/
Chapter 375 – Setting Sail Towards the Future
Setting Sail Towards the Future
A week had passed since the ship sailed. Bathing in the warm sunlight, Hikaru watched the sea and yawned.
『Sup, youngster. Looking grim.』
『Selica.』
Leaning against the railing, Selica faced Hikaru. A breeze tousled her long black hair. There was no one around, so they could speak in Japanese without problems.
The ship was moving away from the now-peaceful Grand Dream, where a new dungeon had been discovered. There were few passengers on board.
『Where’s your girlfriend?』
『You mean Lavia? Seasick, as always. Paula’s with her. What about your friends?』
『Selyse and Sarah are playing some chess-like board game. Sophie’s the referee.』
『Do you even need a referee for chess?』
『Apparently. The rules are so complicated, I don’t even want to learn it.』
Selica threw her head back over the railing, exposing her white throat.『You should be more careful.』
『About what?』
『You called me in Japanese while I was talking to Hazuki.』
Hikaru was posing as Silver Face that time. Indeed, he called out in Japanese by accident.
『I don’t really care who you are, but I won’t forgive you if you cause trouble for Lavia and Paula.』
『I don’t follow… I don’t even know what you’re talking about.』
『That’s fine. Just keep feigning ignorance. If you’re going to deceive others, you better go all-out. Anything less and I’ll whoop your ass. Lavia’s great at casting Spirit Magic, right? Maybe that’s why I feel some sort of intimacy with her. Like I want to talk about Spirits with her all night long.』
『Sounds like a pain… But I appreciate the advice.』
Hikaru meant it. He had to hide the fact that he was Silver Face. Otherwise, there would be too much trouble.
『You know what?』Selica muttered.『In that short amount of time, I told Hazuki about you. That you were in this world too.』
『What did she say?』
Selica chuckled.『She said that’s just like you.』
『Just like me?』
What did she mean by that?
『Yeah. My parents and sister were so surprised to see me and they started crying. Although a year had passed in Japan since I disappeared, they believed it was me.』
I’m surprised you came back, Hikaru thought.
Hikaru and the others stayed right next to the rift for less than half a day, and Selica returned. Any later and the rift would’ve closed, preventing her from coming back.
Selica planned to return from the start. She went back to Japan, with full intent to return. Normally one would think to stay at least a night.
So she really just went back to settle things?
Understanding Selica’s resolve back then sent shivers down Hikaru’s spine.
『Unfortunately my family didn’t know Hazuki’s address. I thought I’d never see her again, so I just grabbed whatever I needed and headed back to the rift. That’s when I found her. Boy, was I surprised.』
『I see… You didn’t call her there.』
『Before we could celebrate our reunion, I asked her what she was doing there. Do you know what she said?』
I had a feeling he was here. My precious junior who just vanished.
Hikaru felt like he heard Hazuki’s voice. When he closed his eyes, her gentle, fleeting smile came to mind.
『I’ll admit I was a little jealous. You have a stronger connection with Hazuki than I do. And when I told her that I met you once in a while, she said it was just like you wander off into a different world.』
『I…』Hikaru trailed off.
I what? He was about to say something, but words wouldn’t come out.
『Hikaru…』
There was concern in Selica’s voice. Hikaru knew why. Tears were streaming down his face. He died in that world, unlike Selica. Only his soul came here.
Yet senpai sensed my being.
What Hikaru felt wasn’t nostalgia nor regret. He felt acknowledged. He was a nobody in Japan, but there was someone looking out for him. It wasn’t his imagination when he thought Hazuki looked at him from beyond the rift.
『Maybe you should’ve crossed the rift too.』Selica said.
『I couldn’t pass through… or so I thought.』
Hikaru wiped his eyes with his sleeve. When he touched the rift, his hand didn’t go through it. But when Selica tried to come back…
My hand went through…?
Hikaru gave a start. The bond between souls created the power to connect worlds. Perhaps Roland’s body was able to slip through because Hazuki appeared at that moment.
『It was a good thing I didn’t go.』
『If you say so.』Selica watched the sky. There was no awkwardness in the silence.『I’m heading back. Looks like your girlfriend’s here.』
Hikaru saw Lavia at the entrance to the deck.
『One last thing.』Hikaru said as Selica was leaving.『What’s this promise you made with Selyse?』
『It’s a bit tasteless to ask about a promise made between two women, don’t you think?』Selica grinned, turning only her head.
She sounded nonchalant, but Hikaru knew it was something important. Although Selyse called it a silly promise, it was enough to make Selica lose her drive to return to Japan.
Selica and Lavia passed by each other.
「Hikaru? What were you talking about with Selica?」
「Uh… something tasteless, I guess.」
Lavia came over to Hikaru’s left side. She tried to peer at Hikaru’s expression, perhaps because there were still tears left around his eyes.
「Was it a good idea for the Four Stars of the East to leave Grand Dream? With the discovery of the new dungeon, the city was in an uproar about how the demand for adventurers is going to increase.」
When Hikaru and the others returned from the north, Dream Maker was abuzz with news of the discovery of a new dungeon.
Word was immediately sent to the Adventurers Guilds of various countries via Linga’s Quill Pen. There were reports that not only adventurers, but merchants planning to do business in the new continent flocked to Ville Zentra, the capital of Vireocean. Furthermore the Dream Maker residents in Ville Dream were eager to return to their homeland. They might even be short on ships.
There was a possibility that the ferocious sea monsters had become quiet now that the Evil Drakon was dead, but to confirm that, the repellent had to be disabled, which was just too risky. Only a few ships set sail.
「I don’t know what goes on in those women’s minds.」Hikaru said.
He thought it had something to do with Selyse and Selica’s promise.
「Never mind them.」Hikaru said.「How are you holding up?」
「I’m fine… The magic’s working just fine.」
Paula’s healing helped Lavia deal with her motion sickness, but it had to be applied repeatedly. Hikaru wished there was some way to solve this problem, since adventurers and long-distance travel was basically inseparable.
Tweaking her Soul Board could help, but points were important. Not being able to experiment readily was frustrating.
「I see. We’ll have to do something about that.」Hikaru said.
「Hmm… Maybe training will work?」
「I don’t know. People say you just gotta get used to it, but some never do.」
「But no traveling for a while for me, if possible.」
Hikaru couldn’t help but smile.「It’s okay. You’re going on a library tour once we get back, right?」
When they returned to Dream Maker and discussed their next move, Lavia said she wanted to read more books.
Hikaru also needed a break from all the tough battles. He also felt the desire to know more about this world burning inside him. He thought a library tour was a fantastic idea.
Paula smiled, saying「If it’s visiting libraries, we might find grimoires that’ll help with Lavia’s motion sickness.」
She left her bodyguards in Dream Maker. Eventually they would have to go back to Grand Dream. Until then, Hikaru wanted to be free, free from everything.
「Let’s have a taste of freedom for a while.」Hikaru put his hand on the railing and looked at the sky. The blue expanse stung his eyes.「Hmm?」
Lavia moved closer to Hikaru and squeezed his arms tight. They closed their eyes, feeling the pleasant breeze.
「First is Vireocean’s library.」Lavia breathed out.
It was said that the largest library in terms of size was either Quinbland’s National Library or Bios’s Sacred Library, but every country’s capital had a big library.
Since they had plenty of funds, they could visit every single one. If they ran out, they could work as adventurers to earn some more. And learn more about this world.
「I’m sure it’ll be fun.」
Hikaru felt the countless possibilities waiting for them beyond the great ocean. His eyes shone as if he was a newly-born baby seeing the light of the world for the first time. He thought he had become an inhabitant of this world, in the truest sense of the word.
「There you are! Hikaru-sama! Lavia-chan! 」Paula joined them on the deck.
Yes. The three of us will go. We’ll travel this world full of adventures. There’s still so much more to discover—unfamiliar cities, unfamiliar landscapes, and new knowledge.
Two days later, the ship carrying Hikaru’s party docked at Ville Zentra, a port city full of people dreaming about the New World.