Chapter 64
Mirror of Foresight!
Translator : PolterGlast
Lotus's thoughts were
a mystery. Probably, he wasn't thinking anything in particular, or if he was,
it was along the lines of, "So what if Veda thinks I'm a guy who loves
bodycon? Doesn't bother me in the slightest." How scary.
It turned out they
were all surprisingly hopeless. No, in this case, I think it was the result of
mixing in too many irregular elements of an otome game. After all, Veda in the
main story was the smart guy type, always adjusting his monocle. But in
reality, he was a smug guy type who happily exclaimed, "In any case, as I
thought, that's how it is!" with a pleased look on his face.
People can seem one
way when you only see one side of them, but when you flip it over and look at
the other side, you might think, "Huh? Were they this kind of
person?" Lotus, too, was portrayed as a cool guy, but in reality, he was a
messy-haired handsome guy who went his own way at his own pace.
It's impossible to
fully depict a real person within a game.
Watching Veda's smug
face and feeling sorry for Socius's awkwardness, I continued the conversation.
Also, since there was no longer any reason to be in my adult El form, I
cancelled the illusion skill. Yay! It was much easier to move with a smaller
body, so I felt very at ease. This was my main body.
"Nice to meet you
in that form," Veda said, "You're surprisingly small, aren't
you?" "Well, I've grown since before," I replied, and we got
back to the main topic.
"Anyway, where
exactly is this Mirror of Foresight you speak of?"
At Veda's question,
everyone fell silent and looked at me. "Buried in the ground, maybe?"
Socius pointed downwards. It was too vast to dig here like a treasure hunt, and
we had no clue where to start. "If only we had a shovel... but we have
magic tools! We can help with anything~~!" voices chirped excitedly, but I
waved my hand.
"It's not
underground."
Then, everyone looked
up at the sky. But of course, it wasn't there either. There was no mirror
anywhere. No, in reality, it was just called a mirror, but it was something
completely different.
"It's right in
front of you. The leaves of that World Tree. That's the Mirror of
Foresight."
***
The Mirror of
Foresight was also called the Mirror of Blooming Visions. I asked Lotus to get
a leaf from the top of the large, lush tree. It was larger than both of my
hands put together, a magnificent leaf with clearly visible veins. When I
gently placed it in my hands, everyone peered at it curiously.
"The largest leaf
at the very top of the World Tree, the one that has drunk in a lot of
moonlight, grows very, very large over time."
To be precise, the
tree here wasn't the World Tree itself, but merely a fragment of it. The roots
of the tree were connected endlessly, extending to other leaves, in other
words, other countries. Plucking a magnificently grown leaf felt a little
guilty, but looking at it now, even separated from the tree, the leaf was firm
and full of life.
"...It just looks
like a slightly large, ordinary leaf."
"Shhh!"
I stopped Socius's
impatient words as if cutting them off. Slowly, water overflowed and spilled
out from the surface of the leaf as if bubbles were rising. I secretly exhaled
a sigh of relief, making sure no one noticed. Even though I thought it would
work, seeing it actually happen put me at ease.
"...This is the
life force of the World Tree."
As expected of Veda.
He seemed to sense something. My hands were already full of water. It had just
welled up from the surface of the leaf, and looking at it, it was just water.
But in that water, a shadow flickered. It was a girl I didn't recognize. She
had brownish hair, an ordinary girl who could be found anywhere.
『Ugh, what the heck is this!?』
Along with the voice I
heard, the girl's mouth in the water also moved. A man with a troubled frown,
calling her "Yuko-sama," was also someone I didn't know.
(So, the heroine had
already been summoned to this world after all...)
Because there was an
irregularity like me, I had thought there was a possibility.
However, the image of
Yuko I had in my mind and her appearance reflected in the leaf didn't match at
all. She also looked different from her face in the game. But in the game, she
was displayed in illustrations. It couldn't be helped that it didn't click.
Also, the name Yuko was the default name, and players could freely set their
preferred name. Which meant the heroine wasn't a fixed entity in this world.
So, it was possible that her face would be different.
However, the lines
prepared in the game were fixed, and even with choices, her personality didn't
change that much. The sight of her sprawled on the sofa in the water of my
palms, loudly exclaiming, 『Why do I have to be treated like this!?』 was too far removed from the impression of a saint.
(Well, the people on
this side are the ones who are calling her a saint...)
The game had glossed
over that part, but if she had suddenly been summoned from another world, she
should also be a victim. There were many things to consider, but for now, I
decided to just watch.
『They should just let me use the Branch of the World
Tree already! Why won't they let me use it...!?』
"Uoooooh!"
Yuko rolled around on the sofa from right to left. She was quite free-spirited.
Or rather, did she just say "Branch of the World Tree"?
『You are not yet the Saint... Therefore, you cannot use
the Branch of the World Tree of Cloudy Country.』
『I am the Saint, right!? I'm the one and only Saint
Yuko, right!? Besides, you just called me Saint a second agoooo!』
This heroine had quite
a high energy level, I thought, unable to see it as someone else's problem, and
I stared intently. Yuko had been summoned to the country we were in. Currently,
Lotus, her destined knight, wasn't in Cloudy Country. So, even though I thought
it was the least likely scenario...
The kind-looking young
man standing next to her must be someone serving Yuko in place of Lotus.
『That is... because the Saint-sama has not yet
completed the Saint's ritual.』
『But in the game, an anime plays automatically, and I
just watch it. In the second playthrough, it's an event you can just skip, so
why do I have to learn etiquette and the history of this country!? Since I'll
be the strongest if I just have the Mirror of Foresight, I'm telling you to
take me to Soleil alreadyyyy!!』
『Saint-sama. To become a Saint, you must be recognized
by the gods. To that end, you must acquire much knowledge.』
『Gods are nothing but cats!! If they're in human form,
they're hot guys thoughーー!!』
『Cats...?』
The hot guy looked
bewildered. More importantly, Yuko clearly said "game." Veda and
Socius had expressions that said, "Women from other worlds say strange
things," but Lotus and I were different. We exchanged glances and nodded.
Yuko knew this world was a game. I didn't know if she was a reincarnated person
like me or someone who had been transferred from another world, but she was
definitely a player of the Tale of the Land of Five Leaves.
As Yuko stomped her
feet, demanding to use the branch, the hot guy frowned deeply, looking
troubled. "...Priest Nabari?" "You know him?" Lotus nodded.
"I don't know him
personally. But I heard a little while before we left the city that a young
priest had received an unprecedented promotion to Holy Priest at the church.
That was three years ago, so he might be in a slightly higher position now."
"Ooooh..."
So, instead of Lotus,
an important person from the church was attending to the Saint. I felt a little
sorry for him, desperately trying to follow Yuko's mysterious vocabulary.
『Ugh, fine, I get it! Then I won't use the Branch of
the World Tree anymore! But I don't have time for studyingーーー!』
She had gone full
circle. Well, was that okay? Priest Nabari's face twitched, 『E-eh!?』 He had the air of someone who had gone through a lot.
『Then for my second request! How is the search for
Eldorado going!?』
Next, it was Socius
who tilted his head and looked at me. My real name was Eldorado, but I had
originally been called El in the village, and having resolved not to become the
villain, I had abandoned the name Eldorado. El? No way... eh? What's going on?
Socius's gaze seemed to say, but I casually ignored it. More than that, I was
much more concerned about why Yuko was looking for me.
『...A blonde woman in outlandish clothes, you say?』
『Not outlandish clothes, slutty clothes!』
『My apologies, but the whereabouts of the demon known
as Eldorado are still under investigation.』
Priest Nabari
gracefully ignored the word "slutty."
『No, it was about three years ago, but there were
several eyewitness accounts of seeing such a demon... however, it seems the
investigation hasn't progressed much.』
『Wh-why!? Did you tell them exactly, without missing a
single word, that the Saint-sama will beat the crap out of that demon, so tell
me!?』
『...It seems they did convey that.』
Rather, wasn't that
the problem? Nabari murmured, but Yuko was too heated up to hear it.
『When the demon was sighted, there was an incident
where a part of the city was destroyed. The cause is still unknown.』
『Eldorado is obviously the culprit!』
『However, despite the scale of the destruction, there
were no casualties, and the number of injured was extremely low.』
『...So?』
『We saw her. But why such a thing happened, no one,
nothing is known. Even if we try to investigate, it was three years ago, so
there are limits.』
"This is a bad
way to investigate. They should have just said they were looking for a blonde
female demon. Using words like 'beat the crap out of' will make many citizens
clam up. There are at least some people who are convinced that El's actions
were not malicious, feelings that are buried deep in their hearts. People tend
to run away from too much pressure. This man Nabari probably realizes
that."
Veda looked into my
palms and let out a sigh of exasperation. Unable to say anything, I just stared
at my hands.
『Crapーーー! If studying is no good, I thought I'd just defeat Eldorado and force
the story to progressーーー! Come and attack meーーー!』
"............"
As expected, I was at
a loss for words. I couldn't help but think it was good I had left Cloudy
Country, and even if I had stayed, I had absolutely zero intention of attacking
Yuko, so either way, I wouldn't have been able to meet her expectations. I was
terribly sorry.
『My level is still ridiculously low though! But I know
all of Eldorado's weaknesses thanks to a cheat, so all that's left is to
fight... even though my guardian knight Lotus isn't here, arrrgh!!』
Yuko clutched her head
in anguish. By the way, what are my weaknesses? This was the first I had heard
of them. No matter how much I thought about it, I was full of weaknesses
though...?
『Aaaaaah, the Tale of the Land of Five Leaves has many
characters who join midway through, so the experience point system is special,
and if you use the hunting grounds, your level goes up in an instant, so if you
just defeat a strong enemy, your level and your faith points towards the Saint
will skyrocket, and if your points go up, you can make orders to the gods and
use all sorts of benefits, and in the extra mode with the second playthrough
bonuses, you can unlock hidden routes and hidden characters, and it's the
beginning of a hot guy harem paradise, but first! I can't even! Leave! The
castle!?』
This was kind of bad.
Or rather, Yuko was definitely a hardcore player. Casual players like me who
just played vaguely weren't in her league. Was that the difference between the
heroine and the villain?
Yuko's voice, shouting
"Aaaargh!", echoed and gradually faded. The scene that had been
shining and reflected in the water also gradually receded. A quiet silence
fell. It was quite long. No one could say anything. Finally, Veda was the first
to speak.
"...What was she
saying just now? There were some words I recognized, but I couldn't understand
at all. It doesn't seem like the same language. Perhaps she was using some
other magical language."
He put his hand to his
mouth, and pure contemplation began. Why was it? I was the one who felt the
pain instead.
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