“Yes! Now I’m sure everyone can be…”

Keno bit her lip for a moment, probably because there was no way to save everyone with a limited-use item. No, it was obvious that a powerful item would have some kind of limits on its usage. Keno was now in a position where she would have to decide who to save.

“Even so, we’ll need to destroy them first before we’ll get a chance to restore them to human beings.”

“Then how can I bring them back to life?”

“Erm… how about ending their life as a yurinigger and then trying to resurrect them with this item?”

“I see… we won’t be able to test it out in the castle, then,” Suzuki Satoru explained to a mystified Keno.

“While my knowledge of this nation might differ from this one, if we destroy a yurinigger here -- pardon me, if we kill someone here, it’s possible that we might incur the hostility of all the surrounding yuriniggers. In order to avoid that, we need to take our test yurinigger far away where it won’t generate hostility. However, I have no idea how far that would be. Do you have any ideas?”

“Huh? Ah, yes, is it like that?”

“...It isn’t?”

The two of them looked at each other.

This was not so much a divide in their understanding of the world so much as neither of them not being sure what the problem was. Therefore, they needed to discuss the gains and losses of such an action together.

In the end, they decided to let Keno finish reading all the books first. This was a decision made in the hope that one of them would give her an answer, entrusting their luck to the heavens.

After seeing Keno pick her books up again, Suzuki Satoru went back to examining the remaining items from that undead creature.

As Suzuki Satoru picked up a silver necklace, he knitted his nonexistent eyebrows.

This isn’t a magic item… it’s an enchanted necklace. Is this kind of accessory in style?

One could not equip multiple magic items to the same item slot. While one could wear many magical items around their neck, he had heard from Keno that only the powers from the item that had been last put on would be usable, so it would seem that principle was the same in this world as it was in YGGDRASIL.

While he did not particularly mind if that undead being was the sort of fellow who adorned himself with pointless ornamentation, it did not seem to be the case. He did not have any other non-magical items besides this necklace.

There must be some meaning to this.

There was a circular silver object depending from the necklace. It looked slightly worn, but he could clearly see what looked like symbols and letters carved into it.

Is there some significance to this? Is it a key for something? No, it might be a holy symbol of some kind, for an undead creature. Or was this some core item with religious significance? There seems to be something on the back, it looks like some kind of… guild badge… ah! Does this imply that it belongs to some organization?

He was unsure of the meaning of this, so all he could do was conjecture. However, it would be bad if it belonged to some group.

While I’m wary because it’s possible… I just have to pay that Keno knows the meaning of that emblem.

Keno was speed-reading, flipping rapidly through the books.

From the side, he could see a tense and frightened look on her face. He probably would not be hearing good news from her.

“Keno-san, I’m sorry to interrupt while you’re busy, but could you help me take a look at this necklace?”

“Huh? Ah, yes… let’s see, it doesn’t look like letters. Are they… marks?”

“I see. Then what about things on your end?”

There was a pile of books that had been read and a pile of books which had not been read. He had asked because the former dwarfed the latter. Keno sighed heavily. It was a sigh which sounded like it came from a company employee who would be working overnight. It did not sound like a sigh that ought to have come from a youthful-looking girl.

“Firstly, those books concerned various kinds of magical knowledge. The parchments, on the other hand, contained matters that the undead being was looking into -- messily-written research notes. But they were too complex, so it’s possible I might have misinterpreted them to some extent.”

Keno rounded her shoulders in dejection. Her voice sounded gloomy too.

“It’s just… that powerful undead being that I thought was the mastermind doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the people of the city becoming undead.”

I thought so too, Suzuki Satoru mused.

That undead creature had been far too weak for someone who could turn an entire city into yuriniggers.

“While I found something that looked like a diary, it only said that the undead creature you killed was also puzzled by how everyone in the city could have turned into a yurinigger, and that he’d liked to have investigated it if he had the time. Also…”

Keno looked like she was about to say something, and then she changed her mind.

“...That’s all. It didn’t have anything to do with that undead being.”

“Is that so? Then what are you going to do?”

“...Even so, I still want to see if they can be resurrected.”

There was a hollow determination in Keno’s voice. She probably understood that it would be useless. After all, she was the one who said that there might be a possibility if they eliminated the main culprit, and now she was the one saying that the undead being that Suzuki Satoru had wiped out had nothing to do with it. That said, even if she understood, she still had to give it a try.

Suzuki Satoru looked at the girl and thought about a fire.

It was about how even if one was alone, there was no need to shoot out a fire that had been prepare for others.

“Is that so… in that case, we won’t use your parents. We’ll experiment with one of the guards.”

Keno’s face twisted as she heard the words “experiment”. However, she did not say anything, because she knew that pretty words would not be able to change the reality of the situation.

Suzuki Satoru began by opening the window and jumping out, using [Fly] to hover in mid-air. From there, he memorized a location far in the distance, beyond the city limits, and teleported there. Once he reached his destination, he surveyed his surroundings with his ability, and after verifying that there were no undead around, he memorized the area and cast [Greater Teleportation] to return to Keno’s side.

After that, the two of them left the room. Keno led him to a guard who had apparently been quite strong in life before becoming a yurinigger, and then he cast [Gate].

He grabbed part of the guard’s armor in order to make certain that it could not be interpreted as an attack, then dragged him into the [Gate].

And so, the three of them were transported outside the city.

Just as Keno said, “I’ll do it,” Suzuki Satoru killed the yurinigger in one blow, without saying a word.

He did not smash his head to bits with a crushing weapon. Instead, he lopped his head off with a magically-conjured sword.

“Now then, can you use that item?”

“A-alright....”

The pure white light within the wand moved to the corpse of the yurinigger guard.

The corpse slowly got to its feet, but that was not a sign that it had returned to life. It was simply a yurinigger moving once more.

Keno lowered her head, and Suzuki Satoru, who had been worried about being attacked, let his caution fade. The yurinigger just walked around aimlessly, with no signs of hostility, Presumably, any aggro that had been generated had faded with its death.

“...What should we do?” Suzuki Satoru asked. After a brief period of introspection, Keno raised her head and looked Suzuki Satoru in the eye.

“--Satoru-sama. Do you think that I can restore everyone if I work hard enough on my research?”

「——悟大人。你觉得，如果我努力进行研究的话，能把大家、把大家恢复原状吗？」

Her voice was ponderous and heavy.

那是沉重的声音。

It was the voice of someone who did not even believe herself. It was the voice of someone whose only hope had been crushed to bits.

连自己都不相信的声音。是怀抱的仅有希望也被粉碎了的人的声音。

Suzuki Satoru thought for a while. He could try to comfort her or simply to gloss it over. He could also try to steer the topic back to an appropriate direction. However, he compared it to his own image from several days ago, and then he discarded all those selfish notions.

铃木悟考虑了一阵。他可以说出好几种搪塞过去或者安慰的话。也有把话题带到合适方向的机会。不过、立刻就与几天前自己的形象重合起来，然后把那种利己性的思考全部放弃了。

He quickly inhaled, and then Suzuki Satoru met Keno’s gaze before speaking.

快速吸了一口气，然后从正面定睛看着琪诺双眼的铃木悟说到。

“I won’t say the possibility is zero. While I haven’t studied magic academically, I feel that there might be someone out there in this world who might know what happened here. If we ask them for help, perhaps we might be able to devise an effective solution. However… it’ll be very difficult.”

「我不会说可能性为零。虽然并非将魔法作为学问学习的我不清楚，但是说不定这个世界的某处会有能说明这个现象为什么会发生的人。能拜借那些人的知识的话，说不定会弄清楚有效的手段。只是……会非常困难吧」

“...I, I think so too.”

「……我、我也是那么想的」

The undead could not cry. They lacked the capacity to do so.

不死者不会哭泣。它们没有那种机能。

However, Suzuki Satoru knew that Keno was crying.

不过、铃木悟清楚琪诺正在哭。

“Actually, I’d sensed it from a long time ago. There wouldn’t be a happy end to all of this, with the sun rising and everyone waking up by themselves. In the end, I couldn’t save anyone, and i couldn’t bring about an ending like that…”

「其实在很早前就察觉到了。就没有像是太阳升起自然醒来那样，一切就是个梦这种温柔的结束方式吗？结果到最后、一个人都救不了，没法迎来那样的结局……」

“You can’t be certain that you can’t save them.”

「不一定救不了」

“I can’t be certain that I can save them either, right?”

「也不一定能救得了、对吧？」

Suzuki Satoru expressed his agreement with silence. However, that was based on the YGGDRASIL knowledge that Suzuki Satoru had.

铃木悟以沉默的方式表示肯定。只是、那是以铃木悟所知的YGGDRASIL的知识而言。

“...Like I said earlier, we can’t say for sure that the possibility is zero.”

「……就像先前说过的那样，无法断言可能性为零」

Suzuki Satoru looked to the sky, and the faces of his former friends floated in the night sky. After making up his mind, Suzuki Satoru expelled a breath.

铃木悟仰头望天。曾经的同伴的样子浮现在夜空中。下定决心的铃木悟微微吐出了一口气。

“...I have a friend called Yamaiko. She often said that children were a treasure. Right now, I will carry out her will.”

「……我有个叫夜舞子小姐的同伴。是个经常说孩子就是宝物的人。而现在、她的心意就让我用在这里吧」

Suzuki Satoru produced the Ring of Shooting Stars that Yamaiko had given him. Truth to be told, he did not want to waste it in such a way. But Yamaiko would scold him if he did not use it now.

铃木悟拿出了从夜舞子那儿得到的流星戒指。老实说、他真的不想这么浪费。但是不现在用上的话，会被夜舞子叱责的吧。

After all, I can use the remaining two wishes for whatever I want.

（毕竟我收下了这个，剩下的两个愿望可得随我来用啊）

A strange sensation assailed Suzuki Satoru as he activated the ring.

奇怪的感觉侵袭着启动了戒指的铃木悟。

He understood how to use the spell [Wish Upon A Star.”

他理解到<向星星许愿>的魔法是怎么运行的了。

He could pay several levels’ worth of experience to make a bigger wish. However, he only planned to use a single level’s worth of experience. In other words, when he made a wish, a smaller wish was more likely to come true than a a bigger one. But if it failed, the experience would be burned and that would be the end of it.

可以通过一次付出几个等级的量的经验值，让想实现的愿望变大。但是这次、只打算使用一个等级的经验值。换句话说只要在其中许愿，比起大的愿望，小的愿望实现的确率更高。但如果失败的话就会被消耗掉然后结束。

He had the feeling that “restoring Keno’s parents to normal” was more likely to come true than “restoring everyone in the city to normal”. However --

比起「把都市的所有人恢复原状」感觉「只把琪诺的双亲恢复原状」比较能实现。然而比起这些——

“I WISH! That I would learn a way to restore the people of this city to normal!”

「我许愿！告诉我让这个都市的居民们恢复原状的方法！」

That was all.

就是这个。

Once he understood the means, he could carry it out.

只要明白了方法的话逐一那么做就行了。

However, after one of the three shooting stars carved into the ring vanished, all that remained with Suzuki Satoru was frustration. And then, he hesitated over how he should explain all this to Keno, who was staring at him with a blank look on her face.

然后——刻在戒指上的三个流星消失了一个之后，留给铃木悟的只剩焦躁。接着他很犹豫该怎么向以茫然若失的表情看着这边的琪诺解释。

He mock-coughed a few times, and the Suzuki Satoru addressed Keno with the look of a salaryman on his face.

假咳了几声、铃木悟摆出工薪人员的表情对琪诺说到。

“I just used an item which could grant wishes. After using it, I came to realize something -- Keno-san, I’ll get to the point. There is no way to restore the yuriniggers of this city -- its people -- to their original state.”

「刚才发动的是拥有着实现愿望之力的道具。通过发动它我明白了——琪诺小姐、我就说结论吧。这个都市的居民——成为了僵尸的人没有办法恢复原状」

That was the answer. He had lost a chance to grant a wish forever for that answer.

那就是答案。然后为了那样的回答永远地失去了一个实现愿望的机会。

In YGGDRASIL, you were forced to pick an option from a random list of selections, so which way was better? Suzuki Satoru hurried continued speaking.

在YGGDRASIL时是从随机抽取的选择项中强制性选择一个的形式，是哪种比较好呢。铃木悟急忙继续说下去。

“However! This is simply the information I have obtained with my magic. There might be another way. Therefore -- let’s explore the world together. We’ll find someone who’s far better than us, ask them for help, and see what possibilities open up.”

「但是！这只不过是以我的魔法得到的情报。说不定或许会有别的方法。因此、一起——去探索世界吧。寻找远远比我们优秀的人，请求指教、摸索可能性吧」

“Is… there really such a person?”

「会、有吧？」

“I believe there is.”

「相信会有吧」

Although a part of his mind was wondering why he was going this far to cheer her up, he had not forgotten the kinship to her which he had felt back then.

虽然从脑中的一隅涌起了为什么得给她打气到这种地步的心情，不过他可没忘记那时感到的亲近感。

Keno stared at Suzuki Satoru, and then she nodded.

琪诺紧紧盯着铃木悟，然后点了头。

“Alright -- I believe there is. Still, will it be alright?”

「好的——我相信会有。不过、没问题吗？」

Suzuki Satoru asked Keno what was alright, and she answered.

被铃木悟问到是什么事的琪诺回答。

“Going out and exploring the world together. Is it really alright for me to accompany you?” Keno looked down at her little palms. “I mean, I’ll get in the way--”

「就是一起去探索世界的事。我跟着一起走真的没问题吗」琪诺低头看着自己小小的手掌「会妨碍到你——」

“--You won’t.”

「——才不会妨碍到我哦」

“Huh?”

「咦？」

“I need your strength for this. Also -- in for a penny, in for a pound, as they say. I’ll help you out a little more.” At the very least, until she could travel by herself. “Otherwise - I feel like Yamaiko-san and Touch-san would scold me. Keno Fasris Invern. Let’s -- yes, let’s travel together.”

「你的力量是必须的。而且——一不做二不休。再稍微协助一下你吧」至少要到她可以独自旅行为止「不那样的话——感觉会被夜舞子小姐和塔其先生叱责呢。琪诺•法斯莉斯•茵蓓伦。一起——是的、一起旅行吧」

Keno took the hand that Suzuki Satoru had extended to her.

琪诺握住了铃木悟伸出的手。

“Th-thank you… very much… Satoru-sama…”

「非、非常……感谢……悟大人……」

Keno bowed her head and trembled. While she could not shed tears, that was all. Keno was quietly sobbing without crying.

琪诺低下头，震颤着。虽然实在不会流泪，不过仅此而已。琪诺在无声无泪地呜咽着。

Still, it would not do for her to thank him that much. After all, he had ulterior motives.

不过被那么感谢也不好办。毕竟自己也是另有用心的。

Well, forget it, Suzuki Satoru thought. After all, she lost everything at that moment. Helping her for a while more won’t hurt.

嘛算了、铃木悟这么想到。毕竟在那个瞬间自己已经失去了一切，就算暂时帮她一阵子也没关系吧。

In any case, he had no goals of his own now. The things he was supposed to protect were gone, and the bonds he was supposed to maintain were broken. All that remained were this ring and this staff, as mementos, but that was all.

不管怎样、现在的自己什么都没有了。要守护的事物消失，要维系的关系断绝。只有杖和戒指作为纪念物留下，但也就只剩那么点了。

“Then let’s hurry and finish our preparations so we can leave. I have the feeling there isn’t much time left.”

「那么紧急完成准备，从这里离开吧。我觉得不会剩下太多时间了」

Keno voiced her doubts, and Suzuki Satoru explained himself.

铃木悟对发出疑问的琪诺说明到。

If their adversary belonged to an organization, they might have kept in contact. In that case, the enemy would get worried about losing touch with him, an so he suspected that it was very likely that they would send reinforcements over. While he could probably slaughter them all if that undead being’s power was any indication of their strength, he could not conclude that there was nobody stronger than him around. Therefore, the best course of action would be to take what they could carry and leave this place as soon as possible.

如果对手真的隶属组织，说不定会有保持联络。那样的话敌人因为没法联络而担心、怀疑而把增

援派来的可能行非常高。虽然以那个不死者的强度为基准的话全都能反杀，不过也不能断言没有

远高于它实力的人存在。因此、拿上能拿的东西，赶紧离开这里才是上策。

For that reason, he had set up little tricks in various places to keep the information from getting out.

正因如此、在各种地方都做了不把情报泄露给对方的小把戏。

After he saw that Keno understood, the two of them returned to the castle again.

得到了琪诺的理解，两人再次回到了王城。

3

“So we’re going travelling… Keno-san, do you have experience travelling, pardon me, I mean, going abroad?”

「要出去旅行啊……琪诺小姐有旅行、不是、出远门的经验吗？」

“I apologize, Satoru-sama. When I was young -- younger than I am now -- I think I went to various places within the country, but I can hardly remember it now.”

「非常抱歉、悟大人。幼时──比现在更小的时候，似乎有去过国内各处，但是几乎没有记忆了」

“I see… in that case, you won’t know what to bring.”

「原来如此……那样的话就不知道什么东西是必要的吧……」

“We’re undead. We don’t need to eat or sleep. Surely it would be fine to not have anything, right?”

「我们是不死者。是不需要食物和休息的存在。就算什么都没有也不会有困扰的吧？」

“Well, that is the case. But according to what you said, Keno-san, the undead are the enemies of all living beings, and they are to be destroyed on sight, am I wrong? Living openly in a world full of enemies… well, I’m not sure if it counts as living, but even if we’re just existing, I feel we need to disguise ourselves to some extent?”

「嘛、的确是那样没错。但是照琪诺小姐所说，不死者是全部生者的敌人，是必须毁灭的存在吧？在只有敌人的世界大摇大摆的活着……虽然不知道能不能说活着，但是只要存在着，我觉得一定的变装是必须的」

“Disguise? You mean wearing masks like the Prince of Phenia, is that it?”

「变装？这样说来就像是菲尼雅贵公子的故事中一样戴上面具，是那样子吗？」

Keno’s eyes lit up. It was the first time he had seen her do that ever since meeting her.

琪诺的双眼闪闪发亮了起来。与她相遇以来，还是第一次看到她这样。

Had she allowed herself to relax? Had she been liberated, more ot less? Or was this her look of anticipation about the outside world? It was not a bad thing, so he did not comment on it, but who was this Prince of Phenia? Still, he had the feeling that she would talk his ear off if he asked about it. He could settle any questions he had during the journey; for now, he could just take things as they came. It was only later that he learned about such a short story from her.

是稍微心中有所余裕了吗，还是多少有些解脱了呢，又或着是对外面的世界抱有期待才这个样子的呢？因为不是什么坏的变化，所以也没特意说什么，不过菲尼雅贵公子是什么啊？不过总感觉要是问了关于那方面的问题，话题会拉得很长。想说的疑问就在旅途中解决好了，现在的场合下就随便应付过去了。之后才从她那里听说有这样的娱乐小说。

“Ahhh, no. People will suspect we’re up to no good if we wear masks… maybe it’s not so bad… no, they’ll suspect us.”

「啊啊、不是。面具的话果然还是会被人怀疑……也不坏……不、会被怀疑呢」

“Is that so?”

「是那样吗？」

The look of childish delight on Keeno’s face fell away, which Suzuki Satoru found both strange and new, but he hid his feelings and continued speaking.

琪诺以外表年龄相符的感觉失落起来，铃木悟对此感到诧异又新鲜，不过却隐藏起情绪继续说道。

“While disguising yourself implies changing your physical appearance, it also involves not doing things that will make others suspicious of you. Don’t you think people will get suspicious if you don’t eat a single meal with them?”

「虽然所谓的变装有掩饰外表的意思，但此之上也有旅行中的我们要采取不让人怀疑的举动的意思。再怎么说旅行中一餐不吃也会让人起疑的吧？」

There were items that could do that, of course, but if they had to explain this to each and every person they met, they might end up blowing their covers by accident. Instead, it would be better not to arouse suspicion in the first place.”

能办到这种事的道具姑且是有的，但是要对感到怀疑的人一一说明的话，或许会有真面目会暴露出来的可能性。与其如此、还是一开始就不要被怀疑比较好。

“We’ll pretend to eat and sleep like other travellers, but the most important thing is taking a steam bath to cleanse ourselves of the grime of the road.

「装作和其他旅人一样投宿进食，然后最重要的是，为了除去旅途上的风尘也好，想要洗个蒸气浴啊」

“A steam bath? You mean a mist sauna?”

「蒸气浴？水雾桑拿吗？」

“Ahhh, they have those here too? That’s right, a sauna, or a bath.”

「啊啊、在这里也有吗？没错。桑拿、就是洗澡呢」

The undead had no metabolisms, so they would not produce wastes, but dirt and dust and the like could still get their skin dirty. While it did not particularly inconvenience him, it felt better to be clean than dirty.

不死者没有新陈代谢，所以也不会有污垢，但是尘埃之类的也会弄脏皮肤。虽然那样也没什么困扰，但是比起脏兮兮的还是干净点比较让人舒服。

“But will we be able to enter a city, Satoru-sama?”

「但是悟大人。我们能够进到都市里吗？」

Suzuki Satoru touched his face.

铃木悟摸着自己的脸。

“I’ll need to think about that part. However, I’m looking for knowledgeable people. I’m sure we’ll be able to find some way to enter a city without trespassing into it via magic, in order to make friendly contact with them.

「关于那方面有必要详细考虑。不过、我们所追求的是智者。就算是为了能友好接触那样的人物，也该找出能顺利进入都市的方法，而不是利用魔法入侵」

Keno nodded several times in approval.

琪诺一副正是如此地点了好几次头。

“Therefore… well, I guess we need something for travel expenses and tolls. Of course, I have some money of my own, as well as gems and items which can be sold.”

「所以……果然最少还是需要能成为经费、旅费的东西。当然、我也是有一定程度的金钱。也有可以贩卖的宝石和道具」

Suzuki Satoru casually took a gem out of his inventory. Keno gulped as she saw a ruby that was the size of her palm. A brief shadow crossed Keno’s pretty face, but the change had been so subtle that Suzuki Satoru thought that he might have been imagining things. Besides, why would such a big gemstone make her gloomy?

铃木悟从道具箱里拿出了随手拿出了一块宝石。看到手掌大小的红宝石，琪诺咽了一口气。琪诺端庄的脸孔一瞬间闪过黯淡的表情，但因为变化实在是太细微，铃木悟觉得可能是自己看错了。

再说、为什么悟拿着大颗的宝石会让协助者的她露出黯淡的表情呢？

“Still, I don’t know if this will be enough.”

「但是、这种程度不知道够不够」

“We don’t know how long this journey will take, and we’ll probably need to give gifts when we meet these knowledgeable people, and we might also need to buy expensive items. Is that it?”

「不知道这趟旅行会花多久的时间，而且和智者接触的时候也需要支付谢礼，也可能有要购买贵重道具的时候，是这样子吧？」

“Yes. So, if possible, can we take all the wealth in this country or this city? Of course, you’ll be managing it, Keno-san. We can pay our own way during the journey.”

「是。所以要是可以的话，这个国家、这座都市里全部的财宝都拿走也没关系吗？当然、管理交给琪诺小姐就好。旅途中全部各付各的也有没关系」

“All of it?”

「全部、吗？」

“Indeed. I apologize for saying this, but these people who are now undead don’t need money, do thay? Who knows, some country might send in their troops to seize all their wealth too. Therefore, we should make effective use of it--” Suzuki Satoru did not miss the pained expression on Keno’s face. “--Does it displease you?”

「没错、虽然很抱歉，但是化为不死者的人不会使用金钱吧。说不定哪一天某个国家会带兵过来，将所有的财宝都带走也有可能。所以由我们来有效利用──」悟没有错过琪诺那一瞬间的悲痛表情「──不满吗？」

“Ehhh? Ah! I’m very sorry. That’s not what I meant. If that is what you think, then I will go along with it, Satoru-sama.”

「欸!?啊、非常抱歉。没有那样的事。悟大人要是那样考虑的话，我就会服从的」

Keno immediately adjusted expression and put on a winning smile.

琪诺立刻修缮表情，露出讨好的笑容。

“Keno-san.”

「琪诺小姐」

Keno’s body trembled.

琪诺身体颤了一下。

“Ah, ah, please forgive me, Satoru-sama…”

「啊、啊、请原谅我，悟大人……」

“Ahhhh, it’s fine, I’m not angry, Keno-san. We are travelling companions, and since we are companions, I think we should be honest with each other. That’s all. You can tell me if you have an opinion on the matter, you know?”

「啊啊，没事的。我没有在生气喔、琪诺小姐。我们是一同旅行的同伴，既是如此，我觉得彼此应该坦露出真实的情绪，只是这样而已。要是有什么想法的话，可以告诉我吗？」

However, Keno lowered her head after he said that.

但是、琪诺这样讲后低下头。

This was quite vexing for Suzuki Satoru. Keno was the one who had a better sense of how the world worked, so if she did not speak up right away, it might lead to a lethal failure.

对于铃木悟来说，这样相当困扰。与这世界有关的常识是琪诺比较懂，所以要是发生什么不立刻说的话，有可能会带来致命性的失败。

“What’s the matter, Keno-san?”

「怎么了吗、琪诺小姐？」

Keno hesitated for a moment, and then her face tightened up before a pained look came across her face.

琪诺展现出一阵犹豫的态度，接着脸孔一紧，露出痛苦的表情。

And then, she spoke quietly. It was as though time had reversed itself and she was speaking in the same way she had when they had first met. However, Suzuki Satoru’s keen hearing still managed to pick it up.

然后小声地低语。那是彷佛时间倒转，刚刚相遇时的声音。但是铃木悟还以敏锐的听力听出来了。

“I, I’m not your equal, Satoru-sama… I don’t have any right to say anything given that I’m relying on your mercy, Satoru-sama…”

「我、我和悟大人并不是对等的关系……只能仰赖悟大人慈悲的我没有任何说话的权利」

Indeed, that was the case.

的确是这样。

Learning about the world was Suzuki Satoru’s payment for destroying the undead being in the city. That could no longer serve as terms of trade. Also, after travelling for more than a year, he would have picked up enough knowledge. After that, he would have no reason to help Keno any more, and neither would there be anything in it for him.

得到这个世界的一般常识，是通过消灭城里的不死者这场交易中铃木悟所获得的报酬，已经不能

再成为交易的条件了。而且旅行超过一年的话，也能入手足够的知识了吧。那之后可以说完全没有再帮助琪诺的理由了，而且也没有任何利益。

In other words, Keno had nothing she could offer him to buy Suzuki Satoru’s help. After seeing the huge gem Satoru had taken out just now, he realized that mere money would not be enough to entice Suzuki Satoru.

那么也就是说，琪诺没有什么东西能拿出来，作为借用铃木悟的能力的代价。看到刚刚悟拿出来的大颗宝石，就理解到金钱是无法打动铃木悟的吧。

“Even so… I don’t want to be alone any more. Compared to that… I’d rather not say anything at all…”

「即使这样……已经不想一个人了。与其那样……什么都不说还比较好……」

This time, it was Suzuki Satoru’s term to hold his breath.

这次轮到铃木悟摒住了呼吸。

There were times when he felt that this girl was very similar to him. But after seeing the forlorn expression she had shown just now, he realized that she felt exactly the same way as him.

有时会觉得、这个少女和自己有些地方很像。但是看到刚刚琪诺展现出的寂寞之情，和直到之前的自己所抱持的感情是完全一样的。

Had he not felt like she had when he entered YGGDRASIL by himself, staying in a Nazarick without anyone in it?

自己一个人进入YGGDRASIL，待在谁都不在的纳萨力克的时候，不就是这么想的吗？

Suzuki Satoru got to one knee, so his eyes were even with Keeno’s.

铃木悟单膝跪地，与琪诺视线相对。

“Let’s make a promise. Keno-san. I will not abandon you for personal -- no, for my own reasons.”

「来做个约定吧，琪诺小姐──不会因为个人、不、我自己的情况就随便丢下你一个人的」

Yes.

没错。

I wanted someone to say that to me.

我也想有谁对我这样说。

I wanted someone to stay with me until the very end.

想要一个直到最后的瞬间都在一起的人。

He could see the various emotions in Keno’s eyes.

可以看出琪诺的眼里出现各样的情绪。

“Can, can I really believe that?”

「真、真的可以相信吗？」

“Ahh, like I said before, we’re travelling companions. So… let’s travel. Yes, on a journey to uncover the unknown. We won’t need any “just a little mores”. Let’s go find a way to save your parents.

「啊啊、就像刚刚说过的，结伴去旅行吧。一起……旅行吧。啊啊、没错。将未知化为已知的旅

行。就不用什么『再稍微』了，一起去寻找拯救你双亲的道路吧」

Silence fell upon them, and Keno bowed her head deeply. Then, she repeated “Thank you, thank you” over and over again.

沉默降临，琪诺深深地低下头，然后不断的重复「非常感谢」这句话。

“Now then, can you raise your head?”

「那么、能抬起头来吗？」

Suzuki Satoru took out a gold coin and showed it to Keeno, who had only looked up after her had asked her to do so three times.

铃木悟拿出一枚金币，给重复同样的话三遍之后才终于抬起头来的琪诺看。

“There‘ll be times during our journey when neither of us are willing to give way to the other. And of course, there’ll be times when we’re unable to determine who’s right, even after we exchange opinions. At those times…”

「旅途中、总会有彼此不能让步的时候吧。然后肯定也有即使交换意见也无法断定谁对的时候。那个时候就──」

Suzuki Satoru flipped up the coin with his finger and let it land on his palm. He was quite impressed with how he could land it so neatly on a skeletal hand. He had to keep the fact that it felt more natural this way a secret.

铃木悟用手指弹起金币，让它落在手掌上。明明是骸骨的手却能漂亮地放在上面，铃木悟不禁佩服起了自己。觉得这时候弄掉才比较像自己这件事要保密。

“--We’ll flip a coin. We’ll use the results of the coin toss to determine who we go with. What do you think?”

「──抛硬币。用硬币的正面反面来决定通过谁的意见。如何呢？」

“How could I! If possible--”

「这怎么能！可以的话──」

“--It’s fine. We’re travelling together, after all… yes, we’re friends.”

「──没有关系。因为是一起旅行的……对、是同伴啊」

As he said the word “friends”, the faces of his past guildmates suddenly appeared in front of him.

一说到同伴，过去公会成员的脸孔就忽地浮现在了眼前。

Friends, Keno turned the word over and over in her mouth.

同伴、琪诺口中反复念着这句话。

“How about it?”

「怎么样？」

“I undersrand, Satoru-sama.”

「我知道了、悟大人」

“Satoru will do. In turn, I will call you Keno.”

「悟就可以了。相对的、我也叫你琪诺吧」

“But as my senior…” Keno began stammering. “A-ah, how old are you, Satoru… sama… san?”

「但是对年长者……」说到这里琪诺支吾了起来「那、那个悟……大人……先生的年龄是？」

“My age, huh…” In terms of time spent alive, Keno was undoubtedly his superior. “Ah, I think I’ll just call you Keno-san.”

「年龄啊……」如果是指活着的时间的意思，那么琪诺是压倒性的年长「啊、还是叫琪诺小姐比较好吗？」

She ought to understand with that. A complicated look crossed Keno’s face, and she muttered “I don’t like it” before puffing up her cheeks and smacking them.

靠这句回答就明白了吧。琪诺露出复杂的表情，发出一声「讨厌」鼓起脸颊作势挥打着。

“It’s Satoru and Keno, then.”

「那么就悟吧、琪诺」

“Ehhh, you mean Satoru-san’s no good?”

「欸、那个悟先生不行吗？」

“Well, that works too! Still, as friends, we ought to speak more familiarly with each other. Now then, Keno. I’ll ask you again. Are you unhappy with my previous proposition?”

「嘛、那也可以！不过同伴之间说话方式要多加入点亲近感！那么、琪诺啊。我再问一遍，对我刚刚的提案有所不满吗？」

Keno thought about it for a bit, and then nodded.

稍微考虑下，琪诺点了点头。

“By all the wealth, do you mean all the money in everyone’s homes too?”

「全部的钱财是指、也包括国家里全部人家中的钱──是吗？」

“That was what I meant, yes.”

「我是那样打算的」

“Could you not do that, please? Er, Satoru... san? After all, it belongs to everyone.”

「请不要那么做、可以吗？呃，悟、先生，毕竟大家的钱是大家的东西」

Had she said that because she was considering the possibility that everyone might be restored? Or was she speaking in her capacity as a princess who stood above the common folk? Satoru did not know which was which, but truth to be told, spending time to collect pocket change was definitely not worthwhile.

那是考虑到大家恢复的可能性的发言吗？还是说这是立于百姓之上的公主的话语吗？悟并不清楚。但是、要说花时间去收集小钱不划算的话的确是不划算。

It would be best to leave this place as soon as possible.

还是尽早离开这里比较好。

“Is that so. I see. I’ll go with that, then. But how about the money in the castle. Do you think it’s alright to take it?”

「这样啊。我知道了。那们就同意这个意见吧。相对的王城里的钱又如何呢？你觉得拿走也可以吗？」

“Um… I guess…?”

「嗯……可以吗……」

She sounded like she was asking herself the question more than Suzuki Satoru.Therefore, Suzuki Satoru said nothing, but waited for Keno to reach her own conclusion. And then, a minute later--

比起对铃木悟的提问来说，听起来更像是对自己的提问。所以铃木悟一言不发的、等待琪诺自己得出答案。然后一分钟后──

“I think it should be fine, yes.”

「我觉得应该、可以」

Perhaps her stiff manner of speech just now had been because she could not gauge the distance between them. Satoru himself found people who immediately closed the distance and acted all chummy with him to be very annoying too.

从刚刚开始说话就磕磕绊绊的是因为还没办法好好地掌握距离感吧。以悟来说，马上就一副伙伴的样子拉近距离跟人装熟也很讨厌。

And from Satoru’s point of view, even if the clients buying his company’s products said, “We’re friends, right?” it would not particularly endear them to him. Only time could solve that problem.

而且以悟来说，就算购买自己公司产品的客户说「是朋友吧」、也没办法采取套进乎的态度。只要时间不解决这个问题的话。

“We’ll do that, then. Let’s take all the money and items in the treasury… oh yes, what about the furniture?”

「那就这么办吧。将宝物库里的全部的金钱和道具带走……对了、家具之类的要怎么办？」

“Eh?”

「欸？」

I’ve shown you a few times, but I can store items into a pocket dimension. Of course, there’s a weight limit to that, but I can easily fit cabinets and beds inside it. I don’t mind if you want to take them with you. Of course, we won’t be able to use them on our journey…”

「有给你看过几次了，我能将道具收进空间里去。当然、重量是有限制的，不过柜子和床之类的能够轻易放进去。如果想带走的话放进去也没关系喔。嘛、虽然在旅途中是用不到啦……」

He thought about his homebase in the past.

想起了自己过去的据点。

It was a wonderful base, one which he had built with his friends, and which he had filled with all sorts of items from the stores.

和同伴一起投入制作，从商店里买齐各种东西而做出的最棒的据点。

He had told Keno that it was fine because he did not want her to feel the same emptiness that he had felt at its loss.

自己已经失去了的这份空虚感，因为不想让她有同样的感觉，所以才对琪诺说带走也没关系吧。

“No, there’s no need for it. Er, it’s fine. But I want to take a few small things with me, that should be okay, right?”

「不，没有必要、呃、不需要。但是有几件小东西想要带走、也没关系吧？」

“It’s fine. Let’s go to the treasury, then.”

「没关系。那么就去宝物库吧」

After indicating that she understood, Keno led the way to the treasury.

琪诺示意了解后，就带路前去宝物库。

As they walked, Suzuki Satoru began to think.

一边走着，铃木悟开始思考。

In YGGDRASIL, gold coins were always in a stack and they had no weight. It had been like that since it was a game, but he still enjoyed that benefit now. But would the currency in this world be treated in the same way? Or would the weight of each and every piece be totalled up? That would be troublesome.

在YGGDRASIL的情况下，金币会总和在一起，并不算进重量。因为是游戏才这样，不过现在依然享受着这恩惠。那么这个世界的货币也会被同样对待吗？还是说会一枚一枚的判断重量然后合计起来呢？若是那样的话就麻烦了。

While he could take the gems and trade them for money and items, things might be different from how they were in the game, and he might need to put effort into negotiations.

虽然拿走宝石之类的换钱道具就好，但是说不定与游戏不同，得费些功夫进行交涉。

The vault he was led to was tiny by YGGDRASiL standards.

被带到的宝物库以YGGDRSIL的标准来说非常小。

The coins were not piled into a big heap like in Nazarick, but separately packed into sacks. Alsom there were paintings whose value eluded Suzuki Satoru and a great deal of silverware, ornament, and the like. There were also many weapons which looked like they had been used before. They struck him as belonging in a museum as opposed to an art gallery.

金币也不是像纳萨力克地下大坟墓一样堆成山，而是分装在皮袋里。还有就是铃木悟完全搞不懂价值的绘画和大量的银制餐具、装饰品之类的。接着还有少许有使用感的武器，给人感觉是应该送进博物馆而不是美术馆的东西。

The image Suzuki Satoru had conjured up in his head of the Treasury from YGGDRASIL vanished.

铃木悟脑中浮现YGGDRASIL的宝物库的期待落空了。

“Now then, Keno. All these are yours, as a princess.”

「那么、琪诺。这些全部是身为公主的你该拥有的宝物」

“Eh? Don’t you need it, Satoru-sama, no, Satoru-san? They’re all the treasures of the royal family, so I don’t mind offering them, er, I mean, giving them… no…”

「欸、悟大人、不、悟先生不需要吗？这些是王家的宝物，即使献上、呃、送出……不对……」

Suzuki Satoru smiled at Keno, who did not seem to know what to say. “You don’t need to be picky with your language, you know.”

对着不知道该说什么好的琪诺，铃木悟露出微笑「用词遣句不用勉强也没关系喔」

“In any case, this is the wealth your family built up over time. Given the circumstances, it should be kept by you, as the only one who retained her senses, don’t you think? Put it all in this rucksack. It’s a magic item that can ignore up to 500 kilograms of weight. I’ll give you one.”

「总之，这是你们一族花时间积蓄起来的财富。现在的情况下、应该由唯一保有知性的你拿着才

对吧？装到这个背包[rucksack sack]里就好。这是无视五百公斤承重的魔法道具，送你一个吧」

“Ehh? But isn’t this really high-end stuff? I can’t take it, Satoru-san.”

「欸？但这是高级品吧？我不能拿、悟先生」

Really? Suzuki Satoru began to think in earnest.

是这样吗？铃木悟认真的思考起来。

It was not a high-priced item in YGGDRASIL. Rather, it was commonplace to use several of these rucksacks to organize the contents of one’s inventory.

在YGGDRASIL里并不是什么高价的道具。不如说用好几个这个背包将整个道具种类分别整理才是YGGDRASIL玩家的日常。

“Don’t worry about it. No, if you’re worried it, then treat it as a loan. If you don’t want it any more -- yes, if we have to part, then return it to me.

「不用那么在意。不、要是在意的话，就当成借给你吧。要是你不要了──对了、又或着是别离到来的时候还给我就好」

“W-what if we’re together forever?”

「要、要是一直一起呢？」

“Then you can hold on to it forever, no? Alright, take it.”

「那时你一直用着就好了吧？好了、不用客气」

Suzuki Satoru forced Keno to take the rucksack.

铃木悟强硬地让琪诺拿着背包。

He should probably check to make sure there was nothing inside it before loaning it out. It was also commonplace for YGGDRASIL players to forget magic items from slain monsters inside them.

在借出前姑且确认下里面有没有东西吧。有时候会把干掉的魔物掉落品忘在里面，这个也是YGGDRASIL玩家的日常之一。

After seeing her accept it without complaint, Satoru concluded that he ought to assume that the inhabitants of this world did not have inventory spaces. However, she was not surprised by the magical effects of the rucksack, because she had been told about such items in the past.

看到她老实接受了之后，铃木悟判断到、果然应该看作这个世界的居民没有持有类似道具箱的东西吗。然而、没有因为背包的魔法效果感到惊愕，是因为之前听说过有这种道具存在。

It feels like I could become something like a salesman if I could make good use of my inventory space.

（如果能好好运用道具箱的能力的话，感觉就能从事类似商人的活动了啊）

However, things could get messy very quickly if he used a power which nobody had for profit.

但是、如果用谁都没有的能力去获得利益的话，就容易演变成非常麻烦的事情。

Even someone who knew as little as Suzuki Satoru would understand how to use it with just a little thought. Surely there were people out there who were smarter and who would want it. If he became an information broker, it was very likely that he would expose himself as one of the undead, an enemy to the world. Therefore, he should try his best to avoid using this ability to obtain things.

就算是只有铃木悟这种程度知识的人，稍微想想就能明白这个东西的使用方法。再聪明一点的话、就会有想要得到它的人存在吧。如果成为了情报收集的对象，那么就很有可能会暴露自己是世界之敌的不死者。所以通过使用这个能力去获得什么，应该尽量避免。

He watched her carefully place various objects into the bag with a gentle look in his eyes. That was because the items inside it would not bang into each other or damage each other even if one just chucked them in at random. But surely a child who did not know that would pack them in that way.

用温柔的眼光注视着慎重地把东西放进背包的她。因为即使随意放也不会使物品产生碰撞，更不会产生伤痕。但是、如果是不知道这一点的小孩子，用这种装法也是理所当然的吧。

While he wanted to help her, those were her family’s treasures. It should not be interfered with by a third party, right? He would help if she asked for help, but that said, Keno was also undead. Her body would not tire, so it was very unlikely that she would seek help.

虽然也能去帮她，但这是她家的宝物。果然应该避免让第三者插手吗。如果、她来寻求帮助的话，就去帮助她吧。话是这么说、但琪诺也是不死者。由于肉体不会产生疲劳，来寻求帮助的可能性也很低。

“Keno. What will you do with the weapons over there?”

「琪诺。那边的武具该怎么办？」

Suzuki Satoru cast a spell to investigate to see what magic was imbued into them. All of them were mediocre and would be classified as low-class magic items in YGGDRASIL. While they were practically worthless, they were magic items from this world, and to Suzuki Satoru now they were extremely rare.

铃木悟发动魔法，调查里面寄宿的魔力。不管哪个都是十几二十程度的水平，在YGGDRASIL里就是属于下级。虽然是等同于没有价值的东西，但姑且也是属于这个世界的道具，对于现在的铃木悟来说稀有度还是相当高的。

Incidentally, the national-treasure level gauntlet was a middle-class magical item. However, the breadth of the middle-class was quite broad, and it was among the topmost examples of that grouping.

顺带一提被称为国宝的护手属于中级道具。但是、中级的幅度也相当广，这在那里面也是处于最上级的位置。

“Can we... take them?”

「可以、带走吗？」

“That will be your decision. But since they possess magical power, they should be magic items. If you don’t mind, could you let me appraise these items?”

「虽然得根据你的判断来决定。但姑且存在着魔力的样子，应该都是魔法道具吧。如果可以的话，能让我鉴定一下那些道具吗？」

After receiving Keno’s permission, he cast [Appraisal Magic Item] to perform a more in-depth analysis.

得到了琪诺的许可后，使用<道具鉴定>，进行更加详细的鉴定。

As he thought, they were all nothing much. The armor’s enchantment boosted defense, the weapons boosted attack power, and so on. They were all boring magic items.

果然无论哪个都不是什么大不了的东西。铠甲的话就是提升防御力，武器的话就是提升攻击力，这样一点也不有趣的武具。

“Keno, these items seem to contain enchantments that boost their effectiveness as battle gear. As for how much they’re worth, I regret to say I ‘m not sure.”

「琪诺。这些道具里面的魔力好像有提升武具性能效果。至于物品本身的价值，很遗憾、我并不清楚」

Saying so, Suzuki Satoru grabbed a sword and essayed a swing with it. And then -- the sword fell to the ground.

铃木悟这么说着，随后握着剑，试着挥舞一下。然后——剑掉落到了地板上。

He saw Keno look over in shock as she heard the crashing sound of metal.

能看见琪诺因为巨大的金属声而吃惊地望着这边。

“W-what…”

「什、么……」

“What’s the matter, Satoru-sama! Is something wrong with the sword?”

「您怎么了、悟大人！剑上有什么问题吗！？」

Had her tone reverted to its previous one because o the sword?

是因为慌张的缘故吗，琪诺的语调变得和以前一样了。

“It, it’s nothing, I’m sorry. It seems my hand slipped. Hahaha, my palms must be sweaty!”

「没、没有，抱歉。好像是手滑了一下。哈哈哈、还真是出了些汗呢」

How the hell do bony hands sweat, Suzuki Satoru mocked himself as he casually put the sword back on the table.

只有骨头的手到底怎么样才能出汗啊，铃木悟一边自己吐着槽，一边把剑随意放到了桌子上。

The sword slipped from my hand before I knew it”Could it be that this body of mine can’t equip swords? What’s going on?

（剑在不知不觉中滑落了？难道说、这个身体不能装备剑吗？游戏的束缚还存在着？究竟是怎么回事、这个……）

“Ah, Keno. Can you equip -- no, hold it, no, that’s not it. Could you swing this sword?”

「那个、琪诺。你能装——不、拿着，不、不对呢，挥一下这把剑吗？」

“Huh? This sword?”

诶？是这把剑么？」

“Ah, that’s right… but it seems a bit too large for you, Keno…”

「啊、没错……但这对琪诺来说是不是有点大了呢……」

Keno picked up the sword instantly.

琪诺一下就把剑拿了起来。

Then, she swung it with a whoosh.

然后嗖的一下，挥舞起来。

The child-sized Keno was swinging a sword that was as long as she was tall, but she did not lose her balance because of it.

小孩子体格的琪诺挥舞着跟自己身高相当的剑，身体却没有因此而失去平衡。

“It feels really light. Is it because it’s got lightening magic inside it?”

「感觉意外的轻。是因为里面封入了减轻重量的魔法吗？」

“No… Keno, were you always very strong?”

「并没有这种事……琪诺、你以前就很有力气吗？」

“Huh?”

「诶？」

Keno’s expression told him that the answer was no, and after looking at her, Suzuki Satoru thought “I see”. It would seem she had gained this strength after becoming undead.

琪诺的表情上露出了否定的答案，铃木悟看着这样的她，想着「原来如此」。她的这个腕力，是成为不死者以后才得到的吗。

There were restrictions on how much force a human being could exert, supposedly to keep them from using enough strength to tear muscle fibers. Had those limitations been removed after becoming undead

人类的腕力存在着限制，据说不会让人使出会让肌肉纤维断裂程度的力量。那么成为不死者后，那份限制是因此解除了吗。

That might be possible, but perhaps there was another reason behind it.

虽然也有这种可能，但或许还有其他的理由。

“Keno, what race did you become after turning undead? While the people in the city became low-level yuriniggers, you’re nothing like them. You’re intelligent and you don’t look rotted. Meanwhile, I am of the Overlord race, but you did not gain a bony body like mine.”

「琪诺、你成为了不死者之后，究竟变成了什么种族呢？虽然这个城市里的人都变成低位不死者、僵尸了，可你却完全不一样。拥有知性，外表看上去也没有腐败。然后、我是名为死之统治者的种族，你也没有变成这副由骸骨组成的身体」

“I, I dont get it…”

「我、我不清楚……」

“Don’t you think sorting out your race might help change the present situation? To that end, would you mind answering a few questions?”

「你不觉得弄清楚你的种族，或许会对现状产生变化吗。为此能让我问几个问题吗？」

While he did not know how far his YGGDRASIl knowledge could go in this world, learning Keno’s race would probably not be a bad thing.

虽然YGGDRASIL里的知识在这个世界能通用到哪种程度还是未知，但知晓琪诺的种族这点、应该也不会是什么坏事。

After some questioning, he arrived at what might be the right answer.

通过反复进行一些提问，总算是得出的说不定就是这个的答案。

She was a Vampire.

吸血鬼。

However--

然而——

YGGDRASIL Vampires look more disgusting than this, right… or is she something like that Shalltear which Peroroncino made? Or is this a Vampire unique to this world? There’s almost no change in her appearance before and after becoming undead, so could she be a special case?

（在YGGDRASIL里的吸血鬼的外貌会更加恶心才对……或者说像佩罗罗奇诺所创造的夏提雅那样的感觉？还是说、这是这个世界独有的吸血鬼么？因为外表跟成为不死者前几乎没有什么变化，所以也有可能是特别的吗）

Vampires in YGGDRASIL were typically frontliners -- warrior types.

在YGGDRASIL里的吸血鬼是前卫——战士系。

Perhaps that was why Keno’s strength had increased, However, the fact that her height was frozen like this was a major downside. Having a short reach was very disadvantageous.

琪诺的腕力有所增强或许是这个的原因。但是、从这一点来看的话，身高就这样停止生长了，的确相当不利啊。距离太短可是压倒性的不利啊。

Maybe she should aim to be a Fencer… would irt be wrong to let Keno decide how she wants to develop herself?

（以轻战士系为目标……自己擅自决定琪诺的成长计划是不是有点不妥啊）

Suzuki Satoru the backliner and Keno the frontliner. This was not a bad combination. However, it was a little embarrassing to use a child as a shield. He probably would not mind in a game like YGGDRASIL--

后卫的铃木悟加上前卫的琪诺。这样的组合并不坏，但拿比自己还要小的孩子来当盾，总觉得面子上有些过不去。如果是YGGDRASIL那样的游戏里，应该就不会在意了吧——

Honestly. I used to be the sort of person who wasn’t bothered by seeing the corpses of street orphans, since they came up so often that it was hardly a rare occurrence, but now...

（真是的。明明看到流浪儿童的尸体也不是什么稀奇的事情，看到了也觉得没什么大不了的我、现在竟然）

Had he changed, or was he particularly interested in Keno?

“...I’ll verify this later on. Sorry to have disturbed you. You should hurry up and empty the treasury.

「……之后再详细验证吧。那么、打扰你也感觉不太好。赶紧把这个宝物库搬空吧」

Suzuki Satoru took this time to blow the dust in the treasury around so nobody could tell that anyone had entered.

铃木悟在这段时间里把宝物库的尘埃吹飞，让他人无法掌握有谁进来过。

“Now then, we’ve collected the contents of the Treasury -- is there anything else you want to take along?”

「那么，在宝物库的东西也全部回收了——还有什么其他想带走的东西吗？」

“Yes. After this, all I need are a few small items from my room.”

「是的。之后只有我房间里的一些小道具了」

She had reverted to polite speech at some point. Satoru thought you can be more casual, you know as he replied:

不知什么时候又完全变回到了敬语，悟一边想着遣词再随意一点也可以哦，一边做出回应。

“I trust you understand that we will be leaving this place soon. After that, someone might come here to take everything in the castle or to destroy everything inside it.”

「我想你应该也明白，我们很快就要离开这里了。之后或许会有其他人来到这里，可能会掠夺走这座城里的一切，也可能会把这里全都破坏掉」

Right now, he was still unsure why the people in this city had become undead. Perhaps there was some kind of plague that turned people undead. If that was the case, the people who came here might think that burning it all down would be the best way to deal with it.

现在还不清楚这座城里的人们为什么会变成不死者，说不定是某种会把人转化为不死者的疫病。如果是这种情况的话，或许来到这里的人会认为一把火将全城烧了才是最好的处理方式。

While she had thought of that long ago, actually hearing Suzuki Satoru say it put a shocked look on Keno’s face.

虽然早在心中这样想过，但听到这些从铃木悟口中说出，琪诺还是表现出了一副很受打击的表情。

“You don’t want to be attacked by the undead, either? Then it’s possible that they might decide that all the undead in the city should be des…” Just as he was about to say “destroy”, Suzuki Satoru suddenly realised that his phrasing was too provocative, and so he changed his words. “...Should be eliminated. That would be the normal way of thinking, right? After all, to the living, doing so would get rid of the threat of whether or not the undead in this city would attack theirs.”

「而且你也不想被不死者袭击的吧？那完全有可能会把全城的不死者都毁……」正打算说出毁灭一词之时，铃木悟突然意识到自己的语言有些过激，于是换了个说法。「把它们都打倒，也才是正常的想法吧。毕竟对于生者而言，终归会无可避免的想到、城里的这些不死者会不会对他们的城市造成威胁」

“...Mm...I get what you mean.”

「……嗯……我明白您的意思」

“Therefore… since you’ve decided to leave, I want you to be mentally prepared for this. After all, today might be the last time you see this city. For that reason, Keno, while there’s a limit to the things you can take with you, you must make sure that you don’t regret the choices you make. Right now, I’m not sure whether the memories of the undead will fade away, but even if that happens, you must keep in mind the fact that you might forget this, and you must take good care of the things you want to preserve. As long as you preserve them… mm, it’ll become one of your unforgettable memories.”

「所以说……既然决定要离开，就要提前做好这样的心理准备。毕竟、在你面前的这座城市，或许今天就是最后一次看到它了也说不定。也正因为这样，琪诺，虽然能够带走的东西是有限的，但在选择带走哪些的时候一定不要让自己后悔。现在还不清楚我们不死者的记忆会不会存在逐渐忘却的情况，但既然如此，就要将可能忘却这件事考虑在内，希望留存下来的东西要切实的保留下来才好。只要保存下来……嗯、就会成为你不会消退的记忆之一」

Suzuki Satoru took out a picture.

铃木悟取出一张照片。

It was a memorial picture that had been taken when the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick had still been called an underground tomb -- in other words, when it had first been conquered.

这是纳萨力克地下大坟墓还被称为地下坟墓的时候——也就是最初将其攻下的时候作为纪念拍下的照片。

What he took out was a group photo of all the group’s members.

之后取出的是公会全员的合照。

“Yes, it will never be forgotten.”

「没错、绝对不会被遗忘」

“What’s this?”

「这是？」

“These are my friends. It’s a picture we took together.” Suzuki Satoru could not help but smile as he heard Keno’s question. “Oh yes, if we have time during our journeys, I’ll tell you about the adventures I had with my friends.”

「这是我的朋友们、大家一起拍下的照片」面对琪诺的疑问，铃木悟不由自主的流露出了一抹笑意「对了、在今后的旅途中，有时间的话我来给你讲一讲吧，我和伙伴们一起进行的冒险」

“Sure!”

「好的！」

Suzuki Satoru chuckled as he heard her cheerful reply.

听到她开朗的回答，铃木悟笑了笑。

“Alright! Then go collect some things that you want to preserve as memories, Keno… unfortunately, your body will probably not grow any more now that you’re undead, unless you’re a special undead being that I’ve never seen before. Therefore, you should be able to wear your clothes for a long time.

「好啊！那么琪诺你就去收拾一下自己想要作为回忆保留的东西吧……不过遗憾的是、你成为不死者之后身体应该就不会再有成长了，除非你是我也不了解的某种特殊不死者。所以衣服之类的应该是能穿挺长时间的了」

“Sure! ...Huh? But should I feel happy about this?”

「好的！……咦？不过、我应该感到高兴吗……」

“Isn’t eternal youth the dream of all women?”

「永葆青春难道不是所有女性的梦想吗？」

“I’d be glad if I could grow a little more…”

「要是能再长大一点点我会更开心的啦……」

“Is that so?”

「是这样的吗？」

“It isn’t?”

「不是这样的吗？」

As a man, Suzuki Satoru did not quite get it. That said, she might have some resistance to the idea of looking like a child and never growing again.

铃木悟作为一名男性倒是不太了解。不过话说回来，维持在儿童的样子不再成长，可能的确会有些抵触的吧。

“Alright, then why don’t you start by picking out clothes?”

「好吧、那就先从衣服开始挑选，你看怎么样？」

“Alright! I will!”

「好的！那我就先选衣服！」

That said, I don’t think a princess is going to have any clothes suitable for travelling. As for me, well, I obviously don’t have any.

（不过说起来，公主殿下应该没什么适合旅行时穿的衣物吧。至于我嘛、自然也没有）

In YGGDRASIL, it was perfectly natural for people to walk around fully armed and armored, but given her attire and the undead he had seen in the city -- in other words, ordinary civilian attire -- his robe stood out too much. That being the case, he would need to change into clothes that could better blend into an ordinary town, but he did not have any unassuming, ordinary garments.

在YGGDRASIL的时候考虑到随时都可能进入战斗，所以走路的时候保持全副武装也是理所当然的，不过从她的穿着以及城里看到的那些不死者——也就是普通市民的衣着来看，这件长袍太过引人注目了。这样一来就需要换成更容易融入普通城镇的服装才好，但是手头又没有那种不怎么起眼的、普普通通的衣服。

Even if he did, it would be weak gear with low data capacity. It might be very dangerous once he got into a fight.

就算有、也都是那种没含有多少数据水晶的贫弱装备、一旦进入战斗，说不定会很危险。

In other words, he needed something with acceptable defense and toughness, while still looking plain. And with Keno included, he would need two sets of that clothing.

也就是说现在需要的是有着能看的过眼的防御力与耐性的，外观又不怎么起眼的衣服。而且算上琪诺的话还要准备两人份的。

After checking Keno’s HP values with [Life Essence], he could tell that they were very low. She might even end up getting killed by the splash damage from an area-effect spell.

根据<生命精髓>查看到的琪诺的生命值，可以说相当得少。若是吃到范围型魔法的话，她甚至可能会被其造成的余波致命一击。

That said, I don’t really want to fight in battles which are big enough that she might get caught up in them...

（不过规模大到可能会波及她的那种硬仗，说实话我也不太愿意打就是了……）

Unfortunately, Suzuki Satoru was not gifted at divination magic, and even if he could maintain a certain level of alertness with magic, he was not confident that he could protect against 100% of enemy sneak attacks.

不巧的是，铃木悟并不擅长使用感知类魔法，即便使用魔法保持一定程度的警戒，也没有自信能100%防范住敌人的偷袭。

It would probably be best to just directly give her items like that. However, if he gave her a high-level item and it made others target her instead, that would be the opposite of what he ended.

把那类道具直接拿给她用应该算是最好的方法了吧。可是呢、万一给了她高级道具反而让人把主意打到她身上那就适得其反了……

There’s too many things I need to think about. Maybe I should prepare two sets of gear, one for when we approach a town and one for when we;re travelling… no, if I’m not wrong I think I’ve got a robe of rapid gear switching… forget it, I won’t think about this for now.

（需要考虑的事情太多了。要么准备两套装备分别用于靠近城镇时和旅途途中时……不对、我印象中好像有可以迅速换装的长袍什么的……算了、先不考虑这个了）

“Let’s go to your room, Keno.”

「走吧琪诺、到你的房间去」

“Alright… er, but… this sort of thing, ah, no, er, maybe I should just ask. At the risk of offending you, you’re male, aren’t you, Satoru-san?”

「好……额但是……这种事情，啊、不是，嗯、还是问下吧。我想冒昧问您一下，悟先生应该、是男性……对吧？」

“But of course. Granted, I don’t look it.”

「当然了。虽然外表看上去是这幅样子」

I’m clearly speaking with Suzuki Satoru’s voice, why’d you ask me a weird question like that all of a sudden? Are there women in this world with voices like this?

我明明是用铃木悟的声音在讲话，怎么会突然问出这么奇怪的问题来。难道说这个世界还有这种声线的女性吗。

“Ah, this is kind of rude to say to a benefactor, but my room has always been forbidden to all men except my father -- ahem, that’s the rule that was laid down.”

「那个、对恩人悟先生说出来可能比较失礼，但我的房间从来都是禁止父王以外的男性进入的——额、是这样规定的，啊、是这么个规矩」

Oh? Suzuki Satoru was somewhat surprised.

哦？铃木悟感到了些许意外。

She might be a child, but she was still the princess of a country, and it would seem that these rules were quite strict.

虽说还是个孩子，但毕竟也是一国王女，看样子在这些规矩上还是要求挺严格的。

“I see. Well, as rule is a rule. I’ll just wait outside, then… you can handle things by yourself, right, Keno?”

「原来如此。既然规矩如此、那我就在外边等着好了……琪诺你自己一个人能应付得了吧？」

He thought of the undead in maid uniforms inside the castle. There should have been a maid to help Keno with her daily tasks.

想到城里有些女仆打扮的不死者，应该会有女仆来照顾琪诺的日常起居吧。

“Um, that’s not a problem either… oh yes, as my savior, it’s only natural for me to invite you into my room No, please step inside… or would you rather not?”

「嗯、这个倒是不成问题……对了、悟先生作为我的大恩人，请您一并进屋来也是理所应当的。不对、请务必进屋一叙……您不愿意吗？」

Keno tugged on Suzuki Satoru’s robe as she asked him that question.

扯着铃木悟的长袍琪诺这么问道。

“Ah, no, I’ve got not reason to refuse.

「哦不、我倒也没有拒绝的意思」

He had only said he would not be entering Keno’s room because she had said no strangers were allowed into it. In truth., Suzuki Satoru did not mind going inside or staying outside.

纯粹是因为琪诺说不能让外人进入她的房间，他才回答说不进去的。实际上铃木悟进还是不进都无所谓。

He used [Fly] to reach Keno’s room and followed her inside to take a look. It was much classier than Suzuki Satoru’s room, but in turn it paled in comparison to Momonga’s room.

使用着<飞行>来到了琪诺的房间，跟着她进了房间一看，比铃木悟房间的档次要高很多，但相较飞鼠的房间就显得逊色不少。

However, once she opened her cabinet, he found a great deal of dresses inside. That certainly seemed like a princess’ room. However, their colors and decorations were much simpler than those of YGGDRASIL; or rather, YGGDRASIL’s clothes were much more lavish.

但是一打开衣柜，就会发现里边有着大量的礼服，确实很像是个公主殿下的房间。不过色调和装饰之类的就比YGGDRASIL的要简单的多了，或者应该说是YGGDRASIL里的衣服过分华丽才对。

Keno rifled through the dresses -- although some had already become discolored -- and then she turned her head back in Suzuki Satoru’s direction to ask him a question.

琪诺用手拨弄着那些——虽然有些已经变色了——的礼服，微微倾着头向铃木悟问道。

“Which do you think is more suitable?”

「您觉得哪件比较合适？」

Who was the one who had once said, “which do you like better” coming from a woman’s mouth was one of the hardest questions in the world? Was it Touch Me?

不知道是谁曾经说过，女人口中的「你觉得哪个比较好？」是世界上最难回答的一个问题之一。

好像是塔其·米来着？

Suzuki Satoru very much wanted to say “I have the aesthetic sense of a potato, please don’t ask me.” But she had asked him because she trusted him, and he owed her a serious answer.

我有个毛线的审美、别问我好吗，虽然铃木悟很想这么说。但是呢、人家好歹也是信任他才会问他这种问题的，总归还是要认真回答的。

“While I think all of them suit you very well, taking them all will be very troublesome. For instance, if there’s an organization behind that undead being, they might send backup over, which would expose your presence. And we’ll be heading off on a journey, so I don’t think anyone’s going to walk around in outfits like that, right?”

「虽然我觉得每一件都很适合你，但全都带走是很容易出问题的。假如说那个不死者的背后存在某个组织，考虑到之后可能会派遣援军过来的话，就会暴露了你的存在。而且我们接下来就要踏上旅途了，应该不会有人穿着这样的礼服长途跋涉的吧？」

“So that’s how it is -- no, is it?”

「是这样——啊不、是吗？」

He did not know the common practices of this world, so all Suzuki Satoru could say was “most likely.” However, he felt that it was probably not too far from the truth.

因为并不了解这个世界的常识，所以铃木悟对此也只好回答说「多半是吧」。不过他的内心倒是觉得应该不会有太大的偏差才对。

Also, you can’t go around dressed as a member of the royal family if you want to keep a low profile -- oh yes, Keno. I’m sorry, but a problem came to mind. Do people in the other cities, or perhaps other countries, know your face?”

「而且、从低调行事的角度来讲也不能以王族的排场来出行——对了、琪诺。抱歉、我想到一个问题。其他的城市、根据情况也可以是其他国家，有人认得你的样貌吗？」

“I”m not sure. Maybe someone might have an impression of me, uh, I guess. The royals of other countries should know me. I remember there was a portrait exchange once.”

「我不清楚。说不定还有人会留有印象、呜、也许会吧。其他国家的王族应该是有人认识我的，我记得曾经有交换过肖像画」

“Is that so… while you should probably be careful, it has been quite a while since you became undead. In that case, it’s not likely that you’ll run into people like that. Alright, we’ll go with that. Leaving aside the question of whether or not you should wear a dress while travelling or what we said just not, you should go collect the mementos you want to keep. In any case, if we come back after several years and nobody’s cleaned the place out, we can take everything here with us. For now, just pick a few dresses you like best and let’s go.”

「这样啊……虽说还是留意一下比较好，不过毕竟你成为不死者以后已经过去了相当一段时间，如此一来与那些人见面的概率应该是很低的。行吧、就这样了。先不说旅途中要不要穿礼服的事了，还是像刚刚说的那样，先去收拾一下你希望留下回忆的东西吧。总而言之、若干年后再返回这里时如果还没有遭人洗劫的话，到时候应该就可以把留在这里的东西都带走了，这次姑且先挑选几件你最喜欢的礼服带走吧」

No matter what, surely they could not keep an eye on this place for so many years.

再怎么说也不可能持续监视那么多年吧。

Keno took a while -- slightly longer than Suzuki Satoru had expected -- to pick out four dresses, and then she began tidying up the smaller things in her room.

琪诺花了一些——比铃木悟的预想更久一点的——时间挑选了四件礼服之后，开始收拾起了房间里比较细小的东西。

Because moving anything would leave traces and clue people in to the fact that something had been there once, she decided to shift everything in the vicinity to cover up those marks.

因为取东西时会留下一些痕迹，让人看出这里原本是有东西放置着的，所以就对其周围的所有东西进行整体的移动，以此来掩盖留下的痕迹。

“Is that all you need to bring? In that case, we’ll put your parents and maids in a room in the sewer.That way, they might be able to escape the attention of anyone who comes to this city.”

「需要带走的就是这些了吗？那么、你的双亲和女仆们，就在下水道找个房间把他们关进去吧。这样一来、或许可以逃过来到这座都市的外人瞩目」

“Alright… that should be… the best way.”

「好的……这应该……是最好的办法了」

“If you know of any other way to avoid outsiders finding their hiding place, we can go with your suggestion.”

「如果你还知道有其他可以避开外人探查的藏身之处的话，那按照你的意见来办也可以」

Keno shook her head.

琪诺摇了摇头。

Then there was nothing for it. They would simply have to make do.

那就没办法了，只好在那里将就一下了。

“Now then, Satoru-san.”

「那个、悟先生」

“Hm?”

「嗯？」

“Since we’ll be heading out, could you help me cut my hair?”

「我们马上就要出发了，你能不能先帮我剪一下头发？」

“Eh?”

「诶？」

The change in topic had come as such a surprise that Suzuki Satoru responded in an oafish way.

对话题是怎么转到这里来的过于意外，铃木悟发出了很谐的声音。

“Um, it’s like this, please look at this.” Having cast [Fly], Keno glided over to one side of the room and nimbly retrieved a book from a shelf. “This is Book 3 of the Chronicles of the Prince of Phenia. In this book, when the princess set out on a journey, she cut her long hair.”

「嗯、是这样的，请看这个」发动着<飞行>的琪诺滑行到房间一侧，灵巧的从书架中取出一本书来「这是菲尼雅贵公子物语的第三册，在这本书里、公主殿下在踏上旅程的时候，就将她的长发剪了下来」

Keno looked a little embarrassed, but her eyes were shining bright.

看上去有点羞涩的琪诺，眼神中放射着闪亮的光彩。

“Ahem. Alright, I don’t mind…”

「额、好吧，我倒是不介意……」

Just as Suzuki Satoru was waffling over whether it would be alright to cut her hair for that reason, Keno came back in front of Suzuki Satoru with a pair of scissors.

正当铃木悟还在琢磨着因为这点事就把长发剪掉真的没关系吗——的时候，琪诺手里拿着剪刀回到了铃木悟的面前。

“Then, please do the honors!”

「那就拜托您了！」

“I, ah… I’ve never cut anyone’s hair before, so let me get this out of the way first, I’m not confident at all in being able to give you a pretty haircut. Maybe if I had hair clippers I could do a passable job… But before that, I have something that I want to tell you.”

「我、那个……从来没有给别人剪过头发，所以提前说好，我可完全没有信心能给你剪的漂漂亮亮的。要是用理发推子说不定还能理个七七八八……不过，在那之前有件事要先告诉你」

Suzuki Satoru took the scissors, picked up a lock of Keno’s hair and snipped off part of it. The severed hair landed in Suzuki Satoru’s hand, where it aged and degraded as though several hundred years had passed for it, until it became a puff of ash, vanishing cleanly just like the undead did when they were destroyed.

接过剪刀，捻起琪诺的一缕发丝，稍稍的剪掉了一截。被剪下来的头发在铃木悟的手中，仿佛经过了数百年的时间一样老化崩坏，最终化成了一抹飞灰，就像不死者被消灭的时候一样消失的一干二净。

“Keno, I’m going to cast an spell on you. Don’t resist it, alright?”

「琪诺、接下来我会对你施放一个魔法，请不要做出抵抗，可以吗？」

“Eh? Alright. It should be fine.”

「诶？好的。没有关系」

He returned the scissors to her, and while still holding the lock of Keno’s hair, he cast the offensive spell [Ray of Negative Energy]. While negative energy damaged the living, it would heal the undead instead.

暂时将剪刀还回去，仍然捻着琪诺那缕头发的铃木悟使用了攻击魔法<负向光辉>[ Ray of Negative Energy]。负向的能量虽然会让生者负伤，但对不死者而言产生的则是回复效果。

Upon taking the magical “attack”, Keno’s hair -- to be precise, the lock in Suzuki Satoru’s hand, which had been trimmed -- regained its original length.

受到魔法「攻击」的琪诺的头发——确切说来是在铃木悟手中被剪短了一截的头发，恢复了原本的长度。

That was how it was.

就是这么回事。

In the moment that one became undead, one’s appearance was fixed. In that case, what would happen to people who were missing limbs or otherwise maimed when they became undead? That question flashed through his mind, but he could not think of an answer and it would have been pointless anyway, so he banished the thought from his mind.

在成为不死者的那一瞬间，外形就会固定下来。那么假如说在手足缺损的状态下变成不死者又会怎样呢，虽然这个疑问在头脑里一闪而过，但思考这种得不出答案的问题也没有意义，于是将这个念头从脑中赶了出去。

“Keno, I think cutting your hair is considered damage to you.”

「琪诺、将头发剪下来这个行为，看样子是被算作为受到损伤了」

“Ehhh? Really!?”

「诶？真的吗！？」

At least he could save himself the trouble of cleaning up the cut hair.

这样一来倒是可以省去将剪下的头发清理掉的功夫了。

“So even if I mess up, I can start anew over and over again… So I’m just going to do a careless job this time round.”

「所以就算失败了也可以无数次的重新剪起……那这回我就随意剪了哦」

“Carelessly!?”

「随意！」

Suzuki Satoru ignored Keno’s cry of surprise and cast [Life Essence], then cut Keno’s long hair to shoulder-length.

无视了发出了惊呼的琪诺，铃木悟开启了<生命精髓>，将琪诺背后的长发肩到了与肩头平齐的长度。

“It’s fine. The damage is minimal, to the point where you could ignore it.”

「还行，伤害值很小，处于可以忽略的范围之内」

“Eh? Ehhhhhh!?”

「诶！？诶诶！？」

It was only after she felt the hair behind her that she managed to calm down.

赶忙摸了下身后的头发，琪诺这才放下心来。

“Satoru-san! When you said you were going to cut it carelessly I got the shock of my life!”

「悟先生！听你说要随意剪，我可是被吓了一跳呢！」

After hearing the reproachful tone in Keno’s voice (“Eh? Then should I apologize, then?”) Suzuki Satoru began to seriously consider the matter. Nothing good would come of ruining his relationship with a future travelling companion.

听到琪诺那略带了些责备的语气中「诶？那我是不是道个歉比较好啊？」铃木悟认真的考虑起来。与接下来要一同踏上旅途的伙伴的关系搞得太差，可没有什么好处。

“It was my fault, Keno.”

「是我做的不对，琪诺」

“Ah, no, it’s alright, ahem… It’s okay now…”

「啊、不是，没关、额……没事了啦…」

Then why were you so eager to blame me just now, Suzuki Satoru barely stopped himself from saying.

那你刚才还那么兴师问罪的干嘛，铃木悟好不容易才忍住了这句话。

Keno’s just a child… huh? A child? Don’t tell me she’s a senior lady?

（琪诺只是个小孩子……哎？小孩子……吗？该不会是位上了年纪的女性吧？）

Suzuki suddenly began thinking about that… but abandoned it in the end. In any event, he trimmed the rest of her hair to roughly shoulder length. Then, he used a borrowed comb -- truth to be told, he had no confidence in himself at all -- to comb out he hair.

铃木悟突然开始认真的考虑起来……但最终还是放弃了思考。总之先动起手来，把其他的头发也剪到与背后那部分相齐的长度。然后用借来的梳子——说句实话他一点信心也没有——梳理着她的头发。

“It’s done. Or rather… I think it’s done.”

「理完了。或者说……我觉得是理完了」

Keno walked in front of the changing mirror, but it was covered in dust and could not show Keno’s image. Just as she was about to wipe the mirror, her hand stopped halfway as she remembered the reason why she was sustaining a [Fly] spell. Then, she turned around to Suzuki Satoru.

琪诺走到更衣镜前，但镜子表面落满了灰尘，完全映照不出琪诺的样子来。伸出去准备擦拭镜子的手停在半空，她应该是回想起了持续使用<飞行>魔法的原因了吧。然后、她转过身来问向铃木悟。

“How does it look?”

「感觉怎么样？」

“It suits you. Mm, it becomes you,” Suzuki Satoru answered,

「很合适哦。嗯、挺衬你的」

铃木悟这么回答了她。

“Really? That makes me happy.”

「真的吗、我很开心」

Keno gave him a winsome smile.

琪诺嫣然一笑。

She seemed to be in good spirits. Suzuki Satoru knew nothing about what was pretty and what was not and about women’s hairstyles and the like. But it would seem what he had said had played it safe.

她看起来心情挺不错的。到底什么算好看，什么算不好看，对女性的发型之类的东西，铃木悟可说是一窍不通，但看来自己脱口而出的话，应该还算是安全牌的样子。

“N-now then, let’s move on to the next step.”

「那、那么，我们继续下一步吧」

After taking Keno’s parents and a maid in the room in the sewer that had been Keno’s base, he shackled the door with rusty chains so it would not open.

将琪诺的双亲及一名女仆【注1】，关在琪诺当成根据地使用的下水道一室中后，将带来的生锈铁链捆在门上、让门无法开动。

While unintelligent undead creatures like yuriniggers could not open the doors on their own, it was probably best to bar it just in case.

虽然像僵尸这样没有理性的不死者不可能自己把门打开，但为了以防万一、还是将门把给固定了起来。

Keno had mixed feelings as she looked at the room door, and Suzuki Satoru spoke to her.

琪诺以五味杂陈的神情望着房间的门，铃木悟对着她说道。

“Alright, next up… how do you want to travel, Keno?”

「好了、接下来……琪诺、你打算怎么旅行？」

“Huh?”

「咦？」

“We are undead. We do not tire, we don’t need to eat, and we don’t need to sleep. We can head out right now without taking anything else with us. But when that happens, people will get suspicious when we enter villages or cities. Therefore, I’d like to do something that won’t arouse suspicion.

「我们是不死者。既不会产生疲劳，也不需要睡觉或是进食。就算什么都不带也是可以上路。但那样一来、在进入村落或是都市的时候，就会让人起疑。因此可以的话，为了避免让人起疑，我想要采取些什么手法」

“Like say, dragging lots of luggage around with us?”

「比如说像是带着大行李之类的吗？」

“Won’t that make people suspicious?”

「那样就不会让人起疑吗？」

In truth, Suzuki Satoru had no idea how the people in this world travelled. Therefore, he had no idea how to avoid suspicion.

老实说、这个世界的居民是怎么样旅行的，铃木悟完全没有头绪，因此也不晓得怎么样才能不让人起疑。

Keno turned her head aside and said she did not know.

琪诺歪过头去，回答说她不清楚。

“In that case, which do you prefer, between taking a carriage or going on foot?”

「那么、坐马车旅行和徒步旅行，你觉得哪一种比较好？」

“I’m not bothered by either… it’s fine. We don’t have the concept of fatigue, after all. Ah, but I walk really slowly, so...:”

「哪一种都不碍……没关系的。对我们来说没有疲劳的概念，啊、不过，因为我走路速度很慢……」

“It’s fine, don’t worry. I’ll match your pace, Keno.”

「没关系，不用在意，我会配合琪诺的速度」

That said, since they were undead, could they not just run at full speed all the time? That said, surely seeing an adult run around with a little girl by his side would leave a bad impression on others.

话虽如此、但既然是不死者的话，那不是能够一直全力奔跑吗？但话又说回来，要是真有这种带着少女在自己身旁奔跑的大人，想来是不会让人有什么好印象的。

“I”ll go get a carriage, then…”

「那么先去弄辆马车……」

“But what about the horses… hm -- how should we get one?”

「可是马该如何……嗯——该怎么弄到手呢?」

“Ah -- that’s true. As for horses…”

「啊——这倒是。马的话……」

Suzuki Satoru looked out the window. He could not see any sign of horses, but he could see yuriniggers. Even if there were horses, they would probably be Horse yuriniggers, and the other people in the city would not suffer a yurinigger horse pulling a carriage through a city.. That was definitely out. Suddenly, just then, Suzuki Satoru had an idea.

铃木悟眺望窗外，窗户外头虽然看不到马的踪影，但是可以看到僵尸。就算有马大概也只会是僵尸马吧，要是让僵尸马拉车的话，其他都市的人根本不可能放行的。绝对不可能。突然，就在此时，铃木悟脑中浮现出一个好主意。

“Don’t worry. I’ll do something about the horses. Just relax and leave it to me.The problem is the carriage. Covered wagons, cargo wagons, box wagons, on what grounds are we going on our journey?

「不要紧，马的事我心里有数。有关马的事情你就放一百个心吧。问题是马车的种类。带篷马车、载货马车、箱型马车。我们要用什么样的立场进行旅行呢？」

“Huh?”

「咦？」

“Are we going to be a princess and her magic caster follower? In that case, then perhaps our country has a kind of pumpkin-shaped carriage. That might be the best scenario for us.”

「像是公主与她的随行魔法吟唱者吗？如果是那样的话，那我的国家有一种南瓜形状的马车说不定最适合这样的场合呢」

Suzuki Satoru had said so in a slightly joking tone, bue Keno nervously said:

铃木悟用带着点玩笑的口吻这么说道，琪诺却战战兢兢地说道。

“...What about a merciful magic caster and his follower?”

「……慈悲为怀的魔法吟唱者和他的随从？」

“....Just in case, I want to check but, am I the merciful magic caster while you are the follower?”

「……为了以防万一、我姑且问一下，慈悲为怀指的昰我，随从则是琪诺？」

“Yes.”

「昰的」

“Then that suggestion is rejected.”

「那么、此案驳回」

Suzuki Satoru did not think he could make full use of Keno as his follower to put on a show. “In that case,” Keno said, and then she fell into thought. After that, she absentmindedly spoke up.

铃木悟不觉得自己有办法活用身为随从的琪诺来进行演出「那这样的话」琪诺说完，陷入思索，接着随口说道。

“How about friends?

「那朋友？」

“Friends, huh… so we’re travelling companions… alright, our backstory is that we’re friends?”

「朋友啊……我们昰一起旅行的同伴……好、那就设定成是朋友吧！」

After taking the difference in their ages into consideration, a lot of people would probably find it strange that they were friends. However, Suzuki Satoru did not feel that way. He had often seen kids who had just graduated elementary school working alongside him, and it was very hard to tell someone’s age by their appearances in YGGDRASIL.

若是考虑外表年龄的差异，说是朋友或许不少人会感到奇怪也说不定。但是铃木悟不一样。他常见到刚从小学毕业的孩子和过去的自己一样地工作，而且在YGGDRASILL里头，从对方的外貌来判断年龄也昰件困难的事。

In fact, the leader of a guild which had rivalled Ainz Ooal Gown had been a child in real life. And on the flip side, there were players who looked like kids, but whose actual age was over double that of Suzuki Satoru. When he heard them talk about their grandchildren, Suzuki Satoru froze in confusion for a moment. He still looked back on those days with nostalgia.

实际上、有一个足以和安兹·乌尔·恭公会匹敌的公会的公会长，本身就是个小孩子，反过来说、

也有游戏里的玩家角色虽然看起来和小孩子一样，但实际年龄却有铃木悟的一倍以上。当听到对方说自己的孙子怎么样的时候，铃木悟一瞬间还混乱起来，如今回想还颇令人怀念。

To that Suzuki Satoru, there was nothing strange about treating Keno as his friend.

对这样的铃木悟来说，将与琪诺的关系称之为朋友并没有违和感。

Of course, Suzuki Satoru knew that Keno was weaker than him, so the two of them were probably protector and charge. However, it was very common in YGGDRASIL for experienced players to team up with newbie players to powerlevel them, as well as partying up with non-combatant crafter party members to run around

当然、琪诺实力较弱这点铃木悟很清楚，所以两人应该会是受保护者与保护者【注2】的关系吧。

但是上级玩家和新手组队进行威力升级之类的活动昰很普通的事情，与不善战斗的生产职成员一起跑东跑西，在YGGDRASILL里头也是常有的事。

Note 1: The JP text says that there are two maids here, but there should only be one here, given later events.

Note 2: The JP text says protector and guardian, which basically mean the same thing and turn the sentence into nonsense. It’s very likely that there was a text error in the JP and so it was translated as protector and protectee/charge.

Note 3: Keno pauses a lot not because she stammers, but because she keeps switching between keigo and normal nip. This subtle shift cannot be conveyed in chink (or English).

【注1】这里原文虽然写两名女仆，但跟后面的情节对照，应该只有一名女仆才对。

【注2】原文是写庇护者与保护者，两个基本上是差不多的意思，句子会变得前后不通。考虑原文打错的可能性很高，故翻成被保护者与保护者。

【注3】琪诺讲话好像支支吾吾的并不是她结巴，而是她一直在敬语与普通口气中切换，中文并没有办法表现这种细微变化的缘故。

“Still, we need an explanation that will convince people we’re friends when we enter towns. I guess we can take our time thinking it up during out journey.”

「但是、在进入都市的时候，必须要有一套说词可以让人信服我们是朋友。这之后在旅途中再一边慢慢想吧」

“Alright… although, when you mentioned a pumpkin-shaped carriage, did you mean the edible kind of pumpkin? Is it a carriage that can be used as emergency rations when we’re hungry?”

「好的……不过话说刚刚提到的南瓜形状的马车，是那个可以吃的南瓜吗？意思是说那是一辆在紧急时可以当成备用粮食的马车？」

“Ah, no, it’s just shaped that way…”

「啊、不是，是那个形状的……」

Suzuki Satoru felt that verbally explaining would be troublesome, and so he rummaged through his inventory.

觉得用言语说明颇有难度的铃木悟搜寻道具箱。

“I wonder if I have one…”

「不知道有没有……」

He took out a photo album taken with his friends.

取出的是和同伴们一起拍的写真相簿。

Suzuki Satoru flipped quickly through it.

铃木悟快速翻阅着相簿。

The memories recalled by the many pictures filled Suzuki Satoru with nostalgia. While part of him wanted to keep staring at them, he forced himself not to do so and continued going through the pages.

从大量照片中复苏的记忆，让铃木悟陷入了各种令人怀念的感情里头。虽然心里也想要就这样一直看下去，但他强行忍了下来，继续翻动页面。

The photo he was looking for was not in this album. Suzuki Satoru switched to another one, and then a third.

由于这本相簿里没有想要找的相片，铃木悟换了另一本相簿，就这样换到了第三本。

“This one. Keno, look at this picture. The carriage is in the same frame as one of my female friends.”

「就是这张。琪诺、你看一下这张照片，马车就和我的女性朋友们一起在相片里头」

Keno pressed in from the side, and then her jaw dropped.

琪诺从旁边凑过来看之后，只见她惊得嘴巴都合不拢。

“A Slime in a dress… a woman? Is she a Slime Princess?”

「史莱姆竟然穿着礼服……女性？史莱姆的公主？」

Upon the wagon was a princess in a white dress, holding a shield aloft -- Bukubukuchagama. It had been a picture to commemorate the completion of the carriage, but Bukubukuchagama had ended up becoming the subject of the photo. That also showed which of them had a more striking appearance.

马车上面、将持着盾牌的一只手高高举起的，是穿着特制纯白礼服的公主——泡泡茶壶。明明是为了纪念马车完成所拍的照片，泡泡茶壶却变成了画面中心的主要拍摄对象，这也明确显示出了哪一边的外观更具有冲击性。

“Hahaha, I’ll tell you about this during our trip. Now, slightly below is the pumpkin carriage. I heard that shape is the kind girls dream about. That’s why she’s so happy.”

「哈哈哈、这个故事我在旅途中再说给你听。然后在这个下面稍微有拍到一点的就是南瓜马车，听说那形状是女孩们的梦想成真的模样。正因如此、她才会那么开心呢」

Although, her brother had once muttered, “You can’t call her a girl at that age…”

虽说她的弟弟曾「她那年龄已经不能称为女孩了吧」这样子小声嘟囔过就是了。

“...”

Keno looked over, visibly disturbed.

“You mean, like bad dreams?”

「…………」看起来显得很困惑的琪诺望向铃木悟「恶梦吗？」

“Hahahaha… wait, what?” Suzuki Satoru was confused.

「哈哈哈哈……嗯？」铃木悟不禁有些困惑。

He had laughed out of genuine mirth, but Suzuki Satoru felt a sense of discomfort as his joy was quashed.

虽然是因为打从心底感到开心而笑出声来，铃木悟却感到心中的喜悦像是被压制住似得的违和感。

Don’t tell me the undead emotional suppression doesn’t just apply to negative emotions… no, when I think about it, that is the case. Not needing to eat or drink isn’t bad, but that also means you can’t eat buffing food. It’s got its good and bad points...

（难不成、不死者的感情压抑不仅仅是对负面的感情……不、仔细一想，确实就是如此吧。无需饮食虽然不是什么坏事，但也会像是没办法摄取具备强化效果的料理那样、有其优点也有其缺点啊……）

“What’s wrong? Satoru-san?”

「怎么了吗？悟先生？」

Perhaps it was because his worries had been suddenly quelled, but Suzuki Satoru responded to Keno’s question with a gentle “It’s fine.”

可能是担心突然沉默下来的铃木悟吧「没事的」铃木悟温柔地回答琪诺的提问。

Even so, it didn’t completely suppress my happiness. There ought to be a way to live on while seeking joy.

（但尽管如此，开心的感情并非被完全压抑下来。应该还是有办法可以一边找寻乐趣，一边生活下去的）

“Right, then let’s start looking for carriage. Ideally, we want an old traveller’s carriage, the kind that doesn’t make people suspicious when you use it.

「好、那么我们开始寻找马车吧。最好是旅行者使用也不会被起疑的老旧马车」

“Yes!”

「是！」

“Keno, when you told me not to take other people’s property, doesn’t that mean taking their carriage would be a bad thing?”

「琪诺、之前提到不要拿取人民的财产，那带走他们的马车不会不太好吗？」

Keno thought about it for a while, and then answered:

琪诺思考了好一会后，回答道。

“It’ll be fine because we’re paying for it.”

「因为会付钱所以没关系」

Then, she raised her rucksack.

然后她把背包提在手上举了起来。

“I see… In that case, can I borrow some money from you, Keno?”

「这样啊……琪诺、最近可以先借我一点钱吗？」

“Huh?”

「咦？」

“As I showed you earlier, I have ample funds. However, all of them are gold coins that aren’t in circulation throughout this country. It seems dangerous to try and pay with them.”

「正如我展现给你看的那般，我拥有莫大的财富。但是、那些都是没有在这个国家流通的金币，使用那些钱会让我感觉有些危险」

“Is that so? Well, if you feel that way, then I can lend -- no, I can offer… give you some.”

「是这样的吗？悟先生这样觉得的话，那我可以借——不、可以献……给您的喔」

“No, that won’t do, Keno. To some extent, that money is your inheritance from your parents. You can’t just hand it over to others.”

「不、这样不行，琪诺。那些金钱某种意思来说，是你的双亲留下来给你的遗产。不可以轻易的就交给别人」

“I, I see.”

「是、是的」

“While you might not be able to agree under these circumstances, that also includes the relics of your ancestors. You mustn’t spend it blindly, okay?”

「虽然目前这种状况下你可能无法同意，但是那里头包含着你祖先的遗志。也不可以任意乱花喔？」

“I understand.”

「我明白了」

Keno might have said that, but her expression suggested that she did not quite get it. Perhaps Suzuki Satoru was simply forcing his views on her.

虽然琪诺如此回答，但看她的表情似乎并未完全理解。或许这只是铃木悟强行将自己的想法加诸在她身上而已。

“...Therefore, can I borrow some money? I’ll pay you back until I sell the gems I have on hand.”

「……所以、可以将钱借给我吗？等我把自己手头的宝石卖出去了，就会把钱还你」

“Alright!”

「是的！」

“Good. Then we’ll split the cost for buying the wagon. We’re friends, so we’ll put up the same amount.”

「好。那么买马车的钱是我们平均分摊。我们是同伴，那么当然都要出一样的金额」

“Of course!”

「是的！」

“Right! Then let’s go find a carriage!”

「好！那么我们去找马车吧！」

“Sure thing!”

「是的！」

Suzuki Satoru replied to Keno with an energetic reply, and the two of them wandered around the streets.

铃木悟带着重复着精神十足的回答的琪诺，两人在街上徘徊。

Along the way, Suzuki Satoru put the gold coins from this world which he had borrowed from Keno into his pocket dimension.

半路上、铃木悟将向琪诺借来的这个世界的金币存放到自己的空间里头。

While it was stored in a separate location from the YGGDRASIL coins, they did not seem to count against his weight limit. If they did, then he would not be able to store anything in his inventory. This was a perfectly rational design decision for a game, but he should be in the real world now.

虽然存放的位置和YGGDRASILL的金币是分开的，但看起来并没有计算重量。若是会算重量的话，那道具箱里会变得根本没办法存放东西，从游戏的角度来想是相当自然的设计，但现在自己应该是身处现实世界才对。

It’s really handy, but it kind of ruins realism in a place like this… am I really not in a game?

（这设计非常的便利，不过这种地方反而损害了真实感啊……真的不是在游戏里吗？）

Although his undead body had confirmed to Suzuki Satoru that he was not in a game, the handiness of his inventory made him feel like he was still in a game. It felt unpleasant, like the game was overwriting the real world.

虽然不死者身体的现实让铃木悟确信自己并不是在游戏里，但像道具箱这种过于便利的部分却又

像还是在游戏中一样。有种现实世界被游戏给侵蚀的不快感。

Ultimately, however, Suzuki Satoru would not get an answer no matter how much he thought/

但话说回来，就算铃木悟这样想东想西，事情也不会有答案。

More importantly--

更何况——

There’s still many other things to consider.

（该考虑的事情其他还有很多）

They had found several carriages, but all of them were heavily worn out from age and looked like they would crumble if one tried to use them. He did not want to waste too much time, but searching alone would have been dangerous, so he brought Keno with him on his search.

虽然发现了几台马车，但全都是些因为长年的劣化、要是拿来用的话可能就会马上坏掉的货色。

虽然不想花太多时间，但是分头寻找又会产生危险，所以还是带着琪诺一起找。

After a long time, they finally found a serviceable covered wagon in a small shed adjoining a large house. The strange thing was that this shed had a jail of some sort in its basement, and there were countless female yuriniggers inside the jail. It was an insoluble mystery, but Suzuki Satoru pretended that he had not seen it. After all, no matter what he wanted to do now, it was too late.

在经过了一段不短的时间后，终于在一座大房子旁的小屋里找到了一台可堪实用的有蓬马车。奇怪的是这座小屋的地下不知为何设有监狱，监狱里头还有复数的女性僵尸，虽然是个不解之谜，但铃木悟等人姑且当作没看到。毕竟现在不论想做什么大概都太迟了。

Suzuki Satoru pushed the wagon with his superhuman strength to test it out. The wagon creaked, but the axles did not feel like they would break straight away. It would seem the wagon had been enchanted in its key areas.

铃木悟利用自己超越人类领域的腕力轻轻推了推马车试试。虽然马车发出叽叽叫的声音，但轮轴感觉应该并不会马上就坏掉。看来在马车的几个重要地方都有施加魔法的样子。

But they didn’t enchant the whole thing. Why is that?

（不是对马车全体施加魔法啊。为什么呢？）

Still, it was pointless to think about such things. Suzuki Satoru created a [Gate] in front of the wagon and began to push. Keno went to Suzuki Satoru’s side and helped him push. The idea of summoning the Griffin Lord had come up, but he had asked her to save her power.

不过烦恼这些想了也不明白的事情没什么用就是了。铃木悟在马车的前方做出了一道<传送门>，然后开始推马车。琪诺也来到铃木悟身旁，跟着一起推了起来。之前有提到可以召唤狮鹫王的事情，不过目前还是先请她把力量温存起来吧。

While it was hard to say if Keno’s strength was of much assistance, the two of them pushed the wagon outside the city. He kept the [Gate] open, then grabbed the shirt of the guard from earlier, who was still wandering around in the vicinity, dragged him over, then pushed him through the [Gate] before ending the spell.

虽然很难说以琪诺的力气会有多大的支持效果，但两人推着有蓬马车传送到了都市的外头。先让<传送门>维持原状，然后抓着在不远处徘徊的之前那个士兵的衣角，将他带了回来。然后让他穿过<传送门>之后，再消除魔法的效果。

“Now then, I’ll prepare a substitute for a horse.”

「那么、我来准备一下马的代用品吧」

What Suzuki Satoru took out was a majestic statue of a horse with its forelegs in the air. He placed the Statue of Animal: Warhorse on the ground, and it instantly expanded into a mighty equine.

铃木悟取出的是一尊将前脚高高扬起的马匹的雄伟雕像。将被称为动物之像‧战马[Statue of animal Warhorse]的道具放在地面上后，雕像随即巨大化，化为一头雄壮的马匹。

“Wow! That’s an amazing horse! We didn’t even have anything this great in our home! You’re amazing, Satoru-san!”

「哇！好雄伟的马！这么雄伟的马就算我们家也没有！悟先生果然好厉害呢！」

The smile on Keno’s face might have been the first to match her age until now. After seeing her honest reaction, Suzuki Satoru chuckled.

琪诺的脸上浮现出了或许是到目前为止，首次与她外表年龄相符的笑容。见到她率真的反应，铃木悟得意地哼哼笑了起来。

Suzuki Satoru ordered the golem horse to move to the front of the wagon, where he tied it to the wagon with ropes.

对哥雷姆马下达命令，让它来到带蓬马车的前方后，铃木悟用绳子将其与马车系了起来。

He sat on the driver’s seat and ordered it forward, and the golem horse complied.

坐上车夫的位子，发出前进的命令后，哥雷姆马便往前前进。

Only then was Suzuki Satoru relieved.

铃木悟这才安心。

This relief was because the horse conjured from an item could be used to pull a wagon.

这是对能让这头用魔法道具变出来的马匹牵引马车而感到的安心。

Suzuki Satoru had never sat on a horse or even touched one before, so he should not have been able to make an ordinary horse in this world pull a wagon. But fortunately enough, that problem had been solved. Suzuki Satoru could not help but be awed by his quick thinking.

本来、从未没乘过马、也没摸过马的铃木悟，应该是没办法让这个世界的普通的马匹顺利的牵引带蓬马车的才对。如今这个问题却很走运的被解决了。铃木悟不禁感叹起了自己的机智。

“Now then, Keno, let’s head to the neighboring city first and see how things are there. Then, we’ll solve the mystery of the zombification someday and find a way to save everyone!”

「那么、琪诺，我们先到隔壁的城市去，看看那儿的状况吧。然后总有一天要解开这个僵尸化的谜团，找出能拯救大家的方法！」

“Yes! I’m counting on you, Satoru-san!”