I've Inherited the Summoning Skill, So I'm Going to Try to Master It! - Episode 135: In Other Words, a One-Hit Kill

Episode 135: In Other Words, a One-Hit Kill

Tearfully, Brother Gilliam grabbed my shoulders tightly. Ow, that hurts a little.

“Rufus, can’t you do something about this?”

“Uh, even if you ask me… And why me, exactly?”

“Because out of everyone here, you’re the most likely to come up with something.”

Silence fell over the area. Balt and Ray nodded in agreement. Wait, does everyone see me the same way as Brother Gilliam does? No way—they don’t actually think I’m some kind of god, right? That can’t be it!

“Even I can’t do anything about this. If everyone worked together, we might be able to punch a hole straight up to the surface, though.”

“Rufus!”

“Oh, crap.”

I hurriedly clapped both hands over my mouth. I blurted out my thoughts without meaning to.

I had been thinking about asking Moguran to harden the soil above this terminal so that it wouldn’t easily collapse. Then, if Lagios and Tia made a hole in the middle, we might be able to get out. That was my mistake. Damn it!

“Darling, you did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t! It’s a misunderstanding!”

Tia cornered me. Her eyes were narrowing into a sharp glare. I denied it with all my might. I couldn’t afford to admit it here—anyone can have slip-ups, even me.

“Rufus!”

“Brother Gilliam, if you ask Lagios and Tia, they’ll probably destroy the entire Airship along with everything else.”

Uh-oh. Brother Gilliam’s eyes were starting to look like shiitake mushrooms with cross-shaped cuts on top. I needed to calm him down before things got out of hand. If I said the Airship would be destroyed, even he would hesitate.

“Master, I do have some self-restraint. Please don’t make it sound like I’m some mindless destroyer who smashes everything in sight.”

“Just for now, can you be a destroyer?!”

“That’s ridiculous… G-GRAWR!”

“Pffft!”

Tia burst out laughing at Lagios’ efforts. Damn it, Tia, you’re supposed to be helping!

What do I do now? If things keep going like this, I’ll end up fully involved in Brother Gilliam’s Airship restoration project.

And after that… my mother’s wrath is sure to follow. I can see it coming.

“Brother Gilliam, if you do this, the ruins investigation won’t take just a month, right? Wouldn’t that interfere with your work?”

“Ugh… T-Then I’ll just finish two months’ worth of work in advance!”

I silently shook my head. No, that’s not the point. I made sure to convey that with my expression. Brother Gilliam might be reckless, but he’s not a fool—he quickly realized what I was getting at. His face went pale.

“Do you think Mother would allow that?”

“S-She’ll understand… probably!”

“I don’t want to get involved. If you really want to do it, go ahead and do it alone.”

The room fell completely silent. No one objected. Absolute victory!

Balt and Ray even nodded at me in approval, as if saying, “Well said!”

See? I can handle things when I need to! I don’t mess up all the time, you know? Keep that in mind.

But Brother Gilliam wasn’t ready to give up. His eyes still held determination. Then he asked me:

“Rufus, what do you want? What would make you cooperate?”

That look… It was the gaze of a noble. He was trying to resolve this matter in the noble way.

Too bad for him—I have absolutely no idea what that noble “something” is. If I were better at handling this kind of thing, I could have negotiated for something that benefited me.

But since I don’t have that skill, I could only say one thing:

“If Mother gives her approval, I’ll help anytime.”

I flashed him a big smile. Brother Gilliam’s face looked like the world was ending.

As a small mercy, I decided not to tell Mother about the face he just made. Then again, maybe it’s because we keep spoiling him that he never learns.

Brother Gilliam and the rest of the research team were now looking like they were at a funeral. They silently continued investigating the Airship’s interior.

I figured staying here any longer would be a bad idea. So I went outside to meet up with Brother Leonard. 

“Good work, Rufus. What did you do this time?” 

“Brother Leonard, could you not look so amused? I really am reflecting on my actions, you know.” 

“Oh, is that so?” 

Brother Leonard, could you not stare off into the distance like that? It’s making me feel even worse. 

With that, I briefly explained what had happened inside the Airship. 

After hearing my story, Brother Leonard looked… oddly entertained. 

“The front monitor, huh? Now I want to go take a look myself.” 

“Go ahead, I don’t mind. I’ll keep watch outside in your place. In fact, why not just take over as Brother Gilliam’s bodyguard while you’re at it?” 

“That’s not how this works… Well, I guess with Lagios and Tia there, it should be fine. Not to mention Tetsujin.” 

Brother Leonard seemed to convince himself. And as if swapping places with me, he stepped inside the Airship. 

Not long after, a cheerful voice rang out from the external speakers. It went without saying—it was Brother Leonard, sounding absolutely thrilled. 

…Did he just get completely hooked? 

Better be careful, Brother Leonard. That path is a deep rabbit hole.