CH 3.3

CHAPTER 3 – PRAYER AND BETRAYAL

PART 03

——

I bid goodnight to Tetra and began to wander around the temple again.

Actually, I’d gone back to see how Satsuki and Harissa were doing, but I’d found a handwritten note stuck onto the door.

“Rekka, please decide who you want to sleep with.”

Peeking inside, I saw that both of them had taken up one bed each…and I ran. That was a normal reaction, right?

“Rekka’s so chicken that my stress level is as high as an ultra volcano.”

R drifted from my right to my left, then back to the right again, spouting nonsensical lines that somehow still made sense, as I continued walking. Damn it. I was really getting tired.

“Argh! I think I’ll just sleep here, in the corridor.”

“Do whatever you like.”

The girl floating in midair replied coldly to my grumbling… Was she really that pissed off that I hadn’t chosen a girl to sleep beside? But the thought of sleeping beside a girl on such a narrow bed was just too unimaginable. I didn’t think I’d be able to sleep a wink.

*biriririririri-biriririririri*

“Huh?”

Why was my mobile phone ringing so deep underground?

Mystified, I pulled my phone out from my pocket and glanced at the display…but instead of the usual caller’s number, the screen showed a strange series of what appeared to be hieroglyphics.

“…Is it malfunctioning?”

“Maybe it’s a prank call?”

“No no, even if it’s a prank call, it shouldn’t be displaying the number as hieroglyphs.”

I decided to ignore it, but the phone continued to ring, with no sign of going on to voicemail… Left with no choice, I answered the call.

“…Hello?”

[Hello!? Rekka! Are you still alive!?]

Iris’ shrill voice sounded out from the phone. Somehow, it felt like a long time since I’d last spoken to her.

“Iris? Where are you calling from? My phone is displaying some weird hieroglyphs.”

[From Phenerita! I begged Papa to design a phone for me that can call anyone from anywhere in the universe, so I can speak to Rekka anytime I want!]

Alien technology was really amazing, but I doubted my phone would be able to store such a number, so Iris would be the only one able to connect the call.

[I’ve gathered all the latest healthcare technology in the universe here with me! I’ve even got an enor———mous injection needle used by the largest alien monsters! A monster so large it can swallow a planet will be healed just by a single injection from this needle! So don’t die just yet, Rekka!]

But I’d probably get a fatal wound after getting jabbed by such a needle…

“Wait, I’m actually-”

[Alright, I’m heading back to Earth right now! Wait for me!]

*Clack! tuu… tuu…*

“She didn’t even try to listen to what I had to say…”

“Well, at least she knows that you’re alright, since you picked up her call. She was probably so worried for you. How loved you must feel…”

“Whatever…”

Turning away from the teasing R, I continued strolling along…until the idea to visit the “sealed space” at the back of the temple suddenly came to mind.

Not that I was ready to do anything, but I was just curious about the whole thing.

However, when I reached the “sealed space”, I found someone already there.

“Hello, Namidare Rekka.”

“Baa-kun.”

It was the disgustingly-cute chibi fairy.

He was floating right before the large door leading to the “sealed space”, ears flapping, an unsettling smile upon his face.

Was it normal for a magical girl’s mascot to show such an expression? Wait, not that I was a magical girl in the first place…

“What are you doing?”

“Hmm? Oh, nothing much. Just thinking about stuff.”

I could tell that he was lying, but maybe the thought of tomorrow’s impending battle of revenge he’d been anticipating for billions of years was really weighing heavily on his mind.

I walked up to stand beside him, gazing up at the door.

It was really enormous.

The “sealed space” seemed to stretch upwards forever, with no sign of stopping at the temple’s ceiling as it reared right up to the top of the cavern, giving the sense that most of the “space” was located out of the temple.

Compared to the rest of the temple, the carvings and decorations upon the door were boorish, and cracked in several places. Rumbling sounds issued forth continuously from behind the door, as if the seal was slowly being destroyed.

Tomorrow, we would cross this door and enter the “sealed space”.

“By the way, I’ve been wondering about something.”

“What is it?”

“Why did you choose me to help you exterminate the ‘monster’?”

It was a simple question, but I just couldn’t come up with a satisfactory answer on my own.

At first, I wondered if it was because defeating the “Monster of Haishin” was a common goal for us, but that didn’t feel right. Aside from the “Namidare Lineage”, I was a perfectly normal person. Baa-kun could have literally chosen anyone else to take my place.

However, Baa-kun just laughed, as if mocking me for not being able to figure out the obvious.

“I’ve decided on you ever since you defeated the strongest and most infamous wizard, Messiah Candystraps.”

“Huh? Since I defeated Messiah?”

The sudden mention of the name of the wizard who gave me such a bitter experience was a shock.

“Wait a second. Since when did that even start spreading like a rumor? Neither Satsuki and I have told anyone about it, and Messiah doesn’t seem like the sort of man to go around telling everyone about his defeat.”

“That’s the wizard world for you. Messiah may be an especially prominent figure, but there are lots of other magicians who are great at magic too. As for the fact that Satsuki is the successor to the ‘Great Magic of Creation’, I’m the only one who knows that, so you needn’t worry.”

It seemed like Baa-kun had caught wind of the rumor of Messiah’s defeat and had done his own research into the battle, thus unearthing the knowledge about Satsuki and the “Great Magic of Creation”.

Besides, knowledge of the “Great Magic of Creation” had been well protected with spells throughout the eras, so I guess only a creature as “perfect” and insanely powerful as Bahamut could know about it.

Which meant that there was still a low possibility that other wizards had learnt about the “Magic”.

That was a relief…but I needed to correct this huge misunderstanding Baa-kun seemed to have.

“You may not believe this, Baa-kun…but I’m really not a powerful wizard like Messiah.”

“No need to be so humble. Messiah is a powerful wizard that I’d rather not face off in a one-on-one battle myself, so an ordinary person would definitely not have been able to defeat him.”

“But I am ordinary.”

I then proceeded to share the story of how I managed to defeat Messiah with Baa-kun.

“…So you pretended that the meteor the aliens fired at you was actually your own magic’s doing?”

“Yes. I’m really just an ordinary guy with no magic or superpowers. Can’t you tell just by looking at me?”

It was true. Messiah had known that I could wield no magic the moment he laid eyes on me.

“Being able to sense magical ability and strength in others is a kind of auxiliary magic… Since my magic is mostly geared towards the offensive type, I can’t utilize that sort of auxiliary magic.”

“I see.”

That’s right. That was why he’d asked me if I could wield long-range offensive magic when we’d first met. I’d initially thought that he was just joking with me, but it seemed like he really didn’t possess magic of that sort.

“Alright… So you’re just an ordinary human.”

I shuddered at the tone of his voice, as an icy feeling trailed down my spine.

I turned to face Baa-kun… The elephant fairy was still showing me that disgustingly-cute smile, but it felt more sinister than ever before.

“What’s wrong, Rekka?”

“It’s nothing…”

Was it just me?

I wasn’t fully convinced, but I decided not to pursue the issue for now. Right at that moment,

Suddenly, an earthquake shook, and the door to the “sealed space” started to shudder.