Chapter 52 - The Labyrinth City of Lartania (1)

Archmage Heinkel.

The first archmage humanity had produced since the forgotten age of the gods, she was also known to Psychedelia players as the Retry Witch.

The reason for that nickname was simple.

Anyone playing a mage would almost inevitably encounter her. She had no direct influence on the story, but the items players could obtain at regular intervals after meeting her were enormously useful to mages.

The problem was that, contrary to her doll-like appearance, she was incredibly ill-tempered. Choose the wrong dialogue option while trying to obtain an item, and she would kill you without mercy.

By the third meeting, at least, she would have warmed up enough to merely curse you out for choosing the wrong option rather than kill you. But there was no such leniency at the first or second meeting.

Strangely enough, any dialogue option that defended milk even slightly would put her in a foul mood and invariably get the player killed. That had earned her another nickname: the Milk Witch.

In any case, all of that had left Alon extremely tense.

He knew which words and statements touched on subjects she disliked, but her personality was so eccentric in the setting that he could not rule out something unexpected happening. He had even made preparations in case things went wrong.

But...

["Eek...!"]

This was something he had never anticipated.

Alon stared blankly at Archmage Heinkel in bewilderment as she gazed at him with an expression of utter terror.

As he did, he realized something.

'She's very short.'

Now that he looked, her white pointed wizard's hat merely made her seem a little taller. She was actually shorter than Alon.

A great deal shorter.

"Excuse me... I'd like to solve your riddle."

... He had never realized that, since the only illustrations he had seen of her in the game showed her seated. Having acquired this new and not particularly useful piece of information, Alon addressed Heinkel.

He had to talk to her and solve her first riddle before he could receive the item.

However...

["I-I'll..."]

"You'll?"

["I-I'll give it to you. I'll give it to you, so...!"]

Heinkel abruptly blurted this out, then thrust a jewel box that flew in from somewhere into Alon's hands, despite his not having solved her quiz.

Then...

["Th-that's enough, right?"]

For someone who had appeared so aloof and imperious against the blue moonlight, she kept anxiously watching Alon's reactions like a frightened mouse.

["I-I'm leaving!"]

She quickly turned, scurried away, and dissolved into blue mana.

... Unlike her entrance, her exit was remarkably undignified.

"... Excuse me, Heinkel?"

Taken aback, Alon tried calling to her, but she did not emerge again, as though she had no intention of returning.

Standing there with the jewel box in his hands, he looked bewildered as he canceled the spell he had been preparing to manifest in case of trouble.

SHHH...

As soon as Alon released the hand seal inside his pocket, the mana scattered like dust.

He remained bewildered for a while before finally collecting himself and opening the jewel box she had left him.

"... It's here."

Inside was the item he had originally intended to obtain by solving her riddle.

'... What on earth was that?'

He thought back to how she had simply handed over an item he was supposed to earn by solving a riddle, then fled in a manner completely unlike her behavior in the game.

'... Behind me?'

It suddenly occurred to him that she might have been looking slightly behind him rather than at him. He glanced over his shoulder.

"..."

There was only the library, bathed in blue moonlight.

"..."

In the end, Alon had obtained the item he wanted.

... He was glad to have acquired it so easily, but a small question lingered all the same.

####

For the next few days, Alon attended the magic symposium, satisfying his curiosity by listening to various presentations.

Having taught himself magic until now, he found the theories presented at the symposium quite helpful. His nightly discussions about magic with Riyan also did a great deal to advance his own skills.

Unlike Alon, whose expertise lay in mana control, she had a talent for constructing the arrangements that manifested mana as magic—in other words, for the actual manifestation of magic itself.

Alon gradually began to think he might be ready to attempt fourth-tier magic.

... Of course, from the fourth tier onward, his insufficient mana made even one proper casting difficult, so he did not try it right away.

Then, on precisely the fourth day of his stay at the magic symposium...

"... An Outer God has appeared in Lartania's labyrinth?"

"Yes. From what I've heard, monsters throughout the labyrinth have mutated."

Alon received news that an Outer God had appeared in Lartania's labyrinth.

"... How long has it been since the Outer God was discovered?"

"I'm not certain, but they say about five days now. The Information Guild believes it may have appeared around a week ago."

"How far is Lartania?"

"It shouldn't be that far from here. Roughly... five days?"

At Evan's tentative estimate, Alon seemed to consider the matter briefly, then immediately took out some stationery and began writing a letter.

It did not take him long to finish.

"Once we send this to Lartania, we're leaving at once."

"Pardon? At once?"

"Yes."

Without hesitation, he began preparing to leave the Central Magic Tower for Lartania.

####

He said goodbye to Riyan, who was disappointed that he was leaving a little earlier than expected. Before boarding the carriage, he also happened to meet Penia. In contrast, though she seemed to express regret at his departure, her reaction was oddly animated.

After bidding them farewell, he headed straight for Lartania.

Five days passed.

Traveling by carriage every day without fail, Alon soon arrived at the labyrinth city of Lartania.

"Oh... It's changed a lot since I last came here. It's even more fascinating now."

As Evan's spontaneous exclamation suggested, the labyrinth city of Lartania looked far more unusual than any of the territories Alon had visited so far.

The walls marking the city's boundaries were low enough to afford a clear view of the buildings within. Most of those buildings were extraordinarily luxurious and distinctive, hardly what one would expect from a place called a city of mercenaries and explorers.

It looked as though buildings in architectural styles from all over the world had been gathered in one place.

Of course, rather than inspiring any sense of mystery or wonder, the result simply made the city look peculiar.

'... The lore said it ended up this way because people from across the continent, except the Empire, gathered here and each built whatever they wanted, didn't it?'

Recalling Lartania's lore, Alon proceeded into the city.

"Things feel unsettled here."

"They do."

As Alon had expected, the city was somewhat chaotic. Perhaps because rumors had spread that an Outer God was coming up from the labyrinth, he even saw some mercenaries leaving the city as he passed through the streets.

They drove the carriage through Lartania to their original destination, the southern district, and soon reached Merd, the shop owned by Rine.

The moment he arrived, Alon could not help marveling.

"... Is this really Merd?"

"Uh—yes, I believe it is..."

The reason for Evan's bewildered response was simple.

The shop was enormous.

How enormous? Enough to make the four- and five-story buildings around it look positively tiny.

"... Wasn't it a shop?"

"It should be."

Alon stared at the building, hiding his bewilderment behind an expressionless face. It was so vast that it seemed less like a mansion than an actual temple.

Evan spoke up.

"Uh... I'd heard the shop was large... but honestly, I had no idea it would be this large."

Alon nodded in agreement. Evan had told him that business was booming and Rine was going from strength to strength, but he had not imagined she was doing this well.

'Honestly, I thought it was strange that a magical appraiser could wield so much power... Is this how she gained influence in Lartania...?'

Alon nodded almost unconsciously. He knew that the truth that money could accomplish anything applied equally in his old world and this one.

'That's also why I'm here to ask a favor.'

Although his task was to deal with the Outer God, he had specifically sought out Rine, a magical appraiser, because he needed to make use of her influence.

"Let's go inside first."

Alon and Evan began walking up toward Merd. But the moment they reached its immense doors...

"Do you have an appointment?"

"... We need an appointment?"

The person at the entrance, who appeared to be a secretary, barred their entry.

"It's somewhat urgent. Could I see her right away?"

"There is a fee for an immediate meeting."

"... A fee?"

"Yes. To see Lady Rine immediately without an appointment, you will need to pay three thousand gold coins."

"... Three thousand gold coins?"

That sum could easily buy a mansion in one of the surrounding territories, even if not in the capital of the Kingdom of Arteria. Momentarily appalled, Alon continued.

"... When could I see her if I made an appointment?"

"If you book now... ten..."

"Ten?"

"You should be able to see her in about ten months."

Dizzied by the inconceivably long wait, he thought for a moment before trying again.

"... Then could you perhaps pass a message to Rine? Tell her Count Pallatio is here—"

"God, all that yammering is annoying. Just fuck off, will you?"

He was unable to finish.

Alon turned to find a man who appeared to be a noble, ostentatiously flaunting his wealth, looking at him as though he were pathetic.

"Why's a penniless beggar hanging around here?"

With a large crowd of mercenaries behind him, the man spewed abuse as though he possessed not a trace of intelligence. For a moment, Alon looked incredulous.

Paying Alon no further attention, the man walked up and casually tossed a money pouch in front of the attendant.

"Open the door."

After checking the pouch, she nodded politely and immediately began operating something.

RRRUMBLE...

The immense doors opened.

Just as he was about to enter, the man looked back at Alon and gave him an overtly mocking sneer, as if deliberately provoking him.

"Fucking beggar."

He started into the building. Alon could see the faces of the mercenaries following him were also full of sneers.

Alon frowned despite himself at such blatant contempt from someone who had not even checked who he was dealing with. Did the man have any intelligence at all? Before long, however, he realized who the man was.

'The son of the labyrinth city's lord.'

He could not remember the name. But he did remember the lord's son's appearance in Psychedelia's illustrations: an obese man with a weaselly little mustache.

He had acted like a complete bastard toward the player in the game, too, but experiencing it in person was absurd.

Just as Alon was about to say something...

"There's no need for you to come in."

Rine emerged through the open doors, her green eyes gleaming.

"Oh, Rine! Did you come all this way for me?"

The lout approached her with a dazzling smile the moment he saw her coming out of the building.

However...

"Fuck off."

THUMP!

Rine casually shoved his approaching shoulder aside as she swore at him, then walked straight past him and his mercenaries and out of the building.

Passing the secretary, who hastily bowed her head, she approached Alon. Unlike when she had dealt with the lout, she bowed respectfully before speaking.

"I've been waiting for you, Godfather."

Everyone present stared blankly at Count Pallatio.