episode_0223

222.

“Ugh, it’s so damp… I feel awful…”

“What can you do~? We gotta enjoy it~.”

Even though they were huddled together in the middle, completely avoiding the rain was impossible. The dark sky continued to unleash a torrential downpour. Hannah, suppressing the urge to wash herself immediately, was taking shelter from the rain with everyone else in the teahouse.

Erina quietly sipped her tea, a subtle smile playing on her lips. Despite the smile, a multitude of complex thoughts swirled in her mind. It seemed she had met someone, just like this, while sipping tea… She was on edge, worried about her colleagues’ safety.

‘I have no idea when or where they’ll appear…. And it’s highly likely that they were the ones who leaked the information…’

As if oblivious to her anxieties, the rain clouds unleashed thunder.

“Goodness. This damn rain. How many days has it been?”

“Don’t even get me started. Damn it… the harvest is ruined.”

Amidst the bustling atmosphere of the teahouse, snippets of conversation sharply pierced Erina’s ears. Erina excused herself to her colleagues, and gently approached a nearby table.

“Excuse me. My name is Erina. As you can see, I’m a nun…”

“A nun? It does seem like there are a lot more religious people lately, but what business do you have, nun?”

“I overheard you talking about the rain… it’s been raining continuously. Has it been raining here for a long time?”

“You must be from out of town. Well, a lot of strange things have been happening around here lately.”

Two middle-aged women, appearing quite friendly, readily engaged her in conversation.

“Strange things?”

“That’s right. Around the time the rain started—”

“Girl, stop it. We don’t really know enough to explain it all, and it’s not polite to tell the nun such strange things, is it?”

“You’re right. I was about to say something silly.”

Erina maintained her gentle smile.

“To be precise, some strange ruins appeared nearby, it’s been raining for a week now, you see.”

“Ruins…”

A chilling sensation settled in her chest. She instinctively felt that Pikki was there. Simultaneously, a visceral revulsion washed over her, threatening to make her vomit.

“Thank you. Have a nice afternoon♡”

Erina gave a bright greeting, then turned away and let out a light sigh. Recalling the horrific creature she had seen, the physiological disgust it evoked, made her feel like the tea she had drunk would come rushing back up. She took a deep breath and returned to her colleagues.

“Pikki-ssi is definitely here. It might be connected to this rain. I don’t think we can wait for it to stop.”

“Where is she?”

Levi’s usually playful, mischievous expression turned serious. Age had certainly changed him in some ways.

“I didn’t ask specifically, but they said there are suspicious ruins nearby.”

“Ruins…!”

Hannah’s face paled for a moment, then returned to normal. While it was called ruins due to its antiquated atmosphere, it was a misnomer. The architectural style was unlike anything in this world, but it was familiar to Hannah—it was from her world.

The ruins she had encountered so far were all research facilities. What they researched was still a mystery, but unlike her encounter with Pikki, she wasn’t completely defenseless.

…wasn’t, but…

“I left my jamming device back…”

“Oh… I told you to check before we left.”

“I, I’m sorry. I was careless…. But… I still remember the design, so I can make one. If I have the materials.”

“Okay. Then let’s make it and move immediately. We can investigate the ruins at the same time. Let’s find accommodation first.”

It wasn’t so much that she forgot as that she had become numb. Years had passed, and cracks had begun to appear in her response methods. Levi didn’t scold her further; he volunteered to find lodgings. Due to the week-long rain, accommodations were surprisingly abundant. There were no triple rooms, but they decided to stay in a double room temporarily. They would not unpack. They needed to be able to move at any time.

“What materials do we need? I’ll go get them.”

Hannah explained the necessary materials, and Levi nodded vigorously.

“Levi, if you’re not sure, I’ll buy them. I’ll leave the questioning to you.”

“Haha. I feel sheepish. Caught me? I only seem to be getting older~.”

“Hush. No talking about age. I’m still young at heart…”

“It’s amazing that Aries still seems so young….

Just as they began to chatter, everyone stopped short. It was not the time to idle. Hannah cleared her throat several times to gather everyone’s attention.

“It feels a bit bad just waiting… I think we should do something.”

“Hey, Hannah-ssi, working that hard will make you collapse. If you’re really bored, why don’t you chat with the innkeeper?”

“Wait, is it all right for us to split up like this? It’s raining so hard….”

Levi’s point was valid. They had no idea what their enemy, Pikki, would do or where. She was a being like an abyss, to whom the concept of skills didn’t even apply. Even if it was only for a couple of hours, splitting up would increase the risk.

“Come to think of it, we were all scattered that time too.”

“Ugh, it was completely dark… I don’t even want to think about it, even though it was years ago…”

For Hannah, who had no abilities, it was particularly agonizing. It was fortunate her colleagues quickly regrouped, but the feeling of facing the grotesque creature occasionally haunted her dreams. Nevertheless, she had followed Erina, it was her kind of courage. She had considered the worst-case scenario, but she wanted to be even more helpful to Erina. She still considered research and development a hobby. She was already helping enough, but the more time passed, the more she wanted to serve Erina, even more.

She faintly realized that feeling was love, but Erina’s affections seemed to be for everyone. It wasn’t something she could monopolize. She had to cling to be loved a little more.

Oh, I want to have children like Levi. She had already let go of her previous world. All she wanted was to be loved by Erina, to help her.

“Well, let’s move separately. If she wanted to attack, she probably would have done it before we even reached here. It doesn’t seem like she wants to settle things here.”

“Hannah. Keep that pistol close. So you can use it at any time.”

“Alright. …Let’s be careful, everyone.”

The group looked at each other and nodded. Each took one of the umbrellas provided by the inn and dispersed according to their individual plans. The fragile umbrellas offered little protection against the downpour, but they were their only support.

Hannah sighed and took the pistol from her bag. Of course, she had tested it thoroughly. She’d never used a real firearm before, but she had recreated it with over 90% accuracy. While she hadn’t perfected every detail, magical technology enhanced it in some aspects.

Even though she had installed a safety mechanism to keep it from going off accidentally while in her pocket, just having it there made her nervous.

‘Ammo….Should I load mana bullets, or gunpowder bullets…’

Aries’s magic seemed to have been ineffective against the grotesque creatures, but mana bullets were far more powerful. But there was no guarantee there would be more of those creatures.

‘I’ll stay up all night pondering this…. Ugh, even with age, I still can’t fix this habit…’

She knew it was a bad habit, yet it was hard to shake. After agonizing over it, Hannah decided on gunpowder bullets. Carefully placing it inside her clothes, she secured it tightly so it wouldn’t fall out.

“Ugh…”

It was light, but she felt its weight. The tense weight brought on a moan. She mentally reviewed the jamming device’s design. It would be a crude contraption given the materials, but she reviewed the principles once more. Luckily, it was purely mechanical equipment so she didn’t need Aries’s help.

Following Erina’s suggestion, she decided to talk to the innkeeper first. She was not confident in her conversational skills, and was introverted, preferring solitude; but age had taught her how to wear a mask. A crude, cheap mask, but a psychological mask that provided some measure of comfort.

She carefully closed her room door of the inn and went downstairs.

The innkeeper was still sitting at the counter, with a vacant expression. A woman in her fifties, with deep wrinkles that visibly exhibited ill will, she was the type Hannah didn’t want to talk to. She should at least try considering she had been kind to the customers.

“Excuse me.”

“Yes? Oh, guest. Is something bothering you?”

“Oh…. It’s not like that. I wanted to hear about what’s going on around here. It seems like it’s raining, raining so hard…”

“Well, perhaps it’s the goddess’s wrath. Because of this, no one comes, and business is terrible … But I shouldn’t say that to a customer.”

Hannah couldn’t look her in the eyes, fidgeting nervously and forcing the conversation onward. Since she only communicated with people she knew, even with a mask, she found it difficult.

“Is there… any, any rumors…?”

“…Why do you ask? Considering you’re here with a nun, you don’t seem to be looking for money. Nor a tourist…”

Hannah felt she might nearly collapse if she relaxed her guard. With difficulty, she managed to squeeze out some words to continue the conversation, but she gained no useful information. Even when she asked about the ruins, the only response was the denial of their existence.