Mira finished eating at the Twilight Street Pavilion and received a strawberry milkshake from Sherry to quench her thirst.
The taste of the milk was sweet and the acidity of the strawberry was blended skillfully. For Mira, the taste and compatibility of it were perfect such that her expression naturally loosened.
Of course, Sherry was making sure that she would not miss that moment. She embraced Mira closely with a squeal:
「Lil’ Mira CUTE——~!」
Having received the strawberry milkshake, Mira understood that no matter what was said to Sherry, it would be useless, causing her to completely give up.
Watching the two of them, Garret smiled while he was chatting with Varga, who was the manager of this inn and Sherry’s father.
「So, when will you get hitched with Sherry」
Varga jokingly said even though the laughter did not reach his eyes. To this, Garret could do nothing but smile wryly. Long story short, this was the reason why he doesn’t drop by this inn much.
The man named Varga had the same hair color as Sherry’s short hair and despite having a rugged body that was tempered in the mountains, he made very delicate dishes.
The contents of the meal the two of them ate were a chicken sandwich with roasted vegetables and chicken in between two slices of white bread. Garret had remembered the earlier conversation with Mira about pheasants. Sherry also brought a tart pudding and fed it to Mira. These were both Varga’s works and his obsession with details on the visuals overflowed, not to mention the taste. As a guide for Mira, Garret had put his own personal feelings aside and recommended this inn.
「Then shall we go soon?」
Garret waited for Mira to finish gulping down the strawberry milkshake and stood up after drinking his herbal tea.
「Ehhh, you should stay and rest for a while longer.」 Sherry pouted, who had yet to look away from Mira even once time since they entered the store, pouted her lips.
「Although we would like to, we cannot. Despite how it looks, I’m still in the middle of a job.」
「Yes, let us go quickly.」
Mira sensed that this was a good opportunity to escape from Sherry’s hands and stood up from her seat.
「Aah, my Lil’ Miraaaa!!」
The moment Sherry looked away, Mira slipped past her side. While staring lonesomely at the girl’s back, Sherry started to clean on the counter. She was thinking that she would have been a popular poster girl to draw in customers for the shop.
「Thank you for the delicious meal. I will come back some other time.」
「Thank you for the treat.」
「Come again. Also, young lady, I’ll prepare more strawberry milkshake for when you come.」
Even while she straightened the ribbon-covered robe, Mira reacted to the words “strawberry milkshake”.
「Mmm, I may perhaps come by when this girl is not around.」
After thinking for a short moment, Mira drew the very baseline of compromise.
「Lil’ Mira is so cruel…」
「She goes out approximately before noon to shop. That would be a good time to visit.」
「Hohooh, I will try to keep that in mind.」
「Father as well?!?!」
Sherry, who was overwhelmed, staggered unnaturally to the counter from the reality that she had no allies.
When they made it back from Twilight Street Pavilion, the two people went straight back to the parking lot. Mira climbed into the carriage before she was seen. The two horses were well taken care of by the manager and were happy. When they fixed the harness in place, they neighed with plenty of strength while not showing the slightest bit of fatigue.
Garret hastened to fulfill his duty by starting up the Express Carriage. However, the instructions were to escort her courteously and since she needed breakfast, he had to put up with it despite wanting to hurry. They originally were to pass by Silver Wand but they took a break to eat breakfast.
Garret felt a little pressed for time and while holding the reigns, he made the horse-drawn carriage run.
Mira had no way of knowing this and looked around the street of Silver Wand from the window of the carriage with great interest.
(This town must have been made over the last 30 years.)
Mira didn’t have a town named Silver Wand in her memories. While feeling the flow of time, her mind leaped at the freshness of the scenery passing by.
When the carriage moved out of the main street and left town, they headed to a road in the forest. They continued straight ahead on the road and before long, they arrived at an open space. In front of them, there was a towering cliff reinforced with countless stone blocks and the public road, which led into a semi-circular hole in the middle of it.
Mira, who was inside the carriage, first thought they left the forest to travel under the open sky, but was surprised by the scenery turning dark all at once. She was able to see the walls of the stone from the window which lead into the interior when the light from the entrance gradually grew dimmer.
Based on this location and situation, as well as the ringing in her ears, Mira concluded that the carriage entered a tunnel. However, in the mountain between Lunatic Lake and Silver Horn, she didn’t remember a tunnel in her memories and poked her head into the driver’s box.
「Mm, this tunnel sure is amazing. When was this built?」
「The Benedict Tunnel? If I am not mistaken, Solomon ordered the construction of this tunnel 30 years ago. I heard that it was completed in five years.」
「Hooh, is that so?」
(That guy. So he is working properly huh?)
When Mira looked in front of her, she understood that the tunnel was lit up by burning the light source at equal intervals with Concept Magic. Although it was somewhat dim, there was enough light to read a book.
It was inconvenient to come and go between Lunatic Lake and Silver Horn because they were separated by the mountain range. Since the Floating Continent could not be used and the only means of transportation was by carriage, this tunnel could be said to be indispensable for transportation.
Mira also picked up some information from Garret’s words. They were Solomon’s orders from thirty years ago.
In other words, Solomon was living in this world for 30 years when Danbulf disappeared.
The only thing left, was to confirm whether it was the player called Solomon, or not.
After passing through the mountains there would not be much time left until they arrived, so Mira sat back down in the seat to watched the monotonous scenery.
The clunky sound of horseshoes, dull scenery, full stomach after a meal, as well as rocking akin to a cradle. Because of these various factors, Mira’s head started to shake as she dozed off.
When they passed through the tunnel, a sky filled with blue spreads out in front and in the distance, a lake shaped like the crescent moon could be seen reflecting the sky’s color.
By the middle part of the lake, there was the Arkite Castle where the Arkite Kingdom’s King Solomon lived, and surrounding it, spread the capital city of Lunatic Lake.
The carriage carrying Mira left the forest that stretched to the foot of the mountain. It passed by at full speed across the Rageddo Plateau as the evening twilight descended.
There were countless numbers of plants and bare rock in the meadow. Small animals would sometimes lurk there and their occasional face would pop up from the gaps to peek at the departure of the carriage.
Mira rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand when she was woken up by the light of the setting sun. She rolled to her opposite side in order to escape from the light. She yawned a tiny bit after that and placed her arm on the window frame with her hand on her chin. While looking at the flowing scenery slowly fading into the distance, she took out 『Appure』 to quench her throat and tipped the bottle.
The wind which entered through the window made Mira’s silver hair flutter. It caressed her warm body which had just woken from a nap.
「Hooh, this place is huge.」
Mira who had moved her gaze forward expressed a voice of admiration as she saw the big cityscape snuggling up to the crescent moon-shaped lake as they pressed forward.
The capital city Lunatic Lake seen in the distance from the Rageddo Plateau had a circular defensive wall surrounding it in the shape of a full moon, which enclosed everything including the lake itself.
The town had grown far larger than the one in Mira’s memory.
Eventually, Mira found a big building which stood out the most and made her peek out at the coachman’s seat yet again.
「Excuse me, what is that large building in the city?」
「That large building?」
Mira pointed towards the town as she called out to him. Seeing her joyful expression beside himself, he also turned energetic and confirmed what was she pointing at.
The big building which first caught her eye was in fact the Arkite Castle which was enshrined in the center. However, it would be hard to believe that Mira would ask such a rudimentary question. The fact was that there were four buildings excluding the castle that Garret could see which would fit the description of a big building.
In East, West, South and North directions from the middle, about in the mid-way between the outer walls of the city and the Arkite Castle, there were several eye-catching facilities. Anyone who lived in Lunatic Lake knew them.
「Aah, they are the Five Pillar Institutions.」
「Five Pillar Institutions?」
「Yes, they are institutions proposed by King Solomon which became the basis for their plan. They began to be constructed at around the same time as the Benedict Tunnel.
The Southern facility is a waste disposal facility, in the East, there is the Arkite Academy, in the North, there is the Medicine Research Center, and in the West, there’s the Craftsmen’s Workshop Department. Together they are called Five Pillar Institutions.”」
「Hohoh, I see, mm.」
The name and locations were based on Onmyo’s five pillars ideology of trees, fire, earth, metal, and water. This idea which could be seen in a capital city like Kyoto being Solomon’s idea was very much like him, Mira thought, convinced.
Solomon was a geomancy lover. This began from a certain event when he was playing in-game. After that, he studied it with zeal and often explained to Mira stuff like increasing money luck or work luck whenever there was an occasion.
Solomon was the cause of Mariana being obsessed with geomancy.
Satisfied, Mira returned to her seat and once again put an arm on the window’s frame to support her head. She watched flocks of migrating birds fly around leisurely at this time of the year, and once again sipped from the 『Appure』 she opened earlier.
The weather was good and currently, the highland scenery could be seen from the rocking carriage.
There was nothing to be perplexed about, if anything, the current situation could be categorized as a “happy” one. That’s what Mira gradually started to think.
When the bottle of 『Appure』 was empty, it was placed at the corner of her feet and two new 『Appure』 were taken out.
Mira peeked out towards the coachman’s seat and recommended it to Garret with a 「Want to drink?」
「Ah, thank you, Miss Mira.」
For a moment, Garret was engrossed in the innocent smile and atmosphere of a lady that Mira wore and received the 『Appure』 in a fluster.
「May I know the reason you joined the army?」 Mira casually asked. She was in the mood to chat.
「The reason I entered the army?」
Garret mumbled 「Well……..」 while he drank the 『Appure』. This exquisite flavor had a soothing feeling to it which seemed to heal his spirit. 「This, this is delicious.」 He leaked these words reflexively. Mira answered with a 「Isn’t it?」 while exuding a triumphant air.
「I guess it was my father’s influence.」
「Hou. Does your father serves in army as well?」
「Yes. Although saying so is embarrassing, he was my aspiration. He is the commander of the first magic knight corps. I wanted to enter the magic knight corps because of my father originally.」
「You’re a good son. I’m sure your father would rejoice if you told him that.」
「No no, as expected I cannot say such a thing face to face. Please keep this is a secret, Miss Mira.」
He placed his finger to his lips. The expression of Garret as he said that it was secret was very gentle and Mira could tell he loved his father. Although it was a gesture like that of warning a child, Mira tolerated it as she could feel some warm emotions coming from him.
「Well, that’s good. Your father must be a lucky person.」
「You that so?」
「Yes, I would want to have a dutiful son like you if I were a father.」
「In Mira’s case, you would not be a father but a mother?」
「Ah, so it seems…….」
As Garret pointed out, Mira fell silent and reply with a bitter smile.
Mira, in conclusion, said 「Well then stay devoted.」 Saying these words, she patted Garret’s head in retaliation and returned to her seat. Seemingly ashamed 「Yes. however, this.」 Mira showed a big smile when she got Garret to say this.
Not a father, but a mother. Although she did not think about this at all, that would indeed be the case if she became a parent.
Be that as it may, that act would be required. She could not imagine herself being embraced by someone. Mira abandoned the idea since she did not want to do it.
She did not hate children, if anything, there was a time when she wondered what would she play with her child if she had one, or how would she name it. Now that Mira recalled it, it felt like a talk of distant past.
Even if she did not become a full-fledged parent, it was enough that she properly watched over the children, Mira kind of realized. When that time comes, she would think of it. For the time being, she decided to enjoy her new, second life in a new way. Concluding so, she drank 『Appure』 from the second flask all at once.
