Chapter 39: In memory forever

Hestia stood still, her hand on her chest, as if uncomfortable.

She had her head turned away, so I couldn’t see what expression she was making.

“Hestia-nim? Are you alright?”

“……”

“Hello?”

“Yes… I’m fi-fine……”

“That’s a relief, then.”

When I asked if she was alright out of concern, Hestia replied as curtly as usual.

Her head was still turned away, so I couldn’t tell if she was truly fine.

I decided to stop worrying about her for now and muttered to myself as I looked around, pretending to investigate the space.

“Hmm, this is the first time I’ve seen such a strange space……”

“…I agree.”

Then, Hestia, who had somehow returned to her usual self, carefully approached my side.

I turned my head towards her and asked with a surprised expression.

“Is this your first time in a place like this too, Hestia-nim?”

“Yes, it seems similar to the cosmos I learned about before, but it’s a bit different from the knowledge I possess.”

“Different…?”

“It’s strange that we can breathe here at all. I heard that mortal bodies cannot survive in space. And I heard that space is quite cold……”

A brief explanation of space followed.

Outwardly, I just nodded, pretending to understand, but inwardly, I was a little surprised by Hestia’s unexpectedly knowledgeable demeanor.

Although her knowledge wasn’t perfectly accurate, it was surprising that she knew even what was commonly known.

Usually, people don’t bother to retain such information, considering it useless knowledge.

Arie, for example, thought it would all be unnecessary once she became a Transcendent, so I know she didn’t study such things.

While that’s not entirely wrong, seeing Hestia, who has almost similar conditions, be so knowledgeable, I couldn’t help but feel a slight comparison.

As for Elisha…

I just hope she grows up to be kind.

Anyway, facing Hestia, who had finished her explanation, I clapped my hands and said with a genuinely impressed expression.

“Wow, Hestia-nim, you’re truly amazing! The academy hasn’t even taught us that yet.”

“…Thank you.”

“So, what’s the conclusion?”

“It doesn’t seem like we’ve come to actual cosmic space. It looks more like an illusion or a mirage.”

That’s roughly correct.

Except that it’s closer to a ‘mirror’ than an illusion or mirage.

This place is the interior of an observatory that projects cosmic space…

It can be seen as similar to reflecting a specific location onto the inside of a room full of mirrors.

The slight difference is that the universe reflected here isn’t just a simple shape.

Right now, Hestia and I are inside the observatory, yet simultaneously floating in the middle of space.

In other words, the stars we see here are no different from real stars imbued with the traces of gods.

The same goes for the Outer Gods who might be somewhere far away…

I didn’t call it a surveillance facility for no reason.

It’s truly possible in this observatory.

Of course, to Hestia, who knows nothing, this observatory might just be a tourist attraction showing beautiful sights……

“……More importantly, I have something to say…”

“An illusion… No wonder, I thought it was a bit strange when such a vast space suddenly appeared.”

“……Yes.”

“Then, now we have to figure out how to get out of here… Ah, what did you just say?”

When I asked her first, seeing that she seemed to have something to say, she stammered.

“Well… It’s nothing……”

“……?”

Conversations with Hestia ending abruptly was a common occurrence, so I intended to brush it off this time too.

However, an unexpected remark came out of her mouth.

“I don’t know if it’s okay to say it.”

“Say what?”

“I can’t tell if it was a dream or reality… but I definitely saw something terrifying.”

Hestia parted her lips as if to explain what she had seen, but then she bowed her head deeply and spoke in a small voice.

“I can’t tell you in detail, but there’s definitely something very dangerous in space.”

“Hmm, really? I didn’t see anything in particular, so I wouldn’t know.”

“I actually think that’s fortunate. I hope you… don’t have such a terrifying experience.”

Hestia took a small deep breath and then smiled slightly as she spoke.

“The reason I brought this up is… I want to be honest.”

“Huh?”

“We’re friends, aren’t we? I’m satisfied with that.”

“……”

Our eyes met, and I couldn’t say anything.

“Then, shall we now search for a way to escape this space together?”

Hestia then gently extended her hand to me…

She was smiling brighter than ever before.

****

Exiting the observatory was very easy.

Just as one could enter the observatory by jumping into any direction of the rotating structure, similarly, one could exit it by walking in any direction.

Since the space wasn’t distorted or warped, there was no need to wander for a long time.

After discussing with Hestia, we decided to just walk through this space.

It was a moment where my subtle trickery shone.

“Hestia-nim, what do you think about this place?”

“What do you mean…?”

Hestia tilted her head.

I subtly tried to probe her, asking.

“Oh, nothing… Just your impressions or thoughts. I think this place is really beautiful. The stars are pretty, aren’t they? Hestia-nim… Did you have a bad experience, so you don’t like it much?”

“…I don’t know why you’re asking that, but……”

Hestia pondered for a moment, then began to look around.

Numerous stars reflected in her golden eyes, emitting a beautiful light.

The Transcendent’s sight, which I thought was temporary, had been reactivated.

I couldn’t know what her eyes were seeing or what she was feeling, but one thing was certain.

“I quite like this place.”

Hestia seemed to genuinely like this place.

That’s why I felt a little sad.

As the designer and creator of the observatory, I knew I could never set foot here again… which made it even more so.

This sight, seen with Hestia, would forever remain only in our memories.

– Kugugugugu…!!!

The vibrations and loud noises grew louder as we approached the invisible exit.

It was a sound from another dimension that she, whose sight had just reached transcendence, could never hear, but I heard it clearly.

The ruins were collapsing.

I didn’t know how long the observatory’s false night sky and ceiling would last, but to escape before being buried in the collapsing ruins, I had to run immediately.

……That is, if Hestia, whose entire attention was focused on the hand she held, would snap out of it first.

This woman probably doesn’t even realize that the situation is urgent…

Recognition.

[One step is two steps, two steps are four steps.]

Perception.

[No abnormality can be felt in the change of distance.]

I secretly folded space a couple of times without Hestia noticing.

As we got closer to the outer edge of the observatory, the presence of the invisible wall became even clearer.

“Hmm…?”

Hestia flinched and reacted, perhaps feeling it too as the distance shortened.

“There’s something ahead.”

“Is there? I don’t see anything…”

“…It definitely wasn’t there, but it seems to have suddenly appeared……”

“……”

“Hmm, it must be my imagination after all.”

…Was I almost caught just now…?

I thought that if I had twisted the perception just a little more unnaturally, Hestia might have noticed something strange.

I inwardly sighed in relief and paid homage to her ridiculously high-performance senses.

Perhaps it was the effect of observing the stars in the observatory, but her growing talent was becoming frightening by the day.

“I’ll go closer first. It might be dangerous, so please wait behind me……”

“Don’t do that, let’s just go together.”

“…Understood.”

As if she had half given up on persuading me, Hestia just nodded and stayed close by my side.

This time too, my protection seemed to be her priority, but what she worried about would not happen.

– Whoosh!

A strong light enveloped me and Hestia.

“Careful…!”

As she gasped in surprise and took a defensive stance, we realized that we had exited the observatory.

This was because the sight of structures, not a space akin to an empty void, came into view.

Hestia’s eyes widened, and she opened her mouth.

“This is…?”

“Oh? It seems we’ve finally gotten out of that strange place, haven’t we?”

“…That’s a relief. Then, let’s rest for a moment……”

Hestia sighed in relief and put away her holy sword…

However, without even a moment’s rest, the anomaly began.

– Crash!!!

The night sky shattered.

The night sky covering the huge room was falling in many pieces, like a shattered mirror.

In the end, it was just a fake night sky, a mere illusion.

“What the…”

– Kugugugugu…!!!

Before Hestia could say anything, a huge tremor arrived.

The structures lost their balance and began to collapse one by one.

I tightly grabbed Hestia’s frozen wrist and shouted loudly.

“Run!!!”

We quickly escaped from the ruins.