Crown of the Wonderland ⑦
The Great Temple. East Chapel. Chamber of Fate.
“It’s over.”
Vooooooooooooooooohahahahahahahahahahattz!
Riddled with black dots, Max laughed in fury.
“Hah… haah… hah… This is getting tiresome.”
All I could manage were ragged breaths. I was torn to shreds. And it was my favorite outfit, too.
“I wish you’d show some consideration for these old bones, yasu.”
Alexander-sama took out his kiseru.
At his feet lay the scattered remains of Hanswurst.
“———And that’s how we won. But the whereabouts of the Crown itself were unknown. Alexander-sama and I searched all over, but concluded it wasn’t anywhere except for one particular location. Besides, I was at my limit too. So, just as Alexander-sama suggested, I headed for the Encampment, but on the way, a Strange Box appeared this time. Then came a Dust Box, a Panic Box… Seriously, give me a break.”
Ms. Megadia was emptying wine bottles one after another.
“So what happened then?”
“I defeated them all.”
“As expected of you-ssu.”
Does that mean all the Giant Mimics have been defeated?
Still, taking on three of them… Is this the power of a Tier II?
“Pushing these old bones any further is just too much, I tell you.”
Alexander-sama puffed on his kiseru. Does he even have bones?
Incidentally, Ms. Megadia had just finished bathing.
Her hair was still damp, and faint steam rose warmly from her skin.
She wore a new Gothic Lolita outfit.
“That must have been tough.”
“We defeated three Giant Mimics over here too-ssu.”
“There were six Giant Mimics in total, ja. That should be the last of them, ja nou.”
“All that’s left is the Crown-ssu ne.”
“Where is it?”
“That thing is in the Great Temple. The Central Chapel.”
Her purple eyes, emitting an eerie light, looked at me. She chuckled softly.
“The place where that statue was…”
“Yes, the Chapel.”
“It’s closed right now, yasu.”
“It’s closed?”
“Yes, it was closed.”
“…”
“Now then, nou. Megadia. Everyone miraculously made it through that situation unharmed, ja. I’d like to celebrate that, ja ga, but before that, what do you intend to do now?”
Ms. Pachira asked.
Ms. Megadia chugged wine straight from the bottle.
That wine was from the Storage Cellar in the Temple District.
“The current situation isn’t the worst. Everyone’s safe. We lost about four people due to accidents, but this isn’t so bad in itself. Fang of Thunder is here. The disciple of Raijin’s Clawblade is here too.”
“But what about that door, yasu?”
“I can open that door.”
“You can open it-ssu ka?”
“Eh, you know about me…?”
Mineha-san, who had been eating silently the whole time, looked up.
“Yes, I can open it. And tomorrow, we settle this.”
“Understood.”
“Umu. I shall inform Lupinus and the others as well.”
“Come to think of it, they aren’t here-ssu ne. Lupinus and Liv-san. What are they doing-ssu ka?”
“Bathing.”
“Ah, I’ll take a bath later too-ssu.”
“Perhaps I shall join as well.”
“Then let’s go together-ssu.”
“…Haaah, very well, jarou. This too is a form of conservation, ja.”
“Wait. We’re not finished talking yet. Listen. This next part is important. Once we defeat it, we’re immediately returning using the Return Transfer Array we set up.”
“Eh, is there some reason to hurry-ssu ka?”
“There’s still lots of unknown ingredients, be.”
“There’s no need to rush like that, is there? We’re Seekers.”
“No.”
Ms. Megadia exerted pressure that allowed no argument.
“No. This is Edda’s Sanctuary. Whether by chance or fate, we’ve entered a place we fundamentally shouldn’t have. As soon as the subjugation is over, we’re going back immediately.”
A place we shouldn’t have entered… huh.
“If that’s the case, it can’t be helped.”
“It’s regrettable to leave, ga nou.”
Edda’s Sanctuary, huh.
“That means hazard pay, denbe?”
“Will we get it?”
“We should. Otherwise, this isn’t worth it.”
“I’ll speak up to make sure you get it.”
Ms. Megadia gave a smile and promised to put in a word for us.
Then she looked at me.
“Wh-what is it?”
“Woff-kun. Come talk with big sis for a bit.”
“Eh? Ehh?”
My shoulder was grabbed, and I was swiftly led away.
Where to!? I wondered, but it was the third tent. A storage tent.
“There’s something I want to ask you.”
“What is it?”
“I heard from Alexander-sama. You. Did you go to the Central Chapel?”
“Yes, I heard the door was open, so I went to see.”
“You saw the statue of Generous, then.”
“Yes. And there’s something I want to ask, too.”
“What might that be?”
“…You said before that Generous is a boy god, right?”
“Yes, I did.”
“But the statue in the Great Temple was female.”
There was a slight, yet noticeable, bulge in the statue’s clothing.
Ms. Megadia replied cryptically.
“Yes. That’s the statue of the Reappearance, you see.”
“Reappearance?”
“Generous is indeed a boy god. However. Generous reappears regardless of gender.”
“That’s the first I’ve heard of it.”
“It’s the first time I’ve said it.”
“Also, it didn’t have six eyes.”
“You remember well. About that, sorry. It’s a metaphor.”
“So it doesn’t really have six eyes.”
“No. Though I don’t know what it represents.”
“That Reappearance… is it happening now, too?”
Could it be that I am that Reappearance?
Ms. Megadia chuckled softly.
“Yes. And the Reappearance is among the Tier I Seekers.”
“Eh…?”
Hm? There’s a Reappearance in Tier I?
“You don’t know? The youngest Tier I Seeker, the girl Narcissus. She is the Reappearance of Generous.”
“———Can there be multiple Reappearances at once?”
“I’ve never heard of that. There should always only be one.”
“I see.”
Then what am I…?
Ms. Megadia was watching me with her purple eyes. Staring intently, cryptically.
“Woff-kun. I’ve thought this since I met you. You’re very mysterious.”
“Is that so? Um, excuse me. There’s just one more thing I’d like to ask.”
“Oh? What is it?”
“———Do you know about 【Banishment Line】?”
“Let’s see, what could that be? An OOPArt perhaps?”
“It’s a Restriction Relic.”
“A Relic, I see. I don’t know it.”
She didn’t seem to be feigning ignorance.
It seemed like she genuinely didn’t know.
“I see.”
“Incidentally, what kind of Relic is it? May I ask?”
“It can change the world.”
“That’s frightening.”
Ms. Megadia gave a soft laugh.
“Um, Ms. Megadia, what do you think about the Reappearance?”
“That’s sudden. What do I think… well, I suppose it’s just one of those things that happens.”
“Isn’t it like, you worship them because they’re a god?”
“A Reappearance is a Reappearance. But it’s also true that there are factions within Edda regarding it.”
“…I think I understand.”
“Me? This is what I think. Humans must not become gods.”
“Humans must not become gods…?”
Ms. Megadia’s purple eyes glowed eerily as she repeated herself.
“That’s right. Humans must not become gods. Gods are Gods. Humans are humans.”
“…”
I fell silent without thinking. Ms. Megadia gazed at me with an intense look.
Those purple eyes really are scary when they glow…
“You are mysterious. Hey, I said this before, but won’t you become my Hired Pup?”
“Well, about that…”
“Mufufu, fine. Think about it.”
“Ah.”
She lightly patted my head, chuckled softly, and left.
“Humans must not become gods…”
Yes. That’s right.
But.
And tomorrow, it will be settled.