to someone, you’re both stuck; it’s easier to strike back or double it. You get the advantage if you’re the one cursed and can turn it around.
Uno’s causality curse is pretty advanced. It even lets you completely swap the attacker and the victim.
If you kill someone, you die the moment you step out of the barrier, and the person you killed comes back to life… Well, it’s not exactly “coming back.” The cause and effect reverse, so it’s like they were alive all along. Thinking too hard about it makes my head spin. I get the whole “cause and effect” thing, sorta. If you do bad stuff, bad stuff happens to you, and if you do good, good comes back, right? Maybe.
It’s a terrifying curse for evildoers, but all you gotta do is not hurt anyone. I knew about the trick, so I played along, but I gotta admit, it was pretty scary.
We’re short on time, and thanks to those 2 idiots, we wasted nearly 2 hours. Even if they got what they deserved, I’ve got 0 sympathy for them.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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