Chapter 8: Why I’m the Playboy Type

Immediately after the tavern was turned into a living being, Shigeto immediately ran away.

What was in it's mouth was beyond the knowledge of the monsterized tavern, and it could not dexterously avoid their allies and only attack their enemies.

He had no intention of helping Hanakawa.

It was not because he betrayed him, but because he didn't care about him from the start.

-take a cautious stand, huh?

That was what it said in the prophecy. It was a warning.

But what was he supposed to make of such a trivial statement?

"Hey, we don't have to run? I thought you said you didn't know where the Sage was. If we find him, we can defeat him here."

Akinobu did not place much importance on the prophecy.

He, unlike Shigeto and Rei, had skills that he could use to attack.

He knew what he could do with that power, and he thought he could even win against a Sage.

"The Sage has the power to nullify the gifts of lower systems! That's why I was looking for a weapon that has nothing to do with sages!"

However, Shigeto did not rely on Akinobu's power. It was only power given to him by a Sage.

He didn't need to rely on the Gift to strengthen him and overthrow the Sages.

The only thing that could do that would be the prophecy of Shigeto.

It may have been possible to disable the prophecy ability if they confronted him, but there is nothing wrong with reading it in a place where there wasn't a Sage present.

The content of the prophecy was just information, and it couldn't be nullified.

Shigeto thought that he would be the only one who could defeat the sage, despite being a sage candidate.

For this reason, he was trying to get Ragna, who was not of the Sage's lineage, to join him and get a weapon for him.

"But you could have done it. If you can disable it, why not?

"That's…"

Was that a sign of composure?

Or was it carelessness?

It was impossible for Shigeto to judge. But he did not think that he could beat them here.

"You can't do that without any preparation! You've got to prepare yourself, you've got to prepare your friends!"

Akinobu's power was powerful, but it could not attack the enemy directly.

It was a good idea to use the power of creation to create the friends he needed to attack.

"I'm working on it."

"What?"

As he ran, Shigeto turned his head.

The town had been transformed.

It was not just the tavern.

The surrounding buildings had also turned into huge, beasts.

"It's so easy!"

"As long as you have an image, you can touch it in an instant. But if you want to make something amazing, it will take time."

Akinobu was probably activating his power by touching things around him while running away.

Even if he couldn't defeat the Sage, this might buy him some time to escape.

However, such expectations were soon betrayed.

Akinobu must have tripped over something, because he suddenly fell forward.「おい!」

"Hey!

"Are you stupid?

Rei shouted shortly.

Shigeto decided to keep running.

This was not the time to be stopping and worrying about Akinobu.

The first thing to do for him was to get away.

However, Shigeto and Rei had to stop.

There was a woman standing in front of them.

She was a very exposed and unhealthy looking woman with dark circles under her eyes.

Shigeto couldn't ignore the woman.

The woman was holding Akinobu's head in her hand.

The moment he saw it, various thoughts went through his brain.

Akinobu is dead.

Who's that?

Did she come after us?

How did she get around the front?

Why was Akinobu the first target?

Why just one?

Wouldn't it be easier to kill all three of us at once?

So is there some reason to keep us alive?

Or is there some kind of restriction on the use of her abilities?

"Well… You might be thinking of something complicated, but it doesn't mean much that I killed this guy first, okay?"

Shigeto froze. He thought his mind had been read.

"No, no. I just kind of thought so. Well, if I had to say it, I guess you could say I took care of the ones that would be a pain in the ass if left them alone."

He guessed it was too much of a hassle for them to add any more men to their ranks.

But the town was in chaos.

It seemed that the giant beasts would not return to normal even if Akinobu died.

The beasts were now free to run wild and do as they please.

"You are ..."

"There are many types of Evil Empire executives. If you're the workaholic type, you'll probably follow orders to the letter and leave quickly, but I'm the playboy type."

It wasn't direct, but he guessed that was the reply.

Since Yoshifumi was the emperor, the woman was Yoshifumi's subordinate.

"Don't lump me in with Akinobu. ..."

Shigeto was instantly armed.

He was clad in heavy armor and wore several layers of amulets and rings. His weapons were not only the swords he held in both hands, but also a number of other weapons floating around him.

These were acquired through the knowledge of the prophecy, without telling his companions.　Akinobu's skills were so powerful that he did not grow in the direction of strengthening himself.

But Shigeto was different.

He had been practicing efficient growth methods and had racked up a number of powerful armaments.

In this state, he should be able to match the heroes, thought Shigeto.

In the next moment, the woman's kick pierced into Shigeto's abdomen.

The woman's foot destroyed the Shigeto's internal organs after penetrating multiple layers of magical barriers and the heavy armor made of rare metals.

He was blown away, crashed into a building, and became unrecognizable.

He was barely alive.

He didn't even remember which equipment has what, but was guessing it was the auto-healing function that was at work.

"It's as sturdy as you'd expect, but if the user is like this, it's meaningless. You can't just raise the level of the system, if the base is not good enough. You have to train them in their natural state."

Shigeto could not sense anything until the moment he was kicked.

Of course, this was even though he was wearing equipment that could detect enemy movement and grant him the benefit of increased subjective speed if he was in danger.

"Wow. I'm surprised. The woman of destiny works on me, too. I don't have that kind of taste.

He would be killed.

The woman turned to Rei just as Shigeto was preparing to be killed.

From Shigeto's point of view, there were a lot of gaps, but an amateur's senses could not be relied upon. He couldn't bring himself to do anything.

"But it's not like you'll be able to control me in any way you want. Yeah. Then I'll keep you."

Rei's physical abilities were improving as her level increased.

However, she did not have any combat skills.

If it were just some amateurs, he would be able to do something, but he was not even remotely capable of fighting such a monster.

However, it seemed that his power to charm the opposite sex could also be applied to this women, to a greater or lesser extent, to dissuade her from killing.

The woman was walking away with Rei. Rei would not be able to resist it.

Shigeto could only watch her go, his body full of pain from which he had not fully recovered.