Chapter 305: King of the Feathered Ones 4
TL/Editor: raei
Schedule: 5/Week Mon-Fri
Illustrations: Posted in discord.
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The armored harpy from the Harpy Empire spoke of an empire created by harpies themselves.
It was a Harpy Empire governed by a Harpy Empress, who had unified and subjugated all the other red harpy natives in the vicinity.
The only issue was that the level of civilization was exceptionally advanced because all the surrounding harpies had been conquered.
"...This is a mess. Looks like we're going to have to fight."
Literally, the problem is that it's a 'Harpy Empire.'
Thanks to my past indulgence in mobile games and various subcultures, I knew a bit about empires.
As far as I know, there are two types of empires.
The Eastern-style empire is known as "天子國" (Son of Heaven's country), where the emperor is considered to have a divine right, and the monarch is synonymous with the nation itself.
The Western-style empire, or Empire, doesn't necessarily need an emperor; it's just called an empire if a powerful country dominates several kingdoms.
But these Harpy Empire creatures... or rather, ladies, seemed to have picked only the worst traits as if they were designing an evil empire.
What I mean is that the Harpy Empire ruled by the Harpy Empress talked about imperialism.
"Isn't the character for 'Empire' different from 'Imperialism'? But these guys seem to be openly declaring, 'We are the villains~'."
-Does that Harpy Empress have a mustache?
-Since the root is Latin, it seems like the Yankees arbitrarily changed it; the word originally comes from Roman rulers.
[Chat deleted by the mod]
-Damn charging 5,000 won for the explanation...
-Isn’t it fine since there’s a game where Nazis appear as enemies?
While roaming around, they either lure or kidnap vulnerable adventurers and try to win over powerful humans.
Just hearing the story, it was painfully clear that the Harpy Empire had learned only the worst of human behaviors.
Dwarves were enslaved, mid-tier adventurers were used as combatants and monster capturers, red harpies who couldn't use multiple languages were second-class citizens, and black, named harpies were third-class citizens...
Even the weak and less intelligent harpies were called "citizens" because they were still considered kin, but the very fact that they were divided into first, second, and third-class citizens showed that the situation was beyond dire.
Moreover, the fact that dwarves with insufficient combat power were immediately enslaved, and from a player living in the age of democracy, it was clear that the Harpy Empire was the bad guy.
"Based on ability― you get― the corresponding― treatment!"
Despite the situation, we couldn't deny the armored harpy's intelligence, as it noticed the subtle reactions from our side and prepared to fly away.
Thinking it might be attacked if it showed its blade-like talons, it cleverly moved its wingtips, similar to students who sneakily shuffle out right before lunchtime, aiming to dash toward the corridor.
It was clear it was smart; instead of soaring upwards, it planned to leap off a cliff to the side and glide away to escape, subtly shifting its body.
I wasn't the only one who noticed this move, but since everyone seemed hesitant to attack, just twitching their hands, there was an awkward silence as the armored harpy and the adventurers eyed each other.
"...For now, let's take it to the kingdom."
"Barbarians―!"
I broke the silence.
Being an 11-year veteran in Heroes Chronicle, I knew that throwing almost any event into the Magic Tower would solve it like some deus ex machina.
Whether the Empress of the Harpy Imperialists had a mustache or not, interrogating her would likely reveal additional information.
What she blustered about was a kind of recruiting officer's propaganda.
If we wanted to hear the truth, we would need the close cooperation of mages and witches.
This is because alchemy and magic combined to create a magical truth serum in "Heroes Chronicle," which made the concept of a secret quite rare.
Of course, in a fantasy world, assassins are known to develop resistance to drugs... but a recruiting officer who roams around to conscript—or rather, kidnap—people wouldn't be such an assassin.
"Caught? Caught!"
"Good! Well done, Hanna!"
"Let me gooo—!"
The tense atmosphere was like the moment just before a cowboy in a Western movie draws his gun, on a rugged mountain path.
Han Se-ah, who quickly extended her staff, pressed down on the armored harpy's wingtips with a Gust of Wind.
This was a wind summoning spell, more of a support than an attack.
It wasn’t a cutting wind but a gust that kicked up dust, which might not deal a critical hit to a high-level monster clad in sturdy armor, but it could trip up a fleeing pickpocket by disrupting the harpy's first flap of wings.
Given that she was wearing armor and blade boots, the first flap was crucial for flight.
When the gust twisted her shoulders and wings in such a situation, the following events were predictable.
Instead of leaping off the rock and gliding down the cliff, the armored harpy spiraled and tumbled, ending up rolling on the ground.
Still, as if to live up to her role as a recruiting officer and combatant, she tried to leap off the cliff with those sturdy legs... but I pinned her down first.
"Barbarians—! Cowards—! Pervert—!"
"Pervert, f*ck you!"
-Is it the first time in a while that Teacher Roland has been annoyed or maybe the first time ever? lololol
-The pure reaction of a man who has never been slandered by a woman in his life
-Teacher Roland takes no physical damage but suffers mental damage, soft-hearted lol
-I mean, with that face, has he ever seriously been cursed by a woman as a pervert?
If I could catch a falling vacuum stone in mid-air, would I fail to catch a harpy rolling on the ground?
The blade boots struggled, going "ting-ting" as they hit the armor, but soon quieted down.
Reflective damage passive is useful at times like this.
She knocked herself out.
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Raei Translations
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Today's tip: The reflective damage passive is great for kidnapping someone alive.
"Are you planning to hand her over to the Magic Tower?"
"Actually, I plan to hand her over to the kingdom first and then call the mages."
"The mages will come all the way to the Harpy Kingdom... Yes, they will definitely come."
Just like the time when I moved the smart harpy girl who could speak to the kingdom, I slung the armored harpy over my shoulder.
There were viewers who were disappointed that I didn't disarm her armor and blade boots, which could also be handed over for research...
But Han Se-ah wasn't streaming to show off her chest swinging around.
Ignoring those few perverted opinions, we returned to the 43rd floor.
From time to time, the awakened armored harpy attempted to bite my neck or swing the blade-like talons on her boots in rebellion, but she became docile after repeatedly knocking herself out due to reflective damage and learning from it.
"Human, you will regret this—!"
"Alright, I got it."
She struggled, knocked herself out due to reflective damage, naturally recovered her health as a high-level monster while unconscious, woke up and struggled again, and then knocked herself out again due to reflective damage.
Seeing this cycle continue, she started to make noisy, annoying sounds.
How to describe this one-sided conversation...
Was it like watching a white person being racist towards Asians?
"...Did they create this without thinking about public opinion? Or is it like that Nazi-killing game where they just made it without worrying and told us to catch them?"
-It seems the fantasy residents don't really think much about it, right?
-Teacher Roland was annoyed because he got called a pervert but it seems like he's not particularly angry about the slavery lol
-With just a few words, she managed to scratch both the main tank and the player wow
-With the citizen class system, slaves, conquests, and gladiators, isn't that just the Roman Empire? Harpy Roman Empire?
[Han Se-ah's Harem Creation Team donated 100,000 won!]
This clearly looks like a faction war. Choose between a kingdom that's hard mode but appealing, and an empire that's easy mode but messed up.
"Ah, thank you for the donation, Harem Creation Team! ...Is that right? The empire route makes life easier but the conscience uneasy, something like that?"
As a result, it's not our party members who become uncomfortable but the viewers outside the camera.
Especially the Western viewers who went silent after frantically chatting, struggling even with translation tools.
Grace, Katie, and Irene, having been born and raised in a world with a class system, weren't too uncomfortable with it.
Even if they frowned a bit, it was more about the harpies treating humans as an inferior race, not about criticizing the slave system or the citizen class system.
...I also showed a subtle reaction, but thankfully, the viewers misunderstood it as me being a handsome man hurt by the pervert comment.
"Hey! Stop playing that military march with the video donations!"
Someone kept playing the Nazi march after photoshopping a mustache on the harpy's face.
I had to hold back my laughter.
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