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Inside of Crim’s office in Castle Seyfert…

“Oh, welcome back Master. I haven’t seen anyone else today, did something happen?”
“Yes, I apologize for not informing thee. Yet there is a matter I wish to discuss, privately.”

Da’at Seyfert went to greet Crim, and tilted her head hearing that response.

Kou took a quick shower to wash away the sea water on her swimsuit, and then had Hijiri help her get ready to go out. When that was over, she went to the lobby and saw that she was the first one there, with plenty of time to spare before 5pm as they had agreed.

So while she waited, she went to sit on a couch and activated her NLD, logging into Destiny Unchain Online.

Then again, Crim had been trying to find a time like that when no one else from the guild would be online, so she could have a private discussion with Da’at.

“I’ve been curious. Was it thou who transported me to those ruins within the black forest?”
“…Yes.”

Crim spoke with conviction, feeling like she already knew the answer. After a short pause of hesitation, Da’at nodded and confirmed Crim’s suspicion.

That was a question Crim had been harboring for a long time. Her starting position in the game had seemingly been corrupted, even without the interference of her parents.

“Thou didst remain hidden, making no effort to ascertain my strength. And the one who decided that… was Ludger’s wife, who, oddly enough, spoke little to me, is that correct?”
“…Yes, but how did you know?”
“I’ve investigated the matter quite thoroughly. Ludger married into her family, and they have been guarding this cloak worn by the Red Lion Emperor, as she is of the lineage of the emperor’s nursing mother, correct?”

That was something Crim had learned by reading through the record books within Castle Seyfert.

“And thou hast maintained contact with them all this time… Or am I mistaken?”
“You’re right… I’m shocked, I always thought I’d have to tell you eventually, but I never imagined you’d find out on your own.”
“Well, there were many hints…”

There was something Knight Commander Effie had said before, when they went through Castle Seyfert as a raid dungeon.

Then you were destined to appear in this place.

Those words made Crim believe that the change in her starting location was tied to the castle in some way, making sure that she would end up there eventually. After that, she just investigated everything she could related to that, and traced everything back to Da’at and Ludger’s wife without too much effort.

“Then again, that allowed me to be blessed with fortunate encounters, so I hold no grudge against thee. I merely wonder… why me?”

That was the only thing bothering her. That was a question that would bug her to no end.

“That… at the time, you held the brightest soul out of everyone who descended upon this world.”
“Ah…”

That was a strange roundabout way of talking peculiar to NPCs, but Crim understood that she was saying that Crim’s stats were the highest out of everyone who started playing the game.

That was a convincing reply, as her species was extremely unique and filled with special traits, even when compared to another top player like Sorleon’s Drake species.

“Hmm…I see. I appreciate thy candor.”
“No…I’m the one who should be thanking you, I don’t know how to repay you for forgiving what I did.”

Da’at looked like a heavy weight had been lifted from her shoulders, and Crim could not help but feel like she was exaggerating.

“I have some matters to attend to, so I shall take my leave now. I should be here for a longer duration on the morrow, so until then.”
“Yes, Master. Take care.”

Finishing her short visit, Crim logged out and returned to the real world.

◇◇◇

When Kou’s consciousness returned to the lobby, she realized that there was someone next to her.

“Oh, you’re back.”
“…Subaru?”
“I can’t believe you… You really shouldn’t be full-diving outside of your room like this.”

He sounded baffled by his friend’s actions.

The NLD would forcefully log her out if it detected a certain amount of physical contact in the real world, but Subaru still felt the need to watch over Kou’s body while she was inside the game.

“Sorry…and thank you.”

She thanked him before letting out a whimper as she stretched, since her sitting position had stiffened her back while she was full diving.

It did not take much longer for the other members of the group to arrive, and they were all gathered five minutes earlier than agreed.

“I see you’re wearing some cute clothes again.”
“Ah, Hijiri insisted that I should wear this…”

When Subaru pointed that out, Kou looked down at her clothes.

She was currently wearing that white sundress with a light blue gradient along it, that they had bought back when Kou was allowed to go out of the hospital for a short time.

She also had a straw hat adorned with a white ribbon to protect her from the sun, and a white parasol. It was like she had personified the idea of a young lady taking a stroll in summer.

“Hmm…won’t I stand out too much?”
“It’s fine, you look cute!”
“That’s not an answer to my question…”

Hijiri instantly replied to Kou with confidence, and Kou could only sigh.

Currently Hijiri was also wearing a dress she had bought that time, which was a matching set to Kou’s. That only added to Kou’s embarrassment. Then again, it was rare to see girls in a sundress and straw hat these days, so Kou and Hijiri were attracting a lot of attention in the lobby.

“I see you two are taking advantage of your charms, ladies.”
“Ahahah, thank you, Ryunosuke.”

Ryunosuke complimented the two, so Hijiri chuckled a bit and thanked him, while Kou’s face went beet red and she hid behind Hijiri. Overall, Ryunosuke seemed pleased by that reaction, but then he stared at them more attentively.

“On a more serious note… Would you two consider doing some model work for me someday?”
“Maybe…if we feel like it.”

All they could do in response to that sudden recruitment proposal was to give an ambiguous reply.

“Alright. Let’s get going then.”
“Try to not wander off, you two, alright?”
““Alright!””

Just like when they were playing on the beach, Kasumi was still acting like an older sister for Hinagiku and Miyuki.

Kou watched that with a gentle smile, sitting up and following them out. After a short time walking, a boy and a girl who looked young enough to be in elementary school, dashed right past her.

“Ah, you two, there’s a…”

She turned around, wanting to warn them about a cliff nearby…

…But then Kou saw the two kids continue running past the cliff, like they were on some invisible bridge, before vanishing.

“…? …!!”

Kou froze in horror after watching that, her mouth flapping open but unable to produce any sound, which only worsened when she felt like she heard the laughter of children.

“…Kou?”

Hijiri noticed Kou trembling and clattering behind her, so she spoke to Kou with a worried voice. Hearing that, Kou did her best to reply.

“Th-Th-The children…vanished!”
“…Hm? I didn’t see anyone other than Hinagiku and Miyuki though?”
“Yeah…I didn’t see anyone else either.”

Hijiri sounded confused, and Subaru agreed with her.

I knew it, there’s something wrong with this island!!

Kou’s face went ghastly pale hearing those replies. But other than that, their walk went smoothly.

“Ah, I just found TIPS number 26!”

They were in the garden of one of the renewed old houses of the island. There was an old fashioned (according to Ryunosuke) water well with a pump that they were using to get some water, when Hinagiku happily called to the group.

“I found number 27 behind too!”

Then Miyuki showed up from behind the house. They were both trying to complete an orienteering sheet they had downloaded in the lobby earlier.

That was an AR application that would show information about old items and locations they waved their hand on top of, as well as details of daily life of the people who once inhabited the island. At the same time, it would leave a checkmark in the sheet.

Trying to find all the checkmarks was the main goal of that AR orienteering sheet.

The two had gotten really into it, and would constantly call over the rest of the group to follow them whenever they found something interesting, so even Kou and rest’s sheets were filled by around a fourth.

While that happened…

“Ah! This is so cold! Everyone, the water from the well is freezing. Let’s take a rest!”

Kasumi had been investigating the well, and she called everyone to gather and take a rest together. Kou and the others also went there to sit in the shade.

“I feel like there’s a bunch of shrines all over this island…”
“Ah, you think so too, Hijiri?”

As Hijiri pointed out, there were a multitude of shinto shrines all over the island, almost like every house had a shrine nearby.

On top of that, there was an oddly high amount of barren land amongst the settlements, almost like they designed the villages with spaces for a multitude of children to play in.

“Ahh… That probably has something to do with the island’s name.”
“““The name?”””

Ryunosuke, who had just soaked a towel with water from the well and placed it around his neck, said with a relaxed voice, “There…I feel alive again…” before continuing to talk with Kou and the rest.

“Yeah, I saw something about it near the entrance, the island err…”
“Kanai Island?”
“Yeah, apparently that stands for ‘the island of innumerable kami,’ though in this context kami doesn’t mean gods, but more like the spirits of dead people.”

Hearing that, Kou gasped audibly. In other words, the souls of people who had died would gather on that island.

“That’s not meant in a negative way at all. It’s just that the island is so pretty that it makes even dead people want to come visit.”

Ryunosuke chuckled a little seeing how pale Kou had gotten, and patted her straw hat for a bit, easing her worries.

“The inhabitants of the island wanted to welcome those kami, and so they built all of those shrines for them to stay in. So basically they all got along nicely.”

Oh yeah, those children earlier did not look like evil spirits.

While it still felt really strange, at least that was less scary to think about. Or at least that was how Kou tried to reason about it.

“I just can’t stop thinking about it…”

Everyone was resting in the shade, holding wet towels just like Ryunosuke to wipe the sweat from their faces and necks. But Kou was the only one who looked completely fresh, and Subaru approached her to whisper something.

“…But I’m so jealous of that thing.”
“Ah…ahahah…”

Subaru stared at Kou with envy, who was able to use a cooling spell on herself to avoid getting sweaty and hot like the rest of them.

I mean, I’m definitely not good enough to control it on someone else even if I wanted to.

Kou had plenty of reasons to want to use the spell on someone else, but if she made even a little mistake, it could lead to injuries from burns or frostbite, so she did not want to risk it. Even so, Hijiri and Subaru were aware of the dangers and wanted to try anyway. So Kou could only laugh awkwardly to stop thinking about it.