LIGHTNOVELONLINE
Book 1: Chapter 13: Itsuka Kotori’s One-Thousand-Layer Trap
He Who Knows Fate: In our modern slang, Merlin is an Internet troll.
Magus of Flowers: I’m not. My character persona is that of a caring big brother☆
Efreet: Why the extra ☆
He Who Knows Fate: Sorry, perhaps because your character persona does not stand out much in your profile design, I can’t see you as a caring big brother.
Magus of Flowers: Now that you mentioned it, it makes sense. I have to think of a way to change the profile design.
He Who Knows Fate: Crossdress, then. There is no longer a market for a caring big brother. A caring big sister is more popular.
Chen Heng still brooded over the calls for him to crossdress when he joined the group.
Magus of Flowers: You don’t say! That’s a pretty good idea.
He Who Knows Fate: I just said it in jest. Don’t take it for real. Cheating others will result in heavenly punishment, especially when you are cheating the feelings of others.
Magus of Flowers: I just recalled seeing myself becoming a livestreamer in my game. I used a gender-swap program and took on a caring big sister personality there. I even had a loyal shut-in male fan who would frequently send donations, even when he was busy treating patients.
Magus of Flowers: I’ll try to figure out how to connect to the Internet from Avalon now. Thanks, @He Who Knows Fate.
He Who Knows Fate: …Don’t ever thank me for this. I feel afraid.
[Author Note: Let me apologize to all the loyal fans tricked by gender-swap livestreamers first. I did not do this on purpose.]
Iron Fist Teacher: I hope Merlin won’t get beaten to death after he gets exposed.
Iron Fist Teacher: Also, @He Who Knows Fate, you are the instigator.
He Who Knows Fate: Is it too late for me to retract my statement?
I Have a Strong Presence: It’s too late.
He Who Knows Fate: I’m slipping away now. I have to finish reading the information on Sirin.
Efreet: You are not done yet? I say, information is life itself. That’s right. Do you have a girlfriend?
He Who Knows Fate: I don’t. Why?
Efreet: This is why you are still single. Know yourself and your opponent, and you will win all your battles. If you want to conquer a girl, you have to understand everything about her.
He Who Knows Fate: Sirin is just 14 years old. What is there to conquer?
Efreet: What’s wrong with 14 years old? Let me ask you, are you planning to let her live this month happily?
He Who Knows Fate: That’s right. What’s wrong with that?
Efreet: Don’t you have to understand what she likes if you want her to be happy?
He Who Knows Fate: Right.
Efreet: After understanding what she likes, you will bring her to have fun, right?
He Who Knows Fate: Yeah.
Efreet: She will be happy when you bring her out to have fun, right?
He Who Knows Fate: Yes.
Efreet: Her impression of you would be improved when she feels happy, right?
He Who Knows Fate: That’s right. But…
Efreet: That is to say, your ultimate goal is for her to improve her impression of you, right?
He Who Knows Fate: Yes.
Efreet: Then, you are after her body! You depraved person!
He Who Knows Fate: ???
Efreet: Sorry, I got carried away. In any case, if you want her to live happily for this month, you have to do your best to understand her. In the end, there is no difference from conquering her.
He Who Knows Fate: I feel you are setting a trap for me. You are just twisting facts.
Efreet: How can this be? That is clearly just your misperception. I suggest you not just finish reading the information on Sirin but also read the comics. Even better, play the game too. This will help you understand Sirin better.
He Who Knows Fate: Although I feel you are swindling me, this advice seems fine.
Iron Fist Teacher: Another crazy one.
He Who Knows Fate: →_→
He Who Knows Fate: I know Efreet’s logic is a little warped, but her suggestion is quite helpful. At the very least, there’s nothing wrong with understanding more about Sirin.
Efreet: That’s the way. If there are any problems, just tell me. I will help you think of ideas. However…I’ve been a little short on points recently.
He Who Knows Fate: Got it. I will pay for the information.
Iron Fist Teacher: ??? This worked?
He Who Knows Fate: One more thing, consider it as me pleading with you. Please stop developing the situation to me conquering Sirin, alright?
Efreet: (ˉ▽￣～) Tsk!
He Who Knows Fate: Just do it for the sake of points.
Efreet: If my powers weren’t sealed, I wouldn’t have to rely on being a love consultant to earn points. For the sake of points, then. Remember to seek me out when you have problems.
Iron Fist Teacher: To think I—Hiratsuka Shizuka—still do not have a boyfriend despite being 30 years old, yet a 14-year-old girl has become a love consultant! Am I behind the times?
[TL Note: Hiratsuka Shizuka is from Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata. Here is her profile: /wiki/Shizuka_Hiratsuka. As before, the arrangement of the name in my translation is different from the profile as I chose to follow the arrangement of names in the name’s original language. In this case, Japanese, where the family name comes before the given name.]
He Who Knows Fate: Milady, times have changed.
Iron Fist Teacher: Tsk!
He Who Knows Fate: I’m not chatting anymore. I’ve got to read the information.
Iron Fist Teacher: Goodbye.
How to put this? Chen Heng failed to meet his initial goals. In the end, no one clearly answered his questions on the ability third awakening. However, he made some headway in figuring out how to care for Sirin.
Chen Heng stood up and looked around the basement. He felt it was an excellent decision not to put anything in the basement. He had even pulled in light when he initiated the ability second awakening. What if there had been swords or sabers around?
When Chen Heng trained his ability, he usually did so in the basement. However, he would always store all the training equipment in his necklace afterward, not leaving anything in the basement lest an accident happened and others discovered him to be an ability user. After all, Chen Heng had some equipment unique to ability users. Those items would increase the chances of exposure.
Chen Heng knew about the hidden world. After all, he had experienced a Precognition vision of himself a few years into the future. He had even joined the Special Affairs Bureau.
The disciples of some of the hidden world’s large factions tended to play fast and loose. They could fight and scheme against each other, but they had a bottom line; they would avoid killing or injuring someone to the point where one could not cultivate anymore.
There were few lone wolves in the hidden world. However, most were ruthless and strong people. Trying to kill me? Sure, but you’d better not let me escape. Otherwise, your family will end up in my hands.
There were practically no rules to protect one in the hidden world. Before one came in contact with the hidden world, the laws and the Special Affairs Bureau would provide protection. However, once one came in contact with the hidden world, the nation would rarely care unless one joined the Special Affairs Bureau or another official organization. Even so, the government would only protect one from foreign cultivators or ability users harming one intentionally, rarely bothering with internal conflicts. Therefore, the Special Affairs Bureau was a good choice if one wanted to enter the hidden world.
In the world, the hidden world was extremely concealed. Ordinary people would rarely stumble across it. Hence, when someone awakened an ability, they tended to consider themselves very incredible or heaven’s chosen. However, even if one really were heaven’s chosen, one still had to follow the basic rules. One could not just blindly do as one pleased. Those newcomers who thought too much of themselves suffered the most in the hidden world.
There were many monsters and demons in this world. There were also plenty of noble clans with millennia-long heritage. Some mythological characters truly existed. However, most of them went to the places they should—such as China’s Heavenly Court, Japan’s Takamanohara, and Greece’s Mount Olympus. These places had ample spiritual energy, which made them suitable training grounds for cultivators and ability users. Practically all the true experts headed to these places and rarely came out to the mundane world.
[TL Note: The Heavenly Court is where the Chinese pantheon resides. Takamanohara is where the Japanese pantheon resides. Mount Olympus is where the Greek pantheon resides. Here are the various links for more information: http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/cosmos/prb/heavenly.htm, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takamagahara, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Olympus.]
If those arrogant newcomers still did not adjust their attitudes after getting beaten up badly, they would not continue existing in this world for much longer.