22
Chapter 22
I stare at the Majin, now cold and lifeless.
I watch as it crumbles, centering around the hole bored through its chest.
I don't even know why I'm staring at it.
It felt as if some inexplicable pull was holding my gaze.
My body has reached its limit; I can no longer move.
But.
It.
That thing, cold and crumbling.
It begins to move.
Its form begins to shift.
The shape that resembled a sturdy adult man collapses, becoming something indescribable.
"You."
The thick malice that had been there until now is gone from its gaze.
Its eyes glittered with a naive curiosity, like those of a child.
"What's this?"
As if it had found a fascinating toy, it approaches me.
My head spins.
Its form repeatedly collapses and reconstructs, gradually taking a human shape once more.
"Do I look like this?"
The figure transforms into a friend I know all too well.
"Ah, so you came from another world."
It scans me with an intense gaze.
I tried to look away. I tried to run from it.
But my body wouldn't obey.
"Tell me everything about yourself."
I feel as if my consciousness is snapping.
[Live up to expectations.]
[Accept the glory.]
[Accept the blessing of the Sage.]
'I don't need a mind.'
For a dull mind cannot comprehend His will.
'I don't need a will.'
For His will is far more meaningful and perfect than yours.
[Speak with your own mouth.]
It feels as if someone has reached into my head and is rummaging through it.
I feel the unpleasant sensation of my thoughts being manipulated at will.
"To the omniscient Sage of the holy Star Sea..."
This shitty feeling.
I have no intention of feeling it again.
Because if I cannot judge and act for myself, I am no different from a doll.
I reached out my right hand toward it.
I stretched my hand toward its head, and it turned white.
It slowly begins to shatter.
"Oh, you had a master? I'll be waiting, until you reach where I am."
Despite having no vocal organs, the headless thing continues to speak.
Until the very end, its voice sounded like a child full of anticipation.
With those final words, it crumbled completely and vanished.
The splitting pain in my head fades, and my mind gradually clears.
My restored consciousness thinks rapidly.
What was that thing just now?
Calisea, the Sage of the Star Sea.
Why did she appear to me?
I don't know. Originally, she wouldn't have intervened with Husalp until he obtained the ring, but she began to interfere long before that.
I try to piece together a theory using the limited information I have.
For some reason, she intervened with Husalp and saw 'me' in the process. Since I'm from another world, it piqued her interest—after all, even a library containing all knowledge is limited to the scope of this world.
As if to snap me out of my thoughts, the pain from the injuries I sustained fighting the Majin surges back.
Especially...
My eyes feel as if they're being incinerated.
"Aaaaaaaagh!"
Pure pain.
The time has come to face the agony I had ignored for the sake of efficiency.
***
Quite some time had passed.
"Sigh, my eyes still hurt."
Still suffering from the aftereffects, I frowned and touched my closed eyes.
At this rate, isn't this lasting longer than the pain I suppressed with my ability?
"My body aches, too."
Compared to the agony of the entrance ceremony, this is practically a tickle, but that doesn't mean I've grown used to the pain.
"Are you okay?"
Luna, who had apparently finished recovering, appeared beside me and spoke with concern.
"I'm surviving."
If not for the physical enhancements from the contract, I wouldn't have fared nearly this well.
"Let me heal you."
I stopped Luna as she reached out to offer her healing.
"You're not exactly in peak condition yourself, so don't overdo it and just rest."
"Okay...."
Leaving Luna sitting by my side, I closed my eyes and expanded my senses.
"It should be soon."
I can still only sense a single door opening and closing within the ruins.
To think they've hunted down and killed dozens of Majin one by one in the meantime.
They might be terrible at finding the exit, but they're great at finding Majin.
"I should probably get up now."
It's probably been about an hour since she finished off all the Majin.
I can't just be passed out at the finish line after all that fighting; that wouldn't be very cool.
As I stood up, Luna hurriedly rose to support me.
Because of the height difference, she ended up just hugging my leg, which wasn't very helpful, but she was cute, so I let it go.
"You're late, Mr. Genius. At this rate..."
I was about to snap back the moment I saw her.
"Whoa, that look is a bit horrific, isn't it?"
She didn't have a single scratch on her, but drenched in blood from head to toe, her appearance was genuinely terrifying.
"Hey, are you alright?"
"As you can see."
I said this while raising both my arms.
"Ugh."
That hurts.
"You don't look 'alright' at all."
"True."
"Come here, I'll help you."
"Hmm, I'm not particularly keen on being covered in blood too."
Blood was already dripping from her clothes, testament to how many Majin she had slaughtered.
"Why don't you just quietly accept the help, since you're the one injured?"
"Luna! Luna is doing it!"
"What the... how did you get here?"
Estella finally noticed Luna by my side and questioned her.
"She followed us in secret."
"Hah, so much for saying she wouldn't. I guess she ended up making a contract after all?"
"She had no choice."
The order of the contract and her following us was actually the other way around, but I didn't feel like correcting her.
"Well, she's a young Spirit, so who knows how much she'll grow? Look on the bright side."
Seeing my conflicted expression, she spoke in a consoling tone.
"That wasn't really the reason, though."
It seemed she had a tendency to relate everything back to combat.
"Anyway, you must have retrieved the artifact. Let me see it."
"Sure, have this instead!"
I immediately raised my middle finger and cast 'The Light Shall Burn You'.
My sudden ambush failed to land a direct hit, as her incredible reflexes caused her to blink the moment the light erupted.
"Aw, so close."
"You little brat!"
"Will you spare me if I surrender?"
"Do you think anyone has ever surrendered to me before I got here?"
"Please have mercy on me."
"Then just shut up and let me support you, you jerk."
She forcibly hauled me up.
Ugh, the smell of blood.
It was sticky, too, which made it even more unpleasant.
"But couldn't you just heal me in the first place?"
"Hey, do you have any idea how draining it is to keep mana coated over your entire body for hours while trekking through ruins?"
She's almost out of mana, too.
It seemed she had nothing left except for a small reserve for emergencies.
"Urgh, nn."
Beside Estella, I saw Luna struggling and grunting, trying her best to be helpful.
"You should rest too, kid."
I said this while patting Luna on the head.
"Somehow, you're actually kind to children."
"Am I?"
"How about being a little kinder to me?"
"Want to see the artifact one more time?"
I showed her the finger wearing the artifact once again.
"I'll snap your finger."
"My apologies. If we go that way, we can get out faster."
"How do you know that?"
"A newly acquired ability?"
Without further questioning, she followed my lead toward the exit of the ruins.
Judging by the stream of curses she hurled at the ruins the moment we stepped out, she must have been wandering in circles for a while.
We retraced our steps back the way we came. Fortunately, we encountered no problems on the return trip and successfully made it back to the entrance management office, safe and sound.
"Estella, thanks for the hard work. Honestly, there wasn't much in it for you, so thanks for cooperating."
While the incident at the entrance ceremony involved her as well, this mission was driven more by my own personal greed. Since she helped anyway, a thank-you was only natural.
Hearing this, Estella let out a hollow laugh and replied.
"Do you still not get me? I'm a meddler, so as long as it's not something evil, I'll help out. Besides, you're always telling me to put it on your tab, so just think about how you're going to pay me back."
"Sure."
A meddler, huh? The basic quality of a protagonist.
"Since the debt keeps piling up, I'll have to find a way to make this debtor pay it back quickly."
As the conversation between Estella and me wound down, Luna, who had been quietly by my side, spoke up.
"The hospital. Just in case, I think we should go to the hospital and get checked."
"Exactly. I'm fine, but this guy got beaten up all over the place."
"Beaten up? That's an exaggeration. I won decisively, actually."
"Sure, sure~ you won so well that nothing even broke. But your daughter is worried about you; you're not planning to skip it just because you think it's a waste of money, are you?"
Ah.
"Look at this punk trying to avoid it. Luna, make sure he actually goes to the hospital."
"Okay! And not just Daddy, the auntie too."
"Pfft, looks like you need a checkup yourself, 'auntie'."
When I laughed a few times, echoing Luna's words, she glared at me with fierce eyes.
"You're not actually planning to refuse when cute little Luna is asking, right?"
I picked up Luna and held her right in front of Estella's face.
"Fine, we'll go. Let's just go to the hospital near the entrance management office."
I laughed out loud, staring right at her.
***
"Yes, this patient here had no injuries, so I just used magic to remove the bloodstains. The other patient had bruises and eye damage, which I've now healed. I've also performed the requested health checkup, and he is perfectly healthy."
"Nothing wrong at all?"
"Yes, that's correct."
I closed my eyes and recalled the past.
Something from over a month ago.
"Is there a problem?"
Because the nurse had asked me that, I simply said there was no problem and walked right out of the hospital.
"Why, was there some kind of illness?"
"No, not really."
When I gave a simple denial, she looked puzzled, and Luna gripped my hand tightly.
"The doctor said you're healthy. You don't have to worry."
"Is that so?"
I gently ruffled the hair of Luna, who was genuinely worried about me.
What a worrying little daughter.
"More importantly, Estella, would today's training be possible? I need to practice using the new artifact."
There will be a lot to do from here on out.
"No? Of course not. Have you completely lost it? You're a patient who was just discharged yesterday. Even if the Saintess treated you personally, it doesn't mean all the fatigue in your body is gone. You need some rest. You're staying home and resting until the day the Academy opens."
Ah, right, she mentioned I was healed by the Saintess.
"Huh?"
As she said that, she hoisted me over her shoulder.
"Excuse me?"
"Luna, your dad only knows how to work without caring for his own body. Make sure to lock him up at home so he can't get out."
"Okay!"
"Hello?"
"Here, this is one of the phones I use. If he manages to break out even with you blocking him, call me at this number."
"Okay! Unnie."
"My, she really knows how to treat people."
Estella, whose title had instantly risen from 'auntie' to 'Unnie', curled her lips into a satisfied smile.
"Can you not hear me? Luna?"
"Let's go home now, Luna."
"Okay!"
"Luna, don't be fooled by him!"
"Daddy, shush."
Waaaah.