New Entry 1 – Archive Log
It is I—your beautiful, elegant, generous, kind, and currently the greatest version of yourself.
Setting aside my magnificently worship-worthy self, I'm beginning a new entry in this Archive.
Why? Because I met an interesting person... or whatever sort of creature he actually is.
As you probably already know, our unique, one-of-a-kind eyes can perceive the flow of mana in everything around us. Almost through everything—be it a person, the surrounding elements, magical items, or even monsters.
Honestly, it's kind of annoying. Once you become aware of it, you realize how clearly we can see things compared to others. So, do yourself a favor and learn how to tone that ability down.
Anyway, as I was saying, I was at the Adventurers' Guild a few days ago for a meeting about the goblin-slaying quest I had taken—alongside the fascinating party I've been quietly observing for the past month. That's when he walked right in front of me.
At first, I thought, How rude! Not even a glance in my direction? Wasn't he captivated by my beauty?
(Just kidding... sort of.)
What really surprised me was the flow of his mana. My first impression? He was unlike anything I'd ever seen.
Humans, elves, dwarves, beastkin—all of them have similar mana flow, generated and circulated internally. Monsters, on the other hand, absorb mana from the environment and store it in their monster cores. But this person... his mana was like a dungeon's. Stagnant. Contained. A domain of power entirely within himself, just like a dungeon core creates.
Unbelievable, right? A walking, living dungeon in the shape of a man. Outrageous, even by our standards.
He introduced himself as Mr. Arezu. And guess what? I think he was enchanted by my beauty, after all. I've never seen anyone stare into my eyes with such intensity... Well, except maybe Father.
My second impression: definitely a seasoned warrior.
How could I tell? Aside from being forced by Father to study the habits of experienced fighters, I've seen enough to recognize the eyes of someone who's endured more than his share of battles.
Still, despite my sympathy for him, I wasn't going to pass up the chance to study someone this interesting. So, out of sheer kindness (naturally), I invited him to temporarily join my party. I mean, really—how could I leave behind a pitiful country bumpkin who couldn't even read the quest board? Probably can't write either.
How generous of me. Sometimes I fear I'll be taken advantage of.
The next day, our party set off on the goblin-slaying quest. And guess what I discovered? Mr. Arezu is an excellent meat shield. Thanks to him, neither my clothes nor my hair suffered a single drop of orc blood—courtesy of his brave interposition.
Not that I couldn't have dodged it myself. I was just... distracted. Distracted by what I saw before the orc exploded into a bloody mess:
Mr. Arezu is a liar.
No—wait, that's too harsh. Pretender is more accurate.
According to what I observed through our unique eyes, Mr. Arezu appeared to use the combat skill Cleave. He channeled mana through his halberd-axe, increasing its sharpness. That's what he wanted everyone to believe.
But in truth? He expanded the domain of mana inside his body, extended it through his weapon, and replicated the result of a typical Cleave.
Pretending to use a skill... by mimicking its effect. What a trickster. I was so shocked, I made him dismantle the orcs'—ahem—"jewels."
Okay, that part was just for fun. I had to see his face when he touched those disgusting things.
You're laughing too, right?
Later on, we could have reached Mead Village by nightfall, but I slowed our travel—just a little. I wanted to spend more time with Mr. Arezu.
That night, the dinner he prepared was... clever. It didn't exactly taste better than what I get at home or in fine restaurants, but calling it Burger Queen put me in a good mood. I mean, I don't know what a "burger" is—it seemed like a sandwich—but clearly, he was referring to me as a Queen. Obviously.
I was so pleased that I decided it was time to begin Operation: Worship Me. The goal? Make Mr. Arezu my loyal follower.
I took over Alex's night watch. He was being too persistent about staying up with me, so I slipped a sleeping potion into his drink and dumped him in his tent the moment he passed out. Right on cue, Mr. Arezu woke up.
To draw him in, I told him the legend of the Seven Curses—just like in the old folktales. He was riveted. But when I cut the story short and told him he'd have to kneel before me and worship me forever to hear the rest, he flatly refused.
Can you believe that?
Now that I write it out, it does sound like I was asking for a proposal...
Ugh. I'm annoyed again. And he didn't even blush! Maybe he's just slow when it comes to romance.
Anyway, by sunrise, Mr. Arezu graciously cooked more Burger Queen for breakfast and lunch. We resumed our journey to Mead Village, only to discover that another adventurers' party had already taken the goblin quest.
That was the beginning of our lovely encounter with a cave of goblin flashers who had been abducting male villagers for... unspeakable reasons. Mr. Arezu nearly became a victim himself—at the hands of Alex, no less!
Those goblin flashers were disgusting to look at, but watching Mr. Arezu's mortified reaction made it almost worthwhile to go deeper into that cursed cave... which, of course, was becoming a dungeon.
And if that wasn't enough chaos, Alex—under the influence of the Curse of Lust—tried to sexually assault Mr. Arezu. I've never seen someone look so mortified. Even Liz and Hannah's stunned expressions when I casually revealed I already knew their secrets didn't come close.
I thought that was the day's peak drama. But then we went back into the cave, and Mr. Arezu fell right into one of my traps. I didn't even need to use the acting skills Mother made me practice. He agreed to fulfill another of my requests. One that will be far more demanding than just using my name.
Then came the real battle: Mr. Arezu fought Alex one-on-one. Inside a collapsing cave. While Alex cast Avalanche. Mr. Arezu countered with a combat skill just as destructive—Shockwave. I had to use Glacier to freeze the whole cave to stop us from being buried alive.
For a moment, I seriously considered abandoning Alex.
Even after the giant goblin flasher—controlled by his divine gift—was slain, he still hadn't regained control of himself. And without divine gift, there was no way we could break through the dungeon core's magic barrier.
But Mr. Arezu... did the unthinkable.
He didn't just beat Alex. With every punch, he absorbed the cursed miasma, purging him of corruption. Then, with style, he shattered the dungeon core's barrier and the core itself. No divine gift needed.
Now that I think about it calmly... maybe it was to be expected. Dungeons were made to destroy and devour one another, after all.
That's all for now. I'll write another entry once I uncover more about Mr. Arezu's true identity.
In the meantime, I'll make sure he upholds his promise.
And of course, there's no way I'm letting him escape.