Vol 1 Chapter 2 (1/2)

Chapter 2: The s.h.i.+nki Who Was Taken In & Physical Labor

“O s.h.i.+nki, Protectress of this city~” Yuuki called out calmly. “Please purify all corruption – clean the storefront, would you?”

“I will fulfill that wish, Master.”

Tina nodded energetically.

“…Now then, how do you use this thing?”

Tina raised the rag she held in hand.

She was dressed in a set of old clothes Yuuki had bought for her, with her hair tied back by a triangular handkerchief – the very picture of a girl at work.

“First, immerse the rag in the bucket of water.”

“Like this?”

“Right. Now wring it out. After that, please wipe down the sales counter.”

“Let’s see here… By the way, why the serious tone? Albertina’s given you her permission to loosen up a little, Master.”

“…It’s amazing how you can say that without sarcasm. Now, then s.h.i.+nki-sama, please take down the items on the sales counter and wipe it down thoroughly. It’s quite easy for dust blown in from the outside to acc.u.mulate there. When you’re done cleaning it, return the merchandise to their places. Oh, and be careful – if things drop, they’ll break.”

“Got it.”

Tina proceeded to follow his instructions with what were frankly unreliable, unpracticed motions.

In return for his help, she’d help out around the store. On this point, the two were agreed.

Tina’s appellation for Yuuki – “Master” – was a demonstration of her grat.i.tude intended to show her respect.

He had to admit, putting aside her clumsy movements, hearing someone address him in that manner was strangely satisfying. Additionally, she did have some skill when it came to bookkeeping. If she kept at it, it wasn’t a stretch of the imagination to think that she could be a merchant herself someday——

Unexpectedly, a sound came from the front door.

“h.e.l.lo. Are you open?”

Franka peeked her head through the store entrance. Speaking of which, she hadmentioned dropping by the day before——

“Oh, yeah, we’re open. Welcome; come on in. It’s still early – are you done raiding already?”

“Ah, no. We’re still getting ready to head out. As I was getting my stuff together, I noticed the bag I keep my Divine Pearls in has a hole in it. I came to buy——”

Franka suddenly froze as she noticed Tina’s presence.

“…A-A girl? T-There’s a girl. In Yuuki’s store – there’s a girl.”

Yuuki couldn’t understand what was so shocking about that, though it was true that Tina was clearly not a guy.

“When a customer comes in, greeting them with a ‘Welcome’—— Is that really all that’s needed, Master?”

“Yeah, and do it with heart.”

“So she’s not a customer?!” Franka yelled, covering her mouth in horror, as she weakly fell back a step. “…No, get a hold of yourself, Franka. Think it through first. She could just be a relative of his, yeah. For example, his younger sister, or maybe his older sister…though probably not his mom. Or his wife——”

“Hey, Franka——”

“No! I won’t allow it!”

Franka suddenly opened her eyes and shouted.

“…Won’t allow what exactly?”

“Absolutely n—— Er, sorry, what was that?”

She looked to be back to normal.

“Forget it. ——Anyway, let me introduce you – this girl here’s Tina.”

“Tina…chan. ‘This girl here’ – sure sounds like you two are close. Can I ask what the r-relations.h.i.+p between you two is?” Franka asked, with an obviously forced smile.

As Yuuki was considering how best to explain the situation, Tina answered helpfully.

“I was bought. By Master.”

“M-Master?”

“Yuuki.”

“And what exactly did he… buy?”

“Tina’s body.”

——The room froze.

“B-B-Body…?”

“Wait, Tina.”

Tina, completely oblivious to the atmosphere in the room, continued to talk.

“Yeah, this way Master will help Tina in turn. Although, actually, to be specific, it was Tina who approached Master, saying ‘I’ll do anything, so please help me’.”

“H-Help…?”

“So, if you’re asking what the relations.h.i.+p between Tina and Master is, well – simply put, Tina is Master’s property. If I had any other choice, I have to admit I would have preferred not to have had to sell myself… but what doesn’t exist doesn’t exist. There weren’t any other options.”

“…”

Franka turned to Yuuki, her eyes glistening with tears.

“T-the kind Yuuki-san I knew… is he already no more? Just what happened? H-how did it come to this——”

“Haa—— Indeed… how did it come to this?”

Yuuki sighed heavily.

“I’ll go make you a cup of tea while you calm down, Franka. And Tina, you’re not allowed to speak. The more you speak, the worse things get.”

“——Alright, repeat it once more.”

After Franka had left, Yuuki sat down with Tina once more.

“Tina, she, uh, lost her memory, and Master, taking pity on her, took her in. He absolutely never did anything like buy Tina’s body.”

“Exactly. From today on, that’s your background, okay? Also, don’t call me ‘Master.'”

“Why not? A rose is a rose is a rose – and so Master is Master.”

“But——”

“There’s nothing inaccurate about it because, right now, Tina is your property.”

“The word ‘property’ is off-limits as well!”

His earlier explanation had fooled Franka.

He’d found an unconscious girl in the labyrinth. Because her ident.i.ty was unclear, she was temporarily a guest in Yuuki’s home. Having lost her memories, her thoughts were a bit out of order, and so she’d occasionally say things which simply weren’t true. You couldn’t just take her words at face value.

Franka not only accepted this bogus story, but had even expressed her sympathy for Tina. Even if that was in part due to sympathy being the natural response for such a situation, Franka was also originally a very kind girl.

Although the s.h.i.+nki in question was hardly pleased with the explanation he’d given, the circ.u.mstances had left no room for dissent. No matter her feelings on the matter, the fact was that her special qualities had to remain a secret.

——Yuuki’s thoughts turned to the results of their “experiments” the night before.

“This is a Reliquia known as a ‘Divine Pearl.'”

Yuuki revealed two stones the size of quail eggs, and placed them before Tina.

These were precious gems with the special characteristic of being able to store divine energy – the source of a cleric’s powers.

They were receptive to human desires, and it was using these as a medium that clerics were able to channel divine energy into Orisons. In other words, they were batteries for storing divine energy in a convenient form.

“Now, can you tell me which of these is real?”

“When you ask me which one is real, you mean to ask which one of these holds divine energy?”

Yuuki nodded his head in confirmation.

“Then both are real, although the one on the left carries a significant amount of divine energy, and the one on the right barely any at all.”

“…That’s exactly right,” Yuuki admitted.

As long as an item stored divine energy, it was known as a Reliquia, regardless of the form its container might take.

The worth of the item depended directly on the precise amount of power it held within. Priceless treasures like the Dragon Fang Gem were first-grade items, whereas the common-as-dirt light stones were the lowest – fifth-grade. The Reliquia grading system, which ranged from one to five, formed the basis of all business transactions.

Divine Pearls were items found in abundant supply within the labyrinth, and could thus be found in every store in the city, though the amount of divine energy they carried within them varied greatly. Those which stored a large amount were, of course, quite rare, and possessing the ability to survive multiple uses, their value was accordingly high.

The two Divine Pearls Yuuki held in his hands were an aptly-named, fifth-grade “garbage stone” and the store’s sole first-grade Reliquia, a high-cla.s.s item of the utmost purity.

Humans lacked the ability to accurately perceive divine energy. Even clerics of the highest order could only give a rough approximation at best, and even then, only by feel.

For that reason, the vast majority of people were forced to rely on other attributes instead – size, cleanliness, damage to the item (Reliquia were very difficult items to damage, and as such, Reliquia weapons and armor were priceless treasures), and its abilities – in order to determine a Reliquia’s grade.

This was the “appraisal” ability for which merchants were sought after, and of which Yuuki was particularly skilled at, to the extent that even others of his trade openly acknowledged his skill.

“…A moment’s glance and you could already tell. Even I can’t do something like that.”

“I wouldn’t need to see them to know, Master. I can tell by using divine energy.”

“Hmm… Alright then, next test.”

Yuuki placed a silver-hilted short sword on the tabletop.

“Compared to the Divine Pearl from earlier, the quality of this one’s quite a bit lower.”

“Its level is still pretty high, though.”

This was a third-grade Reliquia – a very nice weapon. In the marketplace, its value would fall somewhere between 200-300 denar – enough to feed an entire family for a month or two.

“A blade like this will slice through the hide of a low-level Void Beast like a hot knife through b.u.t.ter. ——Now, I want you to use this to give yourself a small cut.”

“Got it.”

Without a word of dissent, Tina reached over and slid the weapon from its sheath. Raising it aloft with her right hand, she swung it down at her left hand, still resting upon the table, without any hesitation whatsoever.

“——How is it, Master?”

“…”

The exquisitely sharp blade ran into Tina’s skin – and stopped, leaving behind not so much as a scratch.

“Tina’s protected by a force that you can’t see. A tiny amount of divine energy like this could never penetrate that protection.”

“…So that’s the ScutumHoly s.h.i.+eld… Indeed, it’s just as the Church teaches – as long as theScutumHoly s.h.i.+eld is present, it doesn’t matter how many attackers there are – a s.h.i.+nki will remain impervious to harm. I’m guessing this is the reason you were unharmed while wandering the labyrinth?”

“Does that mean you believe Tina is a s.h.i.+nki now, Master?”

Tina smiled smugly.

“Not yet. There’s one last thing I’d like to confirm. ——If you’re truly a s.h.i.+nki, then you can work miracles, correct?”

Master’s distrust sure is heavy, Tina mumbled as Yuuki continued to talk.

“I want you to devour this sword.”

As strange as this command was, Tina never stopped to question what he meant. As if well aware of his meaning, she took hold of the weapon.

“You just said this weapon was worth a lot – is this really okay?”

“If I want to know the truth, it’s going to cost something.”

Tina extended her hands and placed them over the blade, which began to float. Suddenly, it diffused into sparkling particles which were absorbed into her body.

——The s.h.i.+nki would take the Reliquia offered them and decompose them, absorbing the divine energy stored within. Afterward, they would proceed to work all manner of miracles with the consumed power.

Though the fact that divine energy was the source of miracles, no living soul had ever before personally witnessed such a sight.

“…You really did it. Well then, do a miracle so I can see.”

The Orisons of human clerics and the miracles performed by the s.h.i.+nki had several drastic differences.

The most widely known differences arose in the domain of what could be done. For example, seeing into the past or predicting the future, that which exists beyond the scope of human knowledge; changing the weather and the climate; and controlling time, a power which influenced the whole world. These acts were miracles of which only the s.h.i.+nki were capable. The Orisons of human clerics were limited in scope and restricted to spells for offense, defense, and healing – things which showed their greatest effectiveness only in the context of raiding the labyrinth.

Additionally, the rate of consumption when using divine energy were orders of magnitude apart. When compared with a human cleric, a s.h.i.+nki’s use of power was hundred to a thousand times more efficient.

“Okay. ——Though, even if you say ‘miracle,’ I’m not quite sure what you’d like to see?”

“Anything that a human would be incapable of replicating is fine.”

“I can’t do anything large with such a tiny amount of power as this. The most I can do is something small. Since the nature of a s.h.i.+nki is ‘to protect,’ I can’t cause any harm. That aside, something that normal people can’t do would be——”

“How about teleportation? I hear the s.h.i.+nki can do that.”

Teleporting either people or things to another location was a phenomenon Orisons were incapable of reproducing. If such a convenient ability were accessible, the danger of the labyrinth would be lessened, to say the least. Although there were teleport points found within the labyrinth, the mechanism by which they operated was currently unknown.

When the s.h.i.+nki entered the equation, however, that no longer held. Legends told of a s.h.i.+nki who had teleported an entire party of endangered adventurers out of the labyrinth entirely.

“Mm. If teleportation’s what you want to see, then I can do it. I just need to confirm the distance and direction for movement, and there should be no problem.”

“And if you haven’t confirmed those things?”

“Then whatever’s being teleported disappears as normal, but never reappears.”

“That’s terrifying. ——So, what are you going to teleport to?”

“Let’s see… Ah, how about that?”

Tina indicated the Divine Pearl from earlier.

“Sure, go for it.”

Yuuki returned to the dining room and answered.

According to what Tina had explained, every Reliquia radiated with a unique divine energy signature which was what she locked on to. The stronger the power it held, the easier it was to sense – even over vast distances and with numerous obstacles in the way.

Yuuki took the Divine Pearl in hand (it should be mentioned that this was, of course, the cheap one), and hid it in a location unknown to Tina. Tina was to teleport to the Reliquia’s location, and take it from its hiding place.

——This was the test.

When Yuuki returned, he found Tina where she’d been when he left, never having moved an inch. He was sure she hadn’t followed him to sneak a look.

“Tina will now teleport and return! Please wait for it, Master!”

Leaving behind those words spoken with great enthusiasm, she suddenly disappeared.

Yuuki had hidden the Divine Pearl behind the shop, high up in the slender branches of a tree reaching out over a small pool. Given Tina’s small stature, he’d placed it far beyond her reach.

If she had indeed not deceived him by cloaking herself in a s.h.i.+eld of invisibility… And if she had truly manifested the power of miracles to teleport herself over to the Divine Pearl’s location——

“U-Uwaaaaaaaaaa!”

A tragic scream erupted from the backyard, followed quickly by the sound of a large splash.

“——Then that’s what would happen. In other words, that girl is the real thing…” Yuuki muttered to himself.

“…After all those tests yesterday – and even getting Tina all soaked – and even after learning that Tina can use divine energy just like a s.h.i.+nki, your att.i.tude toward Tina hasn’t changed at all, Master.”

As Tina walked, she vented her dissatisfaction.

“You should be more surprised, more respectful, more openly admiring.”

“I’ll be the first to admit I was very surprised. I can honestly say that was my first time witnessing anything like that.”

“Right? So then——”

“From the very start, I’d accepted the condition of operating under the premise that ‘Tina is a s.h.i.+nki.’ That’s why, even after having confirmed your power, my behavior won’t change. You follow?”

“So that’s all that being a s.h.i.+nki amounts to these days…”

“Oh, I should add: from today forward, don’t consume any Reliquia or exercise your power of miracles without my permission. It’ll inevitably cause problems.”

“…I understand.”

Tina nodded awkwardly.

“If that’s Master’s command, then it can’t be helped. ——Now that that’s settled, where are we headed?”

“There are a few errands I need to run, so I figured I’d show you the city at the same time. Since you’re going to serve as a shop a.s.sistant for a while, it’d be best if you learned a bit about Solitus. It’s necessary if you’re going to be any help to me. ——Alright, first up is the Church.”

The two followed the main road to the center of town.

Tina looked around with great interest, taking in the sights.

“This is Labyrinth Way, and just as its name suggests, if you follow the road all the way, you’ll find yourself at the entrance to the labyrinth. The entire length of the path is dotted with stores that cater to adventurers.”

“Just like Master’s store, but… As far as I can tell, aren’t all of these stores much bigger than Master’s? Moreover, they have lots of customers.”

“…I’m very picky when it comes to merchandise and customers both.”

“Oh, so that’s why! That explains why there’s no need for a large shop, I see.”

Tina’s innocent expression glowed with heartfelt admiration. Seriously, not the least bit of distrust in this girl, Yuuki muttered to himself.

Seeing her taken in so completely by his lie, he was thoroughly chagrined. He changed the topic in a hurry.

“——Okay, from here to the city center – the north face of the mountain – is Artisan Road and the housing district, as well as a few small plazas. Stores selling foodstuffs and sundries, as well as the marketplace, can all be found over there. I’ll show you next time.”

Farther down Labyrinth Way was a smallish plaza wherein was located a building of pure white.

“That’s the Church of the Five Holies, although the residence where the Patriarch resides is farther north, in front of the Cathedral in the public square of the Patriarch District. The building you see here is just a branch office – each district has one.”

“Right, this is a place where they wors.h.i.+p Tina.”

“Here’s where they conduct wors.h.i.+p services and read from scripture and that sort of thing. Aside from strictly religious duties like those you’d find here, the Church is responsible for a lot of other things too: law enforcement, tax collection, public expenditures, dispute resolution, etc.”

Although the Oath Legions held jurisdiction over all that occurred within the labyrinth itself, the Church was in charge of city governance.

In Yuuki’s opinion, the Church was the single ent.i.ty one could least afford to have as an enemy in this entire world. With the authority of the Church, a single merchant’s life could be blown away with a single breath.

“I have something to take care of inside, so wait for me here, Tina. Please don’t just wander around.”

Although the knight standing guard outside the labyrinth entrance, Melchior, was also from the Church, but when it came to those things related to faith in the s.h.i.+nki, the members of the Church clergy were incomparably hardheaded and mulish. If Tina were to accompany him and – G.o.d forbid – say something she shouldn’t, Yuuki didn’t think he’d be able to get off scot-free.

Yuuki waited until she had both verbally expressed her consent and nodded before entering, where he was met by a young deacon.

“May the s.h.i.+nki’s grace rest upon you. ——How can I help you?”

“No problem at all, actually. Business has been rather good recently, so I thought I’d come express my grat.i.tude to the s.h.i.+nki, and make a small offering.”

“Many thanks for your graciousness.”

The deacon gave a light smile.

Yuuki extracted five 10-denar coins from his purse, placing them in the hands of the deacon before him. Though it pained him to do so, he nonetheless succeeded in preserving the smile on the deacon’s face.

If his luck continued to be poor, then he might be forced to p.a.w.n some of the cheaper items in his store to raise money for future tax payments… But now wasn’t the time to think on such things, however.

“Would you like me to record your name?”

“Just leave it anonymous. On a different note, however, I was wondering if you might join me in a little light gossip——”

“Sure, what would you like to know?”

“Have there been any major disturbances of late?”

“No, not that I can think of. It’s already been five years since the last ‘Great Erosion.’ I haven’t heard news of any crop failures, nor have we been visited by pestilence. In fact, it’s been rather peaceful of late – we have surely been blessed by the s.h.i.+nki.”

“I run a small store on Labyrinth Way; tell me, how are adventurers faring recently?”

The Church was the bridge between the s.h.i.+nki and the citizens of the city, and so their relations.h.i.+p with the Oath Legions was especially close. That did not at all imply that their relations.h.i.+p was good, however.

More specifically, the situation within the labyrinth – which Oath Legion was ahead of the others in collecting Reliquia – was something the Church knew well. The number of merchants who wished to share in this knowledge were hardly few in number. As the Church was well-aware of this, one simply had to be rather generous in alms-giving before members of the clergy would “minister to their needs” under the pretext of making small talk.

“…Now that you mention it, I heard that the one of the main parties of the Sky’s Oath Legion suffered a devastating loss while in the labyrinth. Apparently they encountered a previously-unknown type of Void Beast. Of the five member party, four pa.s.sed away, and the lone survivor – the commander – lost an arm.”

“That’s…terrible.”

This must be the ‘major incident’ that Melchior had spoken of.

“Death is in accordance with the plan outlined by the Heavenly King. Even the s.h.i.+nki may not oppose his will in this matter. Fortunately, the party leader’s arm was perfectly restored with a miracle from the ‘s.h.i.+nki who Supports the Sky.’ Another main party – headed by a young genius named Stefan Klose – has been appointed to investigate what happened. Any and all information on a Void Beast capable of annihilating one of the Oath Legions’ main parties is absolutely vital.”

Oh, the pride of our school, huh? Truly an up-and-coming member of the Oath Legions’ elite.

“Despite what happened, the position the Church’s ‘Sky’ faction holds atop the rest won’t change. When it comes to both the number of adventurers in their ranks as well as the number of Reliquia they’ve brought back, the three other competing legions aren’t even close, let alone the currently empty ‘Moon.’ Generally speaking, nothing’s changed.”

It seemed that was all he had to share. He finished speaking.

Yuuki gave his thanks and left the building.

“The five s.h.i.+nki cooperate in protecting this city” – this was Church doctrine. That, however, said nothing about the Oath Legions who served the s.h.i.+nki, which were engaged in fierce compet.i.tion with one another.

The aforementioned incident would undoubtedly show its influence on the market.

For example, when it came to trying to sign large contracts with the Legion currently in prominence, merchants would engage in a price war, cutting prices left and right in a rush to sell them Reliquia. If the news he’d just heard spread, the opposing Legions would instead raise their prices in response.

News regarding the movements of the Oath Legions was priceless information, and something that Yuuki took care to watch closely. This time, however, he had a different goal entirely.

“Aside from that one group suffering casualties, it doesn’t look like there’s anything in particular going on with the Legions, which means there isn’t anything strange going on in the Church either.”

That implied that the five s.h.i.+nki were there as normal.

That notwithstanding, he had to admit that Tina exhibited powers belonging only to the s.h.i.+nki.

So just who the devil was she?

From what he’d just heard, the possibility that she’d ‘been born a few days ago,’ as she claimed, grew exponentially. In short, a newly born – and thus previously unknown – sixth s.h.i.+nki.

“Though it’s still unconfirmed at this point, but if that’s really the case——” Yuuki mused to himself as he returned to the plaza.

He looked around – Tina was gone.

“That idiot…”

Unable to repress the emotion, Yuuki complained aloud as he sped off in search of Tina.

Because it was the middle of the day, the plaza was extremely lively.

Just where had she gone? What had caught the interest of that s.h.i.+nki? Perhaps she’d been drawn in by the enticing aroma of a food vendor’s stall, or maybe——

At that moment, Yuuki heard the sound of warm applause and an adoring crowd from behind him. Stopping, he turned around.

The first thing he saw was a large crowd gathered – they were watching a puppet show for children. The hero had just appeared, and was on the verge of dealing the finis.h.i.+ng blow to the villain.

“Wow, so strong! He’s amazing! Is that the hero?”

“Y-yes. That’s the ‘Snow Blade King.'”

“Ooh. What’s he like?”

“About ten years ago, he was a great Duelist serving the ‘s.h.i.+nki Crowned with the Moon’; his name came from the snow-white sword he wielded. Even though he was incredibly strong, he was also a very chivalrous person – kind to the weak, and one who’d never bend his morals regardless of the danger it posed——”

Yuuki spotted the back of Tina’s head, engaged in eager conversation with the girl beside her, whom was describing the characters in the show.

(Hey, aren’t those our students?)

Yuuki walked over.

“You know, Onee-san, this is really rare – for you to not even know who the ‘Snow Blade King’ is.”

“Ah yeah, that’s because I was only born a few days ago.”

“…A few days ago?”

“Yep. In the labyrinth—— Aaaaargh!”

Yuuki’s fist came down on Tina’s head from above.

“Eh? Huh? Yuuki-sensei?”

“Sorry for all the trouble this girl’s caused you, Kaya. ——Didn’t I tell you to wait for me? Let’s go.”

“J-just a little bit longer…”

Yuuki ignored her protest, dragging her behind him as he left. It wasn’t until they’d left the crowd far behind that he finally relaxed.

“That was a great show——”

“…”

“…Why are you mad, Master? Tina never mentioned anything about being a s.h.i.+nki.”

“When you say crazy things like you were born just a few days ago, of course it’d raise questions!”

“Ohh…”

“When a normal person is only a few days old, they’d be nothing more than a baby. There’s no way you don’t know that? Stop playing dumb! ——Honestly, you need to realize just what a dangerous existence you are. Now, let’s go.”

“…”

Tina was silent.

Sighing worriedly, Yuuki turned to leave—— Suddenly, his sleeve was tugged from behind.

“——D-do you want to throw Tina away?” she asked with a smile.

That smile, however, was clearly forced; in fact, it pained him to see it.

“Huh?”

“Tina, s-she understands. Lending a hand to a s.h.i.+nki like Tina is a burden too heavy to carry for a normal person. If… if you want to leave, then I understand.”

Tina’s hand trembled as she spoke. Running completely contrary to the words she had just uttered, it was clear that she was terrified.

“D-don’t worry; Tina is a compa.s.sionate G.o.ddess. Even if a disciple couldn’t bear the strain, and r-ran off, I wouldn’t blame him.”

“…”

This time, Yuuki was the one left wordless.

(——Oh, so that’s how it is.)

Yuuki finally understood. Even if she looked carefree on the outside, inwardly, she’d always been afraid.