No matter how much I tried to explain how abnormal that was to other people, they just didn't get it. But I, Lilia Velt, was certain that it was wrong.
Because I had a basis for saying so.
Yes, this was before I came to Ragbalt.
◇
The town wasn't as big as Ragbalt, but it had a decent adventurer's guild.
I was passing through on my travels and, for some reason, I was broke again.
I'm terrible at managing money. No, maybe it's more accurate to say I don't even try to manage it... Anyway, when I'm struggling to even pay for a room, I have no choice but to look for work at the adventurer's guild.
"Okay, I really need to earn a lot today."
I went to the guild first thing in the morning, all fired up, but the elite adventurers had already snatched up all the good jobs.
By the time I arrived, not only were the escort and extermination jobs gone, but even simple tasks like collecting medicinal herbs were taken.
"Uh, so... what's left?"
Feeling anxious, I asked the receptionist, who apologetically handed me a sewer cleaning request form.
"Most of them are 'removing slime from the drains.' There are dozens of them here, but they're not popular because they're considered dirty work..."
At first, I thought, "Slime extermination is easy. I can take a bunch of these and make money easily."
I was reasonably confident in my abilities, and slime were considered weak monsters. I didn't think it would be that difficult.
But it didn't take long for me to realize how naive I was.
The first job. I visited the designated house and began the task of removing the mud and slime clogging the drain.
As soon as I started, "Okay, first I'll scoop out the mud..." a pungent odor assaulted my nostrils. It was a mixture of sewage, domestic wastewater, and rotten vegetable scraps, enough to make me feel sick just looking at it.
Still, I bravely grabbed a shovel and tried to clear the blockage. Then, with a squelch, my boots sank into the mud, and my feet were soaking in dirty water.
"Eww... what is this? It's worse than I thought!"
And everywhere, there was slime stuck to everything. I thought it would be easy to just chop them up, but they were fast and slippery, making it harder than I expected to finish them off. In the end, my weapons and clothes were covered in stinky goo.
"Ugh... this stain is definitely going to be hard to get out..."
By the time I finally finished the first job after struggling, two hours had passed. And it was exhausting.
"And there are nine more of these...?" The thought made my head spin, but I had to earn money for a room. Reluctantly, I headed to the next job.
At the second house, I was able to scoop out the mud a little more efficiently, learning from my first mistake. Although I was getting used to it, it still took an hour considering how tired I was, and with travel time and preparation, it easily took an hour and a half. By the time I took a break, it was already getting late, and my legs were shaking.
"This is such a... mundane, dirty, and tiring job...!"
It was then that I finally understood "why sewer cleaning jobs are so unpopular."
By the time I started the third job, the sun was almost completely set, and it was getting dark. While I was chopping up the slime, the neighbors complained, making it even worse.
By the time I finished, it was late at night, and I had to apologize to the receptionist at the guild, saying, "I'm sorry, I couldn't finish the remaining seven today..."
"Even the slime, which I thought were weak, are extremely troublesome in that dirty water, and the effort of removing heavy mud and garbage is not insignificant. In the end, I could only finish three jobs in a day. That's the reality..."
It was because of that experience that I wanted to say:
Sewer cleaning is not an easy job. No matter how used to it you are, five jobs a day is the limit. It's tough even to do three.
And yet, Setsu was doing 30 jobs in less than two hours, including travel time.
That's why I was convinced.
Setsu was hiding some kind of advanced magic.
◇
I threw open the toilet door of the sweets shop where Setsu should be.
Then, my vision was instantly flipped.
...Or rather, it wasn't a toilet.
"............Eh?"
I gasped at the magnificent sight before me.
The cramped space of the toilet was gone, and a transparent floor like glass stretched out beneath my feet.
Under the glass floor, I could see the familiar cityscape of Ragbalt far below.
"Wh-what is this...?"
A mysterious stage floating in the sky...?
Moreover, when I looked around, there was a huge monument towering above me in the sky.
It wasn't just big.
It was on such an overwhelming scale that I thought, "Is the entire sky made of that monument?" I could see that the intricately assembled metal and crystal-like parts were constantly moving.
It seemed to be circulating invisible magical power, making small clanging and whirring noises.
If such a thing were visible from the ground, it would cause a huge uproar, but I had never heard anyone talk about it before.
"Why...? How could something so noticeable have never been witnessed before...?"
Looking down through the glass floor, I could see the town of Ragbalt far below, where people were coming and going.
But they didn't seem to notice the sky at all. It was as if this place was completely hidden.
Confused, I somehow managed to take a step with my trembling legs, and saw Setsu standing a short distance away.
He looked at me with a listless expression, as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
"...You're the most persistent person I've ever met."
"P-persistent...! How could I stay silent after seeing something like this! How is it that I opened the toilet door and suddenly I'm in the sky!? What is this!?"
As I desperately questioned him, Setsu shrugged with a sigh.
"What do you mean, 'What is it...?' This is a part of the 'magic I developed for sewer cleaning.' I've made it invisible from the town using recognition obstruction."
"For... sewer cleaning...?"
That huge structure, which I didn't think even the royal palace or the military could build with all their might, was just a part of the magic used for "slime extermination"?
Frankly, that was a joke. But Setsu's tone seemed to be serious.
"...Its name is 'Reverie of the White Night.' In short, it's a huge engraving that I created myself. It's a mechanism that allows my magic to be activated efficiently within its range."
Engraving... every magician knows about them.
I also have a jewel necklace-type "engraving," which is excellent for greatly reducing the time it takes to construct a spell.
But it's only about the size of my palm.
What's here is a device so huge that it dominates the sky...
It's not even comparable to my necklace. It's on a completely different dimension.
"...H-how did you make this...《Reverie of the White Night》...so huge...?"
As I was about to say that, something suddenly swooped down from the sky.
There was a sound like the air tearing apart.
I quickly looked up. And there...was a creature like a jet-black dragon, about the size of a human...or rather, a little bigger.
But its face was more like a demon, and the moment it dug its claws into the glass floor, there was an eerie screeching sound.
"Fuhahahaha! What is this strange fortress floating in the sky? To think it was hidden from me, the supreme being! Now, you lowly insects, prostrate yourselves before me!"
Its muddy golden eyes glared at me. It seemed to have intelligence and was a high-ranking monster capable of speaking...or perhaps something even more.
I felt a cold sweat run down my back.
...Why is something like this appearing so easily!
Looking closely, I could see countless thorns growing on its back, from which a black miasma was leaking. That was probably a very powerful curse or poison.
An ordinary adventurer would be finished with just one hit, or rather, they wouldn't even be allowed to get close.
It looked like a monster that only the kingdom's elite forces could defeat.
"My name is <False God Balug Garzel>! The strongest race born from the heavens, and the ruler of this entire sky! ...Hmph, I don't know who made this, but I'll destroy this glorious sky fortress!"
Wow, what a selfish reason. I thought it was too unreasonable, but as if he didn't care, the black monster spewed out a viscous miasma from its mouth and entered an attack stance.
This is bad! I'm going to get caught up in this—
I instinctively reached for the short sword at my waist, but frankly, I didn't think a blade would work on something like that.
"I have to do something...! Setsu, run—"
But Setsu didn't seem to be disturbed and sighed as if he was really bored.
"This is troublesome. Why do I have to get targeted by someone like this?"
The monster roared hatefully.
"Hey, insects, are you ignoring me? Very well. Then, I'll at least show you a little bit of my power!"
"I see. Yeah, that sounds rough."
Setsu gave such a curt reply and lightly raised his fingertip, at that moment.
A deafening sound like metal clashing shook the air.
"Eh..."
The monster in front of me shattered into pieces in the next moment.
It was as if it had been compressed in an instant, breaking apart into pieces, and the black miasma and everything else dissipated.
Leaving only a heavy afterglow, it disappeared without a trace.
In an instant. Before my short sword could move. Setsu really just moved his fingertip a little.
"U-ugh..."
The absurd sight was so shocking that I couldn't stop myself from feeling nauseous.
My stomach was cramping up from fear and surprise, my legs were shaking, and I collapsed to my knees.
"O-oeh... wait... I feel sick..."
The back of my throat was stinging, and my vision was spinning. Before I knew it, I had fallen on the glass floor.
When I opened my eyes with a throbbing head, I saw Setsu standing there with a troubled expression.
"Are you okay? You seem to have gotten sick from being exposed to a high concentration of magic power. It was my fault. I'm sorry."
"...Huh...?"
I was stunned.
I had never heard of getting sick from being exposed to a high concentration of magic power. How high was the concentration?
"Also, don't tell anyone else. This is a secret. I don't want my life to be disrupted."
"A s-secret...? There's no way I can hide something like this..."
As I was about to say that, the scene of the monster being blown to smithereens flashed back in my mind.
"If I blab, will I be...blown to smithereens too...?"
Such a terrifying and contradictory thought rushed in at once, and I could only tremble.
"...Wh-why are you hiding such power? If you entered the Mounted Combat Chivalraid, you could easily win! You'd definitely be a hero, with so much money that you wouldn't have to worry for generations, and even the king couldn't ignore your honor, and you'd have tons of beauties flocking to you!"
I couldn't help but raise my voice and shout.
Top players in the Mounted Combat are so famous that they become national heroes, and they receive praise from the royal family.
It's the very definition of a winner in life...
But Setsu said in a tone as if he was yawning.
"I'm satisfied with my current life. I drink coffee, clean sewers casually, eat sweets, and sleep. That's all I need to be happy. I don't see any reason to want more than that."
"...That's...unbelievable...!"
Because I'm on a journey with the dream of one day improving my own power, becoming a pro in the Mounted Combat, and gaining a great position...
But this person already has magic that surpasses even gods, and yet he's satisfied with such a mundane life.
That's ridiculous... but there was no lie in Setsu's expression.
"Shall we go back soon? It's troublesome if you stay here for too long."
The moment Setsu muttered that, my vision distorted again.
The glass floor beneath my feet shook as if it was melting, and I lost my balance, then,
"...Hah...!"
When I came to, I was lying in front of the toilet in that sweets shop.
The door was still open, but the inside was just a normal toilet. The scene in the sky, the giant monument, everything was gone as if it had been a幻影(maboroshi illusion).
"...What was that just now...? An illusion? Or a dream...?"
Either way, it was too realistic. If I closed my eyes, the image of the monster being blown to smithereens would come back to me whether I wanted it to or not.
"Wh-what am I supposed to do...?"
I noticed that my hands and feet were trembling, and my heart was beating loudly.
Setsu, who has that overwhelming power but hides it and lives quietly...
What is he?
Scary.
In the end, I could only stand there for a while.
...This is ridiculous. What is sewer cleaning...?
Alarm bells were ringing non-stop in my head.
The way I've been so focused on "wanting to become stronger" and "wanting to be active" felt so insignificant and shallow... it made me sad.
I didn't have the strength to confront Setsu anymore.
"...For...sewer cleaning...?"
As I muttered in a fading voice, I left the store.
My body was still trembling. I couldn't even stand properly.
I was overwhelmed by a sense of being cornered, by an incomprehensible fear.
I couldn't even think about chasing after him anymore.
I had been shown an overwhelmingly real reality, and my heart was a mess—all I could do was clench my trembling lips.
──Ah, what was I trying to deal with?
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