Chapter 65
What the
Mirror Shows
Translator : PolterGlast
The Mirror of
Foresight... it was different from what I had expected.
The Tale of the Land
of Five Leaves had multiple routes, so only one route was ever presented at a
time, but you'd get a vague glimpse of where to go next, and it was up to the
player to deduce, "Ah~ this place... where is it~... Ah, I see! The tool
shop in the capital of Kasei, right!?" and proceed with the events.
What I just saw felt
less like foresight and more like I had peeked into something I shouldn't have.
I felt a sense of guilt. Yuko probably never imagined anyone else would be
watching...
"The Saint is
summoned from another world... in that case, what we heard earlier was one of
the languages of another world!"
Veda's monocle
gleamed. He was getting closer to the truth, but he seemed to realize that
wasn't the main issue. He cleared his throat to cover it up and informed us,
"The fact that the Saint has been summoned to Cloudy Country is
information I myself obtained from the 'root'."
"The four
leaves... the countries of this world, each have their own distinct climate.
Soleil suppresses the heat with magic tools, but in the past, even within
similar climates, there were certain seasons. However, those have been
diminishing year by year. Along with that, the number of demon sightings,
though gradually, is increasing. Combined with the fear of demons possessing
powerful skills, an unfounded notion that demons are destroying the world is
being ingrained in people."
Especially in Cloudy
Country, with churches in various locations regularly teaching that demons are
evil, that perception was strong. Since entering Kasei, we had been living
comfortably thanks to the water membrane covering the entire capital, so I was
almost forgetting, but outside, the sun was scorching, and now that the sun had
set, perhaps the output of the magic tools was being reduced, making it feel
sticky and sweaty. It was a difficult place for humans to live without magic
tools. The climate and story might be better than the hardest mode, Hail Land,
though.
"The Saint has
long been said to be the guide of the World Tree, saving this world, so many
citizens probably have high expectations for change. But well, as you could
probably tell from earlier, her reputation doesn't seem to be very good."
"U-uh,
yeah..."
Exactly as he said, if
Yuko continued to laze around like that, the world would perish. The World Tree
supporting this country would collapse. The extreme changes in the climates of
each country were a sign of that. That's why the Saint's prayers were needed to
revitalize the roots of the World Tree. She was clearly a seasoned player, so
she should have known that. The prayer skill also changed depending on the
faith points obtained from the citizens.
Of course, I couldn't
force Yuko to fulfill her role, so all I could do was mumble and furrow my
brow.
"If that was the
Mirror of Foresight, does that mean what we just saw was about the
future?"
"Um... yeah, I
guess so?"
Probably. But since it
was different from the mirror in the game, I could only give a vague answer.
Listening to Lotus's question to me, Veda stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"In that case,
let us send a message tied to a branch to Cloudy Country. The country of Soleil
accepts many international students and immigrants from other leaves, so rumors
spread here faster than in other leaves. Therefore, they shouldn't find it
strange, and originally, the summoning of the Saint should be an event shared
by all leaves."
Tying a message to a
branch, in other words, sending a letter, was explained in the game as an
application of the shortcut system. Basically, it was the same as email. There
was a mailbox-like item on the status screen, and the target characters and
sub-characters would occasionally send emails. Since you could only choose
three party members including Yuko, the remaining two would automatically
return to their own countries. From there, they would send emails like,
"Hey Yuko, what are you up to?" or "I miss you since you're not
here." There were also sub-event related requests.
The email system,
which reminded you not to forget about the characters who weren't in your party
and even increased your favorability a little if you replied, was strange
because even the characters in the same party would somehow send letters. I
always wondered if they were corresponding at close range while traveling. Just
talk!
Even if they reported
something like, 『Dinner tonight was
delicious curry. But thinking that you are under this sky makes my heart ache,
and my hand holding the spoon feels heavy,』 I'd think, "Didn't we just eat the same thing in
front of each other?" or "How lovesick can you be?" It felt like
the limitations of the system... I looked into the distance.
Maybe that was
originally something exchanged between countries, not just with Yuko. When
things that hinted at the game's system occasionally appeared like this, it
gave me a strange feeling.
"For now, I
intend to observe quietly, but judging from that, no matter how much time
passes, it will probably be the same. In that case, it's better to act while
the damage is still shallow. If rumors are spreading to other leaves, they
might put a little more effort into it."
"Of course, the
final decision will be made by the Main Tower, not me," he said as the
Vice-Tower Master. Soleil revolved around the Magic Tower, so the Main Tower
was practically the king.
I felt a little
relieved, though it was bad for Yuko, and nodded dully. If she ended up on the
path of a servant of the gods because she skipped leveling up, it would be
terrible for her. She wouldn't be able to return to her original world.
"...Hey, how long
are you going to hold that water?"
Socius, who had been
waiting quietly while Veda and I talked, asked a question. In my hands was a
large leaf, still full of water. "Ah, oh, this? Just a moment. Lotus,
could you get a bottle from my bag?" I always kept a few bottles in my
pouch to store the water that Ichi and the others produced. This water would
tell us about future developments, so I had to be careful with it.
Just as I nodded to
Lotus and we were about to carefully tilt the leaf so as not to spill the
water, the water in my hands quietly bubbled. Was there something else?
Surprised, I blinked, and the surrounding scenery engulfed me. (...Eh!?) No
sound came out. My viewpoint suddenly rose, and in the fluttering wind, amidst
the spreading overcast sky, I was standing.
A man was sitting on
top of collapsed rubble. His long silver hair slowly swayed in the wind. He had
the same all-resigned look in his eyes as when I had seen him before. The
red-eyed demon I had met at the church in Velvect.
The man was sitting
quietly in that place. His face was lifeless, and he was looking somewhere far
away. "I hate it," my mouth uttered the words on its own. I was
surprised, as I had no intention of saying such a thing. Hateful emotions
welled up from within me. I slammed my high heel hard onto the rubble. Even
knowing my actions, the man looked up at me slowly with flat, emotionless eyes,
without any surprise. What an unpleasant face.
"--It makes my
skin crawl. It makes me want to vomit."
Had I ever slammed my
emotions into someone like this before? Wild, heavy, violent emotions raged
within my chest. It was me, yet not me. I was scared.
But no matter how many
words were hurled at him, the man just looked up at me with emotionless eyes.
My figure was reflected in those eyes. Eldorado. The villain of the game, the
most terrifying witch, popular only for her character design, but hated in the
story. She was in her adult form, burning with fierce flames as if giving in to
rage. A woman like a mass of energy. "Scary," I thought, closing the
eyes within my heart.
Then, I was standing
alone in pitch-black darkness. I couldn't see anything to my right or left. I
shouted. I couldn't even hear my own voice.
"El!" When
my shoulder was tapped, water splashed from the leaf I was holding. "U-uh,
wa!" I couldn't let it spill out, so I nervously raised it high, inhaled,
and exhaled. This was the Magic Tower. It couldn't be Cloudy Country, and that
silver-haired man couldn't possibly be in front of me.
"That
silver-haired man from before, he was a demon, right...?"
It seemed Socius was
the one who had called out to me. I wondered if Socius had seen the same scene,
but he was staring intently at my hands. Apparently, the others besides me had
seen a scene reflected in the water, just like with Yuko earlier.
It felt like the place
I was standing had suddenly changed, making my head spin. I had thought the
Mirror of Foresight was a magic tool that could only know the future of Yuko,
the heroine, but perhaps it could know the future of the user. In the game, no
one other than Yuko had ever used it, so I didn't know.
"Was that... my
future...? But do I even know difficult words like 'it makes my skin crawl'...
I do know it, but it's not really imprinted in my brain for everyday
conversation, or rather, it definitely wouldn't come out so easily."
"...Doesn't that
make you feel empty when you say it?"
I was the type to
voice my doubts. I explained to Veda and Socius that the feeling was different
from when I had been watching Yuko's scene, and that the demon reflected had
been someone I had met only once. Probably, most likely, someone I had to run
away from. Lotus just furrowed his brow deeply and had a strange expression.
Or rather, Lotus
always had a scary face, and even if he looked angry at first glance, I knew
there was a discrepancy with his thoughts, like he was actually thinking about
tonight's dinner. But this time was different. He truly had a scary face.
It wasn't that he was
angry. Yet, the sensation that made me shiver could only be described as
intimidation. He looked like he was desperately suppressing emotions that he
couldn't even control himself.
"...El, that man
from before, he's the demon you met at the church in Cloudy, correct? There's
no mistaking it, right?"
"Eh, u-uh. That's
right."
It was three years
ago, but I remembered that man's eyes. Still, it was unusual for him to confirm
it so emphatically. Wondering what was wrong, I looked up at him, and Lotus
stared intently at his own fist. Then, noticing our gazes, he looked away as if
in slight conflict and closed his eyes.
But perhaps he thought
there was no point in hiding it.
"I know this
guy."
Unable to swallow the
words I had just heard, a small voice escaped my lips several seconds later.
"...Eh?"
Lotus continued.
"His name is
Vejasha. Everyone around him called him Veja. He's my childhood friend, who I
thought was dead. There's no mistake."
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