Welcome to Orario
“Go away...”
“No.”
I had no idea what was going on, but for now, I set off toward Orario with a girl who looked—by all appearances—like Miss Ais.
There was no way I could just leave her there. If she'd refused, I'd been prepared to drag her along by force, but perhaps she had enough judgment for that much, because she stopped throwing her tantrum and quietly started making her way back with me.
What a relief. For some reason, this girl who looked like Miss Ais seemed fragile in so many ways.
Between that and the suspicious glances I'd felt earlier, there was plenty to worry about. I'd take a closer look at things later.
Though the girl herself was puffing her cheeks out like a blowfish, broadcasting I'm mad at you~ with her entire body.
Is she really... Miss Ais?
It was an impossible thought, and yet somehow, I couldn't convince myself she was a fake. She truly felt like the Ais Wallenstein I knew.
Or more precisely, she felt like a version of the Ais Wallenstein I knew who was younger, dumber, more oblivious, and infinitely more stubborn...
Huh? Why am I thinking this?
No. My admiration would never stoop like this! I need to erase that memory right now...!
“Excuse me.”
“...? Yes?”
“Who... are you?”
“Me? I'm...”
I started to give my real name, then froze. Wait—was it actually safe to tell her my real name?
If she were a complete stranger, it wouldn't matter. But if she truly was a figure from the past, revealing my name would be a terrible mistake.
No, wait, isn't that a bit absurd too? How could a person travel to the past in the first place?
As far as I know, it's impossible. That's about as plausible as a man sealing spirits with a kiss, or a cat leaping through time, or a man who transforms into a giant while swinging through the air on wires...
Wait a second... why does that suddenly feel entirely possible?
Somehow, I had the strange sensation that I'd already lived through things far more unbelievable than time travel. Why was that?
“I'm... Vesta.”
“Vesta...”
For some reason, it felt as though I really had traveled through time, so I put my alias in my mouth instead of my true name.
But the moment the name left my lips, I regretted it.
A crushing weight of guilt pressed down on my chest.
Part of it was the lie itself—but the real problem was the name I'd chosen as a stand-in.
Vesta—the Sacred Flame. The epithet of the goddess I revered above all, and the far-too-generous title the gods had bestowed upon me.
To shamelessly put that name in my mouth now felt impossibly heavy. But words already spoken could not be taken back. This was simply a trial I had to endure.
And endure it I would. It was my duty to do so.
I had to.
“Vesta...”
Apparently she liked the sound of it, because Miss Ais kept repeating my name over and over, as if engraving it into herself.
Unnerved by the endless repetition, I forced my gaze away—and caught the sound of someone running toward the Dungeon entrance.
No gaze this time. At this distance, they couldn't possibly see us with their eyes yet.
But why did that presence feel so terribly familiar?
I quietly steered her toward where the presence was coming from. I had a decent guess as to who it was, and even if I was wrong, I could deal with it then.
As we drew closer, the other person seemed to sense us too, because their pace quickened as they came running. And when they got nearer, Miss Ais felt the presence as well—she flinched, shuddered, and tried to bolt, but I grabbed her and held her back.
“L-let gooo...!”
“No.”
If she ran now, things would get complicated. My sanity couldn't take any more of this.
After that brief scuffle, the one who appeared was...
“Ais! How many times have I told you not to enter the Dungeon alone...! ...Hm?”
“R-Riveria...”
A green-haired woman of staggering beauty.
If Miss Ais was a beauty like a jewel, this woman was beauty like a masterpiece—a singular work of art.
And on her robe was embroidered an emblem of a grinning jester. The crest of Loki Familia.
As I was feeling a flicker of nostalgia at the sight of that crest after so long, the woman suddenly took Miss Ais by the arm and smoothly backed away from me.
...Huh?
“Who are you? What have you done to Ais?”
Her killing intent was so sharp that I found myself stepping back before I knew it.
Judging by the aura she carried, she was Level 4 or 5. She was hardly an opponent I'd struggle against in my current state—so why did she feel this threatening?
Is this a mother's power?
I'd heard that Miss Ais had been raised by Lady Riveria since she was small. They say the two of them were for all the world like mother and daughter—so it was true.
I was a little moved by whatever mysterious quality let her presence leap clean over levels, but I did not want to keep being on the receiving end of that glare.
“My name is V-Vesta. I found Miss Ais on the way, and we've been traveling together.”
“Ais... Miss?”
“Yes. Miss Ais.”
I'd be lying if I said I felt no resistance whatsoever about putting an honorific on a child like that... but casual speech doesn't come easily to me, and honestly, being informal with Miss Ais would be even more uncomfortable.
Besides, I use honorifics with most beings as a matter of course, so I'd appreciate it if everyone could just let this slide.
“Is that true, Ais?”
“...Yes.”
With Miss Ais's testimony, Lady Riveria's intensity eased slightly.
She was still on guard, but she'd stopped radiing that murderous edge from before, so it was tolerable enough.
“...I see. Then I was the one at fault.”
“Not at all. It's only natural.”
“No, I truly am sorry. Strange characters have been clinging to Ais lately, so my nerves have grown a bit sharp. Please accept my formal apology.”
“Haha, it's fine. If I accepted an apology like that from you, Lady Riveria, the elves of the entire world would come for my head.”
“...I really am sorry.”
Somehow, from those last words, I caught a glimpse of the hardships she'd endured. So even the life of royalty wasn't all sunshine, apparently.
“...Um.”
“Yes?”
“Did I... ever tell you my name?”
...Ah. Now that I thought about it, no—she hadn't. I'd never heard it directly.
That was careless of me. I should have just played dumb.
More than that—so sharp. A keenness you could never call natural!
So the Sword Princess was in a league of her own from the very seedling stage!
“Ah—I've known about you for a long time.”
“Known about me... since when?”
At those words, that sharp intensity came flying at me again.
This is unjust.
“There was no way I couldn't know. You're famous, after all?”
“...Well, that's true.”
The mother put her killing intent away once more.
Isn't she flinging that murderous aura around a little too freely?
Anyway, so Miss Ais really is famous. Then again, it's hardly common for a child her age to enter the Dungeon at all.
Seven? Eight? Looking at her—still young enough that you'd have to call her an infant—her entering the Dungeon in the first place was nothing short of a miracle.
And then a small, mischievous impulse took hold of me. The urge to make the object of my admiration—this person who'd suddenly cornered me—suffer a little.
“What a shock it was. The famous Miss Ais, battling an Infant Dragon all by herself.”
“...What did you say?”
Flinch!
Golden eyes met mine. The girl turned to me with desperate, pleading eyes. Please, don't say another word.
Yep. Not a chance. I'm telling it all.
“The sight of her fighting that Infant Dragon alone with such a tiny body was truly valiant. Charging straight into its flames, getting swatted away by its tail and yet throwing herself at it again with everything she had. One misstep could have killed her, and still she never retreated—a truly, truly exemplary adventurer among adventurers.”
“Ohhh...”
Sneak, sneak—GOTCHA!
The arm of the Nine Hell descends mercilessly on the shoulder of a girl who had been attempting a stealthy escape.
She turned her head, trembling, and met a gaze of absolute zero! If a glare could touch the world itself, that look would have ushered in a new ice age.
“Ais.”
“R-Riveria...”
“There will be a lecture when we get home.”
KRA-KOOM...! A bolt of despairing lightning flashed behind the girl.
Oblivious to it all, the elf dragged her charge away. Judging by her expression, today's lecture was going to run considerably longer than usual.
The girl shot a resentful look at the white-haired boy as she was hauled off.
“Stay safe out there~”
And the boy simply grinned, thoroughly enjoying himself.
Just you wait—!
The girl's cry rang out loud and clear.
Though, of course, it only rang out within the confines of her own heart.
After seeing Miss Ais off (to her doom?), I too headed for the entrance of the Dungeon.
Since walking together would have been a touch awkward, I'd given myself a little extra time before moving, so I managed to avoid the excruciating scenario of running into them again.
I remember my master once teaching me that it's precisely these small courtesies that are the secret to winning a woman's heart.
Are you watching, Mistress Hedin? Your disciple faithfully keeps your teachings to this very day.
—Don't get carried away over something like that, you pathetic rabbit.
So cruel. At the very least, praise me for the imagination.
Grumbling to myself, I stepped out through the Dungeon's entrance. Beyond this point lay Orario.
“...”
My footsteps stopped—but only for a moment. I couldn't live here forever; eventually, I had to walk out.
One step. Two steps. Even knowing full well that it wouldn't happen, I found myself walking as if half-expecting the ground to crumble away beneath my feet.
To Orario—the place I had sworn, on that day, never to set foot in again—I had, in the end, reached out my foot once more.