239 - Chapter 14: Prologue
The base for labyrinth subjugation located in Southern Beime had come to be called South Banseime.
The small town, said to have been created by those exiled from Beime, had become lively in less than a month.
And for good reason, as numerous merchant houses had poured in. At least three ships were anchored in the harbor, with vessels coming and going.
The town's population had increased rapidly due to the craftsmen and associates brought by the merchants.
In the bustling South Banseime, Monica, Clara, and I—the three of us—were looking at the Porter in the warehouse.
Since we were planning to travel, Monica had decided to repair the Porter, which had become worn out from continuous use, but—
"Porter... you've grown so magnificent."
—I looked at the Porter, covering my mouth with both hands.
On its cylindrical head, there were two round eyes. That hadn't changed. However, the body had been significantly improved. It looked like a mass of iron—a manly Porter stood there.
Inside the Orb, the successive heads of the family were also slightly moved.
"The Porter is one of our comrades too. It seems to have become quite magnificent."
"I'm starting to feel an attachment to this mass of iron."
"This sense of weight. A captivating body that is more refined than before, yet fuses waste and romance in an indescribable way... Porter, you are the best."
The Seventh Head was right. This Porter... had grown a size larger. Monica must have been inspired after seeing Damian's large Porter.
The main highlight was the two arms folded against the ceiling.
The parts used were armor like that of a giant, worn by a monster they had once defeated in Alamsars, and they had been carefully processed.
Monica spoke with full confidence.
"It would be problematic if you were surprised by just this. This Monica... is of a different caliber than the three at Professor Damian's place, a different caliber! Porter, show them your true form! ...Clara-san, as we discussed."
Monica struck a pose, but she was glancing at Clara, who showed no reaction, urging her on.
Clara nodded silently and raised her staff.
The Porter began to move slowly, its front section slowly lifted, and it became a torso section.
The arms on its back deployed, and the lower body was supported by a chassis and tires that had increased to eight.
"Ooooh!!"
As I grew excited, Monica also looked at me with excitement.
"Amazing, right! Monica is different from those pieces of junk around here! Unlike those pieces of junk who are happy just to have a version update or a slight improvement, the original performance is different! Did you see that, you chicken coward!!"
Raising both hands toward the ceiling and screaming, Monica looked as if she were screaming with her very soul.
From inside the Orb, the successive heads of the family also—
"Amazing. You're amazing, Porter!"
"You worked hard..."
"What a form. This ruggedness... isn't it perfect!"
However, there was one person who gave a cold opinion. Mireia-san. Mireia-san, who had joined halfway through, had no attachment to the Porter. Not only that, she was the one who had called the head useless. Such a Mireia-san said a single word.
"...Is such a function necessary? It's not, right? I mean, what about the storage? I think it's questionable that strange functions are added while functions to make travel comfortable are not."
It was a critique from Mireia-san, who didn't understand, but it was certainly an important point.
"...Monica, I understand that the Porter has been reborn. So, how is it compared to before? In terms of space, comfort, and such."
Monica thrust out her index finger and shook it from side to side.
"Chicken coward. Do not underestimate this Monica. I sacrificed a bit of space, but I had the craftsmen work their hardest."
To such a Monica, Clara muttered.
"You could also say you overworked them. When the dwarves and gnomes see Monica-san approaching with a smile, they run away."
I looked at Monica.
"What did you do?"
Monica shrugged her shoulders and shook her head as if to say, "Good grief."
"They are craftsmen. It is precisely when an impossible order is made that they shine in trying to make it work. On the contrary, I should be praised. This Monica passed on various techniques. For the future of South Banseime, no... for the sake of the chicken coward!"
I went around to the back of the Porter and opened the rear door.
"Is it a bit narrower than before? Well, maybe it looks that way because there are two long benches, or sofas, on both sides."
The Porter, a mass of iron... a vital comrade of our party who is reliable when transporting people and supplies, had been reborn.
When I returned to Monica and the others, Clara returned the Porter to its original form.
Clara tilted her head.
"The weight has increased considerably. Yet, for some reason, I feel the mana consumed when operating it is low. There's also some strangeness when operating it?"
Monica approached the Porter and opened the front section to show us.
There, three peridot gemstones that I had once found in the labyrinth were embedded. Strange devices were attached around them.
"Ah, my gemstones—"
"—Yes! This is the Porter's power source! Because of this, the Porter will move even more powerfully! It is truly the heart of the Porter! With three gemstones, comfortable operability is obtained!"
Looking at Monica, who was glancing at me, I wanted to believe she felt at least a little guilt.
Then, I touched the Porter and whispered.
"Porter, I'm glad for you."
Clara said to me.
"If Lyell-san is fine with that, then it's fine. But are you just going to ignore the fact that she used the gemstones without permission? You neglected your duty to report to the party, Monica-san."
At Clara's words, Monica brushed up one of her twin-tails.
"Those are the chicken coward's possessions. And I am the chicken coward's possession. The chicken coward's things are my things. My everything belongs to the chicken coward! Therefore, there is no problem!"
Seeing that I wasn't getting angry, she made such an outrageous statement that I hit her from behind.
"Of course it's a problem. Tell me in advance when you're going to use them."
"Au... but everyone has been busy lately, and you all fell asleep the moment you returned, so Monica was being considerate."
Yes, we were busy.
Not just with South Banseime, we needed to act for the sake of the future. The improvement of the Porter was part of that.
—Eva was negotiating with a clan of elves who had visited South Banseime.
The location was the main street of South Banseime, where a simple stage had been prepared for singers and traveling performers.
Amidst the heavy foot traffic, Eva was making a certain request to the troupe—the clan.
"—And so, these are the songs and stories I want you to spread. Even as rumors is fine. In return, I'll give you a spot in South Banseime. I'll make it cheap."
For the troupe, cheap rent for a spot was a welcome offer. Hearing this, the elf chief, who looked like a young man, placed a hand on his chin.
"It is a request from the daughter of the Nihil clan. I shall consider it. By the way, there are a few things I wish to ask. I want detailed information on Redant Fortress, or the fortress. Songs of the hero who repelled the monster army are popular. We have only just arrived in Beime and know nothing of it."
Hearing this, Eva asked.
"Where did they come from? Not Zain or Rolfis, right? Galleria? Lusworth? But no. I don't think it's Cartaphus..."
The elf chief let out a sigh.
"It's Banseime. We fled from there. The situation there is terrible right now."
Eva nodded to the chief and asked with a serious expression.
"Banseime, huh. If it's in exchange for information on Banseime, that's fine. I was in Banseime before, but has the situation become that terrible?"
The chief looked up at the sky.
"It's more of a massacre than a war. It was the first time I've seen a legion that does not fear death. Ever since the next queen of Banseime took power, everything feels abnormal. Perhaps it will leave a name in history. In a bad way."
Eva knew of Celes's abnormality. If one didn't see it up close... if one only heard about it, it would end as 'the cruel next queen of Banseime'.
Beime was like that. Even when information about Celes came in, they dismissed it as a common occurrence. Or simply as 'a cruel woman'.
Somewhere, Beime probably believed that the fire was on the opposite shore. Eva listened to the information about Banseime from the chief.
"I felt as if we were approaching destruction day by day. The men were drafted into the war, and not just in villages, but even in towns, women, children, and the elderly stood out. There are many refugees, and bandits have increased. We were attacked several times ourselves."
Hearing the story that when they threw food and fled, the opponents fought each other to snatch it, Eva thought the situation was dire.
"Hey, aren't there any nobles rebelling against the royalty? Even a lord would do."
To Eva's question, the chief shook his head.
"There aren't—or rather, there were. Past tense. Many lords were crushed. The army of Central is one thing, but the Walt family is also involved. It seems the 'strongest in Banseime' is not just for show."
The Walt family, Lyell's birth family, was cooperating in crushing the domestic lords, nobles, and resistance forces. To Eva, that felt ironic—
—Mei was counting the stalls that had increased in South Banseime.
"Ooh! Three more today! Is that one sweets? This one smells like meat. Haa... three new companions for my eating tour."
Looking at the stalls with a happy expression, Mei thought joyfully about what to eat today.
"Yesterday was fried food, so today will be meat... no, sweets are also hard to give up. But I don't have the military funds to eat everything. ...What a tragedy."
Mei, who basically only spent money on food, received money from Novem to go on eating tours at the stalls.
Perhaps she had no intention of managing her money, or perhaps she thought this was fine. Therefore, it had become a pattern where she received an allowance from Novem every day.
"Alright, first, juice to moisten my throat. Let's go with a refreshing citrus type."
Then, the petite Mei stopped her steps toward the stall and looked back.
Standing there was a tall woman with messy long black hair, wearing a coat that didn't yet suit the season.
"...If you're going to run wild here, stop it. This is one of my favorites."
The opponent was Marina.
Marina threw a paper bag she was holding at Mei. Receiving it, Mei's eyes sparkled when she saw the bag was warm and contained meat on skewers.
While enduring the urge to drool.
"W-what is the meaning of this?"
She asked, glancing between Marina and the bag.
"What, it's just been a while since I ran wild like that. It was fun, so this is a thank-you. Also, I want to meet your leader. He did something quite nasty to me. It's become hard for me to stay in Beime too."
Looking at Marina's demeanor, Mei saw through the lie. She took a skewer from the bag, brought it to her mouth, and bit into the meat.
"An introduction fee, was it? Fine, I'll settle for this."
"That helps. I failed and had my money—which I'd hoarded using various excuses—taken away, so I'm broke right now."
Apparently, that part was not a lie.
Mei bit into the meat on the skewer, eating heartily, and looked at Marina.
"So? What is your real objective? Someone like you, big sister, would be accepted by any guild."
Marina laughed.
"'Big sister,' despite the fact that I've lived longer than you. Little girl, you're quite good at navigating the world."
Mei knew that treating Marina like a young girl would feel out of place given her own appearance. It was something she had learned in order to blend in and live in the human world.
However, it was also a fact that there was still a sense of incongruity from the perspective of those around her.
As Mei continued to eat the meat in silence, Marina said something like "I surrender" and began to speak.
"I don't care that you let only the people of our East Branch escape and isolated us. It's just... I'm interested in the leader who commands a little girl like you. That boy is strong too, right?"
Lyell had been targeted by Marina—
—Inside the Orb.
In Lyell's The Room of Memories, in the room where Lyell had once spent his time, Lyell in the form of a boy—Raiel—sat in silence.
He sat cross-legged on the bed, with his elbows on his knees and his chin resting on his hand.
Despite his appearance as a boy, he had a bit of dignity.
"...The Fifth Head will have to stay for a while. I want Lyell to know the Fifth Head. I don't know what he'll feel by knowing, though. Before that."
Raiel looked up at the ceiling.
"You've left me alone too much because you don't want to see your true form, Lyell. This form is your form. It's your own form, still young."
Lyell's room inside the Orb had become a room that showed things one did not want to see. The Orb had interfered. It was a room that had been created as a result of Celes's interference.
And the form of the boy Raiel was also Lyell's own current form.
Lyell, who was born after Raiel was sealed, had a large body, but his heart was still that of a small child.
By being watched over by the successive heads of the family, he had grown and become mentally stronger, but he was an unstable existence.
If Raiel's memories returned, he might lose his balance. It was obvious that he would struggle with questions like 'Who am I?'.
"Lyell, please face me. I know you're subconsciously afraid. Even so... you have no choice but to erase me and move forward, Lyell."
Raiel whispered sadly, with an expression that didn't seem like that of a child—.