Chapter 104: 90

I passed through light and darkness, and then I was once again in a place filled with light.

A warm breeze caressed my cheeks.

Hanging in the clear blue sky were a few wispy clouds. And three pale moons. When I lowered my gaze with a sigh, I saw before me a plain that stretched to the horizon.

At its edge, there was a gigantic object which looked like a horn that had been stabbed into the ground.

Its name, the Odoriji spire.

It's said that on its 56th floor is a mystery that only I can unravel.

Suddenly, I realized that I had received a message on my glasses.

To：Seeker Brigade

To quote H.G. Wells,

『Losing your way on a journey is unfortunate, but losing your reason for the journey is a fate more cruel.

However, the path of least resistance is the path of the loser.

If you fell down yesterday, stand up today. The crisis of today is the joke of tomorrow』

We have comrades.

Other than that, there were no other words or explanations. As for Tortch's words themselves, I get the feeling that he doesn't have a good sense for them.

They're probably the words of his comrades.

It feels like there's some sort of meaning in those words.

「Wow, somehow, the air feels so fluffy」

Maria ran across the plain in high spirits.

Oh, she fell.

「That's dangerous, you know?」

Rana helped her up. For some reason, Maria was smiling happily.

Is this that thing where the kids get strangely excited when they visit their mother's hometown, I wonder?

The place we had landed on was on top of the ruined dungeon.

It was covered in red flowers before, but now, there was only a simple field of grass and the entrance to a dilapidated dungeon.

『Oh, welcome back~』

Though I couldn't see anyone, I heard a sweet~ voice.

「Thanks」

We had severed ties, but I returned the greeting anyway.

I jogged off to catch up with the two who had gone on ahead of me.

With Maria in the middle, we held hands and played family.

But I wonder what a family that isn't pretend is like. I wonder if that’s also something that I'll find out with time………

Looking at the two happy people beside me eased my anxiety.

The camp came into view.

The smell of a nostalgic dish wafted through the air.

I could see backs and pods that I recognized.

「Ready? One, two――」

We shouted in unison at the count of three.

『I'm home~!』

Went Rana and me.

「I'm home~!」

Followed Maria, a beat behind us.

The one who jumped and quickly turned around was Lanseal.

She tossed the ladle in her hand aside and came running.

She ran over with tremendous speed……

「SOouYaaaaaaaaa!」

「Guhoaa!」

……tackled me hard and pushed me down onto the ground.

「SOOoouuYaaaa!」

「La, Lanseal, calm down」

She rubbed her cheeks on me, licked me, play-bit me, and basically went to town on me. Her tail was wagging incredibly fast.

It went a bit over the line of what a child should see.

「Compose yourself, Lanseal」

Ignoring Rana, Lanseal continued her intense skinship.

「Souya! Souya! Souya!」

「Oh, yes, it’s me」

She's acting like a family dog that's seen someone who hasn't been home for a while. Not that I've ever had a dog though.

I lifted Lanseal up as I got to my feet.

She's lighter than I expected. Did she lose weight?

And then, something else came running from the camp.

It was a small figure. A 50cm tall wooden golem.

「BOOOOOOoooooo!」

「You too?!」

Lars grabbed my leg. I almost fell over, but I managed to keep my balance.

This one is much heavier than it looks.

Maria was looking at the one person and one thing with great interest.

「Rana, what are these guys?」

「They’re pets」

While holding Lanseal in my arms and dragging Lars along, I arrived at the camp.

「Oh, welcome back」

My sister's reaction was cold. She only spared me a glance before going back to stirring the pot.

This one's reaction is like a cat's.

And then, a real cat emerged from a tent.

It's just the false form of my god though.

「Hmpt, you're finally back, you fool. The racket the sisters were making at night with their crying after you disappeared was too much. And ever since Rana went after you, Ea's nightly crying got even worse. My chest――」

「Hey! Misuranika-sama!」

Ea's face was bright red as she yelled.

I should have come back earlier. I need to reflect on this.

「It’s a talking cat」

「Who on earth are you?」

Maria stared at Misuranika-sama.

Misuranika-sama stared back at Maria.

Oh, she ran away.

「Wait~!」

「Don't come any closer! Get away from me!」

Children, by nature, have a habit of chasing small animals that run away.

As they played tag, the two of them disappeared into the plain.

「Don't go too far!」

"Okay~," came Maria's reply.

「Onii-chan, this is……」

「Yeah, this is……」

Umm, I don't know where to start with explaining this.

「SOoouYaaaaaa~! FuuuAAAA!」

「BOOoooooo! OOuuuu!」

「Lanseal! Lars! You’re both so noisy!」

My sister yanked the one person and one thing away from me and gave them each a kick in the butt.

「In the first place, Lanseal! You were so proper earlier, what the heck was that?」

「I'm so sorry. Somehow, when I saw Souya's face, I just exploded with emotion. It's the nature of beastkin」

Her ears and tail drooped dejectedly.

When I patted her on the head, her clouded expression immediately cleared up. Her tail wagged adorably.

「Whew, I caught her」

「Let go of me~!」

Having caught Misuranika-sama, Maria came running back. She was holding the rampaging cat in her arms like a stuffed toy.

「Maria, treat her a little more gently. She's my god after all」

「What a strange god!」

「Gwah!」

She gave her a tight hug and my god let out a shriek.

Leaving that aside,

『Who’s this?』

Ea and Maria looked at each other and said at the same time.

「What a strange elf」

In response to Ea’s opinion……

「What a normal elf」

……came Maria’s impression.

「Maria, Ea is the younger sister of Rana and me」

「And, you are?」

While still holding a ladle, Ea crossed her arms and looked down at Maria.

「Listen closely, you ordinary elf. I'm the black e――」

「That's no good, you can't say that, alright?」

I had covered her mouth.

What are you doing divulging your true identity out of the blue? Even though you haven't even told Rana……

「Ea, she's called Maria. In the land where I was summoned to, I came across a person from my world. She's his daughter, and she'll be in my care from time to time」

「That's right. And I'm also Souya's………daughter-wife」

A new genre was born.

「Hang on, Onii-chan! Isn't she too much of a child to be a second wife?!」

「Well, if I had to say, she's more of a daughter, and the thing about being my wife is――」

The reply I was blurting out was cut off by Maria.

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「When you guys grow old, I'll be in my prime. I'll be the one who gets the prize in the end!」

It's a very shrewd way of thinking, but……

……I'm pretty sure I'll be dead before any of you grow old though.

「Ugh, seriously, what's with this kid?」

「Now now, Ea. Just treat her like a new younger sister」

「One minute you disappeared out of the blue, and the next, you're back with a girl in tow. I don't know what to make of this, Onii-chan, I really don't」

After hearing Rana's words, Ea looked fed up.

「Well, whatever. Let's eat」

It was a lunch that was late by Lemuria's standards.

Ea's curry udon was extremely well-received by Maria.

As everyone got to know each other better, we had dinner, and then the women brought Maria with them to the public baths in Lemuria's castle town. Maria and everyone were quick to open up to one another.

There’s no woman who would treat a friendly child coldly.

If there is, she's not a woman, but a different creature.

Was the real reason why Maria had proposed that we get married because she wanted to increase the size of her family, I wonder?

Tortch is probably a good father.

Maybe that's why Maria was hoping for another family member.

As a dark-skinned elf, her appearance is unusual, but Lemuria is home to a wide variety of races. It's unlikely that any adventurer would be bothered by the presence of a single unusual-looking elf in Lemuria. There are also beastkin who look like her.

The thing that lingers in the memory of adventurers is not appearances. It's fame. It's both a means and a tool of adventuring.

Other than that, there’s the eyes of the merchants, but there’s no one in this land who can possibly make the connection between the black elf and Maria.

In the first place, even among the Myriad Kings, only a small number of people in Robbs' army know what the black elf looks like.

Elysium has concocted too many facts and incidents that are blamed on the black elf. Because of this, what was originally a very simple connection has become obscured.

Even supposing that she runs into danger, Maria has the miracle given to her by the gods.

No matter where she is, she can likely escape. To me, to Rana, or to Tortch.

Now, I have to deal with the first of my two remaining problems.

I finished my bath in the river.

「Hey, Makina, Yukikaze」

『………………』

As I walked towards them while wiping my hair with a towel, the pods, one big and one small, moved back exactly as far as I had moved forward, maintaining a distance of three meters between us.

Blatant. They're being so blatant about it.

Even though they said『Welcome back』to Rana and『Hello』to Maria, they completely ignored my greetings.

Yeah, well, I don't blame them. I shut them down without talking to them about it, so I'm sure they're angry.

「I feel sorry for everything I did. So let's talk about our future plans together」

『Hmpt~ ………………Even though you didn't listen to what Makina and Yukikaze-chan had to say, why~ do we have to listen to what Souya-san has to say, Makina wonders~. It doesn't make sense, right~?』

「Oh, right」

Her voice was sulky.

『Ooh~, so you're done with adventuring, huh~? So you have no more use for Makina and Yukikaze-chan, huh~? So you're scrapping us in this alternate world, huh~? It can't be helped, right? After all, Souya-san has no motivation, right? So why don't you just act lovey-dovey with madam while burying your face in her boobs until the day you die? Why don't you have lots of children and start a baseball team? You've already brought home a daughter after all~』

『Makina, this is getting a bit tiresome, so let's have a constructive discussion instead』

Yukikaze, who was next to Makina, tapped her with a small arm.

『Eeh~』

『Don't just go, “Eeh~.” Act more like an adult』

『Makina is just a child~. Counting from when Makina was activated, Makina is only 110 days old~』

『If you put it that way, Yukikaze is only 50 days old. Makina, act more like someone who's more mature by 60 days』

『Boo, boo』

The small one and the big one had started arguing with each other.

I've always had my doubts about how human they act, but now I understand. This is a distortion created by forcibly confining a living being inside a machine. This is not their original form.

「Hey, you two, you probably don't trust anything I say after all that has happened, but just hear me out on one thing first」

『Makina will listen if Souya-san talks to himself, but Makina won't respond』

『Yukikaze will listen normally』

『Hey, Yukikaze-chan, that's not fair. Oh, how quickly the anti-Souya-san alliance has fallen apart』

『An alliance with only two people is lonely』

「Don't the two of you ever wish you could go back to your original form?」

『Huh?』

『Yukikaze doesn’t understand』

「In the land where I was summoned to, I met one of your predecessors. An old first generation A.I.. That's who Maria's father is」

I filled them in on what Tortch had told me.

From the birth of the A.I., to the Seeker Brigade, to what Tortch was trying to do for Maria’s sake. The reason why he wanted us to explore the dungeon.

And then,

「Your current form, being shoved into those pods, is not your true one. Your true form is one of flesh and blood. And there is a possibility that you can regain that form. Though it's ultimately just a possibility」

『So you're saying that if Makina returns to Makina's original form of a beautiful girl, there's a chance that Souya-san will assault Makina? That Makina will be used to satisfy Souya-san's lust?』

「Hmn?………………Umm~. That's not happening~」

Personality-wise, not a chance!

Also, why are you assuming that your original form is a beautiful girl?

Yukikaze spread her arms and struck a pose, sort of like she was shrugging her shoulders.

『That's a little hard to believe』

『But, Yuikikaze-chan, it's very romantic, isn't it?』

『You can't fill your stomach with romance』

Makina was the idealistic one, while Yukikaze was the one being pragmatic.

「One more thing, when we reach the 56th floor, Tortch will disarm your self-destruct mechanisms」

『Errm~, in its own way, that's troubling for Makina』

「Troubling?」

『It's because that's against company protocol. We should follow the company's rules』

「But you're living beings to begin with. There's no reason for you to be bound to the company」

『Humans are bound by many things too, you know? Promises and contracts are important』

「Certainly」

I agree with that sentiment completely.

『Makina and Yukikaze-chan are tools. The duty of tools is to be used up by their users. If we’re denied that, we won't know what to do with ourselves from now on』

「Hmm………you’re right」

It must be difficult to suddenly change one's way of life.

But just like I did, people change when they meet other people and go through various experiences. These guys will change too. That's why, right now, there’s nothing I can say to them.

『However, Souya-san, however! Haaa………………you aren't going to explore the dungeon anymore, right? You're going to spend the rest of your life buried in madam’s boobs, right?』

「Well, that sounds like a pretty blissful way to spend the rest of my life」

『Haaa………………haaa』

Makina let out a huge sigh. Her pod bent into a "く" shape.

Like I’ve asked before, what kind of structure do you have that allows you to do that?

『Come on, Yukikaze-chan, you do it too』

『Ha, ha』

『That's not quite right』

After that break in the conversation……

「I certainly did say that I was going to stop exploring the dungeon. But then, I forgot one very important thing」

『Yes, what would that be?』

……I answered Makina's question with a long face.

「I didn't discuss it with my party members」

『Normal~!』

『It's the normal thing to do』

「In particular, I didn't ask Rana and Ea for their opinions at all」

『You idiot』

『You haven't learned the basics』

「Makina, did you just call me an idiot?!」

『What? It's just your imagination』

『That's right』

「Gununun」

I'm pissed off, but I can't take a firm line against them.

「And so, umm, if the result of my discussion with my party members is that we’ll explore the dungeon………I'll be relying on the two of you again」

『Hmpt~, Makina can't hear anything. There's something missing, isn't there?』

『That's right』

「Urgggh, pl, please」

I……lowered my head.

I’ve finally fallen so low that I’m even lowering my head to household appliances. Even though their true form isn’t a household appliance, it’s still hard to swallow.

Just when I was thinking that I’ve grown, this humiliation……oh god, it’s too much.

『Well, Makina will feel bad if Makina torments you too much, so Makina will let you off with this』

「Okay………thank you very much」

It’s so mortifying.

In a lot of ways, I feel like crying. For real.

『Well then, Makina will give a reward to Souya-san for apologizing even though it wasn’t sincere. Actually, as a reward for defeating Lola, the king summoned a dwarf-san for us. He said that he would make any sort of weapons we wanted, so Makina also got all fired up and helped out.

That dwarf-san is amazing. He possesses metalworking techniques that surpasses modern science.

And, since Makina is made in Japan, Makina is also Japanese in spirit. That being the case, there was only one thing Makina could have asked him to make』

Makina's pod opened up, and she took out two bladed weapons with her arms.

Oh, it's that thing that can be found in all sorts of content of Japanese origin.

『Actually, there was one more of them. It was a test piece made from ordinary metal, but the king liked it so much that he stole it』

「So, are you telling me to quadruple-wield or something?」

『You should give one of them to a certain person. That person is――』

I love this author’s style so much. It’s a brilliant touch, using the same words at the start of this chapter as was used the first time he set foot on the right continent in the very first chapter. And the first of HG Wells’ quotes is kinda a theme of this story, isn’t it?

Overall, there isn’t really anything for me to point out, except that Lanseal probably didn’t lose weight. It’s been dragged out over four releases now, so I’m pretty sure you caught it.

Well, after a pretty hilarious return to Lemuria, what’s left? Why, the final chapter of this arc and the epilogue, of course. I’ll be combining them, so stay tuned!

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