Chapter 294
Chapter 294
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 294
Chapter Title: A Great Secret (3)
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Reina spoke.
“A behavioral directive. Will that be enough?”
Shirone’s neck was already being squeezed by the steel wire. It didn’t seem like planting a thought to trigger some action would improve the situation.
“For now, we have to try. To be honest, we don’t have much time. Of course, his neck being severed will take a considerable amount of time, but even just an artery being cut would be a fatal wound. By then, his subconscious will probably collapse at an incredible speed.”
Amy grew anxious.
“Then what do we do?”
The solution Armin proposed was simple.
“We have to find Shirone.”
“What? But this is Shirone’s mind.”
“To be precise, everything here is a shadow created by projecting Shirone’s core. We’re not looking for the shadow, but the core. It’s called an incarnation.”
Amy recalled what she had heard from Gardock in the Valley of the Vortex Serpent. The Vortex Serpent, which was the shadow of a giant snake, was in reality nothing more than a small, smooth salamander. The people of Heaven called it an incarnation.
“Is this ‘incarnation’ on the 11th surface layer?”
Armin shook his head.
“It won’t be. So we’ll have to call it out.”
Reina asked.
“How do we do that?”
Before she heard Armin’s answer, Amy figured it out.
“Couldn’t we ask the people here? In the end, everyone here is Shirone.”
Armin nodded in satisfaction. It seemed the two of them were now getting a feel for the properties of this world.
“That’s right. We can ask the people. It’s called a keyword. It’s a rather difficult task on the outside, but here, we can just ask. If we inject Shirone as a keyword, the incarnation will rise to the 11th layer. Now, let’s get going.”
Armin led the two women to the counter. He then asked the middle-aged woman, who was still knitting.
“Do you happen to know someone named Shirone?”
The moment Armin’s words fell, the musician’s performance stopped as if by a lie. The murmuring of the people also ceased.
Only after the sound disappeared did they realize how much noise they had been exposed to. It was now perfectly silent.
Amy felt a chill and looked around.
The people who had been wallowing in gloom until now were staring at Armin with sharp eyes.
The woman at the counter was the same. Her eyes, which hadn’t even blinked, as if she were frozen, belatedly opened her mouth.
“Why are you looking for that person?”
Armin smiled with a hum.
‘That person.’ The fact that she didn’t say Shirone’s name was befitting of his cautious consciousness.
In any case, he had to choose his words carefully from now on. He couldn’t be too blatant, and any remarks showing hostility were forbidden.
“I have something urgent to tell him.”
The woman thought for a moment, then resumed her knitting.
“I don’t know. Never heard of anyone like that.”
“I see.”
Armin, thinking this wouldn’t be easy, let out a breath.
He was well-trained, indeed. No matter how specialized a mage was in the mental arts, they were bound to be shaken when their neck was about to be severed.
Even with thunder crashing and all hell breaking loose outside, the fact that the fragments of his consciousness maintained their vigilance was a testament to how well he usually disciplined his mind.
“Understood. We’ll be on our way then.”
The woman at the counter spoke without even looking up.
“Pay the roof fee before you go.”
It seemed she had to get what was owed, even on the verge of death. This, too, was the mind of a mage who pursued 100 percent efficiency.
‘Huhu, what a meticulous personality.’
It was customary for people who entered an inn to take shelter from the rain without lodging to pay a small amount called a roof fee.
But Amy had no money. Even if she did, it was doubtful whether real-world money would be accepted.
Just then, Armin rummaged through his pocket. And he readily took out a gold coin and paid.
“Here you go.”
“Hm?”
Amy examined the gold coin he handed over. As expected, it was a gear-shaped gold coin not used in reality.
The woman at the counter touched the gold coin and frowned.
“This is too much.”
“Keep the change.”
“I can’t do that. Here, just take it back.”
“It’s really fine.”
When Armin declined with a smile, the woman coolly accepted.
“Alright, then. You’ll be blessed.”
Amy pouted her lips.
The innkeeper’s way of speaking, appearance, and gender were all different, but for some reason, she felt it resembled Shirone’s usual self.
“Well, let’s go out first.”
Armin’s expression had suddenly turned serious.
They left the inn, but they didn’t dare step out from under the eaves. Water was rising on the ground like a flood.
Feeling the chill again, Amy shivered.
“At this rate, the whole world is going to be submerged.”
Armin shook his head.
“No, the world will disappear before that.”
Amy turned her head and looked at the scene inside the inn.
The warmth, blocked by a single window, made her feel even colder, but seeing the people resting comfortably warmed her heart.
If Shirone died, all of them would disappear.
Even though they weren’t real people, she wanted them to live for a long time in this world.
“First, we’ve injected the keyword ‘Shirone,’ so Shirone’s incarnation will rise to the surface. Divers call this process ‘casting the net.’”
“I see.”
“But that’s what makes it a problem. We’re short on time, so I’ll explain as we go. It’ll be harder to move if the water rises any further.”
Armin ran into the downpour where he couldn’t see an inch ahead. Amy caught up to his side and asked.
“Where are we going? We don’t even know where Shirone is.”
“First… we’ll probably have to buy weapons. I think.”
Armin stopped in front of a two-story building and looked up. He could see a sign with a crossed axe and sword.
The three of them once again took shelter from the rain under the eaves of the weapon shop. This time the eaves were narrow, so they had to press themselves against the wall.
Armin turned to the two women standing side-by-side and asked.
“Is there anything you know how to handle?”
Reina spoke first.
“I learned a bit of swordsmanship when I was young…”
“I’m a mage.”
As Amy spoke sheepishly, Armin smiled. It seemed she was embarrassed to proudly call herself a mage after being chided just a moment ago.
“I see. It would be good if we can find something useful.”
As Armin was about to enter the weapon shop, Amy hastily stopped him.
“Um, but how did you get the money?”
Even if there were good weapons, they couldn’t buy them without money. Besides, the money he paid at the inn wasn’t real-world money.
Armin hadn’t been in Shirone’s consciousness for long, so she thought she might be able to get some money herself.
“Ah, I withdrew it.”
“Withdrew? From where?”
Armin pointed to the sky.
“From Shirone, of course. This is Shirone’s consciousness, so we can create anything we want. Try thinking in your mind that you need money. Then, an amount of money corresponding to the level of trust Shirone feels for you will appear. Let’s see…”
Armin searched his pocket and took out a gold coin.
“I have nine now, so I received a total of ten gold. If you can call this gold, that is, haha.”
Seeing the gear-shaped gold coins on Armin’s palm, the two women thought to themselves that they needed money.
Reina searched her pocket, and her face lit up as she said.
“Oh? It’s real. Seven of them, seven gold.”
Amy stared with wide eyes.
In all the time she had known Shirone, she had never heard of a person named Armin, so she had expected Reina to receive at least more than ten gold coins.
But the result shattered her expectations, with Armin coming out on top.
Could it be that Shirone actually thought little of Reina? No, it meant that he trusted Armin that much.
‘Who on earth is this person? What kind of connection did he have with Shirone?’
In any case, Amy also felt a little expectant. It was useless in the real world, but in the mental world, this was the only currency.
‘Hmm, Mr. Armin got ten, and Reina got seven. So he’ll probably give me about twenty?’
Amy stuck out her tongue and rummaged through her pocket. Then she switched hands and checked the pocket on the other side.
Gradually, her expression soured.
“Huh?”
Reina tilted her head and asked.
“What’s wrong?”
“No, just a second.”
Amy frantically searched all the pockets on her clothes. But no matter how much she looked, there was no withdrawal.
Her face turning red, Amy spoke in disbelief.
“There are no gold coins.”
Armin nodded as if he knew the reason.
“Hmm, I see. If Shirone refuses the withdrawal, that could certainly happen.”
Amy was shocked.
The number of gold coins was an indicator of how much Shirone trusted that person. But how could she not receive a single one?
“N-No, I’ll try again.”
Armin spoke as if it were useless.
“It’s no use trying. We don’t have time, so let’s see what we can get with the money we have.”
Withdrawing gold coins was a very simple task. If no coins appeared once, it would be the same no matter how many times she tried.
Reina comforted Amy and led her toward the weapon shop.
“Come on, Amy, let’s do that. Sixteen gold should be enough.”
Amy shook off Reina’s arm, stopped in her tracks, and shouted.
“That can’t be right!”
Tears welled up in Amy’s eyes.
The seven gold coins Reina received were a reflection of Shirone’s feelings for her. She didn’t want to buy her weapon with that. If she had to buy something, it had to be with money Shirone gave her.
Armin fully understood that feeling. It was also why grave robbing was forbidden worldwide.
When you come to know the naked interior of a person, you can’t help but feel that everything you once knew was a lie.
Even though, in reality, that is the natural disposition of a human being.
“Miss Amy, there’s no need to feel betrayed. Shirone is in a situation where he is desperately holding on. It can happen if there’s some kind of emotional disturbance. Perhaps before coming here, you conveyed some bad feelings to him, or…”
Amy shook her head violently.
“No, that can’t be. I…”
Amy trailed off.
Honestly, how could she know? Even if she knew everything about Shirone, she couldn’t possibly grasp what was in his heart.
Perhaps it was because she hadn’t responded properly to Xenon’s attack. He had hoped she would save him by melting the spiderwebs with Ignite, but he was disappointed in her for not handling it properly.
Armin let out a sigh. It was something everyone had to experience in Shirone’s consciousness anyway, and it wasn’t a problem with a clear answer.
“Let’s go inside for now. We can’t delay any longer.”
As Armin cut her off decisively, Amy had no choice but to follow. Seeing her dejected state, Reina felt sorry for her, but in this situation, no amount of comfort would help.
“Welcome.”
The shop owner closed his newspaper and greeted them.
Amy lifted her head slightly and then her eyes widened. He looked a little older, but it was clearly Nade.
“Nade? How are you…?”
“Hm? Do you know me? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before.”
Amy looked back at Armin with an expression demanding an explanation. Armin was also acquainted with Nade. He was one of Shirone’s friends who had hidden in his house once before.
“It’s a projection of Shirone. The object of a weapon shop and the person Nade have been combined. It seems that boy Nade has an interest in this sort of thing.”
Reina said.
“That sometimes happens in dreams, too. You fight what you think is a villain, but when you wake up, you realize it was a family member you argued with the night before.”
“Yes. It’s a natural mental process. And the existence of a composite projection means there’s a more impressive concept here than in other places. Shall we take a look around?”
Nade stared intently at Amy and frowned.
“I really don’t know you. Are you sure you haven’t mistaken me for someone else?”
“Ah, I think so. The person I know is much younger. I’m sorry.”
“Hahaha! I do get told I look young for my age quite a bit.”
Amy pretended not to know him to avoid stimulating Shirone’s mind with unnecessary words. The human consciousness is so complex that even touching a trivial part can immediately trigger a butterfly effect.