Chapter 15
The Girl Who Won't
Give Up and ____ 4
Translator : PolterGlast
【Side Miku Arisugawa】
Thinking back, I think
it was just simple curiosity at first.
It's a bit
presumptuous to say it myself, but my life, Miku Arisugawa's life, has been
very smooth sailing.
I had parents who were
financially well off to build a custom-made house and go on family vacations
twice a year.
Thanks to inheriting
my father's intelligence and my mother's beauty, I was able to lead a
comfortable student life.
Many people at
Shishikawa High School are in a similar situation to mine.
When one's parents
have enough money to send one to a private school, their lifestyle is more or
less similar to some extent.
Perhaps that's why,
one day, I became interested in one of my classmates.
He was different from
the others.
Somehow, he was calm
and composed--in a good way, not very student-like.
He had a kind of
mature detachment, like a friend of my father's, and that seemed fresh to me at
the time.
"Hey, you're
Masaru Kazuno... right?"
"Yeah, that's
right."
That was my first
contact with Masaru-kun.
He wasn't particularly
good at academics or sports.
But even in class 1-A,
where there were many talented people like Hijirikawa-kun, Masaru-kun had a
mysterious presence.
Day by day, I spent more
and more time wondering why.
And then I realized
the reason.
He, more than anyone
else in the class, was free.
He would take a day
off from school if he wanted to, and leave early if he wanted to skip class.
He would come to
school in the afternoon with a nonchalant look on his face, saying he had a
good night's sleep.
But he wasn't loose
with his time, and when he made a promise with me, he would always arrive at
the meeting place ten minutes early.
He was free from
everything, and that's why he talked to me without pretense.
Because of the good
looks I inherited from my mother, I still have a hard time dealing with boys'
gazes.
I hated being stared
at, and I even deliberately dressed frumpy in junior high school.
But Masaru-kun talked
to me naturally.
When boys talk to
girls, they usually try to act cool somewhere.
But Masaru-kun didn't
do that.
So I was able to talk
to him naturally, without pretense, as I was.
I read the light
novels that Masaru-kun liked and cried at the heroine's bravery, and Masaru-kun
watched the movies of my favorite director and was impressed by their
genre-less nature.
As we repeated this, I
realized that I had fallen in love with him.
But he was free to the
end.
One day, Masaru-kun
told me a shocking fact, and as he declared, he stopped coming to school.
After that, I would go
see Masaru-kun whenever I had the chance to hand in assignments or to let him
know about events.
I even went to his
house a few times, and we talked until curfew.
Wait, why am I
remembering this...?
"...Where am
I...?"
I... was dreaming
about Masaru-kun.
I haven't seen him in
months... I wish I could have seen him a little longer.
A smile naturally
appeared on my face as I recalled Masaru-kun's face, the coolest face in the
world.
I feel like I slept
soundly for the first time in a long time.
I haven't been able to
shake off my fatigue even after sleeping lately, and I haven't had a moment to
relax.
I feel somewhat hazy,
as if I'm floating in the sea.
But my consciousness
gradually regained its shape, as if being pulled up to the surface of the
water.
And... I was fully
awake.
That's right, I... was
attacked by men in black a little while ago--.
"--!!"
I quickly stood up
while applying heal to my abdomen.
Remembering what had
happened, I immediately prepared to release light magic.
But the men in black
who attacked me were nowhere to be seen.
I looked around, but
there was no one in sight.
Not even
Hijirikawa-kun or Mitsukawa-kun--.
(Where in the world is
this...?)
Looking around, the
scenery was--not that different from what it had been a little while ago.
The stench of rot that
always permeated the dim, stone-paved labyrinth... apparently, I'm still in the
[Knight's Holy Remains].
I looked around to see
if there were any clues.
Then, I saw an
unfamiliar pattern engraved at my feet.
(This is... a magic
circle?)
A magic circle is,
simply put, a symbol for activating magical effects.
Apparently, it's a
technology that allows people without mana or magical aptitude to use magic-like
effects... but I've only been taught basic things because it's already
obsolete.
If I had known this
would happen, I would have listened more carefully.
The magic circle had
already lost its effect and was no longer emitting light.
I tried pouring magic
power into it, but it didn't move.
I think I was probably
transferred with this.
If it doesn't move...
does that mean it's for receiving only, and I can't go back?
I was a little
concerned, but I pulled myself together, realizing that this wasn't the time
for that.
I'll put aside the
questions about the mechanism of this magic circle, which I don't seem to
understand, and the identity of the attackers for later.
What I have to think
about now is--how to survive this situation.
It's almost certain
that this is the [Knight's Holy Remains].
And, judging from the
fact that I've been sent here... probably somewhere below the sixth floor,
which is barely mapped out.
Should I go up to ask
for help, or should I stay here and wait for help to come?
Which would be
better... but my thoughts were scattered in an instant.
(--What, what is
this...)
I almost lost
consciousness for a moment from the sheer cold.
I felt as if my breath
had turned white.
My teeth clenched and
clattered from the shivering coming from the core of my body.
Of course, the
temperature didn't suddenly drop.
It's just that a
monster is coming from the other side.
It's said that humans
have a sensor for life-threatening danger that remains from their time in the
wild.
My body was ringing
alarm bells, as if all five senses weren't enough.
"Oooooo..."
I hear a terrifying
cry of a ghost, as if it had welled up from the depths of the underworld.
I've heard the cries
of non-humans many times in the [Knight's Holy Remains].
But the voice coming from
the darkness ahead, which I can't even see, was literally in a different league
from all of them.
My body had been cold
from the core until a little while ago, but now cold sweat was gushing out from
all over my body.
I whipped my clearly
abnormal body and activated magic.
"--!
Sanctuary!"
Half-consciously, I
activated the holy barrier that repels all evil.
I've used it so many
times since coming to this dungeon that my body now moves on its own to
activate it, and I've never been more grateful to God for that.
"Oooooo..."
I hear the clattering
sound of something hard rubbing together.
Forgetting to wipe the
sweat off my face, I stared in the direction of the sound, and... a monster
came out from there.
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