Chapter 7: The Lock on the Treasure Chest
[Well then, it is about time for your Isekai Reincarnation.]
【A WILD BEAUTIFUL GODDESS APPEARED】
[What an unpleasant display function.]
“Ah, my window has been deleted.”
[Last time it was a level-up notification; haven’t you grown even a little bit since then?]
“It seems Goddess-sama’s chest won’t be leveling up any further, though.”
[Your ‘bravery’ seems to have gained quite a polish.]
“I was just going to prove that I can now see how much EXP I need until my next level up, since we can respawn instantly in this room anyway.”
[I am a Goddess, so I am already in my perfected form.]
“In other words, you won’t grow anymore.”
[Good grief, please don’t make me use my power over and over.]
“Please don’t turn me into charcoal just for that.”
[Lèse-majesté results in being turned into charcoal. Remember that.]
“Even if an appeal is impossible, I’d at least like a hearing.”
[I am the Law, and I am the Executioner.]
“What an independent nation this is. Anyway, shall we pull from the Suggestion Box?”
[I have no intention of using my precious gacha luck for your sake, so do it yourself.]
“You’ve fallen completely into the social game swamp. Let’s see… from Yappy-336-san: [A Lock on a Treasure Chest].”
[Inanimate again, I see.]
“It’s my specialty.”
[I’ll give you points for being positive. Let’s decide on the options.]
“First off, should the contents of the treasure chest be actual treasure or a Mimic?”
[In the case of treasure, I’d like to ban any items of the ‘World Cannot Be Saved Unless You Are Opened’ variety.]
“Like legendary weapons or items that weaken the Demon Lord? I’d hand those over normally, you know.”
[There are few people as untrustworthy as you, after all.]
“I can’t compete with you, Goddess-sama.”
[Lèse-majesté.]
“Oh come on, that was meant to be a compliment.”
[Think about the context of your words. I’m not necessarily against the idea of making it a monster, but in your case, it would likely become an existence that surpasses the Demon Lord.]
“I still can’t compete with you, Goddess-sama.”
[Lèse-majesté.]
“I meant in terms of actual power!”
[The moment you compared yourself to me, it became Lèse-majesté.]
“The law is too strict. I want a lawyer.”
[I am the lawyer. The defendant is probably guilty.]
“A courtroom with no allies is harsh. Next is the lock options. Let’s add the classic electric trap…”
※ I feel like that hasn’t been “classic” for a while now.
[Remove it.]
“So cruel!”
[You have too much animosity. Act more like a lock.]
“Hmm, hmm… I see, so this is how the internal mechanism of a key works.”
[You’ve suddenly started researching the mechanics of locks very seriously.]
“Oh, so this is how a Master Key system works. Interesting…”
[You’re starting to drift off-topic. Though, I suppose this is intriguing.]
※ The mechanism of a Master Key is quite simple once you understand it. If you like novels, it doesn’t hurt to know.
“But I’d hate to be picked. Since I can’t use electricity, maybe a Dimple Key would be good?”
※ Go ahead and image search “Dimple Key.” If you understand the Master Key mechanism, you’ll see how amazing these keys are.
[I doubt Dimple Keys exist in a fantasy world.]
“In that case, is it a ‘Low Fantasy’ world this time?”
[The existence of something like a Dimple Key would imply a world where lock-picking magic is rare and Thief-type jobs struggle to excel.]
“I’d prefer a High Fantasy world if possible. So, let’s tweak this here and… there. Well then, I’m off. I’ll do my best to bring back the contents as a souvenir.”
[Please just pass on peacefully.]
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[Oh? I can’t find the key to the safe where I hid my snacks so he wouldn’t eat them.]
“I’m back!”
[Perfect timing. Open this lock, Lock.]
“We’re having a moving reunion and yet you’re so pragmatic. There, it’s open.”
[As expected of someone who became a lock; you’ve certainly become well-versed in the mechanics.]
“At this rate, I could even unlock Goddess-sama’s heart.”
[Lèse-majesté.]
“Ah, this nostalgic feeling of respawning. At least allow me a cheesy line or two.”
[That was breaking and entering.]
“Now that you mention it… Well then, I shall report. Where should I start?”
[Let’s see. First, I am curious about the contents of the treasure chest.]
“I made sure to avoid anything where the world wouldn’t be saved unless I was opened.”
[That’s admirable. And the contents?]
“The Demon Lord.”
[So you made it so that the world IS saved as long as you AREN’T opened?]
“He was a fellow called Demon Lord Spacious.”
[What a name that contradicts his lifestyle.]
※ Spacious means “wide” or “roomy.”
“Demon Lord Spacious, who tried to destroy the world in the distant past. I set myself up as an existence burdened with the mission of being the lock on the treasure chest that sealed him away.”
[Quite an ambitious setting for a mere lock.]
“By the way, my cost price was 20 yen.”
[So you were humble after all. Shouldn’t you have been a slightly more expensive lock?]
“The key, however, was a luxury item made of pure gold and encrusted with jewels.”
[You made the key pointlessly extravagant.]
“Well, with this setting, once it’s opened, it’s game over. I wanted that one-time encounter to be a good one, you know?”
[I want to understand, but I have no desire to understand the emotions of a mere lock.]
“Spacious possessed formidable power, but since his body was folded into six layers, he couldn’t move properly.”
[That’s narrower than I expected. Actually, if a person were folded into six, they’d die on the spot.]
“Demon Lord Spacious’s hobby in his spare time was yoga.”
[To think a hobby would be useful while being sealed. No, even with yoga, six folds is pushing it.]
“Demon Lord Spacious’s yoga was ‘Demon Lord-class,’ after all.”
[I don’t even understand the dimension of ‘Demon Lord-class’ yoga.]
“In the deepest part of the temple dedicated to a God, Demon Lord Spacious spent every day mouthing off his resentment toward the God who sealed him.”
[Well, he would be resentful.]
“Things like ‘the God’s feet stink’ or ‘the God’s clothes are tacky.'”
[The level of his insults is strictly ‘Villager-class.’]
“He complained that the God resold a game he lent him, or that the God ate an entire soft-serve cone in one bite after asking for just ‘a taste.'”
[Were they friends? That God doesn’t sound like a very good person either.]
“He said it was fine that the God planted the seeds of eternal conflict between the creatures of the Demon Realm and humans, but he could never forgive the God for reflexively squeezing lemon juice over the fried chicken.”
[He should be angry about the former! Though, I suppose I understand the feeling.]
“He also couldn’t forgive the God for getting lemon juice in his eye.”
[That God really is a bit of a scumbag, isn’t he?]
“Demon Lord Spacious was so unfortunate that I ended up talking to him out of sympathy.”
[So you did add a speaking option.]
“He started saying things like ‘A mere lock dares to speak?!’ so I cast a magic spell that poured lemon juice into the treasure chest.”
[Even if I allow that you can use magic, that is quite vicious.]
“Because I poured in so much that lemon juice started oozing out of the chest, Demon Lord Spacious reflected on his actions.”
[That’s beyond getting it in his eyes; he was practically drowning.]
“By the way, the priests who witnessed it mistook it for an omen of ill fortune.”
[If lemon juice starts oozing from the chest where the Demon Lord is sealed, it’s not surprising they’d think that.]
“It cleaned all the rust off the lock, too.”
[As expected of lemons.]
“After that, an investigation team appeared and began various studies.”
[Naturally, they would investigate.]
“I didn’t want to be touched by some old guy, so I fired lemon juice into his eyes.”
[What a vicious lock.]
“I was judged to be dangerous, and additional barriers were placed around the chest.”
[A correct choice.]
“It was a barrier that evaporated any and all moisture, so the lemon juice was completely neutralized.”
[That’s very specific.]
“Inside the chest, Demon Lord Spacious was also drying out.”
[He was already sealed to begin with, poor thing.]
“I felt pity for him, so I cast a magic spell to pour salad oil into the treasure chest.”
[What a vicious lock.]
“Demon Lord Spacious was a fish-man type monster, so he became as energetic as a fish back in water.”
[It was oil, though. Could he even breathe?]
“Because I poured in so much that salad oil started oozing out of the chest, Demon Lord Spacious awakened.”
[He actually awakened? No one could have predicted that.]
“By the way, the priests who witnessed it mistook it for an omen of ill fortune.”
[If salad oil starts oozing from the chest where the Demon Lord is sealed, it’s not surprising they’d think that.]
“The lock’s lubrication improved as well.”
[As expected of salad oil.]
“After that, an investigation team appeared and began various studies.”
[They came back? And I suppose they fell prey to your attacks again?]
“No, they slipped on the spilled salad oil, fell, and were on the verge of death.”
[Spilled oil doesn’t evaporate easily, after all.]
“I was judged to be dangerous, and additional barriers were placed around the chest.”
[I’m starting to wonder if that was the ‘correct’ choice.]
“It was a barrier that caused any and all oils to ignite, so the salad oil was completely neutralized.”
[That was a wrong choice! It wasn’t neutralized; it was reinforced!]
“Inside the chest, Demon Lord Spacious was also on fire.”
[This Demon Lord is so pitiful he might be a candidate for Isekai Reincarnation himself.]
“However, if it’s going to be set on fire every time I produce salad oil, I can’t even fry tempura in peace.”
[A lock should not be cooking!]
“So, I attempted to destroy the barrier using a non-flammable, non-volatile solvent.”
[Are you a Water-Attribute this time?]
“I almost accidentally poured the solvent into the chest, but Demon Lord Spacious strictly forbade it.”
[Quite a clever Demon Lord. To think he could read your moves.]
“Well, I poured it in anyway.”
[What a vicious lock.]
“I mean, if someone says ‘Don’t you dare pour that in again,’ I have to pour it in, right?”
[You have the mindset of a professional comedian, don’t you?]
“Demon Lord Spacious originally had high magical power, so he didn’t take much damage. He was more or less fine.”
[Being folded in six while soaked in lemon juice, salad oil, and solvent is NOT ‘more or less fine’; it’s torture.]
“Because I poured in so much that solvent started oozing out of the chest, Demon Lord Spacious evolved.”
[He evolved?! He has incredible adaptability.]
“By the way, the priests who witnessed it mistook it for an omen of ill fortune.”
[If solvent starts oozing from the chest where the Demon Lord is sealed, it’s not surprising they’d think that.]
“The surrounding seals were also destroyed.”
[That’s actually quite an emergency.]
“After that, an investigation team appeared and began various studies.”
[And what did they do this time?]
“They got curious about the inside of the box and tried to open it using the key.”
[They finally did it.]
“But nobody wants an unlocking scene that lacks atmosphere.”
[I suppose so. I doubt even the Demon Lord wanted it.]
“Therefore, I attacked the old man holding the key with lemon juice.”
[Ah, the barrier that neutralized lemon juice was destroyed.]
“The old man was furious and said, ‘I cannot forgive such behavior toward a God!'”
[The old man was a God?!]
“‘To resist a God even while sealed… the Demon Lord is indeed an evil existence. In that case, I shall slay him with my own hands!'”
[The Demon Lord was being completely non-resistant, though.]
“I resisted with salad oil and solvent, but as expected of a God, he didn’t flinch even while covered in the stuff and went to insert the key.”
[Thinking about the visual makes me feel sad.]
“He slipped on the salad oil and fell about three times.”
[It seems salad oil is his slight weakness.]
“The God, with a smug face while covered in salad oil and solvent, turned the key he inserted into me.”
[How uncool can you get?]
“And then, the electricity flowed.”
[I thought I told you to remove that?! Why?!]
“It was an option for the Treasure Chest.”
[Has there ever been an Isekai Reincarnator who didn’t say a single word?]
“Treasure chests don’t talk.”
[Shut up, Lock.]
“Salad oil alone wouldn’t have conducted electricity, but the solvent conducted it very well, so the God was spectacularly electrocuted. The key was gold, after all.”
[Needless scientific elements. Though, if the electricity is strong enough to shock a God, the oil wouldn’t have mattered much anyway.]
※ Oil doesn’t conduct electricity, but if the voltage is high enough, that changes!
“The God was knocked out by that one strike.”
[A shock powerful enough to defeat even a God is incredible.]
“Demon Lord Spacious was also knocked out, after all.”
[So he was electrocuted!]
“And so, Demon Lord Spacious was defeated by the Hero.”
[The Treasure Chest was the Hero?!]
“What a cheeky treasure chest, defeating not only the Demon Lord but the God as well.”
[Says the accomplice lock, acting all innocent.]
“In the end, because of the injuries he sustained at that time, the God stopped interfering with the world, and humans began to live freely. They even signed a peace treaty with the Demon Realm, and peace returned to the world.”
[Now that I think about it, he was a scumbag God. As far as conclusions go, it was a satisfying result.]
“But as for me, my role as a lock was ended by the old man’s hands, and I didn’t get to do much in the end.”
[I think you did more than enough for a mere lock.]
“Ultimately, I couldn’t be satisfied, so I came back like this.”
[Satisfied… well, I suppose it’s debatable whether one could be satisfied with that.]
“So, about the souvenir. As promised, here is the content of the treasure chest…”
[Give it back!]
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I can just imagine the demon king folded up with tears in his eyes as he’s offered to the goddess
Thanks for the translation!