Chapter 233: The Second Summoning?
It happened suddenly. Just as we were about to enter the Kingdom of Faerdehelde, a Magic Circle spread out beneath my feet.
“W-What!?”
“I don’t know what’s happening, but we need to run!”
As Rio voiced her confusion, I shouted in response and dashed forward. Ivan, carrying Phonia, sprinted backward, while Rio and El split to the sides, moving away from each other. However, it seemed the Magic Circle was expanding around me, following my movements. It was quite large, with a radius of about ten meters. Nil was nearby, but it appeared that everyone else had managed to escape the confines of the Magic Circle.
“What the hell is going on?”
I felt a strange sense of familiarity with the Magic Circle. I had no intention of waiting for it to activate without a fight. Realizing I couldn’t escape, I concentrated my Magic Power and slammed it down into the center of the Magic Circle beneath my feet. In an instant, a brilliant light erupted around us, and then the Magic Circle vanished, leaving behind a profound silence.
‘…Did it settle down?’
‘…Probably?’
I responded to Rio’s telepathic communication after sensing the surrounding Magic Power. Since the Magic Circle disappeared, I no longer felt any strange Magic Power… or at least, that’s what I thought. Perhaps due to the overwhelming Magic Power of the circle, I couldn’t quite grasp whether it had truly returned to normal. It felt as if remnants were still lingering in the air… if that makes sense.
Ivan, still holding Phonia, and Rio slowly approached me. El, however, remained vigilant, scanning the area around us.
“What do you think that was?”
“I don’t know, but it looked like a Magic Circle I’ve seen before…”
“Eh?”
“Seriously?”
Phonia seemed confused, tilting her head in puzzlement.
“Wow, I’ve lived a long time, but I’ve never seen a Magic Circle like that before.”
El, who had walked over, crossed her arms in admiration. Strangely enough, she was still dressed in her maid outfit, which didn’t seem very practical for traveling.
“Yeah, it kind of reminded me of the Summoning Magic Circle that brought us to this world.”
“‘Huh?’”
“Another summoning?”
Rio made a face that clearly expressed her distaste.
“What does summoning even mean?”
Phonia, cradling Nil in her arms, asked, prompting Rio to explain just how malicious such a crime could be.
“Are we going to be kidnapped!?”
Phonia clung tightly to Rio, refusing to let go.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere, so you can relax.”
“Haha…”
El chuckled at the scene. While Phonia didn’t seem to harbor any hostility toward El, the memory of Rio disappearing seemed to have left a strong impression on her.
“But we’re okay now, right?”
“Well, I think we should be fine, but I can’t say for sure.”
I probed the surrounding Magic Power, but found no abnormalities.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I doubt there are many who can use Summoning Magic, but with it happening so frequently… Well, I can’t say for certain that this is Summoning Magic either.”
“…Is that so? It hasn’t been long since Shu and the others came here, has it?”
“Yeah. I’m not counting exactly, but I don’t think it’s been a year yet.”
Had it really only been about six months since I was with my master? It didn’t feel like that long. Regardless, a lot had happened since we arrived in this world. I wasn’t keeping an exact tally.
“Just going by feeling, it feels like it’s been several years, doesn’t it?”
“Ah, I totally get that.”
As we were talking, a smaller Magic Circle began to spread out, and suddenly, my vision was engulfed in pure white.
“Not you again.”
As I wondered why my vision remained white, a low male voice echoed from somewhere.
“W-Who are you!?”
I heard Ivan’s voice next to me. Looking closely, I saw that Rio, Phonia, and Nil were all with him.
“…Where’s El?”
Rio muttered as she looked around in confusion.
“Ho ho, it seems you are not alone this time. Still, you have quite the bad luck, don’t you?”
Before me stood an old man clad in a white robe, his hair and beard as white as snow. A wave of déjà vu washed over me, reminiscent of the first time I was summoned…
“Where is this place?”
Phonia and Nil flattened their ears, cautiously surveying the surroundings. Their tails seemed to droop in a lack of energy.
“Um…”
“However, I must apologize this time. Just when you managed to break free from the Summoning Array, it seems the goddesses found it amusing and forced the activation.”
As I searched for words, the voice’s owner began to speak about matters I hadn’t even asked about. I had a feeling he was a god, but what did he mean by goddesses?
“Still, it might not be all bad… It seems you’ve acquired the Skill to Traverse Dimensions.”
“Eh?”
“As an apology, I’ll ensure that the Skills you’ve acquired can be used in the world you’ve been summoned to. However, since the Skill systems differ slightly, there may be some Skills that won’t work as they are.”
“W-What…?”
What on earth is happening? Wait a moment. This is too much information to process.
“Ah, time’s up. Farewell, and may you thrive in this new world.”
“Wait! Just a moment…!?”
With that, our calls fell on deaf ears as my vision was once again swallowed by darkness.