Lily's Observatory

The factory has finally started operating. It runs on a simple system — using the magic power stored in phosphorescent magic stones to fuel enchantment spells. Several production lines for different kinds of magic tools are already up and running. First, there’s the line for high-frequency blades. The process is straightforward: metal plates made to standard size are imbued with « Leg Jitter » and « Landing » in sequence. To ensure the enchantments always succeed, the device used for imbuing resembles an industrial dishwashing machine. The stored mana from phosphorescent magic stones is supplied into it, activating the magic circle etched into its top panel. On the underside of that top panel is a “skill plate” — a small metal plate that has the target skill itself embedded into it. For example, a palm-sized plate engraved with only « Leg Jitter ». The device transfers the skill from that skill plate onto the material beneath the top panel. Insert a metal plate for the high-frequency b...

The corpses of trolls impaled on massive, mountain of metallic blades filled my vision. No matter where I looked, all that stood out was the Troll King's head. Leaping out from the pool of blood flowing from countless bodies, I landed before the towering creature glaring straight at me. Its enormous frame radiated such intimidation that it could crush an opponent’s will to fight. Individually, it was an upper B-rank monster — possessing high resistance and regeneration strong enough to give even A-rank hunters trouble. I slowly closed the distance, lowered my stance, and readied my dagger without letting my guard down. After a moment of tense standoff — “GUAAAAAAAAH!” The Troll King opened its massive jaws, and a deafening【Roar】shook the air, splitting the very sky with its force. Any hunter below B-rank would have their consciousness snatched away in an instant, and even B-rank hunters would be paralyzed, left completely open. Perhaps thinking I too was immobilized, it charged for...

When I think back to where my connection with Arisa truly began, I suppose the answer would be — before she was even born. That day, my sister called me over. She wanted help deciding on a name for her first child. And so, I became Arisa’s godfather. Because of that, I’ve always carried a quiet sense of guilt toward her. That day, there were seven of us gathered — my sister, her husband, both sets of parents, and me. Together we were to decide on a name for the unborn girl. Everyone else chose safe, pleasant names. I, on the other hand, was different back then. Arrogant . Twisted . I thought myself above others for no reason at all. A typical case of adolescent nihilism, festering even into adulthood. When it came to naming her, I turned to the famous opening lines of The Tale of the Heike: 『 The sound of the Gion Shouja bells echoes the impermanence of all things. The color of the sala flowers reveal the truth that the prosperous must decline .』 From the ending of one line and the beg...

“There they are!” From a distance, I spotted a large group of hunters locked in combat with a horde of trolls. As I drew closer to the battlefield, it became clear that the hunters were being overwhelmed. Understanding the situation, I activated【Physical Boost】to accelerat. I leapt high toward a troll facing a male swordsman at the front line and drove my dagger into its neck. Pulling out the deeply embedded blade, I watched the troll clutch its throat and shift its target to me — but a moment later, the poison took effect. This troll wasn’t any different from the one I’d faced while rescuing the mother and child. I knew it would die soon, so I immediately rushed toward the others. After attacking another troll the same way, I stood atop its collapsing body and used【Taunt】to draw the hostility of the surrounding trolls toward myself. Ignoring the other hunters, the trolls shoved and trampled one another, desperate to reach me first. “« Land of Swords »” The concrete road split apart as...

After resolving the issue with the orphanage kids, I finally returned to my own shop — the Dwarven Cave Magic Tool Store — for the first time in a while. By the time I got back, the sun had already set, and the lights in the nearby houses were beginning to fade. I’d spent too much time indulging little Rosa, and before I knew it, the day was over. “Welcome back, old man.” Arisa, who was on night shift at the shop, greeted me with a bright smile. “I’m home, Arisa.” When I replied, she nodded in satisfaction. “So, things at the factory and orphanage are finally settled?” “Yes. I believe it’s much more stable now than before. That said, I’ll still need to keep developing new items, so I won’t be able to stay in the shop all day like I used to.” “I see. Well, I’m just glad you’re back at all.” Her bashful smile made my heart skip for a moment. I immediately scolded myself for letting such impure thoughts surface and steered the conversation elsewhere. “By the way, did anything unusual happ...

After escorting the mother and child to the nearby shelter, I scanned my surroundings to see if anyone else had been left behind, then dashed through the city. Collapsed buildings burned as black smoke rose into the air. The corpses and bloodstains of those slain by trolls were scattered across the streets. The air was hot and thick with the stench of blood. I checked my phone for the current situation. A field reporter, his expression grim, was giving live updates with detailed reports. Meanwhile, an online streamer, visibly excited, was broadcasting the ongoing battle between the hunters and the trolls. Thousands of viewers were watching, and the comment section was moving rapidly. From the gathered information, it seemed that only a few trolls acted alone, like the one I’d just defeated. Most were under the command of the Troll King. A horde of trolls continued to rampage, destroying everything in their path and slaughtering anyone they encountered. Many hunters had engaged them, bu...

When I brought the children back to the orphanage, Isabella looked visibly relieved. She must have been worried sick, wondering if they’d return safely. “Isabella-san. The children have grown strong. They’ve learned how terrifying and difficult adventuring can be, and they’ve come to understand what real battle means. … Their levels are rising steadily, too. I doubt they’ll recklessly throw themselves into danger again out of mere curiosity.” “Yes, I can see how much they’ve changed. But even so… I can’t get used to the idea of them going into dungeons.” Her concern was understandable. After all, I was the one putting them through this training for my own goals. From her perspective as their caretaker, no amount of safety precautions could erase that fear. “I’m truly sorry. But I promise, this experience will benefit them in the future. Please try to understand that.” “I do. For orphans, the ‘strongest delivery worker’ you speak of is an ideal path. The magic tools you’ve lent us are i...

“GUAAAHHHH!” Clutching it's heavily bleeding wrists, the troll let out a scream that echoed throughout the area. I rushed toward the mother shielding her daughter and called out to her. “Quickly, we need to get out of here! Can you stand?” “Uh… y-yes, I can!” “I’ll escort you to the nearest shelter. Stay calm and follow me.” “O-okay!” The mother carried her injured daughter on her back while I checked the shelter’s location. Keeping alert of our surroundings, we began to move. “GWOOOOHHHH!” But since I had to match the mother’s pace, we couldn’t put much distance between us and the troll. From behind, the troll — whose wrist had already regenerated — charged after us in a rage. I’d suspected as much from its stats when I used【Appraisal】, but it was clear now: even if its limbs were severed, they would immediately regenerate. “Alright, how do I take this thing down…” Normally, to defeat a troll, you burn its wounds with【Fire Magic】to stop its regeneration before finishing it off. Bu...

While I was still reeling from that shocking confession, Joan kept talking. “At first, I just thought you were amazing, Ossan—cool and strong and all that. That was it. … But the more I watched you work so hard, the more I couldn’t stop thinking about you. My chest would feel warm, my heart would start pounding, and I couldn’t look away. … Then I realized it—I really love you, Ossan. I want you to hold me, I want to kiss you, I want to stay with you for the rest of my life. I mean it, I’m serious!” The longer he spoke, the clearer it became. Joan truly did like me — romantically. “Um, Joan-kun?” “Even if you say no, I’m not giving up! You can’t do anything about how I feel! I love you, and that’s not gonna change!” “Well, yes… lately, I’ve been learning that sort of thing firsthand.” Ever since I started getting oddly popular with women, this sort of confession no longer felt strange to hear. Still, that didn’t mean I could accept it. “Listen carefully, Joan-kun. I’m an adult, and you’...

The battle with the Death Insect was going smoothly in the children’s favor. Thanks to their cut-resistant robes, its sickle-like arms were nothing more than blunt weapons. Besides, everyone had already learned how to read its movements perfectly. Their high-frequency blades sliced through the monster’s hard shell with ease. For weapons forged from rare metal alloys, this much resistance was nothing. Still, the Death Insect was quick. The children couldn’t land a decisive blow; their attacks only tore shallow lines across its carapace, never reaching the organs inside. They had the upper hand, yes—but victory was still out of reach. What mattered now was how they handled the next phase. “I’ll go in front!” With that, Joan leapt forward. The others immediately moved to cover him. While the five blocked the creature’s attacks, Joan dove into its guard. His high-frequency blade cut upward from the belly to the head. “Take this!” His strike split the Death Insect cleanly in two. One down. ...

From the day I spoke with Isabella, I began to act. I submitted a request to the Adventurers’ Guild, gathering well-behaved adventurers suited for teaching. Then, I started combat training for the children. We held sessions in the orphanage’s open yard — the same place they usually played. Once the kids learned the basics from those adventurers, I led them to the multi-dungeon for level training. On the lower floors, with adult adventurers supervising and my magic tools supporting them, it was possible to raise levels safely. I prioritized the younger, less experienced ones, sometimes joining their dives myself. Each adventurer in charge of training reported to me afterward. I compared their reports with those from Isabella and the children to track progress — and to evaluate the instructors. So far, there had been no problems. A month passed since the “Strongest Delivery Service” plan began. By then, the factory grounds had been cleared and construction was underway. Most of the magic...

After finishing the dungeon raid, it was still before noon. Since it felt like a good stopping point, I was thinking of grabbing an early lunch when suddenly, a loud alarm blared through the city. [ Emergency evacuation alert! ~ Emergency evacuation alert! ~ A Stampede has occurred! ~ Please evacuate immediately to the nearest shelter! ~ This is not a drill! I repeat , this is not a drill! ~ Evacuate immediately to the nearest shelter! ] The blaring siren echoed throughout the city, followed by an announcement declaring that a Stampede had begun. “A Stampede!?” A Stampede — a phenomenon where monsters overflow from inside a dungeon and start invading the outside world. Normally, thanks to the hunters, Stampedes rarely happen. But depending on the dungeon’s environment or the types of monsters inside, some places inevitably get neglected. If I could hear that announcement now, that meant the monsters had already started spilling out. I checked the notification on my phone. It showed the...

The next day. I visited the B-rank dungeon in Nakano Ward. The field that spread before me was a forest where the trees weren’t too densely packed. Wearing the《 Hermit’s Robe 》, I advanced deeper inside without drawing any unnecessary attention from other parties. Bzzzt ! Bzzzt ! A faint buzzing reached my ears. When I turned toward the sound, a bee about a meter long hovered in place, its wings beating rapidly. “…That’s way too big. Disgusting.” Three of them suddenly flew at me, their speed like arrows loosed from a bow. I deflected the aimed stingers with my dagger, leapt back to create some distance, then immediately cloaked myself with【Stealth】. Placing my hand on the ground— “« Flame Pillar »” All three were engulfed in a fiery column and reduced to ashes. 『Magic Power +7 UP』 『Strength +7 UP』 『Endurance +8 UP』 『Agility +7 UP』 『Intelligence +7 UP』 『Spirit +7 UP』 『Dexterity +7 UP』 『Luck +7 UP』 『Acquired【Poison Resistance】Lv.4』 The Murder Hornet flies at high speed and attacks with ...

After selling the materials and getting the robe appraised, I headed home. Once I washed off the sweat in the bath and finished dinner, I lay down on my bed and started scrolling through my phone. What I was looking into was that eerie party I’d encountered — the ones wearing the similar masks and robes. A few results came up right away, but there wasn’t much detailed information. Apparently, those people were Hunters belonging to a clan called「 Grim Reaper 」. Ordinarily, a clan’s activities would include dungeon raids, collecting resources like materials and magic stones, and culling monsters to prevent Stampedes. But「 Grim Reaper 」was different. They were said to commit robberies, assaults, and even murders — and their crimes weren’t limited to dungeons. There had been civilian victims as well. Even so, no one seemed to know who their clan master was, how many members they had, or where their base of operations was located. In the first place, they weren’t officially recognized by th...

I explained the plan to Isabella. The idea is to train the children and turn them into the strongest delivery service. Saying it simply makes it sound a bit nonsensical, but in a way it was exactly what needed doing. This world has poor public order. If you run a delivery business you can’t efficiently hire adventurers as guards every time. It would be better to build a security company tied to the delivery service itself. If my delivery company and a guarding force I control can operate together, deliveries can be protected reliably by a trusted force without hiring outsiders each time. Right now the delivery work is handled by the kids. If I plan to found a guard company later, it’s far easier to train the guards from childhood. Having the delivery firm and the security firm reach operational readiness around the same time makes planning simpler. That led to a realization: why set up two separate companies at all? If the delivery force itself were combat-capable, there’d be no need t...

『Magic Power +7 UP』 『Strength +8 UP』 『Endurance +9 UP』 『Agility +8 UP』 『Intelligence +7 UP』 『Spirit +9 UP』 『Dexterity +8 UP』 『Luck +12 UP』 『【Shieldmanship】Lv.5 UP』 『【Taunt】Lv.4 UP』 Before I realized it, the shield-bearer’s corpse was lying at my feet. Huh? What… just happened to me? Tracing my memory back, I recalled myself fighting the shield-bearer with a disturbing amount of delight. That’s right! Ever since I got that dangerous-sounding title, I felt like I wasn’t myself anymore- To figure out what had happened to me, I opened the details of the newly acquired title. ━━━━━━━━━━ 〘 Serial Killer 〙 ① Title granted to those who have killed ten or more humans. ② Title holder becomes highly sensitive to murderous intent and cannot suppress the urge to kill until the target harboring it is eliminated. ③ During combat against humans, all stats ×1.2 . ━━━━━━━━━━ So that was the cause. The bloodlust that had surged through me earlier came from the title’s effect. It must have reacted to the ...