kscans

Chapter 80 - Akitsuki Uta and What She Left Behind

Just then, Cecily and Aira returned. They were back sooner than I expected.

"The person I healed yesterday came back to the church today, so I asked them about it. There's no doubt Izaak was the one spreading the word that he was offering treatment at the church,"

Aira said.

"So Izaak stole the mirror. We need to track him down,"

Cecily declared, and I nodded in agreement. But how were we supposed to do that? Should I put our journey to Miglutt on hold? If something happened to me, the church might not help Famu if she was left alone. I wanted to break the curse on her first. I also had my promise to free Cecily and Aira from slavery. They had become precious, special people to me, and the thought of them remaining slaves was starting to feel deeply wrong. I didn't want to postpone it any longer.

"Lady Laciel ordered us to find the mirror. Would you entrust this task to us?"

Kalpana asked, sensing my hesitation.

"Alright. I've taken custody of Mii's two slaves. We might be able to get some information from them. But there's a high probability that other otherworldlyers are behind him—people with special skills on par with my own. Please, be extremely careful."

"Thank you for your concern, Lord Mash,"

she said with a bow.

"Hey, can we tag along with ya?"

Hyakka asked.

"Yes. We would be grateful for your help,"

Kalpana replied, bowing again. I didn't know how strong Hyakka and her group were, but they surely had more experience than we did. If they were going along, there probably wouldn't be any problems.

The priest's hands lifted from Uta's body, and he let out a deep sigh.

"...It does not seem as though she was suffering from any kind of illness."

"What's that supposed to mean..."

She had foreseen her own death, so it wasn't a sudden end like murder or suicide. And yet, she wasn't sick.

"Mash, I hadn't given it much thought, but there are other legends of otherworldlyers besides Lady Uta. Okita Soji is one of them. However..."

Myra seemed to have an idea, but she trailed off.

"Go on, say it."

"As far as I know, none of the legends have any stories about their later years."

"..."

An idea came to mind. Mizuki and I had undergone an 'adaptation' from Laciel to help us acclimate to this world. Could it be that the effect had a time limit? If so, shouldn't the gods have given us a clearer objective? In our current state, we weren't even disposable pawns. Was the goal simply to send us here? No, that didn't make sense either. In that case, there would be no need for them to be living people.

"Priest, do you have any idea?"

"No, I can't think of anything either,"

the priest said, shaking his head. He then glanced toward Uta.

"Otherworldlyers possess special powers. Perhaps, like Lady Uta, they become the cornerstones of their cities?"

"What do you mean?"

"Just as a Crystal Core is prevented from becoming a dungeon, Lady Uta is controlling this space."

"So she's a human sacrifice?"

The priest didn't nod, but I took his silence as confirmation. This was the truth behind the miracle. Every city with a church must have a presence like hers.

"Did Uta choose to die for something like this? No, judging from her memo, she was forced into it. She was even carrying a child!"

"That's not correct. She was only enshrined here after she passed away,"

the priest's words made me turn to look at Myra.

"Before we fought Mii and the others, you said you couldn't explain the details right now. Is this what will happen to me when I die?"

Is that why you're following us? I barely managed to swallow the words.

"If that is what you wish. But as long as you are with me, I will never, ever let you die."

She placed a hand on her chest, her gaze sincere. While she was going on about her admiration for myths and legends, was this the kind of resolve she'd been hiding inside her all along? First Famu, now her... how could they feel that way?

"Mash. Have you forgotten? We are lovers."

Myra's resolve was her desire to see our lives through together as a couple.

"That was a cheap shot. Myra, please forgive me."

First weakness, and now I'd shown Myra another one of my ugly sides. The reason I let my raw emotions out around her was probably because she was the closest to my age. No, she'd probably get mad if I said that. I'll just go ahead and blame it on her huge boobs.

"Mash, I told you we are together. You can vent any emotion you have on me. I will accept it all. And I will do the same with you."

"I get it. But this is a little too heavy for me. I need you to be ready to grab Famu and run at a moment's notice."

Myra smiled. "Understood. I'll do that."

"We've gotten sidetracked. Let's recap: Uta's death wasn't from illness. But she wasn't forced into this, nor was she resigned to it herself. We can't confirm that any other otherworldlyers lived long lives, either. Although, it might just be that their later years simply lacked any episodes worth recording in legends..."

"Sorry to interrupt while you're summarizing,"

Mizuki said, looking up from her phone to meet my gaze.

"Look at this."

She showed me the screen.

'The otherworldlyer living in Fuhrt is dead. It's the same for all the others who survived the Holy War. It seems otherworldlyers can only exist in this world for ten years.'

I wished that only Mizuki, Hyakka, Chihiro, and I had seen this message. I needed time to sort through my own thoughts before everyone else saw it. Everyone was staring at the screen, transfixed. But no matter how long we stared, the words wouldn't change. This was the fate of a hero who had kept her promise to a god and defeated the Demon Lord. My heart was pounding violently. I didn't want anyone to hear it. I clenched my hands into tight fists.

"Well, I think I've got the gist of it. We only came down here to find out what Mii and the others were after, anyway. Let's put the lid back on the coffin and head topside,"

I said, trying for a joking tone.

"Master. I am with you,"

Famu said, placing her hand over my fist and squeezing. A tremor ran through her hand. No, maybe it was me who was shaking.

"Don't say such scary things. Don't throw your life away."

"But..."

"It's okay. I'm the real hero, right? We have ten years. Hyakka and the others have one year less, but before then, I'll find a way to escape this yoke. I'll definitely find it. You too, Mizuki. I swear I'll get you back to our world."

Did I say that convincingly? Famu was looking at me, her expression anxious, like she wanted to say something. Just like me. She was probably searching for the right words.

"Mash, it's meaningless if you're not there."

"Mizuki, it's fine. Uta was alone, but there are two of us,"

I said, touching her cheek. The color had drained from her face, leaving her skin the same shade as Uta's. It felt like cold porcelain.

"Mash, let's summon Lady Laciel one more time. It will be alright this time. We've leveled up,"

Myra pleaded, drawing closer.

"We're dealing with a god. You don't have to shoulder this. Laciel must want to help us, too. She'll give us an answer eventually."

As I replied to Myra, I noticed Cecily was also watching me.

"Don't look at me like that. Give me some of your usual arrogant bravado."

At my words, she forced the corners of her mouth into a smile.

"I will study magic even harder. And then, I will save you."

I nodded.

"Aira, are you worried about me?"

I asked, turning my gaze to her as she looked down.

"Just free me from slavery before you die."

Her words made me laugh.

"Right. I'm starting to feel bad about keeping you as a slave, too. It's just that this town has gotten a little uncomfortable. Everyone does a weird dance when they see me. I don't want to stand out anymore. We don't even have to go to Miglutt. I'll free you in Fuhrt. The two from the jail cell as well, if Famu agrees. And I'll have Myra send a letter through the church to get Reed released."

"Also, the next date is with me. Don't forget."

"Hey, it's my turn next! Mash and I promised to go boating together in Fuhrt!"

Myra reacted to Aira's words. She looked to me for confirmation, and I nodded back. Seeing this, Myra flashed a triumphant smile. There was no trace of the gentle lady from Richel.

"Wait, I haven't heard about this. I haven't had a date yet, either!"

"Cecily, you and he went out riding together!"

Myra shot back at Cecily's protest. What a stickler.

"...Fine. Then let's take a vote,"

Aira said.

"That's pointless. Everyone will just vote for themselves."

So I don't get a vote this time either?

"Everyone who thinks it should be me!"

Aira said, raising her hand. Famu and Mizuki reluctantly followed. A majority was reached. The ugly dispute between the sisters was settled.

"Wha-!?"

Myra and Cecily cried out in shock, clutching their heads in despair. I knew it was my fault, but I really wished they'd do this somewhere else. I noticed Kalpana staring at the scene, looking puzzled.

"They're an embarrassing bunch, aren't they?"

I asked her.

"Lord Mash, you truly have a set of values different from mine—no, from the people of this world."

I'm not the one making a scene here, though.

We were about to return Uta's sword and phone to the coffin, but the priest stopped us.

"Please, keep them. They may be of use to you on your journey, Lord Mash. However, you must promise to return them. A visit from someone from her homeland is a joyous occasion."

She might be happy about a visitor from her homeland, but she definitely wouldn't be happy about them seeing her phone. Still, it could hold important information.

"By the time of your next visit, we will have made preparations for you to become this city's new leader."

I chose to ignore the priest's ominous words and, following his advice, we decided to take her belongings with us. We all worked together to replace the coffin lid, and then we left Uta's final resting place behind.

"So, what're ya gonna do now?"

Hyakka asked as we climbed the stairs back to the surface.

"You know we don't have much time, right? Let's just kiss and move on to the next step."

"Th-The next step? So it wasn't just a kiss, you were after my body all along?! ...Hey, that's not what I'm askin' about!"

Hyakka responded with an exaggerated reaction.

"We're sticking to the plan. We'll head to Miglutt with the Mateo Trading Company's caravan. I plan to set up a base of operations there. After that, I think we'll head for the border with the Demon Kingdom."

First, I wanted to establish a foundation for our lives in Miglutt. I noticed Famu was watching me. She looked like she wanted to say something, but then she just looked down.

"Ya plan on goin' to the Demon Kingdom?"

Hyakka asked. The place I really wanted to go was Famu's homeland. If I told Hyakka we might find information about Okita Soji there, she might come along.

"I don't know. But I do want to confirm the existence of the Demon Lord."

I did have a desire to ascertain the Demon Lord's existence and find out what happened to the staff that was in the Ark.

"We'll chase after the nomads and Izaak. After that, we'll head for Miglutt."

"The Mateo Trading Company is backing us. I'll introduce you to them, Hyakka. Let's arrange it so we can check on each other's locations through the company."

Hyakka nodded. I wanted to leave information at the guild as well, to create a redundant line of communication, but there was a chance that otherworldlyers summoned by the Fifty Gods could access it. It was a tough call.

"One more thing. Be careful when you reveal that you're an otherworldlyer."

"Yeah, I know. But it's also important to find the otherworldlyers summoned by the five goddesses."

"There are only three pairs of otherworldlyers from the five goddesses left. The odds of running into anyone else are overwhelmingly higher."

They'd be strong allies, but it was unlikely we'd get any information out of them. It seems we were fated to only meet clueless duos who hadn't listened to what the gods told them. As we were talking, we reached the surface and entered the dome. It was only yesterday that we'd had that fierce battle here with Mii and the others, but it already felt like a distant memory, absorbed into the hundred-year history of this church. The building had sustained some damage in the fight, but it hadn't lost its splendor. It truly was a beautiful structure. They said Uta had founded it. It was supposedly modeled after a church in another town, but there was no doubt it had been built with thoughts of her original world in mind. A temple dedicated to all gods. Her wish to leave behind a child had not reached them. A shaft of light was once again pouring down from the hole in the ceiling. I prayed that this light would reach all the way down to the lowest level, where she slept.