by Tôwa
That spirit suddenly materialized in front of us. It was a girl, standing there and gripping the sword, looking at us with artificial-seeming eyes. She looked like a younger version of Ariadne wearing very strange clothing, completely different from anything a civilization such as the Labyrinth Country could make. It was a close-fitting bodysuit made of some sort of polymer. It looked mechanical in nature, and she wore some type of headgear with it.
“You…are the consciousness residing in that sword. Have you been hiding your presence until now?” I asked. She replied with nothing more than a slight nod. The voice I’d heard in my mind must belong to her. She likely communicated in a similar fashion to Ariadne, without actually speaking words.
“Woooow, that’s so coooool! You look like you could go to outer space with that bodysuit, don’t you think?” said Misaki.
“Yeah… Even so, I still can’t believe a cute little girl put up such a fearsome fight,” marveled Igarashi. Murakumo didn’t show any emotions, not even at being called cute.
“She’s like a solid projection. We couldn’t see her at all earlier…,” continued Igarashi, but Murakumo didn’t nod. Perhaps she wasn’t quite like a projection; it was more likely that she could choose to show or conceal herself, since she was a spirit.
I asked a question to Ariadne in my mind, assuming her answer could reach me here.
“…I am glad your party is unharmed. I am able to confirm that the Stellar Sword has entered my jurisdiction. I only hope that I was able to assist you,” came her voice.
You did more than help. The only reason we’re alive is because of your protection.
“It was an incredible feeling when I stopped the Stellar Sword’s attacks with my hand and realized that we fought together. I am grateful to have met someone like you who would wish to become bound to me.” I could hear more emotion in her voice than when we’d met. It was still faint, but it was a significant change from before. I thought that it might have to do with raising our devotion, but even if it didn’t, it was a good thing to build a strong and trusting relationship.
“…I have received the confirmation code. I will use Murakumo as one of my parts. You, as Murakumo’s owner, can equip the sword, or you can allow someone else in the party to equip it. There are limitations on who can equip it, but you will not find a sword more powerful even once you advance to District Seven.”
Oh, right. Since it’s your part, don’t we need to bring it to you?
“It is within my domain simply by it being in your possession. I can summon Murakumo if necessary. If you discover one more part, my ability to teleport would extend to your entire party. However, there is one drawback in that you would lose your equipment when teleported.”
That would still be useful in an emergency… Even better if it could be used in areas where we can’t use Return Scrolls.
“Skills used by the Hidden Gods are fundamentally different than the skills that humans use and make into tools. In general, there are no places where a Hidden God cannot teleport.”
The more I talked to her, the more I realized how big a deal getting this part of hers was. It really was a good thing we decided to try and open the box.
I finished my conversation with Ariadne and realized that Murakumo was looking at me—and that she was starting to fade.
“My manifestation only lasts for a very short time. Master, you must equip me and carry me with you,” she said.
“Ah… Y-you can talk? Okay, so I can just take you along?” I asked.
“Truthfully, I should not speak. A weapon must remain a weapon.”
“…Sooo cute… Seriously, don’t you guys think she’s super adorable?” gushed Misaki.
“Misaki, don’t you dare try and hug her,” I warned.
“I knooow, but… Something about her just makes my maternal instincts kick in…”
“…She seems even cuter in person,” said Suzuna.
The entire party was crowding around Murakumo; everyone was completely comfortable despite the fierce battle we’d just been in. It was good to know that everyone was willing to accept her now that she was an ally of ours. Murakumo eventually disappeared as she said she would and didn’t become visible again. The morphed sword changed back to its previous katana shape. I decided to ask Madoka for a special sheath so that I could carry it on my back.
“Woof, woof!”
“Cion… Oh, such a good girl, working so hard without us even having to ask!” cooed Igarashi.
Cion had brought the scattered equipment from the box over to us. There didn’t seem to be many magical items, but there were some things that I looked at and thought they would be good. We’d probably be able to swap out a few people’s equipment.
We spent the next two hours gathering the money that came out of the Black Box, finding a total of 5,500 gold pieces and another decent amount if we added in the silver and copper coins. There were even some coins I’d never seen mixed in the lot. We also found some equipment that I thought might be the equipment Polaris had dropped. There were a few magic stones of types we’d not yet encountered as well as two runes.
Falma had done so much for us that I gave her usual fee as well as a bonus of one hundred gold coins. I wanted to give her more, but apparently, she had a limit to the amount she could accept.
“There’s no such thing as having too much money. There will be situations you will need it when you go up to District Seven, but one hundred gold coins is a huge amount for my little family. I would feel bad accepting any more for simply opening the chest,” she explained.
“But it’s because you opened such a dangerous chest for us. We really are grateful, Falma,” I said.
“No, no. Nothing but incredible things have happened since I met you and your party. I have always wished I could go on adventures like everyone else, but it makes me so happy just to listen to the stories of yours,” she said, making everyone feel a little bashful, myself included.
Part VII: The Gateway
First things first, we called the Carriers to come and take what came out of the Black Box. We waited a little while for the Carriers that Falma called for us. The person who arrived was a man about my age with a friendly disposition. He might have even been Japanese. He looked exactly like a delivery person back on Earth—either he had been wearing that uniform when he reincarnated or he’d had it custom-made. But that wasn’t very strange considering I still had the suit I’d been wearing when I reincarnated, and everyone else seemed to treasure their clothes from their life before.
“Hey, how’s it goin’? I’m a Carrier from Golden Cat Corp. I’ve got a request to move unwanted goods from a chest for a Mr. Arihito Atobe. Is that correct?”
“Yes, that’s me.”
“I keep hearing about you. It was incredible last time. I was here doing the job with some newbies. I’d never seen an orc that ginormous,” said the man. Apparently, this Golden Cat Corp. had been in charge of moving Juggernaut. The fact that they could move that mountain of a monster meant they must be transportation professionals.
“So I believe you’ve already taken anything of value you wish to keep, correct? Is it all just goods you’d like to sell?” he asked.
“No, I’d actually just like to donate the beginner equipment. Selling it won’t make much money, and when I think of how it’s likely that this equipment was lost by a novice when they were defeated…”
“Yeah… I know what you mean. The Labyrinth Country has its dangers. I can’t even say that being a Carrier is safe, but we do have specialized skills, and I have the confidence to go and do my job properly even when there’s some danger.”
“That is impressive… Does the Golden Cat Corp. operate in District Seven as well?”
“Whoa, you’re moving up to District Seven?! Congrats! That’s right, Golden Cat’s in District Seven as well, but obviously, the people in charge there are a higher level than me.”
I told him that I hoped I could continue using their services
and took a business card. His name was Naomasa Sakai—his card even had his name written in kanji.
“All righty, we’ll start moving things, then. We’ll process all damaged coins and deduct our moving fee from that. I assume you’d like the excess delivered to the bank?” asked Mr. Sakai.
“Yes please,” I replied, and he straightened the cap he was wearing and descended the stairs with light steps. Behind him followed three people who were probably his workers.
“Mr. Atobe, will you be taking Cion along with you as well?” asked Falma.
“Well, are you sure? She’s a great help to us, but she’d be wonderful at defending you and your family as well…”
Falma smiled, walked closer to Eyck and Plum, who had fallen asleep in their chairs waiting for us, and stroked their heads gently.
“They say that you must allow your children to experience the world themselves, without your protection. Astarte became this strong while traveling with my husband. I want to give that same experience to Cion… But if that’s too hard to do, then like you say, I would choose to have her stay here with us,” said Falma.
“…I think that would be a good option, too, but Cion has helped us so many times. I would like her to seek with us if possible,” I replied.
“Thank you. Ha-ha… Even Cion looks happy. She doesn’t do that too often, wag her tail like that.”
“Woof!” Cion’s tail was wagging vigorously back and forth while she sat there. I glanced at Igarashi to see how she was reacting, and she looked completely enamored with Cion.
“Awww, she’s just too cute… I wanna squish her! Cion, you’re so attached to Atobe… What can I do to make you love me like that?” she lamented.
“…I prefer stuffed animals to real ones,” said Elitia.
“What did you just say, Ellie?” asked Igarashi.
“Erk… N-nothing! By the way, what are we going to do now, Arihito? We still have some time until Seraphina has to rejoin the other Guild Saviors.”
Seraphina needed to go back before dinner, but we still had a couple hours. What could we really do with the time…? In any case, it was around lunchtime, so I decided we could go have some food.
“Urgh…”
All of a sudden, we all heard a gurgling noise and looked at one another. I was about to suggest to Seraphina we go get food together, when her stomach had let out the loud grumble. She realized she couldn’t act like it wasn’t her and pressed her hand to her stomach. Her breastplate was quite thick, but it didn’t cover her abdomen, so I could see the clothing she wore underneath. Her armor was most likely fashioned to be lightweight, but I’d be willing to bet it was still quite heavy.
“…P-people with heavy armor burn a lot of calories… I usually need to eat at least five times a day. I didn’t bring lunch with me this time, so…,” she said.
“Do you always make food to bring with you?” asked Igarashi.
“Mm… No, but I do usually cook for myself. I generally cook at least two of my meals a day. My lodging has a very nice kitchen,” Seraphina explained. She was speaking in a far more relaxed manner than she had been before; maybe the military air was only for when she was working. “I say cooking, but it’s really just cutting some crusty rolls and putting vegetables and smoked meat in them. It’s nice when I can get my hands on some cheese, too.”
“Ooh, sounds delicious. I do like a good raclette, though I’m not a fan of stronger cheeses,” said Igarashi.
“I’ve heard there are some people who can make Japanese food. I’d love to try it sometime…but I bet cooks like that are probably very busy,” said Suzuna. She seemed to prefer Japanese food. I was fine with whatever, but I started craving something rich, like junk food, when I started thinking about the set meals from the beef bowl and burger joints I used to frequent.
“Well, how about we enjoy this last meal from District Eight? I’m hoping to move to District Seven tomorrow, so today, we can say our good-byes,” I suggested.
“Yeah… We should make sure we don’t have any unfinished business here. It’d be nice to say our good-byes to the people who’ve helped,” said Elitia. She’d already made her way up to District Five. I wondered how she went about moving from one to the next. I knew that I was suddenly starting to feel nostalgic about the streets of District Eight, even though it hadn’t yet been a week since I was reincarnated.
“Uh, ummm… I don’t really mean this in some haughty way. It doesn’t matter where we go, since we’ll be together. So we won’t be that lonely… Um, oh man, what am I trying to say…?” said Igarashi.
“You’re right. Our party will be together wherever we go. We’ll never be alone,” said Suzuna cheerfully. Misaki didn’t even do anything stupid; she just smiled brightly. I decided these two girls, who seemed like polar opposites, got along so well because they understood how the other thought.
“…I would do well to learn from your party’s inner relationships. I believe Mr. Atobe is able to maintain equilibrium within the party by not having too deep a relationship with any one member,” observed Seraphina.
“Ha-ha, you know, Seraphina, I think that soldier-like tone suits you better,” said Misaki.
“I agree. I find I can’t get in the right mind-set when the time comes if I act too relaxed all the time,” replied Seraphina. In a way, the Seraphina with her rumbling stomach was the most refined Seraphina I’d seen thus far…but that wasn’t the face she normally put on; it was a rare occurrence.
“You know, it feels like you’re already a member of the party,” noted Igarashi.
“I know, right? But there’s such a huge gap in levels, and she’s a Guild Savior,” said Misaki.
“There isn’t that much of a difference between Seekers and the Guild Saviors. You can apply as long as your level is high enough, and you can leave the Guild Saviors as long as you provide them with one month’s notice. I have been with the Saviors for about two years, but that is fairly uncommon. Usually, there’s quite a high turnover,” explained Seraphina, getting me interested in learning more about the Guild Savior system. I’d see what else she could tell me during lunch.
We went to one of the cafeterias in town and each ordered whatever we liked. Elitia and I both ordered grilled “Gun Fish”; apparently, that was a monster that was hard even for a level-3 party to take out. It had a barrel-like horn on its head, which it used to shoot pressurized water bullets. Its meat was soft and white with a delicate flavor. There was a higher-level monster in District Seven called the Cannon Fish, which was known as a rearguard killer… I guess I was grateful for the information. Igarashi must have started craving cheese from our conversation earlier, because she ordered pasta with a cheese sauce made from Marsh Ox milk, and Seraphina ordered the same thing. Misaki, Suzuna, and Theresia split a seafood paella, and one of the workers cut up a roast Sweet Bird for Cion so she could eat it more easily.
There were foods made from monsters that we hadn’t yet encountered, but that was because they were hunted in one of the three labyrinths in District Eight that we hadn’t gone in. Most Seekers only ventured into one or two labyrinths, but even so, they could spend days exploring and never make it to the end. The Guild’s policy was to advance any party who went to first place on to the next district, instead of having all Seekers try and seek in every labyrinth.
According to Seraphina, once you advanced to a higher district, you could request information regarding a labyrinth in a lower district. Though, apparently, dealing in information was an important source of funds for the Guild, so it didn’t come cheap.
“The Guild has data repositories in the odd-numbered districts. You can submit requests for information to the librarians, and they will research it for you. I use it when I have the time,” explained Seraphina.
“Is that like a library? I don’t really like them because I have to stay quiet the whole time, but Suzu can spend hooours there,” said Misaki.
“I like to read. I often went to my school’s library,”
added Suzuna. I didn’t hate books, either, so I’d like to visit it at least once when we got to District Seven. I was starting to feel excited the more I listened to Seraphina.
“I hope you’re finding this information useful, Mr. Atobe,” said Seraphina.
“Yeah, I’m really looking forward to going to District Seven now. Oh, by the way, you’re level eleven—would that mean that District Four is an appropriate difficulty for you?” I asked.
“Yes. You are about two levels higher than is average for District Eight. Ms. Elitia worked her way up to District Five. Seekers there are normally level eight or nine,” replied Seraphina.
“I feel this force when you ready your shield, like no attack could ever make it through, Seraphina. Level eleven… We’d have a pretty amazing party if we ever get that high,” said Igarashi.
I thought it’d be nice enough if we could safely make our way to turning Theresia back into a human and rescuing Elitia’s friend. After that, we could live a pretty simple life. We probably had enough funds to live for a few years without working. Not having to work—that would’ve been the dream to me before I reincarnated, but if we stopped moving, we wouldn’t be able to save people like we saved Georg and his party. Maybe it’d be best if we just kept our eyes out for chances to help people while we climbed our way to the top. If we didn’t have the strength necessary, we’d just end up getting ourselves killed along with whomever we tried to save. I didn’t want to ever lose my drive to become stronger.
“Well, if we ever manage to catch up to you… Actually, we still have that Savior Ticket. Would you fight alongside us again someday?” I asked.
“A-Atobe… We just met her. Don’t you think you’re getting a little carried away?”
“I-it’s quite all right… It’s a great compliment to a warrior to want to fight alongside them. I do look forward to the day we meet again, Mr. Atobe, everyone,” said Seraphina. I would have been crazy to think she might’ve joined our party then, but I did imagine a day when she might come and act as our vanguard. Even if she didn’t, I had every intention of reaching her level and growing.