CH 151

Chapter 151 – Seeking Power

“Bouchi! Can I have a moment?” (Nike)

“Hm? What is it?” (Bouchi)

“Err… You see…” (Nike)

“You’re a boy aren’t you? Speak clearly.” (Bouchi)

“O-Okay! To be honest, I… want to be as strong as you, Bouchi!” (Nike)

“…Hah?” (Bouchi)

“I saw you resist Tanbu’s attack!” (Nike)

“…Tanbu?” (Bouchi)

“He’s one of the Four Heavenly Beastmasters. I heard that you fought him. Right? A monkey garbel?” (Nike)

“…Ah, that monkey guy.” (Bouchi)

Certainly, there was a guy like that who attacked us right after we secured Nike and left the tower.

“Your moves were so brilliant at that time, Bouchi! I want to be as powerful as you!” (Nike)

“I don’t want to lose anyone anymore… Just like my mother.” (Nike)

I see. That’s right. He had been separated from his mother, and he always believed that he would see her again one day, but that thought never came true in the end.

If he’d had the strength, he might have been able to rescue her. But when he found out later what had happened, he could only regret.

“You’re still just a nine-year-old kid. It’s natural for you to be protected, you know?” (Bouchi)

“…Perhaps. But… I don’t want to lose Rajie, Noalia, or any of the other people on this island! Someday, we might encounter another disaster! When that time comes, I don’t want to just be someone that ought to be protected! I want to fight alongside everyone!” (Nike)

At that moment, I felt an indescribable aura emanating from Nike. It was the same aura that I had felt when I first met King Dragia. It was the same spirit that I projected to the world when I faced the otherworlders as Hakumen.

—The spirit of a ruler, huh?

I suppose it was because he had the bloodline of the emperor, even despite his youth. Even Noalia only had a bit of that ruler’s spirit, but at 9 years old, he had already reached this degree.

If he had really ascended the throne as emperor, he would surely have been an extraordinary ruler.

It wasn’t just me. Rajie, Noalia, and everyone else nearby noticed the projection of his will and looked with shock at Nike.

“…Nike.” (Bouchi)

“What is it, Bouchi?” (Nike)

“Strength comes in many different forms. No matter how much you try to swing your sword or draw your bow, you should be aware that there isn’t much you can do as you are right now. Despite that, you still want to seek combat strength?” (Bouchi)

“Combat strength…” (Nike)

“Even if you train, it’ll take time for the training to show results, and even then you won’t be able to match up to a well-trained soldier any time soon.” (Bouchi)

“That… might be true.” (Nike)

It couldn’t be helped, since he was a child and his body wasn’t fully developed. It would have been a different story if he was a garbel, since they were born with a high level of physical ability. But he was a human being like me—a huron.

It was true that he could still raise his physical ability by relying on fantasy items, but with his small body, there were some risks. After all, greater power came with greater repercussions on the body.

I could withstand the backlash since I had a somewhat decent build. But it might be difficult for him.

“If you want to become strong, you have to master the strength available to you as you are now.” (Bouchi)

“As I am now…?” (Nike)

“But I don’t have a skill…” (Nike)

“Then you just need to acquire the strength to make up for it.” (Bouchi)

“Strength to make up for a skill…?” (Nike)

“Yes. I heard that as a race, hurons originally created certain things to combat skills and garbels.” (Bouchi)

“…! Artifacts, right?” (Nike)

According to Izu, the truth was actually somewhat different. In fact, it was said that hurons dug up ancient artifacts and began to imitate them after years of research and study. Well, it wasn’t wrong in the sense that they still created the present-day artifacts.

“D-Do you happen to have a lot of artifacts, Bouchi?!” (Nike)

“I’m a merchant, after all. My purpose is to offer my customers what they desire.” (Bouchi)

For example, the recoil of the [Explosive Rifle] that I had used before would probably send Nike flying. It would be terrible if he had to go through that every time he wanted to fire a shot. Well, maybe he could use it as a trump card.

But above all, Nike had a strong will to protect the people important to him.

In that case…

“Then… How about this?” (Bouchi)

I took out an item from the and handed it to Nike.

It was an item that I had used before several times in the past.

“…A stick?” (Nike)

At least from Nike’s perspective, it looked like a stick. But it was actually a mage’s staff. It was about 30 centimeters long, with a small blue orb at the tip.

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