To Be a Power in the Shadows!

After secretly wiping away her tears, Gamma instructs her subordinates to bring over a certain item.

“This is?”

So asks her master while looking at what she has in her hands.

“Slime formed based on the Wisdom of the Shadows. After running magic through it, its texture changes to become exactly like actual skin.”

“Heeh~”

Gamma holds out the skin-colored slime towards her master.

“So I just put this on my face?”

“Yes, my lord.”

Her master puts it on his face and lightly stretches it.

“Feels like sticking a sheet of clay onto my face.”

So says her master while looking into the proffered mirror.

“From here on is Nyuu’s job.”

“Please pardon me.”

Nyuu stands in front of her lord, and takes out a carving knife and various other tools.

“I will now shave the slime.”

“I see.”

“What kind of face do you wish for?”

“Hmm…… a weak-looking face.”

“Weak-looking, is it……”

Nyuu thinks for a short while.

“How about this man?”

Gamma spreads open some documents, and shows Nyuu the family census of a certain young man.

“Jimina Sehnen. Noble of the Altena Empire, 22 years of age. Due to his slothfulness and low aptitude as a magic swordsman, was disowned five years ago. Wandered through the lands as a mercenary and escort, but ended up accepting an escort mission for a demon possessed.”

(T/N: When read together, ‘jimi na seinen’ literally means ‘ordinary/plain young man.’ I changed seinen–>Sehnen as an artistic flair.)

He was merely slothful, not sinful. He guarded the carriage of a demon possessed without knowing anything. In other words, he had merely ran out of luck.

“His bone structure is similar, so it should do well. We have his identification papers too.”

“Indeed. Safer than making up a fake identity out of nowhere. My lord, is this fine with you?”

“Un, let’s go with Jimina-kun, then.”

“Then I shall begin.”

With knife in hand, Nyuu begins working on the slime.

She who is good with cosmetics is Shadow Garden’s authority on special effect makeup.

In no time at all, the plain face of a plain young man has been carved out from the slime.

“Ohh, this is……”

Looking at the mirror, their lord raises his voice in appreciation.

“How do you find it, my lord?”

“Un, very nice, makes me look really weak.”

It is a face without any specific characteristics, describable only by the word ‘plain.’ With a slightly unhealthy pallor and a stubble, it comes across as completely unreliable. The corners of the mouth are turned down, and the skin is also dull.

Gamma’s heart warms while watching her satisfied master.

“After you run magic through it, the shape gets fixed, so then you can take it off and put it on as you please.”

“Very nice, very nice indeed.”

“The faults are that the flexibility is much lower than the normal slime bodysuit, and that it holds almost no defensive capability.”

“So it’s specialized only for the face. You’re right that this isn’t suitable for the bodysuit.”

“Yes, my lord. And also……”

After listening to Nyuu’s complete explanation, their master stands up.

“It’d fit the image better if I have a hunch, right?”

So then he bends his back and walks.

“Very skillful, my lord.”

Gamma claps her hands and smiles.

By looking at someone’s posture and the way they walk, that person’s understanding of how to use their own body can be inferred. Power is mostly something that begins from the legs. People who are proficient at using their body would walk in a way that maximizes the transfer of power from their legs to the rest of their body. Of course, that is not the be all and end all of measuring someone’s strength. But it is indeed a reference.

Gamma had been taught this by her master long ago, and she had completely understood it. However, she simply had not been able to put it into practice. Gamma’s posture is perfect, but that’s all it is. She is an archetypal example of how posture and strength can be unrelated to each other.

“Then I’ll slope my shoulders slightly, and yep, this seems about right. I don’t really want to shift the position of my pelvis, as it might make me pick up some strange quirks.”

Gamma heartwarmingly watches over her master practicing a weak-looking walking gait as she gives instructions to her subordinates.

“Ready an outfit and a cheap sword.”

“How thoughtful of you.”

That sentence alone is enough to fill Gamma’s heart.

“Alright, this is great. I’m off to register for the Festival then.”

Apparently, their master had tweaked his vocal cords. Now he has a lower, husky-sounding voice.

“Here are your identification papers. Please take care of yourself.”

Gamma lowers her head to see off her master’s back.

“Thanks. Oh, right.”

Right before the door, her master stops.

“That hairstyle really suits you.”

Gamma’s brain grinds to a halt.

As the door shuts with a patan……

“Pegyah!”

Gamma’s heel snaps.

“Gamma-sama?!”

Gamma has a nosebleed as a result of hitting the floor face first, but her face is the very image of sheer bliss.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

The registration for the Festival of the God of War is being held at the reception area of the fighting arena.

I join the end of the line for magic swordsmen, then observe my surroundings.

The warrior in front of me is tall and has well-trained muscles. At first glance, he looks strong, but his center of gravity is not stable.

Unn, it might be a close call, but I think I look just a little bit weaker than him.

Another warrior joins the line behind me.

His center of gravity is stable, but he has too much fat in his stomach. More like, it seems that his center of gravity is stable because of the fat. He most likely drinks too much.

But it should be fine. He has a grim face, so I’m sure I look weaker than him.

In that manner, I look all around, arbitrarily hosting a ‘who looks the weakest’ tournament inside my head.

In order to have people go from “Oi, oi, that guy’s definitely going to die” to “Wait, that guy is that strong?!”, it’s a necessity that I look the weakest among these people.

That guy is small fry, that guy over there is also small fry, the one across is small fry also, and the one all the way over there is trash…… come on, why are they all small fry.

But it should be fine. The current me is Jimina Sehnen.

As a result of a strict judging, I conclude that I am indeed the one who looks the weakest here.

I nod as a way to convince myself. At that moment.

“Wait a second, you over there. Stop right there.”

“Nn?”

“If you participate, you’re going to die.”

When I turn around, I see a young girl wearing a magic swordsman getup.

My heart leaps. Could it be that that event is happening?

“Who are you?”

“My name is Annerose. If you are joining with a halfhearted attitude, then I advise you to stop.”

Annerose glares up at me with a sharp gaze.

That instant, I do a guts pose inside my heart.

Indeed, this is…… the event that happens without fail when a weak-looking character applies for a tournament!