Chapter 42
The Necklace
is Swaying
Translator : PolterGlast
"If you're not a
student, then say so, dammitーーーー!?"
"I told you many
times."
Leaning out from the
hole in the wall, the gatekeeper slapped Lotus' shoulder repeatedly. However,
Lotus, with a deep furrow in his brow, remained motionless, still looking
displeased. But he wasn't angry. He probably just had a troubled look on his
face, wondering what to do.
I understood, so it
was fine, but to smooth over the awkward atmosphere with the gatekeeper, Ichi
and the others, who had popped out just now, were dancing and hopping around
Lotus. Of course, they were invisible to anyone but Lotus and me. But somehow,
the mood seemed to heat up. Or so I thought. Hey hey.
"Well, things
like this happen sometimes!"
The gatekeeper, who
had looked dejected, recovered in an instant. It probably had nothing to do
with Ichi and the others' dancing. He was probably just that kind of person.
"Well then, enjoy your sightseeing! Please, please get to know the good
points of Kasei and tell others, and come again!" He even took out a
handkerchief. What a cheerful guy.
With an indescribable
feeling, Lotus and I passed through the "wall." Fuyon, the
"membrane" swayed. "Ooh." I knew about it as a system. But
actually experiencing it, the sensation of passing through was strange, and I
looked at my own hands. Then, in an instant, the sounds of the city echoed
around us. They must have been resonating within the membrane. In stark
contrast to the silence just moments before, the kin-kon-kan-kan of hammering
and even angry voices flew overhead, and the place was simply overflowing with
energy.
Looking up, I saw a
large membrane of water covering the entire city. Long ladders stretched
horizontally and vertically across the dome-shaped membrane, and various people
were managing the "wall."
The sweat that had
been endlessly pouring down when I was walking outside the city was now cool,
and the environment was comfortable thanks to the water membrane. This was one
of the "magic tools" possessed only by Soleil among the four
countries. In the game, in addition to the different climates of each country,
there were also subtle differences in culture and background. If Cloudy Country
was a European-style city that Japanese people imagine, Leyshan was a Japanese-style
fantasy, and here, Soleil strongly featured the characteristics of a world of
swords and magic.
However, in this
entire world, with the exception of special unique skills, ordinary people
could not use magic. But what made up for that in a fantastical way were magic
tools. In the past, when the World Tree was still a sapling and the blessings
of the gods were strong, the tools left behind from that era were inherited as
technology. Even if they couldn't create new magic tools or regenerate broken ones,
they could maintain and use them for a longer time.
Therefore, Kasei, with
its schools as the main focus, encouraged the inheritance of technology. To
attract more people compatible with magic tools, they welcomed guests from
other countries, and people from other countries wanted to take knowledge back
to their own lands. The technology to handle magic tools was a highly coveted
skill. I wanted to say it was a win-win situation, but there was, of course, a
reason why only Soleil had these magic tools left. For some reason, they
couldn't be used in the other leaf-countries. It was a country with plenty of
yoyuu shakushaku (余裕綽々), which means having
ample composure and self-confidence), leisurely welcoming other countries who
were trying hard to somehow steal their knowledge. --Whether it was shrewd or
something else.
I knew about this from
the game's knowledge, but I was honestly a little freaked out by the
greater-than-imagined "come here" attitude. Having repeated days of
being chased and escaping, being on the receiving end of such welcoming
behavior made me fidgety and lightheaded. My legs were already staggering.
"A-ah, Aaaah, ah,
Aaaah...!!"
"El, just calm
down and choose whether to walk on the right or the left."
"Lotus, I'm being
welcomed... it's scary...!"
"Too bad for
you..."
It was probably the
fate of a demon. Well, Lotus was one too, but only half. The other half was
human.
The street stalls
lining the entrance of the city must have known this, because their
"welcome, welcome" was intense. The abnormally low prices of the
grilled skewers were probably a strategy to boost their popularity. My cheeks
were already bulging with them in both hands, and I couldn't stop munching.
"Lotus, I, I, I'm so happy...!" "...Good for you. Eat some
more." "Ossu!!!!!" Sorry for being so easily swayed.
Of course, for Ichi
and the others, it was "Here you go, here you go, meat, meat!" and we
held a meat festival at the edge of the plaza. They could eat anything, but of
course, eating together with everyone made it about five times more delicious.
It was the best.
Sitting on a log, I
fully felt the cool climate on my skin and looked up at the
"ceiling." I had thought it was a dome of water membrane, but upon
closer inspection, lantern-like objects were hanging down at regular intervals.
Those must be the magic tools. They were transforming ordinary water into magic
through the lanterns. However, it seemed that fine adjustments were necessary,
and craftsmen-like people were constantly checking their condition.
Without those, with
this heat, we would have turned into boiled octopus a long time ago, and they
probably also served as a monster repellent.
"...I heard in
the carriage that that membrane doesn't let criminals through."
"Fan-zai-fa?"
(Criminal?)
Since my mouth was
full of meat on a skewer, please pretend not to notice my slightly strange
pronunciation. I swallowed and asked again, "Criminals?"
"Yeah," Lotus nodded, concealing his red eyes and keeping his
blackish-purple eyes as they were now.
"The 'lanterns'
installed in the city of Kasei also serve as lights to illuminate the city.
Besides blocking the overly hot sunlight, they also don't let malice through.
If you commit a crime like killing someone, you won't be able to enter the
city. That's why no one does bad things. They readily gave us a ride in the
carriage because we looked troubled. I now understand why their lack of caution
felt suspicious."
"Haa... I
see."
Indeed, we looked too
suspicious back then. If I were in their shoes, I wouldn't want to ride in the
same carriage.
"Still, that's
common sense in this country, and we, who came from another leaf-country,
wouldn't know about it. There's no point in using something we don't know as a
reason. That's probably why he went to the trouble of explaining it to us. If
you do bad things, you won't be able to go anywhere in this country."
In other words, we
were firmly warned. But since he kindly helped us, I still had to be grateful
in the end. I would have to thank him again if we met.
"Criminals,
huh... Hmm, the game didn't have such detailed descriptions... Ah, come to
think of it, there might have been an explanation that it also served to
prevent intruders."
"Well, it's
impossible to represent this entire world in some 'otome game' or whatever."
"...Indeed."
It may sound cheesy to
say that this world is not a game, but it's true. After all, this meat I'm
eating is delicious, and it's hard to explain the rhythmic bouncing of the
three Ichi and the others at my feet. The temperature of the wind gently
stroking my cheek, the warm, stirring feeling I got from seeing Lotus sitting
next to me, occasionally looking over and smiling just a little—by the time I
thought that far, my face had turned hot and I looked away.
"...Hmm?"
By the way, there was
a sentence I was curious about earlier. It doesn't let criminals through. If
you do bad things, you won't be able to go anywhere in this country. I see,
it's a very reassuring system. But we were, after all, "(We're demons
though...!?)" I couldn't shout that out loud, so I looked at Lotus and
moved my mouth silently. From a human perspective, just being alive was enough
to make us enemies. "Yeah," Lotus nodded.
"Good for us.
We're not criminals. I figured we'd be okay since we haven't killed anyone, but
in the worst case, I thought I could just carry you and run."
"Well, yeah,
Lotus can escape no matter what, but I wish you had told me beforehand!"
"If I had, we
would have looked even more suspicious and been suspected."
"I guess you're
right... !?"
Lotus's judgment was
correct. I understood why he had said, "We'll figure something out,"
before entering the town, a line that wasn't very Lotus-like. I thought it was
strange. Leaving aside the fact that he seemed to have been vaguely glossing things
over, in this world, demons weren't necessarily evil. Of course, people's
emotions weren't involved in that judgment. Conversely, that meant the
silver-haired demon's attack wouldn't be prevented by the dome's membrane. It
would be different if he had killed someone even once, but we had somehow
managed to twist the tragedy in Cloudy Country.
But since he had
destroyed the town, it was unclear to what extent his evil deeds would be
judged as criminal. However, this was such a massive magic tool. It would
probably be very difficult to precisely specify and repel individuals.
Well, anyway, I was
glad we were able to enter the town, and with that thought, I looked around
again.
The townscape was
completely different from Cloudy Country and Leyshan. Since people came from
various places, it had a mixed atmosphere with many street stalls. The huge,
long tower in the center of the city, large enough to support the dome, was
probably a school. Perhaps because it had been repeatedly rebuilt each time it
became too small, it had a strange, tacked-on impression. Even so, the way it
stood crookedly without falling was rather impressive.
"...So, are we
likely to be found?"
"Hmm, I wonder. I
can't just say I don't know. That's what we came to this country for."
I thrust the finished
skewer in front of me while nodding strongly. Break time was over. I stood up
from the log and walked through the town. The sun I looked up at was so bright
that I couldn't help but squint. "Ugh." Even though I should have
seen it many times in my memories from Japan, the sunlight might not be very
compatible with Eldorado's too-white skin. Even though it should have been a
comfortable temperature thanks to the membrane's magic tool, I noticed I had
shrunk. It was so dazzling that it felt like my skin was being relentlessly
scorched. No, no. "I'm going to put some spirit into it!" I clenched
my fist.
--First, I had to
achieve my goal. That's why we all came to this country.
"The magic tool
that sees everything, the 'Mirror of Foresight.' I'll definitely find it!"
I huffed out a breath.
Words are important.
Just saying them like this made my motivation swell up. While I was thinking
that, Lotus was striding ahead. No way.
"Haaaa, wait,
wait, wait, ah, I tripped... but I bounced! The ground was so soft!"
I was a woman who was
busy to the point of being pathetic, even to myself. With the help of Ichi and
the others, who were saying, "El, we'll secure you, secure you, we'll make
you bounce," I bounced around, and Lotus, noticing my voice, hurriedly
came back. Then, we walked together this time. Lotus' stride was actually much
bigger, but he was walking slowly to match mine. That made me happy and
ticklish, and the corners of my mouth couldn't help but loosen.
"Lotus... is it
okay if I hold your hand...?"
"I don't really
mind, but it feels strangely like I'm running an errand."
For now, it probably
just looked like we were holding hands so I wouldn't get lost. My hand size and
height were still far from enough. I tightly gripped Lotus' hard palm and
thought. But a little while longer. --Just a few more years.
For that, I had to
properly finish this story.
The story of the
Five-Leaf Country.
***
There was a boy.
In the bustling city,
he walked with several books in his arms, the hem of his black robe dragging on
the ground. He looked to be in his mid-teens, with a slender build that was
even apparent under his robe. The boy blinked his blue eyes and looked back.
"...El?"
Was it just my
imagination that I heard a familiar voice? There was no way she would be here.
It was the name of a childhood friend I had parted with long ago.
"Hey, Socius,
what's wrong?"
"Didn't you just
say 'wait'?"
"Who did? Man,
this robe is really heavy and hot, I can't stand it. It's okay since we're in
the city, but if it were this black outside, I'd die."
"It's probably
telling students not to go outside. A bad habit called technological
enclosure."
"You really just
blurt out things you shouldn't say, don't you..."
He deliberately didn't
reply to his exasperated comrade. Rather than worry about that, he readjusted
the books in my arms and headed towards the tower. On the chest of his
pitch-black robe, though it wasn't visible from the outside, a moon-colored
stone swayed.
It was a necklace he
had bought as a matching set, a childish memory he couldn't bring himself to
discard.
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