by Yuu Tanaka
We decided to use our unfair advantage to get special seats.
We separated from the crowd and leapt to the roof of a nearby house. We could take the rooftops all the way to the temple.
Fran carried on using Air Hike, sometimes jumping from a conveniently planted tree, and eventually up onto a high spire right next to the temple where the ceremony would take place. We had a perfect view of the temple square.
The multitude of people pushed and shoved below, reminding me of the fully packed trains on Earth. We would’ve been stuck there if we’d gone on foot… Fran wouldn’t have been able to see a thing. Good thing we cheated a little.
I returned my gaze to the main street and saw that the float had almost arrived. Perfect timing.
An altar and stage were set up especially in the temple square. We watched the spectacle from our spire as the float stopped in front of the temple.
They’re here.
“Hm.”
The priestess came down from the float, singing prayers to her god.
Her divine song had a calming effect on a crowd, and for a moment, the characteristic silence of midnight returned. The band serenaded her, now with the Japanese sounds of a flute and koto.
Her prayers reached their crescendo, and the priestess broke out into a dance. The other women who joined her were all slightly older than Fran and looked far more delicate. Their short silver hair fluttered in the night wind.
“Is that Charlotte?”
Didn’t think we’d see her here…
Charlotte, the girl from the orphanage, was among them. Her kind expression had been replaced with a serious mask as she danced.
“She’s so pretty.”
Yeah.
We would’ve been content spending the rest of the night watching the ceremony, but our attention drifted elsewhere.
“Something…feels off.”
Yeah. Looks like tourists aren’t the only ones in the audience.
We sensed something dangerous from one of the alleyways, which linked the temple square to the city slums. There were people there. They were ready to fight, and they had an intense hatred of Charlotte.
The alleyway was behind the temple and otherwise deserted. It would be easy for the assailants to sneak up to the stage and attack her.
Teacher.
I know. We can’t let this one slide.
I’m going in!
Fran leapt into action before we decided on a plan of attack.
Wait! The festival’s still going on, so don’t cause too much of a scene!
Got it.
Fran used Air Hike to quietly circle around. There were five of them, all men, and all capable of handling themselves in a fight.
I Identified them. Their leader, Boran, was pretty strong. If he were a registered adventurer, he’d be a D-Rank. He bore the title Sadist and could use both Sword Arts and Magic. I doubted he was one of the good guys.
The rest of his team were cut from the same cloth. Their skills and titles revealed them as members of the underground.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
“When did you—?!”
The man jumped back at Fran’s sudden appearance. He sighed in relief when he saw she was nothing more than a little girl.
“Get outta here, kid. You don’t wanna be around for this.”
“Don’t blame us if you start crying.”
“Are you in a hurry?” Fran asked. “Why? Are you part of the ceremony?”
The man clicked his tongue. “Shut it!” he yelled, losing his patience. “You better stop talking if you know what’s good for you.”
“What are you going to do? Are you a bad man?”
Fran didn’t miss a beat. You could see the man’s veins pulse with anger as he glared at her. He reached out to grab her, no longer caring about witnesses. Fran dodged it easily with a quick backstep; any other child wouldn’t have been as fortunate.
“What is this kid?!”
As the man got ready to activate another Skill, Boran stepped in to put him back in line.
“Leave her! We’re running out of time! The dance is almost over!”
“S-sorry, boss.”
“This kid isn’t the reason why we’re here. Focus on the target!”
“Yes, boss!”
Now, who was their target? I was sure a few minutes of interrogation would answer that question.
“Gyaa!”
“Guaah!”
The men were about to proceed when two of them suddenly fell to the ground. They held their legs and writhed in agony.
“Wh-what happened? Hey—!”
“Th-there’s something here!”
Jet. The festival lights deprived him of the shadows he needed, but he could still hide far more easily than he could under the midday sun. The lights failed to reach the alleyway, making it no brighter than an average night. Lacking Night Vision, the men couldn’t see what was biting their ankles.
Remaining hidden, Jet continued his ambush. They didn’t know what hit them. Boran, already wincing on the ground, continued glaring at Fran. He suspected she was the source of the attack despite knowing that was impossible. He took his eyes off her and scanned his surroundings. He really was an elite soldier to keep a cool head in a situation like this.
“Run away, gyaa!”
“Oof!”
The five men were helpless against Jet’s ambush, and he locked them in place. He bit their ankles from the shadows, and they all rolled around in pain. They’d had the awful luck of encountering a shadow-manipulating wolf. This wolf in particular was still annoyed from churning butter, and I suspected he was taking his frustrations out on them.
Now, let’s get some answers from… Wait.
I stopped, sensing more people coming, but tension soon dissolved into relief as three town guards rushed into the alleyway.
They were on routine patrol when they heard the agonized screams of the gang.
“Hey! What’s going on in there?!”
“You all right?!”
“What happened here?!”
Well, this was an unwanted interference. We couldn’t interrogate the men with these guards around. Now that the thugs were incapacitated, the guards would probably arrest them. Worst of all, we might get implicated, too. I doubted the writhing hoodlums would say that Fran had nothing to do with it. We couldn’t get involved.
“What on earth… Did you see anything, little girl?” the guard asked.
I don’t think he suspected Fran of any crimes, but he was cautious of her.
“I came here to watch the festival. Then I overheard these guys saying they were going to kidnap someone.”
“Is that so? What happened to these guys then?”
“I don’t know. They just started falling on their faces.”
“And…you had nothing to do with it?”
“Nope.”
He didn’t look satisfied with that. In fact, he became more suspicious. I could tell from the guard’s tone of voice that he’d gone from treating Fran as an innocent onlooker to a reasonable suspect. His gaze sharpened.
“Surely you must’ve seen something.”
“It was too dark to see anything.”
“Now, miss—”
“Hey!”
One of his friends stopped him before he could press Fran further.
I felt like I’d seen this one before. He huddled with his friends and whispered something to them with a most grave look on his face.
“I’ve seen this girl before.”
“What? You mean she’s the Count’s—”
“She has ties to the Phyllians?!”
And then I remembered. Our friend was among the first people we met when we were headed to the Count’s mansion.
“W-we deeply apologize for taking up your time, ma’am!”
“Thank you for your cooperation!”
The guards immediately changed their tune. To them, Fran was friends with royalty, and getting in her way would spell disaster for
their careers. To that end, she was not to be bothered with any formal statements or other such bothersome protocol. The color drained from the face of the guard that was questioning her. I kind of felt sorry for the guy.
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Indeed you didn’t, ma’am!”
Any attempt at clarification fell on deaf ears. Well, at least we prevented this from turning into a full-blown incident.
“Can I go now?”
“Let her through!”
“Thanks.”
We avoided wasting any more time, but we needed to warn them before we went on our way.
“Those guys are really strong. You better call for backup.”
“Yes, ma’am! Thank you for warning us!”
“Go on, blow that whistle.”
The thugs wouldn’t be able to get away now. The guards were well trained, but they were outranked both in strength and number.
Still, I wondered what the thugs wanted. Were they really just here to interrupt the festivities? Or did they have something bigger in mind? Well, it was up to the boys and girls at the Knight Brigade to figure that out.
“They’re still going.”
Looks like we’re just in time for the ending.
We returned to our vantage point and watched Charlotte dance. The beat had gotten faster, and her movements were more intense now. The performance was nearing its end.
“Charlotte’s doing great…”
Yeah.
She entranced us with her dance, and we silently watched to its conclusion. Her body looked like it was glowing with light. Mana surged through her, perhaps as a part of the ritual. Soft blue light further increased her divine aura. She looked like a goddess descended to earth. Even the beads of sweat flicked off of her hair were divine.
Fran snuggled up to Jet and got comfortable, losing herself in Charlotte’s performance.
I joined Fran in silence, and we watched the ritual all the way to its end.
Shrine bells chimed through the square, and Charlotte struck a pose, thrusting one hand in the air and touching her face with the other.
The blue light enveloping her flashed, illuminating the entire stage. It was magical, but that wasn’t all. The pallid light surrounding the stage was charged with divine energy. So much so that it moved the onlookers to tears of reverence.
The ritual was both an offering to the gods and a way to use mana to cleanse the area of evil spirits. I assumed it only worked on the weaker spirits, but that made me wonder why the men from earlier had wanted to interrupt it.
“It’s over.”
That sure was pretty.
“Charlotte was really pretty,” Fran said, looking both sad and satisfied.
I was glad she enjoyed it.
All right, let’s head back and get to cooking again.
“Yeah!”
It was a well-deserved change of pace after all our adventuring. Recharged, we returned to our kitchen—stopping at whatever food stall Fran wanted to try along the way.
I’m going to have to kick it into high gear. You and Jet can go to bed if you’re tired. I’ll take care of the rest.
I was going to pull an all-nighter tonight. We’d told Sebastian that we would either be back late or not at all, so we wouldn’t worry our hosts. I doubted Fran and Jet would mind if we stayed here for the rest of our trip. We had sleeping bags stowed in our Pocket Dimension, so all we needed was a roof over our heads.
“Don’t worry, I’ll help.”
“Woof.”
You sure? Well, I guess I’ll need your help then.
“You got it!”
Watching the festivities had refreshed my companions despite the late hour.
You can continue prepping the vegetables, Fran.
“Got it.”
Jet…you’re on butter duty again.
“A-arf…”
I floated him another barrel of monster milk. It was time for him to channel his inner metalhead again. We should have enough now to make a whole lot of curry bread. Butter by itself was a luxury, and the monster butter in the market was expensive. We saved a lot of money making our own. Unsalted, it tasted quite fresh and delicious.
Jet held the barrel in his jaws with a look of slight exasperation and then moved to a part of the shop which had more headspace. He was going to need it.
Which leaves me to handle the dough making.
What’s going on? My head feels like it’s floating in nothingness. I was making curry bread and then…
And then what?
My short-term memory was fogged over.
Darkness was all around me. Infinite and impenetrable darkness.
Strange. Did my sight bug out on me? Was I damaged? Which part of me was tied to my sight anyway? I think I would’ve noticed if parts of my body were broken.
As I pondered my current situation, a ray of light finally punched a hole through the darkness. Nothing was wrong with my vision after all, and I let out a sigh of relief. Then again, I still had no idea where I was. That was definitely a cause for concern.
I was within a ten-meter-long gray box made of neither stone nor wood.
The mysterious structure lacked any entry point. How did I get in here?
As I searched the walls for anything familiar, I saw a figure about ten meters away. A middle-aged man. His hair was slicked back, and he was wearing long, flowing robes. He looked lean, but I could tell there was muscle underneath. His eyes were sharp and narrow, and his lips set in a terrifying nihilistic grin. Long canines showed between his lips, adding a hint of ferocity. He might have been a gentleman, but he was still a beastman underneath. The apparent contradiction added to his mystery.
Yet, despite his presence, I couldn’t feel his aura. He was like a phantasm. I tried to get closer so I could get a better look…
I can’t move.
My body had stiffened. The man didn’t approach me, either.
Who are you?
The man didn’t answer, but opened and closed his hands in front of his mouth.
Why are you gesturing to me?
“—”
What’s that? I can’t hear you.
“—”
You can’t talk?
That seemed to be the correct answer. He pointed, as if commending me. He still had something to tell me, though, and resumed his charade.
At least I wasn’t getting reincarnated again. I watched the man’s movements, trying to make sense of them. He used both his hands to form an upside down triangle in the air. Then, he moved his hands back and forth.
Is it an upside-down pyramid?
“—”
The man shook his head. I guess that wasn’t it. I really couldn’t tell.
Sensing my confusion, he gestured again. He shifted his face to an idiotic expression, half-opened his mouth, and stuck both his arms forward. Then, he slowly shuffled his way towards me.
This was easy enough.
Zombie?
He gave me a thumbs up.
The man repeated the zombie gesture along with the upside-down triangle. The subject of zombies reminded me of the dungeon on the floating island.
Hey, wait a second… Is that upside down triangle supposed to be the floating island?
“—”
He gave me another thumbs up.
What next?
The man dropped into a stance and put his hands next to his hips. Balling them up into fists, he concentrated until he shook. His body radiated with the faint glow of mana.
Kaio-ken?
“—”
Well, I didn’t expect him to know that move anyway. The man repeated the gesture.
Hmm… You’re charging up for a big attack?
I was getting closer now, though I hadn’t quite hit the mark. The man snapped his fingers in a show of delighted frustration.
You’re firing a charged-up attack?
The man pointed at me. I was getting warmer. A charged-up attack on the floating island
?
Oh, Unleash Potential!
This time, he gave me two thumbs up. He took his right hand to his mouth and opened and closed it, as if mimicking moving lips.
A conversation during Unleash Potential?
The Lich?
He made a cross with his arms. Wrong answer.
Who else did I talk to during Unleash Potential? There was the Lich and then…the P.A.?
Another X.
There was that mysterious male voice. Oh, you’re the one who told me about the P.A.!
The man nodded. He bowed his head regretfully, as if apologizing. Then, he went back to miming talking lips. He repeated this for a while. He was probably apologizing for what he said back then… I tried to recall our conversation.
Hey, who are you?
Well, I was planning to reveal my identity to you later down the road, but…we’re scheduled to meet in less than a month, you know. At least, our minds will.
Aww, come on. There’s no need to put on airs now. You could just tell me now, and it’ll be just as good.
You’re taking this very much in stride…
It’s because you don’t seem like a stranger to me.
All right, then. I’ll tell you. My name is—
That was where our conversation ended. The fact that he was apologizing now must mean…
You’re sorry that you won’t be able to make our meeting?
Another nod.
You wanted to introduce yourself, but it’s hard because you can’t talk?
More nodding.
The man in front of me was the owner of the voice that spoke to me from time to time. But then, why couldn’t he talk today?
The man dropped into his Unleash Potential pose and pointed at himself, then got on his knees and stuck out his tongue like he was moaning.
Is it because of Unleash Potential?
Using Unleash Potential had the same effect on this man as on the P.A.
He posed like he was swinging a sword and…now his arm was up in what looked like the Snake Fist pose? He extended his arms, put them together, and then opened them like a snake’s mouth. The mimed snake looked like it was blasting something from its mouth.
Sword, snake, blast…?
“—”
The man pointed to the butt of his sword. The hilt? The snake came out of the sword’s hilt and wrapped around it.
I get it! It was that fight with Valuza! You said you would seal the energy that I released that day…!