episode_0113

000

The disaster passes and the sun, which has risen again, shines brightly on a holiday morning.

Aruru, sitting at her desk with the sunlight streaming in from outside behind her, adds her signature to Kleon’s documents, which have gathered the consent of other department heads during the week.

The signature, `Aruru Trommeia`, is written in neat cursive.

Three days had already passed in the Kleons’ fight to reclaim this name.

“With this, the document preparation is complete. If you go to Bitos’s warehouse and show them this file, they will lend you the `Stone Key`.”

Aruru herself appeared unharmed in that fight, but it was later revealed that she had suffered considerable internal injuries from forcibly regaining her memories due to Arondite.

Even so, it probably wasn’t as bad as Kleon, who was wrapped in bandages all over his body and looked like a mummy.

Kleon, too, had received `treatment` from Lyla and Beatrice for three days afterward, and his body was completely recovered.

Aruru was also informed that it was to deliver the medicine for Aruru’s treatment manufactured by Lyla.

As the daughter of the kingdom’s highest noble family, she also had her own personal physician.

However, at Aruru’s request to prioritize those in the academy who were injured in the previous battle, he had no choice but to leave the mansion to treat ordinary students instead of his own master.

In addition, Lyla, as a magician, was likely to have a better solution for internal injuries related to magic power, which are not ordinary injuries.

“Still, it’s amazing. If this many department heads were willing to sign, you could borrow other artifacts besides the `Stone Key`.”

“I know the dangers of the artifacts in Bitos’s warehouse well from the previous runaway incident…. As long as I can borrow only what I need, I don’t mind.”

“Hehe. You’re not greedy, Kleon.”

As Aruru watches Kleon casually brush off her words, she smiles and sips the warm black tea placed on her desk.

Then, after exhaling a warm breath, she looks at Kleon and says,

“I sent a letter with detailed information to my father, and he replied right away.”

The image of Percis Trommeia comes to Kleon’s mind. His appearance, having been outsmarted by Aruru at the restaurant before, was unmistakably that of a daughter-obsessed father.

“…What did Lord Percis say?”

“He was going to hold the Academy Council accountable, but my mother stopped him, so he gave up…. Instead, he wants you to take Kleon to the mansion in the royal capital next time. He wants to see you again, I suppose. How about it? Once things here are done….”

Her father is a hero who saved the kingdom with Lesia in the past.

Kleon didn’t want to be rude or disrespectful to him, so he nodded awkwardly.

“Hehe. Thank you. My father must be looking forward to it too. Ah, and….”

She said, taking something out of her drawer and handing it directly to Kleon.

It was a document prepared at the Academy’s Head Council meeting, with various schedules written on it.

“Recently, bad things have been happening at the academy, right? So, it’s a bit early, but there’s talk of having an academy festival. It will last for three days…. The heads have to manage their respective departments on the first and second days, so they don’t have any free time.”

Kleon nods as he listens.

He didn’t know how long he, as a temporary instructor, would be able to stay at this academy, but he had heard about the academy festival from Lyla.

She said it was such a big festival that the whole academy was buzzing, so she used to hate it.

“So… could you spend the third day with me?”

Kleon nods, saying he doesn’t mind, but asks her a question that suddenly comes to mind.

“That’s fine, but… there’s still some time until the festival, right?”

“It’s a little underhanded, but I feel like if I don’t reserve Kleon first, I’ll be snatched away quickly. The ordinary students and Lyla don’t know about the festival yet.”

“Ah, that girl. She’s been at the mansion for the past few days, so she hasn’t attended the heads’ meeting, huh.”

“For me, it’s fortunate that I can secretly secure Kleon like this, though.”

At Aruru’s words, Kleon scratches his cheek a little shyly, and Aruru smiles with amusement, bringing her hand to her mouth.

…It was the same as Aruru before the incident, with no different appearance.

“…Aruru. About Rail-”

“…Yeah. I’m trying to sort out my feelings as much as possible…. Actually, my father sent a letter from Rail’s father with his letter, but…. I haven’t opened it yet.”

Aruru makes a slightly sad face, but forces a bitter smile, as if trying to shake it off somehow.

“It’s okay. Thank you for your concern.”

“…Okay.”

Kleon says that, then says he should probably go to the warehouse to borrow the `Stone Key`, and says goodbye to Aruru, but Aruru follows him, saying she’ll see him off since he came all the way here.

Opening the front door and going out into the mansion’s yard, they see Sasha playing with a large dog.

It was the one Aruru was raising that he saw when he came in, a gentle-looking dog with golden fur, like its owner.

“Ah! Mr. Kleon! Ms. Aruru!”

Sasha turns to Kleon and Aruru, her beast ears perked up and twitching.

Aruru’s dog, held in her arms, barked at the two of them.

“Thank you, Sasha. For playing with Howl. It seems like he was incredibly lonely while I was gone.”

“No problem! This child is really smart and energetic…!”

“I’ve raised him since he was a puppy. My father wanted to raise a hunting dog, but I liked this child better.”

Kleon watched Aruru pat her dog’s head from a short distance away.

Kleon’s gaze was especially focused on Sasha’s tail and ears.

In the end, they didn’t find a way to undo her curse inside the academy.

Instead, the good news was that Ruben’s alter ego inside her became aware and coexisted with Sasha, suppressing the curse’s progress and allowing her to draw out stronger power.

…If she has to live like that for the rest of her life, Sasha is-

“Mr. Kleon…?”

Sasha called out to Kleon, perhaps conscious of Kleon’s gaze.

“Ah. It’s nothing… Let’s go, Sasha. Lyla must be waiting for us to bring the `Stone Key`.”

“Yes! Goodbye, Howl. See you again!”

Saying that, Sasha’s tail, following Kleon’s behind, was wagging like Howl’s when he was in a good mood.

001

“So this is inside Bitos’s warehouse…! It’s full of very old things.”

The warehouse, which had once been a mess due to the runaway artifacts, was restored as quickly as possible in the academy thanks to the great care taken in storing the items.

The Chaos Gem, which Sasha cut and dropped with her dagger, had become docile and was sealed in a golden box.

In addition, the magic book, which was trapped inside the barrier by Lyla and Beatrice and didn’t play any role, was quietly placed on its dedicated bookshelf as if it had never run wild.

Sasha looked around with a tense expression, as if nervous in a place full of things she had never seen before.

Kleon walked in front of Sasha, looking for the Stone Key’s location on the map he had received.

The guard he met at the entrance recognized Kleon before he could even say his name and asked to shake his hand, saying he had saved him.

When he showed him the file with the head’s signature, he nodded and handed him the internal structure diagram of the warehouse where he could find the Stone Key inside.

“Sasha. Try not to stray too far. And don’t touch the items in the warehouse if you can help it.”

When Kleon, worried about Sasha, said that, Sasha flinched in surprise, puffed out her cheeks a little, and looked at Kleon.

“I, I know that much too…. Mr. Kleon sometimes treats me too much like a child, you know?”

Of course, he said it for Sasha’s curious and pure sake, but it seemed like Kleon was treating Sasha like a child to her.

It’s something that can happen to girls of that age, so he just brushes it off.

Most of the artifacts in the warehouse seemed to have found their original locations, but he was also told that this structural diagram was from before the incident, so the locations might be slightly different.

Still, as the guard said, almost all of the artifacts were in the same locations as in the picture.

The only thing that stood out was the black steel golem- no, armor- that should have been in the center of the warehouse.

`Enkidu` was missing.

After the incident was over, Enkidu, whose front was completely destroyed, was dismantled into pieces by the Department of Theology, the Department of Magic Tools, and the Department of Magic.

Similarly, it was melted using the artifact called `Vulcanus’s Furnace`, which contains lava that melts everything inside Bitos’s warehouse.

As a result, it turned into an unstable, pitch-black substance that couldn’t be recycled.

He had heard from Kuon that the head of the Department of Theology had stopped the Department of Magic Tools from coveting it and purified it as it was.

“The Stone Key is on the third display case west of the center…”

As Kleon muttered that and walked through the aisles of the warehouse, he arrived in front of the display case he had mentioned.

But what was there was not a stone key, but a mirror with an ornate gold frame and decorated with jewels.

“…No matter how you look at it, this is not the Stone Key of Tris Megistus… is it.”

As Kleon frowned, Sasha, who was behind him, followed him with quick steps and looked at the mirror with Kleon.

“It’s very pretty…. Is this also an ancient artifact?”

“That’s Lewis’s Mirror. An artifact.”

Suddenly, a voice came from behind, and when Kleon and Sasha turned around.

There stood a blonde female student with a blue ribbon on her head, wearing the academy’s special uniform, similar to the guards outside.

“…Are you also a guard of the warehouse?”

“Yes. My name is Alice. You’re Instructor Kleon, right?”

As expected, Kleon sighed slightly at her reaction, knowing his name.

“…Everyone knows my name.”

“Hehe. Isn’t it a good thing? Fame is something that most people want but can’t have.”

“That may be true for those who want it. I just don’t want it.”

When Kleon finished speaking, Sasha pointed at the mirror and asked Alice.

“What kind of artifact is that?”

“It’s an artifact that contains the world of mirrors. They say you can experience strange things if you go inside….”

Sasha tilted her head at Alice’s words, and Kleon made a slightly disgusted expression.

“The world of mirrors… inside…? It’s another strange object. I’m sorry, but we’re looking for the `Stone Key of Tris Megistus`. Could you tell me where it is?”

When Kleon said that, Alice made a slightly troubled face and said.

“Ah…. If it’s that. That mirror swallowed it. During the recent incident.”

“…What?”

At Alice’s words, Kleon felt a momentary dizziness.

“That mirror is mischievous, so it often swallows things it likes. It seems that it swallowed the Stone Key as well when it became active due to the runaway influence and swallowed various things.”

“…Are you joking?”

Alice just smiled at Kleon’s question.

That expression made it impossible to tell whether what she was saying was true or a joke.

“It’s okay. It’ll spit it out after a while.”

“How long will it take?”

“About a month…?”

“H, a month!? So, we can’t use the Stone Key until then…?”

Lyla said in surprise, but Kleon also didn’t have time to wait a month.

There was also the story about what was happening in the royal capital that he had heard from Iona.

“…If you don’t want to wait, you can go inside and find it.”

“Are you talking about the world of mirrors…? Does that really exist?”

When Kleon spoke in disgust at Alice’s words, she just smiled.

“Haa…. I don’t like that it seems like things are going according to your plan, but. I don’t sense any malice, and it doesn’t seem like you’re lying.”

As Kleon said that, he reached out to the mirror.

Then, surprisingly, the mirror became large enough for Kleon to pass through, and the glass accepted Kleon’s hand as if it were the surface of water.

“…Can you really go inside?”

Kleon himself was slightly surprised and put his arm in, and it was being sucked in endlessly.

“M, Mr. Kleon!?”

When Sasha raised her voice in surprise at the sight, Kleon turned his head and said to Sasha.

“I’ll go and find it for a moment. Sasha, stay here.”

“Wait a minute!? I’ll go with you too!”

When Sasha grabbed Kleon’s arm, which hadn’t gone in yet, Kleon hesitated slightly but soon shook his head.

“No. What if the inside is a dangerous place?”

“Then I should go with you even more…! I’m a hunter, you know. Tracking paths and targets is my specialty.”

Sasha still didn’t give in to his insistence. Kleon sighed slightly as he looked at her eyes filled with firm determination and nodded.

“…Okay. But don’t stray from my side.”

“…Really, you treat me too much like a child, you know…?”

Saying that, Sasha took Kleon’s hand and put her body inside the mirror together.

Alice, who was watching the scene, closed her eyes in front of the mirror and hummed, waiting for the two to return when they had completely entered the mirror.

002

When they passed through the mirror, their vision was completely enveloped in light once.

Their sense of balance became strange, and they were filled with the feeling of free-falling from the sky.

With a loud thud, Kleon, who had entered first, fell face down on the bottom, and something a little heavy fell on top of him.

“Ugh…. That hurts. Suddenly falling like that….”

Sasha’s voice was heard from somewhere. Was it above? Was it to the right?

Whatever it was, Kleon was relieved that she was nearby and tried to lift what was on top of him and move it away, using the push-up position.

“W, wait a minute!? W, wat…! Mr. Kleon!”

When Sasha’s flustered voice was heard, it automatically moved to the side, and Kleon felt his body lighten and got up.

The surrounding scenery was full of bushes and trees, as if they had entered the inside of a forest.

Kleon sighed and wiped his hands.

Suddenly, he realized that something was wrong and looked down at his hand.

It was too small compared to his original hand.

Also, his eye level was low, and he was wearing the clothes he wore as a child.

“…Haa…”

He could guess the reason.

It must be because he entered the inside of this strange world. He guessed he was about 10 years younger.

“Sasha, be careful. It seems like I’ve gotten younger-”

As Kleon said that and turned his head, there was a woman of a similar height to him, even though she was kneeling on the ground.

Her hair was the color of a burning sunset, similar to orange. And striking emerald eyes.

Her limbs were slender yet elongated, like an elf.

Her moderately full breasts were neither too much nor too little.

The most striking thing was, of course, the tail that sprouted from above her head and from her buttocks.

She looked to be in her mid-20s, a beautiful woman who combined cheerful healthiness with adult charm.

“…Sasha?”

“M, Mr. Kleon…!? Wh, what’s going on!? What is that appearance!?”

Her voice was a little more mature, but it was definitely the voice of the girl who had been talking to him just now.

It was as if Kleon’s age had been taken away by Sasha.

Fortunately, the clothes Sasha was wearing had also grown to fit her age and grown body.

Along with the blue cloak given to adventurers with the title of `Master Bow`, which is worn by the highest-ranking hunters recognized in the royal capital, various decorations and parts had been added to the light armor she wore when she lived in the city.

It was an outfit suitable for a dignified veteran adventurer.

“It must be because we came into this world….”

“Th, then…. Is it because I followed you? I, I’m sorry…!”

Sasha made a pale face and looked like she was about to cry, but Kleon reached out and patted her head.

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault, it’s because this world is strange….”

“It’s rude to call it strange, mirror!”

When Kleon turned around at the shrill voice coming from behind.

There was a strange object floating there, similar in shape to the `Lewis’s Mirror` that he used to enter this place from outside, with arms and legs and a dandy mustache on the glass part.

“Are you the manager of this world?”

“Hmph. You’re easy to talk to, mirror. I am the manager of this mirror, created by my master. `Manager Mirror`, mirror.”

“…You’re really naming things haphazardly.”

The mirror harrumphed again at Kleon’s impression.

“Excuse me, Mr. Manager Mirror? We came to find the Stone Key of Tris Megistus. Do you know about it?”

“Stone Key? Ah. You mean that stone key, mirror? I certainly have it because this mirror swallowed it at will a while ago when it moved, but….”

“It seems like what that woman said was true. Give it back.”

As Kleon nodded and said that, the manager mirror said.

“Of course, I don’t mind giving it back. But how do you plan to get out of here, mirror?”

“…What? …If we go out the way we came in-”

“You’re an idiot, mirror. I am the only mirror in this world, mirror. And you need my permission to get out of this world, mirror.”

At the mirror’s words, Kleon felt a headache and held his forehead.

“W, won’t you allow us?”

When Sasha asked that, the mirror thought about something for a while. It seemed to be looking at Sasha and Kleon.

“Mirrors cannot leave unless they solve the trial according to the master’s conditions, mirror. I can supervise the trial and let people pass through, mirror.”

“What’s the trial?”

When Kleon asked that, the mirror flicked its finger.

Then, the surrounding scenery, like a forest, disappeared in an instant, and changed to the appearance of a room with a bed.

And only a large steel door existed as an entrance to get out of this room.

There was something like a sign attached to it…. A pen flying on its own wrote the following phrase on the sign.

[You cannot leave this room unless two people connect through their hearts and have sex.]

“… …”

“… …”

“This is the trial, mirror.”