Zaitenmodi read those words a couple of times.
Had he been responding quickly?
What was an ordinary response time?
He had simply been using the device in a way that felt natural to him. Entering imperial symbols to communicate still felt slow to his hands, as he fumbled for each and every one.
But then again, he was perfection incarnate. Perhaps what was fumbling to him was nevertheless immaculate by the standards of most lifeforms, even Terrans.
Although he was not communicating to a Terran, it was using their technology and their infrastructure, so it was natural she would use them as a benchmark regardless.
But then he finally realized...
"She is probably writing these while gardening, building her house one slow brick at a time, and the myriad of other tasks she does by her own hands."
"Ah... that is most likely the case, your imperial majesty."
Since he was so far removed from ordinary people, he had done his best to surround himself with people who could actually speak openly around him.
It was a challenge even for someone as grand as him.
No, it was a challenge because he was grand. Opposing one's own natural capabilities was always a challenge. He would do so again and again, but it would never become easy.
"But then... am I not responding too quickly?"
He had to imagine her taking a moment out of such a busy schedule to contact him.
Even a creature who had conquered time as himself had not forgotten how valuable it was to others. No, the reminders of how precious each moment could be scored in the billions.
Viewed from that perspective, weren't his nearly instantaneous responses akin to someone begging for attention?
"I'm unsure, your imperial majesty. The communication method you're employing is utilitarian, crude, and intimate enough that I dare say there are few certainties in regard to how it ought to be used."
"In other words, I'm almost certainly bothering her."
"I didn't say that, your imperial majesty. I think she's the only one who would know for certain."
While he was musing over this, a second message had come from her.
It seemed even his introspection had caused her some concern... though hadn't he just informed her that his patience was without limit?
"Well... children are honest creatures. They react better to earnest action than empty words."
And so, he began typing an honest answer to her question.
***
I hadn't exactly realized that most dungeon bosses were animals, monsters, or otherwise non-human entities.
But Savi confirmed that was the case when I asked her about it.
"Is that why you keep telling me I have leverage?"
"It's part of it. Like I said, it's happened before. For instance, the Moonlit Tribe was ruled by a dungeon boss for generations, with the title of boss passing down through family lines. When the boss was assassinated to try and manipulate that process, the title instead went to a monster that proceeded to corrupt the whole dungeon. The remnants of the Moonlit Tribe joined the Empire as refugees after that."
"It corrupted the whole dungeon?"
"Yup. Nobody knows the details, except perhaps the dungeon bosses themselves, but they're known to have a tremendous amount of power over their home dungeon. Of course, as champions chosen by the dungeon itself, they're usually powerful from the start."
"Hmm... I'm not very powerful though?"
She stared at me blankly for a moment.
'Did I say something weird? But I'm not powerful.'
"I don't know any kid your age who's even close to your competency at anything. Even prodigies usually pick one thing they're good at, and they're at best on par with some adults. Even dungeon bosses can need time to grow, you know, but nobody doubts that's what you are."
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"Time to grow? But you already know I won't do that."
"Well... yeah, I guess not physically, but you know, mortal adventurers have it rougher than most people realize. It takes years to polish their Skills. By the time they've mastered enough to make it big, they're already starting to get too old to keep working. It's a constant battle against their own selves."
I nodded along, having read such things while researching Skills.
It was even worse than being a professional athlete in a sport that prohibited Skills, because at least athletes could reach their prime fairly young if they didn't need Skills.
Most adventurers kept gradually growing in terms of Skills, right up until their retirement. If they were lucky enough to ever reach A rank, the average age for that was somewhere in the low thirties.
It wasn't like they were too old, but it was apt to describe it as a constant battle against their own selves.
Savi continued, "So even though you're at a disadvantage now, if you survive long enough, it's hard to imagine you won't someday rival the Demon King himself. I guess he must have realized it the moment he saw you. Ah, but don't be spooked. Dungeon bosses are territorial in a sense, but you both have different territories to begin with, so it's not like you're actually competing."
Thinking it over...
She was basically correct.
There was no reason to assume I'd gain Skills and other forms of power over time in the same way Terran adventurers did. It was even possible Beginner would be the only Skill I could ever get.
So there was no guarantee that she was actually right.
But given that I had a Skill, and even advanced it within a few months, it seemed easy to assume that I was a prodigy.
Although the average A ranker reached that level in their low thirties, the truly prestigious and successful adventurers managed it by outrunning that slow pace. It wasn't impossible to effectively become an A ranker before adulthood, even if the imperial government restricted such prodigies to relatively safe activities anyway.
Even though I wasn't actually ten years old, it was true that it only took me about three years to get my first Skill, and a few months to advance it.
That was basically prodigious by most metrics.
It wasn't off the charts, but it was still very promising by Terran standards. It was the rate you needed to be at, if you wanted even a slim chance to become an S ranker.
Actually, I could probably get my choice of sponsorships, if I wanted.
'I'm going to become a demon here too, aren't I?'
I was already being compared to the Demon King.
***
Despite my growing worries over my distant future, things were peaceful.
Since I had every indication that my gardening projects were successful, I gradually worked to grow it large enough to one day support the three of us.
It would take a very long time to cultivate this dungeon enough that it could support mortal animals, so until then, we needed to get all our protein from various protein-rich plants.
And occasionally buy food from Terra just to be safe, until we could be sure food grown in the Lost was sufficiently healthy.
But it seemed like we could reach a degree of self-sufficiency within a year or so.
After a couple of weeks, the guild asked me to meet with them.
I wasn't sure what it was about. Even when I tried asking, they just said it was a surprise. The most they clarified was that it was a good one.
I'd been taking Lilac with me to go shopping just to keep acclimating her to crowds, but it was always a long walk for her, so I decided to go alone this time.
"Interesting... your name's changed since we last met."
It was the sword smith I'd met a few months ago.
His name was Ran. He wasn't from the Empire.
He was from the Islands. The same place as my kidnappers, although it was a whole country with hundreds of millions of people, so I doubted they had much in common.
After all, the two men who'd grabbed me and Lilac in the first place were from the Empire, and yet from what I could tell, the vast majority of imperial citizens looked down on kidnappers.
It was to the point that, when I'd looked up what happened to me using my phone, the general sentiment toward the kidnappers that had died was something like, 'Good riddance.'
So I didn't really have any reason to think he was connected to them.
"Yeah," I nodded.
"I'm ashamed that I couldn't finish it in time, but it is done."
He held out a sheathed blade.
It was like a rapier, though a bit thicker for slashing, but still decidedly slender. A cut-and-thrust blade. Perhaps it had a more proper imperial name, but I wasn't sure what it'd be.
It was about two feet in length, so not particularly huge, but also definitely a sword, and not merely a long dagger.
The hilt was slender but ruthlessly practical and minimalistic in its design.
It had a single side ring along the blunt base of the blade, wide enough to let me control the blade past the crossguard for more precision. It also had a curved bow that arced along the weapon's handle to protect the rest of my hand.
But while it was all slender metal featuring gentle curves, it all served a utilitarian purpose. The only beauty to be found in this instrument was in the craftsmanship that went into it.
Though, since I grew up learning to fence, it was a beauty I could appreciate all the same.
The rapier I'd gotten to handle during the tournament wasn't particularly bad by any standards, but it was like comparing a mass-produced good to a bespoke masterpiece. Both swords served their purpose well enough to use, and frankly, the user's skill mattered far more than the crafter's at that point...
But it was still a masterpiece.
"In time for what...?"
"Not all of my clients are scrupulous. I already know what a couple of them have gotten up to. Well... I'm told there was a purge, and anyone who supported attacking you has been removed, though in reality, it's more like they removed anyone foolish enough to admit it."
"Oh. So you really were connected to them..."
"Oh no. I'm just a sword smith. I have clients all over the world. It's just that one of them was there that day. It was a blade of my making that was used to attack the Demon King. As such, you definitely cannot complain if I make amends by giving you one of your own."
'Huh, I can't?'
It must have been a cultural thing, because I still felt like I could definitely complain a little bit, if I wanted to.
For instance, it definitely sounded like he was a bit proud of his weapon being used to fight Zaitenmodi.
And although it was true that Zaitenmodi had attacked my kidnappers, and so any response was arguably just a form of defense...
They wouldn't have gotten attacked in the first place if they hadn't kidnapped people.
So it didn't seem like something to be proud of.
Especially considering that guy, if it was the one who attacked him with a sword... well, he had lost, and it didn't seem as though Zaitenmodi had tried very hard to win.
Although... the sword didn't break.
'So the weakpoint was the wielder rather than the sword. Is that why he's so proud?'
That made a bit of sense.
Zaitenmodi was frighteningly powerful, after all.