Chapter 13 – Lost Souls

Ｒｅａ​ｄ ​ｏｎ ＫａｔＲｅａ​ｄｉ​ｎｇＣａｆ​ｅ

I couldn’t count them exactly, but there must’ve been at least ten rabbits in the swarm that had just been wiped out in an instant. However, nothing was left where the rabbits had disappeared.

If I’d defeated them, shouldn’t there be magic stones left equal to the number of rabbits? Or was the flame so powerful that it burned even the magic stones?

As I stared intently at the spot where the rabbits had been, Hosanna asked,

“What are you looking at?”

“Ah, well… I don’t see any magic stones…”

“Magic stones? Of course, there aren’t any. My Lock Point is the 5th floor.”

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

Both Hosanna and I tilted our heads in confusion. Just as I was about to express my confusion over the mismatched conversation, Hosanna let out an exclamation as if he’d just realized something.

“Come to think of it, you’re so ignorant of the world that you didn’t even know me, right?”

“Uh, yes?”

“Alright. Since we’ve met again, let me fill you in on the common knowledge of Novice World.”

“…Novice World?”

“It’s the official name of the place we call the Floating Island. Though, hardly anyone calls it that anymore.”

Then isn’t it fine to just call it the Floating Island? I frowned at Hosanna’s pretentious use of an uncommon term, and he chuckled.

“Anyway, you know that this place has a structure similar to a game, right? You seem like you’ve played games before.”

“Yeah, well…”

“There are skills, and while there’s no direct indication of classes, unique skills essentially determine your class. Oh, by the way, my unique skills are Memorize and Mana Circulation. Both are great for mages.”

Memorize allows you to store spells and use them freely with commands, and Mana Circulation speeds up the recovery of mana used for casting spells. Hearing the explanation, it was clear these skills were tailored for mages.

“And the spell I just used is called Blaze—it’s roughly a level 2 spell… though I guess you wouldn’t know what that means. Just think of it as a spell that’s overkill for the 1st floor.”

“Ah, okay…”

“You don’t seem very interested. Most people who see magic are at least curious, even if they don’t understand it.”

At Hosanna’s words, I averted my gaze.

Of course, the magic Hosanna had used—Blaze—was fascinating. It was magic, after all. Something that could never exist in reality, only in games or anime. Saying I wasn’t interested would be a lie.

But more than that, I felt awkward remembering how I’d lied and run away from Hosanna earlier. Especially since I’d ended up stranded deep in the forest trying to avoid him, only to be rescued by him in the end.

Hosanna tilted his head at my attitude but soon brushed it off and continued.

“Anyway, since you seem to know the basics, let’s go back to your earlier question. In short, it’s because I’m not suited for the 1st floor.”

“Not suited for the 1st floor…?”

“We call it being ‘out of your Lock Point.’”

What’s a Lock Point? Seeing my confused expression, Hosanna smiled and explained.

“Simply put, it’s like this. Your Lock Point is here on the 1st floor. And my Lock Point is down on the 5th floor.”

Hosanna drew a rectangle on the ground with his finger, dividing it into five layers. He wrote ‘Mari’ and ‘1st floor’ at the top and ‘Hosanna’ and ‘5th floor’ much lower.

“If I go up to the 4th floor, it’s considered leaving my Lock Point, so even if I defeat monsters on the 4th floor, they won’t drop magic stones. The same goes for the 3rd, 2nd, and 1st floors.”

However. Hosanna placed his finger on the word ‘Mari’ and moved it down one layer.

“If you go from the 1st floor to the 2nd floor—that is, to the next layer—your Lock Point changes and becomes fixed. So, if you go to the 2nd floor now, you won’t get magic stones from hunting on the 1st floor anymore. You’ll have to hunt on the 2nd floor to get them. That’s why it’s called a Lock Point.”

It’s a play on words, combining ‘rock’ (as in magic stones) and ‘lock’ (as in being restricted). Hosanna looked at me with a smug expression, clearly proud of his wit.

Of course, I ignored that and asked what I was curious about.

“So, can I just stay on the 1st floor and keep hunting?”

“…Hmm. I haven’t tested it, but I think there’s probably a limit to how much gold you can earn. From what I remember when we were summoned, the omnipotent being who summoned us seems to want us to keep going deeper.”

Not getting the reaction he wanted, Hosanna grumbled in a slightly annoyed tone.

Maybe I should’ve acted more surprised. But it wasn’t that interesting. As I blankly shook my head, Hosanna continued.

“Anyway, that’s the explanation for why no magic stones dropped. Next, I have a personal question. Can I ask?”

“Huh? A personal question…?”

“When we met during the day, you said you had something urgent to do, but you were just trying to run away, right?”

“Uh, uh… well…”

H-How did he know? Stunned by the sudden question, I panicked, and Hosanna chuckled.

“Guess you forgot. Even though I look like this, I’m old enough to understand people’s intentions. Though, in this case, it was pretty obvious.”

“I-I’m sorry…”

“Huh? Oh, no need to apologize. I didn’t bring it up to make you apologize. I was just a little disappointed.”

“Ugh… I’m really sorry…”

“It’s fine, really. Sure, I was disappointed when you ran off after I offered to help, but I figured it was just how you are.”

You don’t seem fine at all. I was sweating profusely for a different reason now and glanced around nervously.

It seemed like a verbal apology wouldn’t be enough, so I thought I should show some material sincerity. The only material sincerity I could offer Hosanna right now was, of course, those things.

I opened my inventory and, with trembling hands, dropped the money pouch containing 10,000 gold and the 10 magic stones I’d gotten from hunting rabbits. Hosanna looked intrigued.

“Huh? What’s this? Money and magic stones? Why are you suddenly giving them to me?”

“As an apology… Please accept this and forgive me…”

“What?”

“Th-this is all I have… I can’t give you more…”

Well, it wasn’t all I had. I still had the cracked core worth 30,000 gold. But if I gave that away too, I’d truly have nothing left…!

As I tearfully clutched the core, a bolt of lightning struck my head.

Thwack—!

“Eek!”

“What do you take me for…? Pick that up right now!”

Hosanna lightly tapped my head with a wand slightly longer than his forearm and spoke in a stern voice.

But if I didn’t do this, how else could I earn his forgiveness…? As I hesitated, Hosanna struck my head again with the wand.

“Ow!”

“Why are you hesitating? Hurry up and put it back in your inventory! If you don’t, I’ll hit that useless head of yours again.”

“Eek…!”

I’d already been hit twice; I couldn’t afford a third. Cradling the small bump on my head, I hurriedly scooped up the money pouch and magic stones I’d dropped.

Hosanna finally sighed and tapped my shoulder with the wand.

“You were really scared with that joke.”

“W-Was it a joke…?”

“Yeah. You were so tense, so I thought I’d lighten the mood with a joke. But I never expected you to react like that.”

Hosanna grumbled that if anyone else had been around, I’d have been labeled a complete idiot.

I see. Once again, I acted without thinking and caused trouble.

As I slumped in a depressed mood, I felt something hit my head again. But this time, it wasn’t the wand—it was a gentle hand.

“I’m not angry, and I don’t feel disappointed. So, stop making that face. You look like the world’s ending, kid.”

“…I-I’m an adult, you know.”

“If you’re an adult, then I’m an old man.”

Hosanna snorted, telling me to make sense.

‘I’m really an adult… My birthday passed, so no one can deny I’m a full-fledged adult…’ As I muttered to myself, Hosanna sighed and crouched down to meet my eye level.

“So, why did you run away? I’m not interrogating you; I’m genuinely curious. Did I seem that suspicious?”

“W-Well, it’s not that…”

“Then what?”

“I-I’m just not good with people… It’s not your fault… Ow.”

Hosanna’s palm pressed down on the small bump on my head.

“I asked for a reason, not for you to put yourself down.”

“Ugh…”

I missed Yuika… Remembering the angelic woman who treated me so kindly, I struggled to continue.

“I-I just find it hard to talk to people…”

“That’s all?”

“And when you suddenly offered to help… it felt like too much, so I ran…”

“Wow, I’ve never seen someone run away because I offered to help.”

“Y-Yeah… Haha…”

“…I’m not scolding you, so stop shrinking back.”

Hosanna furrowed his brow slightly but quickly smoothed it out with his fingers and asked in a lighter tone,

“Anyway, I’m glad it wasn’t anything serious. I thought I’d done something wrong.”

“N-No, it’s not like that…”

“Good. Then, do you know the way back to the village?”

“Huh?”

“I’m a bit of a directionally challenged person. No, actually, it’s pretty bad. So, I usually travel with companions, but they all died, so I’m heading back alone.”

I knew that even if you died on the Floating Island, you’d revive at the chapel, but hearing him casually mention that all his companions had died made my brain freeze for a moment.

But I quickly shook my head and answered.

“The way back to the village, you said?”

“Yeah, yeah. The way back to the village.”

“…I don’t know either.”

“Huh? Didn’t you come this deep into the forest on purpose?”

“W-Well, I got carried away while hunting… I ended up here because I fell while trying to climb a tree to find my way…”

“…So, you don’t know the way back, huh?”

“Yeah…”

At my words, Hosanna scratched his head and muttered softly.

“We’re screwed…”

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
X.X

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Girlfailure meets real adult.

Real adult used correction.

It was too effective!