༺ Studying And Training Is Such A Pain (2) ༻
Climbing the endless stairs, the sun was already setting.
Yet, the sunlight felt warmer and brighter than any miracle.
Elizabeth collapsed on the floor with relief in her legs.
“I’m alive! I survived!”
The sheer fact of surviving the terrible dungeon.
That was all that mattered.
“Don’t you kids cause any trouble. Got it?”
Salome frowned at the children sprawled across the field.
Her eyes were on the honor student, Tywin.
“Tywin Cladeco, why are you involved in this mess? You should have stopped the other kids from doing something bad.”
Tywin was a refined and smart child.
But perhaps still just a child, after all?
Salome slightly lowered her mental score for Tywin.
She seemed a bit lacking to be considered her ‘daughter’.
━Gyoing
Then, a strange sound came from somewhere.
Naru was the first to regain her senses and shouted.
“There’s something strange on Tywin’s back!”
“What? My back? Oh, it’s real! Ahh! Get it off!”
Tywin was horrified to find something bizarre and fluffy attached to her back.
The unknown can be as frightening as fear itself.
As Tywin flailed about—
Cecily elegantly moved her hand and removed the thing from Tywin’s back.
“What is this?”
It looked like bubbles someone might make during a bubble bath.
Its color was sky blue, and at a glance, it resembled cotton candy.
Cool and cold to the touch.
But the squishy feel was somewhat reminiscent of Molumolu.
━Ingingyaing
A creature making strange cries.
Seeing it, Naru raised her hand excitedly.
“…It’s the animal from Naru’s dream! A cloud running away while making ‘Ingingyaing’ sounds! The legendary creature, Cloudling! It must have followed us from the basement!”
━Gyoing
The legendary creature, the Cloudling.
Tywin couldn’t understand why such a thing was clinging to her back.
What was curious was that the strange creature kept trying to sit on Tywin’s shoulder or head.
Tywin was frightened by this bizarre animal, but Naru was trembling with excitement as if she had discovered something fascinating.
“The Cloudling thinks Tywin is its master!”
“What? Why me?”
Animals, huh?
Tywin disliked animals.
Because she couldn’t understand what they were thinking since they couldn’t communicate.
That was also why she disliked fools like Naru.
She hated not knowing what they were thinking.
Fear of the unknown.
In that sense, this Cloudling was Tywin’s natural enemy.
“G-Go away!”
━Ingingyaing
━Meowww
That’s when Molumolu popped out of Naru’s shadow.
━Gyoing
━Kong Kong. Meoww.
━Ing.
Molumolu and the Cloudling rubbed their fluffy bodies against each other.
Like animals rubbing their cheeks together.
Was it a form of greeting?
Watching them, Elizabeth thought it was incredibly cute.
Were they having a conversation?
What about?
‘Maybe they’re saying the weather is nice today. Or perhaps they’re telling each other they look fluffy?’
It was a very girlish thought.
A conversation between soft and fluffy animals.
Of course, Naru shook her head.
“I can understand Molumolu’s thoughts. They’re just crying out without any particular meaning. It’s not a conversation at all!”
“I see.”
Elizabeth felt a slight disappointment.
It was a lesson learned at a young age that truth can sometimes be harsh.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but we’re heading back. Get on the bus! And don’t go straight home, write a reflection paper in the faculty room. Naru, you need to write two!”
“Hiiik…!”
* * *
“Brigitte, what do you think?”
On the way home.
I got into the same carriage as Brigitte.
Watching the sunset outside the window, I asked Brigitte again.
“The story Elle told. Do you think it’s believable?”
I didn’t know much about magic or formulas.
I wondered what Brigitte thought, and she fixed her gaze outside the window as she spoke.
“Honestly, I’m not sure either. But I think the future me would have believed it. If a problem arises in six years, it’s definitely because of Elle Cladeco.”
I see.
I vaguely thought so too.
If there’s a problem, it must be because of Elle Cladeco’s underground lab.
So, what should we do now to change the future?
“Maybe destroying the experimental site is the right move?”
I asked.
Brigitte crossed her arms and closed her eyes.
A (八) shaped wrinkle formed between her eyebrows, showing she was deeply contemplating.
“I honestly don’t know what’s right. Above all, I get the feeling that Cladeco didn’t tell us the whole truth today.”
“She didn’t lie, but she didn’t tell us everything either?”
“Yes. Elle Cladeco told me about ‘another world’. She said the man she liked was from another world. But I didn’t get to hear about him today.”
“Is that so?”
Was she deliberately withholding information from us?
Or maybe there was simply no time to talk about it.
As I was about to close my eyes to ponder, someone pinched my stomach tightly.
It was Brigitte.
“Ouch. Why?”
“You used the shadow of Sabernak today, didn’t you? The shadow of the Demon King.”
“That’s because Mara was there. That was the only way to subdue him without killing him. Mara… That guy was stronger than I thought, not so easy to keep alive.”
“Even so, the shadow of the Demon King is too dangerous. You can’t just casually bring it out. You never know what might happen.”
“No, I used to think so too. But I’ve grown in my own way and it seems I can control it quite well now.”
“Really? Still, be careful.”
She had a point.
After promising to be more cautious, Brigitte finally let go of my stomach.
Thud— Thud—
After a long ride on the unpaved road, the walls of the Freesia Duchy came into view.
The way home.
The carriage was quiet.
We were tired and had a lot to think about.
I thought about the computer I had seen earlier in the lab.
When I saw Elle Cladeco’s talent for creating from existing things, for replicating and cloning, I wondered if she might have seen a real computer somewhere.
From her boyfriend who came from another world?
A reasonable assumption.
But a computer?
What happened to the computer in my 21st-century room?
The 3 terabytes of videos in my D drive.
Truly all that could be called my ‘treasure’.
My kingdom.
If someone saw it, my dignity could be destroyed in many ways.
It would be especially disastrous if my little sister saw it.
And speaking of her, the chances she had rummaged through my computer were high.
While I was in the military, she had thoroughly and efficiently sold everything I owned on Tomato Market, from my Pukimon games to my bag, my chair, and even my desk, anyway, she sold it all as secondhand.
She was no less than a thief.
And if I gave her a smack, she would scream and call for Mom and Dad.
Anyway.
Chances were high that the computer I had worked hard to save up for and buy had been dealt with by now.
Screwed in many ways.
How could I return to my original world and at least save my computer, I was pondering deeply when Brigitte asked.
“What are you thinking about? You seem deeply troubled.”
Talking about adult videos would be awkward.
So I just beat around the bush.
“World peace.”
“…Oh…”
Brigitte looked a little surprised.
Did our conversation just raise her opinion of me?
Then Brigitte spoke.
“I’ve given it some thought too, about Elle’s purpose.”
“Everyone transcending to become equal?”
“Yes, but to me, it feels more like a means rather than an end. I have a feeling the real purpose is something else. And Elle said she sees herself in me.”
Resemble her?
Would Brigitte look a bit more like her with glasses on?
As I was considering this, Brigitte spoke.
“What would I have done? Why aim for transcendence? When I thought about it, I reached a conclusion. The gate to another world. Another dimension. Maybe Elle suddenly lost a man she loved?”
“Lost?”
“Yes. The Demiurges, they all live in another dimension. And we mortals cannot endure the journey to that other dimension. That’s why we’re not invited to the paradise of the gods.”
“I see.”
“Maybe Elle wanted to try reaching that other dimension. If you suddenly disappeared, I think I’d want to search every world to find you. That’s why she wants to level up. Humanity’s transcendence is just a bonus.”
I see─
I was about to nod when-.
I realized I had just heard an incredibly romantic confession.
The atmosphere in the carriage grew subtly more complex.
“Naru’s birthday is in August.”
I told Brigitte.
And just as Brigitte hesitated, saying, “…about 5 months away then….”
Thud— Creak─
The carriage stopped.
We had arrived at my 「Junk Mansion」.
As I got out of the carriage, Naru ran from the mansion to the garden entrance in a flash.
“Dad! Hurry, come on in…!”
Wham—
Naru hugged my legs.
It truly felt like I had returned home.
“That’s what happened.”
During dinner.
I told Enkidus and Cariote about today’s incident with Elle.
After listening for a while, Enkidus said, “Artificial transcendence for all humans… Such artificial means go against the teachings of the Order of the Sun’s Ascension that seeks enlightenment through virtue and training.”
What were the doctrines of the Ascending Sun Sect again?
As I pondered, Cariote also added her piece.
“A dangerous woman. Though she claims to have control, to revive the Demon King. My sister, locked in the dungeon… Astarosa. If she had contact with Elle, a terrible accident could have occurred.”
That’s true.
Perhaps in the future where Naru was, Astarosa and Elle had indeed made contact.
Cariote said.
“I’ll keep an eye on Elle Cladeco myself. I have questions for Elle regarding my sister. Like if there’s a way to revert her back.”
Good.
It’s reassuring to have Cariote watching.
Then, something occurred to me.
“Has anyone seen Salome?”
Salome.
Lately, it’s strange not seeing that person around.
It feels like she might be getting into trouble somewhere.
* * *
Princess of the Back Alleys, Salome.
She headed to a cabin in a Provence village rumored to be home to the Priestess of Gluttony after the picnic ended in the evening.
Creak.
Upon opening the door and entering, there was no one to be found.
The cramped cabin was merely gloomy.
However, Salome had a keen eye.
Noticing the still-warm candle and milk on the table, she deduced that someone had been there just moments before.
Blur—
A shadow under the table.
Stepping on it, something let out a stifled scream.
“Got you.”
Salome reached into the table’s shadow and pulled something out.
A girl with fairly long pink hair struggled as she was revealed.
“…L-Let go…”
“The Priestess of Gluttony. A very secretive person, even among Tenebris. I couldn’t believe it when they said you were just a kid. I thought you were just hard to spot because you were good at hiding?”
“……”
“I just heard some interesting words. Objects of the same kind tend to come together. So, I have something to ask about this crescent dagger.”
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