Chapter 12
IMMEDIATELY UPON THEIR RETURN to the lake-bound Isuzu Alliance headquarters, Mira and the gang met with Uzume to report on their mission.
Uzume sat at the other side of a large table in a Japanese-style room as she listened to their recounting. She looked Mira dead in the eyes.
“So, if we look just at the tangible results, you failed. Maybe it was unavoidable given the situation, but it has always been a bad habit of yours—uh, I mean, Danblf’s—to get carried away against strong enemies. Maybe you…inherited that from him.”
“Urk…”
“I bet you even bantered with him like when you fought Leviard the PKer, right?”
“Ummm… Just a little…”
The spirit bomb had been overwhelming, so it was understandable that she’d let him escape. But if she had been more wary to begin with, it might never have come to that. Kagura knew her well enough to point out Mira’s bad habits, even if indirectly. Mira looked down like a sad kitten.
“Still, he would’ve been too much for anyone but you, so…whatever. You brought these instead of him?” Uzume directed her gaze toward the casket and black sword that had been in the Chimera elite’s possession.
“Right. This spirit-devouring oni’s curse may be the source of Chimera’s power. I believe it’s worth investigating.”
Spirits were extremely powerful beings, too strong to be hunted so easily. But Chimera Clausen had hunted them successfully so many times now. Perhaps their secret, the thing that gave them an advantage over spirits, was that black fog. If Isuzu could figure out how it worked, perhaps they could devise countermeasures.
“Oni, huh? Now this is getting crazy.” Uzume bent back and stared at the ceiling.
Mira told her what she’d heard from the Spirit King. It was a part of history that was not present in the history books or oral traditions.
“I was surprised, too,” Mira said with feeling as she thought back on the tale.
But Aaron, Scorpion, and Snake were less surprised by the oni than the fact that Mira had gained a direct audience with the Spirit King. He was a grand being that could stand with the gods. Only two people in recorded history had spoken with him, and that was only for a short time during an ancient war.
One of them was the leader of the humans at the time who led the battle alongside the Spirit King, the legendary King Hannibal Ex Earthkra. The other was ancient hero Forsetia, who had channeled the Spirit King’s power and acted as his vessel to defeat the king of the monsters.
Nobody had ever met with the Spirit King before or after. If what Mira said was true, this was a historical event!
But Mira herself had only commented that she was “surprised.” Uzume herself didn’t dwell on it much either, instead focusing on the oni. The others waited in stunned silence while they finished their baffling conversation.
***
They were now only waiting on a report from the Isuzu members who had gone to the Garrison’s Vault. Ideally they would have captured an elite, but no one was sure.
Mira’s team shared the information they had received from the mysterious Agent S. As they had returned long before the other teams and had nothing else to do, they would use the new intel to begin a second mission the next day.
The group made their decision: Mira and Aaron would investigate Chimera’s base and the owner of the former spirit blade in Sentopoli, while Scorpion and Snake would infiltrate Roslein.
After that, they acted fast. The four temporarily dispersed. Three went to the business district to make their own preparations. Mira had little need for supplies; instead, she spent a long evening learning how to use Sanctia in the courtyard.
***
The next day, Mira, Aaron, Scorpion, and Snake accepted their new missions and took flight, heading west from the Isuzu Alliance headquarters.
Most of the western side of the continent was a wasteland, desperately lacking in greenery. But in exchange, it was blessed with ample mineral resources, drawing just as many people and as much industry as any other place.
After a full day of flying over the territory of Ozstein, one of the Three Great Kingdoms at the base of the mountain range, the Garuda-drawn wagon made an inconspicuous landing among the foothills of Roslein.
Flying cooped up in such a stuffy wagon with so many people was tiring in its own right, so they needed a break. But this was also the spot where Mira would part ways with Scorpion and Snake.
“Well, we’d better get going!” Scorpion said.
“Right. Do your best,” Mira replied.
“Good luck out there,” Aaron added.
“Leave it to us,” Snake said shortly.
After saying their goodbyes before the wagon, they stretched, donned their adventurer outfits, and strode off into the night. If all went according to plan, Scorpion and Snake would infiltrate Roslein before dawn.
After seeing them off, Mira and Aaron began making dinner. Of course, Aaron did all of the cooking. Mira simply summoned a Holy Knight to act as a lookout and handed Aaron the food she felt like eating. She retired knowing she’d fulfilled her duties.
After eating, Mira lay on her futon in the wagon while Aaron quickly fell asleep in the driver’s seat, too tired to enjoy its excellent view.
***
When dawn came, Mira and Aaron continued on toward Sentopoli. After about half a day of flying, night encroached upon the crimson sky and a large city came into view on the wasteland’s horizon. Beyond it, the vast ocean reflected the sky in its gentle ripples.
They were less than ten kilometers away, so they landed the wagon in an inconspicuous place. After a moment’s thought, Mira decided to summon Guardian Ash.
A red magic circle rose into the air and expanded, and a gray holy beast in the form of a bear appeared. The bear was as big as the wagon, with extremely large claws and fangs. It gazed at Mira with gentle eyes.
“Ash! You are as impressive as ever,” Mira said to her friend, who had not seen her in thirty years. She put a hand on the beast twice her size.
The bear whipped around with startling speed and began licking Mira’s cheek. Soon, it had accepted Mira’s request to pull the wagon the rest of the way. Bears are much faster than they appear; they reached the city in under an hour.
The mercantile country Sentopoli was still a growing province. Its only city was its capital of the same name, but its vitality rivaled that of the Three Great Kingdoms. The unwalled city was still developing; many half-built structures could be seen in the surrounding wasteland.
Broad, four-lane roads passed through the town, all full of traffic from merchants and adventurers alike. Mira’s wagon joined the flow and followed the crowds into the city. Sentopoli had neither gate nor walls; it simply had large guard posts at the sides of the road.
The people passing by gazed in fascination at Guardian Ash, but despite all the attention the bear gathered, Mira’s wagon got through the security checkpoint without issue.
Soon, Mira and Aaron watched their surroundings in amazement from the driver’s seat. Sentopoli seemed…modern. Put simply, it was tall. Before their eyes was a sea of buildings more than five stories high.
The city was perfectly divided into organized districts, all connected by a web of major and minor streets. In the center, many storefronts crowded together. Inns surrounded the downtown area, and further out were smaller-scale shops.
Mira checked their surroundings and looked at the map in Aaron’s hands. She was astounded by the scale, speed of growth, and incomprehensible jumble of modern reality and fantasy all around her.
Noting her astonishment, Aaron took the reins and asked, “Something the matter, Little Miss Mira? Confused by what you see?”
“Ah… Well, erm, I suppose. I’m surprised such cities exist,” Mira said, gawking at the surroundings. Before her was a cityscape quite unlike the orthodox fantasy she knew, yet up above was that same night sky.
“It threw me for a loop when I first came here, too. This is just what I’ve heard, but apparently, they modeled this place off the country of Atlantis.”
“Goodness. Atlantis?!” Mira was surprised, but it made sense.
Across the sea from the Earth Continent where Mira currently resided was the Ark Continent, another major land mass. It contained many dungeons for veteran adventurers, along with the largest nations players had formed: the Kingdom of Atlantis to the north, and the smaller Nirvana Empire to the south.
Atlantis had attracted lots of players like Mira—it was no surprise that modern technology was fashionable there. Now that she looked at Sentopoli through that lens, she could see hints of what a modern Atlantis might look like now.
They must be having quite the time over there.
Mira had been acquainted with many of Atlantis’s top players. She opened her Friends List as she thought back on that time. Noticing that the names there were white, she smiled and looked upward again.
Mira gazed vacantly until she spotted faint stars in the sky, their light almost drowned out by the streetlights around her. She grinned wryly; even in this world, it was hard to see stars from the city.
Sentopoli was enormous. Each of the districts had one-way main streets, alternating in direction between districts. The ground, paved with flat stone, was engraved with arrows at regular intervals indicating the direction of traffic. According to Aaron, it was confusing at first, but once you got used to it, it was easy, since there was no oncoming traffic.
The wagon proceeded a while under Aaron’s guidance until they arrived at his preferred lodgings. It was an eight-story structure that looked like a Showa-era hotel. Immediately next to it was another inn built like a Rococo-style palace. The incongruous sight seemed like a cultural relic of the central city, even if they were still functional places of business. Upon closer inspection, this whole area seemed to be a fifty-fifty mix of the two distinct styles.
While she gazed at the sights as if she were in a theme park, Mira ordered Ash to proceed into the underground parking garage. Soon they checked into an inn with an odd name: Epicurean Excess.
The two chose to share one large room to make planning easier. As soon as they settled in, discussion of the next day began. They agreed to visit Gregor’s studio the next morning—they couldn’t very well show up this late at night.
That decided, Aaron left for the second-floor dining hall in search of food and drink. Mira made her way to the giant bath and enjoyed scrubbing herself clean for the first time in days…as well as savoring the sight of her fellow bathers.
With heart and soul refreshed, she departed the bath and arrived at the second-floor dining hall. She surveyed the room with a deep sigh.
“What a peculiar inn this is.”
“Dining hall” didn’t do it justice; it was a full food court like one might find in a train station. It was truly an odd sight to see so many restaurants inside a hotel.
Mira knew most places simply provided a bed and a single style of food. But this place had entirely delegated the cuisine. As a result, the price of an overnight stay had been particularly low, and the customers could eat whatever they felt like, as well as order drinks from specialized bars.
What do I feel like eating tonight? Omurice sounds good… Or maybe Hamburg steak. Fried chicken and katsudon sound good too… They even have deep-fried skewers and liquor. Ooh, and a packed lunch shop! What a mouthwatering selection!
Mira stepped into the line of restaurants bustling with people and feasted her eyes on each store’s displays, consulting her stomach all the while. After she’d looked around the dozens of restaurants, Mira finally picked one and stepped through the curtain.
“Welcome!” an employee called out jovially.
Mira stood in front of the counter and pointed at the menu item she had her eye on. “I’d like the large teriyaki double cheeseburger meal, please. And melon soda for my drink. Oh, and ketchup for the fries, please.”
“Understood, miss! Will you be eating inside today?”
Mira had chosen the king of junk food: a burger joint. Former players had to be behind this.
Peering around the nostalgic-looking interior, Mira replied, “I think I shall,” and paid for her meal.
She received an order number and sat down at a window seat. The eyes of the other customers followed her as she went. Perhaps their interest was piqued by the sight of such a lovely young woman ordering junk food. The majority of the patrons here were adventurers, and their curious eyes were drawn to her fine lips—surely unable to fit a burger between them—then to the fair skin of her upper chest, which would make any sauce that dripped onto it all the more conspicuous…and finally to her glossy silver hair.
But Mira remained ignorant of their gazes, too busy rejoicing over this rare opportunity to enjoy proper junk food.
Before long, a staff member brought the meal she’d ordered over on a tray. It wasn’t quite what she expected; instead of being wrapped in paper, the burger and fries were on real plates. The drink was also served in a large glass. It seemed this hamburger shop was fancier than she’d anticipated.
Mira wasted no time; she plucked the hamburger off the plate and chomped down. It was bigger than her mouth, but the taste took her home for a nostalgic few moments.
This is it! That’s the exact flavor! Mira smiled in momentary bliss, kicking her legs back and forth unconsciously as she moaned in pleasure. Unbothered by the sauce on her lips, Mira stuffed her cheeks full of burger—devouring not just that familiar flavor, but the memories it revived.
While at a glance she might have seemed like a refined young woman, Mira overflowed with innocent charm as she happily chowed down.
Perhaps it was because so many eyes were fixed on her. For as long as she ate at this burger joint, business boomed.
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