ch41-ch60 · 066-ch58

Chapter 58 — Shadow Mystery Tale ⑩

A quiet splash echoed through the bath.

The day after they defeated the Shadow-Eater.

Sai and Hiyori's exhaustion was especially severe, so the group decided to stay overnight in Kakuriyo.

With the Shadow-Eater threat eliminated, Ginreibo recommended a hot spring inn nearby.

"Given your extreme exhaustion, and with magical recovery in mind, a hot spring cure here would be most fitting!"

Or so he said.

It was surprising that Kakuriyo had a hot spring inn, but even in Kakuriyo, the demons living their daily lives probably needed places to rest.

Incidentally, it seemed that demons living ordinary lives treated unfamiliar humans as "some weird thing."

Though it was called an inn, there didn't seem to be meals — more like a room-only hot spring lodging.

It was the kind of Japanese-fantasy hot spring you'd see in an anime film.

Anyway.

Sai and the others had come on an adventure to defeat the Shadow-Eater, after all. So they hadn't expected to soak in a hot spring.

Soaking was fine, but they were humans pretending to be spirits and a High Elf. Thanks to Ginreibo they wouldn't be attacked, but in their human bodies, Kakuriyo's air was a bit harmful. Still, they couldn't exactly get into the hot spring wearing their armor.

While they were discussing what to do about clothes, Hexaria used the "spirit-spun thread" to make fabric and prepared bath clothes for everyone. Though the ones who worked hardest were the little maids — the spirits serving Hexaria.

And so, time for a hot spring cure. Time to soak.

That's when another problem was discovered.

"Sensei, you can't look this way, okay!?"

"Got it. I'm facing the other way, so relax."

"If you want to see, um..."

"Don't say stuff like that, seriously!"

It was an unexpected mixed bath.

What were demon ethics like, anyway? Maybe this was what it meant for worlds to be different.

And the bath clothes weren't the dark-colored commercially available kind — they were unbleached white that turned see-through when wet. Hiyori and the others were obvious, but Sai's would show through too. Though unfortunately, there wasn't much demand for a middle-aged man in his forties.

As Sai and the others were talking, Hexaria arrived.

She was completely stark naked.

Her figure was like a textbook sculpture of beauty — the kind that embodied the finest aesthetics — and perhaps because of that, it inspired awe more than allure. And that woman, without hiding anything in front, casually rinsed herself and slipped right in.

"Fuu. Not bad water at all."

"W-wait... Hexaria-san, use the bath clothes too..."

"Quiet. When bathing, be silent."

"I can't believe I'm getting bathtime etiquette lectured by a High Elf from another world..."

Hiyori felt like she'd been smacked on the head. It was way too Japanese-sounding for a High Elf from another world.

Incidentally, it was Sai who taught her bathtime etiquette.

What had happened in the past?

"Aaaaah..."

"Haaah..."

Hiyori and Sai were especially bad, but everyone there was in a state of extreme exhaustion. The battle had demanded prolonged, continuous tension, so they were all worn out. Maybe that's why they felt like soaking in the hot water while chatting at a leisurely pace.

"Sensei, I wanna ask you a bunch of stuff... but first, what's up with that body?"

Even though Sai had his back turned, Hiyori was staring hard at it. The mysterious patterns carved across Sai's whole body — they did look like tattoos. But they lacked the typical feel of tattoos, with an oddly mysterious coloring. Some parts even shimmered rainbow-colored — to put it rudely, they looked like gaming tattoos.

"Tattoos... Ah, you mean the Magical Crest?"

Saying that, Sai started explaining while patting the Magical Crest on his arm.

"A Magical Crest is a booster for magical power and formulas. What you can do depends on what's engraved. In my case, I can store magical power in a separate reserve, forcibly increase the amount of mana I absorb from the atmosphere... stuff like that."

"It's amazing, but it seriously just looks like a gaming tattoo..."

She wanted to get stronger, but she had a feeling it was a no-go from a looks standpoint. Incidentally, the Ichijō family was relatively tolerant of tattoos. Not because they were in "that kind of business"... but because when they researched magic in the past, they'd looked into tattoos and experimented. The results were unfortunate back then, but with Sai as a living example, maybe adopting it for real was worth considering.

"Oh, normally these are hidden, y'know? When I fought the Shadow-Eater, I used 'em like crazy at the end, so they overloaded and stayed visible."

"Huh, in that case I kinda want a Magical Crest too..."

"Don't."

That's when Hexaria put a stop to it.

"There are many reasons, but it ruins the body. This one somehow manages to use it, but that's not supposed to be possible. If this happens, you normally die."

Right. Sai's Magical Crest was fundamentally quite dangerous. Forcibly increasing the amount of mana absorbed from the atmosphere... that was what caused Kinya to self-destruct. It was the kind of crest that wouldn't be strange to explode from. It was only because Sai could fully control the massive mana that he could use it — but normally it was impossible. It would explode before reaching overload.

Setting energy to 120% would normally cause an explosion, but Sai's masterful skill controlled it completely.

"Sensei, how are you even alive..."

"Yeah, really... Even in the other world, people found it strange..."

In the past, when Sai did something similar in the other world, his disciple at the time wept a lot seeing Sai collapsed. The disciple — a man who'd become stronger than Sai — cried like a child, "I don't want you to die!"

Seeing that, Sai resolved not to do anything stupid again... but in the end, he ended up doing the same thing on Earth. But without it, he couldn't have defeated the Shadow-Eater. That much, Sai could say for certain.

"So that magic..."

"I would hear of this as well."

Ginreibo joined them. Incidentally, Ginreibo was in his small crow tengu size. He wasn't wearing bath clothes either. Because he was a Majin. Also, tengu were known to be wild... but he couldn't act that way in front of Hexaria, whom he revered. Ginreibo was smart enough not to act stupid in front of someone he deeply respected.

"Ah, I'll skip the detailed explanation, but basically it's a holy-attribute Mada〇te."

"Mada〇te?"

"Ma〇nte...?"

Ginreibo and the two girls looked blank. Unfortunately, neither the tengu living in Kakuriyo nor the two eighteen-year-old girls understood the reference. It was the ultimate magic from a certain game that released all magical power... the ultimate magic, if you didn't think about what came after.

It was one of the spells Sai developed with Hexaria and other collaborators to fight demons in the other world that would revive even after being killed. You could say it was a modified version of an existing spell, made more vicious to ensure kills. Including the finishing attack, it was a sure-kill attack... but like Mada〇te, it consumed all magical power. It was a Ma〇nte that could only be used by spending all the magical power stored in the Magical Crest too.

It also carried the risk of misfire if too much magical power was used. That's why there were few who could use it even in the other world, and it was a forbidden magic that could be life-threatening if used by someone like Hexaria, whose body was composed of magical power. That was the fatal flaw of this magic.

When you thought about it, it was quite a brutal spell, both physically and mentally, for a man in his forties to use.

"Use all magical power... I see..."

Ginreibo repeated the words, digesting what he'd heard. He'd intended to ask to be taught this magic, but Ginreibo was also a Majin whose body was composed of magical power. If he used it, he'd die with high probability.

"Hey, Sensei. Could someone like me or other exorcists use it?"

"I think you could use it after doing a lot of magic control training. Though, Hiyori-san, you naturally have a lot of magical power, so the risk of misfire is high."

"I see..."

Still, thinking about the future, Hiyori wanted to be able to use it.

Next to Hiyori, Mio had been quiet and depressed the whole time. The mistake she'd made during the battle against the Shadow-Eater was still weighing on her. But there was something she had to ask now.

"Hiyori, about Set-chan..."

"Hmm, I'm not getting any response."

"I see..."

This time, the greatest sacrifice was Set-chan. She seemed to be resting with the exorcist blade Shiroharai as her vessel, but Mio felt responsible for the mistake she'd made back then.

Noticing this, Sai spoke to Mio.

"Mio-san. Don't blame yourself about Set-chan."

"But..."

"Then should I blame myself too? On my orders, you two stayed in the rear to recover."

"That's... but..."

"I won't tell you not to regret what's happened. It'll always leave a thorn. But beating yourself up over it won't bring anything back. If you're gonna regret it, then make sure you don't fail next time."

He said it a little dryly.

Just how many adventurers had died since Sai became one? Adventurers who were his comrades died beside him. Adventurers he'd had a falling out with but who were strong died when they let their guard down.

Even this time, without Set-chan, Hiyori or Mio would have been fatally wounded — no, they would have died. He'd nearly killed the disciples he'd painstakingly raised. Because of Sai's own orders.

Being an instructor at the Adventurer's Guild... It was a cruel line of work. How many rookie adventurers — how many adventurers who'd left Sai's tutelage — had died? Was his teaching bad? What had gone wrong? How many times had he wept over the death of someone he'd cared for? How many times had he been cursed — "give me back my son, my friend, my husband, my beloved"? No matter how much he agonized, there was no end to it.

In Sai's heart, the thorns of those fallen adventurers remained to this day. What could the living offer to the dead? Precious little.

That was why he didn't want anyone else to die. He wanted to reduce sacrifices, even a little. That was why Sai had returned to Earth — and yet even now, he continued being an adventurer and an instructor.

Hearing Sai's words, Mio looked down. She was frustrated at herself for not being able to do anything for Set-chan.

Seeing this, Hexaria spoke to Mio.

"Mio. Set-chan is currently in a dormant state. She may well rise again someday."

"Is that... true?"

"If you wish to do something, then speak to Shiroharai, and also visit the church that enshrines her... a shrine, was it? Go and pay your respects. Even a single voice should reach her."

"...Will it reach her?"

"Indeed. That is what it means to be a god. Especially Hiyori and Mio — you have a connection through this incident. It will surely reach her."

"Yes..."

Hearing those words, a little of the tension inside Mio eased.

Maybe she couldn't say there were zero sacrifices. But the fact that they'd done their best was true. The calamity of the Shadow-Eater was gone.

Carrying various thoughts, Mio looked up at the sky of Kakuriyo.

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Thank you for reading.