Chapter 44

“I think it’s about time for me to head back.”

As the sun dipped below the horizon and night took over, Alti made it clear she was out of time. At that, Lastiara puffed out her cheeks in a pout.

“Ehh? Let’s play some more!”

“No, no. I have to show my face at the Academy for classes tomorrow. I can’t stay out playing forever.”

Alti replied apologetically to Lastiara. Echoing her sentiment, Maria said the same.

“Ah, I’ll head back too. There isn’t much left for me to do, so I might as well head back with Alti.”

After eating once, Maria hadn’t spent a single coin. Because of that, she had spent most of her time talking to Alti, who was equally frugal. Her desire to go back together was likely because they had bonded during that time.

“Hmph. I shall take responsibility for seeing Maria home. Christ and Lastiara, you two should enjoy yourselves a bit longer.”

Alti offered to see Maria home, and Maria accepted with a smile. It seemed a friendship had blossomed between them while Lastiara and I were making a scene earlier.

After Lastiara grumbled a bit more, Alti and Maria departed without further incident.

Once it was just the two of us, Lastiara spoke up with a grin.

“Now that Maria’s gone, want to cut loose for real?”

“Hmm. No, I’m actually starting to get a bit tired.”

Even if my base stamina was reinforced by my Level, there were limits.

“True. Same here. Shall we just look for some interesting food and have a quiet chat instead?”

“That sounds reasonable. …Right. Actually, if possible, I’d like you to tell me more about this world. I can’t really ask anyone besides you, so this is a good chance.”

“I don’t mind, but… that’s only because you’re sneaking around hiding the fact that you’re an ‘Otherworlder.’ Is there really a need to hide it that much?”

“There’s no precedent. If I’m found out, I have no idea what they’ll do to me, so I have to be cautious. …So please, don’t use that word in a crowd like this.”

Lastiara had no qualms about using the term “Otherworlder” right in the middle of the throng.

In my world’s history, there were things like witch hunts and the persecution of heretics. Even in modern times, if an extraterrestrial lifeform were discovered, the chances of it ending up as a guinea pig are high. Even with my shallow knowledge, I knew being an “Otherworlder” was comparable to being an alien. It was a strong enough possibility to make me hesitate out of fear. So, I pleaded with Lastiara to watch her language.

“You really are a coward, Christ. Fine, I get it. I’ll avoid saying it as much as possible. But I think you should tell Maria sooner rather than later.”

“Tell Maria? Why?”

“What do you mean ‘why’? She’s a ‘companion,’ right? Companions share secrets, don’t they?”

“She is a companion. But that’s a separate issue from this.”

“Heh, hmm… So that’s how it is for you, Christ. Fufu, well, if that’s what you say, then I guess it’s fine.”

Even if she was a “companion,” I wasn’t about to reveal my secret so easily. When I said that, Lastiara nodded several times, looking quite pleased.

Seeing her look so happy made me feel uneasy. Usually, when Lastiara looked that pleased, she was thinking of something that wasn’t exactly great for normal people. I asked her what was on her mind.

“What? Is something wrong?”

“No, no, nothing’s wrong. In fact, it’s good. You’re right—even among ‘companions,’ there’s no need to tell each other everything.”

Something that was “good” to Lastiara. In other words, something “not good” was probably going to happen to me. I’d learned in our short time together that I should avoid anything she enthusiastically recommended as much as possible.

So, I retracted my previous statement.

“…If the opportunity arises, I’ll try talking to Maria. She is a ‘companion,’ after all.”

“Oh, you’re going to tell her? …Well, I guess that’s fine too.”

Lastiara looked a bit disappointed. However, she quickly recovered and her face brightened. Then, she began the conversation I had originally requested—about this world.

“Alright then, let’s talk about this world. Though, even if you ask, it’s hard to know where to start.”

She was right about that. Even if someone asked me to explain my world, I wouldn’t know where to begin immediately.

“No, you don’t have to explain everything at once. I know it’s difficult and I don’t expect to understand everything instantly. Just start with things close to us. For example… you could start with this festival and branch out from there. I can learn about the customs and common sense bit by bit.”

“This festival, huh… That’s easy to talk about. My hands-on experience is shallow, but I have plenty of knowledge.”

Lastiara continued, her words full of sentiment as she looked affectionately at our surroundings.

“This festival is the pre-festival for a certain person’s Nativity. This pre-festival lasts about a week, and on the day of the Nativity, a grand ceremony is held at the Huzya Cathedral. Apparently, the festival is meant to show gratitude to God and attract good fortune through all this commotion.”

“I see. My world has similar things, so I get it. Are there events like this several times a year?”

“Yes. The Allied Kingdom’s state religion—the Levan Faith—has many saints. There are three Nativities alone, and plenty of other festivals to honor God. This one is one of the major Nativities.”

“Huh…”

The customs were different, but the core was similar to my world. Even if the stars and the foundations were different, maybe people ended up thinking the same things as long as they were living.

“This time, it’s the Nativity of Saint Tiara Huzya. She’s the saint said to have constructed the foundations of the magic used on this continent—”

“Wait. I was wondering earlier… isn’t that name a bit too close for comfort?”

I cut her off instinctively. I already had my suspicions about Lastiara’s origins. Hearing that her name was so similar to that saint’s gave me a bad feeling.

“Well, naturally. That Saint Tiara is ‘me,’ after all.”

And Lastiara met that bad feeling head-on.

“Haa…”

Since I had expected it to some extent, I managed to keep the shock in check. Still, it was undoubtedly a massive pain. I let out a sigh and prompted her to continue.

“Of course, I’m not the person herself. She lived hundreds of years ago, after all. It’s just that my body is that of that person (Tiara). My spirit is different, though.”

“Your body is the same…? That alone is terrifying. What is that? Can magic in this world actually do things like that?”

“Yup, it can. It seems that if you invest a massive amount of money, a massive amount of time, and a massive amount of mana, you can create a body identical to that saint’s. Man, human obsession is scary, isn’t it?”

I felt a mix of fear and exasperation. Ultimately, it was the same as cloning technology or cellular manipulation in my world. Even with different civilizations, the places human thought arrived at seemed similar.

“Magic can go that far…? So, for what purpose did they regenerate Saint Tiara’s body? Surely there was an objective, right?”

“Hmm, there are many objectives, of course. But I can’t tell you any more than that. If I did, I’d end up explaining all the mysterious and interesting parts of me.”

Lastiara immediately became stingy once the topic turned to herself. As she’d said before, she seemed to find romance in having her true identity revealed bit by bit.

However, since I’d come this far, I decided to use her own logic against her.

“Hey. Didn’t you say ‘companions’ share secrets with each other?”

“Yes, that’s right. I still think so. So, let’s do this: once Christ properly tells Maria that he’s ‘Kanami,’ I’ll properly tell you about ‘my Tiara’ side.”

“Urgh, you’re playing that card…?”

I had said I’d tell Maria when the time was right, but I hadn’t decided when that would be. I had hoped to delay it as much as possible, so this was a tough trade.

“Fine. But I’ll have to find the right timing, so it might be a while.”

“You could just tell her today. You really are a wimp, Christ.”

“I’m not a wimp! Even if I told her out of the blue, it would only confuse her. Maria is going through a very shocking time right now. She was enslaved, she lost so many things… hearing about my circumstances would only be a burden to her.”

“Fufu. If you say so, Christ, then I guess that’s how it is. Feel free to push back the timing as much as you like.”

As I desperately tried to explain Maria’s situation, Lastiara watched over me with a look of warm amusement.

“Yeah, I’ll do just that. But when the time comes, you’d better tell me your secret, too.”

“Of course.”

Having struck a deal with Lastiara, I spotted a stall selling unusual food. They were nuts fried in an oil that smelled spicy. Since it was something I’d never eaten before, I suggested to Lastiara that we get in line.

We walked along, eating the nuts we bought, and continued our conversation. While she won’t talk about herself, she seems to enjoy discussing history.

“Even if I can’t tell you about ‘the current Tiara,’ I can tell you about ‘the Tiara of old.’ Learning about the great figures of the past is a good way to naturally learn about the world, so it’s perfect.”

“Huh. Was Saint Tiara really such a great person?”

“Beyond great. She built so many of the foundations for this world. After all, she was the one who created the first magic. She also founded Huzya.”

“That’s… incredible.”

“The other saints were amazing too. Most of them moved history by building nations or saving the world.”

“Saving the world… The saints are human, right?”

“They’re human. However, it’s said that saints can hear voices that others can’t. They hear those voices, gain knowledge that doesn’t exist in this world, and bring miracles to the continent. As a result, many people are saved, so it’s only natural that people would want to call them saints and worship them.”

The definition of a saint seems similar to my own world.

However, since I’m not an expert, I don’t clearly remember what a saint was in my world. I just had a vague idea that it was a title given to noble people who met certain conditions.

The condition here seems to be “someone who can hear voices that shouldn’t be heard.”

“Are those voices like the voice of God?”

“No, what they hear is the voice of the giant tree growing in the center of the continent… I think. It’s called the World Tree, Yggdrasil, and saints supposedly hear voices from that tree. —Actually, you and I might be able to hear it too, Christ. We’re both quite ‘out there,’ after all.”

Certainly, given our special circumstances, it wouldn’t be strange if we could hear it. I found myself wanting to try it if given the chance. If knowledge can be gained from those voices, it’s well worth a try.

“Hey, where is this World Tree?”

“It’s far. Despite everything, the Allied Nations is on the frontier of the continent. It’s located deep within the Huzya heartland in the center of the mainland, so it would take dozens of days to get there.”

If I recall the knowledge I gained from the library, the Huzya heartland is across the sea and quite a distance away. It would require a journey of many days.

By the way, the home countries of the five nations belonging to this Allied Nations are all far away. Since they are all major powers, they wouldn’t place their capitals at the edge of the continent. Essentially, the condition for participating in the Allied Nations is that it doesn’t hurt them to establish a satellite nation in such a remote area.

“That’s a shame. If it were closer, I would have tried to listen to the voice and get some miraculous power.”

“True. If it were me, I might have gained knowledge that serves as the basis for all magic, just like Saint Tiara did.”

Both Lastiara and I slumped our shoulders.

I was halfway joking, but Lastiara looked as if she was speaking on the assumption that she really could hear the voice.

Lastiara’s dejection was brief, and she quickly looked up to continue. As always, she recovers fast. Her emotional instability is enough to make anyone nervous.

“Since we talked about Saint Tiara, next I’ll talk about the nine attributes of magic she created. Getting familiar with magic is important for us, since we make a living through fighting.”

“That’s helpful for me since I use magic mostly by instinct. There was no magic where I came from.”

While magic existed in games and such back home, learning its actual history here feels fresh. However, hearing that made Lastiara’s eyes sparkle strangely.

“—Wait, there’s no magic at all? In your place, Christ?”

“Yeah. No magic, no monsters.”

“Amazing! I actually want to hear about your world instead!”

“Wait, I wanted you to teach me about magic—”

“Your world sounds way more interesting!”

I wanted to hear more about magic, but Lastiara’s interest shifted completely toward my world, leaving me at a loss. It’s exhausting trying to persuade her once she’s like this.

Left with no choice, I began talking about science, which serves as the equivalent of magic in my world. After talking about science to some extent, I moved on to stories of heroes from my world.

Lastiara seemed to prefer the hero stories and listened happily to the epics. When the listener is having fun, it makes the storyteller enjoy it too. I got carried away and kept talking about the history of my world to her.

By the time I finished telling over ten heroic epics and we had eaten at just as many stalls, we finally returned home. Needless to say, we never got around to talking about the nine attributes of magic.

Once we reached the house, everyone must have been exhausted; Maria and Lastiara went to sleep immediately. All of us, myself included, were satisfied with the festival, falling asleep with smiles on our faces—

The morning after enjoying the festival.

While we were having breakfast in the living room, Maria approached me with a look of firm determination, asking to accompany us to the Labyrinth.

“Please let me go to the Labyrinth as well…!!”

“W-wait, what? We agreed that you would stay home and prepare the meals, right?”

I was bewildered.

After much discussion, Maria’s role had finally settled down. It was unexpected for her to try and involve herself with the Labyrinth again.

“J-just for a little bit is fine. Please let me try. I’ve become stronger over these last two days…”

“Stronger?”

Does that mean she was training in places I couldn’t see? That would mean Maria hadn’t given up on exploring the Labyrinth after all.

As always, I can’t tell what Maria is thinking. Even if a woman’s heart is as fickle as autumn weather, these changes are so fast I can’t keep up at all.

As I was racking my brains, Lastiara whispered from behind me.

“Christ, look at Maria’s Skills—”

I used Focus as she suggested.

“F-Flame Magic…?”

Flame Magic 1.00 had been added to Maria’s skills. It was a skill that wasn’t there just a short while ago.

I was deeply shocked by this fact.

I’ve seen the skills of many people in this world, but I’ve never seen a human gain a new skill like this. From what I’ve heard, gaining a new skill is a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, if it happens at all. Given that there is a column for “Acquired Skills,” I knew it wasn’t impossible, but I never imagined Maria would gain one in just a few days.

While I stood there with my mouth open in surprise, Maria sensed my shock and began talking about the Flame Magic.

“Ah, Master, you can see them, can’t you… That’s right. I was taught Flame Magic and I’ve been practicing it ever since…”

“Taught…? By who?”

“Yes, Alti taught me.”

“That girl did?”

With that answer, the questions in my mind began to dissolve. Alti had also coached Dia. It wouldn’t be strange for her to do the same for Maria or Lastiara if given the chance.

—However, the timing couldn’t be worse.

Just as Maria was finally starting to give up on the Labyrinth, she was given this spider-silk thread of hope. It was incredibly troublesome. Thanks to this, Maria is now fully intent on coming with us today.

“Alti taught me magic that works even on the 20th floor. She also taught me various tips and tricks on how to use it…”

She really did something unnecessary…! If she was going to teach anyone, she should have taught me. That girl…!!

“You say you were taught, but did the number of spells you can use increase?”

“Yes. It’s not just Firefly anymore.”

“That means you received a Magic Stone, right?”

“…Yes. I received a Magic Stone.”

During that last response, I felt like Maria hesitated slightly. Since she understands that Magic Stones are expensive items, she probably feels some guilt about receiving one.

“Well, if you’ve gained new magic, I do want to see what it can do, but…”

Depending on the new magic, it might provide a countermeasure against the Lio Eagles on the 22nd floor. It’s not realistic to take Maria all the way there, but there is a way to call her just for that moment. Once we reach the 22nd floor, I could bring her out using Connection while she waits at home, and then send her back with Connection before we enter the 23rd floor. Depending on the situation, it would definitely be a help… But—

“Please. Let me try. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll come back immediately.”

Maria pleaded with eyes full of strong willpower.

I looked at Lastiara, unsure of how to respond. Judging by the faint, amused smile on her face, she had no intention of interfering.

I thought about it.

What happens if I say yes?

What happens if I say no?

I tried to calculate the pros and cons—but midway through, a certain emotion got in the way.

I gave up on the optimal solution and offered a compromise.

“…Fine. But first, we’re going to confirm your new magic on the shallower floors and build an effective strategy. Also, if the situation stops being safe for you, you’re going home immediately. Got it?”

“I don’t mind.”

Maria nodded firmly. In her eyes was the determination to be useful in the Labyrinth.

I rack my brains trying to figure out how to extinguish that flame of determination. Lastiara giggling behind me is incredibly annoying. If she’s not going to give advice, I wish she’d stay quiet.

I listened to Maria explain her Flame Magic in detail and was surprised by its utility. From what I heard, it was a power I couldn’t simply dismiss with a “you’re useless” or “you can’t keep up.”

And so, albeit reluctantly, I ended up taking Maria to the Labyrinth.

Back to the Labyrinth, with Maria again—