Tier I Seeker ③
Near the Slums of Hydrangea, the surrounding entertainment district has many abandoned buildings.
It’s the same in any town; shops that go under are just left as they are, unable to be dealt with.
From one such ruin, the faint sound of a violin could be heard.
Searching for the source of the sound, I eventually arrived at a small, white, three-story abandoned building.
The sound was coming from the basement.
In the basement was a defunct BAR. Unusually, it had a small stage.
In its heyday, it bustled as a venue for rookie minstrels and musicians.
Now, it was empty.
Yet, standing on the deserted stage that should have been empty was a single woman.
She was playing the violin.
Her hair was a light black, but the strands framing both sides of her face were dyed gold, making them shine.
Her bangs were long, hiding her eyes—what you’d call a mekakure.
Her height was average, and her body was as thin as a withered branch.
She wore a frilly, yet not overly extravagant, concert outfit.
Her skirt was bright red, spreading out like three flower petals.
She wore a matching white floral beret.
And she had white rabbit ears standing straight and tall, along with a round tail.
As the incredibly sorrowful performance ended, a voice came from the audience seats.
“Hey. It’s so dark and damp in here, you know.”
“…………”
“It’s dirty and smells like dust here, you know.”
“……”
“We’ve been in a place like this for four days already, you know.”
“…………”
“I want to stay in a high-class, pretty, clean inn, you know.”
“…………”
“I want to go outside and play under the bright sky, you know.”
“……”
The voice came from a small doll placed in the audience seats.
It was a deformed, yet identical, version of the woman, but her hair color was reversed, and her clothes were a bright dress.
Her rabbit ears and tail were black.
“Why always, always? Why do you love being alone so much, Dimelo-chan?”
“………………”
“Paprika wants bright and fun songs too, you know.”
“……”
Dimelo raised her violin and began to play again.
A low, heavy, sorrowful melody. Paprika looked resigned, then remembered something.
“Hey, Dimelo-chan. Did you see the Servant User Wish Slate?”
“……!”
Her playing faltered and stopped. She glared at Paprika.
“You finally looked at Paprika, you know.”
“……”
“Paprika. Are you interested?”
“…………”
“The Witch’s apprentice. Are you interested?”
“……”
Dimelo ignored her, readjusted her violin, tuned it, and started playing again.
Was she flustered? The melody was the same, but the notes were slightly more disordered than before.
“Are you interested in the lady-killer who brought down half of The Impregnable?”
The violin music became violently discordant, and she almost stumbled.
Dimelo glared at Paprika.
“………………”
“Maybe it’d be better if you got charmed too, Dimelo-chan.”
“……!?”
Dimelo flushed with anger and stomped her foot. She breathed heavily.
“Paprika wants you to become more of a grown woman, you know.”
“……”
Dimelo put her violin away in its case.
“You’re old enough now, you know.”
“…………”
Ignoring Paprika, Dimelo went backstage.
‘The Silent Musician’ – Dimelo Silence.
Deep within Hydrangea’s Forest Park lies a forest.
It’s a small forest, a sacred grove. At its center stands a Juju Tree.
It’s a tree planted from the Seihou faith’s holy city, Juto, and such trees are always found in sacred groves.
It falls into the category of large trees, its branches sturdy and thick enough for people to walk side-by-side on them.
On one of those branches was a crude white tent.
Scrawled largely on the tent, for some reason, were the crude characters for ‘Forest King’.
Sitting near the tent, eating something out of a cloth bag, was a girl.
She had short-cut green hair and silver eyes.
With a young, adorable face and pointed ears, she was an Elf.
She wore green and white clothes entwined with vines, and her skirt, made of leaves, was elegant and lovely.
On her head was a pale blue feather ornament. It was a feather from the luck-bringing Blue Aurora Bird.
“Muncha muncha, munchara, muchara, kucharacuchara.”
She took nut gummies out of the cloth bag and ate them, making impolite noises.
She was a noisy chewer.
With unfocused eyes, she just kept chewing away.
Occasionally, she drank honey water from a canteen.
It was a refreshing drink of honey and lemon. A crescent moon was drawn on the canteen.
Its official name was the Crescent Moon Vessel.
It was one of the so-called ‘Moon Water Series’, along with the Full Moon Vessel owned by the Witch and the Crescent Vessel held by Wof.
Possessing the world-rare Relic 【Verde】, she was a Compounder comparable to the Witch.
She was also wasting her talent by dedicating most of it to making and eating gummies.
“Ah, ahh, ahh… Crescent Vessel… Heard she gave it to her apprentice… Munch munch… Apprentice, huh…”
She muttered to herself in a uniquely pleasant voice.
“Same as always. To think you’d be in a place like this.”
Hearing a man’s voice, she looked up to see a figure wearing a black robe and hood.
A Fairial was perched on his shoulder.
“Jikus. Air.”
“Still eating nut gummies?”
Air floated up gently.
She had fluffy pink hair tied into side-tails and matching eyes. She wore a blue dress.
She carried a bow on her back, and at her waist were a strangely shaped knife and rod.
Both were about the same length. They were actually a separable spear.
“Hmphmhmphm.”
“Talk after you finish eating.”
“Kuchamochapacha.”
“Stop eating so noisily.”
“Fuhaha, same as always, Zelena.”
“N’gokun. Jikus. Mom. Why are you here?”
“Who are you calling Mom!”
Jikus took three swords out of a pouch.
Three swords sheathed in red, blue, and green scabbards.
Their forms were all identical, but the gems on their pommels differed. Seeing them, Zelena remembered.
“I forgot I asked for these.”
“Fuhahaha, thought so.”
“But what are you going to use these single-use attribute swords for?”
Air asked curiously. Zelena looked up at the sky.
“Um, the Dungeon I’m currently clearing has a three-headed dragon, and I thought I’d hit that damn lizard with these, mochakucha.”
“You, really…”
“Fuhahahaha, well, I could have made them in a shape easier to throw.”
“Mochakucharatechara… Hm hm hmow hm hm.”
“You’re not throwing them! And stop talking while eating!”
“Gokun. I’ll use them repeatedly.”
“They’re not that durable, though.”
“If that’s the case, then so be it.”
Zelena accepted them and put them in her own pouch.
She had already paid the full amount upfront. Each one cost 1,000,000 Oro.
She would spend 3,000,000 Oro to defeat it, but whether that would result in a net gain was unknown.
But she didn’t care about that. For Zelena, if an obstacle disappeared, that was good enough.
In the first place, Dungeon Exploration was a hobby for Zelena.
She was the type to spend money on her hobbies.
‘The Green Guardian Child’ – Zelena.
She was also one of ‘The Impregnable’.
Each of the eight members of ‘The Impregnable’ possesses transcendent beauty.
Countless men, initially drawn by this, challenged them, only to be utterly defeated.
Truly ‘The Impregnable’.
However, the encounter rate for ‘The Impregnable’ is extremely low to begin with.
This is because, aside from Peony, they generally dislike people, are shy, and prefer solitude.
They usually delve deep into Dungeons and rarely appear in populated areas.
Some also live far away from towns and villages.
Since they avoid meeting people, even encountering them is difficult.
Furthermore, Peony, the ‘Seeker Knights Commander’, is heavily guarded due to her position.
Even acquaintances are constantly watched by someone named Hals.
Incidentally, the most difficult member of ‘The Impregnable’ to approach is the Witch.
The Witch has the ability to sense if someone harbors even the slightest feeling towards her.
Even if it’s goodwill, if she detects even a millimeter of feeling directed at her…
She creates an Absolute Rejection Barrier. Once that happens, no one can get close.
However, there was just one boy who constantly deployed a barrier that surpassed even hers.
Despite being the Witch’s savior, he maintained a stance of constant rejection.
I’m sorry. Forgive me. An apologetic attitude even when he’d done nothing wrong.
Unable to bear it, the Witch took a step closer.
Because if things continued as they were, her savior would die.
Moreover, the Witch grew saddened by his rejecting attitude, which felt like thorns wounding even herself.
She felt indignant that her savior, rather than lording his deed over her, completely rejected her.
That was the beginning of the Witch and her apprentice’s relationship, but let’s leave that story here for now.
Jikus and Air, having parted ways with Zelena.
“Speaking of which, Air. Weren’t you supposed to meet a friend?”
“A friend… right. Ruriha-sama’s daughter’s name was on the list.”
“Fuhahaha, don’t you want to see her?”
Jikus asked, noticing Air’s lack of enthusiasm.
“We had a fight before. That girl, Mineha, she has an OOPArts spear, you know. But it’s a weak OOPArts. Still, she keeps using it because it’s a memento from her father. It’d be fine if she just treasured it, but it’s not something for everyday use, so we argued about that.”
“Awkward, is it?”
“…You could say that.”
“Fuhahahaha.”
“Don’t laugh!”
‘The Six Attribute User’ – Jikus.
A Tier II Seeker and Zechs’s partner. Air, the ‘Windfall’.