<Message from the translator:> Now, I’m officially back! Sorry for the horribly long absence. There’s much going on in my life (as well as around the world), so I hope everyone is safe and healthy at home. Please take care and wash your hands well!
Chapter 13: Night Sky and Proposal
The triumphant monkeys raised both of their arms to the sky.
Large, brown, stone bullets the size of rugby balls were created up in the air.
Well, just watch.
First, I wait for the moment and raise my right hand in the direction of my target, which would be the enemy’s spell.
To be more exact, I didn’t necessarily have to raise my hand, but it felt easier to concentrate my attention in that direction. I feel like it even slightly increased the accuracy of the move.
Next, I make a small request from the heart towards the enemy’s spell.
—Rather than those dumb monkeys, would you listen to my request?
It’ll probably be fine if I had used a commanding tone or the imperative form, but the pride I held as a man of culture would certainly not allow for such. That was why I decided to be polite whenever I requested something from the heart.
Now for the last step.
This command will become the activation trigger.
I think that this spell’s “chant” corresponds to the action it will take.
The actual words of the command `didn’t really matter.
For example, [Open Sesame] from before would work. I mean, [Chichin Puipui][1] would even work.
What should I use this time? Um…
“[Eat this, you damn monkeys]!!!”
The brown, stone bullets were dyed black in the blink of an eye.
With this change in color, complete control had been achieved. The control of this spell had moved from the enemy’s hands into my own.
…However, it wouldn’t be good to keep using these vague orders.
After all, this was my only special move. In the near future, I want to use some cool name for it.
“Fuhaha! You barbaric monkeys! Know the true strength of the strongest of primates!”
I made the pure black rugby balls swish around in the air, chasing after the monkeys.
In response, the monkeys raised cries of terror as they attempted to escape. They dispersed and headed to the other side of the cliff to hide.
Haha, serves you right!
Ah, one of them fell off the cliff.
Half a day had passed since the first time we were surrounded by that large troop of monkeys and on the verge of being done in by the saturation attack.
But since then, we ended up encountering several more troops of monkey and I’ve managed to completely make this special move mine.
It’s really amazing. Once I steal control over the enemy’s spell, I can do whatever I want.
I could manipulate it as easily as moving my own limbs.
In the past, the Grand Rock Door was dyed black and wrenched open, and the restraint on the stone book was dyed black and exploded; this move was probably the culprit.
However, it was also true that I cannot activate this move until my opponent uses their own spell. Therefore, the flaw of my special move was that it was completely for defense.
On top of that, it was utterly powerless against the monkeys that focused on melee combat.
As usual, our team could only rely on Goltarou’s punches and kicks for normal attacks.
Nevertheless, it seemed that the mana beasts would lose their entire fighting spirit as soon as the control over their spell was stolen.
The change in the monkeys’ expression when the stone bullets they created began to be dyed black was…incredible. Another word to describe it would be “tragic.”
Their faces showed a despair that one would experience when one loses the thing/person one trusted the most in a single breath.
How would describe such a thing? Hm…
That’s right. That’s the face a husband would have when he catches his wife of many years cuckolded him with the plumber—
“…Alright. I decided.”
I turned to face Goltarou.
Then I announced with a grin stretching from ear to ear.
“The name of this special move shall be [NTR[2]]!”
What do you think, Gol… Whoa, your face is close!?
Y-yeah. I feel like Goltarou is complimenting my naming sense like this.
Well, he’s a good guy, so I’m sure that even if we were in another world where my naming sense is considered catastrophic, he wouldn’t abandon me.
I practiced my first special move, [NTR], since then, but the first battle with the monkeys was the only large-scale run I had.
All the battles after the first one were sporadic. The battle from before had around twenty monkeys.
It seemed that Goltarou was now quite wary of being completely surrounded by monkeys again, so as soon as he found a monkey, he immediately went to eliminate it.
Whether they were hiding in the shadow of the cliffs or stationed in a perfect blind spot from us, Goltarou would immediately discover and crush them.
Amazing! He was as merciless as a housewife who discovered an insect in her kitchen.
To tell you the truth, Goltarou looked very excited whenever I used [NTR]. As such, he would purposely let a few harmless monkeys slip past his detection range.
Goltarou, how much of a caring gentleman are you…
However, if he possessed such an amazing perception, how did he let that large troop of monkeys surround us?
Could it be that there was such a difference in their combative strength that he underestimated them?
…No. Rather, it was possible that Goltarou didn’t see the monkeys as enemies at first.
When I look at it that way, I felt like I was nonchalantly commenting on the monkeys back from my original world to Goltarou while I watched these monkeys from a distance.
Was this carefree attitude in the face of danger the cause? Was everything my fault?
But, if that was the case, when was the moment Goltarou saw them as enemies?
I don’t think monkeys were the only mana beasts in this world, and I’m sure we’ll face more dangers in the future. I feel like it would be very important for our safety in the future to grasp the way Goltarou determines if something is dangerous.
Above all, I think that it was Goltarou who started this war.
What was the situation like when that happened?
I wracked my brain when it suddenly hit me.
That’s right. I believe that right before the first hit, I had admired the monkey by calling it “cute”—
A roar suddenly rippled through the air.
Goltarou had just sent a giant monkey flying into the side of a cliff where it died on impact.
Um, what was I talking about again?
Right, I was talking about the big monkeys. I was a bit bothered by this.
It seemed that the further west we went, the size of the monkeys got bigger.
The first troop was about the size of Japanese macaques.
However, now, the average size of one was roughly that of the boss monkey of the first big troop.
Nevertheless, well, the difference in their strength and Goltarou’s was like that of an ant and elephant.
The monsters that flooded the road and the reality that after about half a day of walking, we hadn’t encountered a single person.
While harboring the faint sense of unease, I continued westward on the road, heading towards the setting sun.
——————
Underneath the night sky, I wasn’t sleepy yet.
I fell asleep once, but I woke up.
“C-cold…”
The bone-chilling cold caused my mutters and body to tremble.
My breath looked white in the moonlight.
I guess the temperature drops this low at night. This is definitely the climate of somewhere inland.
Then, what exactly was the inside of the basin?
That was like a completely different world compared to out here.
There was no mention of how bad the cold was in anything Luvel Zairein left behind.
I do remember him writing that the basin wasn’t isolated from the outside by the geography alone; there was also a barrier.
Was it that? Was that the reason why?
Were barrier spells that amazing? I thought they would be like those barriers in Japanese shrines…
Since Goltarou was tending the fire, it hadn’t been extinguished yet.
But the fire and this thin blanket weren’t enough to stave off this cold.
That reminds me. Ever since the sun had set, the monkeys suddenly stopped their assault.
They probably knew this.
Those damn monkeys were spending the night all warm in their burrows. Damn it!
I had been raised in the heated rooms of modern Japan, so I was unaccustomed to the terror that was nature.
This could be bad. I had packed for the journey based on the climate I experienced back in the basin.
What should I do…?
Goltarou sat down in front of the befuddled me.
He silently opened both arms.
As if he was inviting me to sit on his lap.
“Y-you… Goltarou, are you going to block the wind for me…?”
Sorry and thanks, Goltarou. I’m going to cry at how pitiful I am.
A great figure of history once said.
—Cold and hunger will weaken the soul.
I sat down on top of Goltarou’s knees.
Soft, like silicon.
There was no doubt now. This guy could adjust the hardness of his body.
He was being attentive to every little thing to ensure that the feeble and fragile me doesn’t get hurt.
Ah, I’m crying again…
“Hey, Gol. Your body feels kind of warm…”
For some reason, I felt a gentle warmth coming from Goltarou’s body.
You serious? How does he do that?
I can’t anymore. I was powerless, uneducated, and ignorant… I couldn’t even fathom what fundamental this worked on.
——————
It was roughly thirty minutes later.
Wrapped in the soft and warm embrace of Goltarou and the blanket, I stared at the night sky while chewing on a piece of jerky warmed by the fire.
I want to try this meat, not with salt but spices.
Just by warming it up, the flavor came out well. This was probably some high-quality meat.
The sky looked like an expansive indigo sea above my head.
The two moons floating in the middle were breathtaking.
There really were two moons in this world, once again, hitting home that this was another world.
No, wait. It may not be limited to just two.
Even though these were moons, that didn’t mean that nothing else was orbiting this planet. There may be three or four celestial beings out there. Wait, that’s right. Then, that would mean…
I shook my head slightly.
…No, let’s stop trying to be clever and think everything so thoroughly.
I’ve practically lost all confidence in my knowledge of nature. Frankly speaking, it was as feeble as a candle in the wind.
Ah, that’s right. That’s probably a magic moon, I’m sure.
If a hermit shot a spirit wave at it, I’m sure it would disappear.
Now that I thought about it, this would be the second time I looked at this world’s night sky like this.
In actuality, the only time I was active at night as my first night after being summoned.
This world didn’t have any illuminations. No, that may not be true. In actuality, the lights in the hideout and inside the cave behind the Grand Rock Door were probably that, but I didn’t know how to use them.
That’s why whenever the sun set, I would head to bed.
It was super hard on me since I couldn’t find any tools to light a fire. It was highly likely that the previous owner of that house, Zairein, had the Fire attribute.
By the way, my Goltarou is super amazingly good at starting fires.
That’s right. This was the moment that the Earth attribute won against the Fire attribute.
Fire spells were of no use to our combo, no, even to the whole world. It was completely a relic of the past. This aspect alone would give historical significance to my creation of Goltarou.
This was a given thanks to Goltarou’s power and versatility, but even his fire starting happens in the blink of an eye.
He really was helpful. I continue to be outclassed by him.
The flame began to sputter.
Goltarou slowly tended the fire with a branch while still holding me in his arms.
Speaking of branches, the land outside of the basin was, as expected, a complete wasteland, but there were a plethora of dead trees. So, we were not lacking in firewood.
We’ve also encountered various spots where these dead trees were densely placed together, making it seem like they used to be a grove or a forest.
Could it be that up until recently, this area’s climate allowed for plants to normally grow?
In that case, what exactly happened?
While I was pondering the possibilities, I gradually began to doze off.
I was warm, full, and felt comfortable.
What was this unbelievable sense of security inside Goltarou’s arms?
Ah… It was like a down futon in the middle of winter.
Goltarou, are you my bed…!?
In my dimming consciousness covered my drowsiness, I blankly thought, “Thanks to Goltarou, I’m this warm. I could rest easy.”
I have to thank him.
I was fundamentally a cultured man and a Japanese citizen with a normal sense of aesthetic.
As such a person, I would do this to show my greatest gratitude to my warm futon.
“I’ll just marry Goltarou…”
Right, you propose to your bed.
For a mere moment, it felt like Goltarou had tightened his embrace around me.
But, at that time, my consciousness had already fallen deep into the ocean of slumber.
[1] The start of the Japanese children’s rhyme “Pain, Pain, Go away.”
[2] NTR or NeToRe is cuckolding
Please note that this translation has been dropped by me in light of the release of the official translation. Please buy it when it becomes available for you.
Towards the Sky 
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