Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 14 - Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

The Past and a Curse, Summoning, and Jealousy

TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO, a girl was rescued from a labyrinth. She had lost all her memories and emotions. She had no idea who she was, only that she had to be an elf because she looked like one. Thus, she was placed in an elven settlement and resumed a normal life there. The people in the village welcomed her even though she was a stranger to them. The girl’s memories never returned, but her emotions did after a few years. She was cheerful and sociable, and before long, she fell in love with one of the men in the village. 

It was only after the two became intimate that she began to experience a problem: her libido suddenly spiked. She wanted to have sex every single night.

Elves weren’t inclined to frequent intimacy, at least not nearly as much as humans and goblins. Her partner struggled to keep up with her needs, but the two still lived in harmony. However, something strange happened to her body around that time. After they began having sex, she started birthing a small, round magical crystal every month. Inside was an incredibly dense accumulation of mana. When she told her husband, he was a bit unnerved by this abnormal phenomenon, but assured her it was nothing to worry about.

A short time after that, the husband began selling these crystals in a human town. Although it seemed like his eyes were clouded by greed, one could hardly blame him for coveting the money these crystals earned him. He had never been rich, and his wife didn’t work. At least, the man never treated his wife like she was his own personal money tree.

Tragedy struck five years later. The husband died—or rather, he was murdered. With his cargo of extremely expensive crystals, he earned the attention of some bandits. They attacked him, taking both his life and his wealth. 

With him gone, the woman was now a widow. Although she fell deep into depression, she still endured. Unfortunately, there was a problem with her body—her insatiable libido ballooned again. Ten days after her husband passed, the urge came on strong and swift from deep inside her. She couldn’t suppress it and assailed one of the men in the village. She knew it was wrong, but she did it anyway. At least the man in question wasn’t unwilling, and nothing happened after they did the deed once.

Ten more days passed, and she went after a different man. Then another ten days and she did it again. Her appetite was so untamable that word soon spread of her wild promiscuity. The women of the village all denounced her and drove her out. That woman became a prostitute after that, then a slave, and finally an adventurer. It’s said that even to this day, she continues wandering the world.

***

“…And that’s basically what my life has been like,” Elinalise said. She’d come to recount her story to me first thing this morning.

“You didn’t have to tell me everything.”

Honestly, hearing all of it left me stunned. The curse was the only thing I needed to know about, but Elinalise didn’t spare a single detail.

“This is my way of making up for not telling you any of this sooner.”

“So, uh, does Cliff already know all of this?”

“Of course. I told him before our wedding.”

“Oh, okay. What about Sylphie?”

“She doesn’t know. I doubt she wants to know her grandmother once sold her body for money.”

I shrugged. “I don’t think Sylphie would care about that kind of thing.”

“I just hope you won’t look at her in a different light if you hear ill rumors about me somewhere. She may have my blood running through her, but she’s just a normal girl.”

“I know. I wouldn’t ever do that to her.” Besides, Sylphie isn’t responsible for things Elinalise may have done in the past.

That said, after hearing everything she had been through, I could understand why she kept mum about her history, and her relation to Sylphie. No one wants people to look at them differently. Anyway, the past is the past. There were things in my past I didn’t want to reveal either. I couldn’t pretend the things I’d done in my previous life didn’t exist, but that story would stay in my head and my head alone.

“So what is your curse exactly?” I asked.

“The mana in my body builds and coalesces into a magical crystal upon receiving a man’s seed. If I don’t receive a man’s seed, the mana will continue building until it kills me.”

“But you were fine the first couple of years, right?”

“I honestly don’t entirely understand that either. At the time, I wasn’t having a monthly cycle, so maybe that had something to do with it.”

“Your monthly…” I repeated her words before trailing off. If it had something to do with her menstrual cycle, then maybe it was her ova that were transforming into those magical crystals. In that case, Zenith’s curse was probably something different altogether. I assumed she still had those monthly visits. After all, she had already given birth to two children, and although Lilia hadn’t given me any details, she was still only 35 years old or thereabouts. 

“But your memories never came back?”

She shook her head. “No. Even now, I don’t remember anything.”

I went silent. So she still didn’t remember her past, which meant she had no idea who she was exactly. There was a slim possibility that she might suddenly remember someday, but if she hadn’t in 200 years, it seemed unlikely she ever would.

“Zenith’s condition is different from mine,” said Elinalise. “Judging by how she acts, it seems she knows who her children are. Perhaps she may regain all of her memories.”

“I hope you’re right.” Maybe it was better not to do too much wishful thinking, though. “What about her curse?” I asked.

“At the moment, she isn’t showing any signs of having one like mine.”

“Ah. I didn’t think so.”

“She most likely has a different curse on her.”

“Really?”

She nodded. “I think there’s a distinct possibility. Do you have any idea what her curse could be?”

An idea, huh… Hm. Maybe a vague one, but nothing conclusive. After a short pause, I admitted, “Nope, nothing.”

“All right, well, best to continue keeping an eye on her.”

Whatever it was, it wasn’t something lethal, but there could be a trigger out there that would cause it to manifest. “I guess that’s all we can do right now, huh? Keep watching her?”

“Yes.”

I wasn’t going to get my hopes up, but I still couldn’t help praying that nothing bad happened.

“That’s the extent of what I know,” said Elinalise. “I’m sorry. There was too much I didn’t want to say, and I was late giving you the truth.” She lowered her head.

I understood not wanting to share about her past. In fact, I felt guilty for not sharing the events of my previous life with Sylphie and Roxy. It did suck that Elinalise hadn’t told me sooner, but I wasn’t about to be a hypocrite and get mad at her for it.

“No, I appreciate you talking about it even though you didn’t feel comfortable. Thank you.” I extended my hand and she shook it, gripping it tight.

“Well, then I’m going to return to Cliff.”

“I’m going to rest a little more, then go check on Nanahoshi,” I said.

“All right. Have a nice day.” Elinalise turned and slipped out of the room.

In the end, I didn’t learn anything new about Zenith’s condition. There was a high probability she had a curse on her, but it hadn’t caused any problems yet. All I could do was prepare myself to act in case anything did happen later on.

After breakfast, we gathered in a room with a long table and took our seats. Nanahoshi and Cliff sat to one side of me with Zanoba on the other. Directly across from me was Sylvaril of the Void, the woman with black wings who served Perugius.

“All right, now let’s begin our lesson.”

The agreement was for Perugius to teach Nanahoshi summoning magic, but Nanahoshi had been kind enough to ask that we be included. We were starting from the very basics, so Perugius wasn’t the one teaching us. He would turn up when it was time to put what we’d learned to the test. He was probably having tea with Ariel at this moment.

Uh, I should probably be focusing on the lesson instead of worrying about where Perugius is, though.

“First,” said Sylvaril, “let’s make sure we are all on the same page. What is summoning magic? You there…”

“Cliff. Cliff Grimor.”

“Cliff, please answer for me. What is summoning magic?”

There were two types of summoning magic. The first was bestowal, which was mostly used to create magical implements—in other words, the drawing of summoning circles. Cliff specialized in this, and it was a flourishing art in the Magic City of Sharia. 

The second type was invocation, which allowed you to summon anything in existence, from simple animals such as dogs and cats to highly intelligent beasts. That list included gentle monsters that were easy for humans to tame, as well as ones with low intellect, such as goblins and treants. You could also summon spirits that existed somewhere out in the world. 

There were no professors in Sharia who could perform invocation magic. Even the guild only had a few people who could do it, and they were all amateurs at it. Perhaps some other country was monopolizing that school of magic, or maybe it was simply that no one around Sharia could teach it. Either way, that was the extent of my knowledge. And Cliff must have been about as versed as me, because he relayed the same answer.

“That’s incorrect,” Sylvaril said with a shake of her head. “It is true that summoning requires a magic circle by nature, but the drawing of a circle is not in itself part of this school of magic.”

“Which means only the latter qualifies as summoning magic, then?” I asked. The atmosphere here reminded me of when Roxy used to give me lessons as a child.

“Yes, but Cliff wasn’t wrong when he said there were two types of summoning magic.”

“In other words, bestowal isn’t one of those types.”

“Indeed.” She spoke in a gentle voice, but since there was no blackboard or textbook about, I had to take notes using the stack of papers and quill pen I’d brought. It made this feel like a real class. “There are two types of summoning magic: Fiend Summoning and Spirit Summoning.”

I wrote down both names. From what I remembered, spirits were beings that existed in our world but rarely showed themselves. The only kinds I had ever seen before were the Lamplight Spirits I had summoned with those scrolls.

“What’s the difference between the two of those?” I asked.

“Fiend Summoning, as you humans well know, allows you to call upon a beast living somewhere out in the wild. Per an ancient covenant, anything considered to be a person cannot be summoned. However, everything else that exists in the world can be.”

So all kinds of creatures could be invoked with such magic, even dragons. “What’s this ‘ancient covenant’?”

“When summoning magic was first born into this world, our ancestors made a covenant. Magic cannot break those ancient rules.”

So people couldn’t be summoned? Was that really true? What was so different between teleporting a person and summoning them? Not that it really mattered. The important thing was getting the basics down pat. I could ask more nuanced questions later. “Sorry,” I said. “Please continue.”

“Very well. In Fiend Summoning, one cannot invoke a creature with more mana than they possess themselves. Even if they do so, there’s a high likelihood they won’t be able to control the creature they summon.”

Come to think of it, I’d read about that in a book a long time ago. Sig’s Summoning Magic, I think it was called. It contained the tale of someone who invoked a creature that was stronger than they were, which ate them alive. Considering how vast my own mana pool was, I probably wouldn’t have issues no matter what I summoned, but I had no idea if it would obey me or not. Not that I had plans to summon anything powerful. Besides, we had three pets in the house already. There was no need for me to summon anything.

“Oh, yeah, are living creatures the only thing you can summon?” I blurted.

“Yes. You cannot summon the dead.”

“No, I meant things. Like…could I summon some clothes that are at my house right now?”

“I’m afraid that’s impossible.”

So I couldn’t summon Roxy’s panties. Wait, hold on a second. Nanahoshi had succeeded in summoning a plastic bottle. Surely, it wasn’t impossible. Maybe it was better to say that no one in this world had figured out how to do it yet. That would explain why Perugius was so interested in Nanahoshi’s research—because it meant such magic was possible. Now I understood why he agreed to aid her.

“May I continue?” Sylvaril asked, interrupting my thoughts.

“Oh, yes. My apologies for interjecting repeatedly.”

“Not at all. Your queries indicate how passionate you are about learning.” She nodded slowly before continuing. “Spirit Summoning, as the name implies, involves the creation of a spirit.”

“Creation? As in you’re actually making them?”

“Correct. You expend mana in the process and create a spirit with certain abilities. Such is how Spirit Summoning operates.”

In other words, by using those scrolls Nanahoshi had provided, I wasn’t summoning Lamplight Spirits from elsewhere; I was conjuring them with my own mana.

“Spirits possess a low level of intellect and will obey the summoner’s orders until they use up all of their mana,” Sylvaril explained.

“Is that an absolute?”

There was a pause before she answered, “No. If you specifically construct the circle so that they won’t follow your orders, then a spirit with free will shall be created instead.”

But if you didn’t do that, would they follow your every command? That was almost like programming. Wait, speaking of programming, I felt like I had heard about a similar concept …

“That seems odd to me,” said Cliff, voice filled with dissatisfaction. “Those of you who serve Perugius were spirits summoned 400 years ago, yes? You’re awfully intelligent if that’s the case, and it’s odd that you haven’t disappeared in the intervening centuries.”

Just what I would expect from you, Cliff. He was too sharp to let that inconsistency slip by.

Sylvaril nodded cheerfully. “I am glad you brought that up. Lord Perugius’s predecessor, the first Armored Dragon King, passed on his knowledge of how to create eleven ancient, highly intelligent and powerful spirits. Ordinarily, spirits of such caliber would not last more than a single day, but Lord Perugius has developed a way to maintain them for centuries.”

She sure was being boastful. But I could see why. It was quite a feat to maintain for eternity what would normally only last a day. In other words, perpetual motion—a concept just as incredible in my previous world as it was in this one.

Hm, wait a second. She said eleven ancient spirits. Isn’t that one too few?

“Don’t you mean twelve?” I asked.

“No, eleven. I’m not one of Lord Perugius’s spirits.”

I blinked at her. “You’re not?”

“Not at all. Lord Perugius saved me during Laplace’s War, and I have served him ever since. I am simply one of the skyfolk.”

Skyfolk? Well, that would explain the wings then. If the others were his servants, perhaps she was more of a confidant. Or a lover? No, that couldn’t be. Romance wasn’t the only bond that existed in the world.

“So which will we be learning?” I asked.

“We’ll primarily focus on Fiend Summoning,” she said. “However, Lord Perugius considers the summoning of things from another world to resemble Spirit Summoning, so I am sure we will touch on that as well.”

So we were going to learn both? I was looking forward to that. It might be fun to summon monsters from all over the world and open a zoo.

“I would like to learn more about Spirit Summoning specifically, if possible,” said Zanoba.

Cliff nodded in agreement. “I am interested in the subject too.”

As I noticed how invested in this they both were, something in my brain finally clicked. Programming. That’s right. The way the core of that automated doll functioned had reminded me of programming.

Wait. If we were able to learn Spirit Summoning, we might be able to complete that doll. Of course, I didn’t think it would be easy to succeed where Maniacal Dragon King Chaos had failed, but I was sure this magic would come in handy all the same. You never knew when such knowledge would be useful.

“All right, now let’s start by learning the foundations of summoning. First, please look at this magic circle…”

So did Sylvaril begin the lesson. Unfortunately, I was behind the other three when it came to knowing how to draw a magic circle, almost like a dropout who had suddenly decided to rejoin his peers. Maybe I should have learned the basics instead of leaving it to everyone else. 

It wasn’t too late to start now, regardless. One was never too old to learn something new, and I was only 18. Look at Zanoba. He was in his mid-twenties when he first entered the academy, and he’d come a long way refining his ability to craft dolls. I should learn from his example. Although I was starting off on bad footing right now. After this lesson was over, I needed to put in some revision and practice.

“By the by,” Sylvaril said, “it’s almost time for lunch. If there is anything specific you would like to eat, please let me know.”

And with that, our lesson ended.

The night before, we had ancient Asuran cuisine for dinner, which included meatballs and potatoes boiled with herb soup. There was bread made from wheat and other grains, among some other dishes. It wasn’t too different from what we ate in Sharia. Considering how grand the fortress looked from the outside, it was quite a simple meal, albeit delicious. But from Perugius’s standpoint, it wasn’t an ancient cuisine at all. He considered this to be traditional Asuran cooking—the standard food people made 400 years ago. There was a saying I’d read somewhere: technology advances during times of war while cuisine advances during times of peace. Asura’s dishes had changed greatly over the past 400 years.

Dinner was brought to each of our rooms, but I ate mine with Sylphie. No matter how luxurious the rooms were, dining by yourself was far too lonely. It was strange how I had never felt that way in my previous life. I had really changed since then.

Breakfast, on the other hand, I had to eat alone. Such is life.

Now it was time for lunch, and Sylvaril had volunteered to make us whatever we liked. Considering Arumanfi was aboard and could do errands at the speed of light, they could fetch ingredients from any country in the world. Actually, they could simply order from any restaurant and have him bring the food back. His speed sure came in handy for home delivery.

“Could I have something from Millis?” Cliff asked.

“Hm, then I would like something from Shirone,” said Zanoba.

They both desired cooking from their respective home countries. No matter how much they acted like they were comfortable here, they missed home for sure.

“Very well. I shall have it prepared for you.” Sylvaril’s voice was gentle as she responded to their requests, her mask hiding any emotion on her face.

“I’m fine with whatever,” Nanahoshi said.

Perhaps she hadn’t realized it, but this was our chance. I was not the type of man to let a good opportunity slip by. As the charismatic Char Aznable often said, make optimal use of every chance you get! “I’m thinking vinegar-seasoned white rice with fresh, raw fish that’s been cut into bite-sized pieces on top,” I said. “Do you know of such a dish?”

“What?! Is there such a thing here?” Nanahoshi’s face lit up.

Unfortunately, Sylvaril shook her head. “No, I have never heard of such a thing. Although we do have rice here.”

Nanahoshi’s shoulders slumped.

I was overjoyed to hear this, however. As long as we had rice, we could easily find something else to go with it. “How about cold water with raw egg and wheat flour, mixed into a fine batter that you can dip shrimp, squid, or vegetables in, and fry in oil at a high temperature?”

“I have never heard of that either. Although we do have wheat flour and eggs.”

Ooh, so they do have eggs! Which means I can always have raw egg cracked over steamy hot rice!

Unsurprisingly, sushi and tempura were a no-go. That probably meant I was out of luck with sukiyaki as well, since it involved boiling soy sauce, sugar, and mirin in a pot. Whatever we got here wouldn’t be as delicious as what you could eat at a restaurant back in Japan, but at least with these ingredients we could make something. What we really needed was soy sauce. That was the real Japanese flavor we were hankering for.

“How about a sauce made from fermented soy beans? Either soy sauce or soy paste would be fine.”

“We don’t have anything like that here at our fortress.”

As I suspected, no such thing exists here.

“I have heard, however, that Biheiril Kingdom uses a sauce similar to the one you described. We could order Arumanfi to go search for it.”

I perked up. “Yes, please!” I didn’t care that it was extra trouble for Arumanfi. If we could have him search for it, then we might as well.

After an hour, he came back without any soy sauce. It was no surprise, given the short time frame, and it was my fault for only bringing it up when it was almost lunchtime. But while he may not have found soy sauce, he did bring us something else—a reddish-brown substance that the people of Biheiril made by fermenting beans. They called it tofu, but I decided to call it miso instead. Because come on, this is totally miso.

If memory served me correctly, Biheiril Kingdom was located in the northeastern part of the Central Continent. Miso and soy sauce were two sides of the same coin. Perhaps they had already invented soy sauce in that country. Someday, I’d need to head out that way to see for myself. I’d have to find time to visit, even if it was 10 or 20 years down the road.

That aside, we had rice and miso, so naturally, I asked them to get us some white fish. Sadly, we didn’t have grated radish or ginger, but we did have lemons. Pickled vegetables would have been a nice addition, but there was no use fussing over something they didn’t have here. I did my best to give Sylvaril a decent recipe, keeping the available ingredients in mind. 

“Is this what you wanted?” she asked, reappearing a while later with some piping-hot white rice. Steam rose from the miso-flavored shellfish. Then there was the nicely toasted white fish with lemon. There were two plates, one for me and one for Nanahoshi. Mine came with a raw egg.

“Sometimes you gotta treat yourself to some comfort food like this,” I said.

After a long pause, Nanahoshi replied, “Yeah, I guess.”

Although the two dishes looked perfect, Nanahoshi gazed at them in dismay. Perhaps she disliked that they only resembled Japanese cuisine without actually replicating the flavor. Well, I couldn’t blame her. It tasted nothing like I remembered. But it was still fun to give it a try, even if it wasn’t authentic. 

“Put your hands together in thanks and let’s dig in,” I said.

“Yeah, let’s.” 

Nanahoshi kept frowning as she picked up her spoon and fork and began eating. Her expression was contorted in disgust as she deboned the fish, squeezed some lemon, and took a small bite. Next, she took a hesitant bite of the rice, chewing slowly. There was a white porcelain bowl filled with miso soup that she also sipped from.

Finally, she said, “This miso soup doesn’t have any dashi in it.” Big, fat tears welled up in her eyes. She continued eating as they fell.

It was pretty terrible. The rice was dry and tasteless, and the miso soup was incredibly salty. While the fish was delicious enough, it smelled awful and it didn’t go with the lemon at all. The balance was terrible. It wasn’t good at all. The Japanese cuisine from our memories had a much more delicate flavor. Despite all of that, Nanahoshi continued shoveling it down through her tears. She didn’t speak again until she finished, but that didn’t take long.

“Thank you for the food.”

Hearing that was enough to know I’d made the right choice.

After our meal, we wrapped up our afternoon lecture. The lessons on summoning magic were really quite interesting, perhaps because Sylvaril was a pretty good teacher. Although she didn’t teach us anything of major note today, we’d surely start to absorb the concepts sooner or later. Right now, I needed to do some revision to prepare for the next class.

With that in mind, I spent my time after class wandering the halls of the floating fortress. Exploring, if you will. This place was insanely huge, so I wouldn’t be able to see it all within a day or two. Again, I was awed by how something this massive could fly like this in the first place.

Lost in thought, I spotted a pair up ahead: Zanoba and Cliff. They must have decided to go exploring after class as well.

Wait a minute. That’s strange. Why didn’t they invite me then? Did they just ditch me?

“Hey Zanoba, Master Cliff. What are you two doing together?” I asked, moseying over. I’d prefer to be part of the pack instead of being a lone wolf, if it’s all the same to you guys.

“Master! Actually, I was wandering the halls when Lord Cliff called me over.”

“Yeah, that got my attention, so…”

Apparently, they weren’t hanging out specifically, so it wasn’t like they’d ditched me. What a relief. Good thing too, since I wasn’t actually a wolf—wild or otherwise. I was a human, one that enjoyed flocking with other humans, since that was what made us the greatest mammals on land.

That’s right. We should group up, since we’ll be stronger together.

“And what is ‘that’ you’re referring to?” I asked.

Cliff indicated some nearby stairs, which curiously led down rather than up. Apparently, this place wasn’t just ridiculously huge; it also had a basement.

“Huh. That does seem interesting. If you guys are planning to investigate, I’d be happy to come along,” I offered.

“You’d be more than welcome to, but…” Cliff trailed off.

“What? Is there some kind of problem?”

“It’s not that. I just wonder if it’s really okay for us to go down there without permission.”

“Hm, I don’t know.” They did tell us we were free to wander about the castle, but was the basement considered part of the castle? Did people usually let others freely enter their basements? Personally, I kept some precious items in mine and would prefer no one disturb them.

“It shouldn’t be a problem,” said Zanoba. “Why don’t we have a look? Lord Perugius said we were free to enter any rooms that weren’t locked. These stairs aren’t even behind a door, so he surely wouldn’t mind.”

“Wait, hold up a sec. Sometimes people have unspoken rules about this kinda stuff, you know?” Unspoken rules as in manners that were so deeply ingrained in people that they thought of them as common sense.

“You really think so? Hm…” Zanoba tilted his head, not entirely convinced. Perhaps, being royalty, he couldn’t fathom having a room you wouldn’t want other people to enter.

“Oh?”

While the three of us waffled back and forth, Nanahoshi suddenly appeared. She was the type who preferred solitude, but perhaps our numbers had got her attention enough to reel her in. “What are you guys doing here?” 

We explained that we were interested in where these stairs led but were uncertain whether or not we’d be permitted to freely venture down them.

“Sure you can,” she said.

“Really? We can?”

“Yeah. The doors he doesn’t want you to enter down there are locked anyway.”

“Have you ever opened one of them and gone inside?”

“Yeah, last time I was here, I got to see a few of them.”

She must have been referring to her previous visit with Orsted. The thought alone was enough to make my legs feel like jelly. I could almost imagine him being here.

“You can’t enter most of the rooms down there, since they’re locked,” Nanahoshi explained, “but there is something interesting down there.”

“Something interesting?” I echoed, curiosity getting the better of me.

“Something you boys would probably enjoy.”

I hadn’t heard someone use “you boys” to collectively refer to my friends and me in a while. Nanahoshi seemed like the sort to use that phrase all the time, at least before she got transported here.

“If you’re that nervous, shall I be your guide?”

The three of us exchanged looks. Zanoba and Cliff were both eager to take her up on the offer. I was feeling a little less adventurous, but I didn’t want to be the only one left out. Since she was volunteering to guide us, surely there wasn’t any danger in going.

“Yes, please,” I said after glancing at the other two guys.

The basement was even more massive than the main floors. On top of that, they were more maze-like too. Things became more complex after we made our way down several flights of stairs, turning into what resembled a dungeon. It made me wonder if the ground floor was only for entertaining guests and the real fortress was actually underground.

We wandered the halls at length with Nanahoshi leading us. In the beginning, there were a number of curious doors we tried opening, but they were all locked. Unlocked doors just led to empty rooms anyway.

How many flights of stairs have we gone down by this point? We must be pretty far below the main floor by now.

Although sparsely lit, the first basement floor had at least been clean. However, it got darker the deeper we went, and it was dank down here too. There were fewer doors and more split pathways and turns to take. The floors even sloped here and there, making it all the more labyrinthine.

The corridors hadn’t been cleaned this far down, and mice periodically raced past our feet as we went. Their eyes shone green in the darkness. It was eerie, but at least they weren’t monsters, and they did flee the moment they saw us, as you’d expect from rodents. Apparently, we had entered an unused part of the fortress, but that didn’t stop Nanahoshi. She did, however, ask me to summon a Lamplight Spirit before we proceeded further.

“Hm, I’m not familiar with this type of architecture. For me to not recognize it all must mean it’s from before the first Great Human-Demon War or…” Zanoba’s voice trailed off. He was deriving plenty of enjoyment just from viewing the layout of the basement. His spirits remained high even as we ventured deeper and deeper.

“Hey, Silent, are you sure you’re not lost?” Cliff asked.

“Nope, I’m fine.”

Although he found it entertaining at first, Cliff was starting to lose his patience. We were meandering about the halls without entering a single room we passed.

“Ah, this is positively amazing. It’s a rare opportunity to be able to visit a place like this. See, Master? Look at the way those stones are arranged. That’s a special way of layering them. At a glance, they all look random in size, but they’re all natural; none of them have been artificially altered. But when you consider they’re part of a basement supporting a castle this enormous, it’s baffling, how the place is still standing. You don’t really see stones like this on our continent. I don’t have much interest in architecture, but the mysteries of this place are captivating. I have to wonder exactly why they chose this kind of method…”

Zanoba was genuinely enjoying himself. The moment he discovered something new, he would start going on like this.

“Master, what do you think of the way these stones are laid out?”

“I don’t know anything about this kinda… Wait, I’ve seen this kind of architecture before. This is block-pattern piling, I think it was called.”

“Aha, I would expect nothing less from you, Master! So you do know about this technique. Block-pattern piling, you say? How exactly does this technique work?”

“Look there at the corner. Those stones have been altered. Whoever built this cut them into a rectangular shape and piled them together in an alternating pattern. See? By doing that, you can enhance the stability of the corners.”

“Oh, I see. By increasing the stability of the corners, you strengthen the entire structure as well.”

Seeing block-pattern piling here was quite a shock. It made me wonder if someone from the Warring States period had built this castle. No, that couldn’t be. This wasn’t a Japan-only technique. Surely, people here came up with the same method of arranging the stones to reinforce the stability of their buildings. Plus, stone architecture was pretty common in this world. This technique must have been something they innovated at some point in the past.

“Oh?”

After we went down another flight of stairs, the atmosphere around us shifted. No longer were we in a labyrinth. Instead, we were wandering down a vast corridor with a single large door in front of us. It resembled the one we’d seen in front of the audience chamber, with an Armored Dragon King crest engraved on it. This gave the impression that something precious and valuable was hidden within.

“A dead end?” I guessed.

Nanahoshi shook her head. “Nope. This is our destination.” She strode forward and pressed her hand against the door.

“Ah…”

Although she barely touched it, the door gave way with a creak. Apparently, this one wasn’t locked. A large rat came scuttling out, shooting past our feet and slipping through the crack as Nanahoshi nudged the door open.

A vast room lay within, with no other doors as far as I could see. This was the deepest, most inner part of the floating castle—a room hidden behind a door with a crest engraved on it, one that surely contained something secret inside its walls.

“As childish as it may sound for a man my age, I’m excited,” said Zanoba.

Cliff nodded in agreement. “Me too.”

And me as well.

“I knew boys like you would enjoy this,” Nanahoshi mumbled. 

I think you’re misunderstanding something here. There are boys out there who detest this kinda stuff or are otherwise completely uninterested. Not me, though!

“Let’s have a look,” said Cliff. Apparently, he couldn’t hold his curiosity back any longer. He entered the room, and I followed close behind, silently using my Lamplight Spirit to illuminate the area.

“Oooh.”

A strange sight awaited us once the room filled with light.

“What is this? It’s incredible!” Zanoba was overcome with emotion as he scrambled over to one of the murals on the wall. I chased after him, feeling as if we’d discovered some sort of treasure.

“Murals, huh? These have to be pretty old.”

The paint was chipped in various places, but thanks to how durable the stones were, the paintings weren’t damaged enough to be indecipherable. I knew of no tradition involving drawing murals like these in this world. They reminded me of Egyptian frescoes from my previous world.

“I can’t even begin to guess at how ancient they must be,” Zanoba mumbled. “Master, this is an incredible discovery!”

“Calling it a discovery is a stretch. I’m pretty sure Lord Perugius already knew about these before we found them.”

Describing the paintings would be difficult, but they more or less depicted a story. All the murals featured one peculiar figure. Most likely, they were intended to depict what this person had seen and experienced during their life. There were no words to accompany the paintings, so it was hard to guess what scene or circumstance they were trying to convey. There were inverted mountains, people with wings, people worshipping what looked to be a king, a floating stone, people gathered together, a dragon flying, two people cuddling close with a baby, a fallen shadow, a mournful king, a rage-filled king, people consulting one another, and then an eerie shadow standing behind a group of people. The final painting, which most likely represented the conclusion of the story, was only half-finished, and it was anyone’s guess what the artist had tried to depict.

“I feel like I’ve seen this story somewhere before.”

“Me too, but I can’t remember where.”

“Hm…”

The three of us tilted our heads as we stared at the murals. Behind us, a creak echoed. We glanced back to find Arumanfi. Beside him was a man with silver hair and a commanding aura about him.

Perugius…

“What are you doing down here?” he demanded.

“Oh, it’s you, Lord Perugius.” Zanoba knelt down immediately, so Cliff and I hurriedly followed suit.

As I kept my head lowered, I surreptitiously glanced at Nanahoshi, who was still standing. Can someone please teach this girl some etiquette?

That said, I could turn those words back at Perugius. What was he doing here? Maybe he really was pissed at us for coming down here without permission, and he’d trailed us to complain.

“Enough. Stand up.”

We quickly got to our feet.

“Forgive us. As we were exploring your magnificent castle, we happened to wander down here. And lo and behold, as we would expect of such a grandiose fortress, even the basement holds enough mystery to make one’s heart pound. I never dreamed we would find something like this here.”

Zanoba rambled at a rapid-fire pace, so I just grunted and nodded along. He really came in handy at times like this, and he probably genuinely meant every word he was saying.

“However,” Zanoba continued, “I am afraid we allowed our curiosity to get the better of us and offended you in the process. With Lady Nanahoshi as our guide, we figured we could wander down here so long as there were no locked doors to block our path, but we must have ventured too far in without even realizing.”

“I don’t mind,” said Perugius. “As for these murals, I wasn’t the one who created them.”

Nanahoshi flashed a triumphant look at us, as if to say, “See? I told you it was fine.”

“And what do you mean by that?” Zanoba asked.

He turned toward one of the walls, a distant look in his eyes, as if he was gazing into the past. “When I first obtained this floating fortress, there was almost nothing left inside. There were traces of what once existed here, but it had all faded and crumbled away.” Perugius stared at the murals as he spoke, eyes narrowing as he stepped closer and traced his fingers across it. “The only thing left intact were these wall paintings, and they have stayed in good condition ever since. Everything else wasted away.”

“Hm…”

“And from them, I realized our ancestors had a message they wanted to pass on—a story they wanted their predecessors to inherit.” He turned his gaze toward me. “That is why I haven’t locked the door to this room. If someone comes here wanting to see them, I have no reason to refuse. Of course, only one such person like that has ever appeared.”

“We appreciate your explanation,” said Zanoba, “and I am glad to hear we haven’t offended you. We didn’t necessarily come here hoping to view these murals, but it does seem that our ancient ancestors were trying to pass something on by leaving them here. There is something deeply captivating about that idea.”

“I would like to agree with you, but I am not fond of these paintings,” said Perugius. “There is something suffocating about them. They make me nauseated.”

“Well, to each their own, as they say. That aside, we shouldn’t linger here for too long. I’m afraid I have too little control over my own strength. If I were to accidentally touch these walls, I might destroy them, and that would be a shame.” Zanoba turned his gaze toward the door, as if to indicate that he was ready to return to the main floor.

Perugius hummed under his breath. “Arumanfi, guide them back up.”

“As you command!”

We returned to the main floor with Arumanfi as our guide, but Perugius didn’t join us. He must have had his own feelings about those murals, because he stayed behind in that room.

After that, our group disbanded, and I returned to my room without incident. It was night by now. The sun had set while we were exploring the basement. Another day had already ended. 

I wondered how long these little classes of ours would continue. It didn’t matter how much time we took off from the university as long as we attended homeroom, but I didn’t want to be away from home for too long. Lucie and Zenith weighed on my mind.

Well, right now, it’s best to deal with what’s in front of me. I have no idea what’s going on with Zenith, and Lilia is looking after Lucie for me. The only thing left for me to do is practice and revise summoning magic.

Right as I plopped myself on the sofa and started digging through my luggage for a stack of paper, a knock came at the door.

“Rudy? Are you in?” Sylphie didn’t wait for my reply before peeking in. The moment she spotted me, she slipped in and took a seat beside me. Then, she let out a heavy exhale.

I reached for a nearby pitcher, poured some water, and handed it over to her. “Here. You must be exhausted.”

“Thanks.” She took it and eagerly gulped the liquid down. “Phew.”

She looked more worn out than usual.

“How are things with Princess Ariel?” I asked.

“Um, well, not so great.”

“How so?”

“Lord Perugius isn’t taking Her Highness very seriously.”

Apparently, Ariel wanted Perugius in her camp, so she was going out of her way to list all the benefits he would earn from backing her. Once she ascended the throne, he could have noble status, his own territory, or special accommodations if he wanted to engage in commerce in Asura. Of course, Perugius rebuffed her completely, saying he didn’t need any of that.

“Well, yeah, no wonder she’s having trouble,” I said.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, he chose to live out here, away from all of that. So either he’s not the least bit interested in it or it actively disgusts him.”

“What?” Sylphie tilted her head. “But I thought he said he chose to live out here because it’s more convenient for stopping the Demon God from ever rising again.”

Had he really said that? Well, no doubt that was one of the reasons, too. “That’s not what I mean. If he wants power, he’s already in a position to take it for himself. He’s the hero from Laplace’s War, after all. Sylvaril said he found the formality of the Asuran court suffocating. If you’re trying to reel him in with power and prestige, it’s only going to blow up in your face.”

If he really wanted to leave this fortress, he could easily have done so. But he’d been cooped up here for decades. Surely Perugius had his reasons.

“Yes, you do have a point. Maybe Princess Ariel is being too impatient…” Her voice trailed off for a moment. “Hey, Rudy, what do you think we should do?”

“That’s a difficult question.”

I had absolutely no clue. I did feel like Ariel was skipping a number of crucial steps here. Normally, a person would cultivate friendships before asking for favors. If the other party wasn’t willing, then you could offer them conditions in return. Ariel had benefited from her natural charisma, using it to her advantage to make instant connections. She had never faced someone who could resist her charms before. Perugius and Nanahoshi were built differently. I was probably in the same category as they were. I was happy to do something for Sylphie’s sake, but I wasn’t that inclined Ariel to help out.

“First, I think she should try to improve her relationship with Perugius.”

“Improve it how?” asked Sylphie.

“By sharing his hobbies or asking him about heroic stories from his past.”

“Hobbies and heroic stories? Okay, I think I understand.”

“It might help you to bring Zanoba along too. I think Perugius likes him the most out of all of us.” Zanoba could carry the conversation for her, and Ariel could just nod. That would probably improve Perugius’s perception of her.

“Hm, okay. I’ll try telling Her Highness what you said.”

“Don’t take me too seriously,” I warned. “I’m not infallible.”

“Ehehe, I appreciate the advice regardless.” Sylphie pecked me on the cheek.

The soft feel of her lips was enough to make me forget about studying. Instead, her kiss stirred up wicked desires inside me.

Maybe I should whisk her off to bed with me so we can start on a second baby. I quickly dismissed that idea. No, I can’t let myself get distracted. I’m going to study. I’ll just have to settle for feeling up her butt a little instead—wait, no!

“By the way, how are things going with you, Rudy?”

“Hm, so-so, I guess.”

I sealed away my inner lust demon as we discussed everything that had happened in the past day. We talked about Zenith’s curse, summoning magic, the meal I shared with Nanahoshi, and how Nanahoshi had led our foray into the fortress’s basement floors.

“You sure are awfully nice to Nanahoshi,” Sylphie grumbled after I finished.

I guess eating with another girl and hanging out with her really is a no-go after all. That said, Zanoba and Cliff were present both times, so it wasn’t as if I was alone with Nanahoshi. But I did go out of my way to make that meal for her.

Crap. I have to do something to fix Sylphie’s mood. I had to let her know that my love for her far exceeded the friendship I shared with Nanahoshi.

“Um, Miss Sylphiette…”

“Yes?”

“May I hold you in my arms?”

She sucked in a breath, cheeks puffing as she pouted and turned away. “You always try to kiss up to me like that. Why? Is it because you feel guilty?”

Uh oh. She’s being awfully cold today. What’s going on? Is she seriously pissed at me? Don’t tell me this is that lull period that people often speak of in marriages. But then again, our three-year anniversary is coming up. The accursed three-year mark.

I shook my head. No, the number of years don’t matter! But I’m in serious trouble here. What do I do?!

“Just kidding! Sorry for pulling your leg like that, but you looked like you were having so much fun talking to her, so I wanted to get back at you a little.” Sylphie stuck out her tongue as she threw her arms around me and squeezed me in a hug.

I pulled her close. She was so petite, but she was still as soft and warm as ever. I loved the feel of her. Perhaps I deserved to have her hating me, but nevertheless, I didn’t want her to. I’ll have to be more careful in the future.

“But honestly, why are you so hung up over Nanahoshi anyway?” Sylphie asked.

“Uh, well, I know a lot about her situation and where she came from, so I want to help her out however I can. But it’s not like I’m romantically interested in her or anything, okay?” The way I rambled made it sound even more suspicious.

“Ehehe, yes, I know.” Sylphie chuckled, patting me on the head. She then tapped me gently on the back before pulling away. “Well, I should return to Princess Ariel. Keep working hard, Rudy.”

“Yeah, I will. And you, too.”

Crap. I thought everything was going really well, but Sylphie’s frustrations with me must have been piling up in the background. This can’t keep up. It might be a good idea to put some distance between myself and Nanahoshi. Maybe going out of my way to do things that would make her happy wasn’t such a good idea after all. Hmm…

Sylphie threw the door open to leave and froze. “Huh?”

Nanahoshi was standing in the doorway. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude on the two of you, but… cough, cough…” She broke into a coughing fit, clutching at her throat and chest as her face contorted in pain. “Sorry. I overheard everything. Cough… Don’t worry, I have no interest in Rudeus… Cough…”

“Oh, um, okay. That’s great, but, uh, are you all right?” Sylphie asked.

“I’m fi…cough, cough…”

Nanahoshi’s condition was far worse than I had seen. She was gagging like there was something caught in her throat, which only heightened our unease.

“It’s just, you know, my cough has gotten so much worse… Cough, cough… I went to Cliff to see if I could get him to cast some detoxification magic on me, but he was preoccupied with Elinalise. I thought I’d get Rudeus to do it instead, but if that’s only going to cause more misunderstandings, I’ll just wait and have Cliff help me tomorrow.”

“No, it’s fine. Everything is fine. I’m not really that worried about it,” Sylphie blurted in a panic. As Nanahoshi turned to leave, Sylphie grabbed her by the shoulder. “Um, I can cast it on you, but if my magic’s not effective enough, it might be a good idea to have Cliff cast a higher tier spell on you later.”

“Thanks. I’d appreciate it, if you don’t mind.”

“All right, then here goes.” Sylphie gently pressed a hand to Nanahoshi’s neck. She cast her detoxification spell without ever reciting an incantation—a feat I remained unable to perform. Sure, whatever, I can’t do it at this point in time. But I’m sure if I work at it, I’ll eventually be able to do it too.

“Hm?” Sylphie’s voice cut through my thoughts as she tilted her head in confusion.

In the next moment, Nanahoshi started her hacking cough again.

“What? This is…kind of strange? My mana is…what is this?” Sylphie cocked her head to the other side and tried pressing her opposite hand to Nanahoshi’s shoulder. In the meantime, Nanahoshi’s coughing fit only worsened.

“Hey, is everything all right?” I asked, my anxiety spiking.

Nanahoshi slapped a hand over her mouth. “Urgh…blegh!” There was the sound of liquid spattering.

“Huh?”

A clot of blood fell to the floor.

“H-hey…”

Nanahoshi stared silently down at her hand, dazed. Her brain couldn’t seem to digest what she was seeing. She turned her palm toward me, as if she thought I might have the answers. Her skin was coated in blood. A second later, she collapsed to the floor and lost consciousness.

“What? Why?”

I wasn’t the only one standing there dumbstruck. Sylphie was also frozen in place.

“Just now, when I tried to pour my magic into her, it…why? I don’t…” Flecks of blood coated Sylphie’s face and hands as she stared down at Nanahoshi. Her skin was deathly pale.

I immediately strode toward her. “Sylphie.” There was a tremor in my voice.

She flinched, eyes trembling with fear as she retreated a step. “N-no! It wasn’t me. I didn’t do anything to her.” Sylphie continued edging back until she was trapped in a corner. I silently followed her until her back was to the wall. Once she knew she had nowhere left to run, she squeezed her eyes shut. “I know what I said a minute ago, but I really only intended to tease you a little bit…but really, I…I would never do something like this!”

I pulled a handkerchief from my pocket, moistening it with my water magic, and slowly began wiping the blood from Sylphie’s face.

“Eh…?”

Once that was clean, I started scrubbing her hand next. The worst vehicle for disease was a sick person’s bodily fluids. I didn’t think wiping Nanahoshi’s blood off of Sylphie would magically fix everything, but I couldn’t leave her looking like that. For Sylphie’s part, she didn’t try to resist; she merely stood there and let me work.

“It’s okay, Sylphie. I watched your whole interaction with Nanahoshi. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“O-okay.”

I was calm now. Seeing her lose all of her composure had helped me keep mine. At least, I hoped it had. “It’s okay,” I repeated again. “You didn’t do anything. Nanahoshi has been sick for a while. Understand?”

“Yes…”

“Things just happened all at once, with the worst possible timing. This is absolutely not your fault.”

“O-okay, but…when I tried to use my magic on her, there was something…strange inside of her. It was like my mana wouldn’t go through her. In fact, it just seemed to…coalesce together or something…”

Blood was trickling from Nanahoshi’s mouth and nose as she lay on the ground, unconscious. Her life could be in danger if we didn’t get her help. Sylphie was still in shock.

I need to calm her down. No, maybe just the opposite. Perhaps I should order her to do something. Usually, when someone was in this sort of confused state, giving them something to do helped them snap out of it.

“Listen to me, Sylphie. I need you to get help—either Cliff or Lord Perugius.”

“Y-you want me to go?”

“Yes. I’ll watch over Nanahoshi and do what I can for her, but in the meantime, I need you to go get help. Can you do that?”

“Y-yes, I can do that.” Clarity returned to her eyes as she dashed into the hallway and left. Sylphie had faced carnage several times before, but that hadn’t prepared her for having an acquaintance throw up blood out of nowhere. Even she was caught unprepared. Worse yet, it all happened right after Sylphie touched Nanahoshi.

I knew my wife wasn’t the type to hurt someone else, no matter how jealous she was. That said, sometimes she could be compulsive and—

No, nope, not possible.

“All right,” I said, throwing those thoughts out the window as I turned to face Nanahoshi. Despite what I told Sylphie, there was little emergency care I could give our unconscious friend.

I’ll just have to do what I can.