If You're Mad, Go Save the World Yourself
My body had grown young again, and I was back in the past.
As far as I could piece the situation together, it came down to this: the Subspace Pocket I'd received upon becoming a Hero was bound to me no matter where I went. And "no matter where" meant exactly that — it had followed me all the way into the past.
"I've never seen a case like this either..."
The angel scratched her head, looking thoroughly awkward. Maybe that was only natural. Who in their right mind would ever imagine a subspace that could carry its nature and essence intact even into the past?
"Have you ever seen other angels grant something like this? Or anything similar happen at all?"
Kristi somehow managed to settle his racing heart, then asked the question as calmly as he could.
"That's what makes it even more baffling! I've already seen cases like this, and a binding range this wide is definitely not supposed to happen. Why would it...?"
The angel reacted with vigorous, genuine disbelief, as if she herself couldn't wrap her head around it. From where she stood, that was probably fair. Items like this — "personal exclusives," to put it simply — came with clearly defined limits. A weapon you could summon wouldn't answer in a dungeon or another dimension, and a subspace was supposed to work the same way.
There was no denying that a Subspace Pocket had a wider range of use than other exclusive Special Perks. Of course it did. Some Heroes received an execution sword that finished anything it struck below a certain threshold of health. Others were granted invulnerability — an indestructible body whose stamina never ran out. Compared to those, a Subspace Pocket was simply a bag for storing things. Unlike an ordinary bag, it could hold a staggering amount... but look at it. Even thinking about it, it paled next to the other perks.
There were resurrection totems that brought you back after a single death. There were instant-death daggers that could kill any monster, no matter what it was. From that point of view, the usable range of a Subspace Pocket had to be wide — it was the only way the thing made sense.
"But it definitely wasn't this wide!"
That was the problem. Even by an angel's standards, this was far too broad. Originally, it should have vanished before he ever traveled into the past. Being usable in a dungeon was one thing. This was something else entirely.
"Well, if that's how you see it, then yeah, this is weird. What about other items, though? Swords, spears — there must have been plenty of those, right?"
"Ah, those..."
The angel smiled brightly.
"Those perks went out so often I got plenty of practice with them~ But the Subspace Pocket? The only one who ever wanted it was you, Hero..."
"Hold on. Before that — when did you even make the Subspace Pocket?"
A faint unease prickled at him, so he asked. Just in case.
The angel blinked at his words, then closed her eyes and let out a long breath. As if she had a great deal to think about. Sure.
"Now that I think about it... I believe that was my first piece of work! It was the first time I'd ever imbued something with divine authority, so I was awkward about it, and I wasn't used to it at all..."
"...So what you're saying is, because it was your first time, you overloaded it with divine authority, nobody picked it, and then I did?"
"Yes! That's right~"
He exhaled, long and slow. He'd had a hunch, and it had turned out to be true. He didn't want to believe it, but humans made mistakes — there was no reason an angel couldn't. Though, if he was being honest, the idea of an angel making a mistake still irked him a little.
Ah, well. A win's a win, right?
He decided to let it go. A warm room, a charming view outside, and a beautiful if somewhat airheaded angel. She'd been dragged here because of him, more or less, so looking after her was the least he could do.
Wait a second.
"Do you know a way to go back?"
"Pardon? No? The senior who went down with a Hero last time wasn't stripped of her powers like this. She even came back with a child~"
"...Ha."
In other words, she had no idea how to return. He shook his head and sighed.
"The building's not bad, I'll give it that. A wish is a wish, I guess. Looks like they actually took it seriously."
I looked around the general store-slash-home that had been so carefully prepared. A modest little cottage, set against the backdrop of the Beginner Village. Softly glowing lamps, and the wing-light of fairies dressing the space around them. The fact that this was the Beginner Village was a plus all on its own.
I can sell a reasonable amount of goods, and there'll be plenty of people looking for them.
Truth be told, the place where merchandise really flooded the market was the Intermediate Village. Plenty of adventurers, flushed with the giddy conviction that they'd left their beginner days behind, overreached and bought gear they couldn't afford. Of course, this was a general store — the main business wouldn't be that kind of armament so much as the occasional genuinely useful item.
A stomach growled.
"Hup. What was that sound? I think it came from my stomach."
Just as I was nodding in satisfaction, the angel clutched her belly and tilted her head. Now that she'd become human, human bodily phenomena had come calling. A rumbling stomach meant one thing.
"Have you ever eaten anything before?"
"Pardon? Ah — I was always raised on Holy Water. The Holy Water of the heavens replenishes an angel's energy, you see."
"Mm... so you've never actually eaten anything, then."
She nodded. That an angel's way of life and a human's would differ was only natural. This was a being who had flown about with wings on her back. Treating her the same as a human who walked the ground would have been foolish.
I gestured for her to follow and started walking.
"Come inside. Let's get some food in you, at least."
"Oh my, do you have Holy Water? I'm quite sure Holy Water is only produced in our heavens?"
"I do have Holy Water, but..."
"Yes?"
"Never mind. Come in."
Leaving a hungry creature to starve was a problem in its own right. I'd brought her here, and she clearly knew next to nothing about the human world besides.
The meal was a simple one. It was her first time eating anything at all, and I didn't want to overwhelm her with something too rich. I made a thin, mildly seasoned soup and baked a little bread to go with it.
If you asked what I made it with —
Relics really are the best.
I'd just grilled it on an iron plate I'd picked up in a dungeon, and that was that. Don't ask me why it worked.
"Mmh! W-what is this?! I've never tasted anything like it in my life... it's so good!"
The angel took a spoonful of soup and held it in her mouth. A moment later her eyes sparkled, and she started whirling both arms around. It looked a little undignified, but I let it pass — first experiences were first experiences.
I propped my chin on my hand at the table and opened my mouth.
"What's Holy Water taste like, anyway? Spicy?"
"Ah, yes! It has a sharp bite! So every time I drink it, my whole body feels cool."
Hearing that left me a little dazed. So the Holy Water I'd brought back was the real thing. I'd always heard Holy Water was salty. The bite had seemed off to me, but apparently that was normal.
I'd better put it away carefully. No telling what might happen.
You never knew. In a truly dangerous moment, Holy Water might be the thing that saved the day.
I let out a few incredulous laughs at the thoroughly un-angelic sight of her wolfing down the soup.
"That good, huh?"
She nodded hard, eyes shining.
"Yes! Yes! Holy Water always felt like something I had to force down, but this... it's like my heart is growing warm? As if my chest is being filled all the way up!"
The angel pressed a hand to her chest and smiled. With a face that was already more than pretty enough, that bright smile made me think she was cute before I could stop myself.
If you go by age, she's a lot older than I am.
I'd overheard it in a restaurant once — an angel's apprenticeship lasted a hundred years. I'd also heard that the period they actually spent in active service wasn't all that long.
"Pwah... that was wonderful! Thank you, Hero!"
"Good. Glad you enjoyed it. And — could you stop calling me that? Hero?"
"Pardon? Why?"
The angel tilted her head at the question, looking at me with genuine curiosity.
"I'm not a Hero anymore, am I? I'm just the owner of a general store out on the frontier."
"Ah, I see. Then what should I call you? Lord Kristi?"
"Call me something else. Chris."
"Why?"
"Well... because."
Because it sounded like a girl's name.
I'd been told that when my parents had me, they couldn't settle on a name right away. They'd said they'd name me once they saw how I grew. As I got older, I turned out to be a boy with a strangely delicate, pretty face — and the name they gave that face was Kristi.
I'm a guy. That's way too much of a girl's name.
So whenever I introduced myself, I almost always asked people to call me Chris.
The angel listened to the explanation at an unhurried pace, then beamed.
"But Kristi suits you so much better, and it's so pretty~"
"Even so, I'm a man, and looking like a girl is a little... not great."
"I think your parents named you wonderfully, Lord Kristi. They must have been remarkable people."
The words caught me off guard, and I lowered my head. My parents. They'd been ordinary people, neither particularly bad nor particularly good. There had been decent memories, and bad ones too — realistic parents, in the way real people are. Both of them had died when I was still very young, so it was hard to pass any kind of verdict. The one mercy was that they hadn't been the kind of garbage who abused their child.
I looked quietly out the window. After turning it over a few times, I spoke to the angel.
"If you want, you can call me Kristi. But in front of other people, call me Chris. I get looked down on otherwise."
"Ah — yes! Lord Kristi!"
"Oh, and one more thing."
As we sat talking, something odd occurred to me. I'd been calling her "angel" this whole time.
"What's your name?"
"My name? I've always been called Number 48 among my seniors..."
"Not that. Your actual name."
The angel scratched the back of her neck, looking like she had a lot to think about. She kept her eyes closed so long I nearly mistook her for having fallen asleep. Then she flushed faintly, turned her head a little aside, and opened her mouth.
"Please call me Tiael..."
"Pretty name."
"I-I chose it myself. There was a figure in the scripture I read a long time ago, and I thought the name was beautiful."
"I've never read scripture. But by my standards, it's pretty."
At that, Tiael ducked her head and went back to devouring her soup in a hurry. I watched her, smiling in spite of myself.
Chime, chime.
The Beginner Village was peaceful again today. Even Heroes still unused to adventure had the Special Perks their angels had granted them. The Intermediate Village was where the profits ran highest, and the Advanced Village was where the death count ran highest. By contrast, the Beginner Village was a place where prices weren't particularly steep, and the shopkeepers' greetings were warm and easy.
Of course, ironically enough, it still had the second-highest death toll after the Advanced Village.
"Ah, hell..."
A Hero muttered curses as he stepped out of the blacksmith's.
If they don't sell it here and they don't sell it there, how am I supposed to get one in the Beginner Village?
What he needed was simple. A secret room in a dungeon he'd already cleared. To open it, he needed a single-use key made of magic stone. The good news was that a dungeon containing such a secret room had spawned in the beginner region. The bad news was that nowhere in the Beginner Village actually produced those keys. The blueprints only circulated in the Intermediate Village and above, so by any legitimate route, there was no way to get one.
"Hey, pal. Looking for something?"
"A Magic Stone Key, more or less. I need one right now..."
"Oh, what? You found a secret room? Tell you what — I'll help you out, just cut me in a little~"
"If you know a way, sure. There's nowhere that even sells the thing."
The Hero who'd sauntered up laughed heartily and pointed toward a corner of the street.
"A new general store opened up over there. What'd they say? There's nothing they don't have. Why not give it a look?"
"What? And then get hauled in by the Alliance?"
"How should I know? But you need that key right now, don't you? Nothing to lose by trying."
"Ha... maybe. Fine. I'll go look."
With that, the Hero set off. What he arrived at was a somewhat shabby little cottage.
"Hello~ Welcome! This is the Crystal General Store! Please come in~"
"Wha—"
The Hero clapped a hand over his mouth in spite of himself. Long hair in a soft, pale yellow shimmered as it moved. Her eyes were gently lidded, curved in a line that was at once mysterious and beautiful. The clothes were a little shabby, but her figure made even that look decent. And her voice — hushed, gentle, and warm, for all the world like the voice of the angel who had granted him his perk.
He was still blinking stupidly when another voice cut in.
"Hey, a customer? Welcome. Please come in."
"Ah... d-do you happen to have a Magic Stone Key...?"
"Why is everyone looking for these all of a sudden? Here. Two hundred rupees'll do."
A boy with a woman's looks had appeared from the back without warning, and he tossed over a Magic Stone Key as if it were nothing. The Hero's eyes went round.
"What? They sell these for fifty in the Intermediate Village!"
"Then buy it there. You need this right now, in a beginner village, don't you? And once you open that secret room, you'll clear three hundred rupees easy. Buy it and get going."
"I'm trying to save the world here — I just want to hit a secret room early on! How is this so expensive?!"
Kristi laughed a few times.
