kscans

Chapter 236 - Petra's Secret and the Throne of God, Once More

"Orichalcum is said to be a mineral born from mana,"

Petra said. As usual, she wore her thick, round glasses and had a bandana covering her mouth.

"I thought... you said mana has no physical structure?"

Petra nodded at my words.

"...It's just 'said to be.' No one has ever actually created a Crystal Core or Orichalcum from mana,"

Marmi answered this time. We were at a spot south of Richel, along the main road. This was where Mizuki and I had landed when summoned by Laciel. Aidan and Petra carefully placed a hexagonal metal plate on the ground. It was large, maybe a meter across. The surface of the plate was covered in inscriptions that were hard to distinguish as letters or patterns, and it glowed with a golden light. It seemed to be emitting its own light rather than just reflecting the sun. There was a depression in the center and at each of the six points, into which they fitted Mana Seeds.

"...It consumes one Mana Seed to transfer the mass of one person. And one for the experiment, so we need eight Mana Seeds."

"No, seven Mana Seeds will be enough."

Petra, standing up after setting the Mana Seeds, replied to Marmi.

"...What do you mean?"

"I'll tell you after this experiment succeeds."

Petra shot me a meaningful look, but I had no idea what she was getting at. I was about to ask, but she turned her face away and faced Marmi again.

"Mo, activate the magic circle."

Marmi gave a small nod and pointed the tip of her wand at the plate. A black, miasma-like substance began to rise.

"Hey, is this safe?"

The miasma seemed to swallow the glow of the orichalcum, transforming it into something ominous.

"...Mash, be quiet."

Marmi thrust her wand forward further and began to spin a spell. It was like a mumble, with no intonation, and sounded like a list of words, but I couldn't tell if it had any meaning. Eventually, the plate, which had been shining with a golden light, was swallowed by the miasma, leaving only the black miasma flickering like a flame.

"This is..."

It was just like a dungeon entrance.

"So, what's the method to confirm if it's really connected to the 'World of the Jar of Holy Oil'?"

Petra's voice came from behind me as I stared, dumbfounded.

"R-right... I wrote a letter to Laciel."

"I see."

Petra took the letter I held out.

"Inanimate objects alone won't be transported, so I'll disguise it."

She pressed a clay-like substance onto the letter, just like a wax seal. Then, as if throwing it into a bonfire, she tossed it into the miasma, and the letter vanished as if consumed by flames.

"Even if the letter reaches that space, what if Laciel doesn't notice it?"

Mizuki asked.

"Nah, she seems bored, so she's probably watching all the time, right? When I use Goddess Summon, I never have to explain the situation from scratch. She was watching everything the other night, too, right?"

"Stop it."

She turned her face away with a huff.

"How long were we in that space?"

"It felt long, and it felt short..."

Mizuki also put a hand to her chin, pondering. It was true that time felt distorted in that space. After waiting for a while, the flickering of the miasma intensified for a moment, and a letter flew out from within it, fluttering down in front of me. Mizuki picked it up.

"The wax seal is still on..."

She flicked off the seal and took out the paper inside.

"H-hey, don't read it without permission! That's an invasion of privacy!"

"Says the person who comes into my room without permission?"

She brushed away my hand as I tried to take it back and read the letter.

"'O, Laciel, I am Mother Moon, the being who illuminates all in this world— If you read this letter, you are to write a reply—'"

"..."

"Are you a child?! There's no way you'd get a reply to this!"

"What was I supposed to do?! I didn't know what to write!"

"Think about the time and place before you joke around!"

She shoved the letter into my chest.

"W-well, but in the experiments at Aidan's workshop, the things that were transported never came back, right? The fact that the letter came back from this location means it went to Laciel's room and then returned after some time has passed, right?"

We stood before the flickering miasma. We would use this transfer device to go to Laciel's place. There, in front of Laciel, we would summon Laciel—which was strange, but she couldn't leave the room otherwise. Then, we would go through the 'World of the Jar of Holy Oil' to Miglutt. If we ended up in a place with nothing, we could just summon Laciel there. Even if it wasn't the 'World of the Jar of Holy Oil', we knew that, like the letter, we could return to this place after some time.

"Well, shall we go?"

I looked around at the group. Me, Famu, Mizuki, Myra, Marmi, Petra, and Sameim. Aidan would be cleaning up this transfer device.

"Wait. It's just like a dungeon entrance. Only six people can go through at a time,"

Petra said. I wish she'd told me that sooner, but it couldn't be helped.

"In that case, we'll leave Sameim."

I was about to ask Aidan to look after her when Petra placed a hand on my shoulder.

"I need to talk to you about that."

She started to pull my hand, so I had no choice but to follow. As usual, Myra led the way, followed by Famu, Mizuki, and Marmi. Petra stopped.

"This is a really important conversation. It's not about the love lives you're all so concerned with. Please, I'm begging you, leave us alone."

The other four looked at each other. Myra puffed out her cheeks and was about to follow anyway, but Mizuki pulled her back. Petra and I headed into the shade of the trees.

"It's about Sameim,"

she said.

"She needs a purpose in life. She won't find it in this city. Just as you are for Famu, she needs someone to be that person for her. I understand the feeling of wanting to make that Aidan, but for her, that role is better suited for a human or a dog-eared person. In Miglutt, there's Maryanne One-Land. You should rely on her. I'll stay behind instead."

"What about you?"

"I really enjoy swinging a hammer with my master. And I have the orichalcum I got from you."

Aidan's presence must be that appealing to her. I looked at her face intently. Though, I couldn't read anything from her hidden expression.

"Won't everyone in Miglutt be in trouble if you're gone?"

"Yes."

As she said that, she took off her glasses and bandana.

"You..."

"Remember the position of my mole and tell my grandfather. He should stop bringing new marriage candidates then. I can't go against his decisions anyway. I'll stay in Richel and make an orichalcum weapon for Mash. Please tell him that."

I stared at her face. She raised the corners of her mouth slightly.

"Also, you should ask about the myths passed down by the dwarf race through my grandfather's connections."

"Petra... don't act like this is the end. I'm not leaving anyone behind. I'll be back soon."

"The Throne of God... huh. If they're going to rebuild the Great Temple in Miglutt, I'd like to use that place as a motif. I'll definitely come back to Miglutt when it's being rebuilt. Please tell the Priestess for me."

With that, she pushed me away with both hands on my chest.

"You can deal with me last. Finish what you need to do first. You and Mizuki still haven't decided what you want to do about Yuki, have you? Talk it over properly with Mizuki."

"Alright."

"I said you can deal with me last, but don't just leave me hanging. A dwarf girl has shown her face to a man like this, after all."

I was about to say that there were no girls older than me, but her unveiled face was so radiant that I hesitated.

"I had to lie to them, didn't I? Go on ahead. I'll be right there after I fix my glasses."

Leaving the two dwarves, Petra and Aidan, behind, we stood on the transfer device.

"Why is your face red?"

Myra asked.

"W-well, I'm just nervous about whether this transfer will succeed."

"Hmph! I knew I should have followed you!"

As she was saying that, my vision was enveloped by the black miasma.

It was a divine, shining, temple-like space. I realized we had come to a familiar place. It seemed we had been transported to Laciel's space. I looked around. Everyone seemed to have been transported safely. But the master of this room, who should have been here, was nowhere to be seen.

"What's going on?"

"Who knows, but if you use Goddess Summon, she should appear, right?"

Mizuki answered.

"That's true, but she said she was trapped, so it's strange that she's not in this room."

"Hmm? Hmmm, well... you have a point."

"She's definitely hiding something. I mean, telling me to defeat a non-existent Demon Lord, making me fight other transferrers... she knows everything and is just playing dumb, doing whatever she wants. I want to give her a taste of divine punishment."

"Divine punishment for a god... But do we have time for that? If our bodies disappear and we go back to Richel, we won't have any more Mana Seeds, and even Aidan and Petra would probably be angry."

"Alright, just three minutes then. Let's search the house. If we find anything valuable, we'll stuff it all in storage and take it home!"

When I said that, Myra frantically raised her hand.

"W-wait! Robbing Lady Laciel's room... you'll really be struck by divine punishment. You shouldn't..."

Like her, Famu and Sameim also seemed hesitant. Marmi looked intrigued, but she didn't make a move either. It seemed Laciel was deeply revered as a god by the people of this world. Mizuki and I started walking around, looking about. It was inefficient for us to search the same place, so we split up. Soon, I found the entrance to a side room. When I entered, it looked like a bedroom. There was a king-sized bed with a magnificent canopy. Laciel was lying on the fluffy cushions, covered by a pure white sheet. Her hands were clasped on her chest, so I thought she might be dead, but her chest was rising and falling gently.

"...Even gods sleep?"

Do gods dream? Her sleeping face was peaceful. A body that didn't lose its divinity even in sleep. I placed a hand on her chest. I had to check her heartbeat to see if she was sick. I kneaded her breast. I couldn't hear a heartbeat, but it was just incredibly soft. As I felt the marshmallow-like texture and the warmth of her skin, I kneaded it some more.

"Ngh... nn..."

She furrowed her brow slightly and let out a small moan, but she showed no signs of waking. There was only one way to wake someone up in a situation like this. I knew what to do. I pressed my lips against her cherry-pink ones. After a light touch, I pulled back, then pecked at her soft lips again. At that moment, I felt like Laciel's eyes flew open. I looked at her, and her eyes were closed again. I thought it was my imagination, but her breath had turned hot. I extended my tongue and pushed into her mouth, and she too parted her lips slightly, allowing me entry. Her arms wrapped around my back. I was about to deepen the kiss when I was struck on the back of the head and bit my own tongue. I turned around to see Mizuki, and at the entrance to the room, Famu and the others were peeking in.

"Hagah, fugau, higah, higa, fuga!"

"I didn't hit you that hard! I don't know what you're saying, but we don't have time for this!"

"I am not a taxi!"

Laciel puffed out her cheeks.

"Shut up. If you really want me to defeat the Demon Lord, then shut up and do as I say!"

"How cruel!"

Laciel was still trying to protest.

"Anyway, how are you so careless? You're in conflict with other gods, right? How have you not been killed yet?"

"Gods don't die the way humans do. Their entire existence has to be erased. Besides, I had my room properly locked!"

"Huh? You're the one who gave me this key."

I showed her the magic key, and she slumped her shoulders in defeat. Couldn't other gods make things like this? If so, then locking the door itself was meaningless. I thought about telling her that, but I decided to keep quiet for now. I had already used Goddess Summon. In any case, we were out of time.

"So, we should go to the dungeon in the Leafkraut territory, right?"

Laciel asked, sulking.

"No, the forty-ninth floor of the Crystal Palace."

"What do you mean? Even if we go there, we won't be able to get in without the dungeon collapsing, will we?"

Myra tilted her head.

"Shizuka's boyfriend, Ko-kun... no, Toratsuna, should be there."

"What do you mean?"

"Hyakka's party, New World's Etowan, said it. There's something strange about the forty-ninth floor. And the Messiah party and Toratsuna fought there. Clovis also hinted that there was a user of the special skill, [Yasakani no Magatama]. He has to be there. There."

The battle between the Messiah party and Toratsuna happened months ago. He might not be alive. But for Shizuka's sake, I had to check that possibility.

"I want you to take us there."

Laciel nodded at my words.

"Very well. I will take you there."

A spear materialized, floating in the air in front of her.