3 bar menu

113. Roll All the Binder of Fates

 

「Return everything.」

They say the brain is the organ used for thinking. Some scholars even claim that everything—walking, talking, every act—requires the brain’s involvement. Needless to say, it’s also essential for using skills. To live is to use your brain. That’s hardly an exaggeration.

Kirmiji had kept extending and distorting his own brain, stuffing it with colossal amounts of information. A man who suffered excruciating torment just by existing had only one answer left.

「I’ll return…!! Hurry, hurry!!」

「Repayment process approved. Beginning transaction.」

「Process complete. Skill: [Song of the Age of Gods] — Debtor: Kirmiji Bray」

「Process complete. Skill: [Infinite Mana Fountain] — Debtor: Kirmiji Bray」

「Process complete. Skill: [Chant Destruction] — Debtor: Kirmiji Bray」

「Commencing recovery at an effective interest rate of 10%.」

「I-I’m… saved…! But still—I still—!!」

Kirmiji hadn’t given up. But the process continued, silently and efficiently.

This time, the loan period was only ten days—the shortest possible. Therefore, the interest rate was just ten percent, the minimum. Unlike with Altora and the others, who faced tens of millions in compounded interest, the key difference here was the principal.

「Recovery and optimization of all loaned skills complete. Proceed to the next phase?」

「Yeah, do it.」

「Seizing Unique Skill points to apply toward outstanding balance.」

「Uni—!?」

Kirmiji’s vacant eyes widened in alarm, his voice hollow and dumbfounded. But this was only natural.

「It was three skills, ten days—that’s true. But the amount you borrowed was just too big. Even ten percent would take several lifetimes to repay. Obviously, the skill points you earned while using the skill aren’t enough to repay the interest. The rest has to come from somewhere.」

「But it was only ten days! Just ten days…!」

「You’re the one who asked for the loan. You borrow, you repay—that’s how it works.」

If this were a normal debt, it’d be like getting stripped bare and having all your teeth yanked out. I’ve heard replacement teeth sell well. We’re just doing the same thing with skill points.

Kirmiji’s clarity was slowly returning, and as he grasped the situation, his face began to drain of color. The cunning, vicious face of the knight commander was nowhere to be seen.

「W-Wait! [Placebo Master’s Golden Spoon] is a skill I poured my blood and sweat into! I made it to build a world where hard work is rewarded! I won’t—no! No!! Please, I beg you! Wait, wai—」

「Too late.」

「Skill selected. Executing process.」

「Skill [Placebo Master’s Golden Spoon] has been seized from debtor Kirmiji.」

「Ah…」

People are fragile things once they lose the power they relied on. I thought he had no fight left in him, but when I tried to undo the hypnosis, he suddenly panicked. Not that I had any intention of humoring him.

「[Placebo Master’s Golden Spoon], activate. Release all compulsions.」

「No—stop! Don’t do this! Anything but that!!」

「「Be unbound—for it is but an illusion.」」

There were 23,000 of them.

That was how many dwarves had been shackled by Kirmiji’s spell.

The first to register the effect was Azula. From inside the golem, a voice rang out—slightly dazed but unmistakably sentient.

「…Huh?」

「Azula-chan, are you okay?」

「Yes, I’m fine. By the way, Geli-sama. What order did I give to Chunaru just a moment ago…?」

「You said to evacuate the dwarves left in the town and the mine.」

「Why…?」

「Because monsters are spilling out of the dungeon. It’s dangerous.」

At first glance, nothing had changed. But everyone there could feel the shift in Azula’s presence—it had sharpened, like a blade drawn from its sheath.

「If they’re monsters, we need only crush them.」

「Yikes, that’s extreme.」

The dwarves’ fangs, once pulled by Kirmiji, now peeked out again. Azula, using the golem’s systems, let out a tremendous cry.

「All my brethren who hear this voice—take up your axes! Let those who trampled on us learn the meaning of their deeds! Let your blows carve regret into their souls—regret that will follow them into the next life! Do not stop until the lesson is eternal!」

「A-Azula-chan…?」

「The one who awakened us is Marge Siu. And my dear friend, Angelina Emesmes. We dwarves repay our debts with action. Now, let the long-awaited battle begin!」

The earth trembled.

But this was no footfall from the golem or the ‘King’. It was a quake as though the gates of hell had been flung open. The rumble deepened into a bass roar, and then, countless voices joined it—until finally, they surged to the surface.

「OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH!!」

To call it an army would be too refined. These were wild, raging warriors, drunk on anger and primal fury. Even Koe-san covered her mouth in astonishment at the sight.

「So there really were ten thousand dwarves, Master.」

「It’s over… Everything is over… Not even a blade of grass will survive this land…」

As for Kirmiji, he was groveling in the dirt, trembling uncontrollably. Who could say what raced through his mind?

The dwarves’ advance was like a storm long in the making. A tidal wave of flesh steamrolled the monsters. Even the berserk fiends, incapable of fear, were halted by a flicker of self-preservation—and trampled underfoot. The two Emesmes alchemists gasped at the scene unfolding before them.

「Wooooow…」

Until now, the dwarves we’d known—Azula, Chunaru, and the rest—had seemed like gold-loving artisans. I figured Kirmiji had shaped them that way to seem more human. But apparently, that was only half the story.

Because if he hadn’t suppressed them like this, they would’ve been unmanageable.

This is how dwarves really are.

「Oh—the monsters stuck to Geli and the others got minced.」

「Which means it’s our chance. Geli, let’s finish this.」

「Geli’d love to, but… the legs aren’t repaired yet…」

Even with the monsters gone, the golem—its lower body blasted away—still couldn’t stand. Angelina bit her lip in frustration, unable to act. But the golden chains simply jingled, as if saying it was no big deal.

「Legs are just decoration. Honestly, so are arms, and the whole body. If you use the Head’s power—that is.」

「Papa, don’t tell me…」

「Sorry, but it’s time. From now on, you are the new Head of House Emesmes.」

The golden chains began to dissolve.

Like sand or mist, they drifted from the golem’s head—presumably toward Angelina, who was within.

The Emesmes family had always passed down the same Unique Skill, with each head entrusting their knowledge and techniques to the next. For them, succession meant offering oneself as part of the Skill. Whether or not that counts as ‘death’ is beyond my place to say.

But at the very least, it was a farewell.

「Don’t worry. I’ll stay conscious until this battle’s done.」

「Papa, wait—don’t—!」

Angelina reached out. But it wasn’t Lord’s frivolous voice that answered. It was a woman’s voice, warm and familiar.

「You see, as a parent—」

「…!」

「—all I really wanted was to see your smile, Geli.」

That was all she said.

Just that one line.

But it was unmistakably the voice of Fran Emesmes—Lord Emesmes’s wife, Angelina’s mother. All that remained of her was a scrap of golden chain.

「Fran saved up just enough for one last line, huh.」

「…She did.」

「So, what now? Fran said her piece.」

「We’re still in the middle of a battle. I can’t be smiling right now.」

「Oof, a fair point. So what do we do?」

Angelina’s answer was swift and clear.

「We win. Quickly.」

「Nice. But that means I need a title too. Marge-kun, Koe-san—any ideas?」

Artificer. Dread. Obsession. Previous heads of the family bore succinct epithets.

Traditionally, those titles were earned over a lifetime through deeds and character. But Roll All Emesmes had lived a life full of detours and missed timings. As an alchemist, he’d always felt he fell short of his predecessors.

That’s when Koe-san offered a title—and Lord seemed to like it.

「All right, Geli. Let’s go.」

The golem’s massive body unraveled.

Its arms, torso—all gone, leaving only the workshop head. Everything else became chain, dancing freely through the air. Whether it had legs or not no longer mattered. In a form as boundless as his soul, Roll All Emesmes transformed.

A golem of chains—alien, misshapen, and utterly unorthodox.

「Let’s do this. ――Roll All the Binder of Fates.」