Chapter 251 : Chapter 251
Chapter 251 - Laash (2)
All sides were walled off.
They resembled tall fortress walls, yet their cross-sections were of wood. Identical to the walls of the passage she had walked through by way of the Key.
A passage resembling a corridor. It had been a tree branch.
The trunk of a tree spread out before her. The city lay within that thick trunk.
It wasn't all that enormous.
Harein corrected her expression of "city." Not a city, but as though someone had plucked away a small portion of one.
'A real tree? Meaningless.'
That tree itself was an enormous magic.
This space was a vagueness conferred by some Origin. The hemispheric ceiling was the proof. If it were truly a tree, that region would have to branch out into countless limbs.
"Impressive. Is it a Manifestation, or magic approaching a Manifestation?"
If the former, it matched Manoa's Dream.
If the latter, it meant the 6th Rank.
By the Otherworld's expression, The Great One. The 6th Rank was one who stood atop Manifestation—that is, atop Origin itself.
"It is magic realized by our King."
Dihake spoke.
She meant the latter. "King" referred to the Tower Master of Earthquakes.
In her past life, the cursed mage bound within the Church's Sanctuary had been the Tower Master of Earthquakes.
'Curses and trees are far removed. So the curse bitch isn't the Tower Master yet. The Tower of Earthquakes had one more 6th Rank.'
It meant that, in the not-so-distant future, the King would be replaced.
'An enormous tree. I've seen one before.'
That had unmistakably been a Manifestation.
In her past life, she had neither seen nor heard of a 6th Rank mage tied to trees.
It meant this was not a simple replacement.
The current Tower Master of Earthquakes would die before long. And the cursed mage would become the new Tower Master.
'Dying soon. A 6th Rank.'
And not even during a war.
Harein creased her fine brow slightly. Then smoothed it at once. As this showed, what she didn't yet know about the Otherworld was overflowing. The more she learned, the more the future would shift.
A portion of a city, as if a bustling district had been carved out. Only, not small enough to take in at a glance. A magic and a space of tremendous scale.
"Laash—a mouthwatering sight."
Harein looked not at Laash, but at the people of Laash.
A virtual space prepared by the Tower of Earthquakes.
Those present here could only be mages.
And of the Otherworld, at that.
The Sun writhed.
The urge of Predation, resonating with Harein's emotions. She wanted to set them—all of Laash—ablaze.
"Truly a King of the Red Tower."
Dihake gave a bitter smile at Harein licking her lips. She had caught the Predation urge.
"I have seen fires great and small, but Your Majesty is the first so unvarnished."
"That sounds like an insult."
The simplest bastard.
That was how it reached Harein's ears.
"If it sounded so, I apologize. But ostentation and excess—those, I understand, are virtues of the Red Tower."
An insult, yes, but to the Red Tower, praise.
Harein could not deny it. Every Red Tower mage she had met so far was, without exception, not right in the head.
"May I be unvarnished, then?"
"......I beg you to restrain yourself. The Tower of Earthquakes loves peace. I implore you to respect that principle. Laash is a space where conflict is forbidden."
An Otherworld hideout cleverly established on the continent.
The Towers seemed to have forged some sort of pact among themselves. Because their goal was one.
"Peace. A laughable creed. For a Tower that endorses the cherished aim to pursue."
Dihake's eyes widened.
She still seemed astonished at how much Harein knew about the Otherworld.
"Peace is like stable ground. The more the roots are one, the longer they stretch, the more stable the ground becomes. At present, cultivation is necessary."
Meaning they would raze everything, the Church and the Empire included.
The peace the Tower of Earthquakes sought began from the Otherworld's rule over the continent.
"An ideal world."
A repulsive ideology.
Harein offered perfunctory praise and moved on. Sincerity was absent, yet Dihake was pleased. Such was the standing of the King of Prophecy. Even if unconfirmed.
"Tearing the invitation is the condition that triggers the transfer, you said."
"Correct."
"Can anyone do it? I doubt it would be designed so carelessly."
Harein said this while glancing at Parus.
That fellow wasn't a mage. Yet he had torn the invitation and come here alongside her.
"The invitation given to Your Majesty's slave was imbued with my own magical power."
"A Key that functions only with magical power, then."
Laash was a space only mages could enter. It would remain safe for a long while. Presumably, until the current Tower Master of Earthquakes died.
'No problem there.'
Cassion, and Kubel who was with Ellen—both were mages. So long as they obtained an invitation, they would be able to come here.
"There are ignorant ones on the continent imitating the Towers. Are they here too?"
"They have not yet been permitted."
In her past life, the Liberation Tower had been no different from the Otherworld's limbs.
It meant the two weren't yet on such terms. The Liberation Tower was still scrabbling to become the Otherworld's dog.
'Worthwhile, I suppose, if one could call it that.'
Harad's interference must have played a part in that, too.
'The reason to become Harein has vanished.'
But a new reason had arisen.
Harad had to continue being Harein. He wanted to observe the Otherworld's reaction upon witnessing the King of Prophecy.
That reaction might become a sort of branching point.
Harein scratched at the top of her chest. The Magical Item, neither seen nor felt, sloshed about. Perhaps the prophecy itself pointed to this very situation.
'Maybe I'm reaching.'
The latter was closer to mere speculation.
And even if it were so, there wasn't the slightest thought of living as a woman.
"I beg you to take care regarding the slave."
Dihake said this with a finger pointed at Parus.
Mages.
A space permitted only to Otherworld mages, at that. If Parus were discovered, he might be disposed of.
Then things would escalate.
Parus had no intention of dying quietly, and Harein had effectively forged an alliance with him.
"Your worry runs over. They can't tell the difference anyway."
Until one witnessed magic, one could not identify a mage.
That held true for the Otherworld as well.
"If matters should turn, our Tower of Earthquakes will be held to account. Please understand."
We're only accommodating you because it's us.
Dihake stressed the point in a roundabout way. To instill a sense of debt. Harein was a strong candidate for the King of Prophecy.
"Don't worry. I won't forget today."
"Thank you."
"A novel land. I'd like to look around."
***
A bustling district.
There had been reason for saying so. Laash resembled the thoroughfare of a splendid capital. Only the sunlit portions of the city had been lifted away.
The first place Dihake guided them to was a clothing shop.
"It's hot, though."
"You stand out too much."
"I'll stand out regardless."
Harein said this, flaunting her appearance.
Still, she didn't refuse.
Dihake was lavish in her attention to Harein. If she truly were the King of Prophecy. She had been seized by that possibility.
Satisfy the princess, then hand her over to the Red Tower.
If she were the true King, crumbs would fall to the Tower of Earthquakes. Dihake was putting the princess in her debt.
No reason to refuse.
The same reason she hadn't killed Dihake even upon arriving at a space where Shura might be present.
'The Tower of Earthquakes is friendly.'
Dihake still had Usefulness left to her.
She would make a fine guide.
"Dihake? What brings you?"
"A distinguished guest has come. The most uncomfortable garment, and the most shabby garment, if you please."
A clothing shop, yet not a single garment was on display.
The owner who greeted Dihake drew in the air with a short staff. From the curves, it was clothing.
In truth, there was no need to infer.
The drawings soon became real clothes and sprang into reality. A clothing shop, and yet not a clothing shop. It was a shop where an Otherworld mage peddled magic.
A dry laugh slipped from Harein. Manoa, and the Dream she had shown, came to mind. The one in which mages sold magic in the plaza.
That Dream was unfolding before her eyes.
The agents were the Otherworld. Harein found the fact ridiculous, and also repulsive. And perhaps, a little enviable.
"Would you care to try it on? Over there."
Dihake extended the garment and pointed toward a changing room.
"I don't need one."
"There isn't one, anyway."
Parus promptly stripped down and pulled on the new outfit. Brand new, and yet slovenly. The most shabby garment.
It meant that what had been given to Harein was the most uncomfortable garment. Long like a dress, yet clinging tight to the body.
For Harein, it was clothing the likes of which she had never seen in her entire life. No exposure, yet far more daring than anything exposing. Once she emerged in it, she knit her brow with all her might.
"Killer!"
Parus exclaimed with all his might.
He was the only one who did.
"A distinguished guest indeed."
"More distinguished than you imagine."
"So she seems."
Dihake and the shop owner nodded along.
"Must I wear this? It's uncomfortable beyond measure."
Walk around in this?
Walking was manageable. Anything beyond that seemed impossible. To run, she'd have to tear the garment.
"By convention, the more distinguished one is, the more uncomfortable one must be."
For there is no reason to move.
Claiming it was Paradise's attire and etiquette both, Dihake whispered into Harein's ear out of the owner's hearing.
It was the reason Parus's new clothing was slovenly.
As the most shabby slave, he would do the moving for the most uncomfortable Harein as well.
"That is the most natural attire."
As though this garment absolutely had to be worn, Dihake whispered again.
Even if Harein had no particular mind to be distinguished, to Dihake she was exceedingly precious.
Harein had no choice but to comply.
The pretext was that she would soon depart for the Otherworld's Red Tower. She mustn't reject the Otherworld's customs.
"Short on funds?"
"No. I'll take it in information. Money's not the issue."
Funds.
He must mean funds for operating on the continent.
It appeared the owner's clothing shop was a side venture.
"Ivory. Ivory......"
"Other than our own Tower, please. The sea has just been sealed off."
The sea.
He must have meant the western sea's asylum route.
That route had been exposed to the Church. It seemed measures had been taken.
"Deep Sea is exploring the eastern sea...... I see you already know."
"Isn't the bastard in the next shop Deep Sea? Church side, please. You're well-versed, aren't you?"
"Not to that extent."
"Earthquakes is better than the other Towers. On Church matters."
The Tower of Earthquakes knew the Church better.
Because, with the cursed mage confined in the Church's Sanctuary, they kept their antennae sharp where the Church was concerned.
"The Church is said to be planning a cleansing of the Empire's capital, Enverna. The timing is undecided."
"Tsk. I'll have to move soon."
The proprietor seemed to be operating in the capital.
The Otherworld truly had infiltrated everywhere.
The proprietor stared fixedly at Dihake.
There were two garments. There had to be two pieces of information.
"Recently, a tunnel was reportedly opened again in Serzila."
"Did the ignorant ones go in again?"
"Not them, so they say. Verification will be needed before long."
Harein let her eyes glint in secret.
They had taken the bait. Both the Liberation Tower and the Otherworld.
"If true, it's an opportunity."
"Yes. It was certainly a convenient means. If true, it ought to be secured."
Harein thought of Ios.
The future had changed, yet the Otherworld was coveting the tunnel again.
Perhaps it was inertia.
The altered future, if left alone, might try to revert to the course of the past life.
Payment concluded. Dihake stepped out of the clothing shop. Parus, looking every bit a beggar, strode about unrestrained like Bahav Enverque.
Harein walked with care.
Not by her own will. The garment made it so. At the slightest large motion, the clothing looked ready to burst.
'They wear this sort of thing as routine.'
Harein wondered whether Dihake hadn't lied.
The more distinguished, the more uncomfortable.
It meant the Moon, that old bitch, wore clothing like this too. Less distinguished than the Moon, Psina of the Ivory Tower or Avery Aquins, Star of the Deep Sea, wore clothing less uncomfortable than this......
"Please step aboard."
Dihake said.
Beside her, something was writhing and moving along the ground. A closer look revealed it to be a tree root.
"It's called a Belt."
A lift that moved forward and back along the ground, rather than up and down.
The method was to step onto the moving root and be carried along. Bizarre, yet convenient magic.
"Remarkable!"
Parus, thrilled, tried to climb on and was stopped by Dihake.
"This isn't a Belt the likes of you can ride."
"Why."
"Do not forget, slave. Had it not been for that one, you would have died long ago."
"Fine. I'll walk. I belong to Harein, after all."
No reason to move.
Only then did Harein grasp the meaning of those words.
The distinguished truly had no need to move.
The earth—more precisely, the magic installed upon the earth—ferries the distinguished to wherever they wish.
'Heaven.'
Perhaps the Otherworld really was a heaven for mages.
For distinguished mages alone.
***
Laash was broadly divided into three districts.
One was the street where the clothing shop stood. Aside from the fact that the people were Otherworld mages, that the goods were magic-related, and that payment could be rendered in information, it was not much different from an ordinary street.
A bustling district with everything save what it lacked.
"This is the Branch. We call it the Sapling."
Dihake tended to treat the Tower of Earthquakes as a tree. And so the scene streaming past beside the Belt was the Sapling.
It meant that the studies and research carried out at the Otherworld's Towers were conducted there as well.
The root—the Belt—kept on moving. At a pace close to a brisk walk. Parus kept up alongside, striding swiftly.
"This is the Market."
Dihake indicated the third district.
She called it a market, yet it didn't particularly look like one.
Come to think of it, the Branch called the Sapling had been the same.
Because it was made up of enormous buildings, one couldn't see inside.
Other Otherworld mages likely couldn't see inside easily either.
In the end, this land was one prepared by the Tower of Earthquakes. The Branch was Laash's second district, and its core.
"Unlike the Branch, anyone may enter the Market. Even in that kind of attire."
Dihake said this while pointing at Parus.
In the Market, what mattered wasn't the customer but the merchandise.
"The Market handles what the Street does not. What holds no value is discarded, what is adequate is moved to the Sapling, and what is precious is transported to Paradise."
Dihake spoke as though posing a riddle.
"Ordinarily, our Tower of Earthquakes does the judging and purchasing, though at times other Towers become buyers as well. For it resembles all creation—manifold in variety."
"And what is it?"
"The ignorant ones."
Continental mages were the Market's merchandise.
'Found it.'
Harein grinned.
A glance aside showed Parus with a similar expression.
"Beautiful, master."
"......"
"Master?"