Chapter 829 - Chapter 2: Activation of Testament ②
Now, what should I do?
It's pure white in all directions. Not only that, it's pure white above and below. To top it off, neither spiritual arts nor magic will activate.
"It can't be helped. Let's take a break rather than moving around recklessly."
I have a general supply of things in my storage bag in case something like this happened. Bonnie let me have them.
"I have a small pot, so we can even make a stew. Shall we share that? Or shall we have wine and Highway Cookies?"
The pot is a special small one, and apparently Matilda's husband made it for today. We're not going to eat until we're full, so this is fine. The leather bag also contains stones for the base and charcoal. There's oil too.
"Hahaha! With Jeanne around, there's nothing to worry about! Since we're here, let's have the stew."
"We go on expeditions often, after all. At least one meal's worth."
It's Henry-sama and Eleanor-sama's fault. When going far away, they basically end up penniless and sleeping outdoors. I properly carry dried meat, but those two forage locally. Recently, they seem to be carrying Highway Cookies Deluxe, but they'll probably turn into souvenirs somewhere. I suppose they manage because the three accompanying them carry dried meat, pots, and Highway Cookies.
I prepare a set, light a fire with a flint, and start the pot. A good aroma spreads around. Since it's before breakfast, I've started to get hungry. I pour wine into a bowl and make a toast.
"Is this the other side?"
"I think so, but..."
Fiona has been to the other side directly above the Demon Lord's Cave. It's a bit different from there.
"But was the other side always this pure white?"
It's just as the Wetlands Priestess says. The other side I've experienced so far had a certain amount of space, and then mist spread beyond that. But here, there is no space. We're inside the mist. But it's probably not real mist. If it were real mist, my own hands would be blurred white by the mist, but my hands, let alone Fiona and the Wetlands Priestess, are clearly visible. But still, it feels like being inside a mist. It's a barrier made with magic.
"Could it be that?"
There's one more possibility.
"What?"
The two of them asked at the same time. Their voices are slightly high-pitched. They must be scared.
"We're inside the mist surrounding the other side, so if we walk a bit, we might return to normal."
It's on the way to the other side. Since I don't know the direction, I don't know which way is the other side or the original world, but the other side I've seen so far led back to the original place once you passed through the mist. It's only for a very short while. But here...
"Hey, you two stay here, and I'll walk while holding a rope."
The storage bag contains things other than food. I've put in various things just in case. There are several small one-hour candles and candle holders too.
"Shall I go?"
"Um, I think it's better if I go."
"Why?"
"I have a bit of an idea."
It was when I met Dune.
It felt like this back then too.
"There's something I want to try."
Saying that, I handed the end of the rope to Fiona, and the Priestess held it together with her.
"I might have to do it several times, so please hold it like that."
"Understood."
"Yes."
I stand up and take a deep breath. The moist, cold air spreads through my chest. I wrap the end of the rope around my waist and tie it. It should be fine as long as it doesn't break in the middle.
"Well, I'm going."
"Be careful."
"If anything happens, pull it!"
"Understood."
I don't know the direction. It's random. Eleanor-sama said to go toward the dangerous side when in doubt. I can't agree at all, but in an emergency like this, I suppose I should act with that much resolve and courage.
I light a candle and walk steadily into the mist. The length of the rope is twenty large strides, so even including the part wrapped around my body, I should be able to go thirty normal strides. For now, it's an exploration within a thirty-stride radius.
I walk while counting the numbers. Even after exceeding thirty strides, the rope doesn't become taut at all.
As I thought.
Forty strides is fine too.
After exceeding fifty strides, I returned to the original spot. Even though I walked straight, I came back to the left side of the two of them as if I had walked in a leftward circle.
"Jeanne! You're back."
"Were you okay?"
They look quite happy. They must have felt lonely coming to a place like this for the first time.
"I'm fine. This isn't such a dangerous place. So rest assured. It's okay."
"Really?"
"Really."
It's the same as Dune's barrier. Besides, since I was transported here by activating the magic bestowed by the Goddess, there shouldn't be anything that would cost me my life here.
That said, there's no point in staying here forever. For the second challenge, I did the same thing while chanting a song praising the Goddess.
It didn't work.
I had the Wetlands Priestess stay behind and went with just Fiona, but it didn't work.
Thinking I might as well, I tied the rope to the storage bag and went with all three of us, but it didn't work.
Since everything we left behind was there, let's call it a success.
"Let's take a little break."
I take out the Highway Cookies Deluxe. I brought three this time.
"You brought three?"
Fiona is surprised. Three might indeed be a lot.
"Yeah. I thought I'd have the Goddess eat them. We'll have these."
I brought the regular ones too. These are fine for us.
We immediately open them and each eat one.
"Mmm, they really are delicious."
"Right?"
They are Highway Cookies, always sweet and delicious.
"Regarding these, thankfully I've only ever eaten the Deluxe ones. But the taste is the same, isn't it?"
It's the Wetlands Priestess. Being from another country, she usually only eats the ones for gifts.
"The number in the assortment is large. Normally, you buy them individually."
"Heh, I see."
There's one shop per station. You have them press the station's unique brand. The Deluxe ones have quite a few packed together, and if you buy several boxes at once, you can complete the set.
"Also, this."
It's a top-quality wine, though produced on the White Island.
"The Grand Archbishop gave it to me."
"Are we going to offer this to the Goddess too?"
The Wetlands Priestess swallowed her saliva. Unfortunately, we're not drinking this.
"Yes. Let's place this here and pray before we go."
"Th-that's right. Let's ask the Goddess."
It's not exactly a quid pro quo. It's presumptuous to just rely on the Goddess for nothing. We must offer our feelings of gratitude.
After the three of us prayed, we turned our backs to the offerings. We started walking into the mist while chanting the song praising the Goddess.
"Stop."
Even though I counted fifty strides, I'm still in the mist. Strange. Could it be that I'm lost? The rope hasn't become taut yet. Could it be that the knot came undone?
"What's wrong?"
Fiona asked. Basically, ghosts look like they're walking but they're not. They probably don't have the sensation of counting strides.
I explain the situation.
"Then, I'll go check the rope for a bit."
The Wetlands Priestess followed the rope back to the luggage.
"It was connected. It's fifty-four strides to here."
Fifty-four? It's five or six strides from where the Priestess is to me, so about sixty strides? Isn't that a lot? It's not like the rope can stretch, so is it connecting space in the middle like Gnome did?
"Let's try walking a bit more. I'll stay here. Until we can see each other."
"Understood."
I walk five strides and look back; I can clearly see the Priestess's figure.
With five more strides, the rope was pulled. The Priestess's figure is slightly blurred. Ten strides. In total, it exceeded seventy strides.
"Then, Fiona, stay here. I'll go just a little further from here."
"Yeah. Be careful."
I hand the candle to Fiona. If there's fire, I might be able to go a bit further. The problem is the rope. There's still more. Just what is going on?
Despite my doubts, ten more strides. Eighty. Looking back, Fiona is blurred. I can still somehow see the candle light. Ten more... one hundred.
I broke through! The mist cleared! The ground is dirt! It's sufficiently bright!
However, it's not the original place. Where is this?
Just as I thought that, I saw a familiar building ahead...
In front, there's a passage with many long pillars made of pitch-black stone lined up, and an entrance can be seen in the back.
Is that... by any chance, the Demon Lord's Temple?
I found out that I can break through the mist in roughly a hundred strides.
I leave the rope on the ground and return to Fiona.
"I broke through. It's a hundred small strides."
"Really! Thank goodness!"
She jumped at me. She must have been very anxious. She's half-crying with relief.
I call the Priestess loudly and tell her we broke through.
"Yay! Then, let's go back and get the luggage!"
"Right. Let's leave the rope hanging and follow it back!"
"Okay!"
All the luggage was still there. Since I hadn't placed the offerings on an altar or anything, and it would be better to offer them if the temple was found, I decided to take them.
The rope left on the floor had no particular abnormalities, and we headed toward the temple while winding it up.
It was a bit scary when we reached the end of the rope, but the three of us stepped into the mist while holding hands.
When we broke through the mist after counting forty, the three of us hugged each other in joy.
"Was the Demon Lord's Temple like that?"
The Wetlands Priestess has seen the Demon Lord's Temple.
"Is it different?"
"It's similar, I guess."
Thinking about it, it's a strange story to reach the Demon Lord's Temple using magic bestowed by the Goddess. But it's similar. Of course, the structure of temples might all be the same. It's clearly different from the Temple of the Oracle built by humans. However, if it were the Demon Lord's Temple, there should be an entrance to the tower connecting to the fourth floor, but it's nowhere to be found. It's just surrounded by mist.
"Maybe it's the Goddess's temple. That would be nice."
Fiona's argument is natural.
"Then, let's go."
"Right. Now that we've come this far, we have to go."
"Are you okay?"
We walk steadily as we are.
"Ah! My spiritual power might have recovered!"
The Priestess released a pale blue flame from her palm.
"It's true!"
Fiona, who imitated her, could also release it.
"Then, I wonder if I can use magic too."
So as not to hit the two of them, I crouch down, place my water bottle on the floor, point my right hand, and release Light. The shadow of the water bottle falls on the ground.
"I did it!"
When I released Holy, it also came out. Fiona and the Priestess shot out beginner-level lightning.
"Yay! It's back!"
"Thank goodness. I didn't think not being able to use spiritual arts would be this lonely."
Fiona is half-crying. When I hug her and stroke her head, she clings to me.
It's my fault for carelessly blurting out 'Demon Lord's Temple'. I have to reflect on that.
We pass between the rows of black stone pillars and head toward the entrance door. At the entrance of the temple built by stacking black stones, there is a large iron door with something like a beast's face carved into it.
No, that's wrong.
"Hey, look here. As I thought, it's not the Demon Lord's Temple."
The beast's face that bangs the ring is clearly different.
"What about this?"
The Priestess doesn't seem to notice.
"It's different from the one I saw before, right?"
"It's my first time properly entering through the entrance. The Sertoria cave didn't have walls."
Come to think of it, that was the case. I had forgotten.
"Sorry. That's right."
"It's okay. So, is this pattern different?"
"Yeah. It was the face of an animal called a lion or something."
It had a mane that spread out more fluffily than Fenrir's, and its nose wasn't that long. It was roaring with its mouth wide open.
"Hmm. This looks more like a bird than a lion."
"A bird... Right. A bird."
Its face is round, it has ears, and its beak doesn't feel that long, so I didn't know. I thought it was some kind of magical beast.
"Maybe it's an owl. It has ears, and its eyes are huge, right?"
"An owl, huh."
An owl crest. The old lady at the Water Dragon Temple said that owls symbolize wisdom.
"Alright, let's go in."
I take the ring and bang it against the crest twice. The sound of metal hitting metal echoes.
I wait for a while, but there's no reaction.
I do it again.
It's the same.
"No one's coming."
Fiona looks anxious.
"It was like this before too."
During the Demon Lord subjugation battle, I was dragged along by Henry-sama and Eleanor-sama. We banged on it back then too. There was no reaction.
"So, what did you do?"
"We just went in on our own."
"Eh?"
Fiona is taken aback.
Normally, that would be the case. However, for a Demon Race, it would be strange not to answer a call if they were inside. It goes like this.
"I'm opening it."
When I push the door hard with both hands, it opens easily with a creak.
Once inside, things were different.
In the case of the Demon Lord's Temple, beyond the door was a hall, and the Demon Lord was suddenly sitting on a throne.
This is different. It has a structure that could be called the main entrance of a grand mansion. Beyond the entrance is an anteroom, and there's another door in front.
There are doors on the left and right too. There's a window next to the door on the right. Peering through the window, there's a small room. Normally, if you banged on the door, a servant in this room would come out. Maybe, although it wasn't apparent from the outside, those inside the room can see the person standing at the entrance.
"What should we do?"
The Wetlands Priestess asks, but there's no point in hesitating now that we've come this far.
"The front. Let's go."
"Eh? R-right."
"Jeanne, are you okay?"
I can't guarantee anything, but there's no point in going back.
I take a deep breath and knock on the middle door.
After waiting a bit and confirming there's no reaction, I was about to knock again when the door opened on its own.
"Come in."
I heard a woman's voice.
S-someone is there!
The Wetlands Priestess and Fiona cling to me. They're gripping so hard they're half-fused.
"E-excuse me."
Pushing the door open and entering, a young woman wearing a pure white tunic was standing there.