Chapter 1.9
Chapter 01: Visitor from Another World
1-9. See you Someday
"――A spirit mage!?"
Naota grits his teeth Upon realizing Kururu true identity. It was an oversight. Certainly, given the nature of spirits, it wouldn't be strange if both of Naota commands had slipped through.
What a blunder. Since this is another world, he should have naturally considered that possibility. He should have been able to do that himself.
"Damn it, don't get cocky!"
Raising his voice, Naota stands up, driven by anger. Thanks to the strange diversion, he had managed to recover enough to stand. Kururu then turns her gaze towards him, looking somewhat interested.
"Oh, you're already able to stand? But you shouldn't push yourself too hard. There should be something quite harsh in there, from earlier."
"Hah, don't act all concerned! This damn woman! It's probably the same thing anyway. I'll make you regret it!"
Blood rushes to his head, and he's losing composure. However without minding such things, Naota roughly brushes up his right bangs. Then he declares, putting every curse into it, the same type of proclamation he made to bring Kururu down earlier.
"You are my friend!"
In that moment, Naota was convinced of his victory. It's a simple matter. All he has to do is take away that incomprehensible book before Kururu regains her senses. With that, he was sure nothing like this will happen again.
"HUh...?"
However, he quickly noticed that something was amiss. He tilted his head, perplexed. The sensation, the load, the flow of power that he felt initially, for some reason, none of it was coming through now. Even the fatigue that should have been the cost, there was not a trace of it so far. He looked in disbelief, and yet Kururu was still smiling as usual.
"Oh, was that the case? I'm sorry. I really didn't mean for it to be like that."
It was beyond belief that she would say such a thing. The spell didn't work. No, it didn't even seem to activate.
"Why...!? Damn it, you are my friend!"
Still, Kururu continued to smile and approach.
"Kuh, you are my friend! You are my—!"
From then on, Naota repeated it countless times. Changing his phrasing, altering the intonation, and finally shouting it out angrily. But no matter how many times he tried, the result remained the same. Nothing happened. Kururu continued to smile warmly until the end—
"Why isn't it working!? Why won't it activate!?"
"It's futile, no matter how much you try."
"What!?"
In his escalating fury, Naota was met with Kururu exasperated tone.
"Indeed, your power seems to be quite troublesome in its own way. If those little spirit hadn't stirred things up for you, I'd probably still be stuck the way I was. But in that case, the activation conditions would likely be more stringent. Think back carefully to the first time."
Seeing Naota falter, Kururu continued calmly, pointing her index finger.
"You were close enough to look into my eyes, and we even shook hands, so our skin made contact. Your physical and mental strength should hardly have been depleted, unlike now. Do you understand? The situation is too different from now. Friends, companions... it's impossible for them to activate just by shouting from a distance, don't you think? If such a skill existed, it would be unbeatable."
"Wha...!?"
"Ah, yes, that's right. It's the kind of reaction I expected. I thought so, that big mouth is why the stretcher broke with such force. Momentum can be quite frightening, you know. By the way, have you noticed? You're being targeted again."
"...Huh?"
"Look."
Naota was suddenly asked this by Kururu, who had been nodding attentively. Without understanding what she meant, he looked down obediently.
And there it was. Or rather, it had been set up. Something like a black lump of iron. In addition, there was also a small person, moving around here and there. Upon closer inspection, Naota recognized what that black iron object was. It was a mortar. The hefty muzzle was firmly aimed at Naota sensitive area.
"Target locked, fire!"
With that signal, it erupted in a spectacular display of flames. The deafening roar of the mortar echoed, and then—
"Yaaaaaaahh!!!???"
Direct hit. It was something that shouldn't have happened .
"Eeeeeeek!!!?"
Thunk-thunk. Holding his crotch, he screamed in agony, rolling on the floor. Watching Naota in this state with a mixture of pity and disdain, Kururu sighed.
"Really. What were you trying to do, bringing a delicate girl like me into such a confined space? If I had seen even a hint of remorse, I might have considered a lighter sentence. But calling me a damn woman... What a shame."
"Nuuuuuuh!!!"
"I'll tell you this, I won't lend you my shoulder again. Well, I wonder if you can even hear me anymore? Well, it doesn't matter either way."
While saying such things, Kururu rummaged through her bag.
"I won't change what I have to do."
Before long, she pulled out a silver disc that Naota was familiar with—a divine artifact, the Regalion.
"Well then, shall we go for checkmate?"
Oh no...!
Naota, groaning in agony, immediately responded to that declaration.
"W-Wait...!"
He had to somehow get out of this situation. But even attempting to stand up was out of the question with the excruciating pain.
"No, wait, please! Let's talk...!"
"It's alright. It probably wouldn't change anything anyway. More importantly, thanks to all the interruptions, I may not have explained things properly."
Ignoring Naota attempts to stop her, Kururu approached. She lifted the Regalion that had already activated in a conspicuous manner and taking a step forward.
"In addition to returning the transmigrator to their original world, this Regalion has several backup functions. First, after returning to your original world, you will be blessed by the gods. This means you won't have to worry about getting involved in any more troubles related to other worlds. It's effective until the next life, so please rest assured. Second, it's the sealing of the skills you've acquired. This relates to evil gods or demon gods, but the gods will take responsibility for sealing them, so it's fine. You won't be able to use them in your original world, so there's no need to worry about that. Third, it's memory erasure. You should think that basically all memories from when you came to this world will disappear. Right after you return, there might be a little left, but it's fine. You should only think something like, 'Hmm, what did I do? Was it just a dream?'"
While folding three fingers one after another, Kururu concluded her explanation.
"Huh...!?"
Standing before Naota, who had turned pale, she smiled cheerfully.
"So, that concludes the explanation. Do you have any questions?"
"Huh...? Uh..."
"It seems not! Well then, are you ready?"
She lifted the Regalion in front of his eyes.
For Naota, it felt like a death sentence.
Because, what was Kururu saying...? What had she told him...? He could never come back to this world again? His abilities would become unusable? His memories would disappear? It didn't make sense. It couldn't be...
"No, i refuse..."
With chattering teeth, Naota vigorously shook his head.
"No, noooooooo!!"
Unable to endure the fear, he tried to escape from the spot. But he couldn't stand up. Not just because of the pain, but his legs felt like jelly.
"Don't come, don't comeeeee!!"
Desperate, Naota crawled along the floor. He dragged himself towards the wall. There was no calculation. Anything was fine. Anything, as long as he could get away from Kururu.
"You're not handling this well at all. Also, why am I being portrayed as the villain?"
Muttering such a question to herself, Kururu finally activated the Regalion in earnest. At the same time, a dazzlingly large magic circle spread throughout the room. A fierce gust of wind blew, and with a strange sense of weightlessness, Naota body at the center of it was sucked away into the void. His futile resistance, like clutching onto the carpet, meant nothing against the overwhelming force of gravity.
"Aaargh! Stop! Stooop, pleaseeee!"
He struggled desperately in the air and screamed. But with no ground beneath his feet, all his struggles were in vain. Watching Naota, Kururu sighed from below and called out to him.
"Come on, at least be dignified for the last time. This is our final farewell. We'll never meet again, so let's say our goodbyes properly."
"No, it's not like that! It's not like that at all! Listen to me, I wasn't summoned to this world by chance! There must be some greater meaning behind it! I've had a feeling this would happen for a long time! Yes, it's destiny! My coming to this world was decided long before the universe was born!"
"Ah, I see, I see! I understand now! I understand perfectly, Nao-Kun! Thank you for telling me! But it's okay, that's just a complete delusion! Your coming to this world is not destiny! It's an accident! Just a mere coincidence!"
"Don't joke with me! How could that be true!? No, I don't want to go back! Why don't you understand!? Because I... I'm going to become a king! Eventually, I'll have everything in this world. I was meant to be the king!"
Once it had been asserted to that extent, Kururu had no cards left to play. There are often matters one should not try to find hope in. This was one of them. In any situation, the crucial thing was to accept and come to terms with it.
"Really... You certainly unfolded this so far in such a short time. I'm impressed. It's truly admirable. But don't worry, you'll forget it soon."
Finally after conveying that, Kururu focused on the control panel in front of her. In the meantime, it seemed like there was a commotion overhead, but she paid it no mind. And then, finally, the long-awaited moment arrived.
"Nao-san, we've been through a lot, but this is truly goodbye now! Please take care!"
"No, this can't be... This has to be a mistake... Because this is... This is...!"
The magic circle filled with light converged, and in the next moment, it exploded into brilliance. And then...
"My dream of an adventure in another world...... Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"
"That was his last moment, a final cry he left in this world. When the light finally settled, the room was left with only Kururu.
Faint phosphorescent lights floated down through the air, much like fireflies.
Gently picking up one of them, she softly spoke.
"Yes, that's right. It was some kind of mistake."
Addressing her former friend who was no longer in this world.
"――Farewell, Nao-san. If it's in the world of dreams, let's meet again someday.""
Comments
Post a Comment