49 48. The stories intersect.txt (1/2)

To Mr. Hein, Rustyala replies with a cat on his head.

''Hello, Mr. Hein. Are you alone today?'

Yes, it's just me today.

I used my magic 《Dimension》 to check for people hiding around me.

Rastiara was looking at me, so I nodded and told her that Hein-san was alone.

After confirming that, Rastiara continues to talk.

'To challenge my knight Christ to a duel today as well?

Hearing that it's a duel, Mr. Hein stiffens a bit.

Then, he quickly nods his head repeatedly and replies.

''Yes, I will challenge you to a duel. But before that, I want to talk to you about something.''

Story?

”Yes, with your knight Christ.

With that, Mr. Hein turns his head towards me.

I take a step forward to listen to his story.

'What do you mean by story, Mr. Hein?'

'No, it's not all about fighting. For example, I can even get you to admit defeat by providing you with what you want. That's what I'm talking about.

In a soft tone, Mr. Hein makes a plea for non-violence.

'Indeed, if we can negotiate a deal, I'd prefer it that way too.

'Certainly not,'

Mr. Hein begins to negotiate with a smile on his face without a minute's notice.

'So tell me what you want,'

What you want, sir? ......?

'I will provide you with as much as you desire, whether it be money or honor. If you're looking for fun like the lady, I'll provide you with any pleasure you want. ...... so will you lose the duel?

It was a very reasonable proposition.

But alas, I don't want the money or the honor.

I only want one thing. I just want to come home.

I want my one and only family back. That's all I want.

At the moment, the only place that has a chance of fulfilling that wish is in the deepest part of the labyrinth.

I couldn't find any other possibilities through the information I've gathered to date. In that case, the only talent I want is the one that can be used in the depths of the labyrinth.

I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world.

There is no reason to concede victory to Mr. Hein, even if you discard one of those few forces.

What ...... I want is not available to Ms. Hein.

Can't you get it?

What I want is in the 'deepest' part of the labyrinth. So I can't prepare for you, Mr. Hein.

I assure him.

Mr. Hein frowns a little at the response and continues to negotiate.

'That 'miracle' ....... The deepest 'miracle', do you want ......?

Yes, sir.

That's certainly not something I can prepare for: ......

Mr. Hein knows what I want, holds his head and turns his face down.

Then, after some reflection, he blurts out a few words.

'This sucks: ......

That one word was shaky.

It wasn't the soft, beautiful voice I'd heard before, but a scratchy voice that leaked from the bottom of my stomach.

And then Mr. Hein slowly raised his head and showed me his pathetic face.

There was no smile on his face that didn't have an inch of space like he had in the past. It's the face of an ordinary person who has been struck by a sad event.

The sudden change in expression confuses me.

He didn't care about my dismay and continued to speak with a sad face and a hoarse voice.

It's the worst. What you want is the 'worst' for me. ...... It's fine to hope for a miracle. But this labyrinth. It's the only place you can't. Oh, how--the place is bad (・・・・・).

What is that ......

I try to listen back, not understanding what Mr. Hein is saying.

'It can't be helped. Let's have a duel.'

However, Mr. Hein did not respond to that and requested a duel.

'That's fine, though: ......

As always, if you win, does that mean I'll never see your face again?

'Yes, that's of course. But--

I feel anxious, like a bug crawling up my back, and I try to stop the conversation once.

But Mr. Hein doesn't allow it.

He doesn't let it stop him from speaking, one word after another.

And then he throws the most decisive word at me.

'Then, if I win, you and your daughter will leave the Confederacy (・・・・・・).

As he uttered that one word, Mr. Hein's expression had returned to a smile.

With a smile to admire, and the gentlest voice of the day, he declared.

''Huh?''

I didn't immediately understand what that meant.

From the way things were going so far, I thought that if we won, Rustyala would just go back to his parents' house. However, Mr. Hein wanted a completely different reward than that.

Then the story is completely different.

I tried to refuse it, to take a further step forward--

That step was not going to happen.

My feet didn't reach the ground and I was hit with a floating feeling.

''-- 《Zeer Wand》''

Mr. Hein pointed his right hand at me and his left hand at Rustyala and chanted a spell.

At the same time, one of his rings shatters and a ray of soft wind strokes my cheek.

The next moment.

The scene in front of me is distorted, a mass of air crashes into my eyes, and my eyelids are forced shut.

Furthermore, the pressure to blow me away slammed my entire body.

The direction of the pressure is from Mr. Hein.

But my vision is closed off and I don't know what that pressure is.

I instinctively rolled my body and prepared for more possible situations.

''--?

I was blown backwards.

In the middle of it all, I lost my sense of up and down.

It was here that I finally understood that I was being blown backwards by a magical gust of wind that was beyond human understanding.

I was caught off guard by Hein-san's good-natured atmosphere, and my response was delayed.

I remembered the discomfort for sure, but I wasn't nervous enough.

While being blown away by the wind, I deployed my magic 《Dimension Decisive Operation (Gradiate)》 and picked up information about my surroundings.

I'm going to be able to expand my magic in an instant and build a response based on that information.

It's less than a second in time.

I have grasped the position of my position to be blown off and the position of the wall to be blown off. Then, I prepare to passively prepare myself accordingly.

I'm not going to be able to get a good idea of what to expect.

While sticking to the wall, I let the magic ”Dimension” permeate the entire room.

In the distance, Rastiara was struck by the wall and knocked unconscious.

She may not be dead, but one of her arms was broken, even with a light glance. Unlike me, it looks like he couldn't get passive.

It's not that Rustyala's reaction was worse than mine. If you say it was bad, it was not the place she was standing.

Although the distance from me to the wall was more than a dozen meters, Rustiala had no time to think because the wall was right behind her.

I judge that Rastiara has no help.

We have no choice but to leave Rastiara alone and concentrate on the enemy.

As I answered that, I saw Hein-san pull out his silver twin swords and close the distance to us.

I also put my feet on the ground while pulling out the treasure sword from my 'possessions'.

I construct a magic to take advantage of the situation before Hein-san arrives.

''-- Magic 《Form》 《Dimensional Snow (Di Snow)》!

It creates countless magic bubbles.

Seeing this, Mr. Hein casts his magic.

He points one silver sword at me and one of the rings shatters.

''-- 《Zittert Wind》''

Along with the magic name, a soft wind is born from Hein-san's silver sword.

That wind doesn't have as much pressure as the wind that preceded it. However, it preceded Hain-san's front and swept away the magic bubbles that were born around me.

I realize that the magic bubbles are not effective against Mr. Hein and stop the mass production of the bubbles.

Then, I decide to focus only on the sword and try to put my energy into the magic 《Dimension》 - and I realize that my magic senses are disturbed.

''----!