Author: Himezaki Shiu | Original Source: Syosetu |
Translator: Jiro | English Source: Re:Library |
It was currently the day before the hero unveiling, the festive mood in the town was at an all-time high. However, I wasn’t present. I was waiting in the castle, which was in complete chaos.
Being the only one relaxing while everyone else around me was working made me feel somewhat superior. This was probably how students who cheated in school must have felt.
Anyhow, it didn’t suit me. If I’d ever done something like that, I would’ve just felt guilty and hated every moment of it. Putting those thoughts aside, I’d spent the last couple of days thinking about how I should act today and tomorrow.
First and foremost, I would definitely help the spirit. Whether someone tried to interfere or not, it was my main objective. That was the reason I’d come early and had so much free time on my hands.
The plan would begin right after they finished replenishing the spirit’s Mana today. The magic cage lock-picking speed run was just around the corner. The real problem was what I should do afterward. I could go meet Princess Topersion and my former classmates—or I could simply avoid them.
There was something I wanted to tell Princess Topersion, but mentioning that Toriyama was still alive seemed troublesome. In the end, I decided to leave things to fate and focus only on securing the spirit. I wasn’t concerned about what happened beyond that.
With their spirit gone, even if I did run into them, they’d probably have no time to worry about me anyway.
Although the day was bright and sunny, none of the heroes wore smiles. Their expressions were grim, but that much was to be expected. The heroes were leaving today, even though the unveiling ceremony wasn’t until tomorrow.
I could only assume they were heading out early to rehearse at the venue. After all, it wouldn’t do anyone any good if the public saw the heroes looking so grim.
They were likely going to adjust their attitudes and calm their nerves before the big day. While the slave rings restrained them, those rings weren’t all-powerful.
Watching the heroes depart from a distance, I noticed the queen heading toward the library. Curious, I decided to follow her. She entered the hidden room with a somewhat uneasy expression and emerged a short while later with the same look on her face.
I couldn’t help but think that at least the queen should be free to leave the castle without such worries. Setting that thought aside, I checked my surroundings and entered the hidden room right after she left.
Once inside, I confirmed there was no one else around. I also scanned for magical traps—everything was clear.
The spirit inside the cage looked just as exhausted as before, but it perked up slightly the moment it saw me.
“Let’s begin.”
I sat cross-legged in front of the magic cage and focused. The long process was about to begin.
◇◇◇
I finished at last. It took me a full day, just as I’d expected.
A timid yellow ball of light drifted toward me from inside the magic cage.
I wasn’t entirely sure what had happened to it, but I could guess that this spirit had suffered greatly. After all, it had been trapped and continuously drained of power ever since the kingdom was formed.
The spirit floated toward me, looking a bit livelier than before, and settled on my legs.
“Thank you for letting me out of the cage.” A calm female voice echoed.
It was so strange that I almost couldn’t believe where the voice was coming from.
“You can talk?”
“No… Well, yes. I can now. The cage blocked all my functions, so I couldn’t even speak. I’m sorry.”
“I’m just here on an errand, so I’d love it if you could tag along with me.”
“An errand?” the spirit asked curiously.
(I guess it doesn’t know the word ‘errand.’)
I wanted to leave as soon as possible, but considering how weak the spirit still was, moving right away wasn’t a good idea. In the end, I decided to stay and chat a bit.
“You could say I was sent here. God told me that if I gathered the spirits, He’d grant my wishes.”
(Wait… Doesn’t that just make me His gofer? But a gofer is just a synonym for an errand boy. Though, I guess I’m fine with that. In other words, I’m God’s gofer1.)
In spite of that, I wasn’t exactly fond of the word gofer for some reason.
“Then, what would you like me to do?” the spirit asked.
“Let me ask God first.”
Come to think of it, I hadn’t really figured out how I’d send the spirits to God after finding them.
(God, how do I send the spirits to You?)
“If you had told Me, I would’ve picked them up Myself.”
“Please do that, then.”
I was surprised by how fast the response came. It was great because now I didn’t have to worry about someone snatching the spirits when I wasn’t looking. But still, if God could just come and pick them up, didn’t that make my whole cage-breaking speed run pointless? I decided to ask.
“By the way, what’s the condition for You to be able to pick them up?”
“They must touch you.”
“So, it’s not about distance, then. I’m glad I didn’t waste an entire day here.”
“That was the best I could manage. It’s the only way to retrieve the spirits safely.”
“I understand. In that case, I’ll leave the pickup to You.”
“That’s one down!”
“I heard that God will come and pick you up soon.”
“Okay. Thank you very much.”
Just as the spirit said that, it vanished from my legs. I was relieved to have made it in time.
After all, I had just heard footsteps echoing up the stairs—someone was coming. It was likely they’d already spotted me. In any event, I had my back turned, so they couldn’t see my face just yet.
I was curious, though, since I thought the hero unveiling was still in progress.
‘Well, whatever. I guess I’ll switch my appearance to Toriyama.’ I made sure to also adjust the way I spoke. ‘If I remember correctly, I didn’t always speak politely when I was Toriyama. Was it more like this?’
“Isn’t the unveiling still underway?” I asked.
“It is. But not everyone has to stay until the end, right?”
“I guess you’re right. If someone only shows up to make an announcement, they can leave before noon. But that’s not something you’d normally do, is it?”
“That’s true. I wouldn’t normally follow such a schedule. But something told me I had to set one up like this… and it seems I made the right call.”
I stood and turned around, coming face-to-face with Princess Topersion’s sharp gaze. Although I was using Toriyama Makoto’s body, she didn’t seem surprised in the slightest2.