Lily's Observatory

“So, Otogin, now that you’re a freshly minted lovey-dovey newlywed, what business do you have with me?” Shuri said as he leaned in to peer at my face. The day after Arisa and I shared our skills, I came to visit Shuri. The reason was to tell him about a fact I had discovered by using « Calculator ». “Actually, there’s a major discovery I really want you to hear about.” “Oh? If you’re saying that much, Otogin, it must be something pretty big, huh?” Shuri said with an expectant grin. “So then, what exactly did you discover?” “Yes. In fact, it looks like it may be possible to grant another person’s skill using enhancement magic.” “…What?” Perhaps because my statement was far too concise, Shuri tilted his head in confusion. “Hold on a second, Otogin. That’s a bit too abrupt. Can you explain it properly, step by step?” “Yes, of course.” And so, I began explaining the conclusions I had reached using « Calculator » yesterday. “First, about existing enhancement magic circles. With conventional...

The moment Matsumoto and I heard the emergency Stampede alarm, we bolted out of the restaurant. “Matsumoto-san! I’m going on ahead!” “Got it!” To be honest, even the movement speed of an A-rank Hunter like Matsumoto felt slow to me, so I told him I would advance first. I further boosted my speed with【Dash】and sprinted through the city like a gale. When I arrived at the scene — in front of the dungeon — I spotted a large number of Soldier Ants. For some reason, however, they had stopped fighting the Hunters and were standing in neat formation. And as many Hunters stood frozen in confusion at this incomprehensible situation, it appeared from the dungeon entrance. I, too, was taken aback when I saw the humanoid monster, but I snapped back to my senses when it carved spiderweb-like cracks into the ground and vanished in an instant. It was moving at overwhelming speed, about to kick a rear-line Hunter to death, so I quickly stepped in and caught the kick. The creature showed a flicker of su...

How should I put this… this is bad, or rather, it’s a bit too stimulating. The intensity of how deeply Arisa loves me comes flooding in like a raging torrent, filling me with an overwhelming sense of happiness. And in turn, she’s surely feeling just how deeply I love her as well. That being the case, sharing these feelings causes our love to swell, feeding back into each other’s thoughts, repeating over and over — growing without limit. “Wow… my heart’s still thumping,” Arisa murmured as she pressed a hand to her chest. That was how intense the emotional surge had been. “This is something we’ll need to be very careful with, or it could turn into something serious,” I said, and Arisa nodded in agreement. “Let’s get used to it little by little. If we don’t, the backlash might break our hearts.” “Yeah. For now, I think two or three seconds is about the limit.” Even so, that was more than enough time to solve all sorts of things with « Calculator ». Thanks to that, both Arisa and I gained ...

As the emergency Stampede alarm rang out across the city, civilians sprang into action in a flurry. Hunters who had been spending their day off with family, as well as those drinking with party members at izakayas, quickly equipped their gear and gathered their items before rushing to the scene. Ordinary civilians who were not Hunters also grabbed the bare minimum of belongings and hurried toward buildings with shelters. Thanks to everyone’s swift actions, the damage did not spread much beyond the area around the dungeon, and there were zero civilian casualties. However, for the Hunters fighting the swarm of Soldier Ants on the front lines, it was truly a fight for their lives. Because the ants had high resistance to both physical and magical attacks, it took a tremendous amount of time to defeat even a single one. And just when they finally managed to bring one down, another immediately stepped forward to take its place. Each one was massive, and because they blocked each other’s path...

Once I finished drawing the magic circle on Arisa’s stomach, it was my turn next. Watching myself in the mirror, I carefully completed it. With that done, it was finally time to activate the magic circles. “All that’s left is for us to touch each other’s magic circles and pour in mana. … Once we do, the magic circles will be burned into our souls, and it’ll be like enhancement magic is constantly active between you and me.” “Got it. After this is over, it’s okay to erase the magic circles, right?” “Yeah. The magic circles will remain burned into our souls. Washing off the ink drawn on the skin won’t be a problem.” With the explanation finished, Arisa and I looked at each other and nodded. “All right, let’s begin.” “Yeah.” Arisa and I placed our hands on the magic circles drawn on each other’s stomachs and began channeling mana. Then, the magic circles started to glow. Both of our stomachs emitted light, which gradually seeped inward, fading as though it were sinking into our bodies. Wh...

After getting in touch with Matsumoto, a Huntuber and A-rank Hunter, we visited a high-end establishment he highly recommended. “Welcome. Thank you very much for coming.” A woman in her forties, wearing a beautifully arranged kimono without any makeup, placed her hands together on the floor and bowed deeply. “Matsumoto-han. Thank you kindly for always patronizing our establishment.” (E/N: Basically -san suffix for Mr. So-and-so but in Kansai dialect which is spoken in the west-central part of the main island of Japan, Honshu. Famous cities include Kyoto , Ōsaka , Kobe , Nara , etc.) “The pleasure’s mine! Thanks to this place, I can keep giving my all in my Hunter activities!” “Well, it’s mutual then. And today, it seems you’ve brought a guest with you… I feel like I’ve seen your face somewhere before—” “This gentleman is a super-famous figure who’s been all the rage on TV and social media! The fifth S-rank Hunter, who single-handedly conquered an S-rank Dungeon that even a major clan...

“If you don’t get stronger, Yuichi, and you end up dying because of some stupid accident, leaving me all alone — how is that supposed to be happiness?! … Don’t mess with me! Weren’t you going to make me happy?! Didn’t we say we’d work hard together, the two of us, so that wouldn’t happen?!” As she blamed me one-sidedly, my way of thinking gradually began to change. Maybe I was about to make the same mistake again. Not wanting to involve Arisa, not wanting to sacrifice her — that was nothing more than my own self-centered reasoning. What mattered most to Arisa wasn’t a life without risk. It was that she and I would combine our strength and strive to be happy together. That kind of future — like running side by side — was what Arisa truly wanted. And yet I was about to crush that wish with my selfish excuse of not wanting to involve her. Nothing had changed at all. From the time I hurt Arisa, choosing only the options that satisfied me and running away — nothing had changed. “Arisa. Are ...

“I’d like to request the purchase of monster materials… I’ve stored the Soldier Ants whole, so could you guide me to a wide area where I can take them out?” “Y-yes, most certainly!” I followed the staff member, who looked utterly shocked by my request, and began taking the Soldier Ant corpses out of the《 Magic Pouch 》one by one, lining them up in the designated area. “That’s all of them. And these are the Queen Ant materials, along with the conquest reward — a chest armor. I’d like to request an appraisal for the armor.” “…H-Huh!? U-Understood! Please wait just a moment!” The staff member, who had been stunned by the sheer number of Soldier Ant corpses, snapped back to their senses and hurriedly instructed other staff to begin the inspection. I decided to wait in front of the counter from earlier. “S-Sorry to keep you waiting!” “I didn’t wait long at all, so it’s fine.” “Thank you for your consideration! First, regarding the purchase price for the materials — for twenty Soldier Ants an...

“First, as a prerequisite, back then I discovered a new way to use enchantment magic. By engraving a magic circle directly onto a person’s body, the enchantment circle acts on the soul, allowing the enchantment to persist semi-permanently.” “Huh, that’s a thing? But isn’t that dangerous? You’re writing a magic circle directly onto someone’s body, right?” Arisa’s doubt was completely reasonable. “The magic circle itself doesn’t have any side effects. To begin with, when you use enchantment magic to grant a skill to someone, the magic is already acting on the person. … The magic itself has almost no chance of causing physical harm.” “I see. Then why does my life end up in danger?” “The problem isn’t the magic itself. The risk comes from two people being connected at the soul level through enchantment magic.” Arisa tilted her head, not quite grasping what I meant, so I continued with a more detailed explanation. “Specifically, you engrave a magic circle for skill sharing onto both people’...

It felt like nearly two hours had passed as we shared our thoughts with each other. The conversation had spread from personal matters to the future development of the businesses I was running, including the magic tool shop. "So, Yūichi, you don’t plan on stopping yourself from jumping into new ventures anytime soon, huh?" "Yeah. This world is still a harsh one for us, no matter what. If we’re putting our happiness first, then I want as much power as I can get. There’s no such thing as having power you don’t need." "Well, I agree with that. But if it turns into you working all the time and leaving me alone like you have lately, then I don’t like that, okay?" In a sulky tone, Arisa voiced her complaints about my recent behavior. She was right. Even accounting for how busy work had been, I’d left her alone for far too long. Now that we were officially husband and wife, I had to make sure that never happened again. "Got it. I’ll be careful." "Go...

Upon entering the enormous nest hole, the path sloped gently downward. I activated【Presence Detection】,【Mana Detection】, and the newly acquired【Night Vision】, moving forward with light, steady steps. When the slope ended, a gigantic corridor stretched ahead, completely devoid of light. Along the way, there were several branching passages. Moving beyond them led to vast open spaces where two or three Soldier Ants were clustered together. Using【Presence Concealment】,【Mana Concealment】, and【Stealth】to launch【Covert Strike】s, I swiftly cut them down with《 Balmung 》. 『Lv.64 UP』 『Magic Power +16』 『Strength +16』 『Endurance +31』 『Agility +16』 『Intelligence +16』 『Spirit +29』 『Dexterity +18』 『Luck +18』 『Skill【Corrosion Resistance】Lv.7 UP』 『Skill【Night Vision】Lv.7 UP』 Keeping only the formic acid spraying attacks in mind, I quickly dealt with the Soldier Ants waiting beyond each branching passage and pressed deeper and deeper inside. Then, I stepped into an absurdly vast space. All around were nu...

The moment I passed through the dungeon entrance, the scene opened up into a field dotted everywhere with massive, dome-shaped earthen structures, each riddled with gigantic holes so deep that their ends were impossible to see. From those enormous holes emerged jet-black ants the size of large trucks, some already locked in battle with other Hunters. While some Hunters dismantled the giant ants they had slain and pushed them back toward the entrance on specialized carts, the giant ants themselves devoured one or two fallen Hunters and dragged the rest into the massive holes. In other words, this entire field seemed to be the ants’ nest. However, they didn’t dig upward to ambush from underground. It appeared they only entered and exited through those enormous holes. Once I had a rough grasp of the situation, I began looking for ants that weren’t already engaged with other Hunters. I looked up at the ant-type monster I encountered — a Soldier Ant — and it truly was massive. Its height re...

After that, Arisa and I returned to the royal capital and went around greeting the neighbors near the magic tool shop. We told them that Arisa and I were getting married. It seemed that many people had been laying the groundwork behind the scenes, because quite a few reacted with visible relief, saying things like how glad they were that everything worked out. After that, we went to thank everyone who had helped us. In particular, we bowed our heads again and again to Marquis Roosevelt, Kanehama, and Mimori, whom we had caused a great deal of trouble. Once all of that had finally been taken care of, Arisa and I at last went to the government office, completed the paperwork, and officially registered our marriage. That was earlier today, just after noon. Now it was night. In Arisa’s room, the two of us sat facing each other on chairs, alone together. “Arisa. Starting today, you and I are husband and wife.” “Y-Yeah. That’s right. It’s kind of, um… embarrassing, isn’t it?” Fiddling with h...

With the unpacking and furniture setup finally finished, our lives settled back into their usual rhythm. Since none of us really knew the area well, Dad and Mom talked about using their days off to walk around and get familiar with the surroundings. I wasn’t interested, so starting today I planned to resume my Hunter activities and continue clearing dungeons. That said, every A-rank and S-rank dungeon in Tokyo was already cleared. So I intended to travel out of the prefecture and go around the A-rank dungeons elsewhere. I had already decided on the first destination. After quickly getting ready, I swung open the front door. ♦︎♢♦︎♢♦︎♢♦︎♢♦︎♢ After about three hours on the bullet train (E/N: Shinkansen 🚅), I arrived in Kyoto, a city filled with cultural treasures and elegant maiko. I honestly had zero interest in sightseeing, but maiko… that was a different story. Still, I’d heard that many establishments don’t admit first-time customers, so visiting might be difficult. Thinking about th...

Arisa and I ran out of the capital and kept going. Following impulse alone, letting our thoughts and hearts steer our legs, we eventually reached a quiet spring deep in the forest outside the city. There was no one around. Only then did I stop. I set Arisa down, and still holding hands, we walked to the edge of the water. “I’ve been lost for so long,” Arisa said, her voice thick with emotion. “I didn’t know what to do. I thought… if I lived with my first love, with Yūichi onii-chan, maybe we’d get married someday. I sort of assumed that was my future. … But when you rejected me, everything fell apart. I couldn’t see anything anymore. It felt like I was trapped inside a maze.” She began speaking about her heart — her real feelings — and I didn’t dare miss a single word. “I couldn’t find my own happiness. I depended on my skill — the way you showed me how to use it — and just kept using it to decide everything for me. … And the last thing it pointed to… was marrying Marquis Roosevelt.” N...

After moving into the new home and getting the unpacking and new furniture installation mostly settled, I lay on my bed and opened my status window. ━━━━━━━━━━ (Only updated sections displayed) Hunter Rank     S Rank Level 63（6UP） Stats ・Magic Power  6,117 ( 240+5,817+60 ) ・Strength          6,061 ( 240+5,941+120 ) ・Endurance      7,335 ( 235+7,100 ) ・Agility              6,160 ( 240+5,820+100 ) ・Intelligence    6,237 ( 240+5,937+60 ) ・Spirit               7,981 ( 235+7,706+40 ) ・Dexterity         6,095 ( 235+5,720+140 ) ・Luck                6,569 ( 240+6,329 ) Skill Points  Remaining　 9 Conversion : Surplus Experience         Remaining　 2,168,384 Skills « Magic-type » ・【Ice Magic】Lv.6（NEW） ・【Lightning Magic】Lv.6（NEW） « Combat-type » ・【Axemanship】Lv.6（3UP） ・【M...

Several days passed after the kidnapping of Yuito’s parents by「 Demon-fist Raiders 」. While Yuito cleaned and packed alongside his mother, a guild staff member was sprinting through a hallway inside the Hunter Guild building. Knock! Knock! Knock! “E-excuse me!” “W-what is the matter! Why are you in such a panic!?” The Guildmaster was shocked by the staff member barging in without waiting for permission. Seeing his state, the Guildmaster braced himself, sensing this was urgent. “G-Guildmaster! The「 Demon-fist Raiders 」's clan master and all of its members appear to be missing!” “W-what!? W-what do you mean!?” “We received a report from a staff member working with the clan. For the past few days, not a single member has shown up at the clan’s headquarters, nor have they visited any of their usual shops.” “Could they be out on a clan expedition?” “I thought the same, but not informing the staff who manage the clan is strange. And to be sure, we contacted the guild branches that overse...