kscans

Chapter 79 - Akitsuki Uta and Her Words

"I wonder when the mirror was taken, and by whom..."

Myra said.

"The church basement is not under constant surveillance. However, there is always someone at the reception desk at the entrance to the basement, so if we ask them, we might find out."

"There was no one there yesterday."

Of course there wasn't, not with all that chaos. I wanted to say that to Myra but held my tongue. Confirmation was important.

"Is there anyone who knew the mirror was kept here?"

"Among those in the church, I know of it. Other than that, the Consul and those around him... and there may be others who knew the circumstances of the burial at the time,"

the priest replied. So the Consul definitely knew. They were complicit in the attack on the church. But the situation was such that it wouldn't be strange for anyone to have known. We couldn't narrow down the suspects.

"What about Izaak?"

The Man in Black mage. He had fled after the battle. Cecily picked up a small scrap of cloth. It had been caught between the coffin and its lid and had fallen when we opened it. It was the same gray color as the robe he had been wearing yesterday. There was a slight scorch mark on it. I didn't remember damaging him, but if it was his, then Mii's attack must have grazed him.

However, it was Mii and Kei, the two transferees, who wanted the mirror; it didn't seem like Izaak would have any need for it.

"In that case, did he come back after fleeing and blend in with the injured? He's got some nerve..."

Despite being dressed as a mage, he had a muscular build. He should have stood out.

"The church was closed yesterday. And yet, after our battle, the injured came flooding in. Don't you think he was the one who spread the word to head for the church to cause confusion?"

It seemed plausible, just as Cecily said.

"I see. We should be able to confirm that right away."

"I'll go ask."

No sooner had she said it than she was out of the room. Aira chased after her. They had barely participated in the conversation since coming to this room. They must have been feeling restless. Still, he moved a coffin lid that Chihiro and I couldn't lift, all by himself? Terrifying strength.

"Look at this."

Mizuki was holding Uta's smartphone. She must have managed to charge it a bit. The power was on. It was amazing that it still worked after a hundred years. Given that Uta's body was preserved in an unchanging state, there must be some kind of mechanism in this space, or perhaps in the coffin itself. The calendar was displayed on the screen she held out. The date was ten years ahead of the one on my phone. There seemed to be a memo written on it. Mizuki opened it.

'I want to live. At least let me wait until my first child is born.'

"..."

She had known she was going to die. I looked away from the phone and back at Uta. She really did just look like she was sleeping. Mizuki closed the memo and scrolled back through the dates. The entries began in the same year that we were transferred.

'While I was fighting with my boyfriend, I was transferred to an unknown world by someone claiming to be a god named Laciel. I can't go back.'

That's what the memo said. As I'd felt earlier, perhaps because it wasn't intended to be seen by others, the writing style felt quite stiff. And Laciel, she's been certified as a fake god.

"As for transferees, maybe they're always summoned from the same year in our world."

Let's say the war of the gods happened ten thousand years ago. If a hundred people were transferred every hundred years from then on, that would mean ten thousand people have been transferred to this world. That's a lot of people; wouldn't someone notice they were all disappearing? And if they all have to be from the same ancestral line, wouldn't they be running out of candidates by now?

"By any chance, Master, do you know someone named Okita Soji?"

Famu's question seemed to come out of nowhere, but I remembered her class was Miburō.

"I know him. He was called Miburō in my original world, too."

"Was he a friend of yours? Perhaps you were also a Miburō, Master?"

Famu's eyes were sparkling more than I had ever seen them.

"No, unfortunately, he died over a hundred years before I was born. Was there a transferee who called himself that?"

"Yes. He is a hero in the legends of the dog-eared race. Everyone reveres him."

Famu nodded deeply. The sense of déjà vu I felt from her behavior came from this. He was the one who left our world's customs with the dog-eared race. He had left his name in this world, and by some principle, he even left the Miburō class for the dog-eared race. If it was really him, then my hypothesis would be wrong.

"...No, that's impossible!"

Hyakka exclaimed.

"Okita Soji was sick! He lost the war and hid out at a gardener's place, but he never recovered and died there! He has a grave! I've read the novels, the manga, rented the historical drama and watched it all! I even whined to my dad until he took me to see his grave, though we could only pay our respects from a distance. I'm telling you, I'm right!"

Hyakka seemed to be a passionate Okita Soji fan.

"I have heard that when Okita Soji was transferred, he was suffering from an illness. It was consumption, they said. In the end, this illness was the cause of his death,"

Famu said.

"..."

Hyakka and I exchanged a look. The word consumption came from Famu's mouth first. What was going on? But one thing occurred to me. She was suffering from an illness due to a curse. It had the symptoms of consumption, and perhaps that's why it was thought to be contagious and she was left alone. And the guardian deity enshrined in her village—could it have been Okita Soji? Why would he, a figure respected by the dog-eared race, become a roadside deity and curse the villagers? To find out the truth, we would need to visit her homeland.

"Is that Okita Soji's swordsmanship similar to mine?"

"Yes. I have not seen it directly, but you use the same weapon as described in the legends of Okita Soji, Master,"

Famu replied.

"Famu, sorry, but that guy's a fake. The real one was super handsome. There's no way he's the same as this old guy! Don't ruin my dream!"

"Hmph! Master is the most handsome man in the world!"

Famu charged at Hyakka. I felt bad for her, but I was well aware that I was a plain old guy. Then again, Hyakka's biased view was pretty harsh too.

"Hey, Famu just said our weapons were the same. The old guy part has nothing to do with it,"

I pointed out to Hyakka, just in case.

The conversation had gone completely off track. I turned my gaze back to Uta.

"What does it mean, 'first child'?"

Mizuki said.

"She must have deliberately written 'first',"

I mused. That would mean the current Consul was not her descendant. There must have been some kind of conflict back then. But that was a secondary issue.

"But she really does look alive."

Perhaps because I'd seen the memo, her slightly swollen belly seemed to move. As I reached out to touch it, I was met with glares from everyone. That was careless. I really didn't have any lewd intentions, but because of my usual behavior, it didn't seem like they would believe me.

"Was she ill?"

Myra murmured as if to herself.

"Shall I check? I do not believe I can cure what the people of that time could not, but she must have left those words because there was some kind of diagnosis,"

the priest replied.

"Can you do it?"

Instead of answering me, he placed his hands on her body and began to chant something like a spell. Still, it didn't sit right with me that this priest, a pervert who had touched Hyakka's butt, faced no protest from the women. Since it couldn't be helped, I decided to fondle Hyakka's butt in his stead. I moved behind her so no one would notice.

"Hyaah!"

Hyakka shrieked as I touched her butt.

"W-W-What are you doing, all of a sudden..."

Hyakka's face turned beet red as she looked at me. The complex expression of surprise, confusion, and embarrassment was irresistible. So this was the face the priest had been looking at. I was jealous. She brought her face close to my ear.

"A-Are you, maybe, askin' for a kiss at a time like this? L-Later. Not in front of everyone."

The priest remained still, his hands on Uta, still chanting something. We were left with nothing to do.

"Still, Laciel is terrible. She never intended to tell us anything from the start, did she?!"

Mizuki said. I thought so too. But what was her purpose in putting us in this situation?

"Mizuki. I do not think Lady Laciel won't say it, but rather that she can't say it,"

Famu replied.

"Why can't she say it? She's a goddess, isn't she?"

"Come to think of it, I'd forgotten that Laciel is imprisoned. Does that mean the other gods have forbidden her from telling transferees the purpose or the situation?"

Famu nodded uncertainly. Laciel lost the war of the gods. Since then, she has been cut off from the other gods and imprisoned.

"At the very least, it seems Lady Laciel is particularly fond of you, Master, and Mizuki."

Famu stated it as a fact. Her thoughts seemed to be gleaned from Laciel's emotions.

"Speaking of which, she was screaming something during the battle at the flanking tower. Did you hear it, Famu?"

The moment she screamed, my mana depleted significantly.

"I could not hear it. But it felt like she was saying, 'Run'."

I looked at Hyakka and Chihiro, who had also been there. They shook their heads. Still, 'Run' was no ordinary thing to say. After summoning us to this world, what was she on about?

"By the way, when you first met Laciel, didn't she say something to you at the end?"

"She told me two things. At that time, I was angry at you, Master, and at Lady Laciel out of jealousy."

I nodded. It was the day after I'd done naughty things with her for the first time. I had also done naughty things with Laciel.

"I was really, truly, incredibly angry,"

Famu said, correcting herself as she remembered her feelings at the time.

"That's right. I had never been that angry before."

So it was a deeper anger than when her village was attacked and she was thrown in jail? But if she could, I wished she would move on.

"To me, in that state, Lady Laciel said, 'Is the person you truly love the ideal person you envision in your heart? Or is it the person you are touching?'"

"I get it... and it's true, but for Laciel to be the one to say that feels incredibly unfair,"

Mizuki replied, her expression unconvinced by Famu's words.

"What was the other thing?"

I prompted Famu.

"...I do not wish to say it now. But I promise I will tell you someday. Is that not acceptable?"

"No, if you don't want to say it, you don't have to. You don't have to promise either."

I placed my hand on Famu's head and stroked her soft ear. What on earth was she hiding?