Uketsukejo ni Kokuhaku Shitakute Guild ni Kayoitsumetara Eiyu ni Natteta

Chapter 62

Chapter 62: Lord of the Golden Castle

The next day.

We moved as soon as the sun rose.

While carrying the statue of the Medusa on my shoulder, we proceeded along the mountain trail and stopped in front of the castle gate.

While being wary of the Golden Monster, we gathered snow so that Dorami could make her snow sculpture.

We piled up the snow until it was about the same size as me then used the knitting needles to shape it, sometimes boldly, and sometimes delicately.

“I-it’s finished…” (Dorami)

“It looks great…” (Jade)

“I can only see the Jade after he’s taken a bath…” (Dorami)

“Since it looks cold, we should quickly get him dressed.” (Jade)

“But what about the pants?” (Dorami)

“Just the jacket is fine.” (Jade)

We made it wear only the jacket so it wouldn’t collapse and we headed back down the mountain trail.

When we got to a place that was neither too close nor too far, we hid.

We also covered the Medusa statue with snow and covered its head with some white cloth. Now, we’re ready.

We can see the snow sculptures from here, but we can’t be seen from there.

“All that’s left is to wait for it to come out…” (Jade)

“It’s heart-pounding…” (Dorami)

While feeling restless, we waited for the moment to arrive.

And, just when noon struck—

“I-it’s here…!” (Dorami)

“So that’s the true identity of the Golden Monster…” (Jade)

A monster appeared from the golden castle’s gate.

It was a golden treasure chest, large enough for a person to fit inside.

It floated around in the air and approached the snow sculpture before popping open.

It had jagged fangs.

On top of that, it also had a pair of long arms and a long tongue coming from inside the chest.

The moment its tongue touched the snow sculpture, it turned into a golden statue.

“D-did you see that?” (Dorami)

“Clearly.” (Jade)

“So that’s how everyone turned into gold…?” (Dorami)

“Seems like it.” (Jade)

“The Golden Monster is scary…” (Dorami)

“Yeah, that’s a Mimic.” (Jade)

“Mimic…?” (Dorami)

“Yeah. It’s not like the ones I know about, but it still has the characteristics of one.” (Jade)

A Mimic’s main body is in the contents of the treasure chest.

Like a hermit crab, it moves into a treasure chest and floats around.

Then, it mimics a treasure chest in a place where people are likely to gather and preys them the moment someone opens it.

“It’s clever… And to be able to turn things into gold, it’s too strong…” (Dorami)

“A normal Mimic is only equivalent to a three-petal class and doesn’t have the power to turn things into gold. Also, though we can’t see it from here, it should have a Flower Crest somewhere on its main body.” (Jade)

“Did it eat the power of the Devil Tree and gained the power to make things golden?” (Dorami)

“Yeah. Though, unfortunately for it, it’ll be hard to eat the things it touches because they turn into gold.” (Jade)

“Dorami can’t tell if it’s smart or not…” (Dorami)

“Anyway, we’ve solved the mystery of the golden castle with this.” (Jade)

Few people are actually wary of Mimics and just open treasure chests. That’s why the Mimic chose a place where it wouldn’t be strange for a treasure chest to appear and chose an abandoned castle.

While searching for a good spot, it found elaborate stone statues, mistaking them for humans and biting them, turning everything into gold one after another.

Then, the Medusa rushed over to look at the situation and the Mimic transformed back into its treasure chest state. Because its body is inside the chest, the Medusa can’t turn it into stone.

And so, the Medusa was turned into gold as it passed by the Mimic.

The Mimic must’ve been waiting in the treasury for humans to appear for a long time. The golden castle was just a byproduct created from its continuous efforts to attack humans.

This is all just my speculation, but it’s the only thing I can think of that actually happened.

“Oh… By the way, what is the Mimic trying to do?” (Dorami)

“It’s trying to see if the snow sculpture has any friends nearby.” (Jade)

“Then, it’s only a matter of time before we’re found…” (Dorami)

“I don’t think we’d be found as long as we stay here, but… We also can’t just sit around here forever.” (Jade)

“B-but, if we just wait like this, we can win.” (Dorami)

It’s just as Dorami says.

The Mimic has a Flower Crest.

It had its consciousness stolen by the Devil Tree and will eventually be reborn as a new one.

“But, we don’t know how many years that’s going to take, so I’m gonna defeat it now.” (Jade)

“…But, if you hit the treasure chest, wouldn’t you become all shiny?” (Dorami)

“If my guesses are correct, just touching the chest shouldn’t turn me into gold.” (Jade)

The Mimic did not turn the castle into gold out of its own will.

The gold is just because it tried to prey on humans. There’s no reason to make the castle gold.

It kept pretending to be a treasure chest in the treasury—continuously touching the castle until it turned into gold. If that wasn’t the case, I’d be turned into gold just by touching the box.

“Then, how are you going to beat it? If you hit it, you’ll instantly turn into gold…” (Dorami)

“With fists, that’d be the case. But, if I use a sword, I’ll have a moment of leeway. After all, as long as only the sword touches the Mimic, it’d be fine.” (Jade)

“A-a sword would definitely be safer… It’s a good thing you brought one.” (Dorami)

“Yeah. I’m sure that the sword Garnet-san gave me is all for this day.” (Jade)

Well, it’s actually just a commemorative sword given to me when I became a ten-petal class, but thinking of it the other way gives me more power.

With this sword that Garnet-san gave me, I will save her father—

It’s fate!

“Then, I’ll head out. Dorami, don’t forget to support me in your heart.” (Jade)

“Is it alright if I don’t cheer for you out loud?” (Dorami)

“It’ll be dangerous if you end up standing out.” (Jade)

After Dorami confirmed it with a nod, I destroyed the Medusa statue.

Responding to the noise, the Mimic turned towards me.

It floated in the air as it approached us.

“I-it’s pretty fast!” (Dorami)

“It’s alright! I’m faster!”

I pulled out my great sword and closed the distance between me and the Mimic.

The MImic soared into the air, reaching out with its hands from above.

Considering the size of the chest, I can’t even imagine how long its arms could be. And, the right arm isn’t aiming at me, but Dorami!

Zashu!

I quickly dodged its left arm and cut off its right. Then, I threw the sword, which was instantly turned into gold at the main body.

It retracted its left arm to block the blow and clutched the golden sword.

“D-Dorami’s sorry! It’s her fault that the sword was stolen!” (Dorami)

“It’s fine! It wasn’t your fault!” (Jade)

“B-but, you can’t defeat it without a sword! R-right, why don’t you use the Dorami Sword?!” (Dorami)

“Good idea!” (Jade)

“The reason Dorami got the Dorami Sword must be for this day!” (Dorami)

She said the same thing I did and threw the Dorami Sword at me.

Posu.

“Aaah! It didn’t reach you at all! Jade will also turn into gold the moment you try to pick it up!” (Dorami)

And it looks like that’s what the Mimic really intends to do. It waited, anticipating my response.

“If Dorami knew this would happen, she would have trained her shoulders!” (Dorami)

“That’s enough! If you stand out more than this, you’ll be targeted, so stay still!” (Jade)

“B-but, Dorami needs to do something about it! …R-right! It’s fine to just hit with pebbles!” (Dorami)

“Good idea!” (Jade)

“Dorami’s sure that she’s been collecting pebbles as a hobby just for this moment!” (Dorami)

Dorami threw a pebble at me.

Posu.

“Aaah! It was blown away by the wind! Jade will also turn into gold the moment you try to pick it up!” (Dorami)

The Mimic still intended to do the same as it waited for me to move.

“Dorami’s so sorry!” (Dorami)

“You don’t have to apologize! Just stay still!” (Jade)

“N-no, since it’s like this, we should go with a strategy that stands out! Dorami will draw its attention while you use that opportunity to beat him!” (Dorami)

“You don’t have to do that! Thanks to the time you bought for me, I managed to think of something!” (Jade)

“T-then, Dorami will stop that strategy of standing out!” (Dorami)

Dorami then became quiet.

Actually… what I’m thinking about isn’t really a good idea or anything. On the contrary, it’s an all-or-nothing type of plan… But, I have no other choice.

I raised my fist and approached the Mimic.

The Mimic soared into the sky and stretched out its long tongue.

I dodged just before it touched my head and leaped over the Mimic—it tried to grab me with its shortened right arm and left arm.

In response, I held onto its hands.

And then—

DOOOOOOOON!!!!!!!

I hit the Mimic with a heel drop. It shattered into pieces as it slammed into the ground in full force. There was a mix of snow and black smoke in the air.

When I landed, the black smoke was sucked into my Flower Crest.

Alright! It went well!

“It’s alright now, I’ve defeated the Mimic!” (Jade)

“You did iiiiiiiiiittttt!” (Dorami)

Dorami rushed over and leaped at my stomach.

Then, she looked at me with sparkling eyes.

“A-amazing! Why didn’t you turn into gold?!” (Dorami)

“I did.” (Jade)

“Eh? You did?!” (Dorami)

“The moment that it touched me, all of my senses other than in my head and legs disappeared.” (Jade)

“S-so it was a last-minute victory…?” (Dorami)

“Yeah. I was saved because of Garnet-san’s gloves.” (Jade)