Chapter 179

…Hmm. I’m getting a bad feeling about this. Not a life-threatening omen. The feeling that things would get troublesome in our interpersonal relationships. In any case, it had only been two hours since we’d arrived at the Netherworld, and we’d met our first villager. We treated Colette with the medicine and bandages in the carriage. There really was no Dark Core in the Netherworld. The fact Colette was out and about with a first aid kit showed she wasn’t expecting potential wounds to be magically healed. “Now then, what should we ask first?” We were still in the forest. We had tied the armored guys to the trees. Everyone sat down in a relatively open space. “Colette…was it? Who are you?” “I’m just a passerby,” the girl answered curtly. I observed this Colette Lumiere girl. Her youthful face was wrinkled in annoyance. She was between Vill and me in height, but I felt like she was younger than me. There was something about her that reminded me of my nefarious little sister, Lolocco. She was still at Vill’s side, staring at her constantly for some reason. “Um, Lady Colette, could you please give me a rest from your gaze?” “S-sorry.” She looked away immediately. Why is she doing that, though? Does Vill have something on her face? I stared at my maid, too, looking for an answer. But then Vill flushed and said she’d fall for me if I kept looking at her, so I just looked at Nelia instead. “So you’re a Netherworld native. What do you know about the men in armor? Why are they wearing the Arukan emblem? And why were they attacking you?” Nelia asked. “They’re barbarians. They must’ve thought a girl traveling by herself was easy pickings.” “What do you mean, ‘traveling’…? Didn’t you say you were a passerby?” “…What, is there a problem? How does that contradict what I said?” “It’s just, there’s something fishy here.” Nelia looked at the carriage. It must have belonged to the men. It had Aruka’s emblem on it. But why was it tipped over? Colette couldn’t have done that, could she? “Are you accusing me of lying? There’s something fishy about you. How do I know you’re not trying to get me to lower my guard so you can attack me?” “We wouldn’t have saved you if we were, Lady Colette,” Vill said. “Aw…” Colette flinched and fidgeted before bowing. “I’m sorry.” Hmm? Did she just change personalities? Or am I imagining things? “Okay, then. I’ll say this to clear up any suspicion. We came here from another world. There’s a lot we want to ask you,” Nelia said. “What? And you say I’m making stuff up?” “It’s true. We were transported to this forest all of a sudden,” Vill said. “R-really? Oh, that must’ve been terrible…” Okay, I’m not going crazy. She’s only being nice with Vill. Nelia appeared to have noticed, too. She murmured something in Vill’s ear. The maid furrowed her brow for a second but then nodded right away and turned to Colette. “Lady Colette, if it’s not too much trouble, would you mind me asking a few questions?” “Mmm…” She hesitated for a moment. “…Fine. I’ll tell you what I can because you saved me.” “First, we want to know: Are we right to believe this is the Netherworld?” Colette had said there was a town over west. She was guiding us through the forest to it. We couldn’t use the carriage since the horses had fled. Colette swung a plant like a foxtail in hand as she tilted her head. Even her mannerisms were more childlike than mine. Naturally, as she had said, she was fourteen. “The Netherworld? What’s that? We’re in the north of the state of Laotto.” “Laotto…? If I may ask, what country does it belong to?” “The Aruka Kingdom, duh.” Nelia, guarding the rear, turned to the girl in surprise. “…Wait, Colette, this is Aruka?” “What? Aren’t you a Warblade? How do you not know your own country?” “I am the president of the Aruka Republic. The Aruka Kingdom doesn’t exist anymore.” “That joke isn’t funny. The Aruka Kingdom is doing just fine. Those armored guys were from Aruka, and it’s their fault Mulnite’s so messed up right now.” “Mulnite…?” Vill blinked. “So there’s the Mulnite Empire, too?” “Of course! That’s my homeland… Um, if you’d like, I could take you there later, Vill.” Nelia crossed her arms. “Aruka and Mulnite… What other countries are there? Do you know the Lapelico Kingdom or the Enchanted Lands?” “You really don’t know anything, huh? Fine, I’ll tell you.” To summarize, Colette told us the following: The Aruka Kingdom, the Mulnite Empire, and the Enchanted Lands existed in this world. Alongside those nations were others I wasn’t familiar with, like the Najd Empire and the Toumor Republic. There were a total of, like, forty of them. “And…you really can’t use magic? There’s no mana?” Esther asked with exhaustion. “Don’t be stupid.” Colette sighed. “There’s no magic. That’s all fairy tales.” Everyone was flabbergasted. There really was no concept of mana or magic in the Netherworld. Nelia sighed. “…Oh well. It’ll be a waste of mana, but we need you to believe us.” “What’re you babbling about?” “I’ll show you magic. Elementary-level spell: Light Whirlwind.” Pink mana gathered at Nelia’s fingertips. Then a whirlwind formed in the palm of her hand. It was one of the most basic spells around, yet Colette reacted to it as if a bomb had just gone off, her jaw dropping. “I’m not good at magic, since I’m a Warblade and all… But you get it now, right?” Nelia clenched her fist, and the little tornado dissipated like the flame of a candle. “Our world has magic in it. That should be proof we come from another world.” “Wh-what the…?! Wow!” Colette came up to Nelia in excitement. “That wasn’t a trick, was it?! Do it again!” “No. We have to save our mana for when we really need it.” “Awww… I wanna see more!” “I said no.” Colette clung to Nelia like a child throwing a tantrum. The latter seemed to enjoy the attention and Colette’s excitement over such a rudimentary spell. “All right, all right.” Colette nodded. “I’ll admit it, Nelia. You all come from another world. No wonder you don’t know anything about this country.” “Exactly. And I’d like you to tell us more about it.” “Yeah! I’ll do it, and in exchange, you show me more magic!” Nelia forced a smile. Would I get to be friends with her, too, if I could use magic? What if I do that little trick where you pluck your thumb off? Would Colette like it? No, she would slap me. “Real magic! That’s so amazing, Nelia. That’s not one of those powers, is it?” “What powers are you talking about?” “You don’t know about that? There’s some people in this world who can use supernatural powers. We call ’em espers. Though I’ve never seen one in the flesh.” “Hmm? And how is that different from magic?” “I think it’s because their eyes shine red.” That had to be Core Implosion. It looked like Nelia, Vill, and Esther had realized this, too. “I see.” Vill stroked her chin and cocked her head. “There’s Core Implosion despite there being no magic. Interesting.” “Huh? Wait, Core Implosion is supposed to be a superpower born from cutting the connection to a Dark Core, right? So what happens when there’s no Dark Core? What if my superduperpower activates on its own…?” I asked. “No, I would say it’s the other way around. The connection to a Dark Core is cut because of Core Implosion. So I would imagine the lack of Dark Cores here has no bearing on the power… And if that’s the case… Hmmm…” “What are you two talking about?” Colette raised an eyebrow. “Whatever, just tell me more about magic. Do you think I can use it, too?” “It would be difficult without mana. Even we can’t use it much here in the Netherworld. I would rather ask you more about the powers.” Vill peered straight into Colette’s eyes. I’m also curious about the use of Core Implosion in the Netherworld. “Is it a normal power? Can your average person use it?” Vill asked. “No way. It’s so rare that you’re lucky if you get to see one of those abilities even once in your life. But as far as I know, most of the commanders of the Mulnite Empire are espers.” “Mulnite commanders? You mean me?” I asked. “Why would I be talking about you?” “I introduced myself earlier! I’m Terakomari Gandesblood.” “Why would a stupid little girl like you be a commander?” “S-stupid…? Little girl…?” How… How dare you!! There’s things you shouldn’t say, even if they’re true! I took a step forward to exact punishment on her—a merciless barrage of the tickles—when my maid stopped me. Aren’t you supposed to be on my side?! I’ll execute you, too! For treason! “Also…they say it was an esper who created the world.” “Things got huge all of a sudden. Could you tell us more?” “Of course!” Colette was elated to answer Vill’s questions. I was the opposite of that because Vill had me in a Nelson. “This realm was created six hundred years ago at the hand of the strongest vampire—the Scholar. She used her power to bring order to the world of chaos. Even now, she lives in the God Slayer Tower at the center of the world…or so they say. I don’t believe it. There’s no way someone can live for six hundred years.” “‘Scholar’? See? She’s talking about me,” I said. “Ha!” Colette snickered. “There’s nothing scholarly about you, clearly. They teach this stuff in elementary school.” “I—I went to elementary school! I actually had some of the best grades in class, just so you know.” “Yeah, sure.” “Agh…” Colette’s attitude toward me was thornier than a rose. I’d been hoping we could be friends at first…but I was beginning to dislike her myself, too. “There, there, Lady Komari. You’re a genius.” Vill patted my head. You’re not winning me over with that cheap talk! “Uhhh, Vill,” Colette said with a cold stare. “Who is that girl anyway? Your friend?” “She’s my master.” “Hmm…” She stared at me so hard that I’d be Swiss cheese by now, if I were cheese. It looked like she was jealous of me. Because she liked Vill, I guess…? But really? They’d met just a while ago. Although I supposed it was only natural to be moved after being saved from death so gallantly. Not to mention, I already knew a vampire who’d fallen in love within three seconds of meeting someone—my little sister. “Back on topic,” said Nelia, sweeping away my worries. “So the Netherworld has no Dark Cores and no magic. Instead, it has weird laws of physics and the Aruka Kingdom. We have to find a way to go back home ASAP.” “Yes. Within a week, before Lady Komari dies.” Everyone but Colette grew despondent. The Netherworld. Powers. The Scholar. The Dark Core. Magic. The Aruka Kingdom. The prophecy of my death… And Colette Lumiere. There was so much to process, I felt like my head was a balloon about to burst. But I couldn’t let myself be defeated. I had to find a way. “Commander, I can hear people in the distance,” Esther whispered into my ear. Despite that, Colette still overheard her. “Probably Arukan soldiers on patrol. This is their territory.” “Aren’t they looking for you?” “They capture any suspicious person. Vampires especially.” “Why?” “Because there’s a war going on between Aruka and Mulnite.” I gasped, but Colette didn’t seem to care and continued. “No, not just between them. There’s conflict among multiple factions all around the world. They say it’s been going on since waaay before I was born.” There were no Dark Cores in the Netherworld—no Dark Core Zone. There could be no sports-war without it. Which meant this was real warfare. “The truth is that the Warblades kidnapped me. I seized a chance to run away, and that’s when they attacked me.” “So you plan to go back to the Mulnite Empire?” Vill asked. “Yeah. What about you?” What could we even say? I looked at Nelia. “…How far is Mulnite from here?” she asked. “At the very least, two weeks to the Imperial Capital.” Two weeks in a world at war… That was insane. Only crazies like the Seventh Unit’s berserkers would go on such a reckless trip. To begin with, going to Mulnite didn’t mean we’d be back in our world. Then Colette got right into my face. She was staring at me for some reason. “Wh-what’s up? Is there something on my face?” “I feel like you resemble the Hero of Twilight. You even share last names.” “The what? More new stuff?” “The Hero of Twilight: Yulinne Gandesblood. The vampire based in Mulnite who’s trying to stop the war.” My heart jumped out of my chest. Memories surfaced from the snow. The fight in the Mulnite Palace. The news I’d learned of in Frezier. Right—Mom’s fighting in the Netherworld. And I’m in the Netherworld now. She’s here. “M-my mom!” I grabbed Colette’s shoulders. “My mom is in Mulnite?!” “Huh? Your mom? She should be in Mulnite… But wait, Yulinne’s your mom? The Hero of Twilight?” “Yes! She… What’s she doing over in this Mulnite?!” Nelia stared at Colette with a serious look on her face, too. “I don’t know the details,” the sky-blue girl said. “I just know she’s doing what she can to stop the war. She’s in the newspaper sometimes… They say she goes from battlefield to battlefield, suppressing armies.” I thought back to what the Shade, Kilty, had said in the hot springs resort town. “The Netherworld is in strife thanks to one big fool. “We know them as Yusei. “And the one who is keeping Yusei in check is your mother, Yulinne.” Nelia placed her hand on my head. “Komari, you said your mom brought you back to our world when you wandered into the Netherworld during the Vampire Riots, right?” “Yeah…” “Then we have to go to Mulnite. I’m sure she can tell us what to do.” Our course of action was decided. We would travel to the Mulnite Empire while making sure I wouldn’t die in a week, then reunite with my mother and find a way to go back to our world. The journey would most likely be far more arduous than I could imagine, but I still couldn’t help but feel excited. I would get to meet Mom. Just the thought filled me with courage like a geyser. “I’ll invite you to my house once we reach Mulnite, Vill. You can hang out, too, Nelia, Esther. Hopefully Terakomari can find somewhere to stay.” “…” Although I was bursting with courage…I wasn’t sure I’d manage to get along with this girl.