The Planetarium Awakens
I knocked on the massive door. Knock knock!
“Is anyone there?”
“······Do you truly believe a creature capable of speech would remain in such an ancient ruin?”
“Ahaha, you have a point.”
Hestia’s rather cold remark left me smiling awkwardly as I pushed the door forward. There didn’t seem to be any locking mechanism; the door swung open without resistance. The moment the enormous door was halfway open, Hestia stepped in front of me protectively. Her hand rested on the hilt of the Holy Sword, ready to respond perfectly no matter what might suddenly leap out from anywhere.
“You may open it fully now.”
“···Yes, thank you.”
Grateful for her ever-present overprotectiveness, I shoved the door with all my strength. At last, the world beyond the door was fully revealed….
A space far larger than the treasure mountain greeted us.
“What in the world is this place….”
The first thing that caught both my eyes and Hestia’s was the countless stars glittering in a dark sky. While I marveled purely at the majestic sight that would overwhelm even seasoned astronomers, Hestia continued to scan our surroundings warily. Leaving her to it, I walked toward the nearest colossal structure.
“Hmm······.”
It was a bizarre construct made of several overlapping spherical shells. Though it looked tiny compared to the vast space, it was easily three times my height. As I examined its strange surface, Hestia approached and voiced her curiosity.
“Do you know what this is?”
“I’m not sure. It’s my first time seeing anything like it. However… it seems like a structure built for observation, doesn’t it?”
“Observation…?”
“Take a look over there.”
I pointed at the hollow center of the circular structure. A flat seat had been installed inside, clearly designed for a single person to sit.
“Doesn’t it look like it’s begging someone to sit down?”
“Yes, it certainly does….”
“And if you examine the structure closely, the inner sections appear to have been carved with far more precision, right?”
“···Yes, that is also true….”
“Exactly. This structure wasn’t made to be viewed from the outside—it was made to be viewed from the inside. That’s why there’s a seat in the center. It’s the only logical conclusion.”
“······Impressive.”
Hestia wore an expression of pure admiration at my flawless reasoning. …I shoved the nagging disease known as conscience far into the corner of my mind and confidently took her hand.
“Then shall we go inside and take a look together?”
“Y-yes? That would be dangerous….”
Ignoring her protest, I pulled her by the hand straight into the center of the circular structure. Hestia flinched and stammered in clear confusion, yet she made no attempt to resist my touch.
Once inside, we immediately approached the seat. Unfortunately, it was only large enough for one person, so I had her sit in the center while I crouched beside her. The position must have looked uncomfortable, because Hestia spoke to me cautiously.
“···I’m fine, so you can sit….”
“I’m perfectly okay. Just tell me what you see.”
I don’t need to look.
When I answered firmly, she reluctantly nodded. Hestia sat with a tense expression and looked around.
“···It is quite a peculiar structure.”
“Is that all the impression you have?”
“Yes.”
“······.”
…Sometimes she could be sharp, yet at times like this her observation skills mysteriously vanished. I had no choice but to give her several hints myself.
“By the way… aren’t we still inside the ruins?”
“···I cannot be certain, but if that black fog did not transport us outside, then yes.”
“Then what is that in the sky?”
“It is the night sky… Ah…!”
Only then did Hestia look up at the sky—no, at the ‘ceiling’ of the ruins. The beautiful night sky that had drawn our eyes the moment we entered this space… But when you thought about it, we were most likely still inside the ruins. Therefore, the night sky and stars floating above our heads could very well be fake.
Hestia stared intently at the sky.
The gloomy night sky and the beautiful stars embroidered upon it had been perfectly visible just moments ago… Yet now, for some reason, only the pitch-black night sky remained in her eyes.
“Hmm…?”
“What is it? Do you see something?”
“No. Quite the opposite.”
“···The opposite?”
“Yes. The things that were visible have disappeared.”
Hestia explained that the stars she had seen clearly until just now had vanished the moment she sat down. I put on a deliberately surprised face and said,
“They’re perfectly clear to me even though I’m right beside you… Hehe, I wonder what’s going on?”
“······What kind of tone is that?”
“I was trying to imitate Lady Arie. Wasn’t it pretty close?”
“···Lady Arie….”
It was a surefire gag meant to ease the tension… but our hero seemed displeased. I forcibly avoided Hestia’s now-chilled gaze and pointed at the seat she was sitting on.
“···Anyway, I suspect some kind of strange spell has been cast on that chair—or on the structure itself.”
“Hmm······.”
Hestia seemed to be pondering my hypothesis. But I didn’t wait. I simply grabbed her hand again.
“You don’t see any other anomalies, right?”
“No, nothing in particular….”
“Then shall we head straight to the next structure?”
“Eep···.”
Apparently still unused to holding hands with me, Hestia let out a small gasp and once again showed a flustered expression. I gave her a mischievous smile and whispered softly.
“Our shy little Miss Hestia?”
“···?! ···!!!”
…It was the kind of line an old academy director would love… but it actually worked?
***
Together with Hestia, I wandered the vast space and examined the similarly shaped structures. Besides the overlapping spherical forms we saw first, there were many structures of different shapes. Yet no matter the outward appearance, one thing remained the same: the moment someone sat in the central seat, the stars vanished from view.
Hestia inspected each one meticulously, but she could detect neither the flow of mana nor any trace of unusual spells.
“This is the last structure.”
“···Yes.”
“Ahaha, it’s too early to be disappointed. I saved the central structure for last on purpose because I suspected something important might be there.”
One fact we discovered while exploring the enormous space together was that the structures were arranged at regular intervals. At first I hadn’t noticed, but upon closer inspection, the remaining structures encircled one massive central structure like a ring. Hestia was the one who realized this while we were examining the third structure, and I suggested we leave the central one for last.
After investigating every other structure, it was finally time for the last one at the center. Hestia looked slightly downcast, perhaps disappointed by our complete lack of results so far. I comforted her gently, then we stepped inside the structure together.
This time, an even larger space welcomed us.
“This one feels rather grotesque.”
“···I agree. This structure appears to follow no discernible pattern.”
While the others were composed of overlapping geometric shapes, this one seemed to have no fixed form at all. It was difficult to even tell what shape it was, or whether it could be called a shape at all.
“At least the chair is the same. Here, why don’t you sit?”
“······Why do I always have to be the one sitting….”
“Then I’ll sit first. Would you like to sit on my lap?”
“I-I must decline….”
I easily silenced the hero who dared talk back to me and crouched beside her as before.
Once again, silence fell. While Hestia tilted her head upward to gaze at the sky, I quietly observed the other structures from beside her. Until now, the structures surrounding this spot had shown no suspicious movement and emitted no noticeable flow. However, if someone qualified sat in the central structure… it would reveal its true form.
“Lady Hestia?!”
“Yes?”
“I can’t see the stars anymore either…!”
“······?!”
The instant her golden eyes turned toward me—
- Whooooosh!!!
The structure began to rotate.
“Uwaaaaaah!!!”
“Oh no…!”
The sudden spinning and vibration made me lose my balance and start to fall backward. Hestia swiftly caught me in her arms. But the speed was too great; the recoil sent us both flying out of the structure.
“···Are you all right…?”
“Phew, thank you. You saved my life.”
The moment we landed safely on the floor, Hestia checked on my well-being first. I thanked her and slipped out of her embrace. She stared at me with a strange look for a moment before quickly regaining her composure and scanning the surroundings.
“The structures….”
“They’re all rotating. Can you see the same thing, Lady Hestia?”
“······.”
Hestia gave no answer to my question. Upon closer inspection, a faint golden glow swirled within her eyes. She had temporarily gained the vision of a Transcendent. I was briefly amazed by the meaningful growth, but first I needed to bring her back to her senses.
“Lady Hestia?”
“······.”
“Lady Hestia?!!”
“···Ugh…!”
Only after I called her name several times did she finally come to her senses, complaining of a headache. I supported her swaying body and asked in a worried tone.
“A-are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere?”
“I’m… fine. More importantly….”
Leaning on my shoulder, Hestia began to walk. Naturally dragged along, I asked in a hurried voice.
“W-where are you suddenly going?”
“The structure….”
“Huh?”
“We must… enter this place… quickly…!”
Looking as if she were possessed, Hestia kept repeating that we had to go inside. In the end, I was pulled by her hand and thrown toward the fiercely spinning structure… no, toward the Planetarium.