This is bad. I think I've made a wrong move right from the start.
"P-please don't be in a bad mood..."
"Yomido?"
No good. There's nothing to cling to here.
The Knife Goddess smiled sweetly.
"Oh, and what happened to the Time Knife?"
It's over. I'm dead.
I
Soil
·
Under
·
Okara
was about to cast it, but stopped.
I looked the Knife Goddess straight in the eye.
"I used the Time Knife in a fight against Biggs, the Earth Death King, and lost it."
"Biggs... the Earth Death King, you say?"
The Knife Goddess's expression shifted slightly.
"Lord Yomido was in that mysterious space where you somehow end up meeting yourself, and, well, there was a commission to find a successor to the Death Wind King, and I couldn't exactly turn it down..."
"So that's how it is."
"I couldn't help but wonder, and I'd like to ask — how did I end up going to Lord Yomido's place?"
I wasn't exactly tormented by the question, but it had been bugging me a little.
The Knife Goddess unfolded her arms from in front of her chest.
Was she in slightly better spirits now?
"Most likely, you touched the dungeon core and became a dungeon ruler, which connected you to Yomido, the god of dungeons."
"Dungeon ruler?"
"Someone who creates and manages dungeons, like yourself. The requirement is to touch the dungeon core."
"Oh, so that's a thing."
I had no idea. A dungeon ruler, huh.
The name sounded eerily similar to weapons from gimmick fights in those death games I used to play back in the day.
"It's a title that has already been lost. I forgot to mention that — or rather, I'd genuinely forgotten. Normally it would be unthinkable for someone to become a dungeon ruler, but for Wof, it was entirely plausible..."
"...Um, one more thing."
"What is it?"
"Why does Lord Yomido look so much like Pakira? It's not just a passing resemblance — they're practically identical. There has to be some connection."
"...Yes, there is a connection. However, I cannot tell you what it is."
"W-Why not?"
"It would be a violation of privacy."
"…………"
That was a fair point.
Even she had to back down after that.
"Now then, let's get to the main topic."
"The main topic?"
"Yes. The broken knives haven't reached fifty yet. What have you been doing?"
"...Um, you ARE the goddess of knives, right?"
"Yes. I am the goddess of knives."
"And that goddess is actively telling people to break knives. How does that make sense?"
"............I see. That's a fair point."
"I'd say it's more than just 'a fair point.'"
"That question is perfectly natural."
"I only have natural questions."
I pressed on.
The Knife Goddess let out a sigh, as if conceding.
"Fine. Very well. First, Wof — you have a fundamental misunderstanding."
"A misunderstanding?"
"I am indeed the goddess of knives. Like the sword goddess, this form I've taken is a knife that has been humanized. Can you understand that?"
"Y-Yes."
So her true form really is a knife after all.
"Just like any other god, if I break, the fragments become daughters of the Goddess of Knives."
"So that really is the case, huh?"
I immediately thought about what a pain the Sword Goddess's daughters were.
So this goddess's fragments would also become insufferably troublesome daughters.
"Are you thinking something rude?"
"N-No, I'm only thinking the most natural of thoughts."
"...Very well. But I have never once broken or shattered."
She said this with a hint of pride. Smug as anything.
"I see."
"Yes, that's right. From now until the end of eternity, I will never break."
Somehow, hearing that made me really want to snap her.
But the idea of this goddess's daughters was way too awful... and just thinking that made my urge to break her vanish.
"So about that misunderstanding—"
"Right, right. Ahem. In other words, just because I'm the Goddess of Knives doesn't mean I'm some guardian protector of knives or anything. So even if I were to break, I wouldn't really feel anything special."
"B-But you were talking about improving the social standing of knives before, weren't you?"
"Yes, that was simply because improving their standing would naturally improve my own standing, since I'm a knife too. In other words, I proposed it because it benefited me."
She said something outrageous with a straight face.
"...But wouldn't you smite me with some kind of divine punishment if I broke a knife by treating it too roughly?"
"Wof. I only do that when I feel like doing it. People are the same way, aren't they?"
"...S-So what you're saying is, you're actually recommending that I break knives?"
"Getting kinda fun now, it's basically just killing ti— oh, uh, eheh, it's a hobby!"
"Both of those are equally horrible!"
I couldn't help but shout.
A sheepish little "tee-hee" doesn't change how messed up that is!
"So then, Wof. Allow me to grant you this."
What she handed me was — a time knife.
"............"
I stayed silent.
"Wof. What's the matter? Take it."
"I'll pass."
"I don't accept that."
"This knife. It's a pain to use."
"It's very convenient."
"Do you have a different knife?"
"Oh fine. I suppose there's no helping it."
Saying something that sounded exactly like a mom, she tucked the time knife into her sleeve, then reached into the valley of her chest — where was she pulling it from, seriously — and produced a single knife.
It was entirely white, formed as a single seamless piece, with a tip that wasn't pointed but instead curved inward in a semicircle.
Or rather, it didn't even have a blade. It was a flat white slab.
Six pale bluish orbs were set into the center of it.
"This is..."
"Do you know what a ballistic knife is?"
"I've heard of them, but..."
It was a knife from my past life's memories with a spring mechanism that launched the blade.
Also known as a ballistic knife. But the more famous version was the Spetsnaz knife.
"This knife is one of those. From this indented part, you can form a pale blue light blade and launch it."
"Wow, that's amazing."
"Let's try it out. Wof, please hold up a knife."
"Hold it up?"
"Yes. Any knife will do."
Any knife, huh? Then... maybe this one.
I picked up the knife that looked like the kind a villain would carry.
It was a pitch-black oval shape, with a red blade that had slightly jagged edges.
"That's an interesting knife."
"I got it from the treasure vault in Heizen's forbidden zone."
"Then, please hold it up."
"Like this?"
When I held it up, the knife goddess took her stance.
She gripped her weapon firmly with both hands at her waist, feet spread shoulder-width apart, one leg slightly forward.
Then she lightly dropped her hips.
Just like always—
Life
She was practically poised to charge in like a cannonball.
Well, honestly, this goddess was closer to a delinquent than anything.
"Sei!"
The knife goddess thrust her arm forward with all her might.
From the concave half-moon shape at the tip, something pale blue shot straight out.
It hit the knife I was holding up at a terrifying speed.
"Whoa!?"
The sheer force from the velocity was too much — the knife went flying and stabbed into the ground.
It snapped with a crack.
Huh?
"I haven't used it in a while, so the power output's gone haywire."
"Um, the knife—"
It snapped. Right in the middle.
"Oh my, it did break. Let me make a quick adjustment."
"…Incidentally, what happens to a knife that breaks in this mysterious space?"
"It stays broken."
"…………"
"There we go, there we go. Something like this should work."
This time I could see it — a small, pale blue blade flying out.
"……So it was a blade."
"Yes. It fires pale blue blades. Each blade fired consumes one blue light on the orbs. Once they're all spent, it takes a sixty-second cooldown before the lights return to every orb."
"I see."
After listening to the explanation, I took the knife.
Wait, but this is a knife? Well, technically a ballistic knife, I guess.
"This knife is called the 'Ballistic Six.' It should be useful."
"Thank you."
This was definitely more practical than that time knife or whatever.
Just when I thought today was finally over—
"GUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRR"
A red-black shadow poured out of the broken knife like smoke.
"Was this sealed inside?"
"Huh?"
The red-black shadow took the form of a four-legged beast, its resentful aura reverberating through the air.
It shook three red-tinged manes while its purple eyes glowed with an eerie light.
"It seems the night isn't over yet."
"No way…"
"GUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRR"
An ominous beast howling in the distance.
Wait— I have to fight this thing?
――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――
Everyone. Tomorrow is Tuesday.
That's right, it's the update day for the comic adaptation of "My Dungeon, My Life."
It's currently being serialized to great acclaim on SQUARE ENIX's Manga Up!
The art is by the wonderful Okada Tsurugi.
Thank you so much for your support.
Someday, I'd love to be able to proudly write "currently a hit serialization"... that's my goal!