Chapter 201 The Daughters’ Growing Shadow of Doubt
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Phew… I really burned through a staggering amount of Ego Point ⁿ this time.”
The Magic Knight ⁿ, cradled in Vectra-san’s arms, finally showed a flicker of life. A spark of will returned to her eyes, and for a fleeting second, she stared at me in dazed confusion. Then, the realization hit.
”Ah… ee—AAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!”
A blood-curdling shriek tore through the air.
I conveyed that I had returned using the Dominator ⁿ skill <Intra-Territory Communication> ⁿ and asked Aris to prepare for her transformation. Simultaneously, I issued orders to have a guest room readied immediately.
”It hu—hurts! A-aaaaaaagh…!”
Her voice caught in her throat, snapping like a dry twig. Her head slumped, and she collapsed into a dead faint.
”Wait—! Is she okay?!”
”She’s lost consciousness,” Vectra-san noted calmly. “The sheer intensity of the pain likely overloaded her mental capacity. Her mind simply shut down to protect itself.”
Up close, the carnage was even more apparent. I knew Vectra-san’s strikes had landed home multiple times, but seeing the result was something else. Both arms, both legs—even her fingers—were snapped and twisted. It was a gruesome sight that made my own skin crawl.
We ascended the stairs, exiting the Chamber of the Great Phantasmal Soulstone ⁿ to find Lace Agate and Cleonora waiting for us.
”Welcome back, Shoichi.”
”I transformed just like you asked, but… wait, what’s going on? Who’s the girl? She looks like she’s been through a meat grinder…”
”The room is ready,” Cleonora interrupted, her voice steady.
We hurried to the prepared quarters and laid the short-haired Magic Knight onto the bed. Lace Agate immediately set to work, her hands glowing with the soft light of healing magic.
”This is bad… even with magic, it’ll take weeks for her to fully recover.”
”I suppose it can’t be helped,” I sighed.
Lace Agate explained that while the internal mending was underway, the scale of the trauma meant the process would be agonizingly slow. There were no shortcuts for wounds this deep.
Once the others, Esrain included, had gathered in the room, I began to recount the events that had unfolded in Japan. I had already briefed them on the three formidable Magic Knights we were tracking, so the news that I had successfully captured one of them sent a ripple of surprise through the group.
”Shoichi, you look wiped,” one of them whispered. “Maybe you should turn in early tonight?”
”Yeah… you’re probably right.”
The moon was already high. Between the battle and the constant mental strain, I was running on fumes. For the first time in a long time, I crawled into bed without our usual nightly activities. I just wanted to disappear into the blankets.
Tomorrow’s schedule was already looming. I had to coordinate with the Kelna and Ludo merchant guilds, maintain the Dominion ⁿ infrastructure, and keep the intelligence reports flowing from the neighboring kingdoms.
Ever since I became the Dominator
The “slow life” I had dreamed of felt further away than ever.
With Vectra-san standing guard over our captive, I drifted off into a solitary, dreamless sleep.
* * *
”Wait… Dum-chan, what did you just say?”
’Ginya Kanade. She encountered Orgoamii, the Demon Lord ⁿ, and his retainers. My power was insufficient—she has been taken from us.’
”…No. That can’t be…!”
Kiyo-chan and I sat in the dim light of our room, listening to Dum-chan’s grim report. We were both currently in our transformed states. There was a chilling reason for that.
”I can’t believe it… Until we transformed just now, we had completely… totally forgotten Ginya-san existed.”
”I know…”
It was true. The moment we reverted to our normal selves, Ginya-san had vanished from our minds. Not just her name, but her very existence. We hadn’t even realized there was a hole where our friend used to be.
It was only through the power of the transformation that our memories were restored. It was a terrifying confirmation of the world’s rules: while transformed, one’s existence is erased from the collective consciousness.
”Um, Dum-chan… if we change back now, will we forget her again?”
’No. Now that you have consciously recognized her again, the memory will remain. You will be able to recall her if prompted… but only you two.’
”I see,” Kiyo-chan murmured, her eyes narrowing. “So to the rest of the world, Ginya-san isn’t even ‘missing.’ She simply never was.”
”That’s… that’s so lonely…”
The thought that Ginya-san could disappear and no one would even mourn her made my heart ache.
’The teleportation destination is currently being searched for by my comrades. This time, even my power was caught up in the teleportation. There is a high possibility that some kind of clue will be found.’
”…I certainly hope so. By the way, there is a way to restore the world’s cognition of Ginya-san, right?”
’…Yes. But we must retrieve her quickly.’
According to Dum-chan, if we brought Ginya-san back into the fold, the world’s logic would “self-correct.” The period she was gone would be glossed over by a sort of cosmic amnesia—people would find excuses for her absence without ever realizing anything was wrong.
I felt a wave of relief. If we could just save her, everything would go back to normal! It was going to be okay!
But Kiyo-chan’s expression remained clouded.
”Dum-san,” she said, her tone sharp. “You said Orgoamii hadn’t regained his full strength. You said the Demon Lord was still ‘immature.’ Isn’t that right?”
’……’
”Then how did Ginya-san lose? Even if she was alone, you told us before that she was strong enough to win on her own.”
I blinked. She was right. When we fight in these forms, Dum-chan takes the reins, and we’re basically just passengers. He had told us we had them on the ropes last time.
’A new subordinate had been born to the Demon Lord. That person is one of the Twelve Demonic Generals ⁿ, the Demon Lord’s highest fighting force. Even if the Demon Lord and Orgoamii are immature, that general’s ability is the real deal.’
”And the gap is so wide she was snatched away without a fight? And there are eleven more of those things?”
’No… they are not beings that can be manifested so easily. However, this one’s strength… it far exceeded the Twelve Demonic Generals that I know.’
A chill ran down my spine. Someone stronger than Dum-chan’s expectations? We were in way over our heads.
”We haven’t exactly been briefed on the fine details of your ‘circumstances,’ Dum-san,” Kiyo-chan continued, her voice gaining an edge. “We understand that Orgoamii is a threat to Japan. We get that. But… wasn’t this disaster caused by your own lack of foresight?”
”K-Kiyo-chan…?”
’…Umu. It is true that despite Ginya Kanade being alone, it was my will to begin the battle.’
I could feel the friction in the air. Kiyo-chan was actually angry at him. I tried to bridge the gap.
”But—but if we get her back, it’s all fine, right?! We’ll find where the Demon Lord is hiding any second now, right?!”
’Umu. There is no mistake about that. No matter how much Orgoamii tries to hide the teleportation destination, this time Ginya Kanade, who harbors my power, is with them.’
That made sense. We were the only ones who can rescue Ginya-san…! We definitely, definitely have to do something…!
But while I was trying to psych myself up, Kiyo-chan just stared at the floor, her face unreadable.
”………”
’Is there something else on your mind?’
”…No. It’s just that my older brother also went missing for a while now… I’m worried that he might have been taken by the Demon Lord and made into a slave.”
”Ah…”
I had forgotten. Kiyo-chan’s stepbrother was still gone. Now Ginya-san was gone too. Even if the world didn’t recognize her absence, Kiyo-chan was feeling the weight of two missing people.
Once the meeting ended, Kiyo-chan prepared to leave. Dum-chan promised that we wouldn’t engage the enemy alone ever again. He seemed genuinely remorseful.
But after I got into bed, my phone buzzed. It was a message from Kiyo-chan.
’Wait until you’re sure Dum-san isn’t in the room before you read this.’
My heart thudded. Dum-chan was in the other room—he always gave me space when I slept. Was this a secret?
I scrolled down.
’I don’t think Dum-san is telling us the whole truth.’
’Think about it. He never gave us a specific deadline for when Ginya-san’s existence becomes permanently erased. He was vague.’
’He knew about the Twelve Demonic Generals, yet he forced her into a fight he knew she couldn’t win. Why?’
’And was Ginya-san really unharmed after fighting someone that strong? It felt like he was talking around that point on purpose.’
The words hit me like cold water. Kiyo-chan didn’t trust him. Not at all.
’I also have reflections on the fact that I didn’t correctly recognize what it meant to cooperate with Dum-san.’
’We’ll focus on saving Ginya-san for now… but after that, it might be worth considering cutting ties with Dum-san and returning to a normal life.’
’But Kiyo-chan!’ I typed back frantically. ‘If we don’t stop the Demon Lord, Japan is doomed! That’s what he said!’
The reply was instant.
’That’s also just something Dum-san is saying; no evidence has been shown that it will truly turn out that way. There was talk that he would grant any one wish once Orgoamii-san is defeated… but there is no confirmation that even that is true.’
I stared at the screen. She was right. We had just taken his word for everything.
”Ugh…!”
No. I couldn’t spiral now. First, we save Ginya-san. We can deal with the rest later.
But as I closed my eyes, sleep felt a thousand miles away.
—
Summary:
Shoichi returns to his labyrinth with a severely injured Magic Knight captive and deals with the fallout of the capture. In Japan, Kiyo-chan and her friend realize they had forgotten Ginya Kanade due to the ‘erasure’ effect of her transformation. Dum-chan reveals that Ginya has been taken by a powerful new member of the Twelve Demonic Generals. Kiyo-chan begins to voice deep suspicions regarding Dum-chan’s motives and the truthfulness of his promises.
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Character Insight:
Kiyo-chan undergoes significant character development here, shifting from an ‘excited’ participant in a supernatural battle to a skeptical and analytical strategist. Her distrust of Dum-chan stems from a cold assessment of his tactical failures and his lack of transparency regarding Ginya’s status and the mechanics of their world. This highlights a fracturing of the group’s unity as the stakes shift from adventure to existential threat.
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Behind the Scene:
The author references chapter 53, where Dum-chan originally promised the girls a ‘wish.’ This chapter serves to subvert the early optimistic tone of the series, introducing a darker, more suspicious dynamic between the ‘mascot’ character and his proteges.
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T/L:
Notes:
• Vectra – A Unique Individual maid with white skin and white hair. Height 170cm, Bust Size D. Class: Duelist. Attribute: Darkness. Weapon: Star-Strike Battle Axe Volkein
• Lace Agate – Magical girl Aris with elf-like long ears, 144 cm tall, A-cup, and a white-and-blue theme. She wears a leotard-style outfit with an open-front skirt cloth. Her pale blue hair has long bangs covering her left eye, shoulder-length back, blue highlights, and a ribboned braid on the right side.
• Cleonora – The second princess. Have a yellow blonde hair. Usually styled as hairbun. D-cup.
• Esrain – One of the four Great Gurus of the Emmeld Kingdom. She is the youngest among them and is considered to be at the peak of her magical power. She has beautiful white hair in a short cut and sleepy-looking eyes. Her height is 150cm with a D-cup bust size. She has a youthful, petite facial appearance.
• Kanade – A tall, model-figured C-cup girl with short hair and a bright, outgoing personality. She enjoys teasing her friends, especially Kiraurumi, about their love lives and body insecurities. She also secretly desires to be a shorter, cute girl. She also thinks she’s the most normal.
• Gin – A friend of Kiraurumi who craves excitement and is secretly a ‘lolita enthusiast’ complexed about her own tall stature. She sees the world-saving mission as a ‘plane ride over a river’ of boredom.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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