Vol 1 Epilogue (1/2)

Epilogue

† 1 †

“Here, Yuuki and Tina-chan’s share.”

Alfred was visiting the store. With those words, he handed over some silver coins.

“…Our ‘share’?”

Yuuki blinked uncertainly.

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand?”

“It’s for the dragon incident. You were the one who informed the authorities and led the way right? You also helped with the cleanup, so the Church is rewarding your actions. Although I wasn’t able to offer the least bit of a.s.sistance, but as the party leader, it’s the least I could do to request some remuneration. I’m sorry to say that this amount of money is little consolation in the face of what you had to suffer, though.”

“Well, it’s at least enough to enjoy some good food, right?”

“Ohhh, that sounds nice. Food is indeed the best use for it! Tina wants to eat something yummy!”

The two girls had already made the full return to normalcy.

“This isn’t even enough to cover our medical costs,” Yuuki bemoaned.

“I also dropped by to invite you guys out to eat. My treat,” Alfred said with a wry smile. “You two only entered the labyrinth at my request, after all.”

“If you’re going to say that, Master, then it’s really my fault——”

“Neither of you are to blame for this. I decided on my own to stick my nose into this business, so I’m just reaping what I sowed. ——That said, I think I’m going to take a break from raiding for a bit; I’m exhausted.”

That was only half-true. Although he was indeed physically weary, his mental fatigue was much greater.

He didn’t dare count how many Reliquia they’d wasted during this outing. And all he had to show for it was the handful of coins he’d been handed earlier. They were deeply, inexorably, in the red. If Boris were still around, he wouldn’t be able to complain even if the old man killed him.

Franka’s father’s Reliquia, the first-grade Divine Pearl, had also been used up. Although it had been Franka herself who had done so, and had played an instrumental role in saving the lives of all involved – the mere thought of having to explain how things had come to be gave him a migraine.

It had now been some ten days since the incident in question.

Alfred hadn’t made it back to the surface until everything was long finished, and was thus utterly dumbfounded when he heard the news.

Yuuki and Franka had been hospitalized, but under the dutiful care of the healers, they’d been out in just over a week.

When the incident had first been reported, the Church and the Oath Legions had immediately dispatched a carefully selected rescue squad. To their surprise, however, by the time they arrived at the scene, the dragon had already been destroyed. The current theory was that the Void Beasts had slaughtered one another in a vicious free-for-all.

In the end, the number of casualties had been held to within the single digits. Although it was undoubtedly a tragedy, but considering the situation – wherein numerous, powerful Void Beasts had found their way to the upper levels; all told, they’d been extremely lucky.

Because of their role in the teleportation incident, Yuuki was called upon by the Church investigation. The fact of the matter was, however, that he really had no idea what had happened. Neither he nor Tina really knew what had caused the 64th floor teleporter to act as it had, let alone Alfred and Franka, who really knew nothing at all. On the matter of Tina’s nature and powers, though, Yuuki maintained his silence.

The third floor teleporter had, for some unknown reason, disappeared. Yuuki, of course, had no intention of ever divulging that secret either.

In the end, the Church of the Five Holies had released the findings of its investigation – the cause of the incident was still unknown. With that said, the number of things in the labyrinth for which they had no explanation were innumerable; the adventurers had long since become accustomed to such.

“Alright then; we’re gonna take off first,” Alfred said as he rose.

“Oh, okay. ——Um…”

“What’s the matter? Is there something you need to buy?” Yuuki asked, noticing her reticent manner.

“N-No, not that. It’s…”

Franka frowned, and flashed Yuuki and Tina a quick glance in turn.

They strangely resembled some people from her memory.

“Er, well… Thank you very much, you two. ——I’m really glad.”

She didn’t say what she was thanking them for, nor did Yuuki ask.

“——Okay, see you Yuuki-san, Tina-chan!”

With a stiff smile, the cleric girl left.

“…Did Franka notice?” Tina asked in a somber tone.

“Perhaps, but we left no evidence. Just play it off, and we’ll be fine. Anyway, that girl is very sensitive to the feelings of others. As long as she feels that we’d prefer for her not to delve into that line of questioning, then she won’t pry.”

When it came to that, though, he wasn’t quite as sure about Stefan, but at the very least, he had yet to approach them.

“There’s no longer any need to hide things, I think. Tina understands now that it’d raise a fuss if it were known that she was a s.h.i.+nki but—— Master, you don’t have any reason to hide the fact that you killed the Void Dragon, right? What meaning is there in doing so?”

“…I’d get requests to ‘go do this,’ and ‘go do that.’ It’s a major pain in the a.s.s, and I’d rather do without. I like my life now – the life of a merchant.”

“But——”

Tina hesitated for a moment before sighing and changing the topic.

“Do you think Franka and Stefan will be able to work things out?”

“That’s up to them. I think the possibility’s there, though. Their grief over her father’s death was the same, after all.”

On the whole, Stefan’s sole desire had been to keep his little sister safe from the dangers of Bertolt and the labyrinth. Although his stubborn, clumsy manner left much to be desired, he was not the unfeeling man he appeared to be.

Yuuki’s guess was that the reason he’d denied Franka’s requests to meet was simply because he was embarra.s.sed.

“To be honest, though, Stefan’s position right now is rather precarious. The fact that his party was wiped out is indisputable, and he’ll have to bear the responsibility for that one way or another. That said, whether or not things turn out on the whole for the better or for the worse is unclear—— What’s wrong?”

Yuuki noticed that Tina had been staring intensely at him.

“Oh, it’s nothing. It’s just that even though Master’s always talking about being a ‘merchant’ and ‘having to weigh the pros and cons,’ in the end, you’re someone who really cares about others. Didn’t you say that you weren’t interested in things that wouldn’t profit yourself?”

“…And what’s wrong with that? Anyway, when it comes to sticking their noise in other people’s business, aren’t you a hundred times worse than me?”

“That’s only natural. Tina is a s.h.i.+nki; she exists for the sake of the people and the world. Being given the chance to serve those people is a blessing. Do you not agree, Master?”

“And what will I protect? Who will I save?” Yuuki asked.

“People. This world,” she answered in turn, as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

“…”

“Hmm? What’s the matter, Master?”

“You’re nothing at all like her. Not the way you look, not the way you sound, not the way you act.”

The auras they exuded were entirely unalike.

“Huh? What did you say?”

“It’s nothing. ——It’s just that… for this s.p.a.ce of time, I’ve been nothing like I used to be – that’s definitely because of you. You’re just such a busybody.”

“What are you saying, Master? When it comes to Tina’s personality, you’re to blame as well.”

Yuuki frowned at her reb.u.t.tal.

“And what is that supposed to mean?”

“Hmm, you know, this is a good opportunity. Is it alright if I talk freely, Master? It could be a while.”

“It’s not like there any customers, anyway. Sure.”

Yuuki closed up shop and they headed to the kitchen table.

“Now then, what did you want to say?”

“Now where do I start, hmm… Hey, don’t look at me like that. Tina spends a lot of time thinking about things, you know?”

The fact that she’d felt it necessary to add the latter statement meant that she had at least some self-awareness.

“Anyway, after spending some time pondering things, I’ve had several revelations. About you, Master.”

“About me?”

“In my short time living here, I’ve come to understand just what kind of existence a s.h.i.+nki is to this city. That is to say, they’re not the type to casually appear before the people.”

“I told you that from the very beginning, you know?”

“And yet in spite of that, Master – from the very beginning, as you say – you never seemed to doubt my ident.i.ty?”

“…Huh? What’re you talking about now? There’s no way I didn’t doubt something as shady as a self-proclaimed s.h.i.+nki. Generally, people’d wonder what you were after, or whether or not you were crazy.”

“And that’s why this is the first thing I find odd about you. If I were indeed either of those things, then why would you bring me home with you?”

It wasn’t a question – it was a declaration.

“If you really felt I was mentally ill, then why didn’t you leave me at the clinic? It’d be enough to leave me to the professionals. You had no reason to take me home with you, Master.”

“…”

“Now, the second thing that stands out. At the time when you were testing whether or not I could teleport, you gave me a Reliquia with which to charge my powers. As far as this store is concerned, that was a pretty costly item, was it not?”

“Oh, that sword. Yeah, it was a third-grade Reliquia. Just remembering that incident makes me want to cry.”

“Why didn’t you give me something cheaper? It was utterly unlike your normal stingy self.”

“Could you not say ‘stingy’? At least say I’m frugal, geez… Anyway, that’s because if you lacked the energy for a proper miracle, then there’d have been no point to the test, right? What I wanted to see was something that humans are incapable of reproducing. I was testing you on several different levels, so I needed to be sure you had enough divine energy.”

“In other words, Master——”

Tina made direct eye contact.

“You knew precisely how much divine energy would be necessary for a s.h.i.+nki to produce a small-scale miracle of the kind you sought. ——Am I wrong?”

“…No.”

“Point #3: this is the final, and yet most conclusive, reason I have. ——You never once rejected me, Master,” the s.h.i.+nki solemnly and calmly declared. “For someone to proclaim themselves one of the s.h.i.+nki? How could they be anything if not crazy? And yet, Master, you never once treated me like I was crazy – you simply prohibited me from saying it out loud. More than that, you have never once directly refuted my claim.”

The corners of her lips turned up.

“And though it was a small thing… I was happy.”

“…”

Yuuki didn’t respond.

After a while, he sighed in resignation.

“As you say, I once served the s.h.i.+nki. Although I never obtained any of the qualifications of a high-ranking adventurer, it’s true that I have an abundance of experience. What’s funny to me is that though you’ve pointed out these small things, you haven’t expressed your surprise over the larger things, like my extensive knowledge of the labyrinth or the fact that I was able to defeat the Snow-white Void Dragon, nor have you pried after my true ident.i.ty.”

It was honestly amazing. To take hold of such tiny clues and yet manage to piece together the entire puzzle. Given her generally childish demeanor, who would ever have imagined?

“I don’t know if you’d call it a suspicion or what, but from the very beginning you were out-of-the-ordinary; despite having collapsed in the labyrinth, you were entirely unharmed.”

As Tina had previously guessed, it had indeed been the 53rd floor on which he’d found her. Void Beasts at that depth were incredibly vicious and p.r.o.ne to ambus.h.i.+ng the unwary. The only ones who could escape unharmed were the s.h.i.+nki, whom were protected by the ScutumHoly s.h.i.+eld.

“As soon as you teleported, I knew for sure. Although, I guess to be perfectly honest, I already knew long before then – back when I asked you what your purpose was.”

“My purpose?”

Tina stared vacantly. She couldn’t remember the incident in question.

“You spoke of the ‘enemy you must defeat,’ remember? To the people of the city, the s.h.i.+nki are protectors, and protectors only. The Church of the Five Holies has no record of any ‘enemy’ of the s.h.i.+nki. In other words, only a true s.h.i.+nki would have uttered those words. More specifically, the ident.i.ty of the enemy that must be defeated is——”

“Of course, the other s.h.i.+nki,” Tina replied without a moment’s hesitation. “They would say the same. From the very moment we enter this world, it is instilled deep within us that we are enemies of one another. When the time arrives when there is but one s.h.i.+nki remaining, she will have ascended to the throne of the Heavenly King. It is only then that she will have proven herself worthy to save this world and lead the people.”

As far as the people of the city were concerned, the s.h.i.+nki were compa.s.sionate, undying protectors.

That, however, could not be further from the truth. Their only desire was to accrue more divine energy than any other. The only truth they knew was a selfish, violent, and bitter struggle. The “protection of the city” was nothing more than a compromise necessary to preserve the arena of combat.

Had they truly been as friendly as was claimed, then there would never have been any need for separate factions in the first place. No need for personal Oath Legions. Not a soul doubted that the reason factions had arisen was simply to increase feelings of compet.i.tiveness and productivity.

The s.h.i.+nki, fighting over who would get to save the world, engaged in wholesale slaughter against one another.

It was true that they didn’t age, but that was hardly the same thing as immortality. The celestial Dragon Fang weapons could hurt – and kill – them.

Duelists were not responsible only for protecting the s.h.i.+nki. No, they were also there to kill them.

When a s.h.i.+nki was killed, a new one would be born within the halls of the appropriate temple, and rise to claim her place.

This was the greatest-kept secret of the Church of the Five Holies.

“Simply put, I have no desire to be drawn into all of that. Anyway, if chaos broke out, it’d hurt business. It’s for that reason that I’ve kept you by my side – so that I could keep an eye on you.”

“Still——”

The s.h.i.+nki met his eyes.

“Tina had not only already run out of energy, she had no Duelist to protect her. If the other s.h.i.+nki had found me, I’d have been killed. ——Wasn’t there one time when I wasn’t careful and divulged my ident.i.ty? You were so mad, Master. Now I understand why. If you want to tell me that that thought hadn’t crossed your mind, then I won’t dispute it.”

“…”

“Long story short, you’ve been protecting Tina from the very beginning, Master, and it’s only under your watchful care that she’s grown. Under the guise of showing me the ropes, you brought me to a lot of different places, haven’t you? It’s only through that that I’ve come to understand this city. The lives of the merchants and the adventurers, the thoughts of the people – this town is a tapestry weaved from the threads of the lives of individuals. It’s by meeting Franka and Alfred, and even that man Stefan, that I’ve learned these things. Moreover, from that slaughter in the labyrinth, I was made to understand the brutality and waste of human fighting against human.”

Tina smiled.

“‘Protecting the city’ requires safeguarding each and every one of those feelings. They’re not just hollow words; I think I truly understand the meaning behind them now. Thanks to Master, Tina has truly seen this world. ——It’s for that very reason that I said earlier that if I’m like this, it’s only because of you, Master.”

“First, you need to learn what it means to be human,” she said.

Yuuki tossed the memory aside and spoke.

“You’ve misunderstood. I’m not that good a person.”

That notwithstanding, the fact that Tina had learned a great deal from what he had shown her was indeed true.

Just as the dry sand would greedily absorb every last drop of water, she’d taken the feelings of all those around her to heart, and had slowly come to understand.

It makes me… happy?

The existences known as the s.h.i.+nki and the painful memories buried deep within his heart were inextricably interwoven.

This is why I didn’t want to get involved. I’m in uncharted territory now.

Perhaps this was an opportunity, he thought.

“Well, it’s all the same to me. As long as some good came of things, then it’s enough. ——Here, I’ve got something for you. This is both your wages as well as a gift.”

From his pocket, Yuuki removed a large white gem, which he placed on the table.

“The Dragon Fang Gem…” Tina mumbled.

“This is that Snow-white Void Dragon. Because I defeated him, this was mine to claim. It’s not just a weapon, it’s also an incredibly high-cla.s.s Reliquia. It holds enough energy to even summon a Duelist; it’s yours.”

“Then… our agreement is at an end?”

She took the gem into her hands, but her expression was anything but joyous.

“That was what we determined from the beginning. You’d call a Duelist to your side and then you can take part in the battle. Once that happens, there’ll be no more need for you to work in this junk shop anymore.”

“…”