<- Previous Chapter | Project Page | Next Chapter ->
Chapter 188: One-way Passage
Translator: Tseirp
After I safely released the Water Dragon and Wind Dragon, I noticed the bow and vase the Twin Dragons left behind after they disappeared and I returned via the way I came after I collected them.
While walking, the ‘Rafiruna’ the Twin Dragon told me about right before they disappeared left a hazy feeling in my heart as I tried to think of its identity such that it halved the joy I felt from releasing the Twin Dragons.
And then I convinced myself that I would refresh myself by throwing that hazy feeling onto the Wind Spirit and I felt my footsteps become slightly lighter.
However, after I climbed the stairs and exited the sealed door, I was hit by an unexpected situation.
“Why isn’t the magic elevator here?”
There was also no sign of the Wind Spirit and Lydia but thinking about it calmly, my training with the Twin Dragons lasted for a couple of days and the two of them couldn’t have remained down here for that long considering they didn’t bring any food.
I returned to where we came down at and carefully examined the location where the magic elevator was but there was no mechanism to bring the magic elevator down and it seemed like there was no way to go up from below.
” … What a defective product. Or is it a system to not let the person escape to the outside if anybody breaks in here.”
As I looked up at the height of the magic elevator that an ordinary human would not be able to reach, I was at a loss as to whether to use the power of the Wind Dragon.
“If I fell just before I reached it, it might even be instant death. Even if I could reach it, I can only hang onto the bottom of the magic elevator and I don’t have any means to operate it …”
If it was going to be like this, I regretted passing the magic communication bead to Lydia or I should have exchanged for a magic communication bead from Orford-san.
Furthermore, I thought about the Telepathic Communication skill but that skill has a restriction of a couple tens of meters range when it has a low skill level so there won’t be any meaning even if I acquired that skill with SP.
“What should I do?”
My mind was blank so I began to organize information from scratch.
For all the labyrinths I’ve been to until now, including the cave where the Earth Dragon was at, a returning magic circle would appear.
However this time, maybe because this place was converted to no longer be a labyrinth, the magic circle did not appear.
If the return magic circle was purposely erased, then the chances of me escaping this place is … !!
“Now that I think about it, there wasn’t the Evil God’s magic stone there and if the Twin Dragons fought with the Evil God at that location, won’t the magic stone and magic circle that they use a confidential technique to make Nelldal float be there too?”
When I thought out loud, more and more images came into mind.
“There must be an emergency escape exit when designing a place like this.”
If it was about time Nadia returns, perhaps I’m supposed to wait here and I prayed that I won’t cross without meeting Lydia and the Wind Spirit when they come to fetch us …
The situation won’t change no matter how much I begged for something that is not there so I decided to once again enter the sealed door.
I noticed a faint light leak out from behind the sealed door and headed towards that direction first.
Following that, unlike the large sealed door, I came across a small door of about one meter tall that was emitting light.
When I approached the door, I heard human-like voices but it was extremely soft so I couldn’t catch anything.
“Is anyone there? I’m opening the door okay? Uo!?”
I called out just in case before I opened the small door and was faced with an avalanche of gold coins coming from the inside.
However, it wasn’t an avalanche of only gold coins.
Equipment, magic tools, furniture and other items were spilling out as if they were being pushed out of the door.
” … Why was such a large amount of items placed in there?”
There might be a possibility that a life was at stake so I quickly stored all of it in my magic bag.
As I was collecting the items, the inside cleared up such that I could peek in and I saw the figures of Lydia and the Wind Spirit.
“Are you alright?”
But their replies were poor and there’s a possibility that they were squashed in that condition for a long time.
I immediately cast Extra Heal and when their bodies emitted light and they also seemed like they were breathing, I could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
“Maybe they aren’t waking up because they were unconscious. … Nevertheless, what happened here?”
When I looked around the room, I saw several floating bookshelves like they were from a fairy tale magic archive.
“Wait, is this perhaps the real magic archive?”
“That’s right.”
I thought that I would look around until they regained consciousness but for some reason, there was a reply to my mumblings.
When I turned back, I saw that Orford-san had gotten up.
“You’re alright.”
“Orford’s physical body was on the verge of death but it somehow survived with your magic and it looks like your magic even treated the stomach disease he’s been afflicted with.”
“Healing magic can’t cure diseases. Leaving that aside, is this the real magic archive?”
“Umu. Those who are allowed to enter here are only those who possess the Spirit’s divine protection or those who I originally acknowledge having no distortions in their hearts … I certainly didn’t expect the items that the Wind Dragon was hoarding to appear and fall on us.”
“That’s because I released the Water Dragon and Wind Dragon from the Evil God’s curse.”
“What!? Evil God … I can’t believe it.”
The Wind Spirit reacted like it was really surprised but even so I still had some strong suspicions towards this spirit.
I had trouble comprehending how the Wind Spirit who supports Nelldal with the Twin Dragons not notice the abnormalities in the Twin Dragons.
If it was true that it didn’t meet them for decades, I would then certainly like to ask why was there a gap between them.
” … At this stage, it doesn’t matter if you really didn’t know or you’re playing a fool. But why was it that a Wind Spirit like you didn’t notice the Evil God’s incursion!”
I knew that there was no meaning in asking such a question but I had to ask no matter what.
” … It’s because the Wind Dragon and Water Dragons are way too amiable despite being Dragons. Including Rain, they have drunk wine with four others since Nelldal was made.”
“Four? And they even drank wine with them?”
“That’s right. Dragons and Spirits can use magical power to turn humanoid. Well, it uses an enormous amount of magical power so we don’t usually do it but because at that time, Rain bore the magical power consumption by transferring it to them so there was a time limit but they became humans.”
… In the case of Spirits, I thought it was by manifesting them so it might be possible but if it’s true that he can even supply dragons to do so, he was bearing the cost of the transformation of one Spirit and two Dragons.
It was after he unknowingly defeated the Demon Lord so it wasn’t impossible to imagine but if that’s the case then won’t Sir Rainstar even be able to summon heroic spirits?
If he did that, I believe I would have been able to live a carefree life.
I considered asking Sir Rainstar that if I have the opportunity to once again encounter him at Rockford a couple of years later.
Leaving that aside, should I return to the main topic?
” … I’m thinking that something actually happened but were they keeping you at a distance?”
” … Once, when the Wind Dragon and the Water Dragon had a quarrel and they were about to make Nelldal fall from the sky, I had many disputes with them. After that incident, they never showed their faces to me or met me.”
Looking at the Wind Spirit with an elderly appearance that looked like he was about to cry, I could no longer blame him any further.
The atmosphere won’t return to normal and I was troubled as I averted my eyes when I noticed that there were no traces left of the door I supposedly came in through.
” … The small door has disappeared?”
“It’s a one-way door where one can only enter here from there but without my permission, a person would not be able to see it.”
I thought that it was an amazing trick but he said it a little proudly so I changed the topic.
” … Before the Wind Dragon and Water Dragon disappeared, they said that a real crisis will befall the world and told me to remove the seal on Rafiruna but who is Rafiruna? Human, Dragon or Spirit? Or is it something like a Holy Sword?”
“Fumu. It would be better if you ask that Pope Fluna about it. As long as I don’t know Rafiruna-sama’s true intention, I cannot say any more.”
It seemed like she’s either a Human, a Dragon or a Spirit.
It looked like it would be meaningless to ask any further so I housed Lydia who still had not woken up in the Hermit’s Coffin and decided to return to my room for now.
Author’s note:
Thank you for reading.
Thank you!!!