Chapter 102

Chapter Player.3 A City Where Magic Is Ordinary Gods’ Games We Play 1 Fay and his companions boarded another train from the Flower-Viewing City of Aerlrith. The railway stretched out into the horizon, where a pillar of light rose up to the blue sky. “I see it! It’s that light, isn’t it?” Pearl opened the train window and leaned out excitedly. “That’s the path of light that leads to Heckt-Scheherezade, the Myth City!” “Watch out, Pearl! It’s dangerous to lean out the window of a moving train. Let me switch spots with you!” “You just want to get a better look, Nel!” said Pearl as Nel tried to squeeze her own head out the window. It wasn’t that large a space, and the two girls began a brutal contest for the best view. “Gosh, what do we do now? I guess our plans are in shambles without Lady Uroboros,” said the chief secretary, beer in hand. The way she gleefully munched on potato chips as she spoke belied the urgency of her words. She sighed. “The whole thing about sensing the power of multiple deities from Heckt-Scheherezade was Lady Uroboros’s testimony, too.” “I guess Leshea is our fallback plan,” Fay said, turning to the young woman who sat across from him in their cabin. “You’re a former god yourself. You should still be able to sense other gods, right?” “Hmm-hmm-hmm…” Leshea hummed sweetly. She was busy building another house of cards. As she precisely placed two cards together, she said, “I probably can, but I can’t.” “That’s quite a riddle. Is there some sort of condition or something?” “I guess so.” Leshea put a hand to her chin thoughtfully. Then she pointed at Pearl and Nel, who were still struggling for supremacy at the window. “For example, if you saw the two of them at random, Fay, you’d take notice of them, right?” “Well, sure.” “What if they were wearing sunglasses, heavy coats, scarves, and masks to disguise themselves?” “I guess I’d walk right by without recognizing them.” “It’s the same thing.” Leshea shrugged. “I can sense divine power. But if the four gods in Heckt-Scheherezade are concealing their power and hiding among the humans, it’s going to be a lot harder.” “Ahh. Yeah, I see.” That was the difference between a former god and a current one, he supposed. If a god went out of their way to conceal their aura, the former deity would never notice them. That’s why Uroboros was so important to us. I wonder where she went. He wasn’t sure if she would be back soon. The danger was that the difference between humans’ and gods’ perception of time was as great as the gulf between heaven and earth—as seen in the way Leshea had “accidentally” fallen asleep for three millennia. “Chief Secretary, how many days do we have in Heckt-Scheherezade?” “Three,” she said immediately, looking grim. “But we might be able to stretch it out to five if I hop online and remotely participate in meetings at the Ruin branch office. I sure hope Uroboros comes back in that time.” “Yeah, but I’m guessing ‘soon’ means a few centuries for a god. Or at least a few years…” “This is hopeless!” Miranda slumped back in her seat. “We’re almost at Heckt-Scheherezade!” An announcement sounded around the train: “Thank you for your patience. This train will soon arrive at the surface terminal directly below Heckt-Scheherezade.” The announcement was followed a moment later by a thunk, and the train slowed as it pulled into a massive, dome-shaped terminal surrounded by walls. Beyond it was a plaza with a massive pillar of light. “So this light goes all the way up to the sky, huh?” said Fay, looking at the dome’s ceiling. There was a hole in the middle, like a doughnut. The pillar of light passed through it and far, far up into the blue sky. An elevator of light. That seemed very divine indeed. One by one, people entered the huge pillar of light and rose into the sky. The Myth City lay just beyond that luminous beam. “…It’s nothing short of spectacular,” Nell said with a sigh of admiration. “Chief Secretary, so this isn’t the same as ships or trains engineered with science?” “This is the legacy of the ancient magical civilization,” stated Miranda, pointing at the beam while pulling her suitcase behind her. “To this day, we don’t know how it works—only that it functions by using the power of a god. In short…it’s magic.” “…A legacy from an era when civilization harnessed magic, huh?” “That’s right. And I’m grateful we’re able to use it in the modern day, too. Go on now, Nel.” “O-okay! It’s very mysterious and beyond my comprehension…but if the only way to get to the Myth City is to jump into that light…” Nel nodded firmly, and quickly stepped up behind Pearl. “All right, Pearl! I’ll give you the honor of stepping in first.” “Isn’t that just because it’s terrifying?! Hey, don’t push, Nel! Don’t push!” They were right in front of the luminous elevator. Dozens of passengers from the train formed a line and walked one after another into the light. “The end of the line is this way, please!” a staff member said brightly, gesturing to them. “This is called ‘the Elevator of Light and Cerulean,’ one of Heckt-Scheherezade’s most famous attractions. It’s a so-called ‘out-of-place’ artifact—lost technology—and is the only location in the world where you can personally experience magical technology left over from the ancient magical civilization. If you like traveling through the sky, you’ll love the feeling of weightlessness as you float up into the air! On that note…” The young woman held up a chair and a safety belt. “Unlike a car or an aircraft, the Elevator of Light and Cerulean doesn’t offer much solid footing! For those who are afraid to look down during their journey, we recommend taking a seat and buckling in!” “…!” Pearl’s eyes glittered as she reached out for the safety belt the woman was holding. “Me! I want one! Give me that b—” “C’mon, Pearl, here we go!” Before Pearl could take the belt, Leshea had grabbed her by the collar. “You have to try out the zero-G!” “I’m not happy about this!” “They say the buildings on the surface get so small that they look like little beans!” “I don’t want to see that!” “And you have to stay nice and still, because they say sometimes the light weakens and disappears out from under you!” “I don’t wanna faaalll!” Pearl was dragged along. Fay, Nel, and Miranda followed her, and the moment they stepped into the light, they found themselves floating upward, lifted by some invisible power. “W-we’re floating!” Nel said, looking down. She stood on nothing but a beam of light, and as it rose, so did she. Five meters into the air, then ten. The young staff member grew smaller even as she watched, until the distance was almost frightening. “I’m scared, I’m scared, I’m scaaaaared!” Pearl wailed, clinging to Leshea. “Th-this certainly is striking,” Nel said. She was standing on her own two feet, but she was somewhat intimidated. It was, after all, just a pillar of light. There were no walls to secure them. Everywhere they looked, in every direction, the scenery made it obvious how high up they were. The most hardened thrill seeker would also have felt some instinctive terror at that height. Even Fay couldn’t suppress a grimace at the feeling. “It’s daunting, for sure. Hey…Chief Secretary?” “………” For some reason, Miranda was crouching. She’d even let go of her beer can, from which she had so far been inseparable. But now she was clutching her suitcase and squeezing her eyes shut as tight as she could. “I take it you’re not the best with heights, Chief Secretary?” “I have a hangover…and now I’m on what amounts to a roller coaster. It’s hard, Fay…” “You’re just drunk?!” Fay exclaimed. “Wait, why are you pale like you’re about to throw up?! Don’t do it, Chief Secretary! If you get sick here, it’ll be the worst thing imaginable…” “Urgh… The floating feeling isn’t doing my stomach any favors…” “Hang in there! You have to make it to the top first, Chief Secretary!” As the elevator took them some ten thousand meters up, Fay tried his best to encourage the chief secretary—who had a hand over her mouth and was groaning. He was still giving her the best pep talk he could when they reached Heckt-Scheherezade. 2 The wind was…close. Gusts started high in the sky, above even the birds, and worked their way down to the surface. Fay had never heard the newly formed wind from so close before. There it was: the Myth City of Heckt-Scheherezade. The city closer than any other to the sky—and the gods. After coming so high up, the massive terminal on the surface now looked no bigger than a pebble. And the city around them… “Huh? Well, this is unexpected,” said a shocked Pearl, looking around the grand avenue where they stood. “It’s very, uh…cozy.” There were no high-rise buildings; everything was just one or two stories. All the buildings were white as snow, melding into the background of the blue sky like clouds. The avenue, of course, was packed with sightseers and displayed all the verve of a tourist trap, but the overall impression was one of small scale. This wasn’t the big city! “That’s because this place is left over from three thousand years ago. It’s not the latest cityscape—in fact, it’s the oldest,” said Miranda, walking ahead of them. She tossed her empty beer can, and a moment later, a trash can in the square sucked it up. “That’s why it looks like this. Take it all in—it’s all thanks to the buildings being so low that you can see the tourists milling around the shops and stalls on these streets. Which reminds me, the Blue Sky beer they sell here is supposed to be the best money can…huh?” The chief secretary came to a sudden stop and turned back toward them, a mischievous grin on her face. “And here they come.” “L-Lady Leoleshea?!” “Hey… Those four are from Ruin!” A murmur spread through the people crowding the thoroughfare, and one by one, like dominoes toppling, they started to turn toward the newcomers. “Look at that guy! Isn’t that Fay?!” “And the red-haired one is Lady Leoleshea! And the black-haired girl with them is Nel! And the golden-haired one is…what was her name? Oh, I remember! Ruby Sapphire!” “It’s Pearl Diamond!” cried Pearl. “Huh?” Someone had tapped her on the shoulder. She turned to see a young boy, no older than ten, eagerly reaching toward her. “Uh, um, excuse me?” “Yes, sweetie? What do you need?” “……” This child was silent for a moment, looking innocently up at her. It was the same way Pearl herself had once regarded Fay and Leshea. “I saw you on the stream!” “Who, me?” “Uh-huh!” The boy paused, then finally managed, “You were so cool!” “……!” At that, Pearl froze, her breath caught in her throat. A moment later, she hugged the entranced little boy. “It makes me so happy to hear that! I acknowledge you as my very first fan. Fay! I finally have a fan of my own!” “Y-yeah. That’s awesome, Pearl…” “Leshea! Look!” “Uh-huh… Great…” “Nel!” “M— Mm-hmm.” None of them sounded very attentive. And why should they? While Pearl was busy losing her mind over her first fan, the other three were being mobbed by hundreds of people. “Lady Leoleshea, can I get a picture?!” “Fay, sir! An autograph? Argh! If I’d known you were coming to our city, I would have brought decent autograph paper! Maybe you can sign my T-shirt instead?!” “Nel, I— I’ve always loved your intense fighting spirit!” They weren’t being surrounded so much as they were being crushed. In the time it took them to interact with one fan, five more would appear. They were multiplying faster than the team could count. “This is great!” said the only one of them not caught up in the mob: Miranda, who was relaxing on a bench nearby. She had her arms crossed like a coach watching her team in an intense game. “That’s how you do it, Fay! I knew they’d be excited. Now we just need to wait for the big fish to bite—”