The top floor of the summoning tower. The structure was identical to that of the Tower of Magic, the placement of the room was identical as well. Mira straightforwardly made her way toward a private room.
A red carpet was spread over the corridor and black armor that looked similar to the Dark Knight was put on display. They were items that were presented to Danbulf for his distinguished services in the war he had participated in. However, there were very bitter feelings attached to the two names he gained from this, though few people knew of it.
Two suits of armor stood at the entrance of the private room. When she looked at the suits and armor, she figured she must have left them here for thirty years already. Mira reached out with her hand to the massive black door.
「Oops, I forgot about that aspect.」
She suddenly recalled that and stopped. While thinking that she could not get used to this, Mira held up the tower master key she had taken out from her item box. Then, as if pleased with the return of its master, a small clicking sound reverberated from the vicinity of the doorknob.
When she went through the door, a chill flashed through her body. Mira had entered the private room but she felt a sense of discomfort.
When she first entered the room, she had taken off her boots. Because there was no shoe rack in the entryway, she had left them by the entrance. Although she did not take off her boots in the game, now that it had become a reality, she could not rid herself of the habit of taking off shoes when inside a room.
When she became barefooted, she advanced indoors to a familiar sight. The carpet made from the pelt of a magnificent magic beast occupied 80% of the floor. Although the soft pelt shone with a golden sheen, it was very sturdy. Even if one was to practice judo throws atop the carpet, no wound would be sustained. This rare item had taken all the Elders of the Silver Linked Towers to obtain when they participated in the subjugation carnival of the magic beast king. This was Danbulf’s share of the Magic Beast King’s fur which the craftsmen had processed.
It was a high-quality material from a king-class monster that could be made into first-class equipment. When Danbulf asked to make it into a carpet, the first-class leather processing workman asked more than several times, 「Is this really okay?」
They were aware that it would be a really regrettable decision to make this high-class pelt become a mere carpet.
The memorabilia had a certain meaning, it prostrated itself on the ground as if to show obedience. In addition, accessories that Danbulf had collected were scattered around. She knew each and every one of them by sight.
However, certain items were placed slightly differently from what she remembered.
「Is this because of Mariana?」
For Mira, there was only one person that she thought of that could cause this sense of incongruity. She was the aide of the Elder of the Tower of Summoning, Danbulf’s aide.
It was a simple story, after all, there were only two people who were able to enter this private room. Only two people held the tower master key, the Elder or their aide. The main person in this room was absent for thirty years. Then the remaining person would be Mariana. Mira expected that Mariana, her aide, would clean it as usual.
Mira was aware that Mariana was an NPC. Among the many rooms, a lot of them were storage spaces. When she came home from hunting, she irresponsibly stuffed the spoils inside. When she next logged in, the items were sorted into each storage by type and the mess was cleared up.
After having become an Elder. Danbulf had never once tidied up. The methodical and meddlesome nature of Mariana reminded him of a childhood friend heroine from a romantic comedy.
The source of the uncomfortable feeling was Mariana moving around the small accessories every month. She was allowed to do that to a certain extent because she’s the type that dabbled in geomancy and fortune telling.
Mira’s expectations had hit the mark. Mariana had been Danbulf’s aide for thirty years and she had never missed a day cleaning the room or maintenance of the accessories. She believed that her master would come back one day.
Wondering whether she had been doing this for thirty years, Mira was a little worried about Mariana.
However, to make it to tomorrow, she scanned through her memories for a bed to rest her tired body. When she was playing this as a game, she logged out and slept in her futon whenever she became sleepy. However, the situation now was different. Because it was not possible to log out, she had no choice but to sleep here. Since she had never used the bedroom in the past, she did not remember where it was.
Mira understood that it was natural to have many rooms within the private room. Thus, she checked every door to make sure she did not miss it.
The first room was a collection room. Rare items from around the world were collected and they formed a line in the room.
The second room was a refinement room. Wisdom and materials concerning refining technology that Danbulf had developed overflowed from this room. For Mira, however, it was merely a workroom.
The third room was a storeroom. Experimental weapons, defensive armaments, and refining goods were beautifully displayed. Items suitable for Danbulf’s character were scattered irresponsibly. If Mariana saw this room, she would have fainted.
And the fourth room was a restroom. At the same time, Mira was reminded of some business she had yet to complete after she came to this world. She became stiff from a familiar physiological phenomenon which rose from her lower abdomen.
She did not forget. She only wanted to forget. The symptoms were like ripples that had been noticed even before her arrival in Silver Horn.
However, Mira did not want to admit it because it would not be possible for her consciousness to go back if she did it with a girl’s body.
However, it mattered not even if one somehow endured it. Rather, it was worse for the body the more she endured. In actuality, when all the equipment and preparations in order to do it were laid out right before her, everything that she tried to ignore as much as possible came out like how an object submerged in the Dead Sea would rush to the surface. It seemed like she was nearing her limit. 「Alright, let’s do this.」
Mira steeled herself and closed the door of the restroom. After a brief moment, the sound of flowing water could be heard.
(Luminaria would laugh wildly at this.)
She smiled wryly imagining what kind of expression Luminaria would make at that time. When Mira looked back at the restroom, she unconsciously placed her hand on her abdomen.
「Well, this is normal. That is the natural course of action for anyone who used the toilet.」
It is natural for anyone who doesn’t have it to use that bowl, Mira muttered to convince herself.
The expression of Mira who had passed the most severe mountain pass for the first time was so bright as to be refreshing.
Though there were some wicked feelings within, she had a vigorous mental strength and a healthy body to begin with, so it couldn’t be helped. To be honest, she was even a little excited about it. She assumed a defiant attitude in order to justify herself.
After that, keeping up with that momentum, Mira strode into the fifth room. She took a bath after taking off all of her equipment in the bathroom and becoming naked.
(It takes a long time to bathe when one’s hair is so long.)
After basking in a hot bath, her fatigue had more or less been removed and her feeling of drowsiness had somewhat eased.
She hung her towel in an appropriate place and lowered her small bottom on a leather sofa and immediately opened the item box. The purpose was to confirm if she had any casual dress included.
After having gotten out of the bath, the blood and dirt attached to the robe was noticeable. Mira was not a neat freak. Still, she was unable to bring herself to wear the robe until after she washed it.
When she looked at the list, one of the icons caught her attention.
It was a quest reward called 『Celestial Maiden’s Raiment.』
This item was the special equipment she got when she cleared 『Legend of the Celestial Maiden』 which was the quest for a Sage. The item’s effect was the strengthening of the Sage’s exclusive skill. Because the appearance did not suit Danbulf too much, it was stuffed into the storehouse.
She was considerably obsessed with the appearance of equipment in the age of Danbulf. She chose appearance over the effects for his majestic magician. Because it was her creed, she could not bring herself to equip it even if it had high performance.
However, she considered how Mira looked right now. This was a genuine flawless gown with frills. If it was with her current appearance of a little girl now, then it may possibly match her.
There was no time like the present, Mira took out the celestial maiden’s robe from the item box and wore it.
At first glance, the clothes were no larger than the size of a baby doll. The hem of her skirt reached near Mira’s calves and the sleeves stopped short in the middle of her upper arm. The cloth reflected a light pink color and it had a smooth and silky surface. It was a cloth that was worthy of the name celestial maiden. Consequently, not only Danbulf would balk at wearing this equipment, all the other male avatars would as well.
「Hoh~ This is quite excellent.」
The window isolated the room from the dark night that ruled outside. The figure was not distinct but the reflection was enough to confirm her appearance. Mira substituted the window for a mirror and smiled admiringly at the sight of the girl clad in a dress. Although the smile contained a bit of carnal desire, Mira’s expression mirrored that of a rogue. Yet it still remained that of an innocent smile.
After that, Mira found the bedroom that she had originally been looking for after checking every single room. Alternatively, had she not found it, she could have dragged several robes from the warehouse and casually threw them on the sofa as a makeshift bed.
They were things used by Danbulf. The decoration and coloring were gorgeous, they were robes that exuded dignity and luxury. They were her favorite robes.
Although Mira thought about doing the laundry, she thought of leaving it to Mariana and decided to leave them scattered around as always.
Mira leaned against the window while gazing at the distant streetlight. She let out a small yawn. After that, she began to feel sleepy and placed a hand on her waist to stretch lightly. She confirmed the time from the menu.
It was past 10 pm. It was as expected, although she had originally started off strong walking in the forest, a certain fatigue had accumulated in her small body. She had temporarily kept herself awake by bathing. Mira opened her small mouth to yawn again while wiping both her eyes with the back of her hand.
At any rate, the purpose Mira was here now was not only to confirm what had happened to her base but also to come and meet with Luminaria, one of the players that was in the same situation she was in. However, if the person did not come tomorrow, Litaria would tell her.
Mira concluded that there was little to be done in the present circumstances. She was attracted to the bedroom and collapsed on the bed. A gentle opposing force pushes back the small body of the girl. The bed was made by Mariana every day, who was longing for the return of her master.
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
Lunatic Lake was the capital of Arkite Kingdom. Near its center, bordering on a crescent moon-shaped lake was the Arkite Castle where the king lived.
King Solomon finished putting the business of the day in order and entrusted his whole body to the back of a leather chair. He kicked the desk which had the stacks of documents he had just finished. In reaction, the chair with wheels carried Solomon to the window with a light rattling sound.
The source of the magic light was the silver bracelet Solomon had on. Solomon touched the bracelet on his left arm and looked at the empty space.
On a screen projected onto the empty space which was only visible to its owner, characters coded in white and gray appeared,
「Danbulf……..」
Solomon confirmed the screen every day. And now, the name of Danbulf was flashing in white.
Solomon raised his head and turned the chair. He immediately shifted his attention to the window that laid to his back which the dark and quiet night ruled. He was hoping to see Silver Horn city beyond the distant mountain. It was the town of heroes for the country. While reminiscing of a chance encounter in that city in days long gone, the sound of knocks on the door returned Solomon’s awareness.
「Enter.」
「Excuse me.」
The man who opened the door and bowed was one of the heralds of the Arkite Kingdom. The man advanced one more step and took out a piece of paper.
When Solomon urged him to continue with his expression, the herald expanded the paper and read the contents out loud.
「I will report. This is a regularly timed report from Graia of the magic knight order: I discovered a fort of hobgoblins in the vicinity of the border, the enemy’s force was approximately three hundred in number. With the strength of an adventurer girl, we successfully cleared the area. I am on my way back now, but I hope for a suitable reward when the adventurer comes to visit Lunatic Lake. The name of the adventurer is Mira, a beautiful little girl with long silver hair.」
Solomon received the report, but he showed a frown at the messenger, seemingly not understanding the content. This was because the Hobgoblin army had a force of three hundred, it was of considerable scale. He had sent fifty elite magic knights, but it was not possible for them to have been able to wipe out that many. If the captain was Graia, he would have almost certainly waited for reinforcements. However, without doing so, he enlisted the help of an adventurer. A question appeared in his mind of why he had forced the subjugation.
However, Solomon was certain that he had a reason for doing this. Graia was a man that he could place that much faith in him.
Solomon thought, ‘Was there a reason for him to push through with the subjugation? Or does it have anything to with the enlisted adventurer’s strength?’ For now, however, the matter did not hold any significance. He breathed out once and abandoned that line of thinking. He took the report from the hands of the herald to read it with his own eyes.
「Is there something else?」
「Yes.」
「Alright, speak.」
「Lady Litaria, an aide from the Silver Horn’s Tower of Magic contacted us with magic transmission. I was told that a girl named Mira introduced herself in her district as the apprentice of Danbulf.」
「An apprentice of that fellow…?」
Solomon dropped his sight down to the screen of the bracelet. The name of Danbulf was displayed there. This name which had been displayed as grey for thirty years until yesterday.
It was the name of his friend, a hero of bygone times, it had turned white. Then, a girl who introduced herself as his apprentice appeared. And there was also the adventurer who had subjugated the hobgoblins with the magic knights. They both had introduced themselves with the name of Mira.
「There’s no way this was just a succession of coincidences.」
Solomon’s eyes which had just been exhausted from the clerical work just a little while ago regained their light. A joyful shine took over the weariness in his eyes.
「Send a messenger to the Silver Horn as soon as possible. Tell them to invite the adventurer named Mira courteously. I leave the choice of the messenger to you.」
「Certainly. At once.」
When he took his eyes off the herald, the herald left the room and folded the report. Solomon stared at the window at the distant town with the tower again.
The jet-black mountains which absorbed the moonlight contrasted with the lake that symbolized the Lunatic Lake around the castle. The lake shone with an ephemeral light.
