Chapter 16

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We had an emergency meeting to discuss our plans, sitting down beside the rubble.

“What do we do about the black-haired lady who got cursed?” Walter asked. “Are we talking us with her to the north?”

“Yes, we can’t just leave her here,” Lilia replies. “She’s coming with us.”

“Then we can’t move by horse, we’ll need a carriage,” Walter says.

The two continue to talk like they’re already familiar co-workers. I just listened in at the sides. Should… should I even be here at all?

“You’re a beginner adventurer, right, Haru?” Lilia asked. “We can make the plans this time, so why don’t you go focus on Sonia?”

Ah, it seems she’s caught on because my feelings were spelled out on my face again. I had wanted to practice my Poker Face while I knelt over Sonia.

Eventually, Lilia and Walter stand up, she says the planning is complete. We leave for the northern territories tomorrow—no, wait, it’s already past midnight, so does that mean later today? Right, we’re leaving noon today.

“Then should we go back to the Grand Library at once?” I asked.

“Yes, go rest up before we leave,” Lilia said.

“Understood,” I said. I picked up Sonia and carried her on my back, and the two of us start heading back the way we came.

Eventually, Lilia stopped and asked, “So what happened back there?”

I wonder if I forgot to tell Walter something.

“Haruka, how did you know about that black weapon?” Lilia continues.

“Oh…”

I’d forgotten all about that pistol ever since Sonia fell into this curse. I was surprised to learn that Lilia didn’t know anything about that, though.

“You knew how it worked,” Lilia continued. “I’ve never seen anything like that before. Where did you first learn about it?”

I can’t fault her for being curious as to how a naive girl who can’t even read knows all about a mysterious weapon that even Lilia has never seen before.

The answer, of course, is that I came from another world. I don’t say it because the last time with Sonia was a mistake, and I don’t think everyone would react as kindly as she did. Without any other choice:

“It’s a cutting-edge magic weapon from the Far East, where I come from,” I lied.

“I despise lies,” Lilia growled. “If you don’t tell me the truth, I will torture you until you spit everything out.”

Frightened, I stepped away from her. I suddenly remembered the corpses I saw as I tried to go to the Grand Library—perhaps they died from something like the torture Lilia was threatening me with. My eyes stung with tears again, my knees shook in terror.

“Huh, Haru?!” Lilia asked. “Forgive me, I didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted to know the truth, so I thought a little intimidation would help…” she said, softly and soothingly.

I felt a little relieved. I made my decision: with a deep breath, I told Lilia about my being from another world, just as I did with Sonia. “… So that projectile weapon is from my world, it’s called a ‘pistol’,” I finished.

“A different world…” Lilia hums. “Do you have any proof of its existence?”

And Lilia strikes to the heart of my problem. Honestly, I couldn’t think of anything so it’s impossible to answer her properly. After 10 seconds of struggling, I finally admit: “… I have none.”

Lilia listens to and stares at me silently. I stare her back in the eyes. The quiet lasts for ten seconds until Lilia mutters, “… Haaa~, I see. Because I have no other choice, for now, I’ll believe you are from a different world.”

She believed me, however reluctantly. It’s almost as good as if she put her full trust in me. As thanks, I gave her a smile.

“However, there is still the mystery of how the weapons of your world found their way here…” Lilia muttered. “For now, we should just collect them.”

“Got it!” I said.

With the Boss’s pistol already secured, we headed off to the Grand Library.

I thought about the future as we walked through the back alleys under the cover of night.

If what Haruka is saying is true, then she wouldn’t have much fighting experience, let alone any knowledge of the horrors of the aristocracy. I can’t let Haruka join us on this trip, I should go at it alone. I’ll leave for the north before dawn and leave Haruka at the Grand Library.

However, Haruka can’t read the language of this world. And she’ll struggle to find food. She needs someone to watch over her. There are few people in this city that I can trust, and I can’t just call on my disciples to become babysitters. I need someone I can ask…

I looked up to the stars in the night sky and asked them—and oh, there was someone!

With a grin on my face and a gleam in my eye, I remembered the woman who fit the bill perfectly.

“–up. Please get up!” a woman said.

“Ugh…” I groaned as I pulled my blanket over my head, “shut up~!”

“Don’t tell me to shut up! The Director is very angry!” she said. “And I’m on orders to wake-up the girl with short, brown hair sleeping in this room!”

“You’re so loud…” I groaned, “please be quiet…”

“Whatever happens, I will do all in my power to wake you up!” the woman yelled.

Eventually, I got sick of her, and reluctantly got up out of bed. As the fog in my head began to clear, I remembered the events of last night: I’d laid down Sonia on the bed in my room, climbed in beside her, and then fell asleep from exhaustion–

“What time is it?!” I yelled.

The woman quickly explained that Lilia had already left for the northern territories and didn’t take us to keep us out of danger. And here I was so convinced that I was going to be going with her.

“… I see,” I muttered as she finished.

“Now, it’s a longer story than that, but we’ll have to get back to it later!” she said. “The Director is very angry! Hurry up and come with me!”

I figure she means the Grand Library’s director. Its manager, Lilia, just suddenly disappeared without notice, so they were probably angry about that. I don’t know what I was being called to their office instead, but I thought it would be good to go anyway.

“Okay,” I said.

The moment I stepped out of bed, the door slammed open. Standing in the doorway was a masculine woman with short, unkempt red hair, and sharp eyes that would make you want to flee the moment she aimed her gaze at you. With her white coat and the cigar in her mouth, she’s like a military general from that well-known anime “One Beads.”

“Late,” she grunted.

The intimidating General stepped into the room, holding a medium-sized brown paper bag in her hand. With her intimidating appearance, I wondered what she was doing with something so mundane.

“Ah, please forgive me!” the woman from earlier says, scared out of her wits as she bows over and over again.

The masculine woman seems to be the Director. But that dangerous aura radiating from her body… if it weren’t for the woman apologizing profusely beside me, I would have mistaken her as the boss we killed yesterday.

“Wah… what a relief,” I whispered.

“W-Well then, please excuse me, I’m going back to work!” the woman who woke me up said before she fled.

Now, there was only a girl struck by a sleeping curse, an incredibly intimidating woman, and me, a little girl who struggled to communicate. “S-So…” I muttered, “what do you want from me?”

“… Lilia told me to look after you,” she replied.

“O-Oh, is that so…?” I mumbled.

Maybe this intimidating person was someone I could trust. I’m a little relieved to know she’s not angry at me. Then my stomach growled, I blushed and turned my face away in shame.

“Here, breakfast,” the Director said as she pulled something like a cigar from the bag.

“A cigar for breakfast…” I muttered, shocked. Back on earth, some people said, “Tobacco’s just a drink!”, so now I wonder if here “Cigars are just a snack!”

“This isn’t a cigar, it’s a breadstick,” the Director said.

I looked closely, both the sticks in her hand and in her mouth are bread. After all the beautiful breadsticks I’ve seen back on earth, it’s hard for me to recognize this wrinkly, stick-shaped (?) food is one, too.

“I see, thank you,” I said as I took it and bit off the tip. In spite of its terrible appearance, it tasted great, so I just silently ate for a while, let out a happy sigh as after I was full.

Then I remembered something important: “What do we do about Sonia’s food?”

“She’s under a sleeping curse, right?” the Director said. “She doesn’t need food because time’s effectively stopped for her.”

“I see…” I said as I patted my chest. “That’s a relief…”

At the same time, I realized something: if Sonia continues to be under this curse, she may eventually wake up far into the future. She would never grow any older nor would she waste away from lack of nutrition. Is this like the “cryogenic sleep” I’ve seen in science fiction?

Even though this civilization felt like the European Middle Ages, I was amazed at how advanced their technology could be.

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