183 - Mireia-san
On the way back after completing the request.
I was staring blankly at the ceiling from the porter's wagon.
The request this time had been the subjugation of a hippogriff. Or rather, on the way back, I had taken a detour to clear out some miscellaneous chore requests.
In the wagon, Aria was calculating the profits from this reward on a piece of paper, her eyes teary, relying on the light of a lantern.
Miranda was the one keeping watch, and she was teaching Aria various things, since Aria had not experienced the hell of paperwork like Zain had.
She was faithfully fulfilling a promise she had made previously to teach her until she became capable.
(She looks so happy teaching her. Or rather...)
"No, Aria. This part is wrong. It's a simple calculation error."
A calculation error had occurred at the beginning, and the situation was such that everything had to be redone. Hearing this, Aria began the calculations again.
"Then warn me at the beginning!"
Miranda smiled at Aria, who was using a wooden crate as a desk.
"Eh? Why? I told you, didn't I? That I would check it for you once you were finished. I taught you the method, but I never said I would warn you along the way."
The porter's wagon shook slightly, though it was far less than before. In such a wagon, Miranda was making Aria do simple calculations.
They were simple, yet complex enough that a single mistake would make the totals not match. Aria had been repeating this endlessly in the wagon.
The content was—the reward for this time, calculating the net profit from it, and then how to distribute it among the companions.
Those who were ignorant of the party's financial side were Aria, May, and Shannon. Eva, having traveled, was surprisingly steady when it came to money.
It seemed she had struggled through various things as a singer.
However, she could not do paperwork.
Looking at Miranda, who directed a smile toward the teary-eyed Aria, I thought.
(...Miranda's personality is definitely similar to Mireia-san's.)
Just as I was thinking that—.
"...Lariel, you looked at Miranda and thought she was like me, didn't you?"
Mireia-san's voice echoed from within the Orb, sounding as if she had found something to tease me about.
Startled, I looked around and quietly rolled the Orb with my fingertips. I was trying to deny it, but Mireia-san seemed certain.
"It's fine. I'm happy to be told I'm like my great-great-granddaughter. But I'm shocked that you've noticed how you view me, Lariel."
The Third Head joined in.
"Ah~, poor Mireia-chan."
Is the Fourth Head bored too?
"That's cruel, Lariel."
Only the Fifth Head and Seventh Head were on my side. No, it would be more accurate to say they understood Mireia-san's personality.
"Considering how black-hearted you are, it's only natural Lariel would think so."
"It is not cute even if Auntie cries. Do you think your heart has become young just because you become young within the Orb? Please stop, I'm getting the chills."
Then, a shock ran through the Orb.
(...Eh?)
The Third Head informed me of the situation. For some reason, their voice was trembling slightly.
"...The Seventh Head will return after a while."
"Now then, this time as well, we shall go and ask Septem-sama various questions. Last time, we learned that Septem-sama created the Orb, and we asked about skills."
Facing Mireia-san, who directed her usual smile toward me, I glanced repeatedly at the Seventh Head in front of the door.
The Seventh Head, sitting in a chair and looking exhausted, tried not to look this way.
The smirking Third Head was teasing the Seventh Head.
The interior of the Orb had been manly until now, but with Mireia-san's appearance, it had taken on a slightly different atmosphere.
"What are we going to ask this time?"
Mireia-san pointed at me.
"About Lariel."
"Me? Um, the eras I and Septem-san lived in are far too different, aren't they?"
At that, Mireia-san shrugged and shook her head as if saying 'good grief'.
"You don't understand, Lariel... The Orb has always remembered information from the outside since its birth. And Septem-sama possesses the memories of the person who created the Orb. I'm sure she can tell us many things. Besides, you're curious about the story of your other half, aren't you?"
I nodded to Mireia-san, who was smiling at me.
Previously, Septem-san had told me that the other half sealed within me was trying to awaken. And that the time to face it would come.
I wanted to know exactly what that meant.
"Shall we go then?"
We passed through the door together. However, a different sight than usual unfolded there.
It was a large city, but it seemed desolate.
In many shops, someone was tending the store, but they made no effort to sell the displayed goods. They didn't even call out to people passing by.
Furthermore, the surrounding buildings were dilapidated, appearing as though they had not been repaired.
"This is..."
"Oh, a terrible sight is unfolding today."
As Mireia-san spoke and walked forward, I walked beside her. Since it was the third time, I understood where to go, so I didn't necessarily have to follow.
Suddenly, a dressed-up man walked toward us, ignoring his surroundings.
As I stepped forward as if to protect Mireia-san...
"Oh, how gentlemanly. A far cry from a year ago."
"...Do you know about a year ago?"
"Not just a year ago. I told you, didn't I? That I was chosen by the Orb as the guide. I couldn't guide you if I didn't know various things."
Her golden eyes seemed to be looking somewhere far away. Then, the dressed-up man collided with a passerby.
"...What do you think you're doing! I am a mage! You scum, do not block my path!"
"P-please forgive—"
The dressed-up man pointed his right hand at the man he collided with and released magic from it.
"W-wait—"
Mireia-san stopped me as I tried to jump in.
"Lariel, this is a memory. You can touch it and there are reactions, but nothing changes here."
Then, the man who had been collided with became a fireball.
Around them, there were only people watching the scene in fear, and no one tried to stop the dressed-up man.
"...Let's go."
I was led away from the spot. The unpleasant smell of burning and the death screams felt too realistic.
Is the fact that such scenes unfold what they call the Orb's memories?
When we went to Septem-san's room, it was different from before.
Septem-san was sitting up in bed, but the room was covered in cobwebs and had not been maintained.
There were no golems in the mansion, nor were there any people.
"Oh, you came at this timing?"
Septem-san's slightly troubled expression was indescribable. It was as if she were embarrassed, and also sad.
I pulled out a dust-covered chair, brushed it off with my hand, and prepared one for Mireia-san as well.
Once the two of us sat down, I spoke with Septem-san.
"Mireia-san wanted to ask about me today—. Um, what do you mean by my other half?"
The other half sealed by Celes.
That matter had been weighing on my mind.
Septem-san spoke while bathing in the light streaming from the bed. Looking at the tattered curtains, I couldn't help but feel a bit sad.
"The other half—it is Lariel's memory. Is it not that you cannot remember well? Lariel, can you remember your past self? And Celes's face—not the current one, but the Celes of the past."
What kind of nonsense—I was about to say that, but I remembered that my memories were vague. Thinking that they had been completely overwritten by the intense memories from age ten onwards, I pressed my head with my left hand...
Mireia-san looked out the window.
"Oh, they look happy."
I heard the voices of a family playing outside. I hurriedly stood up and looked out the window. There, a family was enjoying themselves on a sheet spread under the shade of a tree.
Guard knights were around them, and the parents were watching over the children.
The one who was most excited was a boy.
The parents were also looking at the boy, and a girl nearby was also looking at the boy—her older brother.
Cold sweat broke out. It felt strangely nostalgic, yet I absolutely could not remember.
As I reached toward the window, the girl who had been facing away turned toward me. However, the view outside the window immediately returned to the garden of the desolate mansion.
The memories until now vanished, and even when I opened the window, nothing could be heard.
"That memory just now was..."
As I was bewildered, Septem-san spoke.
"It is Lariel's memory. I told you... it is already trying to awaken. The reason those around her obey Celes is not because of a skill. Lariel, remember this. Celes's skill is to steal. She stole magic and experience from Lariel, and also the love of his parents. Lariel's memories, which she could not steal in the end, were thus sealed away."
It was the first time I learned that Celes's skill was to steal something from others. And that what was influencing those around her was not a skill.
"To be precise, Celes's skill is the imitation of the opponent. And then it follows with sealing and plunder. The reason Lariel was kept alive was surely because Celes was stealing the magic of Lariel that she had polished. But, naturally, Celes had her limits as well."
Mireia-san stood up and placed her hands on both of my shoulders. Without my noticing, my breathing had become ragged, and the cold sweat would not stop.
Mireia-san spoke to me gently.
"Lariel, you have continued to be stolen from. But you see... originally, the one who was meant to become a monster was Lariel."
As I tried to turn back to Mireia-san, she hugged me from behind. I didn't understand what she was saying.
At the same time, I felt something—a slight intuition.
"I am... the same as Celes?"
Septem-san nodded. But at the same time, she also said this.
"The ones who could have become the next Septem were Lariel and Celes. However, it was Celes who would not allow that. Therefore, she stole everything she could from Lariel. The current Lariel is an existence with neither the memories nor the power of Septem. From my perspective, it is enviable, but the current Lariel is just a human. That is likely why Novem took your side."
I didn't know what to say. Knowing that I was a monster like Celes, and hearing that I had been stolen from until now—.
"A-ah? But when we met before, I didn't have the feeling of being stolen from? Or rather, does this mean Celes's skill has no effect on me?"
—When I said that, Mireia-san pulled away from me and burst out laughing.
"I told you. Celes has her limits. Besides, Celes no longer has the leeway to hold onto things even if she steals them. Celes has already reached completion. Even so, Lariel, you've been poisoned by the successive heads in a good way."
As I tilted my head, Septem-san was also smiling. Perhaps they thought I would despair here; it seemed to be a happy miscalculation.
Septem-san said.
"Lariel, know yourself. If you do, you can move further than you are now."
I nodded, and then I confirmed something with Septem-san.
"Um, about that... I understand Celes's skill. But in that case, the skills within the Orb that Celes possesses are—"
Septem-san looked at me and spoke with a serious expression.
"Only one skill is activated. But you see, Septem is the goddess who created skills. I can prepare as many skills as I want. You could say that in itself is a skill."
I thought.
(That's surprisingly lame. Since she's a goddess, I thought it would be more atrocious.)
However, even knowing it was lame, the fact that the opponent was atrocious did not change. In fact, I had been completely powerless against Celes.
"Then, is she currently using a skill to charm those around her?"
At that, both Septem-san and Mireia-san shook their heads.
Mireia-san said.
"Listen carefully, Lariel. Septem-sama—Septem-sama, being a goddess, is the most respected by humans. Doesn't that remind you of Novem?"
Suddenly mentioned Novem, I tilted my head. Septem-san only said, "Ask Novem about the details when they speak of it someday."
Then, Septem-san said.
"Because it was the goddess Septem who once created humans."
Hearing that, I felt a doubt. I had indeed grown up hearing that a goddess created humans. However, the goddess related to humans was [Sex].
The sixth goddess.
"Um, wasn't the one who created them Sex—the sixth goddess?"
Mireia-san sighed and spoke.
"That is a mistake. But it is an unavoidable mistake. In reality, Septem-sama is treated as the goddess of wisdom. Or rather, the wisdom part is merely a service from Septem-sama. Originally, Sex-sama held the role of the one who awakens humans."
I wondered if the meaning was different. However, if they were created, the phrasing 'awakens' was certainly a bit different.
And the story was becoming a bit too fantasy-like, and I didn't know what to do.
(Even if you tell me such stories of the past... well, it's troubling.)
Mireia-san continued.
"It is the same reason why Novem is liked by demi-humans. Because it was Novem who once created demi-humans, divine beasts, and monsters. In Novem, who inherited those memories strongly, such an influence is appearing."
Septem-san muttered while looking out the window.
"The one who created humans was Septem. And Sex, who held the role of awakening them... was killed by Novem. That child... Novem destroyed all the plans."
What should I do.
(T-this is bad. What should I do...)
I can't keep up with the conversation.
For now, I understood that Novem betrayed Septem-san and the others.
(Ah, come to think of it... did Octo-san also betray them? If I ask Septem-san about this, I really won't have to ask Octo-san about various things.)
I felt a bit sorry for them, but I decided to believe that I had no connection with Octo-san.