Chapter 53

Chapter 2 Dark Depths Celes used Fly to carry Shinichi’s group over the dense forest, touching down in the expansive fields around the elves’ village. “Still no rice, huh? I was hoping the elves would have it…,” Shinichi lamented as he gazed at the fields where ears of wheat moved unnaturally. “Someone’s there!” warned Arian, immediately drawing her sword, but what appeared in front of them was not an elf who’d been slow to run away—but a humanoid figure made of wood. “A moving doll…,” started Shinichi. “A golem,” clarified Celes, shoulders relaxing as she lost interest. It might have been made with different materials from the golem for Rino’s performances or their touring show, but the magic was the same. The golem didn’t seem to pay any mind to the group. It just continued swinging a scythe, harvesting the wheat. It could work like a person, but it didn’t have the intelligence to identify intruders nor the combat skills necessary to do something about them. It merely followed a preset list of actions. “Automation through mechanization? Huh. This would give them time to write and enjoy novels,” noted Shinichi. They just needed to use magic for the golem to move. It could handle the farming on its own. The elves possessed so much magic that they could work essentially part-time and take it easy. “And they’re arrogant because they’ve never known a hard day’s work.” Hardships were necessary for growth. But everyone wanted to live an easy life if it was possible. The world is so difficult, Shinichi thought. They headed toward the center of the village where the actual houses were gathered. “These are really strange,” said Arian. “They appear to be massive slabs of stone,” added Celes. The girls looked curiously at the elves’ strange houses made of gray rectangular walls with cut-out doors and windows. Shinichi, however, placed a hand on one of the walls that had no sign of joins between pieces, deep wrinkles on his brow. “No way. Is this concrete?” This material would be completely foreign to those of this world, but Shinichi was used to seeing concrete in architecture on Earth. “I know concrete was used in ancient Rome, and it’s really not that hard to make, but…” In every human city they’d visited so far—from Boar Kingdom to Tigris—all the buildings were made of stone, brick, or wood. He hadn’t seen a single sign of concrete. But for some reason, the elves had made concrete walls with more precision than any in twenty-first-century Japan. “……” “Shinichi?” asked Arian. “It’s nothing. We need to find the tomb,” replied Shinichi with a smile as he brushed off her concerns, setting off to look for their target. They spent about an hour making a lap around the whole village, but they weren’t able to locate anything that resembled a tomb. “What do we do? I didn’t think it’d be in the middle of the village, but there don’t seem to be any roads leading to it,” said Shinichi. “And no signs, which is incredibly unhelpful.” Celes sighed, only half-joking. Shinichi stood there scratching his head, at a loss. “You didn’t see anything that could have been the ruins when you observed from above, right?” “Just the village and lots of trees.” Other than the pyramids, it was relatively normal for tombs to be underground. The entrance on the surface could be small and easily hidden in the forest. “Shall I fly in the sky and look one more time with Clairvoyance?” “No. I get the feeling we won’t be able to find it from above. It could be camouflaged,” replied Shinichi. If they covered the entrance with dirt and planted trees around its perimeter, it’d be impossible to find it, even with the use of Clairvoyance. “Besides, you’ve already used a lot of magic today. I’m sure you’re tired. I don’t want to push you too hard.” “Understood.” Celes dropped the suggestion when Shinichi seemed concerned for her health. “How should we search for it, then?” “There’s no point in wandering aimlessly around the forest. I guess we can start with searching the elves’ houses,” replied Shinichi. It’d be wonderful if they managed to find a map with the location of the tomb, but he guessed they shared its location only through word of mouth since they went to so much trouble to hide it. “I really messed up. I should have kept at least one elf to torture and get the location from.” “Shinichi,” Rino warned. “You can’t do anything terrible.” She had on a wry smile, preventing Shinichi from following through on his joke. Nearby, Celes’s long ears perked up. “Lady Arian.” “Yeah, I know.” Arian had on a stern expression. Celes picked up a stone by her feet and chucked it toward the expansive wheat field on her right. “Hmm…? What are you doing?” asked Shinichi, watching the stone as it arced through the air. He looked back at the two and noticed Arian had disappeared. A moment later, he heard a shriek he didn’t recognize from behind a nearby tree. “Ah! Aaah?!” “Don’t move! Unless you want me to break your arm,” barked Arian. “Someone was following us?!” asked Shinichi in surprise, finally picking up on the situation. Celes had thrown the rock to draw the person’s attention, and Arian had used the moment to sneak quietly up and capture them. “It’d be super-convenient if that’s an elf who didn’t run away,” offered Shinichi. “That doesn’t seem to be the case,” said Arian as she dragged the person back. In front of Shinichi and his crew, Arian ripped the hat off their stalker—revealing a baby-faced girl with glasses and ears of standard length. “Who are you?” Trembling with fear, the stalker managed to name herself. “I-I’m Fey. An explorer.” “An explorer… Does that mean you’re trying to find the Elven Tomb?” “Y-yes.” Shinichi exchanged a glance with Arian and indicated she could release the girl, Fey, since she didn’t look like she would attack them. “Sorry for hurting you,” said Arian. “N-no. I’m okay.” Fey let out a sigh of relief. Shinichi eyed her suspiciously. “You know, I’ve never heard of someone working as an explorer.” He’d traveled all over the continent talking to people but had never once heard of someone who identified as one, nor had he heard of any ruins or caves actually worth exploring. The Elven Tomb was the only one that came to mind, so it didn’t seem like someone could make a living this way. Fey hung her head, looking away. “A-actually, I call myself an explorer, but this is my first expedition…” “Oh, I see,” said Shinichi. Inspecting her closely, he noticed her clothes weren’t very worn or dirty. He couldn’t see any scars on her arms, legs, or face that would indicate she’d been on any daring adventures. Maybe she really was a newbie explorer. “You’re from some well-to-do family, aren’t you?” “H-how’d you know?!” cried Fey, caught off guard by the question. “You’re really not perceptive for an explorer,” said Shinichi in exasperation. Rino tugged on his sleeve with a confused expression. “Shinichi, how’d you know she’s from a nice family?” “Simple. Her hands are unblemished—no cracks, no calluses. Those are the hands of someone who’s never seen a hard day’s work.” Shinichi looked at Arian’s hands. “It’s not really something I want other people to see,” she said, mouth twisted unhappily as she took off her gloves and showed them her palms. They were covered in calluses from millions of practice swings. They went so deep, no healing magic could ever remove them. “Oooh, those are the hands of someone who works hard,” said Rino. “Yeah. Okay. That’s enough,” said Arian, embarrassed as Rino held out her fair hands in comparison. She yanked her gloves back on. Shinichi watched with a pained smile. “I like your hands, Arian. They’re cool. The calluses speak to all those you’ve saved.” “…‘Cool’ isn’t a compliment to a girl.” She adjusted her gloves, cheeks tinged pink like she wasn’t entirely unhappy with the comment. Rino watched them enviously and took Celes’s hands. “Your hands have scars, too.” “Those are from…,” started Celes, but she couldn’t tell Rino they were old wounds from her time as a slave before Rino’s mother saved her. She couldn’t find the words to finish. But Rino guessed that Celes had worked hard, glancing at her own hands again with slumped shoulders. “I’m the only one with smooth skin…” It was proof of her father’s devotion and the love of all the other people around her. It wasn’t something she should be ashamed of, but it did make her feel some type of way. I messed up… Shinichi instantly regretted his poor word choice. He tried to think of something to say to make her feel better, but before he could, Fey rushed up to Rino and enveloped her hands in her own. “D-don’t worry about it. You’re still a child! It’s normal for children to have soft hands.” “…Really?” “R-really. L-look at mine! My hands are as soft as a baby’s, even at my age! Ha-ha…” Fey had intended to cheer Rino up, but it had backfired. She hung her head glumly. Shinichi smiled painfully at her, stroking Rino’s head gently. “She’s right. You don’t need to feel bad. You have plenty of time to work hard. Besides, you’ve already done so much.” “Like what?” “Don’t you remember? You practiced those songs and dances, and you healed a bunch of people.” Shinichi knelt down and squeezed Rino’s hands that had brought smiles to the people. “Oh…,” said Rino in surprise. She had enjoyed the singing and dancing, and she had been so happy about healing people that she’d never considered it work. “The people of Tigris and even Sanctina were saved by you. Even now, minstrels are playing your songs, making people happy,” continued Shinichi. And there were the fanatics obsessing over the Goddess Rino, but he intentionally skirted that topic. “It doesn’t matter what they look like. I love your hands because they’re kind and bring joy to everyone.” “…Yay!” cried Rino happily, tears in the corners of her eyes as she hugged Shinichi. The two girls with scars and calluses kicked him from behind as they sulked, but Shinichi endured the punishment without complaint. “S-so I’m the only one who’s never worked hard or helped anyone…,” Fey trailed off sadly. “Uh, well…good luck,” said Shinichi, unable to think of anything else to say. She doesn’t seem like a bad person. Assuming everything she’s told us is true. He didn’t think she was a good enough actress to cry on demand and pull off this act. He did feel for her, but he wasn’t ready to let his guard down, so he went back to his interrogation. “And? Why would a lady start exploring?” “I-it’s a little embarrassing, but I’ve never really been away from home. I really like to read stories about adventures, and I always wanted to be an explorer who seeks hidden ruins and things…” “Fiction strikes again…” Shinichi sighed, having just chased off the lewd elf who’d been knee-deep in her erotic novels. On the other hand, Rino seemed to have something in common with the girl. Her eyes sparkled with excitement. “I know how you feel! I really wanted to go out on an adventure by myself after reading a story about it.” “Well, I guess I can understand the feeling,” said Shinichi. “When I said I wanted to adventure on my own, Daddy dug me a labyrinth to explore.” “That is a bit extreme,” said Shinichi. Only the Blue Demon King would create a labyrinth for his daughter because he was afraid she would leave the house in a fit. “Oh yeah, he did dig the cave for us where Arian got her magic sword.” “Yep,” she said with a wistful smile as she fondled the handle of the magic sword strapped to her hip. After she had become friends with Shinichi, he had told her the whole thing had been a setup. Nowadays, she considered it a good memory since it was the reason he discovered she was a half dragon. Fey’s eyes were wide as she watched them. “D-dig a cave?” “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it. More importantly, why would a first-time explorer come to find the Elven Tomb?” Shinichi forced the conversation back on topic, avoiding a lengthy discussion about the cave with Fey. “If the elves caught you, they would kill you. You should know that just by talking to people in town.” “Y-yes. That’s why I was searching the area for some sort of secret route to the tomb, and then you showed up.” “And you took advantage of the fact that we were able to get rid of the elves and followed us in,” continued Shinichi. “Y-yes…,” she replied, her small frame shrinking as she looked up at him. She must have felt guilty about following after them and taking advantage of their success. “Y-you are here to destroy the tomb, right?” “Why would you think—? Oh right, we said we were sent by the Holy Mother.” He realized the answer to his own question. She must have heard about them from the owner or something and assumed they’d come to destroy the tomb. “That was a lie. We don’t really have any desire to destroy the tomb.” “Oh, really?! That makes me so happy.” Her surprise gave way to relief. Then she looked like she made up her mind, reaching her hand under her jacket. “A-actually, I have a map that shows the tomb.” “What?!” cried Shinichi in complete shock as she brought out a piece of parchment, and he took a guess at her situation. “I see. You decided to become an explorer because you managed to get your hands on that map.” “S-sorry…” Her parents must have been opposed to her becoming an explorer, causing her to run away from home. She was apologizing, but she rolled the map up like she was protecting it. “W-well then, you don’t seem to know its location. I could let you use this…” “If you wait a bit, I can get you one thousand gold pieces for it.” “M-money’s not the issue. I want to go with you.” “I thought as much,” said Shinichi with a sigh. I didn’t think a lady from a good family would be enticed by money, but this is a bit of a mess… It’d be easiest to steal it from her, even if they had to kill her, but they couldn’t do that in front of Rino. Fey had no idea Shinichi was harboring these terrifying thoughts. “I—I know I’m just a dolt who doesn’t know anything about the world, and I know I won’t be of any use. The best thing for me to do would be to go home and get married, like my father says…” Her face twisted as she reflected. “B-but I want to make my dream come true, even if it’s only one time!” “Fey…,” said Rino. Fey and her desire to accomplish something on her own was reminding Rino of herself. A short while ago, she had been in the same situation, unable to do anything and relying solely on the protection of the Demon King and Shinichi. Shinichi frowned secretly when Rino began seeing herself in Fey. This is bad… It was hard to turn down a request from Rino. The only person harder to deny was her idiot father. Shinichi decided he needed some input, telepathically connecting with Celes. “What do you think?” “Nothing she’s said has been a lie.” “Did you use Liar Detector?” “Yes. Did I cross a line?” “No, as long as you’re not pushing yourself. Thanks.” He appreciated Celes being on top of things, but he was still feeling on edge. They had just proved with the elves that your feet could be swept out from under you if you relied too heavily on magic. “Fey hasn’t lied, and I don’t get the impression she’s hiding anything. But the fact that everything is so perfect makes this fishy. And her timing is just too good to be true.” Just when they were lost on the way forward, an explorer with a map had showed up. Shinichi refused to believe something so convenient. “There could be something behind it. It would be better to consider possible traps, right?” he said. “What kind of traps could there be?” “Well…” Shinichi struggled to find an answer. He tried to think of people who would want to trap them and take their lives. But the only people who came to mind were extremist factions in the church opposed to the cease-fire. Except that didn’t add up, because Vermeita, King Sieg of Tigris, and a select few were the only ones who knew about their ties to the demons. There was no reason to believe the extremist factions knew their identities. Even if these factions had managed to uncover them, they would rely on the strength of the undying heroes. Shinichi didn’t think they’d go to the trouble of sending a spy after them. “Hey, Celes. What’s the likelihood that Fey is a magic user comparable to the Demon King?” “It is impossible. I can feel she has as much magic in her as the average human.” She didn’t need to consider the question. Lost magic power could be recovered by breathing, and any extra residual amount was expelled from the body. A powerful person can’t hide their aura. There was no doubt Fey was a normal person with no magical abilities. She doesn’t have calluses, which means she can’t be an accomplished swordswoman. Maybe she is harmless, like she says. She wouldn’t pose an active threat if she tagged along, though she would be an extra burden. We don’t know if the elves are going to come back soon. I’d do almost anything to get that map. Rino seems to have bonded with her, too, since she seems harmless. But most importantly, we can’t just leave her in the wild. Celes had removed the Illusion on herself before they entered the village because there was no one left to witness her. She needed to conserve energy, meaning her ears had been exposed this whole time. “I forgot to ask you one thing,” said Shinichi. “Y-yes?” replied Fey.