Light Novel Volume 4 Extra Story- The Birth of a Traditional Event
- TN: Just to note, these events take place after the ending of Volume 4 of the Light Novel, in which events go differently from the Web Novel. Think of this as an alternate timeline in which the Daemons never emerged and the war with Tenka ended earlier.
It was a chilly morning with fog covering the surrounding waters and half of the Castle in the Sky.
Hart, who had fallen into a sleep as deep as the fog, was inadvertently awakened from his slumber at the faint hint of soft, warm warmth emanating from inside of the sheets he was wrapped in.
There’s nothing wrong with having Yuna, who he was married to, in his bed.
However, Hart, the Commander-in-Chief and Fleet Admiral, still has a mountain of work to do even after the end of the war. If Hart gives the order, everyone in the Royal Army will follow it, but for that to happen, Hart must make the decision. Hart, who had made a large number of approvals to take his leave, was exhausted, to say the least.
Due to the unstoppable meddling, Hart reluctantly launched a counterattack.
“Ah, hey, don’t fondle me. Hart, you shouldn’t do that.”
Interpreting this assault as legitimate self-defense, Hart attacked his opponent’s body with his left hand and began to focus on the armpit with the fingertips of his right hand.
“Wait, no, no, Hart, you really can’t.”
Hearing a slight cry in her voice, Hart called off the attack.
Then, with his eyes still closed, he stopped…………… recommending surrender to the culprit and tried to go back to sleep, leaving the other party alone.
“Wait, that’s not right!”
Just as he was about to fall asleep despite the protesting Grand Duchess, Hart was attacked again. It couldn’t be helped, so he hugged her and closed his eyes, and finally, the other party became quiet.
Eventually, Hart awakened just as the Diete star illuminated the castle in the sky from almost directly above. Still, no Royal Citizen would complain about Hart’s inertia, which led to the end of the war.
Hart recognizes that Yuna’s pampering is a reaction to the hardships she has endured. The most recognized side is the one that wants better treatment of the other party.
But Hart intended to go along with it within limits.
“So, let’s go out together next time. I’ve got an invitation.”
As Hart eats breakfast with her, Yuna invites him to join her, showing her an invitation.
“When is the next time?”
“In the last week of October. I’ll be fine with the remote-controlled robot, so how about a change of pace?”
The sender of the invitation that Yuna forwarded to Hart was Amber, Lady of the Count of Austin, who held the fiefdom on the Mykonos continent of the Capital planet Diros. They were in the same grade at the Middle School of the Academy of Magic, and they once took dance classes together.
Hart doesn’t remember much, but Yuna must have had some exchanges through Colette, who had a moderate relationship with other aristocrats.
And the invitation is to a Halloween party held in the Count’s estate.
“Why did you get a Halloween invitation?”
“Until last year, Halloween had been canceled because we were in the middle of the war. So this year, they want to do something flashy to stimulate the economy. But if Hart and I participate, it would be great free publicity, so I felt like giving it a try together.”
“No matter what.”
“I see. Even so, Halloween?”
Halloween used to be an autumn harvest festival in some parts of Europe to exorcise evil spirits.
Over the years, this traditional event gradually changed into a day of interaction between children and adults, with children dressing up as ghosts and going around the neighborhood saying “Trick or Treat” and receiving candy from local residents.
In the United States, not only children but also adults began to greet each other in costume, and costume parties were also held. This spread to Japan where Hart’s ancestors lived, and young people began to cosplay and parade through the cities.
Halloween has been passed down in the Monarchy as well and has become a mysterious costume play festival held every year from October 21 to 25 in the Diete system. The County of Austin, in particular, was an active Halloween region.
Two years ago, due to the Second Battle of the Diete Star System, there was no Halloween. A year ago, they were in the middle of the Post-Battle of the Fukashiro System, so how could they hold a Halloween party?
There was also some criticism about it, so it seems that it could not be held. So the desire to do something flashy this year was not that difficult to understand.
In favor of the claims of Amber, the Lady of the Count, Hart checked the information on the Count Family on his terminal.
Hart, as the Commander-in-Chief, can freely view the personal data of all aristocrats who are subject to conscription. Understanding the number of aristocrats that can be requisitioned, their magic power value, the relationship between aristocrats, and those whose title succession will not be affected even if they die in battle was within the scope of his duties.
Although misuse of military secrets would be problematic, Hart decided that it would be necessary to verify the organizers’ information when deciding on the Commander-in-Chief’s attendance.
Count Lady Amber was the granddaughter of the current Family Head, Ryan, the Count of Austin.
Her father was killed in action at the Second Battle of Diete, and the next Count was her elder brother from a different mother, Alfred, whose magic power value was 14,649, which exceeds the Count standard of 13,310.
Amber, the younger sister, has a magic power value of 15,577, which is higher than her brother, but the succession to the title favors men whose magic power does not decrease after the birth of a child, and the next Count was confirmed to be her brother. Amber also has a fiancé, and it seemed that she had no intention of gaining an advantage in the succession battle by pulling out Yuna and Hart to her side.
“Well, that’s fine. Let’s participate.”
After confirming with Claudia whether or not the siblings were in conflict, Hart conveyed his intention to participate to Amber via Yuna.
October 21, 445 of the Monarchy Calendar.
Attending Count Austin’s Halloween, Hart and Yuna were reminded of the enormity of their influence.
The forests of skyscrapers are all dyed in pumpkin color, and in the sky, millions of flying vehicles remodeled into pumpkin shapes are automatically flying while repeatedly flashing in gaudy colors. On the ground, tens of millions of people from Diete and Athena, along with remote-controlled robots, parade through the city of pumpkins, disguised in any shape and size they wish by advanced 3D printers.
From cartoon characters to dinosaurs to mysterious aliens. Even the androids, who have a wide variety of appearances and guided people around erratically, were in absurd appearances such as skeletons this week.
Hart wore a vampire costume with a fancy cloak, and Yuna had cat ears and a tail, but they were unapologetically mediocre compared to their surroundings.
Riding in a pumpkin carriage, Cinderella, dressed in a fancy outfit that looks like it should be at the end of the year, crosses Hart’s side while being guided by the skeletons.
“Wow………… that’s amazing, Hart.”
Yuna was honestly impressed, but Hart wondered if just saying “Wow” was adequate.
Of course, it is Hart and Yuna’s fault that the Royal People are free to do whatever they want. The actions of the former Queen Yuna and the hero Hart have been the guiding principles of the Monarchy. If asked to attack somewhere, the Monarchy will attack with all its strength, and if told to defend this star system, the volunteers will defend it with all their might.
In other words, if Hart and Yuna announced their intentions to “enjoy Halloween”, the legislators who would have budgeted the fun would disappear, and the royal people would dress up in costumes, turn their cars into pumpkins, and drive into the city.
“I might have something to do with all this… no matter.”
Hart, who didn’t want to apologize for the Count’s excess, muttered reluctantly.
The city of Anomera, the heart of the Count’s territory, was originally a popular area for Halloween.
The idea of “people calling people” is the same now as it has always been, but there are good reasons for this situation. Such as convenient transportation, lax regulations due to understanding on the part of the administrators, and symbolic objects.
In Anomella, the city of Count Austin, there is an iconic building.
At 13,000 meters tall, the same height as the Count’s fortress ship, and with 1,700 floors inside, the “Tower of Gigas” is a skyscraper with a height that pierces the heavens.
The Tower of Gigas, which has been rebuilt several times in the past, is usually a tourist attraction and is used as an event venue only during large-scale events. And during Halloween, it becomes a horror house exclusively for Halloween events.
Depending on the number of floors reached, the Count family would give out prizes to the participants individually, so the Count of Austin’s estate became a thriving Halloween hotspot.
“The specialty is the Very Hard Mode which starts on the 1600th floor. A special remote-controlled course that is only open to couples between the ages of 18 and 30.”
“Are you out of your mind?”
In response to Yuna’s prideful invitation, Hart looked at her with suspicious eyes, from the cat ears on her head to the tips of her shoes.
The person who remotely controls a robot from an enclosure does not get tired, the physical ability of the robot is high, and there is no danger that the participant’s body will be injured even if destroyed. Hence why the organizers can set a ridiculous level of difficulty.
The tower is full of robots loitering around, including a killer clown with a chainsaw, murder dolls with knives, grim reapers with scythes, and when they find the participants, they attack.
The time limit is 50 hours from the start of the event.
The number of participants is 2,000 people in 1,000 pairs. They are divided into 10 areas and they will not be allowed to merge with each other.
If one of the pairs becomes incapacitated, both are out.
In the past 50 years, the highest floor reached is the 1,691st floor, and the second highest is the 1,687th floor.
The main purpose of the interactive 3D video that will be shown to the public is to enjoy watching the couple’s explosion.
In other words, the organizers have no intention of letting the participants clear the tower. It is an event to catch young couples with money and enjoy watching them explode.
“I don’t really like the idea of young people being made a laughing stock.”
“So, we’re not going to participate?”
Yuna, who had a disgruntled look on her face, asked worriedly.
“No, I’m going to take it seriously at this time, I don’t know what the original purpose of the event is. If we can’t do it, we’ll do it so relentlessly and thoroughly that the entire Monarchy will know that no one else can.”
“Yes, I’ll do my best. Take me to the top floor.”
“Leave it to me. There’s not a game I couldn’t beat.”
An hour before the start, the starting point is on the 1600th floor of the Tower of Gigas.
Hart, who connected his consciousness to the participant robot, looked around at the surrounding faces.
People who have transformed their robot into a fun Halloween cosplay are chatting freely with their partners and the others around them. The organizers’ cameras were moving in various locations and were streaming live to the city.
After watching the robot connected to Yuna transform into a cat girl, Hart quickly moved to the middle of the crowd and declared to his surroundings with a clap of his hands.
“To all participants, I am Fleet Admiral Amakawa, the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army. Gather around everyone, call out to those around you and gather everyone together. This is an operation to capture the tower.”
When Hart stepped forward and displayed his ID, the people around him became excited all at once.
Although the war with Tenka has officially ended, the Royal Army is still operating in the former enemy country, and wartime laws have not been lifted.
Falsifying the Commander-in-Chief at this stage and even showing a forged ID card is not a simple charge such as fraud or forgery of official documents.
“War Treason”
As war felons, the subject can immediately be shot dead by the military without trial. The participants scrambled to distance themselves from the overly dangerous act and immediately began to report from their respective enclosures.
However, the military’s security bureau, which received the report, rejected the report, determining that Hart himself had presented the genuine article. Then, the participants, who had been proven by the military to be the Fleet Admiral himself, fell silent, not knowing what to do next.
The participants’ gazes also turned to the cat girl next to Hart. Strange glances flew around her, but it was a well-known fact that Yuna had attended with Hart, and people swallowed hard at the close proximity of such a formidable presence.
“Alright, you’ve finished checking. I’ll say it again. I’m Fleet Admiral Amakawa, the Commander-in-Chief. In order to capture this tower, we ask everyone here for assistance. This is not a conscription, but if you follow me, the reward is 100 million Rhodes per couple. For honorable deaths, the reward is double. Upon a successful operation, the reward is 10 times.”
The nine couples under the age of 30 swallowed hard when they were presented with a huge reward. 100 million Rhodes is equivalent to an annual salary of 5 million for 20 years. If they died in battle, it would be doubled to 40 years. If the mission succeeded, it would multiply tenfold to 200 years.
Even if they died in battle, only the participants’ robot, which the organizers provided free of charge, would be destroyed, and that alone would be enough money to keep them from having to work for the rest of their lives. It was very unheard of.
“Citizens of the Monarchy who are willing to follow my strategy, please step to the open area on my right. Start moving. Let’s go.”
As soon as the strong order was issued, the group began to move in tandem, as if a flock of sheep was following their leader. The sheep, who were slow to act, also saw the situation around them and hurriedly followed.
After confirming that all 200 people had moved, Hart began to explain to them.
“From now on, you are members of the Royal Army led by the Commander-in-Chief. The goal is to get the ‘Me and the outstanding Cat Girl’ to reach the 1700th floor. In exchange for the sacrifice of the operation, each group will be rewarded in the hundreds of millions. The Royal People are watching your heroic deeds. Do not spare the lives of the Monarchy’s soldiers. Die with the enemy in your wake. Understand?”
The participants, who were convinced of the identity of the woman who was introduced as ‘the Outstanding Cat Girl’, all straightened their backs in unison. Hart, who had made the participants keenly aware of their roles, instructed those who straightened their backs.
“First of all, to clarify your roles. Those who have served in the military or are police officers will be group leaders, A. Those who have participated three or more times will be assistant leaders, B. Those who have martial arts experience as combatants are C. The rest will be soldiers and support personnel, D. From A to D, divide into four parts in order from the right side. Hurry up.”
As Yuna and the live audience watched in stunned amazement, 198 people hurriedly separated. Hart assigned assistants B to leaders A, attached two teams of vanguard and rearguard soldiers C, and made the rest the central main force.
He then had them gather up any items placed in the hall that could be used as weapons and assign them to the combatants, and had the central main force carry whatever they wanted to use as long-range weapons.
Here and now, the first death squad since the Diete War of Independence has been formed.
“Now, let’s show the Count of Austin the power of the Royal Diete people. Raise your weapons. Make them bleed!”
The moment the buzzer sounded to announce the start of the event, a death squad of 200 people, led by the Commander-in-Chief, who was determined to “do it relentlessly and thoroughly”, ran up to the 1601st floor in unison.
They entered a space that looked like a deserted underground passage.
Weeds grew at the edge of the cracked path, and only small emergency lights illuminate the dimly lit world. The walls were splattered with blood in an irregular pattern.
At the end of the underpass, a thin, human-like object was lying in a pool of blood by the wall. And besides, that stood two terrifying-looking clowns with chainsaws. Immediately after catching sight of the clowns, Hart ordered everyone.
“That is an enemy of our Royal Army. After blocking their movement with a salvo of main troops, the vanguard will attack with their weapons. Take away the enemy’s weapons and destroy their limbs and heads. Commence annihilation.”
Halloween candlesticks and plates from the waiting area on the 1600th floor were thrown at the clown with the physical strength of the remote-controlled robots.
The clowns stumbled toward the clowns with a loud crashing sound, a banana cartoon character, Jack the Ripper, kindergarteners, robots in maid outfits, and twin tails attacked all at once.
“Droaaaaah, 200 million Rhoooooooooooooodes!”
The chair swung by the greedy banana man slammed into the clown, knocking its body into the wall of the underpass. Jack the Ripper thrust the leg of a table he had dismantled and brought it into the clown’s face.
“Goaaaah!!!”
A gigantic kindergartener grabbed and pulled the screaming clown, twisted his body, and threw the clown on its back, and the man in the maid uniform grabbed the chainsaw that was released by the impact of dropping the clown to the ground with a throw, and used it as it is to cut off the clown’s head.
The other clown was attacked by the vanguard unit that followed, and the two clowns were instantly annihilated.
“Suppression complete. No damage!”
As soon as the vanguard commander made the report, Hart had the support team replenish the weapons the fighters had lost, incorporated chainsaws into the combatants’ armament, and resumed the advance.
In light of the purpose of the event, it is impossible to have a large number of dropouts on the first floor.
In a closed space called an underground passage, making the visibility worse in the dark, making the blood look irregular, and inciting fear by making the appearance of a clown with a terrifying face, Hart imagined that the purpose was to impair the judgment of the participants so they would make mistakes.
It is perfectly appropriate to try to discourage overall cooperation by dropping a few players at the first move, while at the same time forcing the participants to abandon their partners.
In response to the perception of fear of the unknown, Hart responded by replacing it with a clear enemy presence.
“Anyone who lost a weapon, receive a new weapon from the support team. Fighters who can use chainsaws, pick one up and use it. The first floor should be the easiest. Resume the advance. Kill the next enemy.”
Forcing the march to resume, Hart once again announced his policy to the nine groups. The only objective is to get the Commander-in-Chief to reach the 1700th floor and capture the tower, and proceed with maximum efficiency.
“If one amongst a pair becomes immobile, we will place them in a safe place if possible. In addition, in anticipation of a dropout, the partner will be assigned to precedence or vanguard duties. But if we can capture the tower, every pair will have a billion Rhodes. While you’re excited about how to spend 1 billion Rhodes, push forward vigilantly. Billion, billion, billion. Follow my lead. Billion, billion, billion!”
“‘Billion, billion, billion!'”
“That’s right, fight bravely and get a billion. Resume advance!”
Berserkers in Halloween cosplay erupted in jubilation.
The raging group did not slow down its advance, but rather got accustomed to the division of roles and gradually increased attack speed.
Even without Hart’s instructions, when small murder dolls with knives appeared, the main squad automatically threw furniture at them. The chainsaw vanguards swung down on the knocked-out dolls.
The battle between the cosplay group and the monsters proceeds with the overwhelming superiority of the cosplay group.
“Our area may be completely different from the rest of the area.”
“I guess so.”
Hart responded to Yuna’s muttering.
In addition to Hart’s group, there are nine other areas, each with 100 pairs of 200 participants, but it is difficult to control them. After all, since prizes are awarded individually according to the number of floors reached, it is difficult to ask others to sacrifice themselves.
All of the participants are in remote-controlled robots whose physical abilities don’t change, so they can’t be intimidated or coerced by larger people. As a result, each one moves separately and is amusingly destroyed one by one.
Hart paid more than his own fame and prize money to get everyone to follow him.
“I wonder if doing this would make the game more difficult.”
Hart wondered at Yuna’s question.
If 100 pairs start together in the same area, it’s only natural for them to cooperate with others. Hart is in a position to easily ask for help, but it was the organizers, the Count of Austin, who sent the invitation to Yuna in the first place.
Besides, Hart wasn’t cheating by using spirits, and fights with robots prepared by the organizers and weapons placed at the venue.
Is it permissible to gather participants with prizes, and then change the settings at the possibility that they will be attacked after the game starts, thereby disadvantageous to the participants? Hart thought it would be unjustified.
“The Count sent out invitations to aristocrats, and then changes the rules after the start to increase the difficulty, unfairly undermine the aristocrats and the troops I lead, and make a laughingstock of them in the Livestream. It is an act of damaging the authority of the Monarchy and the Royal Army, selling fights to the Marquis of Amakawa, the Duke of Son, and the Aristocratic Houses, and we have no choice but to buy the fights that have been sold.”
Hart politely explained to the camera what the problem was and how he would react. As a member of the Marquis Amakawa family of the spirits, the Duke of Song, a rising aristocrat of Tenka, and Hart, who bears the reputation of his House, has no choice but to buy the fight that has been sold, regardless of whether it is an act that harms the reputation of any of them.
The Marquis of Amakawa can confiscate spirits and impose a ban on the use of the Transition Gate. The extent to which the penalty is imposed will be decided by looking at the attitude of the Count’s family.
The Duke of Song and the other Aristocratic Houses will be prohibited from trading with the Count’s territory. Then, companies that want to import and export to the two rising star systems and the three Tenka Nations beyond would move their bases from the Count family to another location, and the Count’s tax revenue would drop dramatically.
「…………… And the Count’s Very Hard Mode has already begun, but I wonder if the rules of the game will really be overturned.”
Holding the camera in tow, Hart resumed the cosplay group’s advance.
The floors of the tower that Hart and the others ran up to changed their appearance in various ways.
Mummies are reanimated inside the pyramids of ancient Egypt, a Dullahan runs through foggy 1800 A.D. London, androids revolt in the modern city, and crash-landed aliens attack on an unknown planet.
Hart and his team overcame this with efficient group warfare and ruthless division of roles that cut through sacrifices, breaking the record of the 1691st floor in 35 hours.
On the other hand, the 100 pairs at the beginning have already fallen below one-third. And right now, the fate of the banana man, who had been half crushed by a giant alien, was about to run out.
“Your Excellency, Fleet Admiral, did I do my part?”
“Yes, you fought valiantly and did a great job. Be proud, you are the model of the Royal Diete’s people.”
The banana man jumped from a high place and attacked, crushing both eyes of the giant alien. If it is one eye, it may be possible to do it by mutual attack, but crushing both eyes was no easy task. He was brave, Hart declared.
“Hehehe, that’s good to hear ･･････ Linda, I’m sorry.”
The banana man, with a smile of accomplishment on his face, closed his eyelids immediately afterward with a hint of regret. The fact that he closed his eyelids even though the connection was not broken was a detailed rendition by the Banana Man himself.
“Michaaaaeeeeeel!!!”
Looking down at the banana man and his weeping apple girl partner, Hart said mercilessly, “For his sake, go forward, connect the path to the point he defended. Resume advance!”.
Grabbing the apple girl by the arm and standing her up, Hart pulled her to her feet and resumed the march.
To traverse 100 floors in 50 hours, each floor must be cleared within 30 minutes. In order to clear it properly, there was no time to mourn the dead.
The woman who had been pulled along began to walk of her own accord, and took the initiative to go out in front of the group to act as a decoy against a surprise attack.
No one spoke on Apple’s determination. The apple woman who continued to walk in the lead faded with the fall of the banana man, and disappeared on the next floor like melting into the void.
“We’re almost at our goal. We’ll capture the Tower of Gigas and break the chain of sorrow that has continued for so long.”
Hart’s grand remarks mesmerized the group he led.
There is an opinion that the argument should be judged not by “who said it” but by “what was said”.
However, the impact on the listener is quite different when it is said by a stranger than when it is said by someone who is actually close to the person making the claim. If it’s someone close to you, you will listen, and if it’s a complete stranger, I won’t pay attention to it.
In that sense, Hart’s influence on the cosplay group was enormous.
This is because Hart, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army, has repeatedly defended the Monarchy, and has promised to compensate the cosplay group with hundreds of millions of Rhodes, setting the record for reaching the tower as a group, completely intoxicating the cosplay group.
Therefore, “I don’t really understand, but if the Commander-in-Chief, Guardian of Her Majesty the former Queen says so, it must be so. The group, taking everything at face value, risked their lives to confront the enemy in order to break the chain of grief that had continued for so many years.
The group finally reached the 1699th floor, just before the goal. It was a gorgeous audience room, with a giant jack-o-lantern sitting at the far end of the room.
“That’s the Last Boss. Crush it all at once. All-out attack, start the charge!”
『Good of you to make it this f… Uboaaa』
The other party was about to say something, but Hart didn’t care and let them charge.
Various objects picked up along the way were thrown at it, and 10 men grabbed the feet of the giant pumpkin that had stumbled and dragged it down to the ground.
“A billiooooooooooooooooooooon!!!
“Harvest, reap the head!”
『Wait, let me say my lines… Guboar!』
There are three sets of six people left before the top floor, which was unexpected on the part of the Count family.
Indeed, the giant pumpkin, which was difficult to deal with one-on-one, was swarmed by dozens of people like insects swarmed by ants and had no way of resisting. Various weapons were raised up, and mercilessly swung down the nape of the giant pumpkin’s neck.
Eventually, the wobbly pumpkin head was wanked and finally pulled out. The pumpkinhead’s eyes lost their light.
Then, behind the throne, a staircase leading up to the 1700th floor appeared. Seeing this, Hart alternated between the group he led and the camera, and then asked Yuna…
“Would you like to give a word to the Royal Citizens who fought so valiantly?”
Yuna nodded and addressed the last 60 survivors. “The Tower of Gigas has been captured. United, there is nothing that the Monarchy of Diete cannot achieve. You have all done well. This is a triumph for the Monarchy.”
The 60 survivors and the live audience cheered in unison. The enthused cosplay group raced up the stairs, dragging the pumpkin head up, and at the observation deck on the top floor, they raised the Monarchy flag over the pumpkin head and sang the national anthem.
Since then, archival footage of the battle has exploded in popularity, and views have continued to grow endlessly over the decades.
And the capture of the skyscraper on Halloween became a new tradition for mankind.
End
Sads Translates 
That was so cool! Thanks so much for the chapter.
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