For that reason alone, Satsuki had insisted on coming along. Tetra was given the task of staying at home in case Rekka or Shirley showed up in the meantime.
And we don’t know for sure that Nartessia wants an equal relationship with us. If something happens, I want there to be one person who knows where we went.
“Okay. Let’s go,” Hibiki said, leading the way as she entered the hotel.
The group gave Nartessia’s name to the person at the front desk, and they were given her room number without any questions asked. Everyone piled into the elevator.
“...You know, why do these people always get rooms on the top floor?”
“Huh?”
“I’ve been in hotels a bunch of times for different stories, and each and every time, the person I’m after is always staying on the top floor. Is there some kind of unwritten rule about that?”
“Idiots and smoke like high places. At least, that’s how the saying goes.”
The girls spent the elevator ride up talking about nothing in particular, and they reached the designated room on the top floor without event. They knocked on the door, and a girl Hibiki knew answered.
“Chelsea?!”
“Huh? You’re here, too, Chelsea?”
Hibiki and Iris both gasped in surprise.
The girl who had opened the door—Chelsea Margaret—laughed a little.
“I’m here helping the head of the family. Thanks to my work, I know a little about Japan,” she explained.
After she’d healed her brother, Chelsea had said she was going to visit home. Did this mean she’d made up with her family? Hibiki was curious, but there wasn’t time to ask right now.
“By head of the family, you mean Nartessia? She’s the head of the family?”
“Yeah. Don’t get her mad, okay? She doesn’t snap easily... but if you do infuriate her, she’ll make you regret it.”
“Hmph. Are you talking to me?”
“Yes, I am, Vampire.”
Rosalind snorted in annoyance and put a brazen hand on her hip. Chelsea’s warning seemed to have had the opposite effect.
“...”
Hibiki tossed a knowing glance Suzuran’s way, and the quiet maid nodded. If they had to, the two of them would stop Rosalind.
It’s good to be prepared, but we didn’t really come here to fight. We’re just here to get information on Ellicia’s story to try and help Rekka out a little.
Hibiki took a deep breath, then stepped inside the room. Most hotel rooms have the bed right near the entrance, but this one was split into a bedroom and a living room. The group was incited into the living room portion, which was furnished with a sofa, a low table, and a TV.
“Oh, you’re finally here?”
The person they’d just been discussing, Nartessia, was sitting on the sofa. When she saw the group of girls come in, she set her teacup down on the table. The cup seemed to be filled with European tea. Nartessia herself was a beautiful, elegant girl wearing a crimson dress. She was the very image of a rich princess, but there was a terribly sharp look in her eyes.
“Hello.”
“Well, sit down. Though there are a few more of you than I expected. Chelsea, bring some chairs from the bedroom.”
“Of course.”
Chelsea complied and brought three chairs, which meant there wasn’t one for her. When she was done carrying them in, she stood behind the sofa where Nartessia was sitting. Nartessia, by the way, was sitting alone in the middle of the sofa meant for three.
“I’d like to get to the point immediately.”
Hibiki was a bit irritated at the way Chelsea was being treated, but knowing it might only make things worse for Chelsea if she spoke up, she swallowed her words and cut straight to the heart of why they’d come in the first place.
“During our own investigation, we found out that Ellicia was being chased by those men, and now we’re trying to save her. In the process of all this, we came to discover that the Margaret family is involved, as well.”
“Your own investigation, you say?” Nartessia took a sip of her tea. “Do you know what their organization is, exactly?”
“A group of psychics.”
“Oh? And how does a group of high school students from a peaceful country like this know anything about that? I suppose I won’t ask. I’m not interested in delving that deeply into your affairs.”
This is tough...
Hibiki tried to relax and act as natural as possible. They’d gone through something similar yesterday when Yang disappeared. Nartessia seemed to not feel panic or uneasiness. If Hibiki was the only one on edge, they’d be at a disadvantage.
“What’s important is whether or not you and I can benefit from each other.”
“For that to happen, we both need to know what the other wants. Why is the Margaret clan chasing Ellicia, no, her organization?”
“I’d prefer you reveal what you’re after first... but it seems you’re close friends with Chelsea. Even if I don’t tell you, you’ll probably find out anyway. Although, if she does share information with you behind my back, she’ll regret it.”
“...”
Nartessia seemed to be amused by the prospect, but Chelsea was doing her best to not react at all.
What’s the relationship between Chelsea and Nartessia, anyway? Sisters? No, Chelsea only had a little brother. And she’s too young to be a mother, so...
As Hibiki tried her best to figure out how exactly the two girls were related, an irritated Rosalind smacked her fingers against the table.
“You. Girl,” she said demandingly.
“Are you referring to me? I suppose I do still look young,” Nartessia said with a giggle.
Rosalind seemed even more annoyed by her attitude.
“Are you going to tell us why you’re after them, or not? Just make it clear already.”
“Heh. I could, but... First, show me something entertaining.”
“If that’s what you want, then so be it.” Rosalind spoke in an icy voice as she nodded. Then her eyes flashed red.
“?!”
Is she going to force it out of her with her charm magic?
It was the fastest way to get what they wanted, certainly, but they weren’t at a stage where they needed to resort to that yet. Hibiki and Suzuran tried to stop her, but it was already too late. Rosalind was gazing into Nartessia’s eyes, trying to use her charm spell and make the uncooperative girl her puppet. But...
“I knew you didn’t seem human. Is that some kind of species-specific mental control? It doesn’t seem to be magic.”
“...You endured it?”
“It upsets me that you’ve underestimated me so.”
Nartessia laughed. She showed no signs of being under Rosalind’s control.
Not good!
Hibiki thwacked Rosalind hard on the back of the head. There was a dull thud as the blonde girl’s head flew forward and smacked into the table.
“Ow! What was that for?!”
“I’m sorry. That was very rude of this idiot.”
Hibiki bowed to Nartessia and ignored Rosalind.
“Did you just call me an idiot?!”
“That was your fault, Mistress.”
Rosalind wasn’t happy about being called an idiot, but Suzuran dragged her out into the hallway before she could protest further.
“...Well, that was certainly interesting.”
Hibiki wasn’t sure if Nartessia meant the charm, or Rosalind getting smacked into the table. Either way, she laughed about it and seemed to brush off what Rosalind had tried to do to her.
Chelsea said she didn’t get mad easily, and it seems she wasn’t kidding... But I don’t understand how she’s not mad about something like that.
Was she forgiving? Or maybe she just didn’t care? Was this the kind of personality it took to run a family of mages?
But then... she’s probably really scary when she does snap.
A cold shiver ran down Hibiki’s spine.
She couldn’t tell if Nartessia knew what she was thinking or not, but Nartessia then looked at her and said, “As I promised, I’ll tell you what I’m trying to do. That group stole a certain treasure from the Margaret clan.”
“A treasure?”
“I can’t tell you the details, of course, but, yes... Something capable of burning every major city in the world to ash.”
“What?!”
Nartessia’s voice was calm, but Hibiki gasped.
“Is that true?!”
“Why would I lie? Tell them, Chelsea.”
Hibiki turned to look at Chelsea.
“What Mistress Nartessia says is true.”
“I see...” Hibiki took a deep breath to calm herself.
Don’t panic. All our stories are like this.
Hibiki would have preferred negotiations to be less tense than this, but she still had to stay on her game.
“Now it’s my turn to ask. What are you and your group after?”
“Well...”
Hibiki proceeded to explain what had happened, but left out the part about Satsuki’s Magic of Omniscience.
“So, basically, you want to save this Ellicia girl?”
“That’s right.”
“I see... Actually, I don’t understand how you feel at all, particularly given that you’re willing to fight an entire organization of psychics to save a girl you’ve never met before.”
“That’s right.”
Of course, Hibiki wanted to avoid that if she could, but neither she nor Rekka would ever choose to abandon a heroine.
“Heh. Well, it doesn’t matter. I’m not so far gone as to doubt someone’s good intentions.” Nartessia laughed louder than before, then narrowed her eyes. “So, can any of you track this Ellicia girl?”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s very simple. First, we’re essentially after the same thing. The Margaret clan wants the treasure back, and you want to save Ellicia. To do that, you need to be ready to fight their organization. All of you, including that blonde girl with the pigtails, are likely to be handy in a fight. Of course, so are we. Don’t you think it’s a good idea for us to cooperate?” Nartessia took one last sip of her tea and put the cup back down on the table.
“Perhaps,” Hibiki said warily.
“I believe that the organization’s leader, Yang, is the one with our treasure. He’s probably also got the girl you’re looking for. The problem is how to find him.”
“Fair enough.”
“We have a way, but it will take time. I just explained what would happen if too much time is wasted, right?”
The Margarets’ treasure was something that could turn cities to ash. Chelsea had even confirmed it.
“But you have a way to find this girl again and track her down, don’t you? Can you help us?”
“...”
It was only thanks to the Magic of Omniscience that they’d been able to do it the first time. Hibiki’s gaze unconsciously shifted to Satsuki, and Nartessia noticed.
“Can you do it?”
“Huh?! Um...”
“Well? Hmm?”
Satsuki fidgeted nervously, unsure of how to respond. She couldn’t tell Nartessia about the magic and was at a loss as to what to say instead. But then Chelsea spoke up.
“Satsuki is good with detection magic, Mistress Nartessia.”
“Detection magic? So, she’s a mage?”
“That’s right.” Chelsea nodded.
That was the same lie they’d first told Chelsea to conceal Satsuki’s true power when they’d first met. Chelsea had probably remembered it and was using it to cover for her now.
“Hmm... and this magic can locate something even when you have no clue where it might be?”
“Um... yes.”
“That’s amazing.”
For a moment, it looked like there was a glint in Nartessia’s eyes.
“I would love to see it.”
“I-I’m sorry. I don’t know about that...”
“Hmm... Is it your clan’s heirloom magic?”
“Oh! Yes, that’s right.”
“I see... Then I guess I’ll have to give up,” Nartessia said, suddenly willing to drop the subject like she’d never brought it up.
“?”
Hibiki was confused by her sudden change in attitude, but she didn’t want to risk bringing it up again. Negotiations continued smoothly from there, and it was decided that Satsuki would go to another room to locate Yang and Ellicia, and then come report back to Nartessia.
“Satsuki, what’s heirloom magic?”
As they walked down the hallway, Hibiki asked Satsuki about that phrase. She’d never heard it before.
“Powerful clans have magic that only they know about and can use. That’s why they call it heirloom magic.”
“Like some kind of clan secret?”
“Yeah. I’d have to explain a little bit about how magical society works for you to understand how that came about... but basically, the strength of a clan’s heirloom magic determines their status in magical society.”
“I see.”
In other words, there’s no way a clan would share its heirloom magic. Is that why Nartessia relented so easily?
When they reached the room Nartessia had prepared for them, the girls vigilantly stood watch to make sure nobody was spying on Satsuki while she used her Omniscient Magic.
“...Are we really going to work with them?” Rosalind asked as she glared at Hibiki, clearly unhappy.
“It depends on whether or not Ellicia is with Yang... But if their organization really does intend to destroy every major city in the world, we can’t exactly sit this one out.”
Hibiki wanted to talk to Chelsea more, but it didn’t seem like she’d be leaving Nartessia’s side anytime soon. But as long as their interests were aligned, just like Nartessia said, it was worth cooperating. Granted, there were plenty of other things bothering Hibiki right now.
She didn’t seem upset when Yang fled from her in the department store. But she wants our help to find them quickly. She’s talking about how dangerous they are, but she doesn’t seem worried at all. Where does she really stand on all of this?
Was she even the type to take action because the world was in danger...?
“First things first, we need to find Ellicia before we make any decisions.”
Hibiki crossed her arms and fell silent. Shortly after, Satsuki opened her eyes.
“I’ve confirmed Ellicia is with Yang’s group.”
Rosalind grunted in annoyance when she heard the news.
Chapter 4: The Former Hero, the Demon King, and Their Battle (July 21st-24th)
Our trip through the sky to the capital city of Arbast was oddly awkward. There were several reasons for this. For starters, we were running low on food, which meant we had to ration how much everyone got for the day. And as we drew closer to the capital, Corona got more and more on edge. I tried casually asking her what was up, but she wouldn’t answer me.
After what had happened to her home, Lyun was outright depressed, too. We’d managed to get out of the valley, but her story wouldn’t reach its happy ending until we met the Spirit King and got him to send a team to handle the Ghostdemon sickness outbreak or something. The one thing that seemed to lift her spirits was talking to Mio. Maybe she was just trying to take her mind of things, but Lyun really seemed to have taken a shine to her.
“Hey, Mio, what kind of game is that?”
Mio sung a song to lighten the mood after dinner, and Lyun approached her when she was done. She seemed to have enjoyed the song more than anyone.
“It’s a song. Lyun, you don’t sing?”
“What’s that?”
It seemed like the spirit world didn’t have a whole lot going on for it in the way of music.
“Wow, Earth does some interesting stuff for fun, huh?”
After that, Mio had taught Lyun several basic songs, and they spent quite some time singing together. Lyun
seemed to enjoy it, perhaps since it made for a pleasant distraction.
Lyun had gotten especially close with Mio, but she was being really nice to all of us even though we were from another world. Everyone except Harissa, that is.
“Um... Lyun?”
“...”
“Um...”
“...”
Whenever Harissa tried to talk to her, Lyun would turn away and give her the silent treatment. And just like with Corona, she wouldn’t tell me the reason why. I resorted to asking Harissa if she had any clue.
“It’s probably because I’m a sorcerer from Aburaamu...”
That was all she said on the matter. She looked so glum about it that I didn’t want to push her.
If we at least had some warm food and warm beds, would that make everybody feel better? I spent two days thinking that before we finally reached the capital city of Arbast.
▽
By the time we reached the city, it was almost nightfall. The red light of the setting sun shone down on groups of homes all made out of wood and mud. Apart from the inns, there were very few buildings taller than two stories.
“I’ve never been to Arbast myself, but a lot of different spirits from around the country come here, so it’s divided into four sections.”
Apparently there was a section each for the four main types of spirits in this world: water, fire, air, and earth. I’d heard of this before. Those were normally called the four elements. Both fairies and spirits had bodies like we did (material ones), but fairies lived out in the wild. Water spirits lived in rivers and lakes, so only fire, earth, and air spirits made houses. Most of them were simple earthen structures.
After entering the city, we decided we’d find an inn before we met the Spirit King. Mio and Harissa were hanging in there, but they were reaching their limits. Even Tsumiki, though she wasn’t saying it, was getting tired. To be honest, so was I.
I was worried about Ellicia and Hibiki’s group, but if we collapsed from pushing ourselves too hard, it wouldn’t do anyone any good. Once we’d made the preparations for Lyun to go to the Spirit King’s palace to get a medical team to head to Windsong Valley, we would rest for the night. The problem was that we didn’t have any money from the spirit world, but Lyun kindly offered to pay.
I Saved Too Many Girls and Caused the Apocalypse: Volume 7 Page 12