Chapter 15
MIRA HELPED with the investigation into Chimera facilities for a week, until the bases in and around Roslein had mostly been dealt with. She purified all the gear they found, bringing her work to a pause for now.
“I wonder how Wallenstein is doing.”
In a room in Isuzu’s biggest base, Mira kicked back after a job well done. The sudden calm after many days of on the go gave her an opportunity to cast her mind back to Wallenstein and Liliella. Had they managed to find the dark demon hiding in Sentopoli?
“Well, I suppose I can ask tomorrow.”
Sentopoli still had some Chimera hideouts to investigate and gear needing purification. Mira was due to return the next day.
As she was thinking, Scorpion called out, “Miraaa! Let’s go take a bath.”
Bathing together had become a daily routine for the trio.
“Sure. Let’s go,” Mira replied, stood up, and collected her clothes and towel. Scorpion and Snake waited by the door. Mira smirked at the clothes in Scorpion’s arm. “Oh, you remembered them this time.”
“C’mon. I wouldn’t do that more than once.” Scorpion showed off her change of clothes proudly. Actually, she’d forgotten her change of clothes three times so far.
But as she boasted of her success today, she was betrayed. “She did forget, but we went back before we invited you,” Snake revealed as she rolled her eyes.
Perhaps because they knew each other so well now, or perhaps due to a change in herself, Snake was much more expressive these days.
Scorpion’s pride immediately turned into rage. “Traitor! Why’d you tell her?!”
“Because it’s true.”
When they arrived at the bath, someone was already there. It was Fox, a girl immediately recognizable by her deep-green hair. She was the one who’d summoned the shikigami Nyanmaru.
“Oh, Mira!” Fox greeted her. “I hear today is your last day? Thanks for all your hard work.”
Mira had spent quite a bit of time working in the same base as Fox and shared many meals with her. Besides Scorpion and Snake, Fox was the Hidden who Mira knew the best.
“Indeed. Tomorrow, I get back to cleaning up in Sentopoli,” Mira answered as she stepped into the shower. When she was done, she walked straight over to the bath and stretched out without reserve.
“Sentopoli, huh? I hear they found a mysterious underground room there three days ago,” Fox said.
“So they say. Supposedly, it was part of the Oni Princess’s scheme to turn humans into oni.”
The Oni Princess’s true purpose was to resurrect onikind. Since said room was made for that, it was a top priority to secure. Yesterday, it was decided that Mira would help investigate and purify it.
“They were gonna force the people of Sentopoli to become oni, right?” Scorpion chimed in. “Man, I’m glad we took care of them before they could.”
“We did well,” Snake agreed.
They smiled proudly as they stepped into the bath. Mira and Fox nodded in agreement; they had all done a good job.
After enjoying the bath and sauna to the fullest, they got dressed in the changing room.
“And as I recall, you all were planning to go to the Ark continent?” Mira asked.
The Hidden were divided evenly between Sentopoli and Roslein, and the group currently assigned to Roslein would go with the international legal affairs official to the Ark continent once things were finished here. The Ark continent was dangerous, with powerful monsters. Former players only went there once they wereexperienced.
“Yep, that’s right. It’s my first time going, too, so I’m excited!” Scorpion looked like a child about to go on a field trip.
Snake and Fox agreed; it seemed they were excited as well. Their lust for adventure was written on their faces.
“Then take this. Call it a parting gift.” Mira put down her change of clothes and took a small vial out of her Item Box.
“What is it?” Scorpion ran over to look, gazing at Mira’s hand with expectant eyes. “Huh, what is this? Some kind of medicine?” She cocked her head. Snake and Fox were lured over by her curiosity, though they were equally confused by the strange item.
“This is Water of Life. Take it with you, just in case.” Mira had casually offered them the strongest restorative that she owned. It was an extremely powerful medicine that could bring a person from near-death to full vitality in no time. These vials were a remnant of preparations for a large-scale raid back in the game era. She’d seen the power of the Hidden for herself, so she was sure they wouldn’t lose to the monsters of the Ark continent. Still, better safe than sorry. She also had quite a few on hand, so she decided to share the wealth.
Mira spoke of it like it was just a friendly gift, but the Hidden were speechless. After a moment, they began to stammer in bewilderment.
“Huh? Wha…?”
“Could it be…?”
“Is this real? It is… Wow. Wow!”
Back in Ark Earth Online, one of Mira’s friends had spent her time perfecting potion generation. Mira had placed bulk orders for the Water of Life, and these were higher quality than most people would ever encounter. There were very few alchemists around these days who could make it. And due to the effects of this world becoming reality, their prices had skyrocketed. The Hidden’s jaws dropped.
Even Scorpion, who’d leapt at the parting gift at first, shrunk back. “Uh, we really can’t…”
Snake and Fox were stiff from shock. They tried to turn Mira down; this gift was far too expensive for them to accept.
However, Mira added with a wry grin, “Come, now. I’m a bit of a worrywart.”
“Okay. We really appreciate the thought, Mira.” Finally accepting Mira’s feelings, Scorpion smiled and gingerly took the Water of Life. Snake and Fox managed to regain their senses and thanked Mira for her generosity.
Then Mira retrieved a second one from her Item Box and held it out toward Snake. Mira’s parting gift was meant to be one per person. She even gave them more for the people who weren’t there, trusting Scorpion to pass them on in her stead.
Snake and Fox were speechless. Scorpion smiled nervously as she accepted vial after vial of Water of Life.
Having finished her business in Roslein, Mira ate breakfast with everyone and said her goodbyes before departing for Sentopoli.
Before she left, she received parting gifts from everyone; it seemed they wanted to return the favor for yesterday. They were all heartfelt gifts; the feelings behind them made them priceless.
“Stay healthy, friends.”
“Yep. You too, Mira.”
“Goodbye.”
Finally, Mira hugged her closest friends here, Scorpion and Snake, and the trio parted with smiles. Mira jumped onto Pegasus and flew away. As Irene faded into the distance, Scorpion and Snake shrank to the size of ants. They’d meet again someday in this vast world. Looking forward to their future reunion, Mira gazed at the boundless sky and smiled.
***
Soon, Mira landed in Sentopoli and busied herself with work. She was the only one who could purify the oni curses, so it was natural that the job would fall to her. In return, she was treated like a VIP and enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle. She had no cause to be dissatisfied.
As Mira discussed her plans for the day with Kagura, the medium brought something up. “Oh, by the way. We got a report from Wallenstein.”
The search Isuzu had carried out had successfully helped Wallenstein capture the dark demon Katiella. He had already begun sealing her powers, too. Within a week, she’d be back to her original state.
“Hrmm, I see. So it’s going well. I suppose I can breathe a sigh of relief.” Mira had braced herself to help out again, but thankfully Wallenstein was the picture of competence. Her aid was unnecessary.
***
A few days later, the angel Tyriel had recovered enough to walk. She was taken on the spirit airship back to Isuzu’s home base. This was partially because it was the ideal place for her to recuperate, but mostly to allow her to be present for strategy discussions.
The Isuzu Alliance headquarters had bountiful information, an abundance of skilled human resources, and legendary artisans. The time had come to devise a strategy for the other catacombs.
With Tyriel’s knowledge, they might be able to close the holes in the other tombs until they could be purified. Furthermore, they wanted to develop tools to detect oni curses.
***
Eventually, the spirit airship—which had practically become a fixture at the prime minister’s residence by now—took off, and the city of Sentopoli returned to its normal state. Diverse peoples traversed its streets, filling it with a life unaffected by Chimera’s influence. Over time, it became known as a city where modern heroes gathered, drawing many sightseers.
Alioth managed the country well. He encountered no problems that he couldn’t solve on his own.
Back when Chimera Clausen had posed as benevolent nobles to deceive Sentopoli’s government, they’d used secret codes. By obtaining these from Gregorius, Alioth had been able to seamlessly step into their place as a “benevolent noble.”
The Isuzu Alliance members who had replaced the captured Chimera middle management in various parts of the city were doing their jobs well. Despite so many workers being replaced, the city was functioning perfectly. Mira was amazed at how many excellent subordinates Kagura had. Perhaps that was thanks to her natural charisma.
However, Sentopoli’s new administrators placed a limit on how much spirit power could be used. Since all of Sentopoli’s lights and streetlamps used spirit power, this meant that the city couldn’t be bright and busy all night as it had been in the old days.
Spirits in cooperation with Isuzu continued to lend their power during the busy hours, but they couldn’t be relied on indefinitely. Work began to replace the streetlights, starting in the busy downtown. These expenses were paid for using the funds that Chimera Clausen had hoarded. Their headquarters and bases had abundant reserves of cash.
The city of Sentopoli was slowly but surely reborn as a place that didn’t rely on captive spirits’ power. Someday, Isuzu would let it walk on its own two legs—but that was still a long way off.
***
A few more days passed while Mira focused on investigating and purifying the facilities around Sentopoli. Finally, her work was done…
Early in the morning, Mira left the inn and ran into Écarlate Carillon, who stood in the midst of a merchant caravan. “Ah. You all were planning to leave today, as I recall?”
“We actually meant to leave sooner. But given the circumstances, we had to delay our departure,” Cyril replied.
“Yeah. Seeing you at the very last minute, that’s gotta be destiny!” Zef added.
While the merchants busily checked their cargo, Mira chatted with the guild—save for Flicker, whom Emella was heroically restraining a short distance away. Cyril and his guild were going to return the way they’d come—alongside this caravan. The merchants had asked for round-trip service. For two weeks after their return to Karanak, they’d be teaching the kids there swordplay and magic before heading north.
“Oho. Instructing the younger generation?” Mira said, bringing a smile to Zef’s face.
Once Flicker had started teaching Tact, the kids had started gathering. Cyril explained that, before long, the first floor of Karanak’s Mages’ Guild had turned into a cram school run by adventurers.
“We don’t pay out a single reward to teachers, but somehow, someone’s always there teaching. Bunch of weirdos, right?” Asval chuckled.
“I guess that makes you a weirdo, too,” Emella shot back. “You’re always making teaching materials.”
Exposed, Asval blushed and stammered, “J-just a way of passing the time!”
“Still, I didn’t expect to receive such a lovely gift.” Changing the subject, Cyril stroked the pure-white sword hanging from his hip and smiled. “Mira, if you meet her again, would you mind thanking her for me?”
The night before the final battle, Kagura had handed out Alabaster Oni-Slayer weapons meant to counteract Chimera’s gear. Once it was over, she’d allowed Cyril’s guild to keep theirs as a reward. They were top-class weapons created by the greatest living alchemist and greatest living blacksmith. Besides being overwhelmingly strong against weapons made with black mist ore, they had no other special traits—but they were abnormally sharp and sturdy. And given the inscription of their creator, they could easily be worth billions.
Yet Kagura had simply given them away. Cyril was surprised by this, but Emella was overwhelmed.
“Thank her for me too! I’ll treasure it forever! And thank Dvalin, as well, please!” Emella writhed ecstatically, remembering the joy of the moment. She wore a brand-new sash, bearing two sheathed swords. One was her Alabaster Oni-Slayer sword, and the other was the demonic sword she’d commissioned from Gregor. Zef grumbled that her twofold joy had resulted in reckless behavior.
“Stop… I give up,” Flicker groaned. In Emella’s arms, she slumped over with an agonized look on her face. It seemed the sword-lover had started squeezing her even harder as she became overwhelmed with emotion. Emella quickly let go, and the mage slumped to the ground.
Then, with blinding speed, Flicker looked up and dashed forward until her face was buried in Mira’s chest.
“Mmmmira!”
A combination of Mira’s guard being down and Flicker’s terrifying obsession made it impossible for the summoner to evade. She was like putty in her fellow mage’s hands. On closer inspection, there was a tiny vial where Flicker had fallen before. Some kind of stimulant, it seemed. By quaffing it, she’d recovered from her half-dead state in the blink of an eye.
“I’ll treasure it! Especially since we match now!” Flicker was even more intense than usual after being held back for so long. The white staff at her hip might have been shorter than Mira’s, but it was the same style and shape. Indeed, they matched.
Some of the merchants watched the commotion curiously, but they all seemed to know what kind of person Flicker was. They looked at Mira sympathetically and then got back to work.
Seemingly satisfied with this session of Mira-loving, Flicker retained the blissful look on her face even when Emella savagely karate-chopped her and peeled her off of the poor summoner.
Mira fixed her disheveled clothes and grinned wryly. “I didn’t think she’d be able to manage that.” Flicker never changed…except for the worse.
At last, it was time for the caravan to leave.
“Well, this is goodbye, Mira. I hope we meet again someday,” Cyril said.
“Bye, Mira!” Emella added. “If you see Dvalin again, could you get his autograph—”
“Later! I mean, we’re definitely gonna run into each other again, anyway,” Zef joked.
“Stay safe, little miss,” Asval chimed in. “Things will be busy for you, but keep an eye on your health.”
“Oh, Mira… Parting is such sweet sorrow. But at least I have this now!”
Flicker flashed a beaming smile that overcame all of her so-called sorrow and raised her hand. What she held was not the staff that matched Mira’s; it was a single lock of silky, silver hair. It seemed she’d snatched it while she was attached to Mira.
“Take care of yourselves, friends.” Mira shook her head in exasperation and saw off the caravan.
***
“It’s about time I get going, too.”
A few hours after Écarlate Carillon’s departure, Mira disguised herself and strolled around the city of Sentopoli. After enjoying herself one last time, she began preparing to go home.
Along the way, she visited a large building that used to be a Melville Commerce facility. Now property of the Sentopoli government, it was being used as the new Isuzu branch office. She had come with rather simple business: saying goodbye to Kagura and reminding her to come home eventually. This, however, turned out to be a mistake.
“So, Gramps… You got preeetty close with my elites, huh?”
Mira was greeted by ominous words. She went pale in an instant and sat as directed. It seemed Kagura had caught wind of Mira’s bathing and use of the sauna with the Hidden every day. Mira couldn’t deny her ulterior motives. It had been her own private paradise. She didn’t bother to refute the truth as she silently accepted Kagura’s scolding.
Though it began with a lecture, the two managed to say their goodbyes. From there, Mira returned to the parking lot of Epicurean Excess.
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” She’d left her wagon in the inn’s care for some time, but thanks to the cleaning fee being included in the parking fee, her transport was spotless.
Mira summoned Garuda and asked it to take her home. She got herself settled in the wagon. It was then that Tweetsuke, who was perched atop her head, alighted onto the kotatsu.
Kagura had sent Tweetsuke with her when Mira reminded the medium to come home eventually. When it came to the question of exactly when that might be, Kagura believed she should discuss it with Solomon directly. So she sent her familiar with Mira, and she would switch places with Tweetsuke when they arrived.
The wagon, now containing one summoner and one bird, gradually rose into the air. Perhaps because of the rarity of a flying wagon, or perhaps because Mira was so famous now, the whole of Sentopoli watched its departure as if they were seeing off a hero.
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